Jun
15
Written by: Mike Temporale
Sunday, June 15, 2008 11:23pm
Windows Mobile 6.1 adds a new level of locking to your device. Along side the standard Carrier lock, SIM lock, and Application lock, you will now find a lock for the carriers data network settings. This lock prevents you from modifying the carriers pre-loaded data settings. Why would anyone want to lock those settings? The answer is simple, to reduce the number of support calls from customers who have screwed them up. However, there are some people, like me, that need to modify those values. From what I’ve been able to gather on this, AT&T appears to be the only carrier that has actually turned this feature on. I’m sure this will change, but for now, it’s just AT&T.
But don’t worry, I’ve got the details on what you need to do to unlock this setting and let you change the values as needed. Before I get into the steps I need to give the standard disclaimer about modifying your device. I don’t know what effect this will have on your contract with AT&T - I imagine none, but who knows. Also, there is a chance that you can really mess up your device by changing the registry. If you’re not comfortable with making changes to the registry, I would recommend you don’t attempt these steps. So, with that out of the way, on with the details.
- Before we can make any changes, we need disable the application lock on the device. In this case, since it’s a BlackJack II device I recommend downloading the GPS Unlock tool from MoDaCo. This small CAB file will setup the built-in GPS to work on COM4 and also start the application unlock process. Once you’ve installed it on your device, download SDA_ApplicationUnlock and run it on your computer with your phone on ActiveSync (or WMDC). Congratulations, your BlackJack II is now application unlocked.
- If you don’t have a registry editor for your device, download one and install it. For editing the registry on the device, I recommend PHM. If you want to do it from your desktop, then try SOTI’s Pocket Controller Pro.
- Using the registry editor, browse to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Comm \ ConnMgr \ Providers \ {7C4B7A38-5FF7-4bc1-80F6-5DA7870BB1AA} \ Connections \ AT&T IMS
- In this location you should find a key called ReadOnly with a value of 1. Change this to 0 (that’s a zero, not an O). You’ve now unlocked the first GPRS setting.
- Now, browse to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Comm \ ConnMgr \ Providers \ {7C4B7A38-5FF7-4bc1-80F6-5DA7870BB1AA} \ Connections \ MEdia Net
- Once again, you will see a key by the name of ReadOnly with a value of 1. Change this to 0 (that’s a zero, not an O). You’ve now unlocked the second GPRS setting.
- Finally, browse to this location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Comm \ ConnMgr \ Providers \ {EF097F4C-DC4B-4c98-8FF6-AEF805DC0E8E} \ AT&T WAP
- And once again you will find a key by the name of ReadOnly. Change this to a 0 (that’s a zero, not an O). You’ve now unlocked the Proxy value.
That’s everything you need to do. Now you’re free to modify or disable the pre-configured settings to suit your needs. One thing to note: Each of the those registry locations had a long unique string after Providers. This will be the same for any Samsung BlackJack II device with Windows Mobile 6.1. However, I don’t expect that it would be the same for another device. So, if you’ve found your device has these locks and it’s not a BlackJack II, you will need to browse the entries under Providers to figure out which one is the right one. Please post the correct values along with your phone in the comments so that others can benefit from the knowledge.
A couple months ago I published an article that details the steps required to 
One of the great appeals of a GSM device is the ability to swap SIM cards and as a result, networks. As an example, I have a Samsung BlackJack II from AT&T running on Fido’s network. When I travel to the US, I just pull out my Fido SIM and put in my AT&T SIM and I’m off and running without those nasty roaming charges. The only problem is when it comes to data - I don’t want to have to enter those settings every time I travel. Typically, I would leave all the network settings in the phone and just edit the Connects To setting for the networks. I would set the network I don’t want to use to connect to Work and the network I want to use to Internet. It works, but it can get to be a pain trying to edit all those entries and with the new network settings lock, it can be near impossible (especially if you don’t want to hack your phone). Thankfully, there is a handy little utility in Windows Mobile that lets you flag a given network as the default making it very easy to switch between networks. It’s not a new feature, it’s in both Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6. It may also be in 5, but I don’t have a device handy to check that on.
