Putting your own ringtones for your Razr V3m from Verizon
March 13th, 2008As a result of my Razr unlocking tutorial, I have gotten tons of questions. The most common by far is “how do I get custom ringtones on it?” A visitor to my blog, sendherastar, was kind enough to make a tutorial.
Here’s what he says:
You need to make yourself some ringtones before you actually get to the point of uploading songs to your phone because anything over 30seconds you can’t set as a ring tone. I use Wave Pad but any other program similar to it (cool edit pro, etc) will do just fine. Here’s the link for Wave Pad:
http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/masters.html just click “download wave pad,” it should be free. If not, find it on another site where it is.
You can use any song that you want up to 30 seconds long and you can also choose the part of the song you want. Here are the steps on how to do that if you’re uncertain:
After you obviously install the program and have it up and running, you want to open a song of your choice. You can scope out the part of the song you want by listening to it. Once you’ve got it figured out, you can highlight the part you’re going to use. Down in the right hand corner, it will tell you the Sel Length by the seconds. Make sure that does not go over 30.
Once you’ve got the part of the song highlighted, right click on it and click, “copy.” Up in the left hand corner of the Wave Pad, you want to click, “New File.” Once that opens, take your mouse over top of newly opened wave file, right click anywhere inside the box and click, “paste.” This is how I save it — I close it out and it asks me if I want to save as “untitled.” I click yes and a box will pop up where you can name it whatever you want and you can also save it to whatever kind of file you want it to be (wav, mp3, etc.) I save mine as mp3, for some reason when I used a .wav file it wouldn’t work. I only tried once so I could have just did something wrong while uploading it to my phone.
Alright after you’re finished making the ringtone(s) you want, the first thing you need to do is make sure you have a usb cable that hooks into your phone and your computer. If you do, then follow this link to a download:
http://rsddownload.motorola.com/download/Motorola_Software_Update.exe
After downloading that, you then need to download p2kcommander which can be found here:
http://handheld.softpedia.com/get/Developer-Tools/File-Manager/P2kCommander-38120.shtml
p2kcommander files HAVE to be extracted! I put the extracted files on my desktop for easy access!
Both programs you want to install and run. Make sure when you’re ready to connect your phone you have them BOTH running.
Once the MSU (Motorola Software Update) starts running it’s going to ask “repair motorola software update,’ or “remove motorola software update,” just leave it on repair and hit, “finish.” Make sure when it finishes and comes to the “close,” option that the “Launch Motorola Software,” is clicked. Once it recognizes your phone LEAVE IT UP AND RUNNING then p2k commander should recongnize your phone as well.
Using p2k commander:
Either the right or left hand corner (which ever you prefer) click the drop down box and select P2K Mobile Phone — If it connects, you will be able to open your phone up and see everything inside of it.
Now to the fun part — the first thing you see once your phone connects with P2K is going to be the “a” folder. Open that up. In that folder you’re going to have to delete a file (don’t worry it regenerates itself once you reboot your phone, meaning that everytime you go through the process of putting ringtones on your phone, it will have to be deleted every time). The file you’re going to delete is named “MyToneDB.db.” Make sure to only highlight that file by clicking it once and then click delete on the p2kcommander, a simple hitting of the delete key on your keyboard doesn’t do it for some reason. Once you’ve done that you’re ready to hit the ringtone section of your phone!
To get to the ringtones you want to go to “motorola, shared,” then to “ringtone.” Once there you should be able to see ringtones that you may have already purchased as well as the stock ringtones that came with the phone. By my prefrence I deleted the more bigger stock ringtones (after listening to them to make sure I didn’t want them or they weren’t used for anything specific such as voicemail, recieved text message etc) but you don’t have to.
On the side that you didn’t use to get into your phone — you want to find where you saved the ringtones you made to. Once you’ve got both the ringtone section of your phone open on one side and the place where you saved your newly made ringtones on your computer on the other side, you’re ready to start putting them on your phone.
You can upload more than one ringtone to your phone at a time but I suggest, just for now do it one at a time. Highlight the ringtone you made for your phone simply by clicking once on it and then hit the, “copy,” option located at the bottom of the p2k commander. Once the p2k mobile side refreshes itself and your ringtone is showing in your phones ringtone section — keep your phone hooked into the computer. Go to your ringtones using your phone to see if the one you put on is there and make sure it plays.
If it does, congratulations! You have just uploaded your very own FREE ringtone!!! =) If you made more than just one, go ahead and upload them now. Make sure you check to see if they work! When you’re finished uploading all the songs you want/can, go ahead and unhook your phone and enjoy!
You can also do your photos the same way but I’m not 100% sure on that. I had to figure that out for myself and I’m still unsure of how to explain it, although it’s very similar and I don’t believe you have to delete the MyToneDB.db to do it– so hopefully after all that I just explained to you and you upload a couple of ringtones yourself — you will be able to figure out how to work the rest of it on your own!
Edit, March 14, 2008:
Sendherastar updates:
i forgot to mention that after you put your ringtones on, reboot your phone manually by just turning it off and back on. occasionally the ringtones will reset themselves (not sure why) and the quick fix is just to reboot your phone and reset whatever ringtone you want as your default. sorry to trash up your website with so many posts!! but if you use it in a blog, please note that on there!
Thanks!
Edit, March 28, 2008:
Izzyd has this to say:
Can I make a suggestion on the guide for transferring ring tones. It should be updated to state something to the effect of that process is for use with the VZW .01.19.07 firmware. Reason I say this is on the older firmwares the tones do not go into that folder the write up is specific to that firmware only, however it still works the same way jus ta different folder is all. On the older firmwares they go into the /motorola/shared/audio folder. Oh and as for pics using p2kcomannder on any firmware they can be placed in the /motorola/shared/pictures folder and no file needs to be delete to get them to show up either. On a side note on ringtones as mentioned in the guide the *.wav file does not work because ring tones need to either be mp3, qcp, or mid files.
Internet on the road for "free" with a Razr
January 24th, 2008On long car rides (where I am not driving myself!) it’s really nice to take out my laptop and check my email, IM with friends, read some blogs, web comics, etc. I can do that, but I didn’t buy one of those expensive cards that require a $60 per month service. Using hacktherazr.com (which is down at the time of this blog post), I deciphered how to use my Motorola Razr V3m and my Verizon service to get “free” internet on the road. This is “free” (with quotes), because it can be free if I use it wisely. In truth connecting to the Internet through this “back door” costs minutes, just like a regular phone call, but that means that nights and weekends are free. Also, if I have a lot of minutes to spare, which I usually do, it is irrelevant how many minutes I burn as long as I never go over.
The speeds aren’t blazing fast or anything, but it’s just fine for the things I mentioned, especially when the alternative is boredom. I did a speed test on speedtest.net, and came up with these results:
I broke this post up into chunks to organize it and separate the different parts. For example, I know that the first step only works on Razr v3m’s, but if you have a different phone from Verizon you could probably figure out how to do that step elsewhere, and then come back here and continue to the next step, which is likely the same on most Verizon phones.
F.Y.I. I have found that while connected I can receive calls and answer them no problem, but curiously I can not initiate a call.
Enable Dial-up Networking
First, you need to enable the dial up networking service on the phone, which is locked off by Verizon when you get the phone. You can do this by following my tutorial on how to unlock the Razr V3m.
Disable EVDO
Next, you must disable EVDO and enable CDMA. This doesn’t work if the phone is connected to the cell towers with EVDO. You can do this by following my tutorial on how to disable EVDO.
Now that the phone is unlocked and EVDO is disabled, I assume the instructions should be just about the same for a lot of Verizon phones.
Connect the phone to the computer
Now you need to get the phone connected to the computer. I will use Bluetooth in this example, though using a USB cable works just fine.
The first step is go get the phone connected to the computer via Bluetooth. I need to qualify these instructions, though, and say that I am using a weird Bluetooth dongle that has it’s own separate system apart from how it is supposed to be implemented in Vista. That said, the instructions will probably be similar. If my instructions for Bluetooth are no help, try Microsoft’s.
First set the phone as discoverable. On the Razr you can press the down button from the home screen, which brings up a Bluetooth menu. Then go down to Setup, make sure the “Power” is set to “On”, and select “Find Me”.
On the computer side, find the phone through the Bluetooth software and connect to it.
You will probably have to enter a security key, which you can make up yourself. If you aren’t feeling creative and aren’t in a public place, you can use “0000″. You will have to accept the connection on the phone by typing in the security key. Once that’s set up
 
Now that the computer and phone are aquatinted, connect the computer to the phone’s dial-up service.
OK, that’s how it for the Bluetooth. If you want to get to this point with USB, you should be able to find this dial-up dialog by going to the Network and Sharing Center, clicking on “Manage network connections”, and double-clicking on something that looks like it might be the phone.
The rest of the instructions apply even if you connect the phone to the computer through USB.
Put in the right information and change some settings
Now that the dial-up dialog box is open, you need to put in some information and change some settings. The username is your cell phone number @vzw3g.com. So, if your number is (123) 456-7890 then your username would be 1234567890@vzw3g.com. (I have blocked out the phone number part of my username.) The password is “vzw”, and the number to call is #777. Type those three things in, check “save this username and password for the following users”, and click “properties. If you want, select “Anyone who uses this computer”.Â
A new window will open. Click on the “Security” tab.Â
In the “Security” tab, click “Settings”.Â
A new window will open.Â
Uncheck “Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) and “Microsoft CHAP Version 2 (MS-CHAP v2)”. Make sure that “Unencrypted password (PAP)” remains checked.Â
Click on the “Options” tab.
Here’s what the Options tab should look like:
Uncheck everything except for “Display progress while connecting” and click “OK”.
Click “dial” and wait for it to connect.
Now you have internet access. A window will open asking what kind of network connection this is. It shouldn’t matter what you select, but choose Public Location just to be safe.
Close the window.
Make it a little nicer
Now that everything is up and running, the next step is to rename the modem so something nicer, like “Razr Net Access”.
First, click on the network icon in the system tray, and then click on “Network and Sharing Center”
Now that the Network and Sharing Center is open, click “Manage Network Connections”.
A new window will open. Find the network connection that seems like the Razr’s connection, and rename it to whatever you want. You rename it just like you would a file. I tend to do two single-clicks, which has the same effect as right-clicking on it and clicking “Rename”.
Connecting in the future
Chances are that you’ll want to connect to the internet again later. To do that, obviously have your phone connected to the computer. If you’re using Bluetooth, just make sure that the phone is on and somewhere near you. After that, just go to the same place you go to connect to wireless networks. (Click on the network icon in the system tray, and then click “Connect or Disconnect”) You should see this:
Double-click on the “Razr Net Access” item, and you’ll see this
That’s it! To disconnect just go back to that “Connect to a network” window and double-click on the “Razr Net Access” item. For the sake of documentation, the disconnecting screen looks like this:
Like I said, now that everything is all set up, connecting and disconnecting is the same process as connecting or disconnecting to a wireless network. Neat, huh?
Remember:Â Nights and weekends are 100% free. 
Happy surfing!
Disabling EVDO on a Motorola Razr V3m from Verizon
January 19th, 2008If you don’t know what EVDO or CDMA are, my basic understanding is that they are wireless protocols used to transfer data between cell towers and cell phones. EVDO is the higher-speed, but higher power-consuming option. There are two reasons someone would want to disable EVDO: to save a little battery life, and as one of the steps to getting effectively free Internet on a laptop through their phone.
You know to which infrastructure your phone is connected by a symbol at the top of the screen. "EV" means EVDO, while "1X" means CDMA. (I think the 1 also implies the version of CDMA, but that’s over my head.) By default the phone connects to EVDO if it is available, otherwise it will connect to CDMA. The goal of this tutorial is to make the phone prefer CDMA over EVDO. Doing so shouldn’t have any effect on the performance of calls, though downloads through Get it Now would probably be slower.
So let’s get to it!
First, you need to put your phone in debug mode. This is done by typing "##DEBUG" ("##33284") into the phone as if you were making a call. You have to be quick about it. You know that it worked if the final digit, 4, isn’t displayed. Upon typing "##DEBUG", the phone should look like this: 
Now you can get in to the FTS menu. I don’t know what "FTS" stands for, but it allows you to change some settings in the phone that aren’t usually accessible.
To get into the FTS menu, now that you are in debug mode, press "CLR" and then the left soft button. Pressing that combination at any time will get you in and out of the FTS menu. Note that you do not hold "CRL" while pressing the left soft button.
Now press the right soft button ("NEXT") until you arrive at the screen that lists "HDR Pref" on it. 
Now press the down button until "HDR Pref" is selected. Notice that "PREV" and "NEXT" have changed to "EXIT" and "CHANGE". 
Press the right soft button ("CHANGE") until "HDR Pref" is set to "cdma". 
Press the left soft button ("EXIT"). The phone will be unresponsive for about 15 seconds. Eventually the screen will show the FTS screen briefly, display another screen, and then then settle on a final screen. I can only assume this is the phone restarting. 
Now you just have to get out of the FTS menu and disable debug mode.
To get out of the FTS menu, press "CLR" and then the left soft button. Now that you’re back at the home screen, notice that the "EV" symbol at the top of the screen changed to "1X".
The way you get out of debug mode is the same way you got in. Just type ##DEBUG from the home screen. Make sure that debug mode is disabled by pressing "CLR" and then the left soft button. If you don’t see the FTS screen, you’ve done it right.
You’re done.
Unlocking a Motorola Razr V3m from Verizon
December 26th, 2007
That Razr that you got from Verizon can do more than you think! With an unlocked Razr you can actually make your own ringtones for free. You can even connect your phone to your laptop and get internet access that only costs minutes, meaning on nights and weekends that is also free. You can also grab photos and videos taken from the phone and transfer them directly to your computer. More over, you can even make a custom wallpapers that you made on the computer or found on the internet. Don’t like that annoying V-Cast animations that play when you turn your phone on or off? Get rid of them! Or better yet, put something there that you made yourself.
There are so many possibilities, but whatever you do, there is definitely one place to start: actually unlocking the phone. Doing that is usually tedious and confusing, but last August I made an “unlocked” settings file to remove the tediousness and a video tutorial to take away the confusion.
Note that this process only works on Motorola Razr V3m phones from Verizon. Also note that unlocking the phone probably voids the warranty. I haven’t heard of this process breaking any phones, but if it does, I’m not liable.
Enjoy!
edit, January 19, 2008:
It seems the server hosting P2K seem edit, hacktherazr.com, is down. P2K Seem Edit is now packaged with the readme file and seem file in the download below.
Verizon Razr V3m Unlocking Kit (Revision 3)
edit, January 29, 2008:
Here’s the list of changes that this process makes, taken directly from the readme.txt file included in the download:
Here’s what changed about your phone:
USB Transfers are enabled.
Dial-Up Networking is enabled.
The orange background on the outside screen is changed to the wallpaper.
The “vibrate then ring” feature is now available.
The “continuous backlight” option is now available.
The “classic”, “continental”, “attention” and “moonlit haze” ringtones are now available.
If you’re curious, you can look up the actual seem edits that were made by cross-referencing this list with this page.
Edit, February 18, 2008:
For those who forgot to make a backup of the default seem, or those who otherwise don’t have access to one, here’s mine: Verizon Razr V3m Default Settings
Note that in principal it is best to use the backup that you made yourself. My backup should work on your phone, though. (Please tell me if you find otherwise.)
Edit, March 10, 2008:
I am declaring comment bankrupsy. It’s too hard to keep up on all the comments, and there are people who are much more knowlegable about this topic than I am. If you have a question, then I recommend that you direct it to the hacking community at http://hacktherazr.com/forum or http://motorola.howardforums.com.
Comments with links to other good sources of information are still appreciated.
Thanks, and happy hacking!
Edit, March 14, 2008:
An awesome reader explained how to put ringtones on the Razr without buying any software. I put his explaination in this other post. Thanks, Sendherastar!
Edit: March 28, 2008:
Izzyd has this to say:
Heya all, it’s been a while do to some personal matter,but after reading threw some of these posts I’d like to shed some light. For all you folks who have just gotten a VZW v3m things have changed from when it was originally released. With VZW’s new .01.19.07 firmware a lot of stuff from before will not work at all, and other things need to be done in a different manner which is why certain things do not seem to work right. Whatever VZW did in the new firmware has locked us out of things like using MPT to transfer ring tones it just will not happen, another thing is the seem edit for USB transfer on the new firmware is not needed they already have it done for you. I could go one and on but I see there is some confusion and I’ll do what I can to stop by more frequently to point folks in the right direction. One thing plz be specific tho and let us know what carrier you are with and what firmware is on your phone that does make a difference these days, 4 months ago it wouldn’t have mattered, but thx to VZW they threw us for a loop which is why we see so much more confusion now.
Edit: June 27, 2008:
Verizon has closed the back door of using a Razr as a dial-up modem for free internet access. When you try, every webpage you load just gives you a message saying something like “The device is not authorized”.