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Installing the Treo 600 Firmware Update

A guide to installing the Treo 600 Firmware update.

Updating the ROM

CAUTION: Read statement
Without a doubt, fiddling with the ROM is one of the riskiest things that most people can do with their Treo, well, playing with Treo in the bath is risky too. It is REALLY, REALLY important to be slow and methodical when doing any kind of work to the ROM because a false move can ruin your unit. Some of the steps outlined below may seem tedious; however, prudence dictates that some extra effort is required when attempting such modifications. BE CAREFUL and POST QUESTIONS in the FORUM IF YOU HAVE THEM BEFORE YOU ACT

Picking a ROM

ROM's are available in several flavors. The biggest, most important distinction is between CDMA and GSM. THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IF YOU UPDATE YOUR HANDSET WITH THE WRONG TYPE YOU WILL LIKELY DESTROY THE PHONE PORTION OF TREO, though the PDA will still function.

IF YOU BUY A HANDSET, from eBay or whatever, AND REALIZE THAT IT DOESN'T WORK FOR YOUR CELLULAR NETWORK, YOU CANNOT FLASH IT WITH THE OPPOSITE FIRMWARE TO MAKE IT WORK, IT WILL ONLY DESTROY THE PHONE

Currently, CDMA handsets only work as telephones in the Western Hemisphere. So, if you are using Sprint, Verizon, Telus, Vivo, or Earthlink, then you MUST get a CDMA ROM.

GSM handsets work all over the world, and Treo is offered by Cingular, Orange, and Rogers. Carriers like T-Mobile, Vodaphone, and TeleStet also are GSM carriers, so a SIM-free or unlocked Treo will work on those networks

PalmOne has a history of offering ROM updates by carrier. So when updates become available, they are usually distinguished them by which carrier that they can be used for. Thus far, the carriers are: AT&T (no longer), Cingular, Orange, Roger's, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. It is limited to those carriers because they are the only ones that provide a retail channel for the handsets. In addition, PalmOne releases a ROW, or Rest-Of-World, ROM that is useful for the GSM community because GSM dominates the cellular market.

If you flash a GSM phone with a ROM from another carrier, nothing horribly bad will happen, you will just have that carrier's specific features and add-ons such as the startup and shutdown screens or any specific programs that they chose to include.

How do I install the new firmware on my phone?

There are two recommended methods for updating the Treo 600 firmware, both are relatively straightforward provided that you follow the instructions carefully! Read the instructions through first before deciding which method is best for you.

Method 1 - Using the palmOne installer

Download and run the Treo 600 Updater from PalmOne.

Setup instructions

1. Ensure that your Treo's battery is fully charged and that you have 6Mb of free memory on your phone to temporarily accommodate the Upgrade program.
2. Select the User Name for the Treo phone to which you want to install the Updater.
3. Connect the phone to your computer through the Hotsync cable and do a Hotsync to back up your data onto the computer, and install the Updater to your phone.
4. Tap on the Reset button on the Treo. Upgrade program is launched automatically. 'DO NOT RESET' the phone or interrupt the upgrade. Once complete, the Treo will automatically reset and you have to complete the initial Treo screen Setup including adjusting the date and time.
5. Go back to your computer and click on Next to continue the setup.
6. Perform another Hotsync to restore your data.
7. Tap on the Reset button on the Treo.

Method 2 - Without using the palmOne installer

Why is this method better than using the palmOne installer?

* This method does not require 6MB free RAM on your Treo.
* Performing the hard-reset in step 3 prevents any installed applications from interfering with the update installer and sending your Treo into a looping reset.
*The palmOne installer is confusing and many users have experienced difficulty with it.

Instructions

1. Download the appropriate Updater to your computer from here.
2. Perfom a HotSync operation to backup all your Treo applications and data. YOU MUST DO THIS!
3. Perform a Hard Reset. Do not turn wireless mode on.
4. Copy or HotSync the downloaded file "Treo 1.12 Updater.prc" to your Treo memory or SD card. If you use HotSync then create a new user called "install" to do this.
5. Plug your Treo into the recharger and power on.
6. On your Treo, navigate to the new updater application (it will be named something like "ROW 1.12") and launch it.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the update. Do not disconnect the power or press the reset button during installation.
8. Once the update is complete soft-reset your Treo (normal pin reset).
9. Turn wireless mode on and check that everything works correctly. Check your new firmware and software versions in Phone Info.
10. HotSync all your applications and data back using your normal HotSync ID.

Note: Some applications do not reinstall properly from a HotSync operation. If you experience any problems with an application after updating the firmware then delete the application (and all assoicated files) and re-install it from the original source. You may also find that some registered shareware programs need re-activating.

Method 2-alternate instructions

I. Installation by SD card

1. Back up your Treo. You can back up your Treo to either your PC or your SD card. If you back up to your PC via hotsync, then there is a nice freeware which can be installed to your Treo that is called SyncAll (all one has to do is right before the sync, open the program and click "force all to sync"), and it will move all the files, including preferences and such that don't normally get sync'd. If you backup to your SD card, there are numerous programs for accomplishing this. It is important that the number of backup-to-SD programs are limited for the Treo 650 due the NVFS file system.
2. After you backup your Treo, then hard reset it. A hard reset is important to empty out the memory and give the update plenty of room to work. Although many people have reported no problems without hard reseting, the most prudent course is clear it out since we have already made a thorough backup.
3. Connect your SD card to your computer. You can skip steps 4 and 5 if the SD card if empty. Proceed to steps 4 and 5 if you are planning to use the same SD card that you use for daily purposes
4. Make sure that the card has about 15 MegaBytes of free space, which is about the size of the ROM usually after it has been unzipped.
5. On the SD card, find the PALM folder. It should not be hidden or deep in other folders. It should there on the first click of the card, just right on the top. Rename the folder to whatever you want, Monkey for instance. Just make sure that it is NOT called Palm. This will be changed back later after the update.
6. Download the ROM
7. It is likely that the ROM will ROM in a .ZIP file. So, unzip the file and extract the contents to your computer and remember the location that you extracted them to. I tend to do a lot of work on my Desktop, so I usually have things extracted to there.
8. In the unzipped ROM files, the user needs to find the first folder named Palm.
9. After the Palm folder has been found in the unzipped ROM files, then the user needs to copy that folder and all of its contents to the SD card. That is why it was important to rename the folder in step 5 if you are using your regular-duty SD card.
10. Remove the SD card from the computer
11. Plug the Treo into the hotsync cable. It is required that the Treo be plugged into its power source.
12. Insert the SD card
13. WAIT
14. WAIT SOME MORE
15. DON'T GET ANCY
16. The unit may turn itself off and on a few times during the process
17. Eventually after 5-20 minutes, the initial welcome and setup screens will appear and you will need to choose language and time and location and such. I have noticed that the Treo 650 seems to update itself much faster than the Treo 600. The 650 appears to go through more resets during the upgrade process also.
18. Restore the Treo using either Hotsync or the SD card backup program. If you used the SD card backup method, you can remove the SD card, place it in the computer, delete the ROM update folder named Palm, and rename the old PALM folder again to PALM.
19. Enjoy the fresh ROM and all of its advantages.

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CategoryFirmware - CategoryTreo600