What EXACTLY is a Goldcard? I've created/used one to debrand my Desire but NFI what it actually is!!
Can anyone point me to a simple summary that helps me to understand exactly what it is the Goldcard does, when it can be used, and whether it should be kept, updated, re-created regularly etc. The full deal.
Every phone has an ID (a CID) that says which network it's on for branded phones. Official software releases have a list of CIDs that are allowed to use the update. So if you use an update designed for unbranded phones on a branded phone you'll get a CID error.
A goldcard basically overrides this check, so you can install any branded/unbranded ROM.
It's best to store a goldcard safely and use a different sdcard for the phone normally. If you want to apply other unbranded updates you'll need the card again. Some people had problems trying to update to FroYo OTA without their goldcard inserted (it would upgrade the software but not the radio).
It should be ok, but if you somehow corrupt your goldcard and then can't create a new one later you could be in trouble with further updates.
You can format a goldcard & it still remains a goldcard, once created it is hardcoded into the card.
The only way to stop it from being a goldcard is to physically break it.
I have formatted & reformatted my goldcards & the coding still remains intact.
Personally i find it is easier to keep it in the phone at all times, unless you go for full root.
__________________
To ere is human to foul things up completely requires a computer
Sign up for a free 2gb Dropbox account use this link & get an extra 500mb free http://db.tt/L0HnVSEh
I debranded from VF firmware using the guide on the forum last week, and I'm now on 2.2.
Having a 16Gb card in my phone currently, I used the 4Gb card provided in the HTC Desire box as my "Goldcard". Once debranded with stock vanilla ROM, I removed the goldcard and put my 16Gb card back in and left the 4gb 'goldcard' back in the box for a rainy day.
I don't see why you'd need the goldcard on your memory card again, if debranding was your sole purpose.
As I understand it, even if you are running an unbranded ROM your phone still has its original CID, hence the need for the Goldcard for further OTA updates.
I come from a Windows Mobile background and most of the phones I've had to debrand on WinMo don't have this issue as a lot of the time the branding check is done by the RUU or the ROM itself, so once you flash your phone with a different ROM it effectively becomes unbranded. The last WinMo phone I used that was like this was the Samsung i780 and because its so simple to figure out the branding check I am surprised its so complicated for Android on the Desire.
I have a Desire and a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro and again debranding the X10 Mini is so simple I wonder why its not like that for the Desire. Can anyone explain how the Desire is different?
I debranded from VF firmware using the guide on the forum last week, and I'm now on 2.2.
Having a 16Gb card in my phone currently, I used the 4Gb card provided in the HTC Desire box as my "Goldcard". Once debranded with stock vanilla ROM, I removed the goldcard and put my 16Gb card back in and left the 4gb 'goldcard' back in the box for a rainy day.
I don't see why you'd need the goldcard on your memory card again, if debranding was your sole purpose.
Once you are rooted you never need it again, unless you want to do something foolish like go for the OTA update.
Only real reason to need it after rooting is to return it to stock if you are unlucky enough to need a warranty repair.
The Following User Says Thank You to anoniemouse For This Useful Post:
You can format a goldcard & it still remains a goldcard, once created it is hardcoded into the card.
The only way to stop it from being a goldcard is to physically break it.
I have formatted & reformatted my goldcards & the coding still remains intact.
Personally i find it is easier to keep it in the phone at all times, unless you go for full root.
Not completely true, the card is modified in a way that can be easily overwritten, but not with a standard format.
Not completely true, the card is modified in a way that can be easily overwritten, but not with a standard format.
Sure if you attach it to your pc through a card reader & use a file shredder set to dod standards then yes it will overwrite it, but how many people have those programs.
I even got a disk that if you put it in a pc it will completely wipe all data from hard drives & memory cards/ sticks connected to the pc, it does it so thoroughly that no information of any kind is recoverable.
Sure if you attach it to your pc through a card reader & use a file shredder set to dod standards then yes it will overwrite it, but how many people have those programs.
I even got a disk that if you put it in a pc it will completely wipe all data from hard drives & memory cards/ sticks connected to the pc, it does it so thoroughly that no information of any kind is recoverable.
Anyone running Linux, or anyone that can google can have one in less than a minute. Seriously, it's not like its a type of program that is difficult to come by. Anyone who has downloaded a program from the Internet can have one.
The HTC Desire is one of the latest high end phone by HTC bringing a huge 3.7" inch high quality AMOLED screen for crystal clear viewing, powered by a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs on, you guessed it, Android.
We first heard a... Read More
What EXACTLY is a Goldcard? I've created/used one to debrand my Desire but NFI what it actually is!!
