Could somebody read this, tranlsate into English, and tell me why this is significant:
[GSM] 24/11 - Finally, an unlocked SPL for Hero! - Android @ MoDaCo
Lots of acronyms. Not sure what the difference between CID and SIM locks are. If it means I can unlock my hero I'm a happy chappy.
What is worrying is how close to bricking your phone you get with all this tomfoolery
SIM LOCK = A 'lock' which your network provider i.e. Orange, T-mobile etc apply to your phone to prevent you from using SIM cards from other networks. For example, if your on Orange you can only use a Pay Monthly or Pay As You Go SIM from Orange. If you put an O2 sim in your phone, it would boot but ask you for an unlock code and not allow you to use the phone until this had been entered. This lock can only be removed with a special unlocking code. Quite safe to do. You'd get your code from the operator or a 3rd party site.
CID LOCK = A security lock that prevents you from flashing Custom ROM's and ROM's which are not authorised by the network operator. Removing your CID Lock is not for the faint hearted. If you want to have a read about the process (which requires you to build your own cable), have a look here:
[HOWTO] Remove the Hero's security and CID locks - xda-developers
CID unlocking will not remove the SIM lock. Likewise SIM Unlocking will not remove the CID lock. They are two separate things.
The SPL is basically the software which boots your phone (its part of the bootloader). It's low level and gives you access to some interesting things. You access it by switching your phone on and holding POWER+BACK. AFAIK, newish Hero's come with an SPL which prevent custom ROM's from being 'flashed'. Paul released this version which is an Engineering version to overcome this issue. Amongst other things, it allows a command line program called FASTBOOT to run that allows you to flash your phone.
FASTBOOT (as you've probably seen on several forums) is now being used to replace the splash screen image (the first graphic you'll see when you power on your phone).
There's far more to it than that, but that's basically the gist of it.
As for bricking your phone, just read the instructions, then read them again. Follow everything to the letter and make sure your confident in what your doing.
Hope this helps!
