[Quiet01]

I think the Motorola Dext (called the Cliq in the US) came out around the end of 2009. It was mainly sold in 2010, but it is still around in this 1st quarter of 2011. We are probably at the end of its product life span. When it came out it was a middle/upper range product and was released with Android 1.5. Early this year, the US T-Mobile version got an Android 2.1 upgrade. This was the *only* version in the world to get the upgrade. Canada and the rest of the world are stuck with Android 1.5. Why? I have no idea.

Because it is an old product, the price has come down on it. It can be bought new in Canada for about $150. I have seen lower prices in the US. A refurbished unit should be even cheaper. This for a 3.1", 480 x 320 screen with capacitive sensing, 256MB RAM, a fairly good QWERTY keyboard, "HSDPA" g3 (7.2 Mbps) phone, WiFi b/g capability and Bluetooth 2.1, is a very attractive deal.

Also, because it is so old, all the rooting and unlocking should be fairly well documented by now, though the flip side is that not many programmers are likely still modding firmware.

So, I bought one.

The biggest drawback so far has been "Motoblur" -- not the program or the service itself, but the fact opening an account is forced upon you, whether you want it or not. I do *not* want it. It holds log-in information for other services, and is therefore a "cracker's" target. If you do not open an account, that is all. Nothing else works. As such, I am going to try to replace the firmware without opening a "Motoblur" account. That will be my first project.

[I have found out that then the screen comes up to create an account, the "Menu" button will by-pass this, allowing you to start using the Dext without creating a Motoblur account.]

This post has been edited by Quiet01: 26 March 2011 - 10:59 PM

[Quiet01]

[NOTE: I have more information now and am adding corrections.]

Unlock First, Then Root, Then Flash:

It is important to deal with "unlocking" before re-flashing the device. I found that despite having the unlock code for my Dext, it failed to unlock because I had already upgraded to Android 2.1. I will have to downgrade it back to 1.5 and unlock the SIM card, and then, perhaps upgrade it again.

Regarding the MotoBlur Account:

I have found out that then the screen comes up to create an account, the "Menu" button will by-pass this, allowing you to start using the Dext without creating a Motoblur account. Therefore, it was unnecessary for me to open a MotoBlur account at all in order to start using the Dext. Unfortunately, I did not know that back when I started working on the Dext.

Rooting The Dext:

I was able to "root" the device, or at least as far as I can tell, because I could run the "update.zip" from key combination special boot.

[The key combination is [Power] + [Camera], then [Volume Down] as soon as the option screen comes up.]

The problem comes where I need to flash the "recovery.img". In order to do this, I have to set the USB port to Debug mode. I cannot do that without getting to the "Setting" program which requires I go through the home screen, which cannot be used until after you sign up for the MotoBlur account.
[Since it is possible to start up the Dext without creating the MotoBlur account, all this is no longer an issue.]

They got me. At least I think they do. If anyone knows how to get by this, I hope you give it a mention. Meanwhile I am going to look up Bell accounts and see if I can find a cheap temporary account to use.

This post has been edited by Quiet01: 26 March 2011 - 11:09 PM

[Quiet01]

Flashing the Dext: The "Recovery.img"

I am basing my attempt to Flash a ROM image on my Dext using the method described in:

Bell Mobility Dext Firmware Flash

I have re-"rooted" the Dext using the a slight variation on the method provided in:

Rooting The Motorola Cliq/Dext

and made backups, though without using "Root Explorer (File Manager)" by Speed Software from the Android Market.

I am stuck at the next step, which is "11. Flashing custom recovery to allow custom ROMs:" wherein "njones" uses "Root Explorer" to change the "/system" directory to "Mount R/W" in order to write the "recovery.img" into that directory.

The problem is that "Root Explorer" is a commercial program. It is not expensive. I can certainly afford the price. But there is a reason why I will not buy it. I do not trust any security system on the Internet and have advised people that it is still not proven sufficiently safe to use the Internet for any kind of financial transaction.

So I am looking for a way to get this step done without using "Root Explorer." I have tried to "chmod" the directory, but that does not work. Apparently the file system will simply not support writing to that directory. It must be re-opened with Read/Write capability. The only thing I know about mounting the file system(s) is to use "/etc/fstab" and that is done before starting a computer. I do not know what to do on a computer that is already running.

Does anyone know of another program which is free which will allow me to write to the "/system" directory, or does anyone know of a method to re-mount the directory so that a simply copy will work? Or, is there a way to use the "recovery.img" in another directory? This latter seems possible. I think I have seen it done before.

[Quiet01]

The answer to the problem was in one of the discussion replies following the original note. The following is my version of what is needed to be done:

Set USB to "Debug" on device
Connect USB and set to "Charge Only"

/* Instead of "root Explorer" I used "adb shell flash_image recovery [recovery.img]" */

adb devices /* check that the USB is connected */
adb shell /* Start a shell */
su /* set user to Root */

mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/mtdblock1 /system /* This was what I needed to remount */

flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-HExpl.img

/* Exit "su" and then exit "shell" */

exit
exit

The above was corrected 2011/03/21. Following this, I was in a hurry and decided not to make the "Nandroid" backup. The previous backups should be sufficient.

Reboot the device and then turn it off again and start with the [Power] + [Camera], then [volume down] brings up the Recovery program.

This post has been edited by Quiet01: 21 March 2011 - 10:23 AM

[Quiet01]

I am hoping to re-write almost everything I posted above. There will be additions, maybe corrections, and, hopefully, better use of the English language. :-)

[ican]

Realize this thread is a bit stale but I am wondering a couple things:

First if you were able to unlock your Dext after a Bell firmware reflash?
Also, if you know where I could get a copy of Bell firmware?
(so I can flash my dext back to it to unlock it)

Cheers