Modding and Hacking Your Cell Phone

By M Silvers

So, you own a Motorola V3 Razor. If you are doing what I did you are searching various websites to find how how to change it to be what YOU want. You are reading things like "seems", "flashing", "flexing". What the heck?

You're confused, lost, and ready to pay somebody to do this, or give up. But don't. I am by no means a computer expert or a modding guru but I have figured it out so that means you can to!
Lets talk about modding and or hacking (changing anything from how it came from the manufacturer) Hack? No Im not taking about anything illegal, but the term is used to express the idea. You "hack" into an area of the phone or Ipod the manufacturer didn't want you to access :-) Why mod it at all? Well simple. I paid good money for this and if I want my kids picture as my outer LCD picture then by golly I shall have it! lol..Also there are several menu items locked out by certain carriers which I think is bunk anyway but I digress.. The biggest and most common reason for modding is to unlock the phone.

What is unlocking? Simple. Unlocking allows you to take the AT&T sim card out and put in a T mobile Sim card and use the phone. Sim card? you ask..

If you don't know what a sim card is you should stop now and go bake cookies...lmao..not really, It is the card under the battery usually that only allows you to use the phone on that cards carrier. CDMA phones do not have these. Like Sprint, Verizon. Yes you can still mod but unlocking isnt possible. You can just reactivate with whatever CDMA carrier you want :-)

Back to modding..
You can personalize your phone (change the outer picture, make it louder, use different fonts, change the look of it all, etc). Also, changing the software on the phone can increase your reception, your volume, the menu speed, and much more.

Ok now your hooked. How do I do it you scream!

Slow down Tonto..This is complicated stuff so read read read....I got my 500 buck V9 and it took me 4 days to change the outer LCD because I do NOT want a 500 buck paperweight..Do you?
Other basic terms you should know are..

The Flex:
The flex is the files and branding of the phone. It contains all the carrier specific menus and images, like T-Zones for T-Mobile, or whichever graphic branding and text links your carrier puts in the phone.

The Flash:
The flash is the part we change most often. By now we have several types, but basically, the flash is the software of the phone. When you change the flash, it adjusts features, menus, and more. Also, things like the way your phone handles reception or menu speed are handled by flashes. Flashing your phone will not erase any of your media or settings. Then there's the seem.

The Seem:
The seem is the individual pieces that make up the operating system on the phone. Every individual feature on your phone (SMS on/off, will the call end when you close the flip, can you access the web from your phone, etc) is all editable by changing a seem. More on that in the seem editing section, but basically seems are what you will change when you want to change one feature at a time.

So what should you do?
Go to the downloads page and get all the required files and softwares. Backup. then get connected. For some reason this is the single most pain in the butt thing to do for some reason. It should be easy but it isn't. I will do my best to get everything you need in this one place to get you going but feel free to post any questions you have in the forums. Go to www.hackitz.com for more info.

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