Chovy’s Blog

I spent the better part of the last 3 hours scouring the web for a way to unlock the Seimens A56 model cell phone I got for free from a friend.

Turns out, the only viable solution is to buy an unlocked phone off ebay or craigslist.org (or one that was previously on the same network as my current provider – ie: Cingular or AT&T, etc.), or simply sign up a new plan and get a free phone (but then that would be giving in to these greedy bastard cell phone companies, who lock the cell phones in the first place to keep us from switching phones easily, without buying a new plan).

Well, all is not totally lost, although for this model it seems to be a waste of time, trust me, I searched everywhere. I found two plausable solutions for unlocking the Seimens A56:

1) buy a data cable (worth more than the free phone I got), and “flash/upgrade” to the C56 using software from seimens.com, then use some “remote unlocking” service. (see below for another thread about using free software).

2) buy a used phone that was previously used with the same provider you’re on now, or find a used phone that is “unlocked”, which can be used anywhere in the world, with any provider (** best solution **)

Other models:

3) If you’re lucky enough to have a cell phone that supports “remote unlocking”, you can try this site: http://www.westerna.org (see bottom left of site for manufacturers) or http://key.westerna.org (click on phone manufacturer). These guys cost money too, I think it’s $12. They will email you the unlock code. They seem to be the most legitimate, and can unlock the widest range of models.

If you have a Nokia phone, you should be able to unlock it free, online. Kodos to Nokia for not being “cellular nazis” with their customers: http://unlock.nokiafree.org/

To find out if your cell phone is currently locked (at least with the seimens A56), you can take out the sim card, and then type: *#0606#, you’ll get some crap, then hit the “Info” button, on mine the 2nd line says: “multiple lock”, the rest say “Unbarred”. This means that Cingular (the previous provider used with the phone), has locked the phone, so you can’t use it with any other provider, except – you guessed it! – Cingular (not even AT&T, even though they merged recently).

For the online “remote unlocking”, you have to get the IMEI phone identifier number, which can be found by re-inserting the sim card, and typing *#06#. You can also press the “Info” button and see some more info about your phone.

Some cool phone phreaking forums I came across are:

http://www.howardforums.com (Excellent source)

http://forum.westerna.org/index.php (Ok, kind of dead at least in helpful responses)

http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/archive/index.php/t-119476 (the most detailed thread I could find about unlocking the Seimens A56 model, with a data cable and free software).

I found a cool little app (freeware), which means it’s absolutely free, no crippled version! You can download it here: http://awc.smurphy.co.uk/ It’s called AWC “Automatic Wallpaper Changer” written by Steve Murphy.

Easy to install and configure on XP, supports recursive directories. You can download some of my own Flower Wallpapers from gardening tips.

Here’s a song I listen to every Christmas Eve. When I went to church today, for the first time in about a year, a solo guitar player sang the song. It has even more meaning to me now, then it did when I first heard it…

Here are the lyrics, you can listen to it here as an MP3 file:

Belleau Wood

by Joe Henry & Garth Brooks

Oh, the snowflakes fell in silence,

Over Belleau Wood that night,

For a Christmas truce had been declared

By both sides of the fight.

As we lay down in our trenches,

The silence broke in two

By a German soldier singing

A song that we all knew…

Though I did not know the language,

The song was ‘Silent Night’.

Then I heard my buddy whisper,

‘All is calm, and all is bright’,

Then the fear and doubt surrounded me

‘Cause I’d die if I was wrong,

But I stood up in my trench

And I began to sing along…

Then across the frozen battlefield

Another’s voice joined in

Until one by one each man became

A singer of the hymn.

Then I thought that I was dreaming,

For right there in my sight

Stood the German soldier

‘Neath the falling flakes of white,

And he raised his hand and smiled at me

As if he seemed to say

Here’s hoping we both live

To see us find a better way.

Then the devil’s clock struck midnight

And the skies lit up again,

And the battlefield where heaven stood

Was blown to hell again.

But for just one fleeting moment

The answer seemed so clear:

Heaven’s not beyond the clouds,

It’s just beyond the fear.

No, heaven’s not beyond the clouds,

It’s for us to find Here.