Operator Logos for Nokia 8260 Cell Phones?

Chetna asks: "The Nokia 8260 has proved to be quite a nifty phone...aside from the ever-persistent operator logo that sits on my screen. I can't find anywhere a way to change the operator logo for an 8260 that runs off Rogers AT+T in Canada. The only MCC/MNC I can find is for Microcell Telecom Inc, which (I think) is the operator for the other Nokia models (61xx). Is there any way to get 'ROGERS AT&T' off my screen?"

Same problem here...

[c.r.o.c.o]

And to be honest, I'm stumped! I have the same Nokia 8260, on the Rogers AT&T, and I could not find a way to change the damn logo. I think this is because the Rogers network is TDMA, as opposed to GSM, and it does not support the feature.

This is based on my own observation, since I know for a fact that you can change said logo on the GSM networks in Europe (that is, I've seen this phone with different logos when I was there this summer). Also, if you've ever uploaded custom rings to the phone, you noticed that there is a GSM option, and a TDMA option. So there are definitely some differences due to the protocols used.

On a brighter note, Rogers is moving towards GSM, and while our own cell phones will sill be TDMA, it's a good sign that Rogers is getting in line with the rest of the world. Now only Bell and Telus are left on their own proprietary protocols. For those who do not know, Rogers AT&T, Telus, Bell and Fido are mobile phone companies in Canada.

Re:The point?

[dstone]

The novelty wears off pretty quickly believe me.

Exactly. My worst logo would amuse me longer than the best logo I've seen from a telco!

Microcell

[TheTomcat]

is Fido.
They're GSM.
I used a service called Iguagna SMS to change my Fido, GSM logo.
I don't know about TDMA; good luck with that.

Others have wondered why anyone would want to change their operator logo; for me, it made a huge difference when I did. I never have to fumble through the 4 phones that look exactly the same when my friends and I would all put our phones in the same place, anymore.

That said, Fido's getting too expensive, and they charge a per-minute fee for WAP. bah. I think I'm going to switch to Telus.

only GSM Supports That

[linuxbert]

Only GSM Phones support the logo changeing. fido uses gsm, so all their nokia phones can do it, rogers uses tdma, so its phones cant. GSM requires a sim card, where user information, such as the address book and optional logos/ringtones are stored. the good news however for you rogers users, is that they are comming out with gsm service soon, so if you subscribe to it, you get to change your logos.

Is there an actual logo or just an Alpha tag?

[DasBub]

I'm on Bell Mobility with a Nokia 6185, so I'm not familiar with your phone, but I just have to ask...

...When you say "logo", do you mean an actual graphic or is it just a string of text that says "Rogers AT&T"?

If it's just the text, you need to change the alpha tag. You can try the directions here [idaniel.com].

I hope this is the answer you were looking for.

How To Instructions (Depends on Network), Links

[rjsjr]

Interestingly, I wrote up a little webpage on this and other Nokia 8260 hacks [rjsjr.org] a few weeks ago that includes just these instructions ( http://www.rjsjr.org/hacks/nokia/ ). You can't change the operator tag on all networks, but contrary to a number of the previous posters, this is possible with the phone itself.

Nokia phones have two different alpha tags, the first is a user configurable alpha tag associated with a NAM that is displayed when the network is found on startup. This is easy to set from the system configuration screen (type *3001#12345# to enter the system configuration mode).

The second alpha tag is the designator for the network and can be changed on some, but not all phones/networks. AT&T Wireless San Francisco (my service provider, PSID 40231) configures their network such that you can't change the tag (they disable private network access as you can see from screen 2 DCCH mode in the field test display [see URL above for instructions on entering field test mode]). For providers which do allow you to change the alpha tag, here is the procedure:

1. Type in *3001#12345# to enter the system screen
   
2. Select NAM1 (phones that use multiple NAMs will have to repeat this process for each used NAM)
   
3. Scroll down to PSID/RSID lists and select
   
4. Select P/RSID 1 (it's possible your phone is set to work on another P/RSID code, check to see if the values are non-zero for system id and other fields)
   
5. Scroll down to PSID/RSID, if you're lucky this is set to the correct private system id, but in all likelihood you'll need to look this up. PSIDs are not generall published, you can find a few listed at the-mobile.net [the-mobile.net].
   
6. Scroll to Alpha tag and select
   
7. Type in your desired alpha tag and hit enter
   
8. Power off phone by holding down power key, then turn on again
   
9. Press the Menu button and scroll down to System and select
   
10. Scroll to Manual and select, phone will display a Searching message while it looks up network connections.
    
11. Scoll down to the new tag you programmed in above, you should see a message saying Available: YOUR_TAG, select this. If you see Not available: YOUR_TAG, that means some of your seetings for P/RSID are wrong or that your system doesn't allow private access (see field test mode screen 2 DCCH mode, check for the access bits in the lower left - 100 means your SOL), try to determine the correct system ID and other parameters and try again.

Generally speaking, the Nokia 8260 (US AMPS/TDMA/PCS TDMA) is a severely crippled version of the Nokia 82xx series. It lacks both the data cable (M2Bus, the grid of pin holes found under the battery once you take off the rear cover) and infrared interfaces that many of the GSM versions include and also has a number of fun features disabled.

For more info, see my page of Nokia 8260 Hacks [rjsjr.org] ( http://www.rjsjr.org/hacks/nokia/ ) which includes some other fun hacks like monitoring the network in field test mode, mirroring email through AT&T SMS, downloading rings, automating voice mail passwords, and using calling groups. There are links for more resources from that page.

... rjs

A Clarification on Logos v. Alpha Tags

[rjsjr]

A point of clarification, the 8260 can't do any graphical logos to my knowledge (other 82xx versions can have logos set by the operator or downloaded through an M2Bus cable or IR interface using LogoManager). These instructions are for changing the alphanumeric tag at the top of the cell phone screen ("AT&T" in my case) when attached to the home network (you should be able to make similar changes for roaming network modes, though I haven't tried that out myself).

... rjs

LogoManager

[E-Prime]

Use the tool LogoManager (1.22 is the latest, I believe) to extract your MNC/MCC settings, download/upload logos, etc.

Just google for it, should be easy to find. Requires either a cable or IR port, though.