Unbranding...

Is there any advantages to getting your phone unbranded? Why would one want to do this? are there any downsides? Is it hard? Sorry for so many questions.. Kinda been wondering for a while.. thanks! :)

Well if you mean unbranding by replacing the case that has the carrier name on it, nope none other than looks.

If you mean unbranding by removing the Carrier Splash screen as it boots up. Nope no advantage to doing that, and not something you can do without fiddling with the ROM inside the phone.

Besides asthetics, there is no down/upside...what matters is what is under the hood.

I've been led to believe that unbranding threads are sort of frowned upon.

I had done it to my bold, and personally I thought the RIM splash screen looked like crap compared to the AT&T one. You also lose the AT&T ringtones & Themes (not a big deal)

So I liked it better branded.

Originally Posted by bbergeson

I had done it to my bold, and personally I thought the RIM splash screen looked like crap compared to the AT&T one. You also lose the AT&T ringtones & Themes (not a big deal)

So I liked it better branded.

Same here. I unbranded, but went back after a few days.

Originally Posted by jlsparks

I've been led to believe that unbranding threads are sort of frowned upon.

We do not encourage our member to modify their BlackBerry beyond what the Research in Motion engineers have certified is safe and reliable.

In order to "debrand" a device, it is nessary to use software that is the property of RIM and should never have been distributed.

The downside is the risk of bricking your BlackBerry, either through an error in use, or when Research in Motion detects an abnormal device attempting to access the network.

We have several members that have posted the consequences of an unauthorized modification. Research in Motion will, and does, ban them from their network.

Originally Posted by Reed McLay

We do not encourage our member to modify their BlackBerry beyond what the Research in Motion engineers have certified is safe and reliable.

In order to "debrand" a device, it is nessary to use software that is the property of RIM and should never have been distributed.

The downside is the risk of bricking your BlackBerry, either through an error in use, or when Research in Motion detects an abnormal device attempting to access the network.

We have several members that have posted the consequences of an unauthorized modification. Research in Motion will, and does, ban them from their network.

Eeeep I didn't know it was so bad! I guess I won't be trying this then! Thanks for that.

I guess my Bell startup screen isn't so bad, just kind of weird since I'm using it with Fido. Hehe

Originally Posted by herewego83

Yea I tried that, and it says invalid pin or imei... I spoke to RIM and they said the pin was connected to a pearl in spain and the fact that my log in screen was tmobile, even though tmobile does not sell the 8310, suggests something funky is going on (its fake) and to return it to the seller..

...
wish me luck guys

Just saying....

For how long and how often you see the boot up screen, this should just be left alone.

Originally Posted by bbergeson

I had done it to my bold, and personally I thought the RIM splash screen looked like crap compared to the AT&T one. You also lose the AT&T ringtones & Themes (not a big deal)

So I liked it better branded.

I got rid of the AT&T themes and preloaded wallpapers by using Crackmem. I only see the splash screen for 3 seconds anyway, when the BB boots, so it doesn't matter what the splash screen looks like to me. I don't think the AT&T one is bad anyway.

The AT&T splash screen was really annoying on a dumb phone I used to have. Not only did it appear when the phone booted, but it made a loud sound. The BB doesn't make any sounds when it boots, so the splash screen does not bother me.

Using Crackmem is a great way to free up memory by getting rid of vendor installed stuff that actually does take up space, and there is nothing dodgy about using Crackmem.