Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Nokia N73 hard reset

How To Reset Nokia N73 Lock Code Or Security Code?


What will you do if you forget your Nokia N73 lock code (a.k.a. security code)? Well, if money is not a matter, just throw it to recycle bin.
Otherwise, pay the capable Nokia BB5 locksmith to unlock it or search the web for a way to crack it at your pace (save some bucks for paying phone bill).

If that really happen to you, read and follow this little “trick” to unlock the Nokia BB5 smart phone (such as Nokia N73) at your own risk, because I’d sold the N73 last month to buy a touch touch baby (Nokia 5800).

So, I couldn’t prove the trick and I’ve no idea what will happen after completing the steps suggested by a Chinese blogger. Personally, I will try it anyway and I don’t believe this trick will corrupt the phone firmware or something bad.

But then again, I warn you and don’t blame me if it doesn’t work:

Unlock Nokia N73 or Nokia BB5 smart phones – Reset the security/lock code

According to the China site, there are two ways to format Nokia N73 or smart phone running Symbian OS S60 3rd Edition UI. These two ways are known as “soft reset” and “hard reset”.

A “soft reset” is triggered by pressing the *#7370# secret code while the phone is unlock and power on. This secret code will format N73 phone memory (all user data files are deleted) and restore settings to factory default (thus the lock code will be reset to 12345 again).

However, Symbian OS will ask for a valid lock code (even the phone is unlocked) before proceed to format the phone memory :-(

On the other hand, a “hard reset” (which I didn’t test while owning the N73) is said able to force Symbian to format phone memory and restore settings to factory default without asking for a valid lock code.

Again, a “hard reset” requires a secret code. Although there is no technical skill required to trigger a “hard reset”, you might need another hand to help (if it’s too tough to complete the steps at your own):

First, backup the user data (contacts, messages or SMS, notes, calendar entries, etc) if you’re able to (i.e. the phone is not locked).

Next, the core steps to trigger a “hard reset” via secret code:

1) Power off the phone.

2) Press these 3 keys simultaneously: CALL key, ASTERISK key (i.e. *), THREE key.

3) Don’t release that 3 keys until I say so.

4) Press the POWER button to power on the phone again and wait.

5) After the NOKIA logo appears, the “Formatting…” keyword will appear after couple of minutes. Now, you’re safe to release that 3 keys.

Finally, the N73 should have been formatted (hard reset) and ready to configure the phone as if it’s just out of the box (suppose the “hard reset” secret code really works).

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