Flashing your phone in General

This guide is for general flashing of your V3c/V3m phone. This process probably works on most Moto phones, but my only experience so far is with the V3m. It is NOT intended for flashing your phone to a different carriers firmware and/or trying to get it to work on your current carriers network. This guide is just for the flashing process itself and ONLY for flashing your phone as outlined below. ALSO, let it be known that flashing your phone is ONLY for more ADVANCED users who already have a basic idea of which phone and f/w you actually have. If you are not even sure what firmware came stock on your phone, STOP, DO NOT USE THIS GUIDE until you have done enough research to know the basics about your phone. If your V3m is from Verizon and it uses a MEID to register on VZW's network, or has the newer firmware version starting with 24.1_, STOP AND DO NOT USE THIS GUIDE!! It is ONLY intended for use in the following conditions:

---

1. Restoring your original software version to your phone in case you REALLY screwed up doing some sort of seem edit(s) incorrectly.
2. The original software version to your phone in case you had a flash to a different carrier's f/w go bad.
3. If you want to try to use your V3m on a different carrier for which the MONSTER flash file has been leaked.

So, I hope I have made this clear. AGAIN, this is only intended as a 'generic' process to flash your phone, and that being said, here is the only software you will need for this guide:

1. The USB drivers for your phone.
2. RSD Lite 4.3
3. The PROPER flash file that you need for this process. No links here, because YOU will HAVE to know what flash file you need/want to do to use this guide.
4. I will assume that you've already installed this software, so I will not elaborate on their prospective install processes.

One little note about the flash file. Depending on where you obtained it, it may have been compressed one way or another, so BEFORE you proceed, make sure you have the extracted it, if needed, and that it has the .shx extension on it.

Finally, make SURE your phone's battery is fully charged before you proceed, as the phone will not be charging while it is being flashed. ALSO, remove any Micro SD or Transflash card from your phone BEFORE flashing.

OK, the process:

1. Plug in your phone and then fire up RSD Lite 4.3. If this is the first time running RSD Lite, you may get a few 'new hardware found' messages. Wait until your phone is shown as "Connected" in the lower window.
2. Then to the right of the box at the top that says "Filename", click the "..." button and browse to the .shx file you want to use.
3. After the "File Properties" box fills in with the info about your flash file, go ahead and click the "Start" button. Again, if this is your first time, another "Found new Hardware" baloon may pop up about "Flash Interface", but then it will continue to flash your phone.
4. Wait. This takes about 10-15 minutes. You will see a few different processes under the "Status" tab while your phone is being flashed and under the "Progress" tab it will show the progress.
5. When it's done, your comp and phone will 'beep' a few times while the "Status" tab shows "Phone is being rebooted". Sometimes it may go ahead and say "Please manually power up this phone", but some times (in my experience) it will not.
6. Either way, when it says under the "Progress" tab, "Executed: 100%" and the screen on your phone says "Charging Battery", it is safe to unplug your phone from your computer. So go ahead and do so. Then go ahead and exit out of RSD Lite. You will get a window titled, "SDL" with a warning about "Application is currently busy. Closing . . . may DAMAGE the attached device, etc." It is OK to click the "Yes" button. After all, you HAVE already unplugged your phone, right?
7. Congrats, you've flashed your phone.

Now all you have to do is navigate through the menu system on your phone and perform a "Master Reset" and a "Master Clear" in THAT order. Since this guide is 'generic' there are too many ways to find these options, but basically, find where ever the "Initial Settings" or "Initial Setup" menu is on your phone and that is where you will find these options.

When you find the "Master Reset" option, you will be asked for your phone's "Security Code" or SPC. You should be able to just enter '000000' (or six zero's). When asked whether to proceed, chose the "Yes" or "OK" button. Your phone will 'flicker' a bit while it goes through a 'soft re-boot'. Then when it's done go ahead and do the same steps for the "Master Clear".

Congrats, and I hope this guide has helped.