Get Free Wireless Web on Your Motorola/nextel/boost Phone

Today I will teach you how to get free wireless web on your nextel/motorola/boost phone.

for this instructable, I will be using a Motorola i450 on the Boost Mobile network. First, you will need to know your phone number, and have an e-mail account (any works). you will need to mail the phone a link to any site, BUT I have a preferable one, http://cellphonerepair.org/wap.htm . It is a collaboration of all kinds of mobile formatted pages, that will display nicely on your screen. you will want to mail it to your number@MYboostmobile.com (mine would look like this "1541591XXXX@myboostmobile.com")

By doing this, when you click the link in the text message you have e-mailed to the phone, it avoids the authentication process of logging on to their network. ta-da, you have the web on your phone. don't stop reading quite yet!! there's more to come... XD

The browser included in the phone is called "OpenWave" it's a cheap-o browser, that can hardly interpret the html language, therefore throwing a LOT of content errors. it took me a while, but I got the solution, and it's name is Opera Mini. it's a full HTML browser, that can handle anything on the web, as long as it isn't flash, or java (app).

What I had to get:

1. USB data cable for Motorola phones.
2. Drivers for the phone (drivers make hardware work).
3. iDEN JAL (Java Application Loader
4. both the opera .jar and .jad files.
5. a text editor

1. I got the USB cable off ebay for $1.99 (4 bucks shipping)
2. www.driverguide.com has the proper drivers.
3.iDEN JAL, I got from motorola's developer network. http://developer.motorola.com/docstools/idenjal/
sorry folks, you'll have to subscribe to iDEN before you can get it, but it's free, and handy as all get-out
4. I got the generic version of opera mini, for compatibility reasons, both found here: http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-3.1.8295-advanced-int.jad
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-3.1.8295-advanced-int.jar
5. I used window's notepad.

Plug the USB cable into your computer, then into the phone. it will search for drivers, and will fail. so, install the drivers you got in step 2. once completed, install the iDEN JAL on your computer. run JAL, and click "connect to phone" and it should connect within 10 seconds, giving you a list of all java apps on the handset.

so you know how to re-name files. big whoop. do you know how to do it the right way? doubtful. fret not little one, I have the answer. for this step you will need the text editor, and both the .jad, and.jar file I had you get in step 2. rename both files "mini", then open mini.JAD in the text editor it will look like this:

MIDlet-Version: 3.1
MIDlet-1: Opera Mini, /i.png, Browser
MIDlet-Data-Size: 25600
MIDlet-Description: Opera Mini
MIDlet-Icon: /i.png
MIDlet-Info-URL: http://mini.opera.com/
MIDlet-Install-Notify: http://mini.opera.com/n/8295Aviprdome_int
MIDlet-Jar-Size: 99007
MIDlet-Jar-URL: opera-mini-advanced.jar
MIDlet-Name: Opera Mini
MIDlet-Vendor: Opera Software ASA
RIM-COD-SHA1-1: 4d d4 40 53 96 fa cf e0 be 3a c2 85 3d da c7 24 e0 54 79 dd
RIM-COD-Size-1: 71624
RIM-COD-URL-1: http://mini.opera.com/builds/releases/operette-3.1.8295/operette-hifi-1.cod
RIM-COD-Creation-Time: 1181563574
RIM-COD-Module-Dependencies: net_rim_cldc,net_rim_os
RIM-COD-Module-Name: operette-hifi
RIM-COD-SHA1: 97 2b 74 33 38 83 83 ea 2e 6e 3c 1b 13 f6 89 65 e7 98 89 3c
RIM-COD-Size: 70900
RIM-COD-URL: http://mini.opera.com/builds/releases/operette-3.1.8295/operette-hifi.cod
Content-Folder: Applications
MicroEdition-Configuration: CLDC-1.0
MicroEdition-Profile: MIDP-2.0

take a look at the end of line 9. that is telling the JAL where the .jar is located. if we renamed it, the file won't be found, so we fist that by changing the .jad file, so the line looks like this:

MIDlet-Jar-URL: mini.jar

now save the change made to the .jad file, and on to the next step.

ok, so once your phone is connected in JAL, you will want to click the "Download" button it will bring up a directory, navigate to mini.jad and click "open" it should take off and load the .jar file onto the phone, once it has completed that task, disconnect the phone from the cable, flip it open go "Menu button>java applications>Opera Mini" when you open opera mini, it will do the actual installation. when you run opera for the first time, it will ask you to press random keys. no, this isn't a practical joke, it needs random data, to determine encryption. don't ask.

ta-da you have the full web on your phone. it will take a while to get used to how opera works, but it is the BEST browser out there. Nice thing about this little "Hack" is that it doesn't show up on your account info. I called boost mobile data support, and they said I have no record of ever accessing any web pages. There's more wonderful java apps to come, I am working on getting a functional and free GPS navigation system installed.
But until that day, my friend. you'll just have to stick to surfing instructables.com from anywhere you are.

-BW