Firmware in general release:

• August 2003: FCS of phone, ships with firmware version WF30.
  (We all wish for the firmware used during the Sprint trials some months
  earlier that included the speaker phone)
  
• March 2004: Sprint releases firmware version WK19.
  WK19 fixes the Thinkpad IR problem, and improves microphone pickup.
  It also introduces the "network hang on idle timeout" bug.
  New and refurbished units being distributed begin to appear with this firmware a month or so later.
  
• (about) July 2004: Sprint withdraws the WK19 firmware.
  Marks it as "do not use" for upgrades.
  New/refurbished phones still ship with WK19.
  
• August 2004: Sprint releases firmware version XG23.
  It fixes the network hang problem introduced in WK19.

Ok, I just spoke with Brian (who was very helpful) and this is the info you will need before going to the Sprint store.

This update was released to all Sprint stores, but not all Sprint techs know about it.
What you need to do is tell them to look in their system in the i500 folder (possibly may need to click on view all files) It should list xg23. Also the phone will need to be reset (pop the battery for a few seconds) once it freezes up (which it tends to do after this update). You will lose all sync'd phone #'s and software.
It does require a special cable and some stores may not have it, you may have to wait for them to order the cable.
It is the PST cable for the I500/I700.
Hopefully this will help the people who are getting clueless reps at Sprint stores.
Thanks...

First time poster.. I'm Brian and I'm the asst. manager of the SPCS store in Framingham (not tech). I was the one that personally updated jlv's phone the other day. Couple key notes, the phone's screen turns to a colorful checker board when updating and then just sits while the program "thinks" it's updating. AFter about 15 minutes, one can disconnect the cable from the phone, pop the battery off, pop it back on and you are off and running. For some reason the program doesn't tell you when it's done upgrading.


The tech who "Sprintrep" talked to earlier this morning is a NEW tech who just started working for the company 10 days ago so please don't be bashing him.. He's probably one of my hardest workers and is not aware of every little detail yet.

If there are any questions, feel free to post on here. I won't be monitoring this site often.. you can reference Howardforums.com for any questions on who i am or references..

Thanks

I didn't mean to seem like I was bashing your rep, if you're talking about me that is. I appreciate your help too Brian.
Thanks

No just referring in general (even though the "argueing with my store to get me on the phone" was a little uncalled for).. not specifically to you. I know there are a lot of people who don't know what they are doing in this company and it's trying to get better. Just saying in general that my tech wasn't aware of that software and frankly couldn't tell anyone what it does because other people post how techs don't know what they are doing... Learning curve.. lol

Now if I could get the local Sprint PCS stores in Louisville to help me with this, I would be WAY happy.

The local Sprint store called me and said that the WF30 is the MOST recent update and the only thing he could do was swap my phone, which I don't want to do.

I will try to discuss about the newest firmware again to see if it helps.

John

No need to thank me.. It was my pleasure.. Sorry it took so long to get things worked out.. Hope the phone is functioning better..

The store just needs to open the I500 folder and at the drop down where it asks for what extension of the file.. click on "all files". It will then show the WF30 and XG23.

How's this.. If you can get me a login ID for a rep in that store, I will personally email them the XG23 file so they can copy it into the program and update it for you.

But I can assure you it's there.

Yeah, I definitely need to work on my wording. It wasnt' that bad, I think you were in a meeting or something and I was just being impatient, hopefully I didn't seem rude to your reps.
Thanks again.

As an update, I called the store in Louisville on Bardstown Road and talked to the rep, not tech, there Chris. He says they DO have the XG23 but the WF30 showed as a newer version so that is what they put on my phone earlier. If I bring it back they will put the XG23 on. So, until tomorrow when I can take it in there, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

It's things like this that really tick me off. They are full of sh!t.. The new software/PRL page that explains the fixes DOES NOT have the XG23 software on it yet.. which means there is no way that it can show PRIOR to the release of XG23.

This is why a lot of tech's are not aware of it. You won't find something you don't know to look for. It will be a different story when that sheet is updated.

The phone's been great since the upgrade. I won't call you 'tech' anymore, either. And I will try to stop in sometime when I get out of work while you are still open. Thank you for all your help!

(And sorry for causing you this ruckus today)