My girlfriend bought a LG KP500 Cookie in Australia as a gift for her brother. It was locked for the Optus network (which means the mobile was useless for other networks.) We assumed it could be unlocked in mobile shops in our country, but no one could unlock it. Finally I decided to unlock it myself. I searched and googled and studied at length various websites and forums. I was able to successfully unlock the cell and return it to my happy girlfriend!!!
Following is the full tutorial for unlocking the LG KP500 by yourself:
STEP 1: SOFTWARES and FILES
You'll need to download only the following three (total nearly about 10 MB). When I personally tried this the first time, I had to download the entire .cab firmware (98.15 MB) and then using another tricky software, extract the following second file. Why waste bandwidth and download unnecessary files?
- LG-Utils KS360 KP500 FR-EN Version 0.4.0 (1.2 MB)
- KP500.flb file (565 KB)
- Flash Loader Utility drivers (7.7 MB)
Save the second file in the root folder in the C: Drive, so that it is accessible as "C:\KP500.flb"
Extract the third file, and install the drivers.
STEP 2: PREPARE YOUR PHONE
Turn off your phone and take out the sim, memory card and the battery. You'll then need to connect the phone to your computer (Windows XP only). Now, the following is very important. For the unlock to work, XP must install your phone as Flash Loader Utility. If it does not, please check that you have installed the correct drivers from above. Restarting may help.
STEP 3: EXTRACT "STATIC_EEP" FILE
You'll need to extract a file called "STATIC_EEP" from your phone using the "KP500-Utils-EN.exe" software. Open the program . You'll see that you have options A-P. Our concern is only option O and P. Now follow the instructions below:
- Type O and press ENTER. This is to begin the process to extract the STATIC_EEP file from your phone. Every phone will have a unique STATIC_EEP file.
- Type \\.\USB1 in the "USB port:" and press ENTER. This is the USB port number where your phone is connected, which is usually USB1. It is best to disconnect all other USB devices at this time.
- Type C:\KP500.flb in the "Sec-pack file:" and press ENTER. This it the location of the KP500.flb file.
- Type STATIC_EEP in the "Data file:" and press ENTER. This is the file you want to extract from your phone.
- If your phone is connected properly and you have entered everything correctly, you'll be prompted that the file has been successfully extracted. You can find the two extracted files (STATIC_EEP_O.big and STATIC_EEP) in the same folder as "KP500-Utils-EN.exe", in this case the "util" folder in desktop.
STEP 4: CALCULATE THE UNLOCK CODE
Copy the "STATIC_EEP" (the 80 KB file) to the root folder of C: Drive. This will make it easier to work. If you have exited "KP500-Utils-EN.exe", run it again.
- Type P and press ENTER. This is to begin the Unlock process.
- Type "C:\STATIC_EEP" in the source file. This is the file we extracted in the earlier step.
- If you have entered the correct location of the file, you'll be prompted with a 8 digit unlock code. Write it down carefully. This is unique to your phone.
STEP 5: UNLOCK YOUR PHONE
Replace your battery (but not the sim) and switch on your phone. Now carefully follow the following final steps:
- Dial 2945#*71001#
- A menu appears with single option "Unlock SIM". Tap the icon at the left-side of that option, which will provide you with additional options.
- Choose "Network Lock". You'll be presented a field to input the 8 digit unlock code.
- Enter the unlock code and press "OK".
- If everything is OK, then you'll get the message the phone has been unlocked. The phone reboots, after which you are free to use it with any network.
I have unlocked successfully all the six KP500s I have tried and I believe this is a near fool-proof method. You may get stuck in any of the above steps. You can post your comment or question and I'll be more than happy to answer it.
Thank you.
