Guide to Modding your E6


This write-up explains how to perform most of the main modifications that forum members like to make to their E6's.

It is easy-to-follow steps that new users can print off and have all the information that they need in one place to (hopefully) easily and successfully perform the mod. It does not attempt to describe everything you can do with this phone, but covers the following topics:

A1. What are rar files and how do I use them?
A2. How do I copy files to my phone?
B. What is MPKG and LINLoader and how do I install them?
C. How to install programs and games?
D. How to install themes and skins to change the way the screens look?


• Most of the software mentioned here can be found in the Downloads Box. If it is not there then leave a comment.

• If you do not understand something here or have any problems then email me or contact me for troubleshooting.


A. GETTING STARTED

All you need to perform any of the modifications described in this writeup are the following:
• a MotorolaE6 with a SD memory card installed in order to copy files to your phone.
• a Windows PC with at least 1 free USB port
• a Motorola USB data cable that plugs into the mini USB port on the bottom right of your phone and the USB port on your PC
• Motorola Phone Tools (MPT) installed on your PC - this is a program that should have come on the CD that came with your phone and should be used to back up the data on your phone (contacts, calendar, etc) before attempting any of these mods.

Rar Files

Most of the files uploaded on this forum are "rar" files. These are compressed files (similar to zip files) making them smaller to download. You need to install a program that can "unrar" them before you can use them. UnzipThemAll and 7-zip are two free programs that can unrar files. (Other users use Winrar though several users have reported problems installing files unrared with this program), I personally use Winrar. You can find winrar in Download Box

To use a rar file, you download it, then use the tool to unrar it before copying the uncompressed file(s) to the SD card in your phone.

How to Copy Files To/From Your Phone

1. On the E6, go to Application Launcher-->Setup-->USB Mode and ensure that “Mass Storage” is selected
2. Plug in the cable that connects the phone to the USB port on your PC.
3. Open Windows Explorer and ensure that you have “Show hidden files and folders” turned on in Explorer (Tools-->Folder Options-->View-->Show hidden files and folders)
4. You can now use Explorer to view the folders on your SD card on the phone. The SD card will probably be drive E: or F:. The root folder of this SD card shows directly under the Drive in Explorer – but its full path is /mmc/mmca1/ (i.e. if you copy something to the root you are copying it to /mmc/mmca1/).
5. You should see a folder called .system under root. If you do not see it then check you have “Show hidden files” on (see 3 above). You are only able to view/edit files on the SD card – this method does not permit you to view/edit files directly on the phone (which is why you need installer programs like MPKG and linloader to install programs on your phone).
6. You can now copy/cut and paste files to and from your PC to the folders on your SD card.
7. Unplug the phone when done. (Before unplugging, you should always use the unplug or eject hardware facility. This will ensure integrity of the filesystem on the transflash card).

• MPKG - a package installer that will allow you to install executable app packages of type **.pkg (similarly to a java app installer). Once MPKG installer is installed you can copy files of type *.pkg to the root folder of your SD card, then install them by opening the File Manager application on the phone, go to the system folder, tap and hold the stylus on the *.pkg file and a small menu should pop up. Choose 'open with' and then choose the "MPKG" app. This will install the app and let you see it and run it from the phones Application Launcher
• Linloader - this is a program used to run shell scripts. Most of these scripts have the extension **.lin. Once linloader is installed these shell scripts are run by opening the File Manager application on the phone, go to the folder where you have the shell script you want to run, click and hold, choose 'open with' and then choose the "loader" app.

1. Unrar the file. You will see it consists of a folder called .system.
2. Plug in the phone, then use Windows Explorer to copy the entire old .system folder from the SD card to a safe place on your PC (so can recover if necessary). [If you can not see the .system file then you do not have “View hidden files” on].
3. Copy the entire .system folder from the rar file to replace the one on your SD card.
4. Unplug the phone from the PC and restart it. You should see a MPKG icon under Application Launcher on your phone.
5. You NEVER run this program directly by clicking it - rather you open other files that have an extension of *.pkg by holding the stylus on those files until a small menu displays. Select “Open With” and select MPKG. You should hear a bell indicating the program has loaded.

1. Copy the file to the root folder of the SD card.
2. Unplug the phone from the PC then find the file using the phone's File Manager
3. Hold the stylus on the file until the small menu displays. Select "Open With" and choose "MPKG". You should hear a bell indicating the program has loaded.
4. Turn the phone off and on and you should see the new program's icon under the Application Launcher

1. Download the skin you want and install, after unrar you will usually get these filesCode:

2. tlinux1
        tlinux1.pskn
        tlinux1.skn
        iconres.ezx
        logo file in jpg or png (optional)
        off/on gifs
   

[THEME_CONFIG_TABLE]
PowerOnScreen = on.gif
PowerOffScreen = off.gif

1. Hold the stylus on the *.phm file until the small menu appears. Select “Open with” and choose the theme installer. If it has worked you should hear a voice saying “Installation complete”.
2. Restart your phone to make new theme active.