This work is in progress and is not finished.

Summary

When you upgrade your Pre to webOS 2.1 using the meta-doctor, Sprint users lose the ability to update their PRL (Preferred Roaming List). This guide aids in restoring that capability. It requires that novacom be installed on a computer because the steps require shell access to the Linux command line of your Pre. This guide DOES NOT discuss illegally obtained and unreleased versions of the software required to do this "normally".

NOTE:
You absolutely CANNOT use files from another phone's /var/lib/software on your phone.
That location contains unique information for YOUR phone.
If you restore someone else's files to your phone, it will become THEIR phone and no longer YOURS.
The only way to fix this situation is to Doctor back to 1.4.5 and start over.

Overview

1) Back up /var/lib/software/* before upgrading to webOS 2.1
2) Restore /var/lib/software/* after upgrading to webOS 2.1
3) Use PmModemUpdater to update your PRL.

Prerequisites

You must have novacom installed and functioning on a computer. You can go about this in a couple ways:

1) Get the novacom installer directly from Palm.
2) Use the Universal Novacom Installer to help do it for you.

Procedure

Step 1

While your Pre is still running webOS 1.4.5, update PRL:

1) Phone --> App-Menu --> Preferences & Accounts --> Update PRL

NOTE:
As of April 21st 2011, some people are getting PRL# 01115, and others are getting PRL# 60678.
It is unknown why at this time.
It is believed that it has something to do with the length of time the account has been open.
The 01115 has some data roaming changes in it that boost data rates for some customers in certain areas.
Unofficial changelogs can be found here.

After this, check to make sure that you have "prefroamlist" on your phone:

1) Plug your Pre into your computer.  DO NOT put it in USB Mode.
2) novaterm (will open a Linux shell to your phone).
3) cd /var/lib/software/ModemFiles
4) ls

You should see a file named "prefroamlist". This is your PRL file.

Step 2

Now back up that location to a tarball in /media/internal (the "Flash Drive" portion of your phone):

1) cd /var/lib/software
2) tar -czvf /media/internal/my_1.4.5_prl_backup.tar.gz *

You will now have a file named "my_1.4.5_prl_backup.tar.gz" in the Flash Drive portion. It's highly recommended that you put your phone in USB mode now and copy that file to your computer.

Step 3

After running the Doctor that you created following the Upgrade Guide, you are ready to restore that information:

1) novaterm
2) cd /var/lib/software
3) tar -xvf /media/internal/my_1.4.5_prl_backup.tar.gz
4) Immediately reboot your phone (Orange+Sym+R is the quickest).

Step 4

Verify that your phone is still your phone and check your PRL version:

1) Device Info: The first page at the top shows your phone number.
2) Device Info: Tap "More Info" at the bottom: Verify PRL.

Sprint PRL Update

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