How to unlock your Sunrocket Gizmo for use with another service (Linksys SPA 2102-R)

Background

Way back in  July of 2007 I signed up for VoIP phone service with Sunrocket.  They sent me a telephone adapter, called a “Analog Telephone Adapter” or ATA, which connected to my land-line phone and my internet connection, enabling me to make calls over the internet from any normal phone.  I enjoyed the service for about one month before Sunrocket went out of business.

Sunrocket did not ask for their device back.  Unfortunately, they had “provisioned” the ATA so that it only worked with Sunrocket’s service.  You couldn’t use it anywhere else.  Someone developed a solution for unlocking the device, but I lacked some critical knowledge and couldn’t make the solution work for me.  So I ended up with a perfectly good piece of hardware that I couldn’t use.  I put it on a shelf in the back of my closet, and there it remained for the next 2 years, like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince.

Instructions for non-hackers

Since then, I’ve learned a few things, and I figured out what I did wrong during my previous unlocking attempts.  I unlocked my device last week, and I’m going to show you how I did it.  I’m going to base this post on the same set of instructions I used, but I’ll fill in the gaps that prevented me from succeeding 2 years ago.

So if you’re like me, and have a Sunrocket ATA sitting unused on a shelf, read on and I’ll show you how to unlock it and use it with another service.  These instructions work for the Linksys or Sipura SPA2102-R.

I’ll also show you how I set up my unlocked ATA for free home phone service using Google Voice and the Gizmo Project.

Terminology

Sunrocket called their device a “Gizmo.”  I’m going to refer to it as an “ATA.” That’s the correct technical term, and by using it, we’ll avoid some potential confusion later on.

How it works

This unlocking method uses a Live CD.  This is a CD containing a bootable operating system, often based on Linux.  This means you can put the live CD into any computer’s CD-ROM drive, and run the operating system off the CD rather than running the computer’s regular operating system.  The unlocking procedure for the ATA uses a specialized Live CD that automates certain difficult technical parts of the procedure.  If you don’t understand what that means, that’s OK.  I’ll walk you through the process.

Obligatory Legal Disclaimer

I will tell you exactly what I did to unlock my ATA.  This process worked perfectly for me, and I assume it will work for you, but I make no guarantees.  By continuing, you agree that I will not be held responsible for anything that may go wrong, including damage to your equipment.

Here is a legal disclaimer from the site which provides the original instructions.  Please read it carefully before continuing.

Important Information – Read First

1. DO NOT RUN THIS CD IF YOU CURRENTLY USE TELEBLEND FOR PHONE SERVICE
2. You assume all risk associated with running the LiveCD. Any damage to persons, property, or data are the sole responsibility of the user. By downloading and running the CD, you acknowledge and accept these risks and hold the author(s) of the various programs, scripts, and methods harmless for any and all damages. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, do not download or use the LiveCD.

Still here?  OK, let’s get started.

Things you’ll need

1. A locked Linksys or Sipura SPA2102-R.  Check the label on your device to make sure it’s the right device.  As far as I know this method does not work for other devices.
2. A desktop or laptop computer that has a CD burner and runs Windows XP or Vista  This also works on Intel Macs, but these instructions are for Windows.  If you have multiple computers, I suggest you use one to view the instructions and another to unlock the device.
3. A blank CD-ROM.
4. A touch-tone phone.  Not a cell phone.  This is the old fashioned kind that you plug into the wall.  Remember those? 
5. An RJ45 ethernet cable.  That’s the one that looks like a phone cord but has a bigger plug.  If you have high speed internet you probably have one of these running between your cable or DSL modem and your computer.  If not, they are easily available at Radio Shack or Walmart.

Instructions for creating the Live CD

Note: Burning a Live CD is not the same as copying a file to a CD.  You have to burn a CD image or it will not work. If you know what this means and are familiar with the process, feel free to use the software of your choice.  These instructions will assume you are using InfraRecorder.

1. Download and install InfraRecorder.  Here is a direct link to download the installer program.  This is a free piece of software which you will use to burn the Live CD for this project.  The program you download is an installer.  Run it and follow the prompts to install InfraRecorder.
2. Download unlocker.iso from SourceForge.com.
3. Insert a blank CD into your CD drive.
4. Open InfraRecorder.  You will see 6 buttons.  Click on the one that says, “Write Image.”  Select “unlocker.iso” and click “Open.”  Then click “OK.”  When InfraRecorder is finished, your Live CD will be ready.

Instructions for unlocking the ATA

1. Place the Live CD in the CD drive of the computer you will use to unlock the ATA.  You will need to change the boot order, booting from the Live CD instead of the hard drive.  To do this, restart the computer and watch the screen carefully.  Before Windows loads, you should see something like, “To change boot order, press ESC.”  It may be a different key depending on your computer.  Two of my computers use the “Escape” key, and another uses F12.  You won’t have much time, so be ready.  If you don’t hit the key in time, Windows will load, and you’ll have to restart again.
2. You’ll be shown the “Boot Device” menu.  Use the arrow keys to choose “CD/DVD ROM” and press enter.  The unlocker program will load.  You’ll see a lot of text and an image of a clover, followed by instructions and prompts.
3. The unlocker will walk you through the rest of the procedure.  You’ll need to plug in the ATA’s power adapter, connect the computer to the ATA’s Internet port (the blue one) with an ethernet cable, and also connect a phone to the ATA.  Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.  The program will ask you to enter certain commands from the phone keypad.  There will be a few pauses, but they shouldn’t last more than a few minutes.  (Update: 9/20/09 – This step originally said to connect the computer to the ATA’s Ethernet port.  A reader pointed out that this was a mistake, and I have updated this step to reflect that.  As long as you follow the instructions presented by the live CD unlocker, you should be fine.  Also, while entering commands from the phone keypad, you may get a message that your password has not been accepted.  I think that happened to me.  Ignore the message and continue with the process, and it should work.)
4. The unlocker will tell you when it is finished.  It will then give you the choice of installing to your computer or shutting down.  Do NOT install to your computer. Follow the instructions to shut down.  If you don’t understand the instructions, press and hold the power button until your computer turns off.  You can then turn it back on and let it boot normally into Windows.

Instructions for setting up your ATA with another service

To configure your ATA, you’ll need to access its web-based interface.  Here’s how:

1. Connect your computer’s ethernet port to your ATA’s ethernet port (the yellow one).
2. Open a web browser and go to the following address: http://192.168.0.1/admin/voice/advanced.  You’ll be prompted for a username and a password.  The username is admin and the password is qwe%zxc5.
3. Select Voice, then Provisioning.  Make sure “Provision Enable,” “Resync On Reset,” and “Resync From SIP” are set to “no.”  Click “Submit All Changes.”  This will ensure that your device cannot be hijacked and locked to another service provider.
4. Select “System.”  Make sure “Enable Web Admin Access” is set to “yes.”  Choose and enter secure and memorable passwords in the “Admin Password” and “User Password” fields.  Click “Submit All Changes.”  This will ensure that you can always get back in and change settings by using the URL above.
5. Select “Regional.”  You’ll see a lot of settings you don’t understand.  Ignore them.  Scroll to the bottom of the page.  Under “Miscellaneous,” set your local date and time zone.  Click “Submit All Changes.”  This will ensure that the time on your phone’s caller ID is correct.
6. To find out how I set up my unlocked ATA for free home phone service using Google Voice and the Gizmo Project, click here.  To configure it for other services, continue reading.
7. Select “Line 1.”  Again, you’ll see a lot of settings that look like gibberish.  Ignore these.  The only settings you need to worry about are under “Line Enable,” “SIP Settings,” “Proxy and Registration,” and “Subscriber Information.”  “Line Enable” is at the very top.  Set this to “yes.”  You’ll need to get the rest of the information from your VoIP provider.  Make sure to click “Submit All Changes” when you’re finished.
8. If you have 2 phone lines, select “Line 2,” and repeat the process with the information for your second line.
9. Make sure your ATA is connected to the internet.  The blue internet port should be connected with your internet connection.  You can either connect it directly to your modem, or you can plug it into your router.  If you don’t have a router, you’ll need to plug your computer into the ATA’s yellow ethernet port to access both the internet and the ATA’s web interface.
10. Make sure your phone(s) are connected to the ports- i.e. your intended line 1 phone should be connected to the jack labeled “Line 1″ and so on.
11. Test your settings by making calls to and from your VoIP phone number(s).

Congratulations!  You’re finished!

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References:

• http://gizmopasswords.blogspot.com/2007/08/instructions-for-livecd.html – These are the instructions that got me started.
  

© 2009, Jonathan Johnson. All rights reserved.