If you own a Nokia touch-screen device with Symbian 60 5th edition, I am pretty sure you’d complaining the limited choices of the homescreen in the device (except N97 and N97 mini, they are widget-supported which I still don’t understand why it doesn’t get ported to other Symbian 60 5th Edition phone). The best homescreen provided by Nokia is the ‘Contact Bar’ (screenshot at left), which seems nice at first glance, but it does take up huge amount of RAM, and laggy. Compared to the widget homescreen in N97/N97 mini (screenshot at right), the default homescreen doesn’t really seems appeal for long-time smartphone users (at least for me). I was always hoping someone is able to port the N97 homescreen to other phones, and apparently someone did it, though it is still in beta stage and there is no easy way to get installed in Nokia X6/5800/5530.
‘Contact Bar’ Homescreen N97 Homescreen
But after being a Nokia X6 owner for about half a year, it seems that my hope has been realized (though not the native widget homescreen in N97, but still far more better than the default one) – Introducing Orange Tsunami Homescreen. If you have no idea how this homescreen looks like, screenshots after the jump.
Orange Tsunami Homescreen Theme
The left screenshot shows the Orange Tsunami Homescreen theme in action, with the widgets in the middle area of homescreen, and four shortcuts (not customizable though) at the bottom bar. If you wish to have your homescreen’s widgets temporarily disappear, you only need to scroll the widgets (yes, the homescreen is scrollable!) to the top and voila!, it became a clean homescreen, as shown in right screenshot. Easy isn’t?
As you can see in the screenshots, Orange Tsunami Homescreen is a widget-supported homescreen, though the widgets are all pre-installed and almost non-expandable. There are three pages of widgets available for you to add into the homescreen (just tap or drag the icons), and I find them pretty adequate for a homescreen (definitely far better than the default ones).
If you curious about the source of this homescreen, it is actually ripped from a Nokia X6 (surprised?) from Orange. Someone rip the whole homescreen theme and make it work on other S60 5th edition devices (Nokia X6, 5800, 5530 etc.), and since the first version, the Orange Tsunami Homescreen has been heavily modified by community (change icons, transparency, extra widgets etc.). So how about the memory usage? You’d surprise. Being a widget-supported homescreen, it doesn’t take up much the memory available, leaving the extra memory for other applications. Doesn’t believe it? Check below for the memory available in my Nokia X6 after a clean restart with Orange Tsunami Homescreen turned on.
How to install it?
Visit the dedicated thread for this Orange Tsunami Homescreen in Daily Mobile Forum. From there you can choose different style of the Orange Tsunami homescreens modified from different modders (there is a Malaysia modder as well – cnx7), but if you are using the original Nokia X6 (not sure about other model) without any extra homescreen theme except the default one (basic, shortcuts, contact bars), you have to look for the installer that mentioned something like Orange Tsunami + Orange Tornado (My wild guess is that Orange Tornado is needed to run the homescreen), those for Orange Tsunami only is unable to get installed (Prompting ‘Update error’ during installation). I would recommend the modded homescreen by Sabinkumar (which I have used to produce the screenshots above), with Nokia icons. Just in case you can’t download the installer from the forum, I had it uploaded to my Mediafire as well.
“Wait a minute. I can’t get it installed.” you said. Yes, the installers are all unsigned version, which means that in order to install them, you have to either hack your phone to accept any installations (which I do not recommend), or get yourself a three-years certificate specifically for your phone to sign the application from OPAD. It might take some time to obtain the certificate (about 1 day in my case), but once you get the cert, you can install most of the unsigned applications and games available in the wild. The signing is quite a straight forward stuff, so I will not include them in this article, but if you really require help, don’t hesitate to leave me a message, I am more than willing to help you.
In the meantime, enjoy your brand new homescreen for you Nokia X6 and stop jealous for the widget homescreen of N97. Ours is more superior than that. 😛
Techie Talkz 
Unfortunately though if you have a phone on the Orange network, their icons are locked into the firmware and you can’t change them to the Nokia ones.
Hi Marksk,
I see. My phone is on other network so I have no problem in changing the icons. This homescreen still rocks!
Rgds,
Taylor
I hav recently bought nokia X6 16gb,is it really safe to register with OPAD….????it requires IMEI no. of my phone….Please suggest….!!!
Hi Prashant,
I couldn’t say is it really safe or not but with only IMEI number they can’t really do anything. Plus OPDA is a well-known group online, I think it should be OK to register with them to get the signature certificate.
Rgds,
Taylor
hi….. i applied for the certificate from OPAD.. how can i know that they issued me one?
Hi Budiya,
I believe it will take about one day for the release. Check back your account at OPDA and check under licenses, they will have the license files attached.
Rgds,
Taylor
hey ghost301 :
i got the license files. Please tell me how to apply those license
It doesn’t work if you already have the phone from orange with their version of the home screen installed. It just says unable to install already built in.
thanks ghost301
i manged to install the theme….can’t we add contact bar as a widget?
Hi Budiya,
The widgets that can be used in this HS are those available in the menu. I believe there is no (or easy) way to add additional widgets in this HS. As an alternative, you can have a individual button for each contact in the HS.
Rgds,
Taylor
thanx for the info dude…….
Hi Budiya,
No problem mate. Enjoy your homescreen! If you into something new, I suggest you try *spark for symbian, though it’s still in beta, but seems promising. Current stage of the software is still quite buggy and laggy though.
http://www.sparkmyphone.com/
Rgds,
Taylor
hey ghost,
I got small problem.
I had install i tsunami theme on my nokia X6 and now i want to remove that theme and install different kind a tsunami theme.
what my problem is when i install the new tsunami theme it can launch successfully, but my earlier theme icons appearing in my new theme. what should i do to uninstall completely my previous tsunami theme?
thanx for the info dude
http://katz.cd/download/6470307/Software/Widgetizer-1-04-S60v5-mobile
Guys just check this link
i got opda certificate, but tsunami widget unable to install pls help me dude.
Hi venkat,
Have you apply the certificate to the sisx file correctly?
Rgds,
Taylor
Sir, please provide me site to download it.
Hi Kunal Jain,
May I know what content you would like to download? All the links to the homescreen are in the post.
Rgds,
Taylor
i have registered my certificate on OPAD how do i make use of it??
Hi Vikas,
Have you got the cert file from OPDA? If you already have, apply the cert using their application to the sisx file, and you are done. It’s pretty straight forward.
Rgds,
Taylor
how to install certificate in phn ??
hey .
I have applied for certificate and got one and also download the sis x file for phn user but it is is showing that certificate is been expired ???
Hi Rahul,
Do you mean that when you install the sisx file in your phone, your phone prompt that the certificate is expired? If you just requested the certificate for your phone, it should not be expired that soon.
Regards,
Taylor
now i hav founded it correctly .
and it rocks 😐
Thank you !
Hi Rahul,
No problem, glad that you have it installed. Ya, the homescreen definitely rocks!
Rgds,
Taylor
hey rahul,
i have a similar prob of sisx file saying “expired cert.”. how did you figure it out?
hey,
i applied to opda. and it shows a status “normal”. i have got the freesigner.sisx file. but hen i try to install it on my phone nokia x6, it says “expired certificate”. what do i do? i really need dat homescreen.:(
Hi Sharat,
I don’t recall I have a freesigner.sisx for signing file. The signing is done on PC using a tool call SignSISTool which is downloadable from OPDA, and you should have your .key and .cer file from them if your request is approved. The tool is quite straight forward stuff, where you have to browse your .key, .cer, unsigned .sis or .sisx, and your output file name. Let me know if you still have problem signing the app.
Rgds,
Taylor
HEY taylor,
thanks man. i got it.
but i downloaded an orange HS from the threaded site. which is different from the screenshots you have shown. so i downloaded your file from rapid share and signed it. i tried to install but it said “failed to replace”. how can i remove the other HS i have installed?
hey tailor,
i figured it out. uninstalled the old and i m using your version.
awesome homescreen! wouldn have known bout it if it wasn your blog!
thanks man.
jus let me know if any of such wacky stuff you know.
and also any other homescreens…
Hi,
No problem. Enjoy your brand new homescreen!
Rgds,
Taylor
hey man,thanks for the application it is so cool,makes my nokia x6 soooper,greetings from Spain. 😉
Hi Lucian,
Thanks! Hope you enjoy your phone and your new homescreen!
Rgds,
Taylor
hi ! thanks i ve installed it and its works perfectly with my nokia x6…but, is there any update, whereby we can have facebook wid likes n97..hope someone could come up with that someday
Hi Luke,
Glad to hear it works for you. Unfortunately this homescreen has very limited mod-ability and I don’t think we can see any update for this homescreen. If you like to see some SNS integration homescreen, you can try another homescreen replacement, *Spark, although it is a little bit laggy from my previous experience.
http://www.sparkmyphone.com/
Hope it helps!
Rgds,
Taylor
Is there other such types of homescreens?
This one has driven me crazy.
Thanx man!
Hi Arya,
Unfortunately this is the best Nokia X6 can get, but it should be adequate enough for daily use. Enjoy! =)
Rgds,
Taylor
hi,
i am not able to sign it, signsistool is not working on my pc.plz help
Hi Aman Sharma,
Which Windows are you using? The tool should be working, even on a Windows 7 64 bit.
Rgds,
Taylor
Hi,
how to remove the icons from the home screen?
Hi archangel,
Which icons you mentioned? If you meant the 4 icons at the bottom of the homescreen, then no, you can’t edit/remove them unfortunately.
Rgds,
Taylor
How can i unistall the homescreen theme which i added ? plzzz give me solution for this.
hi this is akki,
how can i remove the homescreen theme which i added it is not installed perfectly showing so plz answer to it thank u
Hi akki,
If you wished to uninstall the homescreen, simply uninstall from the applications. And try to restart your phone to see if the homescreen installed nicely.
Rgds,
Taylor
i dwnload the cer. And key.
What should i do next?
I dont understand about signing.. Please explain it
Hi Steven,
Download the signing tool from OPDA and you will know what you should do. Basically the tool will ask for the unsigned sis file, then your cer and key file. Sign them in and create a new sis file which can be installed without problem. Hope it helps.
Rgds,
Taylor
i managed to install it.. It is a great theme.. Thx
dude. i got the theme and it aint working. i went on the opda site, but its in chinese.i got a x6 and i downloaded freesigner but its stil not working. help pls. im getting quite sad, coz i want widgets on my x6. thanks man
Hi Diya,
There is an international forum for OPDA, check out http://www.opda.hk/
A freesigner is not enough for it to work, you still require to request for your own certificate from them using your own phone IMEI. Check out the forum, see if there is any help.
At the time of writing, the OPDA certificate site is down, I believe they will up their website very soon.
Be patient, the homescreen theme should be working in your Nokia X6.
Rgds,
Taylor
Hi There. I wanted to install Unsigned Apps & Mostly I am concerened to install Orange tsaunami on my phone.
First I went to OPDA and put my IMEI and got certificate . But how can i dowload it ? or i dont need to download it ?
As far as i know that either after Cer & Key file you put in “FreeSigner” app or “Sign_Sis” Software and then after that you put theh desired Unsigned App to get signed. I am getting confused. Help.
Hi Furqan,
If the entire certificate thing still work as previously, you will require to download a signsis executable file from OPDA. Then get your cer and key files ready. Running the signsis file is pretty straight forward – browse to your cer and key file, then the unsigned sis/sisx file, then you are ready to sign.
Rgds,
Taylor
Hi~
I’d like to know if there’s a way of removing the icons from homescreen. Not the 4 that appear at the bottom, but the ones you can drag to add to homescreen.
Thanks!
Hi,
Just keep pressing on the homescreen for a few seconds, then press then red cross button of the widget to remove it.
Rgds,
Taylor
Hi,
Just wanna ask the name of the software you are using to display the status of your phone’s RAM, memory and battery.
Thanx in advance!
Hi,
It is an app called DeviceInfo 2. You can download it from http://www.moubail.com/downloads/deviceinfo-widget/
Enjoy!
Rgds,
Taylor
Hey, I downloaded the sign tool. Now tell me how to download the cer and key from opda, there is no download option?
Hi Suraj,
You have to wait for at least a day for them to generate your cer and key file. Be patient 🙂
Rgds,
Taylor
thank you for your info, I also wonder why nokia didn’t make widget home screen for X6. I’m applying for the cert now.
Anyway what is the software you use to monitor RAM at this article?
Hi Amar,
It is an app called DeviceInfo 2. You can download it from http://www.moubail.com/downloads/deviceinfo-widget/
Enjoy!
Rgds,
Taylor
I’m so happy with this new widget homescreen.
The link you gave to OPAD webpage also usefull, I’m using it to sign another apps that can arrange sms in chat format.
Thanks ghost301!
hey did you have nokia n8 like home screen ?
Hi,
Unfortunately I do not have any Nokia N8-like homescreen.
Rgds,
Taylor
Hey i got the home screen theme but i have a problem i am using nokia x6 8gb after intalling the theme when i play music the volume is not working and my phone get hang plz help me
Hi,
Have you restarted your phone after the installation of the homescreen? I did not face this issue when I am using it on my X8 32GB, perhaps it doesn’t work well on 8GB model. Probably you have to resolve it by uninstalling the homescreen or reformat the phone.
Rgds,
Taylor
hey i want n97 like facebook widget can you give me that
and i also want the normal nokia music running widget play,pause,prevous,next
if you set grass and sky wallpaer in background it is look like a nokia n8
if you set grass and sky wallpaer in background it is look like a nokia n8 home sceen and first set web shortcut in left and ovi maps in right then in left set web search and right ovi store then down set email mail box after set device status ,calender,connections,monthly planner,and at last set four shortcuts left opera right youtube left ovi music right camera
when i restart my phone some widget like app store,web search get ereased from home screen every time i restart my phone i had to again add those widgets plz help
orange tsunami showing certificate error on installation in my nokia x6 what should i can do
Hi,
You have to apply the cert made for your phone to the sisx file before installation. Check OPDA.cn.
Rgds,
Taylor
Hey how to get OPDA Certificate..
Hi Georgy,
Check this link. http://cer.opda.cn/en/index.php?module=index&action=login
You have to register yourself and apply for your cert for your IMEI. 🙂
Rgds,
Taylor
Very good article !
Hello, how to have multiple home screens for x6? I really want to have many home screens.. pls help me…
Hi,
Due to the limitation of the ROM used in X6, I don’t think it is possible to have multiple homescreen except you dare to go for some extreme mod. Otherwise, the one shown in this post will be the best and easiest to get on the X6, unfortunately.
Rgds,
Taylor
thankz man……u really helped me !! 🙂
adioz !!
hellow,
can u help me…..I am kinda in a problem…..i hv signed tsunami homescreen…….bt when i try to install it…..it shows update error…..what shud i do to fix this problem?? pplllzzz plz plz plz plz !!!! help me !! 😦
Hi,
Based on my experience, those with update error is an installer that is not compatible with X6 Symbian. The one included in my post should work without issue in Nokia X6.
Rgds,
Taylor
hello,, hmm i cant install it it just says that contact application supplier how is that? thanks you!
Hi,
Most probably you doesn’t have the installer correctly signed, can you double check on that?
Rgds,
Taylor
ok. hmm theres still a problem about the certificate i already applied for it since october 28 and it says there i need to wait for 24hrs. then when i checked it again untill now it is still BEING PRODUCED hmmm can you help me with that? thanks a lot.. :)) ^^
Dude plz tell me how to add widgets on Home screen of NOKIA 5800 ……
Hi,
If you talked about the Orange Tsunami, as far as I recall, it has no way to add more widgets than the preset one.
Rgds,
Taylor
do OPDA provide certificate free?
Yeap, the certificate is free. 🙂