NOTE:
Having owned a Nokia N810 WiMax Edition for little better than 24 hours, I discovered we can’t currently rebuild our devices should totally eff them up using Nokia’s own Software Update Wizard for Windows.

After some painstaking research, googling, and putting my own Nokia N810 WiMax Edition on the line, here’s how to resuscitate and/or rebuild a Nokia N810 WiMax Edition.

USE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR DEVICE. THIS IS HERE FOR REFERENCE ONLY, AND I CAN ONLY ATTEST THAT THESE INSTRUCTIONS WILL WORK ONLY IF FOLLOWED PRECISELY. - Ken

HOW-TO: Rebuilding a Nokia N810 WiMax Edition

Download necessary files to rebuild your Nokia N810m WiMax Edition:

1. Download flasher from:
http://tablets-dev.nokia.com/d3.php

2. Download N810 WiMax Edition firmware from:
http://tablets-dev.nokia.com/nokia_N810wimax.php

Now that you have the firmware flasher and the OS2008 N810 WiMax Edition software update in the same directory, open a terminal on a Linux device. Execute the following commands from the directory where you downloaded the two files:

chmod 775 ./flasher-3.0
./flasher-3.0 -u -F RX-48_DIABLO_4.2008.36-5_PR_COMBINED_MR0_ARM.bin

This will unpack the software, and it may take a few seconds. Once done, plug the N810 into your computer using the USB cable (included with your Nokia N810). Reboot the Nokia N810 while holding the Home (aka “Swap”) button. Now execute the following commands:

sudo ./flasher-3.0 –enable-rd-mode
sudo ./flasher-3.0 -k zImage -f
sudo ./flasher-3.0 -n initfs.jffs2 -f
sudo ./flasher-3.0 -r rootfs.jffs2 -f -R

Your N810 WiMax Edition should now boot up with the new OS2008 WiMax Edition of the Nokia N810 WiMax Edition software.

WARNING:
Nokia DOESN’T SUPPORT this procedure in ANY way. You can follow this procedure at your own risk. Neither Nokia nor I have the responsibility of any damage caused to your device. You can follow these instructions solely at your own risk.

I just jotted and copied this up in a hurry after discovering that the Nokia-provided "Update Wizard for Windows" doesn't actually work with the official RX-48 image currently offered by Nokia from the downloads page. The flasher-3.0 bin doesn't flash the N810 WiMax either unless unpacked and flashed with each component.

IMO, Nokia really needs to release a tool to allow users to resuscitate or rebuild their Nokia N810 WiMax as easily as the N770 and N810. The current tools and image doesn't allow it as of November 9th, 2008.

Agreed. Nokia should improve their support of the N810 WE in this regard. I had to do what you said to resuscitate mine (though I only reflashed the rootfs since the rest of the system was fine). Thanks for the how-to!

Thanks Prometh,

I faced the same problem with my Nokia N810 Wimax while flashing, your approach worked for me.