Root [How To] Root 2.3.4/downgrade and Get S-off

[scotty85]

Hang in there you'll get it. Proceeded with step 3,then try what I suggested above for step 4

 

[6StringDave]

I got me a working USB cord (thought I had already tried two of them, but oh well), and proceeded with your directions.

At the ADB Shell command, I ran into a snag. There, I got a $ instead of a #, so I typed su. I did not get a prompt from my phone, and my PC (or was it the phone) flat-out denied me access.

Yes, my phone is in charge-only mode, with USB debugging enabled.

In the output of the proceeding commands, the two numbers which you said must match do. The output of the two commands which immediately proceed the adb shell command showed slightly different numbers from the numbers from those in your output, but this was not addressed as important, so I ignored it. Of possible note was my output in the first command, which stated "adb server out of date. killing...", before it printed my phone serial number, just as it was supposed to.

What can I do now, and is it even safe after running the above two commands to disconnect my phone?

 

[6StringDave]

????????????? - no delete button!

 

[scotty85]

Yes,its safe to unplug your phone. Did you run unrevoled 3.22 and get superuser working before starting the adb commands?

$ means you're not rooted. A little more info would be helpful on wat you've done till this point

 

[6StringDave]

Yes,its safe to unplug your phone. Did you run unrevoled 3.22 and get superuser working before starting the adb commands?

$ means you're not rooted. A little more info would be helpful on wat you've done till this point

It's a bit complicated, sorry for that, but here I go:

I followed the other thread in All things Root, for the single purpose of getting Superuser, and I succeeded. To me this seemed the simpler way to go for this step, it's what I had done before without the mess of USB cords and drivers. I now have the Superuser icon in my app drawer, and if that does not indicate that I am rooted, then I don't know what Superuser is supposed to be there for.

I had used the other method before I decided that I must follow your post and downgrade, but as I was rooted already (so I think my phone says), using Unrevoked seemed un-necessary. Do you think it is?

I don't know if this matters, but I was using Vista, not Windows 7. I now have my Windows 7 machine up and running again (been moving things around, living off an old laptop), and I'll use this when I try again.

 

[scotty85]

what other method? are you on 2.3.4 firmware?

just having the superuser app does not neccessarily mean that you are rooted. it must have a matching binary file in system/bin or system/xbin that the superuser app communicates with.

you need to try and use a root app,and see if a pop up asks you to grant superuser permissions,and then that app works. if so,then you should be able to procede with the downgrade.

 

[6StringDave]

what other method? are you on 2.3.4 firmware?

Yes, I am on 2.3.4 firmware.

That other method is in the thread "how to regain root with s-off", and it is located directly below this thread in "All Things Root". I actually did get a superuser permissions prompt when I ran an app to disable the much-too-bright LED lights. Therefore, it does appear that I had the root already, but I'm not interested in arguing that, nor in comparing your thread to another (which doesn't cover downgrading anyway).

As it is implied by our dialogue so far that I must use Unrevoked in order for this downgrade to work, I have gone and run it, although I was concerned that it would have no effect now that I already have a working Superuser.

Now Unrevoked has been stuck at the beginning of the loop, and for the last half hour, with the messages:

pushing recovery...(3137536 bytes)
Recovery image: custom

which is probably worse than ineffective, and I'm afraid of removing my phone. What can I do from here?

 

[scotty85]

lol,i am not interested in arguing anything either,im just trying to get as much info as i can on your situation so that we can help you. if you were not rooted before,it is qite possible to have run somehting that may have put the superuser app on your drawer,without being able to install the required,matching binary.

so if you followed "how to regain root with s-off" can i safely assume that you are allready s-off?

if so,you do not need any of this guide. you can easily flash new radios,recoveries,or any ruu you wish allready.

you are in no danger in unplugging your phone. if its in fastboot mode at this point,simply navigate to reboot(if its in hboot,select fastboot,then reboot-i cant remember off hand where unrevoked takes you). or in a worse case you can pull your battery.

if you want to go back to froyo,you an go to recovery and flash a rooted stock rom,or any of the custom roms. or you can run the ruu listed on the first post,then flash recovery,then flash superuser. being s-off you have no security checks or restrictions.

similarly,you can run a GB ruu if youd like.

sorry for the confusion with unrevoked 3.22. this guide is intended for unrooted,s-on users to go back to froyo,where they can root with unrevoked 3.32 to regain s-off. it is not important to have run unrevoked(one can use the method in the second post as well,wich does not involve unrevoked 3.22 at all),it is only important to have root access so that one can rewrite the misc image on an s-on phone.

if this doesnt answer your questions,post up what your still confused about,or what youre trying to accomplish,and we can help you.

 

[6StringDave]

lol,i am not interested in arguing anything either,im just trying to get as much info as i can on your situation so that we can help you. if you were not rooted before,it is qite possible to have run somehting that may have put the superuser app on your drawer,without being able to install the required,matching binary.

so if you followed "how to regain root with s-off" can i safely assume that you are allready s-off?

Yes.

if so,you do not need any of this guide. you can easily flash new radios,recoveries,or any ruu you wish allready.

you are in no danger in unplugging your phone. if its in fastboot mode at this point,simply navigate to reboot(if its in hboot,select fastboot,then reboot-i cant remember off hand where unrevoked takes you). or in a worse case you can pull your battery.

if you want to go back to froyo,you an go to recovery and flash a rooted stock rom,or any of the custom roms. or you can run the ruu listed on the first post,then flash recovery,then flash superuser. being s-off you have no security checks or restrictions.

similarly,you can run a GB ruu if youd like.

sorry for the confusion with unrevoked 3.22. this guide is intended for unrooted,s-on users to go back to froyo,where they can root with unrevoked 3.32 to regain s-off. it is not important to have run unrevoked(one can use the method in the second post as well,wich does not involve unrevoked 3.22 at all),it is only important to have root access so that one can rewrite the misc image on an s-on phone.

if this doesnt answer your questions,post up what your still confused about,or what youre trying to accomplish,and we can help you.

What I am confuzzzed about:

1. My first attempt to flash the dowgrade failed. I've tried so much since that I cannot remember it all, but I probably tried to do it through hboot without going into Recovery. Still,

2. You posted the adb method for flashing the downgrade. You wrote it for those who began unrooted, but by the time they get to "downgrade with adb", they were as rooted as I am, so this had me thinking it was necessary to go in through the USB cable, dangerous as I see it (I worry about it slipping off the phone, which is easy). That you call for doing it this way instead of going into Recovery through hboot must mean something, although what I'm not sure of.

Is it in fact necessary to use the cable connection and commands from my PC, or should I be able to flash the downgrade through Hboot->Recovery? If the latter is true, then which file would do it?

3. Although I was already rooted, with USB debugging on and in charge-only mode, I got the $ prompt, not the #. You said that indicates that I am not rooted, despite the prior demonstration of root power. I'm going HUH??? I had the su installed, had logged in as the administrator but when I invoke it I am refused, and going through the checklist I cannot see why.

4. At this command, "adb push flash_image /data/local/", when I ran it again today, I got the message "adb server is out of date. killing..." - all of the software installed is right off the links from this thread, and the content of that message doesn't look good. Here is all of the output:

c:\mini-adb_inc adb>adb push flash_imag /dat/local/
adb server is out of date. killing...
* daemon started successfully *
793 Kb/s <76044 bytes in 0.093s>

Your output didn't contain the first two lines for that command, and the output for the third was significantly different. Maybe that only means you were running a faster computer than mine, but what about the server being out of date?

 

[scotty85]

You do not need adb at all. I'd prolly reccomend at this point to simply flash the 2.2 PB31IMG linked in the first post.

Since you are s-off,you don't need to do anything other than place it on your sd card and boot to hboot to flash it. You can get it there either via USB cable,or via card reader.

After it flashes and boots,delete PB31IMG immediately. You can then gain root by using the same thread you did previously(regain root with s-off)

Hope that helps. I try to provide more detail later,I'm not at my PC at the moment.

 

[iowabowtech]

Even with s-off, you'll still get the "main version is older" fail if you're trying to downgrade from 2.3.4 to 2.2 by way of a PB31IMG full system image.

What you need to do if you have s-off is follow the other thread from start to finish. You will flash Clockwork in the form of a PB31IMG (in hboot). Then you use your new Clockwork recovery to flash Superuser as a zip (just like you would a rom). It's all outlined in that thread.

 

[scotty85]

Even with s-off, you'll still get the "main version is older" fail if you're trying to downgrade from 2.3.4 to 2.2 by way of a PB31IMG full system image.

no,an unsecured s-off radio is not doing any sort of security checks. you can flash whatever ruu you want older or newer,and flash other unsigned files- hboots,radios,recoveries,etc. ive flashed backwards plenty of times on my s-off htc devices. thats one of the big advantages

if he wished to be on 2.2,he can run the 2.2 PB31IMG,then flash recovery,then flash superuser. he could run unrevoked 3.32 to root 2.2,but with s-off its just as easy to do it as you described in the "regain root with s-off" thread. especially since hes expressed concern about having to transfer and do things via USB.

alternately, he could just flash a 2.2 rom in recovery. if he wants he can stay on the GB radio,or he could flash the matching froyo radio. im out of touch with inc stuff,so i dont know if its reccomended he use the GB radio or not. ill leave the radio reccomendations to yall that are still using it

from his comments he wants to downgrade to froyo. im not sure if he wants to be 100% stock froyo(wich would be pointless,cause he will just OTA back to GB),or if he wants to be on 2.2 because of the issues 2.3 has caused,and remain rooted.

iowa,if he would rather just flash a froyo rom in recovery,can you reccomend a good one? i was going to look thru them and see whats around these days,but havent gotten a chance to.

 

[iowabowtech]

no,an unsecured s-off radio is not doing any sort of security checks. you can flash whatever ruu you want older or newer,and flash other unsigned files- hboots,radios,recoveries,etc. ive flashed backwards plenty of times on my s-off htc devices. thats one of the big advantages .

Hmmm, I seem to be getting rusty on this phone. I thought it still checked for main version, thanks Scotty. Can tell I haven't been modding now for awhile. Anwyay, the easiest way is still to flash Clockwork or a custom recovery of your choice packaged into a PB31IMG, then flash superuser using the recovery. I'd just flash a rom in recovery instead of trying to load through hboot. If you want a 2.2 rom, I'm not sure what's out there anymore. Maybe virtuous is still supported? There are some good stock 2.3.4 roms on XDA that fix the build.prop snafus and do some minor debloating, offer a few custom options etc while still staying close to stock if you're interested in that instead. Jermaine151 has a real good one that I have been using for some time now while I await the Nexus.

Again, this is only because the user in this case has s-off. Otherwise it does not apply to this thread. Stated to avoid confusion.

 

[scotty85]

Thanks Iowa. Sounds like some good advice. My only reason for suggesting the pb31img of 2.2 was that I didnt know of a good 2.2 rom to reccomend in it's place.

Not knowing the reason for wanting to downgrade,I'd agree with iowa- may want to give the gb custom roms a shot. There are some advantages to gb over froyo,once the bugs associated with HTC s official build are fixed by the community's developers

 

[ccgabe]

Is there a single article or link that takes you from start to finish on this version? You could say I am kind of a newbie at this since the only phone I've rooted was my old Eris. It was a piece of cake compared to all the terms and instructions that I am not that familiar with on rooting the inc 2.

Some articles seem very straight forward to start, then with all the problems people encounter it gets very confusing with those answers added to the mix. I guess what I am looking for is something that outlines the steps in plain English for only the incredible2 v 2.3.4 with 98.

Don't just tell me to research the posts on here or other sites, I been doing that since the day I got the upgrade to 2.3.4 and all that has accomplished is more confusion. Thanks for your consideration.

 

[VTRick]

Thanks so much for the guide! Followed it and it worked perfectly! But I have a question that I wonder if anyone has encountered.

I successfully downgraded and rooted about three days ago. About an hour ago I get the message on my phone that a system update is available (Gingerbread). If I re-install Gingerbread, will I undo all of the work I just did and lose root access? There were a few new features that I liked in GB, but not enough to where I would cry if I had to stick with Froyo. I'm grateful for the solution in this thread, but I'd rather not have to do it all over again, especially since I just got done reinstalling all of my apps!

 

[scotty85]

You cannot accept an ota while running clockwork recovery. If you truly want to accept an ota,you'll need to re-install the stock recovery. S-off will remain.

However,remember why you wanted to root in the first place the ota is not perfect.

IMO you'd be much Better off to to simply flash a custom gb rom. You'll then get the benefits of gb without the issues of the ota. If you want,you can even flash the gb radio in hboot.

Glad the guide worked out for you

 

[scotty85]

Is there a single article or link that takes you from start to finish on this version? You could say I am kind of a newbie at this since the only phone I've rooted was my old Eris. It was a piece of cake compared to all the terms and instructions that I am not that familiar with on rooting the inc 2.

Some articles seem very straight forward to start, then with all the problems people encounter it gets very confusing with those answers added to the mix. I guess what I am looking for is something that outlines the steps in plain English for only the incredible2 v 2.3.4 with 98.

Don't just tell me to research the posts on here or other sites, I been doing that since the day I got the upgrade to 2.3.4 and all that has accomplished is more confusion. Thanks for your consideration.

This thread is for the incredible 1. You are not the first to come here from a Google search looking for Inc 2 info.

Read back a few pages and you'll find some links to downgrade to the .97 hboot so you can root with revolutionary.

There is also an incredible 2 forum here on android forums that has all the Info you need

 

[6StringDave]

You do not need adb at all. I'd prolly reccomend at this point to simply flash the 2.2 PB31IMG linked in the first post.

Since you are s-off,you don't need to do anything other than place it on your sd card and boot to hboot to flash it. You can get it there either via USB cable,or via card reader.

After it flashes and boots,delete PB31IMG immediately. You can then gain root by using the same thread you did previously(regain root with s-off)

Hope that helps. I try to provide more detail later,I'm not at my PC at the moment.

You were right, or at least it's true as of last night - I was ready for the PB31IMG flash! Problem was that I had tried that already, immediately following the "how to get s-off with root" thread, and for some reason I got the error which iowabowtech pointed out. Or at least I think that was the reason, having gone through the same checklist which had me rooted and in this Gingerbread mess in the first place. I suppose I need to be more patient, enough to log every move I make in these situations, it may even manage the panic which seizes me (that happens easily when you have no other phone, and you live alone).

Anyway, the PB31IMG flash worked this time, and it was as easy as turning on hboot. I will say it seems a bit simpler than trying to interface with other machines through flimsy cables, but to each their own. My luck dictates that hboot and clockwork mod should be used wherever possible, because anything that can go wrong always does when I try sync anything through fancy drivers. But I still don't know what you meant by saying that getting the $ prompt means I wasn't rooted, because I didn't change anything between that happening, last night when I flashed the PB31IMG through hboot, and it worked.

I never thought that I would be so happy to have downgraded anything! At bootup, I no longer get that insulting Google Location warning nag, with the "Never Warn" button which is ignored every time I press it, so that I have to deal with it again every time. My original stock battery has been off the charger, with lots of downloading activity and a couple of voice calls, and is still at 79% full! Compare that to a lifespan of 3 hours (I'm not exaggerating) on Gingerbread).

My results seem to be different from what some have posted here, claiming better battery management, but I wonder who they are, and what phone they are running. Perhaps the same model does have differences, depending on where and when it was manufactured.

If there is a lesson to be learned from this for those who just can't stand to be left out when all the other phones have the next incarnation of Nirvana, it's that when Verizon and HTC decide to pull an OS off the airwaves, there's probably a good enough reason for doing so. Such is the red flag that tells you it isn't worth your time to go and flash your phone with, just because you can.

 

[euph_22]

You cannot accept an ota while running clockwork recovery. If you truly want to accept an ota,you'll need to re-install the stock recovery. S-off will remain.

However,remember why you wanted to root in the first place the ota is not perfect.

IMO you'd be much Better off to to simply flash a custom gb rom. You'll then get the benefits of gb without the issues of the ota. If you want,you can even flash the gb radio in hboot.

Glad the guide worked out for you

Especially since the ota will almost certainly available as an almost completely stock ROM (except with root). It will be faster, easier and better to wait for a ROM.

 

[VTRick]

You cannot accept an ota while running clockwork recovery. If you truly want to accept an ota,you'll need to re-install the stock recovery. S-off will remain.

However,remember why you wanted to root in the first place the ota is not perfect.

IMO you'd be much Better off to to simply flash a custom gb rom. You'll then get the benefits of gb without the issues of the ota. If you want,you can even flash the gb radio in hboot.

Glad the guide worked out for you

Ok, good point! Thanks so much for the info. Let's say I decide just to stick with Froyo. Any tips on getting the update notification to go away? All it has for options are "install now, install later, and more info." It says it's already downloaded and ready to go.

 

[6StringDave]

Ok, good point! Thanks so much for the info. Let's say I decide just to stick with Froyo. Any tips on getting the update notification to go away? All it has for options are "install now, install later, and more info." It says it's already downloaded and ready to go.

I would appreciate a solution to this too.

LOL! No less than two days after escaping the nightmare which was triggered by installing the Android Police ROM (makes me question that it's sound advice to count on a ROM being much better), and after so many of us had decided (and at this point I was hoping) that it would never be pushed to my phone, now they're pushing me the OTA. Hee heeeee, ha haaaaa, ho hooooooo! I don't think so! But will I be able to continue using Froyo, in peace? How do you stop this damned message without accepting Gingerbread (my stomach retches at the thought of it).

By the way, has anyone else experienced serious, undeniable battery problems when running Gingerbread?

 

[iowabowtech]

Looks like they're rolling out GB again. Appears they are getting everyone updated with the previous patch first? Then will roll out the newest and last OTA for GB? Anyway, hopefully it won't break the workaround...fingers crossed.

 

[6StringDave]

You cannot accept an ota while running clockwork recovery. If you truly want to accept an ota,you'll need to re-install the stock recovery. S-off will remain.

However,remember why you wanted to root in the first place the ota is not perfect.

I feel the need to point out that the RUU may not run perfectly on your phone, either. I know this from experience with Gingerbread, as it cut my battery life down to < 1/4 overnight. Yes, surely as this forum is for the original HTC Dinc, and not Incredible 2, my phone is also DINC.

However common the doctrine is that the RUU is better than the OTA, my experience gave me much cause to question that. Sure the final RUU is better than the OTA which some executive goob just had to roll out to see how it works, but by the time that an OTA is shown to warrant receding, it has already been leaked by someone as an "official RUU". That doesn't mean that it's the final, nor that it won't wreck your phone. I believe this is what I got when I downloaded and flashed the "official RUU" from the Android Police site. If the OTA isn't good, then I don't understand how the RUU can be expected to work better. Maybe I need clarification on why RUU's never seem to be avoided nor questioned.

 

[kreativ31]

I need help.
yesterday I OTA'd the new 2.3.4 and it ruined my Incredible..Dialer doesnt work, half the time the keyboard only times Q's, multiple force close popups among many more.

I have gone through your guide, and multiple others several times attempting to root it and then downgrade back..but everytime I try to root it with your method I still get error asking if new firmware version..as far as I know I am doing everything right...any ideas?

Have an important call tomorrow (later today) and with my phone being useless, need to find a fix asap.