Just wanting to point out that I've got an unlocked Orange Hero (on virgin mobile) that's been debranded using this method. No problems as of yet? Occasional duplication of texts sent but thats all.
although maybe not, half way through the ROM update i get USB error 171...
Another user was having a similar problem yesterday, His was a USB 170 problem I believe. He was using Windows 7 also and there are a lot of threads about that seem to suggest an issue with HTC sync and windows 7. Have you got an xp or vista pc available to you?
Just wanting to point out that I've got an unlocked Orange Hero (on virgin mobile) that's been debranded using this method. No problems as of yet? Occasional duplication of texts sent but thats all.
Great to hear of another successful Orange flash using this method. It seems the problems are related to only a few Orange handsets.
The text message duplication is a little strange though, haha. Have you downloaded a secondary text app? like Handcent or Chomp sms? Sometimes they can cause such issues if you don't turn off the notifications on one or the other.
Another user was having a similar problem yesterday, His was a USB 170 problem I believe. He was using Windows 7 also and there are a lot of threads about that seem to suggest an issue with HTC sync and windows 7. Have you got an xp or vista pc available to you?
I had the same error as that guy, fixed it and now i lose connection to the phone when the update starts up with a USB 171 error.
I'll keep plugging away at it as im at work for the next few hours, maybe try and find some sort of fix. if not i'll do it on vista when i get home
Just finished now....I'm on 3UK and the process was very easy!!! No real issues and even HTC sync worked with my Win 7 64bit. Going to explore a bit but first impressions are that it seems to be as quick as 1.5 and my contacts etc seemed to have remained on the phone.
Never messed about with my phone before and was surprised how easy it was....just follow the instructions and please thank MOKO76 for all his work on this
Great to hear of another successful Orange flash using this method. It seems the problems are related to only a few Orange handsets.
The text message duplication is a little strange though, haha. Have you downloaded a secondary text app? like Handcent or Chomp sms? Sometimes they can cause such issues if you don't turn off the notifications on one or the other.
Nope, no secondary apps and what not. It's incredibly rare though, like 1/100 it may have a chance to duplicate. Going to muck about with a few things later though and see if that does the trick or not.
Hmmm, I can't think what the problem might be there. are you getting the 170 or 171 usb error? Have you got a firewall switched on? Or some kind of Virus protection? Zone alarm or something like that.
I too have windows 7 on both home laptops, and wasted three hours today trying to sort this out, lots of hits about "Error 170" when I google, but no definate solution, although one I have not tried is to uninstall the HTC sync and then download it from the US "Sprint" website, as this version aparently works with windows 7, I'll try it in the morning.
I got bored of the excuses from Orange, so I thought 'what the hell, let's give this a go'.
Well my phone now says Network locked. Please contact customer care. And it wants an unlock code!!! I f%#@ing hate Orange!!!
So to help others from going through the same frustrations as I have, my Hero was bought from Orange last September and it's P/N is 99HHM022-00. Not sure if this will help anyone in identifying if theirs is similar.
Time to flash back to the original ROM and wait.....
Just done my G2 and I'm glad to say it was successful and quite straight forward... make sure you download the release version of the ROM not the test ones(can't belive anyone else would be as daft as me).
Anyone else notice the original radio issue is back? I noticed it following the 1st update on the G2, but it's definately showing less bars than it was and is nye on impossible to get full HSDPA strength even when in a city centre.
I copied my apps and media back over to the SD card and cant find them on the phone.
am i doing something wrong?
What I did was back up all my apps & data using Mybackup Pro, then copied everything from my SD card onto a folder on my PC desktop before formatting my SD Card.
After I had finished flashing my ROM and installing 2.1, I copied all the data back onto my SD card (took about 45 minutes), but like you when I checked my phone I couldn't see any apps or data, I then went to Android market and re-installed Mybackup Pro, then I was able to restore all my apps, data and settings. Job done.
Worked on my T mobile branded phone.
I downloaded the generic HTC Rom from the HTC website using the serial number listed in this thread. Goldcard went ok (I am running XP). Once generic rom was installed I downloaded 2 over the air updates and my phone was then 2.1
I find the phone slightly faster, and the google navigation is great, used it in my car to get me home today, I sometimes do not get a data connection, but then again I always had this problem before.
If you are running a T mobile branded phone then I would recommend this (if you are running an orange branded phone then i would avoid due to problems listed in this thread)
With all the calls T mobile and Orange and three are getting, maybe next time they will think twice about messing with the Android software, so what if the phone has the word T Mobile on start up , waste of time.
I think my Hero is now a real iPhone Killer, and I can hold it any way I want!
Last edited by lumsdot; July 2nd, 2010 at 02:48 PM.
Hello! I have an Orange branded phone, which I debranded and installed the last Android ROM onto. Am I likely to have the same problems? I am currently using this phone with O2.
Thanks to the OP and all those who contributed to this
Have successfully downgraded to generic ROM 2.73.405.5, run the 2 updates to 2.1 and all seems, in the main fine.
Have posted my findings in the Main 2.1 Thread, post 1207.
Registered specifically to thank you for the solution to getting at 2.1
I'm a Belgian HTC Hero user and we're even worse off: there might never be an official 2.1 release!
Anyway: I followed your steps and the upgrade has just finished :-)
If anyone finds this thread as a Belgian Proximus user: this method really works. Only remark from my end (after having tried for over an hour): do NOT try this on a Windows 7 machine! Trust me, if you Google you might find people discussing it and suggesting using Vista drivers to sync: it doesn't work. Find someone who uses anything but Windows 7 (I used Windows XP) and you will not get the 170 or 171 error anymore.
Just flashed my 3UK hero to 2.1 and am loving it. I am using Windows 7 (64bit) and I have to say htc sync is the worst piece of software I have ever seen. I got the same usb errors as everyone else but I kept at it and finally got it to work.
My experience:
1. installed latest htc sync, windows 7 then updated the driver, htc sync couldn't find the phone. Went into device manager and saw that under ADB Interface the My HTC entry had changed to HTC Dream Composite ADB Interface.
2. In device manager I called up the properties and went to update driver/browse/and pointed to the C:\Program Files (x86)\HTC\HTC Driver\Driver Files\Win7_x64. This reinstalled the My HTC entry. Rebooted.
3. htc sync could now connect to my phone so I carried on with the goldcard method.
4. Ran the RUU_Hero_HTC_WWE_2.73.405.5_WWE_release_signed_NoD river.exe
5. All went well until it got to the bootloader part, windows 7 made a couple of low beeps and the install just sat there. Back into device manager and the entry under ADB had changed again from My HTC to bootloader with a yellow !, did the driver update again as above (point 2) and rebooted. (also battery out/in on phone to reboot that).
6. Ran the RUU again... and it worked!!!
This is just my experience and fumblings to get it working but it might help others
Registered specifically to thank you for the solution to getting at 2.1
I'm a Belgian HTC Hero user and we're even worse off: there might never be an official 2.1 release!
Anyway: I followed your steps and the upgrade has just finished :-)
If anyone finds this thread as a Belgian Proximus user: this method really works. Only remark from my end (after having tried for over an hour): do NOT try this on a Windows 7 machine! Trust me, if you Google you might find people discussing it and suggesting using Vista drivers to sync: it doesn't work. Find someone who uses anything but Windows 7 (I used Windows XP) and you will not get the 170 or 171 error anymore.
Good luck!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ookie
I agree and perhaps the thread starter can add a warning to avoid W7
Hi! I have added a warning to the top of the guide suggesting that those who wish to attempt this method should avoid windows 7 where possible.
Hope you're enjoying 2.1
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Moko76 For This Useful Post:
I wonder if the "XP Mode" / VirtualPC feature Win7 of this gets around the problem?
Unlikely, as the correctly-installed drivers will still be required for the host OS i.e. Win7.
My best advice is to ensure that you have Sync functionality beforehand, regardless of OS. If you connect the handset to the PC and the Sync icon turns green then you're good to go.
Xyro says earlier in the thread - If you're using an Orange branded phone, please do not de-brand it It seems that the OTA update includes a radio incompatible with orange branded phones, and it will reject your SIM card saying the phone is network locked (even if your SIM card is an orange one) -
I have a locked to Orange, Hero, and want to unlock it, put on Android 2.1, and use with 3 network sim. Therefore, what should I do so that I don't have the problem mentioned by Xyro.
Thanks,
It's hit and miss with orange phones, some work with the radio and some don't. (I've edited my post to reflect that too).
The only way around this, other than waiting for an official Orange 2.1 release, is to root and use custom firmware. That would let you mix and match firmware + radios.
Wow. Worked perfectly on my 3UK HTC Hero which was running 2.73.771.73. Followed the instructions to the letter and it has worked.
Got the official ROM from the HTC website, just download the one which doesn't have 3UK, Orange or T-Mobile in brackets next to it and use the serial number on the first page of the thread.
As soon as that installed prompted me to install the OTA preparatory update, which ran smoothly and then when that rebooted it prompted me to install 2.1.
Worth noting you will loose ALL data that isn't backed up, as you have to erase the SD card. Also if you want root, do NOT update as 2.1 has not been rooted (yet...).
When updating to 2.1 the phone restarts several billion times (about 4 tbh) so don't get worried when you keep seeing the same screen over and over. It will eventually finish. The progress bars also have a tendency to freeze, stay patient
Many thanks to Moko76 for the help!! Couldn't have done it without you!
This also fixed a problem I had with the trackball not scrolling left
I have been helping my friend in the UK install stock HTC Hero ROM on his Orange handset.
The whole process went swimmingly, he ended up with no branding, got the OTA to 2.1 etc... wonderful, until he put his Orange UK SIM card in and got the beloved Contact Customer Services.
I read that the issue could be do due to the update on the radio. So, we now wish to downgrade the radio to the previous one.
Now I do not have a HTC Hero, so I am blindly guiding him on everything (tho I am used to hacking Nexus One, Desire, Milestone) what gets me is not having a recovery mode in stock. Am I missing something here?
FYI we have the radio.img (also in the form of an update.zip), also the special SPL from Modaco, but neither of them can be installed with out signature failures (even with goldcard, which only seemed to help in installing the entire RUU image)
First I want to thank Moko67 for his outstanding step by step guide to debrand hero. I have a Hero on contract direct from Orange. I had previously unlocked it using unlock code from htccode.com. My rom was orange rom 2.73.61.66 which was the ROM the phone came with when i bought it in february from orange.
I followed the steps given by Moko67 and took probably 1hr over dinner to do it. There were no issues at all, no network unlock nothing. just a smooth update. The build number now after update is 3.32.405.1 C191507 - release-keys..
Hope this gives other orange owners who have unlocked their phone some hope to go to android 2.1. I got fed up of waiting and am glad I gave it a try
Today (6. July 2010) my phone suddenly told me, that a new firmware update was available. Asking me if I would like to download it.
Yes, I said, and the phone started to download the update. After a while, it started to install the update and then rebooted itself. And then it starts over again, installing the update. It seems like that, because there is a picture of a package with an yellow arrow coming out of the package pointing on a telephone next to it. And below their is a progress bar that slowly moves to the end. When the end is almost reached, the phone reboots and the process starts over again. And again. And again.
Now it has rebooted like 30-40 times, for the last 3 hours, and it doesn't seems to go anywhere.
I have tried to take out the battery, to make a hard reset. Pressing the HOME + END CALL and the BACK buttons at the same time. But it starts with the install screen again.
Does anyone know whats going on? Or how I can stop this endless loop?
After waiting for a whole night, the telephone suddenly installed the update. I went to bed and the next morning it was updated.
So everything seems to be good. All contacts, Messages etc. are intact. Only my home screens are totally cleared, but all applications is still in the phone and seems to work.
I managed to use an XP laptop and updated my T-mobile phone with the above method ok, but when I tried to do my wifes phone today, all went well untill the reboot, it downloaded and installed the first update fine, but there has been no prompt to update to the large 2.1 download, I have tried to check via the phones software updater too, but nothing comes up, I have re-flashed twice and still the same.
Any ideas on where i'm going wrong with this phone ?
Device(s): T-Mobile Hero G2 Contract
Unbranded now.
2.1update 1 Rom
Carrier: Not Provided
Thanks: 1
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Just updated my T-Mobile G2 which had the 1st update on it no problems with the above method.
While in local T-Mobile I asked sales guy when the 2.1 was coming out "Not sure they keep delaying it but its called frog or something, try on the net for more info " !!!
After checking a T-Mobile Pulse which has 2.1 running told him don't matter I'm off to de-brand Hero.
All done now installing ringtones etc.
One question though, is there no LIVE wallpapers options ?
Installed Amon Ra custom recovery using flash recovery which i downloaded and installed using apps installer. Needed to back up the original recovery flash for later.
Rebooted into recovery mode and installed the rom.
Used flash recovery mode to put the original recovery flash back on (if you dont do this step it wont install the first update). If you get the message for the first update before you do this step ignore it for the time being. If you have any problems with flash recovery the rom you are using is too new do the first step and put an earlier one on.
if you dont get the first ota update put date forward and install. put second update on and jobs a good un.
Moko76 - thank you for a very explicit and simple guide. I read it and read it then finally took the opportunity to upgrade last night. Does exactly "as it says on the tin" easy to follow and worked a treat. took 1.5 hours and the OTA upgrade was instant on switch on.
My 3 branded hero is now running 2.1 and I find it slightly faster and more responsive.
The only question I would ask is I notice that the signal bars I now get at home are slightly less than previous, usually at least 4 bars and now only one but I still have H connection. I seem to remeber reading somewhere that there was a radio update - has anyone else noticed a reduction?
I want to add my thanks to moko67, debranded my TMob G2 last night flawlessly and now running 2.1. I used a spare 2GB card as the goldcard, so I could use it again if the Tmob version gets good reviews...
Love 2.1, makes the phone fly... love the little extra touches all over the place...
Hi there thank you very much for a great guide to getting 2.1 on Hero phones finally.
However i have sucessfully debranded my HTC Hero phone and it works great, But I haven't recieved any notifaction of an update to 2.1. I've set up wi-fi, my question is how long do i wait for the for any notifacation to come through about the update? I have checked that the firmware prompts me before download, i've waited for 2 hours but nothing seems to be happening is this normal?
Please share your experiences about sucessful updates many thanks.
Device(s): T-Mobile Hero G2 Contract
Unbranded now.
2.1update 1 Rom
Carrier: Not Provided
Thanks: 1
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Mine was asking for the 2.1update 1 as it was going through google account setup etc. which I had to set up to get to the wifi settings to put in my router password. Then lost it all again when it installed !!!
While I'm here will the T-Mobile 2.1 update really be any different from the one we have now?
For tech lovers dreaming of a magical phone, HTC's 3rd Android Phone - the HTC Hero - seems poised to rescue the masses from mobile phone boredom. The design is a more sleek, sexy version of the HTC Dream and HTC Magic and both hardware and sof... Read More
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Orange unlocked
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