Universal Windows USB Drivers (ADB, BootLoader, Disk Drive, HTC Sync)
Monitoring the traffic on the unrEVOked IRC channel, it's clear that there is a ton of confusion about the USB drivers needed, despite the excellent article on the unrEVOked site. I thought I'd maybe add to that or create an alternative article.
There are three different modes in which the Incredible (or the EVO!) can connect to a Windows system:
Disk Drive
ADB (USB Debugging and ClockworkMod Recovery)
BootLoader (while phone is in the HBOOT mode)
The drivers that come with the Android SDK can't do any of it because none of the interfaces for the Incredible are present in the .INF file. The drivers that come with HTC Sync can do #1 and #2, but cannot be used for rooting with unrEVOked because they don't support #3. The following link points to drivers which are universal; they will work for all three purposes on the Incredible (and the EVO as well).
You do not have to remove HTC Sync if you have it installed. These drivers will replace the ones that came from HTC Sync and be usable for that as well as rooting. The trick is getting these drivers to replace the ones you have from the Android SDK or HTC Sync or ??? (or simply installing them if you have no drivers yet). The idea is to plug your phone into USB while it's in HBOOT mode, forcing Windows to look for Bootloader drivers. Only the ones here provide that.
Anyway, here's how:
Uninstall HTC Sync, DoubleTwist, and DropBox from the PC. Sorry about this. Once these drivers are installed you may reinstall those and they will continue to work. These drivers are universal.
Unzip the file, leaving the folder Android USB Driver somewhere like on your desktop
Unplug your phone from USB
Power down your phone
Now simultaneously press the volume DOWN button and the power button, holding till the HBOOT screen appears
Now connect the USB cable between the phone and your PC
The word HBOOT (blue box with white letters) will change to HBOOT USB PLUG
On the EVO, wait till HBOOT cycles through an SD check (10 sec) then select select HBOOT USB at the bottom of the menu (using the vol keys to navigate and power button to select). Thanks to hperry for this.
Now look at your Windows Device Manager and see if you already have Android Phone listed for HBOOT as shown in one of the last two images (way) below. To see the Device Manager, right click My Computer, select Manage..., select the Device Manager. If you see the Android Phone, you're ready to root and can skip the rest of this. Otherwise, you do not have HBOOT-capable drivers, and you need to install them. Windows should be looking for drivers now. At this point things may differ between XP and Vista/7.
In XP, the New Hardware Found Wizard should appear. Tell it NOT to use Windows Update, and moving along, tell it to look in a specified location. It will pop up a file open dialog. Navigate to the Android USB Driver folder, click OK then click Next.
For Windows Vista/7 you might not see the New Hardware Found Wizard. Open the Device Manager (Right click My Computer, select Manage..., select the Device Manager). You will see an Android Phone node in the tree with a "caution" icon node beneath it. Right click on the caution-marked node and select Update Driver. Follow through specifying NOT to look in Windows Updatte and Install from a specified location. It will pop up a file open dialog. Navigate to the Android USB Driver folder, click OK, then click Next.
In either case, eventually the driver should install. At this point you have the universal drivers installed for the Incredible. They can also be used with the HTC EVO. Here's what you should see in the Windows Device Manager for each condition:
Phone Running Normally, USB Debugging Enabled, plugged in via USB:
Windows 7
Windows XP
Phone running HBOOT, plugged in via USB:
Phone showing HBOOT
Don't forget htc diagnostic mode for cdma workshop
I still get confused over which drivers I need for each application.
Do these "universal" drivers work for this?
They should. I haven't tried CDMA Workshop, but I'm guessing that it uses either the Single ADB, Composite ADB, or BootLoader interface, and all three are declared in these drivers.
FYI, I just did this on the evo and the steps on the phone are different. Before plugging in the USB, you need to select HBOOT USB at the bottom of the menu (using the vol keys to navigate and power to select). Not sure if this is different on the incredible or if the directions left this out by mistake.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to hperry For This Useful Post:
FYI, I just did this on the evo and the steps on the phone are different. Before plugging in the USB, you need to select HBOOT USB at the bottom of the menu (using the vol keys to navigate and power to select). Not sure if this is different on the incredible or if the directions left this out by mistake.
Based on a bunch of hours helping people get rooted on the #unrevokedtest IRC channel, I have clarified and expanded the OP per the lessons learned. The post is now thoroughly vetted and hopefully as clear as possible, even for folks with limited Windows technical experience.
Damn nice writeup. We are bound to see a new batch of rooters, especially with the issues many seem to be having with the OTA. With the new Unrevoked just around the corner, this thread is ideal and great timing.
Now look at your Windows Device Manager and see if you already have Android Phone listed for HBOOT as shown in one of the last two images (way) below. To see the Device Manager, right click My Computer, select Manage..., select the Device Manager. If you see the Android Phone, you're ready to root and can skip the rest of this. Otherwise, you do not have HBOOT-capable drivers, and you need to install them. Windows should be looking for drivers now. At this point things may differ between XP and Vista/7.
I looked in MANAGE, and see Android 1.0
So im assuming i dont have what i need. But i never got promted to look for drivers
How do i trigger that?
EDIT, got it
Last edited by rsarno; September 17th, 2010 at 11:16 PM.
I did everything perfectly, and as I select brows and then select this file, android-USB-driver, the computer automatically gives me an error msg, I have no idea why, I am attempting to root my EVO 4G running 2.2, anyone get the same problem?
I do see the correct drivers when my phone is in the "Phone running HBOOT, plugged in via USB" mode. I see 'Android Bootloader Interface' under the Android Phone tree.
But when I plug in the phone and set everything up (USB Debugging, Unknown Sources, and USB Ask Me mode), under the "Phone Running Normally, USB Debugging Enabled, plugged in via USB" mode, I do not see the 'Andriod Composite ADB Interface' under the Android Phone tree. Instead the pc shows, "ABD" and I get a 'found new hardware wizard' dialog window.
I do not know why the correct drivers are not shown. I do not have any additional drivers installed such as HTC Sync.
I followed the instructions (Win XP) and got the correct result when HBOOT was enabled, but not when I wasn't in HBOOT (it still said "My HTC"). When I unplugged, rebooted, enabled USB debugging and plugged in again, the New Hardware Found window came up again so I repeated the driver installation (without being in HBOOT) and that time it worked. The actual rooting was a piece of cake after that.
The Following User Says Thank You to wayrad For This Useful Post:
Thanks, it works now. I see the 'Andriod Composite ADB Interface' under the Android Phone tree after I installed the drivers again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wayrad
I followed the instructions (Win XP) and got the correct result when HBOOT was enabled, but not when I wasn't in HBOOT (it still said "My HTC"). When I unplugged, rebooted, enabled USB debugging and plugged in again, the New Hardware Found window came up again so I repeated the driver installation (without being in HBOOT) and that time it worked. The actual rooting was a piece of cake after that.
I have the Android Phone tree completed, but no matter what i do, I can't get it to root. I run the Unrevoked zip and then it just sits on the HBOOT screen after scrolling down and activating HBOOT USB. It switches to HBOOT USB PLUG and never does anything else. Any ideas? I rooted my HERO with Simple Root, so I'm not totally clueless. Thanks.
I do see the correct drivers when my phone is in the "Phone running HBOOT, plugged in via USB" mode. I see 'Android Bootloader Interface' under the Android Phone tree.
But when I plug in the phone and set everything up (USB Debugging, Unknown Sources, and USB Ask Me mode), under the "Phone Running Normally, USB Debugging Enabled, plugged in via USB" mode, I do not see the 'Andriod Composite ADB Interface' under the Android Phone tree. Instead the pc shows, "ABD" and I get a 'found new hardware wizard' dialog window.
I do not know why the correct drivers are not shown. I do not have any additional drivers installed such as HTC Sync.
Thank you.
I can't get past this. No matter how much I try, I just can't. I've tried going back to HBOOT and everything.
...
The drivers that come with HTC Sync can do #1 and #2, but cannot be used for rooting with unrEVOked because they don't support #3. The following link points to drivers which are universal; they will work for all three purposes on the Incredible (and the EVO as well).
You do not have to remove HTC Sync if you have it installed.
...
Anyway, here's how:
Uninstall HTC Sync, DoubleTwist, and DropBox from the PC. Sorry about this. Once these drivers are installed you may reinstall those and they will continue to work. These drivers are universal.
Thanks a lot for this in depth description. However, I'm still confused about something.
Do you have to uninstall HTC Sync or not
If the modified drivers can take care of all three ways to connect your phone, then why are we advised to install and uninstall htc Sync in many guides ?
Monitoring the traffic on the unrEVOked IRC channel, it's clear that there is a ton of confusion about the USB drivers needed, despite the excellent article on the unrEVOked site. I thought I'd maybe add to that or create an alternative article.
There are three different modes in which the Incredible (or the EVO!) can connect to a Windows system:
Disk Drive
ADB (USB Debugging and ClockworkMod Recovery)
BootLoader (while phone is in the HBOOT mode)
The drivers that come with the Android SDK can't do any of it because none of the interfaces for the Incredible are present in the .INF file. The drivers that come with HTC Sync can do #1 and #2, but cannot be used for rooting with unrEVOked because they don't support #3. The following link points to drivers which are universal; they will work for all three purposes on the Incredible (and the EVO as well).
You do not have to remove HTC Sync if you have it installed. These drivers will replace the ones that came from HTC Sync and be usable for that as well as rooting. The trick is getting these drivers to replace the ones you have from the Android SDK or HTC Sync or ??? (or simply installing them if you have no drivers yet). The idea is to plug your phone into USB while it's in HBOOT mode, forcing Windows to look for Bootloader drivers. Only the ones here provide that.
Anyway, here's how:
Uninstall HTC Sync, DoubleTwist, and DropBox from the PC. Sorry about this. Once these drivers are installed you may reinstall those and they will continue to work. These drivers are universal.
Unzip the file, leaving the folder Android USB Driver somewhere like on your desktop
Unplug your phone from USB
Power down your phone
Now simultaneously press the volume DOWN button and the power button, holding till the HBOOT screen appears
Now connect the USB cable between the phone and your PC
The word HBOOT (blue box with white letters) will change to HBOOT USB PLUG
On the EVO, wait till HBOOT cycles through an SD check (10 sec) then select select HBOOT USB at the bottom of the menu (using the vol keys to navigate and power button to select). Thanks to hperry for this.
Now look at your Windows Device Manager and see if you already have Android Phone listed for HBOOT as shown in one of the last two images (way) below. To see the Device Manager, right click My Computer, select Manage..., select the Device Manager. If you see the Android Phone, you're ready to root and can skip the rest of this. Otherwise, you do not have HBOOT-capable drivers, and you need to install them. Windows should be looking for drivers now. At this point things may differ between XP and Vista/7.
In XP, the New Hardware Found Wizard should appear. Tell it NOT to use Windows Update, and moving along, tell it to look in a specified location. It will pop up a file open dialog. Navigate to the Android USB Driver folder, click OK then click Next.
For Windows Vista/7 you might not see the New Hardware Found Wizard. Open the Device Manager (Right click My Computer, select Manage..., select the Device Manager). You will see an Android Phone node in the tree with a "caution" icon node beneath it. Right click on the caution-marked node and select Update Driver. Follow through specifying NOT to look in Windows Updatte and Install from a specified location. It will pop up a file open dialog. Navigate to the Android USB Driver folder, click OK, then click Next.
In either case, eventually the driver should install. At this point you have the universal drivers installed for the Incredible. They can also be used with the HTC EVO. Here's what you should see in the Windows Device Manager for each condition:
Phone Running Normally, USB Debugging Enabled, plugged in via USB:
Windows 7
Windows XP
Phone running HBOOT, plugged in via USB:
Phone showing HBOOT
i have the 1st gen. moto droid and am having issues with downloading onto my comp. Drivers? wth are drivers and where do i go to download the softwear needed to make this possible?
My phone updated to the latest WWE 3.26.605.1 recently and come to find out it now will not work with the current unrEVOked version. The Verizon update must have closed some vulnerabilities because unrEVOked 3 just stalls on "waiting for root...." The phone runs a little slugish then for 5 minutes and nothing happens. Also noticed that after the phone restarts the first time, device manager doesnt see it as Android Composite ADB Interface. Instead it sees it as a disk drive.
Tried it several times. No luck.
Other forums are reporting the same issue.
Same as prior post... Installed OS update LAST NIGHT, and now, phone will not root .. just runs sluggish for a few minutes, then disappears from Device Manager. I have to reboot the phone for it to show up as "My HTC" in DM again
I have downloaded this (unrEVOked modified USB Driver) and unzipped a copy to my desktop. My driver changes from bootloader to composite everytime I reboot it after the HBOOT USB PLUG. help!!!
IT SHOWS THIS AFTER I HBOOT USB PLUG:
BUT AFTER I REBOOT AND LOAD THE PHONE IT GOES BACK TO THIS:
For Windows Vista/7 you might not see the New Hardware Found Wizard. Open the Device Manager (Right click My Computer, select Manage..., select the Device Manager). You will see an Android Phone node in the tree with a "caution" icon node beneath it. Right click on the caution-marked node and select Update Driver. Follow through specifying NOT to look in Windows Updatte and Install from a specified location. It will pop up a file open dialog. Navigate to the Android USB Driver folder, click OK, then click Next.
In either case, eventually the driver should install. At this point you have the universal drivers installed for the Incredible. They can also be used with the HTC EVO. Here's what you should see in the Windows Device Manager for each condition:
Ok, I know this is an old thread that I'm resurrecting, but I need some advice. I got to this point and I did everything. My computer tries to install the drivers, but it says there's an error, and won't install them. I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks.
Edit: Nevermind, I redownloaded the zip file and tried again, and it worked.
Last edited by Mac_Leod; January 29th, 2011 at 12:03 PM.
I have downloaded this (unrEVOked modified USB Driver) and unzipped a copy to my desktop. My driver changes from bootloader to composite everytime I reboot it after the HBOOT USB PLUG. help!!!
IT SHOWS THIS AFTER I HBOOT USB PLUG:
BUT AFTER I REBOOT AND LOAD THE PHONE IT GOES BACK TO THIS:
Your running 2 different modes HBoot is recovery and when you start your phone up normaly it should say the ADB thing when you run unrevoked it accesses the HBOOT driver. it's doing the right thing.
Sorry if I'm necro-posting here.... but this seems to be the best place to get help.
I'm trying to root my Incredible, but I can't get past installing these dang drivers! Windows Vista.
No matter what I do I keep getting an error when i attempt to install them:
"Windows found driver software for your device, but encountered an error while attempting to install it.
Android Bootloader Interface
The system cannot find the file specified."
I've read and re-read the instructions, hoping to find some important step I've missed, but to the best of my knowledge, i am following them to the letter (and I've looked at a few different sources).
I've downloaded and re-downloaded (several times) the drivers but that didn't help either.
Frustrating to say the least!
I'm probably missing something small but important, hopefully someone can point it out to me!
Thanks in advance!
UPDATE: Surfed the net quite a bit and found others who had this problem never got it resolved. I just went ahead ran Unrevoked from linux on a usb drive, skipped the whole windows ordeal. Worked like a charm.
Last edited by mattchee; February 26th, 2011 at 02:33 PM.
Reason: No longer need help....
Ok, this is probably the most aggravating thing I've ever done! First, Some background:
1) Droid inc, froyo 2.2
2)PC= Vista 32bit
3) DL'd the drivers for windows for the "ANDROID BOOTLOADER INTERFACE"
4) I go to device manager and see android 1.0 under other devices, good
5) Right click, update driver, click on where driver is, and goes through installation process and then ACCESS DENIED! WTF!
6) I've tried in safe mode, anything i can think of and nothing.
7) DOES ANYONE PLEASE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS
Also i am in debuging mode, don't have HTC sync installed, and about ready to give up on this. PLEASE Help been trying to get this to work for hours now. Thanks.
I'm trying to root my Incredible, but I can't get past installing these dang drivers! Windows Vista.
No matter what I do I keep getting an error when i attempt to install them:
"Windows found driver software for your device, but encountered an error while attempting to install it.
Android Bootloader Interface
The system cannot find the file specified."
I've read and re-read the instructions, hoping to find some important step I've missed, but to the best of my knowledge, i am following them to the letter (and I've looked at a few different sources).
I've downloaded and re-downloaded (several times) the drivers but that didn't help either.
Frustrating to say the least!
I'm probably missing something small but important, hopefully someone can point it out to me!
Thanks in advance!
UPDATE: Surfed the net quite a bit and found others who had this problem never got it resolved. I just went ahead ran Unrevoked from linux on a usb drive, skipped the whole windows ordeal. Worked like a charm.
It did the same thing to me but then i realized it was in .zip format. So i extracted it and then thats when i stated getting ACCESS DENIED message.
Sounds like you aren't signed on as the administrator...or don't have proper permissions for the drivers.
I'd redownload the drivers from the administrator account and try again.
Download the drivers and extract to the desktop.
Last edited by sdrawkcab25; March 30th, 2011 at 05:35 PM.
Trying to root a stock HTC desire....this is frustrating, first mod I've done with android, although I've done other systems in the past no problem.
I've tried various things, including following the instructions ot the letter, no joy. I've even watched videos and tried google! [sarcasm btw]
OK, so things went fine to begin with, downloaded usb drivers and reflash package, went into hboot, installed usb drivers fine. Device shows up as "Android Phone -Android Bootloader Interface" in device manager and "hboot usb plug" no problem on my device, this is where the problem arises.
From there, I understand that I must then boot into normal mode, engage USB debugging ON and then open reflash package. If I do that, it doesn't detect my phone.
It seems that as soon as I try and reboot the device in normal mode (usb debugging ON), windoze seems to think the drivers no longer apply for this device any more, It shows up as simply ADB now.
From reading other forums, people have had this before and then just reinstalled the usb drivers, but when I do that, I just get the standard windows thing of "new hardware detected", which is fine, install the drivers as before and I'm told "cannot install this hardware".
The drivers work with the device in hboot mode, but not runing in standard user mode.
Anyone got any ideas where to start?
Thanks.
PS -Also tried on Mac OSX (10.4) and was told it's not compatible with this version.
Mad props!!! Been looking for the solution to this problem the last couple weeks. Very helpful post!! Now able to connect the phone to the computer again
I am stuck with this. When I hboot my phone, and plug in the USB it says HBOOT USB PLUG, but windows does not detect anything (no 'other devices' pops up in the device manager) so I can see no way to install the usb drivers.
Anyone know why this is?
Some extra info:
My pc is running Windows 7 64bit
I have tested the phone on a windows xp computer and it identifies hboot fine, so there is no problem with the phone.
Last edited by ikinone; September 28th, 2011 at 10:13 PM.
I had the drivers unzipped files saved on a portion of my harddrive that was encrypted which made the installing of the drivers fail. Moving them (or unchecking the encryption) worked for the drivers.
The rooting was though unsuccessful (HTC Desire) but I'll keep trying.
Last edited by iamhammer; January 10th, 2012 at 01:17 PM.
Hi, when i connect the usb to htc sensation The word HBOOT (blue box with white letters) didnt change to HBOOT USB PLUG .
any idea where is the problem?
thanks
Hi, when i connect the usb to htc sensation The word HBOOT (blue box with white letters) didnt change to HBOOT USB PLUG .
These instructions are geared toward the HTC Incredible so our drivers may not apply to your situation. I think you would be best served to check out the "All Things Root" subforum of one of our HTC Sensation forum here:
I am taking you literally that you own an original Sensation. If you happen to own a Sensation 4G or a Sensation XE, we also have forums for those as well.
ive read all the instructions and after i turn off my phone and press the down volume and power nothing happens. can somebody please help me and tell me what i should do or download to be able to get to the boot screen so i can root my phone? i have the droid incredible btw
ive read all the instructions and after i turn off my phone and press the down volume and power nothing happens. can somebody please help me and tell me what i should do or download to be able to get to the boot screen so i can root my phone? i have the droid incredible btw
To get to the bootloader, pull the battery, put the battery back in, press and hold volume down, continue to hold, press and hold the power button....
It's important to pull the battery to completely shut the phone down. (or turn off fastboot in the application settings)
Just want to thank you Bob! I'd been stuck in 'waiting device' message for hours this morning trying to unlock my wife's Nexus S with fastboot, until I found the post. I did suspect it was driver issue but just had no idea how to move forward. Everything was smooth after root cause was located, bootloader mode driver downloaded and installed properly. Thanks again!
Universal Windows USB Drivers (ADB, BootLoader, Disk Drive, HTC Sync)
can somebody please help me and tell me what i should do or download to be able to get to the boot screen so i can root my phone? i have the droid incredible btw
