Root [guide] unlock with htcdev

[greggars]

as far as i know that matches the 1 i got - all a bit confused but trying to follow the steps - here goes nothing....

 

[scotty85]

I'm at work currently , but I will try and watch. Holler if you have any questions

 

[greggars]

I got it sorted - thanks very much - even though i don't really understand everything that i did, i followed your guide exactly and hey presto it works so your guide must be fool/idiot proof thanks again.

On a related issue, this just provides root access right? would you go the extra step and use the s-off guide (wire trick) or just stick with what I have? .... Short circuiting something that's not broken seems a bit drastic but i read somewhere that s-off was really the way to go...

your thoughts please

 

[scotty85]

if all you need is root access on a stock rom,you can potentially just use htcdev the way it is.

however,if you think you may want to flash roms,be aware that htcdev has its limitations,and is,IMO,a PITA.

make sure you read this post,if youre considering staying s-on: http://androidforums.com/rezound-all-things-root/587430-s-want-flash-roms-read.html

the wire trick is not really a short circut. its just like grounding something to complete a circuit,everything electrically needs to get back to ground eventually. in this case touching the ground pin is simply telling the processor to enter a special download mode so that the radio secure flag can be changed to OFF.

i have done it on my own phones(my rezound several times ) and for friends. while there is potential for something bad to happen,as there is when modifying any part of something,its a pretty safe procedure if you use caution and follow the directions.

i dont want to push you into anything youre not comfortable with,so take time to research it further and consider it. in the mean time,post up with any questions you may have

 

[greggars]

yeah i tried to install cyanogenmod but it hung at splash screen - then i read your tutorial and thought.... ???? OMG!

guess i need to balls up and start grounding shit... but in your opinion is it worth maoving away from HTC sense if i can get rid of the bloatware? and if so - what and how do i get rid of it? (bloatware) You know any good apps to delete all but necessary apps?

cheers again

 

[scotty85]

i have personally never been a fan of sense(despite being a big fan of HTC ) so i always run cyanogen mod pr some form of AOSP when i can.

but that is an entirely personal choice. if you like sense elements(features,widgets,etc) there is certainly no harm in staying with sense and just deleting some bloatware.

you can flash roms when your s-on,just make sure that you have fastboot booted your recovery into memory,as i described in the link.

 

[greggars]

yeah - i guess i'm all backwards and stuff - i rooted, but not s-off, i still have sense but run GO launcher instead. (I like being able to change all my buttons with homemade icons)

you know any apps for identifying & deleting bloatware or is titanium all there is?

 

[scotty85]

yeah - i guess i'm all backwards and stuff - i rooted, but not s-off, i still have sense but run GO launcher instead. (I like being able to change all my buttons with homemade icons)

you know any apps for identifying & deleting bloatware or is titanium all there is?

there are lots of apps in the market to freeze or delete bloatware. my backup pro is a similar app to titanium backup,alot of folks seem to somewhat prefer the ui to that of titanium.

i personally have always just used titanium

 

[greggars]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=14191938&postcount=1

from other post - sorry if i confused things

I have no real interest in the Beats version but the promise of extra speed sounds pretty good to me and of course the lack of bloatware etc

lemme know what you think and how to do it lol

thanks again

 

[scotty85]

no prollem,you didnt confuse anything,i just didnt want to ask you for a link there,as i didnt want someone to try and accidentally flash it on a rezound

ARHD is a great rom,especially if you want a stockish,unthemed experience with some tweeks and improvements. :smokingsomb: ive used mike1986's ARHD roms on the sensation,DHD,and am currently running it on my international one X.

you will not be able to flash the recomended radio,but the rom should still work.

i would also highly recomend 4ext recovery. ral has an excellent guide in the desire hd forum on how to obtain it,and how to use it: http://androidforums.com/desire-hd-all-things-root/631481-4ext-recovery-how.html

in order for the rom to flash the boot image for you,you need to fastboot boot ext 4 into phone memory when you want to flash a new rom. you will need an image to place in your miniadb folder,so download this:
PG58IMG-pyramid-recovery-ext_4.zip

extract it,and place the image inside into the miniadb folder. remove the clockwork recovery image,or make sure that each one is named differently(i.e. recovery_ext_4 or recovery_CW)

the md5 sum of the image inside the .zip file is: recovery.img 8e756b40c3183abf90ec6479d2c5e775

once youve got 4ext installed,have an image you can boot, and have a pretty good idea how to use the recovery menus, all you need to do is:
1)download wichever version youd like to try
2)transfer it to your sd card
3)fastboot boot recovery into memory,ad described in the http://androidforums.com/rezound-all-things-root/587430-s-want-flash-roms-read.html thread
4)make a backup
5)wipe data/factory reset,wipe cache,wipe dalvik cache(you dont need superwipe)
6)flash ARHD
7)reboot

note that you can use the permanent recovery to make backups,or flash things that do not require a different kernel(some themes and mods will be flashed in recovery). just remember,that plugging into the PC and fastboot booting the recovery will let you flash roms,and restore backups just as if you were s-off

holler if you have questions

 

[greggars]

if i have any questions.... just a few but i'll start with the easiest to answer i guess.

All this sounds pretty techincal and difficult right now but so did driving a car before I actually practiced a few times etc - that being said, i don't want to practice and completely ruin my phone.

If i have a spare SD card, can i try this on the spare card and then run a back up off of my current card should all go wrong or are all changes done on the phone and irreversible?... in a nutshell - how much damage could i do if i mess this up?

A quick 2nd question is... would it be much simpler with s-off?

 

[scotty85]

no need to use a spare sd card,i cant really think of any damage to the card you can do. if you wish to use a spare,however,that would be fine.

also,rest assured that there is literally change to permantly damage the phone to an unfixable state. that is one big advantage of staying s-on,is that the radios and bootloader are protected. any bad flashed of boot,system,or recovery should be easily fixable by relocking the bootloader and running a factory RUU in an extreme worse case scenario.

absolutely feel free to prectice away. make a backup,then wipe and restore it. you could even do this from the permant recovery if you wanted,since the kernel is not changing,but it would be good to practice the fastboot boot part as well.

as long as you make a backup,you can always pickup exactly where you left off if the rom install doenst work,or you plain and simple dont like it.

the common scenarios for mistakes are:
1)prollem: things force close and dont work on the booted rom
common cause: not wiping fully when installing a new rom

2)prollem: boot loop
common cause: installing a rom that is not compatible with your current firmware(example,flashing a gingerbread rom with your ICS firmware),or a corrupt rom install,or possible other causes

3)prollem: goes to the splach screen and stays there
common cause: kernel not installed. usually from installing a rom or restoring a backup from permanent recovery

 

[scotty85]

A quick 2nd question is... would it be much simpler with s-off?

yup. :smokingsomb:

with s-off,a permanent recovery is now able to install the kernel,simplifying things greatly. it also lets you change firmware if you want/need to.

 

[greggars]

ok - nearing a point where i'm gonna take the plunge - my only other pre-install question is... is there a way to back my apps so i don't need to reinstall completely from playstore or does this wipe mean ecerything is gone and i need to download/install from scratch again?

 

[scotty85]

ok - nearing a point where i'm gonna take the plunge - my only other pre-install question is... is there a way to back my apps so i don't need to reinstall completely from playstore or does this wipe mean ecerything is gone and i need to download/install from scratch again?

ive heard/read that my backup pro is able to backup your apps themselves,without being rooted. unfortunately,there is no way that i know of to back up app data.

 

[greggars]

i am rooted just not s-off unless i understand the terminology wrong - followed your guide to get root access

 

[scotty85]

i am rooted just not s-off unless i understand the terminology wrong - followed your guide to get root access

*smacks forehead*

youre right,lol... just got a new toy(international flyer) and in the midst of messing with it,so i didnt really think about what i was saying.

you are rooted,so you can make a nandroid backup in recovery,and you can back up all your apps and app data with my backup pro,or titanium backup.

if youre going to attempt s off,one thing id recomend is keep your good sd card safe. pick up a small spare to use for the process,do a full format on it to FAT32.

there is a small chance that the sd card may become damaged beyond fixing during the process,so better safe than sorry

 

[greggars]

sorry scotty - i'm being completely noob here but are you saying to folloe the guide for ext4 on how to flash ROMs with ext4? As there is quite an extensive guide there or do I follow your 7 steps

1)download wichever version youd like to try
2)transfer it to your sd card
3)fastboot boot recovery into memory,ad described in the http://androidforums.com/rezound-all-things-root/587430-s-want-flash-roms-read.html thread
4)make a backup
5)wipe data/factory reset,wipe cache,wipe dalvik cache(you dont need superwipe)
6)flash ARHD
7)reboot

after installing ext4? ie.do i stop after completing Ral's 1st post?

confused again lol - was so close then i tied myself in knots

Help again please... noob proof please..

So far i have

got root access but no s-off
got superuser installed etc
titanium backup (free)
clockwork installed

downloaded, extracted and md5sum checked the recovery file (PG58IMG-pyramid-recovery-ext_4.zip)
downloaded the ROM (Android_Revolution_HD-Sensation_6.8.0)
backed up all my apps and system data with titanium

next step please Scotty

very much appreciated again...

 

[scotty85]

You will use my steps. But you can use rals guide to help you do steps 4,5,6

 

[greggars]

truly awesome Scotty - followed your steps and as before, and VOILA! I have a new(ish) Sensation XE - not sure how to check on the overclocking etc but i do know the ROM definitely installed and shows up as the modified software number when i check in settings and all the bloatware is gone.

wanted you to check this screenie cos it showed an error when i flashboot booted ext4 - by complete fluke, i decided to try to load the recovery and my phone booted into ext4 - not sure of the explanation for that but i thought i'd let you know in case someone was stuck after trying to flashboot boot ext4



anyway as i said, many many thanks for the noob-proof guide, the steps really do work on an s-on Sensation, rooted by following your guide - you truly must be a genius

 

[greggars]

GARRRRRR - Scotty help!!!!

I guess i spoke too soon - your guide does indeed work and the ROM is indeed installed etc. All booted up fine and wonderful - everything was awesome until i tried to connect to Play Store to download Titanium so i could restore all apps - my phone won't connect to Play - it keeps reporting "No Connection - Retry", of course after retry.. same message.

I can access the Internet thru my browser but that connection is a bit ropey too - You think it maybe the radio firmware upgrade?

Was thinking I need to restore to old ROM etc and maybe go to S-off but thought I would ask what you suggested first

edit - i can access play store occasionally and intermittently - the connection appears to be switching between 3G and H - not sure what H is but after googling it, it seems it is better than 3g, i just wonder if this is the problem as i didn't upgrade my radio firmware - if this isn't your area, let me know as you've already be extremely helpful and provided more than your share of genius

 

[scotty85]

truly awesome Scotty - followed your steps and as before, and VOILA! I have a new(ish) Sensation XE - not sure how to check on the overclocking etc but i do know the ROM definitely installed and shows up as the modified software number when i check in settings and all the bloatware is gone.

wanted you to check this screenie cos it showed an error when i flashboot booted ext4 - by complete fluke, i decided to try to load the recovery and my phone booted into ext4 - not sure of the explanation for that but i thought i'd let you know in case someone was stuck after trying to flashboot boot ext4

View attachment 43146

anyway as i said, many many thanks for the noob-proof guide, the steps really do work on an s-on Sensation, rooted by following your guide - you truly must be a genius

that is exactly what should have happened. you cannot boot the updater.apk you needed to fastboot boot the image,as you did the 2nd time when it was successful.

GARRRRRR - Scotty help!!!!

I guess i spoke too soon - your guide does indeed work and the ROM is indeed installed etc. All booted up fine and wonderful - everything was awesome until i tried to connect to Play Store to download Titanium so i could restore all apps - my phone won't connect to Play - it keeps reporting "No Connection - Retry", of course after retry.. same message.

I can access the Internet thru my browser but that connection is a bit ropey too - You think it maybe the radio firmware upgrade?

Was thinking I need to restore to old ROM etc and maybe go to S-off but thought I would ask what you suggested first

edit - i can access play store occasionally and intermittently - the connection appears to be switching between 3G and H - not sure what H is but after googling it, it seems it is better than 3g, i just wonder if this is the problem as i didn't upgrade my radio firmware - if this isn't your area, let me know as you've already be extremely helpful and provided more than your share of genius

H data is t mobiles 4g,wich is the HSPA+ band used by some carriers. not updating the radios may leave you with an "unoptimized" setup,but should not casue the issue youre having.

did you do a full wipe prior to flashing?

can you reliably access the market/internet over wifi?

if you did not wipe data,cache,and dalvik cache,i would rewipe and flash the rom again.

if you need to,you can fastboot boot the recovery and then restore the backup you made prior to flashing

 

[greggars]

yeah - i followed the instructions to the letter - fully wiped but didn't use superwipe - weird thing is the problem seems to have resolved itself over the last hour or so - is it possible that it is intuitive and has decided itself on the best method for connectivity? It seems to be fine now - thankfully as you say I can always restore or even try a new ROM now I know what's what - all kinda fun

Do you know how i can check of my processor is in fact over-clocked by the way? i tried an app off the market but it said my processot was 1122 mhz and the reviews all said the app wasn't good.

All i can say is thank you for patience, efforts and advice - on the down side, you've probably gained a few more headaches as i try various other things with ROMs etc - a victim of your own success lol

Cheers again sir

 

[scotty85]

Hey Scotty, I'm having some big problems trying to root my gfs sensation 4g. I followed your "noob rooting guide" and got everything done in it up to "fastboot devices". Everything works fine just like you described it till I get to that part. Then when I run that command, absolutely nothing happens. I don't know what to do, and I really want to put a new rom on her phone because its slugish as all hell. Please help!

what step are you on? make sure that the phone is in fastboot,and not hboot(you should se fastboot usb in red underneath the other info

you can try different usb cables and usb ports. make 100% sure that nothing is running onthe PC that can comuicate with the phone- htc sync,pda net,easy tether,even itunes can cause issues.

sometimes a reboot of the pc will work.

make sure drivers are working. if you used the revolutionary drivers i recomended above,you should be good,but you can find the phone(in fasboot) with device manager and then manually update the drivers,pointing the wizard to the unzipped revolutionary driver folder.

 

[Adrian_X]

I'm at the step where you type "fastboot devices" in the CMD prompt. I'm stumped because every other step up to that works fine, but then its like the connection between the phone and PC get cut off even though its plugged in. I do not have anything running on the pc aside from firefox to see the guide.