Root [how to]unlock,install recovery,and root with htcdev

[phoneuser]

just holler if you have further questions

So I simply have to download the RUU and execute it after attaching my phone to my laptop???

Is there no need to downgrade my OS to an exploitable version first???

Is there no need to lock the bootloader or downgrade it???

Is there any need to get root for this procedure???

Will this procedure revert back the default recovery or will I still have 4 EXT???


It's my understanding that if I restore from my backup it will have all those apps and settings which might have been buggy in the first place, am I right?

Basically, what I want is to erase everything on the phone and do a fresh install of the latest or most stable GB version on my phone, so please suggest the most stable GB based stock ROM for my phone and steps on how to do it.


Thanks in advance!

 

[scotty85]

So I simply have to download the RUU and execute it after attaching my phone to my laptop???
yup

Is there no need to downgrade my OS to an exploitable version first???
nope

Is there no need to lock the bootloader or downgrade it???
you will need to relock your bootloader. you can unlock it again after,if you wish.

Is there any need to get root for this procedure???
nope. that is factory htc signed software/firmware so no root required. its actually used most often(other than rescuing soft bricked phones) to ger rid of root

Will this procedure revert back the default recovery or will I still have 4 EXT???
everything will be restored to the factory images. so ext 4 will be replaced with the factory recovery.

It's my understanding that if I restore from my backup it will have all those apps and settings which might have been buggy in the first place, am I right?
it depends on when you made your back up. if you were having an issue when you made the backup,you will indeed still have it if you restore it.

if you made the backup after a fresh reset,prior to any app installs,it should be as good as running the RUU

Basically, what I want is to erase everything on the phone and do a fresh install of the latest or most stable GB version on my phone, so please suggest the most stable GB based stock ROM for my phone and steps on how to do it.
the ruu linked is your same software,so it is the best choice.

Thanks in advance!

hope that helps

 

[phoneuser]

hope that helps

Finally after 2+ hours of effort I've installed it successfully.

Sharing my experience to help others

I installed HTC Sync 3.3.63 first from HTC website which I made sure is compatible with my DHD.

Then I tried running the RUU but it kept giving me " Error 170: USB Connection Error " so I thought maybe it's a driver issue, I downloaded and installed the HTC Driver 3.0.0.007 from your first post and still same issue.

Then I thought maybe it's because my HBoot is still unlocked, so I relocked it through CMD+ADB and still no luck. During this I noticed that my device serial was detected in CMD+ADB but it said offline even though I could mount the sdcard and view the files just fine.

Anyways, I went ahead and copied the rom.zip which the RUU extracted in temp folder and placed it in my sdcard. Rebooted in recovery and tried installing from sdcard and again it gave error.

Next I renamed the rom.zip to PB99IMG.zip and finally installed it that way

Can you provide your insight??? Was is due to my custom ROM and HBoot being on a higher version than the RUU???

I see that my HBoot is mow downgraded back to 2.00.0027 and locked and the default recovery is in place so it seems everything installed properly.

So I guess if I want to install a custom ROM again, I will have to repeat these steps:

1) Upgrade and unlock Bootloader from HTC website

2) Install custom recovery like ClockWorld or 4 EXT

3) Get Root access by installing SuperUser or similar app

4) Flash custom ROM by PB99IMG.zip method on SDcard

5) Flash the boot.img of the custom ROM


Did I miss anything


Thanks again for all the great help

 

[Mehta23]

If I've read that correctly, you've ran the ruu but kept the bootloader unlocked?

I think all you'd need to do is go straight to installing the recovery and then flashing a rom/backup unless you want to run stock but rooted

 

[scotty85]

If I've read that correctly, you've ran the ruu but kept the bootloader unlocked?

I think all you'd need to do is go straight to installing the recovery and then flashing a rom/backup unless you want to run stock but rooted

I believe he locked the bootloader,and ran the ruu wich has installed an older,unlockable bootloader.

 

[scotty85]

Finally after 2+ hours of effort I've installed it successfully.

Sharing my experience to help others

I installed HTC Sync 3.3.63 first from HTC website which I made sure is compatible with my DHD.

Then I tried running the RUU but it kept giving me " Error 170: USB Connection Error " so I thought maybe it's a driver issue, I downloaded and installed the HTC Driver 3.0.0.007 from your first post and still same issue.

Then I thought maybe it's because my HBoot is still unlocked, so I relocked it through CMD+ADB and still no luck. During this I noticed that my device serial was detected in CMD+ADB but it said offline even though I could mount the sdcard and view the files just fine.

Anyways, I went ahead and copied the rom.zip which the RUU extracted in temp folder and placed it in my sdcard. Rebooted in recovery and tried installing from sdcard and again it gave error.

Next I renamed the rom.zip to PB99IMG.zip and finally installed it that way

Can you provide your insight??? Was is due to my custom ROM and HBoot being on a higher version than the RUU???

I see that my HBoot is mow downgraded back to 2.00.0027 and locked and the default recovery is in place so it seems everything installed properly.

So I guess if I want to install a custom ROM again, I will have to repeat these steps:

1) Upgrade and unlock Bootloader from HTC website

2) Install custom recovery like ClockWorld or 4 EXT

3) Get Root access by installing SuperUser or similar app

4) Flash custom ROM by PB99IMG.zip method on SDcard

5) Flash the boot.img of the custom ROM


Did I miss anything


Thanks again for all the great help

Pretty close

Just a couple things need clarified:
1) if you wish to flash a custom Rom,then you dont need to flash superuser,just flash the Rom. Your custom Rom will have superuser built in.

2) your custom rom will be flashed using the menus in your custom recovery,not by renaming and installing in hboot.

As for why the ruu would not run,they are finicky and can be a pain. Error 170 was directly related to the device being offline. Usually that is fixed by an unplug/replug,using a different USB port or cable,or a simple reboot of the phone and/or pc. As long as the phone is recognized in fastboot,the utility can also be run with the phone in that mode.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with extracting rom.zip and running it the way you did.

 

[phoneuser]

Thanks for all the great help guys, you guys are a life saver

 

[arongann]

Thanks Scotty. I was able to successfully unlock my Inspire with HTCDev with your step-by-step tutorial. I'm still very new to this and just want to know exactly what this means I can do. I know a lot of customization is possible. Will this allow me to use my phone on other networks? Are there tutorials for customization of my phone?

Also, not familiar with these terms:

OTA, S-on, S-off. Basically I want to keep my ATT Inspire so I can use it on a less expensive network and customize it like I have never before. I just want to be sure if I'm on the right track or have the wrong "unlock" term in mind. Thanks for this awesome tutorial. (If I was able to do it, there's no reason why any other noob shouldn't be able to. )

 

[scotty85]

Thanks Scotty. I was able to successfully unlock my Inspire with HTCDev with your step-by-step tutorial. I'm still very new to this and just want to know exactly what this means I can do. I know a lot of customization is possible. Will this allow me to use my phone on other networks? Are there tutorials for customization of my phone?

Also, not familiar with these terms:

OTA, S-on, S-off. Basically I want to keep my ATT Inspire so I can use it on a less expensive network and customize it like I have never before. I just want to be sure if I'm on the right track or have the wrong "unlock" term in mind. Thanks for this awesome tutorial. (If I was able to do it, there's no reason why any other noob shouldn't be able to. )

technically,you can flash roms with an htcdev unlocked bootloader,but you are limited to that. no custom splash screens,you cannot change any firware or any other part of the phone. plus,rom flashing is a PITA with an s on phone,as the recovery cannot write the kernel,you must do that manually,every time you flash a rom or restore a backup.

i would pretty strongly recomend to become s-off and supercid,as they will make your life much easier when installing files and flashing roms. s-off basicly means security off,and is just that:removing all restrictions and security checks that the phone would normally do. it gives you access to all partitions. as long as you are able to use caution what you flash,it offers greater options for recovering soft bricked phones.

cid= carrier id(or customer id) and is basically the restriction on what software the phone can run. in your case,you are limited to at&t software on your inspire. supercid tells the phone that it is allowed to run any software,for example you could install stock european sense 3.0 the carrier id's are uniquie the carrier. supercid is 11111111.

you just need to go on with this guide: http://androidforums.com/desire-hd-...-s-off-simunlock-supercid-inspire-4g-dhd.html

it will give you s off,supercid,and unlock your sim card so you can use other carriers: http://androidforums.com/desire-hd-...-s-off-simunlock-supercid-inspire-4g-dhd.html

just holler in if you have questions

 

[phoneuser]

technically,you can flash roms with an htcdev unlocked bootloader,but you are limited to that. no custom splash screens,you cannot change any firware or any other part of the phone. plus,rom flashing is a PITA with an s on phone,as the recovery cannot write the kernel,you must do that manually,every time you flash a rom or restore a backup.

i would pretty strongly recomend to become s-off and supercid,as they will make your life much easier when installing files and flashing roms. s-off basicly means security off,and is just that:removing all restrictions and security checks that the phone would normally do. it gives you access to all partitions. as long as you are able to use caution what you flash,it offers greater options for recovering soft bricked phones.

cid= carrier id(or customer id) and is basically the restriction on what software the phone can run. in your case,you are limited to at&t software on your inspire. supercid tells the phone that it is allowed to run any software,for example you could install stock european sense 3.0 the carrier id's are uniquie the carrier. supercid is 11111111.

you just need to go on with this guide: http://androidforums.com/desire-hd-...-s-off-simunlock-supercid-inspire-4g-dhd.html

it will give you s off,supercid,and unlock your sim card so you can use other carriers: http://androidforums.com/desire-hd-...-s-off-simunlock-supercid-inspire-4g-dhd.html

just holler in if you have questions

Hi scotty, I'm back and need your help

The main reason why I experimented with my my HD desire was because it was giving me problems which I thought might be software based.

A little bit summary of my previous posts:

Attempt #1: Unlocked bootloader and installed a custom rom

Attempt #2: Relocked bootloader and installed latest factory rom


Here were the issues with the phone:

#1 getting stuck a lot becoming extremely sluggish and had to restart to fix it

#2 would randomly show the error "etc etc app unexpectedly stopped running" mostly while using text messaging and had to restart to use texts again

#3 would restart randomly but mostly while using the camera, this happened especially when battery was low, found out that it maybe due to my old battery so I replaced the battery with a new one and this seemed to have worked.

#4 battery level would show half full and then after restart very low, so not accurate reporting of battery level or maybe battery draining unexpectedly fast

#5 loud speaker turned on during a call and unable to disable it


-------------

Now most of the issues have been resolved but I still have these two persistent issues:

i) the phone randomly shows the error "app unexpectedly stopped running" mostly while using text messaging and at time the text messaging app gets stuck as I can't send or receive messages and I have to restart the phone to fix these issues

ii) the phone gets sluggish and applications take longer to process and I have to restart the phone to fix this problem

iii) the cell network signal dies out completely for a few seconds before coming back to full strength. This also happens randomly but has happened mostly during a call which results in the call being dropped ofcourse


So since I've tried installing custom rom and reinstalling the factory rom and some issues are still persistent, do you think this maybe a hardware issue??? Or maybe I need to install a new firmware or radio and experiment that way??? Please suggest if anything can be done to fix these issues.

Thanks

 

[scotty85]

I would run an ruu and restore everything to factory. Let the phone boot and settle,then go to hboot and perform a factory reset. If your issues persist after this,its likely some part of the hardware is failing.

Neither a custom rom,nor a radio swap is likely to help(and you're not able to change the radio anyway while s on)

If the reset fixes the prollem,wait a few days and verify the phone is happy. At that point you could re-unlock and install recovery and superuser if you wish to be rooted

 

[BenDorlouis]

You know , man , i've tryin to root my htc inspire 4g for about 2 months like , i've used many app like kingoapp oneclickroot , aahk , poot , gingerbreak , z4 root , odin (even if it was made for samsung only) , superoneclic , wardrive , and many other shitss ,('cuse for the language) out there on the net , in none of those methods could even halfroot my htc inspire , but i've never give up , i kept trying and finally i've found (my saviour) , you're the best of the bestest , no lie , do you imagine how many days i've been sleepin at 3am trying to figure out how to root a single little htc , i even thought about changing phone , and even about creating my own rootsoftware , so , in conclusion , if it wasnt for you and my courage of aladin , i might have not rooted that sh*t , so thank to God to put that idea in your head to publish this tutorial on this blog, if i had money , i would have donate , i swear to God and my mother's head

 

[BenDorlouis]

You see , i've even create an account just to thank you , thank you man , so very much , thank you , guys , this is the most painless and succesful method

 

[scotty85]

You know , man , i've tryin to root my htc inspire 4g for about 2 months like , i've used many app like kingoapp oneclickroot , aahk , poot , gingerbreak , z4 root , odin (even if it was made for samsung only) , superoneclic , wardrive , and many other shitss ,('cuse for the language) out there on the net , in none of those methods could even halfroot my htc inspire , but i've never give up , i kept trying and finally i've found (my saviour) , you're the best of the bestest , no lie , do you imagine how many days i've been sleepin at 3am trying to figure out how to root a single little htc , i even thought about changing phone , and even about creating my own rootsoftware , so , in conclusion , if it wasnt for you and my courage of aladin , i might have not rooted that sh*t , so thank to God to put that idea in your head to publish this tutorial on this blog, if i had money , i would have donate , i swear to God and my mother's head

Don't worry,donations are not necessary. Your thanks and nice words are enuff I'm we were able to help. Just holler if you have further questions

 

[BenDorlouis]

Don't worry,donations are not necessary. Your thanks and nice words are enuff I'm we were able to help. Just holler if you have further questions

Yeah man , but seriously , your help guys worth a great donation, no kiding; and... Yeah , my question is kinda stupid and beleive that the answer is no , but you know , gotta check it ; ok , is this a permanent root or temporary , i choose the permanent recovery method , if i reboot my phone , will the root access still here ??? ...... I know guys , i'm just worried , i don't wanna loose the root access

 

[scotty85]

Yeah man , but seriously , your help guys worth a great donation, no kiding; and... Yeah , my question is kinda stupid and beleive that the answer is no , but you know , gotta check it ; ok , is this a permanent root or temporary , i choose the permanent recovery method , if i reboot my phone , will the root access still here ??? ...... I know guys , i'm just worried , i don't wanna loose the root access

The answer is yes... The root will be there after reboot,and be there as long as you'd like it to be

 

[BenDorlouis]

The answer is yes... The root will be there after reboot,and be there as long as you'd lime it to be

This is even more than perfect , Thank you Scotty , as your usernam says, take care man

 

[troy327]

ok so im trying to root my 2nd htc inspire from AT&T and i keep geting this error on CMD. ive gotten help from you before on here so i am asking you...


c:\Android>md5sums PD98IMG_ace_recovery_ext_4.img

MD5sums 1.2 freeware for Win9x/ME/NT/2000/XP+
Copyright (C) 2001-2005 Jem Berkes - PC-Tools.Net: Tools and utilities for Windows, Unix/Linux, DOS
Type md5sums -h for help

[Path] / filename MD5 sum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Error: Unable to read file/directory PD98IMG_ace_recovery_ext_4.img

c:\Android>

 

[scotty85]

ok so im trying to root my 2nd htc inspire from AT&T and i keep geting this error on CMD. ive gotten help from you before on here so i am asking you...


c:\Android>md5sums PD98IMG_ace_recovery_ext_4.img

MD5sums 1.2 freeware for Win9x/ME/NT/2000/XP+
Copyright (C) 2001-2005 Jem Berkes - PC-Tools.Net: Tools and utilities for Windows, Unix/Linux, DOS
Type md5sums -h for help

[Path] / filename MD5 sum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Error: Unable to read file/directory PD98IMG_ace_recovery_ext_4.img

c:\Android>

Your file prolly is not in c:\android&gt or is named differently

 

[Lavatrax]

Hi,
Firstly thanks for what appears to be a very comprehensive guide. I'm a first time rooter so this should help me through. However, I've run into a problem quite early on.
My HBOOT does not have the ***locked*** at the top so I see I need to install a new RUU, but the list on HCTDEV does not have one for Vodafone ES which is where my phone came from.
Can I use one of the other vodafone ones from say UK, or is there somewhere else to look for the compatible RUU.

Thanks in advance.

 

[scotty85]

Hi,
Firstly thanks for what appears to be a very comprehensive guide. I'm a first time rooter so this should help me through. However, I've run into a problem quite early on.
My HBOOT does not have the ***locked*** at the top so I see I need to install a new RUU, but the list on HCTDEV does not have one for Vodafone ES which is where my phone came from.
Can I use one of the other vodafone ones from say UK, or is there somewhere else to look for the compatible RUU.

Thanks in advance.

follow these directions to get a getvar all,and post that info here. it should help us figure out which one you need

Spoiler

first download and install these drivers: revolutionary drivers (mirror)

then,download this small file:
mini-adb.zip

-unzip it,and place the unzipped folder onto the root of your C drive(not inside a folder)

-open a cmd window(with win 7,click start bubble,type "command" or "cmd" in hte search box)

-now change to your mini-adb directory(assuming you didnt chagne the name). type in the black cmd window that opened on your PC:
cd c:\mini-adb

-pull the battery in your phone for a few seconds. hold volume down,then power. hold them both until you see the white/colored writing hboot screen

-select "fastboot" from the hboot menu with the vol rocker/power button

-in your cmd window type:
fastboot devices

it should output your phones serial number. if so youre good to go. if not,youre apparently having a driver issue. i usually recomend these drivers from Revolutionary: modified htc drivers download and install the drivers(you should just have to run that file). afterwards,unplug your phone,plug it back in. make sure its in fastboot. as soon as you get a result from "fastboot devices" your ready to procede to the next step.

-in your cmd window,type(or copy/paste,is much easier):
fastboot getvar all

-copy the info that outputs here. right click in your cmd window,click mark,highlight it all in white. hit enter. paste the info here. it will help us know which ruu for you to run.

 

[Lavatrax]

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back to this. But even with the drivers you recommend I get an error on my PC saying that the USB device is not recognised or has malfunctioned when I enter Fastboot.

I is (or was) recognised when in Hboot though.

 

[D-U-R-X]

You may need to uninstall any drivers that are on your computer before installing the drivers Scotty linked. I know that sometimes that can cause issues (has done for me in the past)

 

[scotty85]

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back to this. But even with the drivers you recommend I get an error on my PC saying that the USB device is not recognised or has malfunctioned when I enter Fastboot.

I is (or was) recognised when in Hboot though.

heres some basic tips to adb troubleshooting:

Spoiler

troubleshooting connectivity issues:
*make sure you have changed to your adb/fastboot directory!
*make sure usb debugging is enabled(checkmarked) to use adb in the OS
-try a reboot of the PC
-try different usb cables and ports
-dont use a usb hub
-dont use usb 3.0
-make sure nothing capable of comunicating with the phone is enabled and running. htc sync,pdanet,easy tether,and even itunes have all been known to cause issues.
-windows 8 has been known to have issues. try a windows 7 or older machine

failing the above,
-i use these drivers for fastboot and adb(donwload and run as admin): http://downloads.unrevoked.com/HTCDriver3.0.0.007.exe (mirror)

failing that,try manually updating the drivers in the following manner:
-put the phone in fastboot mode(select fastboot from the hboot menu)
-open device manager on the PC
-plug in phone,watch for it to pop up in device manager.
-update drivers with device manager,pointing the wizard to the extracted
driver download folder from above

note that you can check the connectivity of the phone,and make sure drivers are working by in the following manner:
-open cmd window. change to directory containing adb/fastboot utilities

-adb with the phone in the booted OS,usb debug enabled,enter:
adb devices in a cmd window

-fastboot with phone in fastboot(not hboot!),enter:
fastboot devices in cmd window

in either case,a properly connected phone with working drivers installed should report back the phones serial number.

 

[p4psb]

Hello,

Please help, as I am stuck. I am trying to unlock a HTC Desire HD, with all HTC Drivers (Win XP) installed. I get to step 5 in the HTCDev tutorial, but unfortunately everytime in the bootloader the device is not recognised by Windows XP. It keeps asking for a driver.
I have installed the drivers, so what am I doing wrong, or is there something else to do?

Thanks for reading.