Help Is it possible to upgrade 8 years too late!

[nickdc]

I have an HTC Desire S which I've owned from new. I currently use an HTC 10 but want to revive the Desire S for my partner's use, but I can't find a way of making it usable. It's running Android 2.3.5 and when I try to do a software update through the settings menu I'm told "Your phone is up to date" and that there are no updates available. I've seen that there was a possibility of upgrading to ICS back in the day, but I haven't had any success. I've tried various guides for rooting, installing custom ROMs etc, but everything seems to run aground - eg crucial files (su-2.3.6.3-efgh-signed.zip) are no longer available, Android Market no longer works etc. I've tried unlocking the bootloader from the HTC developer site (on a linux desktop) but I'm unable to get the necessary token (I get stuck on the "awaiting device" message...). I'm at my wits end. This is a device in near mint condition and I can't believe there's not a way to upgrade it to a slightly more recent version of Android, at least to one using the Play Store. I don't particularly want to root it or do anything fancy ... Can someone offer some sound advice or point me to a currently available, up to date guide? Details of the phone are as follows:

HTC Desire S S510e
IMEI:355067047883004
IMEI SV: 03
Serial No.: HT13VTJ08402

*** LOCKED ***
SAGA PVT SHIP S-ON RL
HBOOT-2.00.0002
RADIO-382.10.50.24_M
eMMC-boot
Aug 22 2011, 15:22:13

 

[Hadron]

If there is no newer version from HTC then a custom ROM is your only option. I don't know what ROMs exist or are still available for that phone.

 

[ocnbrze]

yeah the problem you are running into is that most root tools, files, custom roms and such are usually shared on file sharing site. some cost money to keep those files public, some sites might have closed and no longer is available, or sometimes those sites can hold only so much files and the dev might have delete stuff to make room for other things.

so it will be hard to find the files you need to gain root. the only thing i can think of is trying to contact the developer and see if they still have the files for you.

rooting is the only way to get to ics, unfortunately. why do you want to update? if the phone still works, you can still do the basic functions like texting, making phone calls and even emails. now apps will be a different story.

 

[Hadron]

OK, I did a little bit of digging and it seems that HTC did release an Android 4 build for some Desire S models. Go to https://www.htcdev.com/devcenter/downloads, choose "Desire S" as the model and "other" for download type (as opposed to "kernel source code"), and you'll find a 400 MB Android 4 RUU (ROM Upgrade Utility).

Whether it will work for you or not may depend on your phone - I don't know what Customer IDs will accept this one (the "customer" here is not you but the region/carrier this phone was made for). But if you want to give it a go the worst that can happen is that you download 400MB and it won't install. Note that an RUU will factory reset the phone, so if there's anything important on their back it up first.

There's a chance this one will work on a wide range of CIDs. As far as I know it was never released as an over the air update, which is reminiscent of the earlier HTC Desire: the last OTA update was 2.2, but they did release an official 2.3 as an RUU download for those who wanted, and that worked on most non-CDMA Desires (the CDMA ones had different radio hardware and firmware so were not compatible). So if they did the same with the Desire S there's a good chance you can use this.

 

[svim]

I would just let this phone retire and focus your attention on a new or at least newer phone. The hardware specs on this model are very, very dated and there is no modern OS that will run on it.
https://www.gsmarena.com/htc_desire_s-3776.php
At best all you can expect from this phone is going to be a very limited amount of functionality with a lot of problems using any online service. It makes no difference that it's in 'mint condition', it simply cannot function well in today's environment.
Compare the specs on this Desire S model with a current budget class phone:
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-budget-android-phone/
It's not just a software issue involved, it's hardware.

 

[nickdc]

Thanks for all the comments. I realise it's possibly not going to be very functional, but I still want to try; if it does work it will be ideally suited to my partner, who only needs a couple of apps in addition to calls and texts.

Hadron, thanks so much for your "digging". Since posting I've been going down that route. I discovered the HTC official release in the early stages of this project, then abandoned it when I couldn't get hold of an earlier version of HTC Sync. At the same time I discovered that linux has no problems connecting to the phone, so started down the rooting road. Since reaching a dead end* there, I've returned to the Windows environment and after much effort have finally got HTC Sync installed on an old Sony laptop running Win 7. That was quite a breakthrough and I thought I'd then be able to run the official update application, only to find HTC Sync doesn't find the phone! It's a Win 7 drivers issue I'm pretty sure; the HTC drivers, which were causing the initial install failure, are now in place. I have a folder of Win 7 usb drivers which were with the HTC drivers on the XDA site, but I can't get Win 7 to use them. When I point the "Update drivers" dialogue at that folder it doesn't find anything it can use. (Grrr! That's why I left Windows!)
*Just to add that since my original post I have managed to get a bit further. I finally got the unlock token from the HTC site (answer #21, here, did the trick), but then I got an error when I tried to flash it to the phone:
[nick@nick-pc-3 linux-files]$ fastboot flash unlocktoken Unlock_code.bin
fastboot: core/libsparse/sparse.cpp:131: int write_all_blocks(struct sparse_file *, struct output_file *): Assertion `pad >= 0' failed.
Aborted (core dumped)
I'm stumped by this - if anyone can interpret it and explain the problem I'd be extremely grateful.
So, I'd appreciate advice towards progressing on either route:
1. Getting the Win 7 drivers (or whatever's needed) to enable HTC Sync to connect to the phone; or
2. Getting the unlock token to flash the phone in linux.

 

[nickdc]

Success at last! Pursuing route 1 I found another version of HTC Sync, which installed without a problem. And I tried a different usb cable, whereupon Windows installed the correct drivers and suddenly I was in business. The upgrade then ran without a hitch. Thanks again for the assistance.