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Help anyone able to help me update to 2.1?

I had a few worries about updating my Hero on Orange from 1.5 to 2.1. I needn't have worried. The process is very easy to do, but please do ask your questions here because the answers will help others who are in the same situation.
I have found everyone here to be extremely helpful and very nice people. After all, we all share a common interest and want each other to have the best experience from our beloved gadgets.

Cheers,

Steve
 
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I just upgrade from 1.5 build 1.7xxxx a few days ago. The upgrade is definitely worthy. Now my HTC Hero (GSM) has a new life!

I was just about to sell my phone before the upgrade. My Windows 7 64-bit kept failing to detect the phone. The problem persisted even after 10 times of reinstallation. I later found out this is a software issue of HTC Sync which is not fully compatible with Windows 7 64-bit.

I did not received any notification on my phone when 2.1 was released. It seems that 1.5 build 1.7xxxx does not support such notification.

This is my upgrade experience:

The first step was to upgrade from 1.5 build 1.7xxxx to 1.5 build 2.7xxxx. I decided to use my wife's Windows XP computer to perform the upgrade since the HTC Sync hates Windows 7. The ROM Upgrade can be found at HTC Worldwide site. The upgrade was very smooth.

After the upgrade (still 1.5 but with build 2.7xxxx), I immediately received the upgrade notification when I connected to WiFi. So the second step was to upgrade over the air to 2.1.

Among the major improvement I see:

1) No more sync problem. Now I can use the newer HTC Sync for 2.1.

2) The contact photos on the phone no longer go blur after syncing to my Outlook 2007.

3) Two screenshots are available when viewing an application under the Market. I can now have a clearer idea before installing any app.
 
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For an Orange-branded handset the firmware version needs to be 2.73.65.66 for the OTA updates to be available. Check your current build number (Settings/About phone/Software information) and update if required. There's a link to the download from HTC near the top of this post.

Backup will be required of contacts etc as the handset will be wiped during the update. Data on the external memory card will not be deleted, only that on internal memory.

All being well, once restarted after the upgrade your handset should receive the pre-2.1 OTA update. If it doesn't appear within a few minutes try resetting the handset date forward a month - that should trigger it. Once this is installed you'll see a "Check for updates" button in Settings/About phone/Software information; tap that and the main 2.1 update should initiate.

HTH
 
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my current build is 1.0.0.a6288

Nope, check again. Depending on how old your Hero is the build number will be either 1.76.xx.xx or 2.73.xx.xx. :)

how do i back everything up?

Define "everything". ;)

How are your contacts currently saved, on SIM, 'phone or Gmail? Photos, videos, music etc are saved on external memory so they're safe. Any paid apps are linked to your Google account so can be reinstalled without charge from the Market after upgrading.
 
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my build is 2.73.61.5

Okay, that confirms that you'll need the 2.73.65.66 update as noted previously.

i think my contacts are saved to phone
See here for ideas on backing up.

im sure i read you can back up all your apps on to anothera app somehow???
Several apps exist that allow this. Off the top of my head I think MyBackup Pro and App Control are two. I use Titanium Backup but it requires root.

if i downloaded them how do i remember which i have downloaded?
Paid apps are linked to your Google account and will show in "Downloads" as Purchased. For free apps the data is lost with the wipe so make a note of the app name.
 
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Hi All, may I join the party?

I am a newby here (1st post), but really I'm an oldie (1943 vintage!), so not quite up to speed as you guys.... but I can't be that bad because I got here!!

I have a Hero that I bought about 9 months ago on eBay, it had already been rooted (I assume) as it had MoDaCo Custom Rom 3.1 installed!
I use it on UK 02. (with no problems!).

It still has the original Android Version 1.5 and I want to update it to 2.1.
There are a couple of Apps I want, like the new eBay one, that I can't seem to get and I assume it is because of the old system.

Questions:
1. Will I need to install an official HTC Rom version in order to get offered an over the air upgrade?

2. If not, which Rom should I install?

3. Is there any way of just downloading the upgrade and installing it? (I have looked at HTC site, but can't see it).

Thanks for reading this, and for any suggestions.
 
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Since your phone is already rooted you may as well stick with custom ROMs. They're much better.

In your case I would go for Villain 12. It's based on the official 2.1 firmware but with tweaks and improvements :) You could go for a 2.2 ROM, but those are less polished and a little unstable.

We can help you do that if that's what you want.

But if you do want to go for official firmware, then yes you would have to install an old 1.5 ROM and get the OTA update.
 
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