Quick Rooting Question

[Hunda]

I understand that rooting (and loading a new ROM ideally) will erase everything, however I was wondering if I would be able to keep some of the widgets ( I do like the clock, but am a little hesitant to buy the 'Beautiful Widgets' app. )

So basically are widgets 'transferable'?

Also I was reading the Quick INTRO TO ROOTING guide and it said there were apps to save SMSs and MMSs, however I was wondering if their were apps to load them back in.

I hope these aren't dumb. Thank you in advance.

 

[Xyro]

Rooting your current firmware won't wipe anything at all, so you'll be fine there.

Switching to a custom firmware will wipe it all, like you say. You can backup/restore all third party apps (and their associated widgets) with Titanium Backup, but not the HTC Sense ones. So if you switch to a ROM with HTC Sense, then that's fine, since they'll be part of the new ROM. Vanilla ROMs are the only ones that will require you to find replacement widgets. So, which custom ROM do you intend to switch to?

'Fancy Widget' is a clone of the HTC Flipclock and I believe you can still find that on the market. Which other widgets would you want to replace?

And most apps that backup also restore. I use SMS Backup & Restore for my SMS messages, although I'm not sure if it handles MMS messages.

 

[Hunda]

Oh, thank you very much.

I am not quite sure which ROM I will switch to, I'll research that a bit and such. However, would you recommend going with a ROM that has HTC Sense or one that doesn't. That might be a loaded question, but I'll definitely just look up the pros and cons of each, just was wondering if there was a major upside to either.

 

[Xyro]

Well, first off, are you using a CDMA Hero? Such as Sprint/Cellular South and so on.

Assuming you aren't (since this is the GSM Hero section, not the CDMA one), it depends whether you want 2.1 or 2.2. If you want 2.2 (faster, more features) you have to go for a vanilla ROM, but there are a lot of things you can do to make up for the loss of HTC Sense.

If you want 2.1 (a more stable experience), then the choice is up to you. There may be minor speed increases to a vanilla 2.1 ROM, but it's not going to make much difference.

But yeah, GSM or CDMA?

 

[Hunda]

Ah, yes, I'm very sorry I didn't notice the specific Sprint HTC Hero group. But yes, CDMA. And yes, perhaps going with a 2.2 version would be better.

I just recently got it and it came with 2.1 pre-loaded, so I am not sure if that makes much of a difference, at least since some have mentioned that they might have 'patched the rooting', or something of that sort..p

 

[Xyro]

Right, I've moved this to the Sprint (CDMA) section then. Whilst most of the stuff I've said still applies, I can't comment on the current custom ROMs for the Sprint Hero.

The rooting method and custom ROMs are different for the two types of hero you see. So make sure you're sticking to guides/roms for CDMA Heroes, or you will brick your phone.

 

[andygu3]

Ah, yes, I'm very sorry I didn't notice the specific Sprint HTC Hero group. But yes, CDMA. And yes, perhaps going with a 2.2 version would be better.

I just recently got it and it came with 2.1 pre-loaded, so I am not sure if that makes much of a difference, at least since some have mentioned that they might have 'patched the rooting', or something of that sort..p

What is your firmware number?

 

[chawski]

I rooted about a month ago and went with the Cyanogenmod6, which is a 2.2 based vanilla ROM. By "vanilla" that basically means its bare bones android. none of the sprint stuff, none of the htc stuff.
In my opinion, the pros are that you dont have all the sprint crap weighing down your phone. Not sure about your own personal tastes, but ive never used sprints nascar, nfl, or tv apps, nor could i get rid of them. they were just there taking up space on my phone. another pro is that if you do like any or all of those, they can be easily downloaded.
The cons are that you dont get the sense widgets. At first i was kinda missing them, but everything that sense could do can be had for free or cheap. I use the beautiful widgets clock and it works really well. it links to your alarm, calendar, and weather really well.

Also, keep checking back here or on xda, as a 2.2 with sense is being ported to our phones as we speak. theres a version thats about 80% complete already out. the guys working on it seem pretty damn top notch, so i dont imagine its gonna take long until we see a stable version

 

[Hunda]

Thanks Xyro.

What is your firmware number?

2.1-update1

And yeah, chawski, I am not particularly fond of the worthless apps offered by sprint. Did you have any problems while rooting/loading the ROM?

 

[andygu3]

Thanks Xyro.



2.1-update1

And yeah, chawski, I am not particularly fond of the worthless apps offered by sprint. Did you have any problems while rooting/loading the ROM?

Have recently installed the latest update from Sprint? If so you will have to revert back to 2......5 or 2.......6. Once you have done that you should be able to use the one click root method.

 

[Hunda]

Have recently installed the latest update from Sprint? If so you will have to revert back to 2......5 or 2.......6. Once you have done that you should be able to use the one click root method.

Oh awesome, thank you. Would I find the earlier firmwares on the HTC site?

 

[DonB]

You can get the .6 update HERE

Oh awesome, thank you. Would I find the earlier firmwares on the HTC site?

 

[chawski]

Thanks Xyro.



2.1-update1

And yeah, chawski, I am not particularly fond of the worthless apps offered by sprint. Did you have any problems while rooting/loading the ROM?

The only problem I had was self induced, bc i just didnt know what i was doing... Instead of just dropping the entire .zip file into the sd card, i tried extracting it and loading the individual files. A simple nandroid got me back to where i started, did it again as i should have (drop entire .zip into the sd card), and worked as it should. As far as rooting, i did the once click method, and it couldnt get much more idiot-proof than that. when it says "click to root", you click the button labeled "root". when it says "restart" you restart haha. I played around in with sense for a few days before going to a custom rom (CM6) and ive been extremely pleased

 

[Hunda]

You can get the .6 update HERE

DonB, do I run this off my computer or do I need a file explorer type app and then run it off my phone?

Chawski, which one-click method did you go with, or is there only one...?

(Thank you)

 

[johnny124]

Hunda, once you root I would recomend NFX Rom. I have tried alot so far and this one is by far the best. It also resembles the original Hero with more.

 

[Hunda]

I will defnitely look into it johnny, thanks.

Okay I've rooted it and such and am now trying to get a new recovery image, but for some reason the only properly working terminal for says: 'flash_image: not found'

..and I am entering flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-heroc-v1.6.2.img

 

[Hunda]

Also, when I try to enter recovery mode a image of a phone ( ironically GSM Hero) with a red triangle and exclamation point appears.

 

[DonB]

Yes you run the .6 build from your PC to your Hero, and here is the one click root process, make sure also if your phone is GSM that you flash only a GSM Rom, or you will brick your phone, if you are CDMA that you use a CDMA Rom!!!!

YouTube - The EASIEST way to root an Android and add Recovery Image

DonB, do I run this off my computer or do I need a file explorer type app and then run it off my phone?

Chawski, which one-click method did you go with, or is there only one...?

(Thank you)