Sprint HTC Hero Rooting Questions

[CJBojangles]

First I have to explain that I know little to nothing about the inner workings of the Android platform. I don't know any coding terminology and am a complete noob in regards to programming. With that out of the way...

I'm looking to root my Sprint HTC Hero to remove the bloatware (NFL, NASCAR, etc.) that came with the phone to give me a little more disc space, and hopefully a speedier experience. A friend of mine suggested I use an app called "SuperOneClickRoot", then install an app called "Titanium Backup" to remove the bloatware. Is SuperOneClickRoot a reliable program to use, and is there a set of instructions that don't involve several abbreviations and programming terminology? Or is there a simpler method I should use to root my device?

Also a question pertaining to my Sprint contract. I'm eligible for an upgrade this fall. Will rooting my phone in any way affect my eligibility to upgrade to a new phone?

Thank you so much for your help. It's greatly appreciated!

- CJ

Miscellaneous phone info:
Firmware version: 2.1-update1
Build number: 2.32.651.2

 

[Xyro]

Thread moved to the HTC Hero (Sprint) rooting section.

 

[rb312102]

There are many options for you. Here is a link to a thread where there are multiple links to rooting.
http://androidforums.com/sprint-her...-want-re-root-using-unrevoked-method-but.html

Read up and choose the one that you think will be easiest. Most are just one click methods. But read for yourself so you understand what you are doing. If you download an .apk you can install it from an app like astro or es file explorer you can get on the market.

As for upgrading I don't think it should matter because you keep your phone and are just using your upgrade to get a new phone. However it is possible to load an ruu which is a file that returns your phone to a completely stock sprint rom and they would not know you ever rooted.

There are many many threads that explain rooting step by step on this forum. The best advice is to read read and read again. If you understand what you are doing it will be a lot easier for you in case something ever goes wrong.

Here is another link where someone has been walked through rooting and setting up roms.
http://androidforums.com/sprint-hero-all-things-root/289552-ok-im-ready-root-how-long-process.html

 

[rb312102]

CJ did you get it rooted?

 

[CJBojangles]

CJ did you get it rooted?

Yes, I did! I used z4root. I was able to flash my first ROM with little difficulty. I'm using Cyanogen. Missing my HTC clock and calendar widgets though. Cyanogen is a great interface, but has a very poor widget selection!

Is it as simple to revert back to my HTC stuff, if I end up deciding to?

Thanks again for the assistance.
- CJ

 

[rb312102]

Did you make a nandroid? If yes then all you have is restore from recovery and your back where you started but rooted. Yes cyanogen is an asop rom no sense. Sense is HTC exclusive there are roms that featire it but are not as fast to be honest. Get analog glass sense clock its my favorite or pay for beautiful Widgets they are almost the same as sense. I'm telling you, you will not regret not having sense after you experience the speed of asop roms. Just get Widgets from the market and make it your own.

 

[DonB]

For your sense clock, download fancy widgets, it is free and look exactly like the sense clock. and for a calender widget, try Calender pad,

Yes, I did! I used z4root. I was able to flash my first ROM with little difficulty. I'm using Cyanogen. Missing my HTC clock and calendar widgets though. Cyanogen is a great interface, but has a very poor widget selection!

Is it as simple to revert back to my HTC stuff, if I end up deciding to?

Thanks again for the assistance.
- CJ

 

[genuser]

Did you make a nandroid? If yes then all you have is restore from recovery and your back where you started but rooted. Yes cyanogen is an asop rom no sense. Sense is HTC exclusive there are roms that featire it but are not as fast to be honest. Get analog glass sense clock its my favorite or pay for beautiful Widgets they are almost the same as sense. I'm telling you, you will not regret not having sense after you experience the speed of asop roms. Just get Widgets from the market and make it your own.

I agree with RB here. There are some great widgets in the market. Just look around. LauncherPro Plus will get you some very sense like widgets and a much better launcher than the stock sense launcher. I love the Android Agenda Widget.

It's personal choice, but I am always amazed at how popular that HTC clock is. It's become a hallmark of the HTC phones. IMHO, I hate the thought of using that much home screen space for something that's on the lock screen and in the status bar.

 

[CJBojangles]

Did you make a nandroid? If yes then all you have is restore from recovery and your back where you started but rooted...

I followed the instructions on another site. I used the "Clockworkmod recovery" in ROM Manager. Does this perform the same action? Or am I screwed now?

I probably won't end up reverting to Sense, anyhow. My phone has been much faster using Cyanogen. There have been some minor annoyances like Facebook image syncing, but it's been worth it.

 

[rb312102]

I followed the instructions on another site. I used the "Clockworkmod recovery" in ROM Manager. Does this perform the same action? Or am I screwed now?

I probably won't end up reverting to Sense, anyhow. My phone has been much faster using Cyanogen. There have been some minor annoyances like Facebook image syncing, but it's been worth it.

Before you flashed did you got to backup restore in the recovery menu and choose backup? That's making a nandroid. Its always the biggest step before you flash a rom. If the flash goes Wrong and it wont load this allows you to restore your last rom if not things are much more difficult to get your phone working again.

 

[CJBojangles]

Before you flashed did you got to backup restore in the recovery menu and choose backup? That's making a nandroid. Its always the biggest step before you flash a rom. If the flash goes Wrong and it wont load this allows you to restore your last rom if not things are much more difficult to get your phone working again.

If you're referring to the recovery menu you get to by holding down certain buttons during startup, I never did anything with that. Everything I did was through ROM Manager, per an article I read on another site. I was under the impression flashing Clockworkmod recovery was what would allow me to restore to my previous settings.

 

[rb312102]

If you're referring to the recovery menu you get to by holding down certain buttons during startup, I never did anything with that. Everything I did was through ROM Manager, per an article I read on another site. I was under the impression flashing Clockworkmod recovery was what would allow me to restore to my previous settings.

So did you use the backup your rom option in rom manager?

 

[CJBojangles]

So did you use the backup your rom option in rom manager?

I believe so, yes.

 

[rb312102]

Did u download a file explorer or did your rom come with one? Go into it click the file that says clockwork

 

[CJBojangles]

Did u download a file explorer or did your rom come with one? Go into it click the file that says clockwork

 

[rb312102]

In the backup folder is the file a date and around 250 MB? If so your good to go. Now just remember to always make a nandroid of your current rom before doing any rom ugrading or switching just in case. And as long as you do its hard to mess up your phone. So have fun with trying new things out and welcome to the fun world of root.