Root/ROM/Sense UI

[Wiskid]

Do custom ROMs (Fresh, etc) run faster than the stock ROM with Sense UI??

Is this the main benefit to rooting -- Faster ROMs?

 

[vido.ardes]

In short yes. But it's debatable if it's worth the hassle. To be honest unless you are really unhappy with your phone, I woudl wait until HTC release an offical update, and see what that it like first.

 

[shadrap]

I have had my Hero since release, I can tell you 100% it is worth rooting. It is faster in every aspect. Rooting is not that hard. Just follow the guide. It will literally take you 10 minutes.

 

[myke66]

In short yes. But it's debatable if it's worth the hassle. To be honest unless you are really unhappy with your phone, I woudl wait until HTC release an offical update, and see what that it like first.

Its not debatable its absolutely worth it.Rooting and installing a custom rom makes your phone dramatically faster as well as giving it extra features. As far as the hassle goes the whole process takes maybe 10 minutes.

 

[myke66]

I have had my Hero since release, I can tell you 100% it is worth rooting. It is faster in every aspect. Rooting is not that hard. Just follow the guide. It will literally take you 10 minutes.

wow i didnt read this before posting, you nailed it

 

[Mauddib]

Heck download the pre Kitchen from geekfor.me and use the auto root function. And yes it is well worth rooting. Not only is it faster but I have fun just playing around with different things you can do. Plus you can flash a semi working 2.1 and play around with that.

 

[dkokkos]

i could root my phone but no camera right? which is the rom do you suggest that will have everything working for me?

 

[n0gik]

i could root my phone but no camera right? which is the rom do you suggest that will have everything working for me?

Root it with Pre-kitchen. Literally only minutes to do it. Actually takes longer to reboot than to root. Once you have the 1.5.2 recovery image (and running) you can use Nandroid to backup. Geek For Me – Android CDMA Sprint Hero

With Nandroid backup, you could try most all of the available ROM choices and pretty much revert to a previously saved ROM at any time. Just make sure you have plenty of /sdcard available. May also want to copy the Nandroid backups out to a host PC.

You'll still have your camera after you root. Depending on what ROM you run, camera functions are generally support. If you see problems tho - you can always do a restore from Recovery and Nandroid. Look for QuickBoot in the market too as it makes starting Recovery pretty simple.

Hope this helps.

 

[jvoegele]

i could root my phone but no camera right? which is the rom do you suggest that will have everything working for me?

Your phone camera will not function if you install one of the beta "Eclair" ROMs, which are based on Android 2.1. There are also some other functions, such as multi-touch, that do not work with the beta Eclair ROMs.

However, if you choose one of the ROMs based on the standard Sprint/HTC 1.5 base, then everything should function properly including camera, etc. Rooting your phone and installing Fresh 1.1 or MoDaCo 2.0 will improve performance of your phone, and add some functionality that you cannot currently get with the stock firmware, such as WiFi tethering. You could then also remove some of the stock Sprint or HTC apps if you wish, such as the Sprint Nascar app or the HTC Stocks app.

I tried both Fresh 1.1 and MoDaCo 2.0. In the end, I chose to go with MoDaCo since it is closer to the original firmware whereas Fresh includes the new "Espresso" version of the Sense UI, which seems half-baked and I personally do not care for.

 

[NoNeck]

I have had my Hero for about 2 months now and think I'm ready to take that plunge into rooting it, but I have one question. How do you back up your phone in case something goes wrong or if i have to take it to the Sprint Store for any reason? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[BSki]

I have had my Hero for about 2 months now and think I'm ready to take that plunge into rooting it, but I have one question. How do you back up your phone in case something goes wrong or if i have to take it to the Sprint Store for any reason? Thanks in advance for any help.

Read more read more read more. Asked and answered many times over.

 

[Wiskid]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I think I'll take the plunge...