HTC Official Update vs MonDaCo Custom ROM

[enemi]

Hi Guys,

I have a fairly new HTC Hero.
Came across this forum a few days ago, hoping to learn a few tricks about the android phone.

I am currently stuck as to whether root my phone and load the custom ROM, or get the official update.

I have gone through the forum and read that many people have been getting errors regarding the update.

My phone is purchased from Orange, but I have no idea of how to tell if it is branded or not.

There is no Orange stickers at the back of my phone or any orange logo on my home page.

So if I was to do the official update, do I use the standard one or the Orange one?


Sorry for the long first post, but will be looking forward to informative replies.

Thanks!

 

[MartinS]

Try entering your S/N on the standard ROM installation section on the HTC site and you'll soon find out if you can install it.

I have installed the new Orange ROM for the HTC and there are a few errors, which people say settle out after a couple of days. Otherwise, not much difference - I had ROM 1.73 and went to 2.73. 1.73 worked OK for me so apart from losing the flip clock and a couple of other things the only benefit I see so far is the phonebook scrolling is a little quicker.

 

[enemi]

Thanks for the reply MartinS

There's another thread in this forum currently on-going and there are a few people with problems loading the Orange ROM.

It seems that the phone gets stuck on the Boot screen.

I'm still unsure as whether to go for the rooted custom ROM route or the official update route.

I'm thinking that if future updates are to be released, custom ROMS would get released first?

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[MartinS]

Yes, I'm aware that other people have problems and think I'm luck so far.

Some of the custom ROMs do come out earlier and Orange are usually a little behind in these cases too. It was the same with the HTC Touch Diamond update (around 1 week later that the HTC site unbranded).

 

[enemi]

Ah okay, thank you for your opinions.

I'll probably wait to see if the problems with the Official Orange updates are fixed.
If not, i might go for the Custom ROM route, as it allows applications to be transferred to the SD card and ran from there.

=)

Any other comments are much appreciated!

 

[jonno]

I suppose I have a question regarding the above subject, and that is - which is more benefitial? Which has more Pros?

 

[enemi]

Yeah, any comments or opinions from people who have tried and tested both?

The only pros and cons of each that I can conclude at the moment (Without trying) are;

Official update - If you screw up, you can send it back and your warranty won't be voided?

Custom ROM - Warranty voided, however, updates gets released at earlier dates?

Anyone care to correct me please?

 

[Slug]

The major difference (not necessarily an advantage) is that the MCR releases are (a) rooted and (b) modified. Whether a particular user actuallly needs root and/or the extra functionality/features provided is up to them to decide.

Also, the only reason Paul got the jump on HTC's official release was that a leaked copy found its way into his hands. This way well not occur in future and modded ROMs will only appear after the official ones.

 

[quantumrand]

With the Custom ROM, you lose your warranty, and sacrifice some stability, but it adds a few features such as tethering, A2SD, and more options to tune for performance or look.

The official ROM will be more stable and wont void your warranty. It will also be sure to be compatible with any updates or patches HTC might put out in the future, but additional features like tethering wont ever be available on the official ROM.

Generally speaking, the purpose of getting a Custom ROM is for a specific functionality that the official ROM cant offer. Performance usually isn't much of a factor.

 

[swainclubber]

With the Custom ROM, you lose your warranty, and sacrifice some stability, but it adds a few features such as tethering, A2SD, and more options to tune for performance or look.

The official ROM will be more stable and wont void your warranty. It will also be sure to be compatible with any updates or patches HTC might put out in the future, but additional features like tethering wont ever be available on the official ROM.

Generally speaking, the purpose of getting a Custom ROM is for a specific functionality that the official ROM cant offer. Performance usually isn't much of a factor.

does it really void your warranty though?can you not just reinstall an official ROM to bring it back to original state, unless of course the phone is knackered

 

[enemi]

Thanks for the insight quantumrand and Slug, those were really informative answers that I was looking for.

I guess I'll stick to the official update as it seems more stable.

 

[quantumrand]

Hard to say. I get the feeling that if you unroot the phone, you'll be pretty well safe sending it in to redeem your warranty. There are slight chances of leaving traces of the previous root, but even if there are, I can't imagine the HTC techs wasting the time to look for them. The only real thing to worry about would be if there's some sort of log file hidden away somewhere.

Is there a log file? I dont know...probably not. Personally, I'd feel safe enough to root it.

 

[enemi]

Hard to say. I get the feeling that if you unroot the phone, you'll be pretty well safe sending it in to redeem your warranty. There are slight chances of leaving traces of the previous root, but even if there are, I can't imagine the HTC techs wasting the time to look for them. The only real thing to worry about would be if there's some sort of log file hidden away somewhere.

Is there a log file? I dont know...probably not. Personally, I'd feel safe enough to root it.

So in your personal circumstances, you've gone for the root-process based on the fact that there are certain extra features provided by the custom ROM that encouraged you to do so?

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[Slug]

you've gone for the root-process based on the fact that there are certain extra features provided by the custom ROM that encouraged you to do so?

For me, I wanted to look at the possibilities of changing the look and feel of the handset so I needed to root to get access. I originally did it the old-school way with the shipped Orange ROM. Then I started reading and researching and (as usual) started experimenting with other stuff. Messed up a few times (thank gawd for Nandroid!), tied myself in knots numerous times, then Paul released his original MCR and the rest as they say is history.

 

[enemi]

Haha once again, thanks for your informative response.

I think I'll look into rooting my phone tomorrow

I hope that if I ever ran into any problems (touch wood), I could perhaps send you a PM for assistance? ;P

 

[Slug]

I think I'll look into rooting my phone tomorrow

Then this is the place you wanna start.

Read carefully.
Read the linked pages too.
Then follow the instructions exactly.
Do that and it's a skoosh.

And before anyone chimes in, yes I'm well aware of the video walkthrough from TheUnlockr.com but this is no more complicated and is my preferred/advised procedure 'cos I like being in control and seeing what I'm doing.

 

[justjimjpc]

Then this is the place you wanna start.

Read carefully.
Read the linked pages too.
Then follow the instructions exactly.
Do that and it's a skoosh.

And before anyone chimes in, yes I'm well aware of the video walkthrough from TheUnlockr.com but this is no more complicated and is my preferred/advised procedure 'cos I like being in control and seeing what I'm doing.

Congrats man !!! you are holding his hand so your rules ... you are doing a great job in the forum... pleasure to have you here an knowledgeable on the HERO

 

[Slug]

pleasure to have you here an knowledgeable on the HERO

Thank you sir, but please understand that my "knowledge" is mostly gained from either trial-and-error or reading waaaaaaaaaay too much when I should be sleeping. No real technical expertise is either claimed or implied.

 

[justjimjpc]

Thank you sir, but please understand that my "knowledge" is mostly gained from either trial-and-error or reading waaaaaaaaaay too much when I should be sleeping. No real technical expertise is either claimed or implied.

We learn best by reading , and trial and error ... Good Job ...!!