Help with updating old phone?

[wanderingmagus]

So, first things first, according to software information, this is my phone:

Android version 2.3.2
HTC Sense version 2.1
Software number 2.14.0.0
Browser version Webkit/533.1


1.) Model Number ? HTC Desire Z A7272
2.) Firmware Version ? ___________
3.) Baseband Version ? 12.43.60.22U_26.07.04.10_M2
4.) Kernel Version ?

2.6.35.10-g4801f9a
htc-kernel@and18-2 #1

5.) Build Number ? 2.14.0.0 CL 1520 test-keys

Also do you have a T-Mobile Data plan on your
PayAsYouGo or FlexPay Plan? no

Carrier ? H2O

Country you are using your phone in ? USA

Is the phone SIM registered in T-Mobile as the Correct phone? I don't know.

On the back plate of the phone it says "htc" and at the bottom of the plate "G2".

the top border of the screen says T Mobile

the bottom border of the screen has home, menu, back, and search.

The phone uses Android Market.

----------------

I'm trying to somehow be able to use Google Play on my phone, which is stuck using Market. I'd like to be able to also upgrade to a more recent version of Android. I got the phone from a relative, and I have no idea where they got the phone.

Looking online, I've found a bunch of recommendations for installing CWM and such, which I tried, but it said my Android version was too old for the recovery, and when I tried to manually install an update (download on laptop, use USB and mount as disk drive to get the zip to the sd, go to recovery mode, apply update), but it stops at whole-file signature verification.

Am I rooted? I think so? I have no idea.

I am very new to all this, and I kind of feel like a trained monkey pulling levers when I'm told to, so any help at all would be wonderful! If I'm completely off-base about anything, please let me know, and if what I'm requesting is patently impossible, please do let me know!

Thanks so much for your help and time,

Wanderingmagus

 

[iammasterchat2014]

Hi. I am using HTC One and when I do an upgrade of software I go to:

Settings - About - Software

Provided I my phone has access to the internet, the upgrade will download automatically. Try this and let me know if it's helpful.

Thanks.

 

[chanchan05]

Hi. I am using HTC One and when I do an upgrade of software I go to:

Settings - About - Software

Provided I my phone has access to the internet, the upgrade will download automatically. Try this and let me know if it's helpful.

Thanks.

This won't help an old phone. He needs to manually flash the firmware. You'll get to need this too late next year or maybe 2016.

Anyway for the OP, you need the specific model of your phone, and the specific ROM for that specific model to get it to update. You can't just get any Android installer and use it. You need the specific one for your device.

 

[wanderingmagus]

@ master chat
Software Updates -> Check now tells me "Your phone is up to date - There are no updates available for your phone. - OK"

@ chanchan
Found out where to find Phone ID.

Model number
HTC Desire Z A7272


Where would I get the ROM for this model, and how would I use it to update it? Thank you so much for your help!

 

[wanderingmagus]

oh, also, I downloaded the HTC Sync Manager onto my laptop, and tried to sync. and it says this:

"Unable to find HTC Sync on your PC. Please make sure that the HTC Sync is installed and opened on your computer. You can install HTC Sync from the SD card by mounting it to your PC or you can download it from HTC Support | HTC United States. Note: for Windows only."

on the phone.

The Sync Manager on the laptop doesn't see anything.

 

[chanchan05]

Sync manager won't see anything because AFAIK the Desire Z was released before there was the current sync manager (like how Samsung Kies 3 can't see my Tab Plus but can see my Note 2). Anyway, even if you got HTC Sync working, you won't be able to update the phone through it. Android phones are typically updated only for 2 years after release, and the Desire Z was released around 4 years ago. You need to go to XDA forum, learn to root the phone, then manually flash the correct ROM.

 

[iowabowtech]

Wow, a Desire Z. There's a blast from the past!

Honestly, you may be updated about as far as you'll ever be aside from MAYBE a custom rom. I know the Desire Z updated to at least as far as 2.3.3 but you're not far away. Can't remember if that was a significant upgrade tbh, it's been a long time.

You said you MAY be rooted. Might be worth checking your bootloader for s-on/s-off status too.

Most common method to get to your bootloader (hboot) on an HTC device is to power off the phone, then press and hold both volume down and the power button at the same time. Suppose it could have been different at that time, but odds are somewhat decent that'll get you there. Look toward the top of the hboot screen where it should display the security status (s-on or s-off).

Even if it's s-on, try to enter recovery from that screen and see if you have clockworkmod as your recovery or if you instead see the stock recovery which will most likely have a picture of an android bot laying down and possibly a triangle with an exclamation point inside. Again, struggling to remember on that vintage phone.

Still think it's cool you're running a Desire Z though no matter what happens here.

:beer:

 

[wanderingmagus]

It tells me I'm S-OFF, so I'm guessing that means I'm rooted?

Going to recovery, it says I'm in Android system recovery <3e> though, and the two CWM Recovery things I tried downloading from Market said they only work for Android 4, not 2.3.2; picture of a phone with a red triangle and exclamation point.

Where would I find the ROM for something this old? (call me old-fashioned, but I like the sliding qwerty keyboard. I feel like I can type faster than with a touchscreen) I'd like to be able to maybe somehow access Drive from it, even if I have to do a whole lot of arcane and esoteric maneuvering with programs nobody's ever heard about. I already backed up the SIM, and I don't mind reinstalling apps (all the ones I have are free anyways).

 

[iowabowtech]

It tells me I'm S-OFF, so I'm guessing that means I'm rooted?

Not necessarily. You can be s-off and unrooted. And it sounds like that may be the case here. You are at least lacking clockworkmod. Here's a thread that still has a working download link for cwm:

[TUTORIAL] How to flash Touch CWM on HTC Desire Z/Vision/G2 - XDA Forums

Now all you'd need is the su.zip which you can flash in cwm to obtain root. I poked around a little bit but didn't find one so far. You might look around HERE and see if you can stumble across one. That's also where you'll find any custom roms to further update the phone if you want. I'm not sure though how far you'll be able to effectively update that phone and still have a quality experience without lag.

All that was said figuring you want to be rooted. If not, just try to locate a newer official firmware version (RUU) and run that on a windows PC with the phone connected.

 

[wanderingmagus]

so, I tried to connect the phone to the PC, but aside from mounting the SD card, it doesn't recognize the phone, and I don't know where to find an appropriate driver. The drivers on sdk were for 2.3.1 and 2.3.3, skipping my 2.3.2, and when I connect while in fastboot, the laptop doesn't recognize it. When I use cmd.exe as admin to run fastboot, it can't see any devices. Is there some way I can adjust stuff to let my laptop see the phone, not just the SD?

 

[iowabowtech]

You can try the Unrevoked drivers for fastboot:

http://downloads.unrevoked.com/HTCDriver3.0.0.007.exe

If that doesn't work, try Koush's Universal adb/fastboot driver here:

Koush

If you feel you need the general USB driver for PC recognition, you can download HTC Sync which is packaged with the usb drivers:

Download HTC Sync Manager

Note: If you end up finding an running an official RUU, you may need to uninstall HTC Sync (but not the drivers that come with it) as it has been known to sometimes interfere with the RUU process.

 

[iowabowtech]

Ah sorry, forgot you tried HTC Sync previously and it was a no go. Looks like it doesn't list support for the Z version. Let us know if you're still not getting general device recognition on the PC. Not sure where to look next for a usb driver but we can surely come up with something.

 

[breadnatty08]

OP, I've removed sensitive info from your posts such as IMEI, serial number and IMSI. They're immaterial to your problem and are very personal. No need to post them.