Update impossible "variant system version"

[sweetphone]

Hello , first my phone work with : Android version : 6.0 / HTC Sense version : 7.0 /
software number : 3.35.617.12
SORRY FOR MY BAD ENGLISH ... IM FRENCH

I bought a second-hand HTC One M9 in france 1year ago. When I just come back to home , I wanted to check if software updates was OK but It wasnt ok. The phone suggest me to dowload the software update number : 3.35.617.16. So I did it but its impossible to install it , I cant see :

"Variant system version-
We have determined that your phone may be running a modified version of its system sofware. For your protection,we cannot update your phone. Please revert your phone to the official Htc system software to update your phone. If you didnt modify your system software or would like help reverting your system , please contact us via the support section at htc website".

I already try to talk to HTC support but they cant help me anymore.

CAN SOMEDY HELP ME PLEAAAASE ?

Thank you very much.

Informations about my phone from HTC support : So, this IMEI is related to an HTC One M9 manufactured to be used in USA with the carrier called T-Mobile. Its warranty expired on march 26th of 2016".

 

[sweetphone]

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[DonB]

Moved your thread here for proper exposure

 

[sweetphone]

Moved your thread here for proper exposure

where ?

 

[DonB]

where ?

I moved it to the HTC one M9 section, you're good to go

 

[sweetphone]

I moved it to the HTC one M9 section, you're good to go

thank you

 

[Hadron]

The message is saying that the system software may have been modified, which is possible if it's a second-hand phone (you don't know what the previous owner did). So the first thing to do is determine whether that is the case.

Normally when people modify phone software it's in order to gain administrator access, which is known as "rooting". So a very simple thing would be to download a "root checker" app from the Play Store. If it reports that the phone is rooted then that means that the software has indeed been modified. Unfortunately if it does not that does not mean that the phone is unmodified: they may have failed to achieve root, or attempted to undo it, or have "hidden" it from the root checker, or have made some other change.

The next simplest is to go into the bootloader. Reboot the phone and hold the "volume down" key down while it restarts (I think it's volume down, it's been a while since I fiddled with a HTC). You should get a white screen with some coloured writing. If you get a black screen with coloured writing ("download mode") select "reboot to bootloader" using volume keys to navigate, power to select, and that should take you to the white one. At the top of that you should see 3 pieces of information: "Software Status: Official", "Locked" and "S-On". If the software status is anything other than "Official" that is your problem. If it says "Unlocked" or "Relocked" rather than "Locked" then someone has unlocked the bootloader, probably in order to modify the software. If it says "S-Off" that means that the NAND security flag is turned off, which probably indicates that it was modified but occasionally one leaves the factory in this state (no idea how or why) - this won't stop you updating, so don't worry about this one (indeed I'd advise not trying to change this unless you are very sure that everything on the phone is in its official state).

If all of those things are as I say they should be, then I don't know why it's telling you what it says.

To return the phone to fully official firmware you need to use a HTC package called an RUU (ROM Upgrade Utility). The catch is that these things will only run if the "customer id number" (cidnum) of the phone matches what the RUU expects - basically what region and/or what network was the phone originally sold to. You also cannot use them to downgrade software. So we need to find one that matches your phone. I'm not sure that the software version you've quoted is enough, so if you can copy any other software information on the white bootloader screen or the system settings (software version, build number, baseband version) that would be helpful. Also if the phone has any branding, e.g. an operator logo when you boot up, that would be good to know. If the bootloader is unlocked you'll need to use a computer program called "fastboot" to lock it, in which case you can also use it to get the cidnum, but we'll come to that later. I can't guarantee we'll be able to find the right RUU, but if you give us what information you can about the phone and its software we can have a go.

I'm going to be offline a lot of the rest of the day, so won't be replying instantly, but I can advise on how to use an RUU once we loocate a candidate (sites like androidruu.com still have a selection of M9 RUUs, it's a matter of finding the right one). One thing you should know is that running an RUU will factory reset the phone, so back up before doing it. You will also need a windows PC (or virtual machine) if the only suitable one we can find is a .exe rather than a .zip.

 

[sweetphone]

Hello thanks verry much for your help.

The phone has no branding, or operator logo when I boot up it but the helper form htc support website told me that my HTC One M9 manufactured to be used in USA with the carrier called T-Mobile.
Tell me if you need more informations

Thank you. =)

 

[Hadron]

OK, it's been modified (that cidnum is a special one, and no phone is released with it), but it's not obvious what would stop an update. But T-Mobile should be enough info to ensure we find compatible software. Will have a look when I'm on a computer again.

 

[sweetphone]

ok thank u very much , I am waiting for ur help

 

[sweetphone]

OK, it's been modified (that cidnum is a special one, and no phone is released with it), but it's not obvious what would stop an update. But T-Mobile should be enough info to ensure we find compatible software. Will have a look when I'm on a computer again.

Im french and I live in France ... I hope that my phone will be usable with my mobile operator.

 

[James L]

You can use a updated Ruu that cid number is super CID which allows you to flash firmware for different carriers or used as a sim unlock etc.etc.

You should have no issues installing firmware that is up to date for that device.

 

[sweetphone]

You can use a updated Ruu that cid number is super CID which allows you to flash firmware for different carriers or used as a sim unlock etc.etc.

You should have no issues installing firmware that is up to date for that device.

Hello , thank you for your answer !
can u help me to do it ? where can I download it ?

 

[sweetphone]

The ruu will be an official one or a modified by somebody ?

 

[Hadron]

You can use a updated Ruu that cid number is super CID which allows you to flash firmware for different carriers or used as a sim unlock etc.etc.

You should have no issues installing firmware that is up to date for that device.

Are you certain that there are no hardware differences with the T-Mobile M9? For example to support the AWS band (which T-Mobile uses and almost nobody else), or the different set of LTE bands. That's the thing that makes me cautious about suggesting a European RUU on it. The drawback of S-Off is that while it allows you to flash a different carrier's RUU, or an unbranded generic one, it also means that there's nothing to stop you flashing a genuinely incompatible one (such as Sprint or Verizon in this case). T-Mobile being GSM-based (like almost all networks outside North America) but using some different frequency bands is a case I'm always a little cautious about.

There are a number of M9 RUUs at androidruu.com, but they are all Android 5 (i.e. a downgrade, and so not what you want should it not work for OTA updates). There is a T-Mobile M9 RUU at HTC US - unfortunately it's only HTC US who provide RUU downloads, and I can't see anything similar in the HTC FR site's support area.

This site has a set of download links (which I've not tested) which includes both an android 6 T-Mobile RUU and an Android 7 RUU for unlocked (i.e. unbranded) European models. So if flashing European firmware on a T-Mobile phone is OK (for which I'll see what James says) that's probably the one to go for: it's the newest one you'll get for that phone, so you don't have to worry about updates. If it's a T-Mobile handset the T-Mobile one should certainly be safe, but you'll probably never get an update (not least because I can't find any evidence that T-Mobile ever released one - the fact that HTC US don't have one strongly suggests that it never happened).

 

[sweetphone]

Are you certain that there are no hardware differences with the T-Mobile M9? For example to support the AWS band (which T-Mobile uses and almost nobody else), or the different set of LTE bands. That's the thing that makes me cautious about suggesting a European RUU on it. The drawback of S-Off is that while it allows you to flash a different carrier's RUU, or an unbranded generic one, it also means that there's nothing to stop you flashing a genuinely incompatible one (such as Sprint or Verizon in this case). T-Mobile being GSM-based (like almost all networks outside North America) but using some different frequency bands is a case I'm always a little cautious about.

There are a number of M9 RUUs at androidruu.com, but they are all Android 5 (i.e. a downgrade, and so not what you want should it not work for OTA updates). There is a T-Mobile M9 RUU at HTC US - unfortunately it's only HTC US who provide RUU downloads, and I can't see anything similar in the HTC FR site's support area.

This site has a set of download links (which I've not tested) which includes both an android 6 T-Mobile RUU and an Android 7 RUU for unlocked (i.e. unbranded) European models. So if flashing European firmware on a T-Mobile phone is OK (for which I'll see what James says) that's probably the one to go for: it's the newest one you'll get for that phone, so you don't have to worry about updates. If it's a T-Mobile handset the T-Mobile one should certainly be safe, but you'll probably never get an update (not least because I can't find any evidence that T-Mobile ever released one - the fact that HTC US don't have one strongly suggests that it never happened).

So , what should I try first ?

 

[James L]

The way this was done leads me to believe it was a developer edition conversion.

Flashing a European RUU should be fine.

You can do a ton of modifications with S - off that a normal device cannot do. If you mess up with S - off it's a super easy fix.

Not sure about 4g vs 3g.