• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Root ICS OTA and Root?

With the (allegedly) upcoming OTA update to ICS for our beloved HTC Rezound looming (again, allegedly) right around the corner, does anyone know about the ability to stay rooted or to get root again after the update?

It may be too soon since the OTA isn't here yet, and I know some will say "just flash one of the ICS leaks, n00b!", but there are some like myself who don't really want to mess with ROMs, but still enjoy the plethora of extra functionality that comes along with being rooted.

So, is it possible for some of the experts in the "Rezound - All Things Root" scene to give us some pointers and tips to make all our rooted OTA ICS dreams come true?

The latest rumor is of course that the official ICS OTA will push from VZW on the 6th of April. So with a supposed 48 hour(ish) countdown, those of us who want to retain root are facing some decisions methinks. Any info that can be provided will be immensely helpful.

Some common questions that folks will probably have:


  • Are there any steps that I can do before accepting the OTA to ensure I retain Super User privileges after the update?
  • If not, will there be a method available to regain the aforementioned Super User privileges after the update?
  • I've used a third-party app to "freeze" or remove certain stock applications that I didn't want, or that I deemed "bloatware". Has the community identified any specific stock apps that MUST be installed and running correctly in order for the OTA update to work?


Thanks in advance to all you movers and shakers out there who make our tech-nerd dreams come true on a daily basis. Without your hard work and the unpaid hours of your free time that you give, these questions wouldn't matter because we probably wouldn't have root in the first place!


Thanks for reading and I hope this OTA goes smoothly for everyone who will be taking it!
 
I've seen several accounts that indicate OTA Rootkeeper works on the Rezound. Can anyone absolutely confirm or deny this? Cuz if it works, the OTA will be even more cake than it already will be with an unlockable bootloader.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.projectvoodoo.otarootkeeper&hl=en

I am guessing it may be wise to unfreeze those apps? I know on other phones I've ran, everything needed to be intact as stock for the update to progress. That said, I'm not sure if freezing would kill it or not since the apps are only disabled rather than removed. No reason to test the theory as easy as it is to unfreeze them.
 
Upvote 0
all you really need to accept an OTA is to be on a relatively un-modded stock rom,and have the stock recovery.

as long as you meet those criteria,the OTA will happen. it will break root,and it will bring back all your deleted/frozen system apps,but its no biggie.

htcdev is somewhat like "s-off" in that you will always be able to re-root extremely easily by launching a recovery,and reflashing your superuser root files.

no need to relock,no real need to try and "preserve" your root with apps,as htcdev is not an exploit that is going to disapear.

when i first got my rezound,the OTA snuck in on me,and went without issue.

while you will have to re-freeze or delete system apps that come back,your other personal data,settings,and user apps will be safe and intact.

trying to take an OTA while running a custom recovery will NOT work. the results range from a simple failed OTA,a recoverable bootloop,or even a partially installed OTA wich will result in a non-functional rom. so again,make sure youre running the stock recovery.

hope that helps :)
 
Upvote 0
no need to relock,no real need to try and "preserve" your root with apps,as htcdev is not an exploit that is going to disapear.

Agreed. But if Rootkeeper does work for this phone, why not use it? Especially if you're a person who's going to be back in the same boat with running the stock recovery again. It doesn't get any easier than that.
 
Upvote 0
It does help somewhat, my only question is: how does one revert to a stock recovery?

simply download it,and permanently install it(fastboot flash recovery recoveryname.img)
PH98IMG-2.01.605.11-vigor-recovery.zip

Agreed. But if Rootkeeper does work for this phone, why not use it? Especially if you're a person who's going to be back in the same boat with running the stock recovery again. It doesn't get any easier than that.

i didnt really mean he shouldnt use it. prolly no harm in trying it,especially if others have reported it to work. i just refrain from recomending things that i dont know anything of how they work,and have not personally tried.

what is a worse case with rootkeeper? it doesnt work? or can it keep the OTA from occuring? :eek:

i know for sure that OTAing and rerooting with htcdev or s-off without rootkeeper apps does work with little user inconvenience,as ive done it :D

if azathot wants to give it a shot and report what happens,his findings will benefit the rest of us for sure :cool:
 
Upvote 0
simply download it,and permanently install it(fastboot flash recovery recoveryname.img)
PH98IMG-2.01.605.11-vigor-recovery.zip

Hey Scotty sorry to be a pain. Can you elaborate a bit on your instructions? I downloaded that zip, extracted both .img files and that's where I'm stuck.

When I go into fastboot there is "flash recovery" option. When I go into recovery, the only "flash" option I see is for zip files, and when I tried to just flash the zip file you gave it didn't work.

I'm pretty tech savvy usually but this is kicking my ass lol.

Thanks again for your help!
 
Upvote 0
there should only be one image inside the download,and with it an "android info" text document. all you need to do is take the image,and put it into the folder that contains adb and fastboot.

then,open your cmd window,and change to your adb/fastboot directory. like when you unlocked.( if you used the guide here,youd cd c:\mini-adb_vigor but if you used htcdev directions,youre prolly doing this step a lil differently)

-enable usb debugging,disable fastboot,plug in phone,select charge only mode

run the following,assuming you dont change the name of the image from "recovery_signed":
(blue are additional comments,not part of the command)

adb devices <-check connectivity

adb reboot bootloader <-boot to fastboot

fastboot devices <-again,check connectivity

fastboot flash recovery recovery_signed.img <-flash recovery

fastboot reboot <-reboot your phone

the stock recovery should now be in place. you can verify by going to recovery. once the phone fully boots:

adb reboot recovery

it should take you to the screen with a pic of the phone,red triangle and exclamation point. holding vol up and power should get you a menu,that you can use to reboot the phone.

hope that helps :)
 
Upvote 0
Hi

I rooted my rezound using HTC Rezound All-In-One Toolkit V2.0 and installed AmonRa recovery. I was just wondering.
Can I restore stock recovery now in preparation to OTA?
Will I loose su by doing it?
Do I need to relock my bootloader before OTA?

BTW I'm on stock rom with some VZW apps removed.

Thanks
 
Upvote 0
there should only be one image inside the download,and with it an "android info" text document. all you need to do is take the image,and put it into the folder that contains adb and fastboot.

then,open your cmd window,and change to your adb/fastboot directory. like when you unlocked.( if you used the guide here,youd cd c:\mini-adb_vigor but if you used htcdev directions,youre prolly doing this step a lil differently)

-enable usb debugging,disable fastboot,plug in phone,select charge only mode

run the following,assuming you dont change the name of the image from "recovery_signed":
(blue are additional comments,not part of the command)

adb devices <-check connectivity

adb reboot bootloader <-boot to fastboot

fastboot devices <-again,check connectivity

fastboot flash recovery recovery_signed.img <-flash recovery

fastboot reboot <-reboot your phone

the stock recovery should now be in place. you can verify by going to recovery. once the phone fully boots:

adb reboot recovery

it should take you to the screen with a pic of the phone,red triangle and exclamation point. holding vol up and power should get you a menu,that you can use to reboot the phone.

hope that helps :)

Your instructions were very helpful. I rooted the phone about three days after receiving it and installed AmomRa. Now, while i stil l have root, I decided to go back to stock recovery and just chill for a bit before exploring other roms. But here is my concern: I played with ICS Roms while I had the bionic. I have also seen ICS on the Rezound (via you tube). It looks very different on the Rezound. In fact, Rezound running ICS looks like Rezound now. (the guy doing the demo ranted about that, noting that it makes no sense that such a significant upgrade would be diluted by the sense overlay).

Is there a way to get the true ICS feel on the rezound (i.e., without sense)?
 
Upvote 0
Your instructions were very helpful. I rooted the phone about three days after receiving it and installed AmomRa. Now, while i stil l have root, I decided to go back to stock recovery and just chill for a bit before exploring other roms. But here is my concern: I played with ICS Roms while I had the bionic. I have also seen ICS on the Rezound (via you tube). It looks very different on the Rezound. In fact, Rezound running ICS looks like Rezound now. (the guy doing the demo ranted about that, noting that it makes no sense that such a significant upgrade would be diluted by the sense overlay).

Is there a way to get the true ICS feel on the rezound (i.e., without sense)?

glad you are having fun and learning about your phone. :cool:

unfortunately,there are no really functional AOSP(Android Open Source Project.i.e.,based directly on googles code,with no UI overlays) for us yet. its an extremely difficuly developer challenge to get the RIL(radio interface layer. think of it like a driver for to let the software communicate with the radio hardware) working so that the phone can be used as a phone,and have working data :eek:

ice cream sandwich has made it more difficult than usual,also by making some pretty radical changes to how things like the camera and cam corder work,so drivers for these need to be figured out as well.

we will hopefully have official cyanogenmod support for "cm9" wich is AOSP ICS,wich some special tweeks and enhancements.

in the mean time,check out scroslers "developer edition 1.4". its based on htc framework,the newest leak,but has had most of the sense UI removed. its a great rom,and has a very AOSPy feel :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: chknhwk and al23
Upvote 0
glad you are having fun and learning about your phone. :cool:

unfortunately,there are no really functional AOSP(Android Open Source Project.i.e.,based directly on googles code,with no UI overlays) for us yet. its an extremely difficuly developer challenge to get the RIL(radio interface layer. think of it like a driver for to let the software communicate with the radio hardware) working so that the phone can be used as a phone,and have working data :eek:

ice cream sandwich has made it more difficult than usual,also by making some pretty radical changes to how things like the camera and cam corder work,so drivers for these need to be figured out as well.

we will hopefully have official cyanogenmod support for "cm9" wich is AOSP ICS,with some special tweeks and enhancements.

in the mean time,check out scroslers "developer edition 1.4". its based on htc framework,the newest leak,but has had most of the sense UI removed. its a great rom,and has a very AOSPy feel :D

Thanks to you, I have now become a ROM-flashing fool.... I now have an ICS-based ROM on my phone. It's Clean ROM developers edition, I think. I will try another one later today. It is a great rom and I am enjoying having it on my phone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: scotty85
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones