[Super Guide] HTC Desire flashing + Android rooting (universal root included)
This guide is geared toward HTC Desire owners but it should also apply to other handset users although they probably will want to check XDA Devs for their handset specific ROMs/Ports first.
<no longer needed, go to step 2
>
Step 1
Unlocking. If your phone is from Carphone Warehouse or on Vodafone (check for other networks by inserting another SIM) then skip to step 2 as you're unlocked anyway.
Your phone needs to be unlocked if it's network provided (Orange & T-Mobile for example). You can unlock it using HTCCode, just follow the instructions on that site and make the payment(s) as required. Newer HTC Desires using SLCD have an additional fee to pay. I have done this for a relative as he had an SLCD Desire just this past week and the whole unlock process took about 30 minutes, waiting for the email replies from HTC Code takes a bit but they do reply fairly promptly with what is required etc.
*Update @ 2010.10.12 - 16:17*
+1 confirmation(s) for root working on T-Mobile handsets that have not needed to be unlocked first. If people can follow up with their findings that would be great!
+ 1 Orange confirmation(s), root without unlock
I'll remove Step 1 once we get a bunch of confirmations in of root working fine without needing to unlock for Network branded handsets
</no longer needed, go to step 2>
!!!BEFORE YOU START!!!
Make sure USB Debugging is enabled.
Go to Menu > Settings > Applications > Development and tick the box.
Step 2
Preparing to root.
Rooting puts a recovery image on the phone that allows you to flash a custom ROM, the default recovery is locked down hence why root access to the OS is required. There are 2 popular Recovery images available, ClockworkMod and AmonRA. unrevoked (below) will install ClockworkMod Recovery by default.
*** SLCD Desires don't seem to like AmonRA R5 recovery, Clockwork is fine. Using AmonRA the phone gets into recovery but the screen is black although all options work (tested blind!) so don't use AmonRA if you have an SLCD Desire just yet ***
> Download Unrevokedfor your phone.
>>> If your phone isn't listed by unrevoked as supported then try a more universal root method.
> Download/install the HBOOT drivers that are listed.
> Download/install HTC Sync.
Make sure your phone is seen by HTC Sync, make sure to use the HTC USB cable supplied and NOT any dock or cheapass cable (important).
Once happy that HTC Sync sees your phone you need to then uninstall HTC Sync. This will still keep the HTC/Android USB driver installed which is what is required.
To install the HBOOT driver properly you need to set the phone to fastboot mode (hold the volume down button and power on the phone and let Windows detect it after about 6 seconds with the cable connected.
Regarding Radio updates, whatever ROM you choose make sure to read the parts of the developer's post regarding what Radio version that ROM supports, you may well need to update the radio via a separate zip file flash after installing your new ROM.
Each custom ROM usually has a recommended radio version which most commonly is the latest version out anyway so this shouldn't be a big issue. The radio controls the signal, camera among other functions of the phone.
Step 3
Begin rooting.
Rooting will not wipe your data, it will just root it ready to be flashed with a new ROM via recovery mode.
Connect the phone via the cable and run the Unrevoked executable downloaded earlier and wait for it to detect the phone and run its course. Do not touch anything while this is in motion, it takes time and the phone will reboot many times.
Once Unrevoked confirms success you can disconnect the cable, pull the battery and re-insert then reboot the phone normally and check everything is working.
Phone is now rooted.
Step 4
Backing up the stock OS.
To enter recovery turn on the phone holding VOLUME DOWN+POWER. A white screen will appear with some options, in any of these "modes" the volume up/down keys are to choose and power button is to select.
Wait until you see some code quickly flash on and off and choose the Recovery option.
Follow the selections to create a backup (takes a moment and is saved to the clockworkmod folder on the SD card)
Once done reboot the phone via the menu and connect back up via USB to the PC.
Step 5
Backing up the SD card and downloading a custom ROM.
Now that a backup has been created enable USB storage mode and transfer all the SD card contents to the PC as a means of having a safe backup (good practice).
While this happens, download a ROM of your choice, if you like SenseUI then I recommend Modaco's ROM with A2SD+ (always good to get the A2SD version just in case later you want to go beyond FroYo's default A2SD), it's polished and stable. Otherwise I'd go for a stock Android based ROM such as DeFrost.
Just download the relevant zip file and then put that on to the root of the SD card.
Alternatively you can download any other custom ROM for your handset from XDA developers, they all have varying features so check them out,s read the thread for each one etc and make a choice. I've tried almost all Desire ROMs and currently only stick with DeFrost.
Step 6
Flashing the new ROM
Boot into recovery mode and then choose the option to wipe data/factory reset and also wipe any caches that are available there too.
Now choose the option to flash a zipfile from the SD Card, select the downloaded ROM zip file. Scroll down to the Yes option to confirm flashing.
This will take a while so just keep an eye on it.
Once done, just reboot as normal (first boot takes a while) and then enjoy the new ROM
Step 7 (optional)
A2SD+
If you want to use proper Apps2SD+ which offers more storage and things over FroYo's limited A2SD then the SD card will need to be partitioned with at least a 512MB EXT partition and the remainder as FAT32. An app off the market called ROM Manager can do this easily and you can do this at any time. Once you partition your card the card itself will be wiped clean so restore your previously copied SD card contents afterwards.
Once you boot up after partitioning the card all apps and cache will move to the SD EXT partition, the phone might be sluggish for a moment while this happens but it's normally quick and happens at boot.
You can use an app like Quick System info to check to make sure you have 140+ MB free for internal mem, it also shows you Apps2SD storage. Do note that while Apps2SD+ is very good your internal mem usage will get consumed over time the more apps you install. Some apps seem to put data into the internal mem even though they're installed on the SD-EXT partition. My phone has 71 apps installed and my internal mem has 37MB free, it was 143MB free when I first installed DeFrost but back then I had around 50 apps
If all is good here then that's it, all apps will now install to the SD-EXT partition.
You can ROM hop at will now, just create a backup from recovery mode before doing so and you can pretty much restore any backed up ROM and be back to that state as it was. Once you're happy with your custom ROM create a master backup for it and you can probably delete the original backup as you probably won't need that any more and you'd save some space on the SD card too.
ROM Manager allows you to flash ROMs too but I try to do this from Recovery mode as much as possible and advise people to do the same, it's just good practice to be familiar with how all this works and you can create a backup at the same time there too
I'm pretty sure all of the above is accurate but if anyone spots any errors do let me know!
Oh yeah, I remember I said I'd keep it short ¬_¬
Troubleshooting
My phone is sat on a black screen after the root process has finished!
- Disconnect the USB cable and pull the battery, wait a few secs and reboot with battery.
My phone boots up but the animated boot logo loops endlessly!
- Bootloops can happen when a new ROM is flashed over another ROM not by the same developer. Simply enter recovery mode and wipe data/factory reset and wipe all caches. A wipe should be done whenever flashing a new ROM. Upgrading a ROM does not need a wipe. Remember to wipe the SD-EXT as well if you are flashing a brand new ROM.
To restore user apps on the SD-EXT partition simply back them up beforehand using something like Titanium Backup (I recommend the pro version for faster backup/restore!).
- lokkers has reported this can also happen if you install a ROM that strictly requires an SD-EXT partition installed so it's worth checking that your card is partitioned correctly although I can also confirm (from experience on my own device!) it can happen due to the paragraph above. In essence, check both!
More to be added as they appear, below
Update on 2010.12.04
To flash a new recovery image (such as AmonRA on the Desire) you can use a new tool developed by a member of XDA here. You can use the same tool to flash a new splashscreen and so on too so Network branded users can be truly debranded, and more!
This guide is geared toward HTC Desire owners but it should also apply to other handset users although they probably will want to check XDA Devs for their handset specific ROMs/Ports first.
<no longer needed, go to step 2
>Step 1
Unlocking. If your phone is from Carphone Warehouse or on Vodafone (check for other networks by inserting another SIM) then skip to step 2 as you're unlocked anyway.
Your phone needs to be unlocked if it's network provided (Orange & T-Mobile for example). You can unlock it using HTCCode, just follow the instructions on that site and make the payment(s) as required. Newer HTC Desires using SLCD have an additional fee to pay. I have done this for a relative as he had an SLCD Desire just this past week and the whole unlock process took about 30 minutes, waiting for the email replies from HTC Code takes a bit but they do reply fairly promptly with what is required etc.
*Update @ 2010.10.12 - 16:17*
+1 confirmation(s) for root working on T-Mobile handsets that have not needed to be unlocked first. If people can follow up with their findings that would be great!
+ 1 Orange confirmation(s), root without unlock
I'll remove Step 1 once we get a bunch of confirmations in of root working fine without needing to unlock for Network branded handsets
</no longer needed, go to step 2
>!!!BEFORE YOU START!!!
Make sure USB Debugging is enabled.
Go to Menu > Settings > Applications > Development and tick the box.
Step 2
Preparing to root.
Rooting puts a recovery image on the phone that allows you to flash a custom ROM, the default recovery is locked down hence why root access to the OS is required. There are 2 popular Recovery images available, ClockworkMod and AmonRA. unrevoked (below) will install ClockworkMod Recovery by default.
*** SLCD Desires don't seem to like AmonRA R5 recovery, Clockwork is fine. Using AmonRA the phone gets into recovery but the screen is black although all options work (tested blind!) so don't use AmonRA if you have an SLCD Desire just yet ***
> Download Unrevokedfor your phone.
>>> If your phone isn't listed by unrevoked as supported then try a more universal root method.
> Download/install the HBOOT drivers that are listed.
> Download/install HTC Sync.
Make sure your phone is seen by HTC Sync, make sure to use the HTC USB cable supplied and NOT any dock or cheapass cable (important).
Once happy that HTC Sync sees your phone you need to then uninstall HTC Sync. This will still keep the HTC/Android USB driver installed which is what is required.
To install the HBOOT driver properly you need to set the phone to fastboot mode (hold the volume down button and power on the phone and let Windows detect it after about 6 seconds with the cable connected.
Regarding Radio updates, whatever ROM you choose make sure to read the parts of the developer's post regarding what Radio version that ROM supports, you may well need to update the radio via a separate zip file flash after installing your new ROM.
Each custom ROM usually has a recommended radio version which most commonly is the latest version out anyway so this shouldn't be a big issue. The radio controls the signal, camera among other functions of the phone.
Step 3
Begin rooting.
Rooting will not wipe your data, it will just root it ready to be flashed with a new ROM via recovery mode.
Connect the phone via the cable and run the Unrevoked executable downloaded earlier and wait for it to detect the phone and run its course. Do not touch anything while this is in motion, it takes time and the phone will reboot many times.
Once Unrevoked confirms success you can disconnect the cable, pull the battery and re-insert then reboot the phone normally and check everything is working.
Phone is now rooted.
Step 4
Backing up the stock OS.
To enter recovery turn on the phone holding VOLUME DOWN+POWER. A white screen will appear with some options, in any of these "modes" the volume up/down keys are to choose and power button is to select.
Wait until you see some code quickly flash on and off and choose the Recovery option.
Follow the selections to create a backup (takes a moment and is saved to the clockworkmod folder on the SD card)
Once done reboot the phone via the menu and connect back up via USB to the PC.
Step 5
Backing up the SD card and downloading a custom ROM.
Now that a backup has been created enable USB storage mode and transfer all the SD card contents to the PC as a means of having a safe backup (good practice).
While this happens, download a ROM of your choice, if you like SenseUI then I recommend Modaco's ROM with A2SD+ (always good to get the A2SD version just in case later you want to go beyond FroYo's default A2SD), it's polished and stable. Otherwise I'd go for a stock Android based ROM such as DeFrost.
Just download the relevant zip file and then put that on to the root of the SD card.
Alternatively you can download any other custom ROM for your handset from XDA developers, they all have varying features so check them out,s read the thread for each one etc and make a choice. I've tried almost all Desire ROMs and currently only stick with DeFrost.
Step 6
Flashing the new ROM
Boot into recovery mode and then choose the option to wipe data/factory reset and also wipe any caches that are available there too.
Now choose the option to flash a zipfile from the SD Card, select the downloaded ROM zip file. Scroll down to the Yes option to confirm flashing.
This will take a while so just keep an eye on it.
Once done, just reboot as normal (first boot takes a while) and then enjoy the new ROM
Step 7 (optional)
A2SD+
If you want to use proper Apps2SD+ which offers more storage and things over FroYo's limited A2SD then the SD card will need to be partitioned with at least a 512MB EXT partition and the remainder as FAT32. An app off the market called ROM Manager can do this easily and you can do this at any time. Once you partition your card the card itself will be wiped clean so restore your previously copied SD card contents afterwards.
Once you boot up after partitioning the card all apps and cache will move to the SD EXT partition, the phone might be sluggish for a moment while this happens but it's normally quick and happens at boot.
You can use an app like Quick System info to check to make sure you have 140+ MB free for internal mem, it also shows you Apps2SD storage. Do note that while Apps2SD+ is very good your internal mem usage will get consumed over time the more apps you install. Some apps seem to put data into the internal mem even though they're installed on the SD-EXT partition. My phone has 71 apps installed and my internal mem has 37MB free, it was 143MB free when I first installed DeFrost but back then I had around 50 apps
If all is good here then that's it, all apps will now install to the SD-EXT partition.
You can ROM hop at will now, just create a backup from recovery mode before doing so and you can pretty much restore any backed up ROM and be back to that state as it was. Once you're happy with your custom ROM create a master backup for it and you can probably delete the original backup as you probably won't need that any more and you'd save some space on the SD card too.
ROM Manager allows you to flash ROMs too but I try to do this from Recovery mode as much as possible and advise people to do the same, it's just good practice to be familiar with how all this works and you can create a backup at the same time there too
I'm pretty sure all of the above is accurate but if anyone spots any errors do let me know!
Oh yeah, I remember I said I'd keep it short ¬_¬
Troubleshooting
My phone is sat on a black screen after the root process has finished!
- Disconnect the USB cable and pull the battery, wait a few secs and reboot with battery.
My phone boots up but the animated boot logo loops endlessly!
- Bootloops can happen when a new ROM is flashed over another ROM not by the same developer. Simply enter recovery mode and wipe data/factory reset and wipe all caches. A wipe should be done whenever flashing a new ROM. Upgrading a ROM does not need a wipe. Remember to wipe the SD-EXT as well if you are flashing a brand new ROM.
To restore user apps on the SD-EXT partition simply back them up beforehand using something like Titanium Backup (I recommend the pro version for faster backup/restore!).
- lokkers has reported this can also happen if you install a ROM that strictly requires an SD-EXT partition installed so it's worth checking that your card is partitioned correctly although I can also confirm (from experience on my own device!) it can happen due to the paragraph above. In essence, check both!
More to be added as they appear, below
Update on 2010.12.04
To flash a new recovery image (such as AmonRA on the Desire) you can use a new tool developed by a member of XDA here. You can use the same tool to flash a new splashscreen and so on too so Network branded users can be truly debranded, and more!
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