Thread: HowTo Root (Hack) Your HTC Android Phone

How To Root (Hack) Your HTC Android Phone
Turkeys' Ultimate Guide

This tutorial works for the HTC Desire, Wildfire, EVO & Droid Incredible.

I'm quite known amongst the Android community for great guides (known for being modest too :P), so I thought I'd share the know-how with T-I.

What is Root?

Here's a great article from Android Central about root and what it means. Rooting - is it for me? Some Q&A | Android Central

Before You Start
This guide works with the HTC Desire, Wildfire, EVO, Incredible & CDMA Hero. There may be some reference to the Desire as that's what this guide was originally designed for, but just use your common sense a bit and ignore them or come on our help channel if you're really confused.

This is a new type of guide, an experiment if you like. The whole point is to get you with a fully functioning, rooted phone. But also to teach you something. Each step first tells you what you're going to do before you do it. By the end not only should you have a rooted phone but you will hopefully have priceless knowlege of how Android works. It will seem very long, but that's just*because*it's very*thorough.

Enjoy.
Need Help?
If at any point during this guide you need help, something's gone wrong or you need some extra clarification. Hit the help button.



The help button will link you to the #rootmydroid IRC help chat channel, where you can ask questions or get walked through the whole thing if you really need to. We have experts on hand to help you out.

PLEASE NOTE: usually our experts are on hand 5pm-9pm UK time, so please come then.
So, you wanna root?
Rooting is not easy like some people make it out to be. All these 1 click Noob-Proof tools can actually go wrong. And they do.

But lets get this clear, IT'S ALMOST impossible to brick. I'd put the odds on about a 99.9% chance you will not brick beyond repair. However, things probably will go wrong, which is why you will need to follow the instructions very carefully.

Pre-Root Info



I want to make sure the rooting process goes well for as many as you as possible, so get ready to read lots of information that will turn you from a Noob into a lean, mean rooting machine.

And for those of you who like to slack off and think "I cba to read all that", I've made it so you have to answer a question to get the download links. Aren't I nice. :) Seriously though, it really will be a lot easier for you if you read all of this, you will thank me for it one day.

Pro users who know what HBOOT is, how to flash a ROM and can use ADB can safely skip this step :)

Android Glossary

This page is probably the most valuble bit of information you will ever need during your rooted life. Behold, the VillainROM Android Glossary.

Glossary of Android Terms - Villain ROM

Read it. Read it ALL. No questions asking for these terms will be tolerated in this thread and you will be teased so much you will want to die. So please, read it carefully.
Downloads
Now, for the bit you've been dreading. 2 downloads. 2 questions. One answer will link you to the download. The other two will link you to a humorous fail picture. (And for all you sneaky cheaters out there, I've bit.ly'd the links. Take that.)

Question 1 - UnrEVOked download

What do you use to flash a ROM?

A) UnrEVOked

B) ADB

C) Recovery

Question 2 - Other Stuff Download (We may ask you to use this on the help channel)

What is a RUU?

A) A tool to root your phone

B) A tool to return your phone to 'stock' (unroot)

C) A tool to flash a ROM

You can also get countless lulz from adding a + to the end of those links and comparing the wrong answers to the correct ones. Yes people really don't read the information. :D

OK, I've talked enough now, let's get down to business...

So, hopefully you now know all the terms, which makes my life a lot easier as I don't have to explain everything. Let's begin.

Root Guide - Pt. 2 - UnrEVOked

1) Ensure you have downloaded and extracted the first download in the above post to somewhere you can remember and access easily. For the purpose of this guide, I will refer to that folder as the 'Root Pack'.

Next, we are going to prepare the UnrEVOked program to run. If you are a Windows user, this means installing the drivers, if you use Linux or Mac you just have to run the app as mentioned later. We have to install HTC Sync to get adb drivers and we have to uninstall it again as it interferes with UnrEVOked. The drivers however remain which is why you need to install it.

2) (Windows Only) If you have not already, download HTC Sync and install it. Then uninstall HTC Sync as well as any other software that may interfere such as doubletwist. Next, follow this guide to set up the hacked HBOOT drivers. Make sure you reboot your PC after doing this.

Next, we need to prepare your phone. We will make sure USB Debugging is on as UnrEVOked needs this to send adb commands to the phone. We also need to enable Unknown Sources so that UnrEVOked can push busybox and SuperUser Permissions apps to the phone.

3) With your phone go to Settings > Connect to PC > Default connection type > Charge Only and untick Ask Me. Then go to Settings > Applications > Development > Make sure USB Debugging is ticked. Then go back to Applications and make sure Unknown Sources is ticked.

Next, we're going to run UnrEVOked. What it does is reboot into HBOOT mode, and use an exploit to gain a temporary NAND unlock. Then it uses fastboot to flash a recovery image, and then pushes the su files required for root.



4) WINDOWS USERS: Right click on the 'unrevoked.exe' file (Or something similar) in the Root Pack and click 'Run as Admin' (Not required for XP)

LINUX USERS: Right click the 'ClickHereToRoot.sh' file and UnrEVOked will start. (Make sure you chmod 755'd it first)

MAC USERS:

Unrevoked, if your a mac user like myself then drag the app inside the dmg to the desktop and run it from there. Most mac users are lazy and will try to run it from the dmg.

[COLOR]
GETTING A MISC RELATED ERROR? See here.

Your phone should now reboot and then congratulations! Your phone is rooted. However, the root that UnrEVOked gives you is basic. No ROMs or good stuff. So you must read on to the next post to flash a custom ROM...

Now you've rooted, let's flash a ROM. We will backup all your apps then flash a ROM then restore your apps. Ready?

Pt. 3 - Flashing Your First ROM

**NOTE: You can repeat Pt. 3 every time you want to flash a new ROM or update



First we're going to download and use Titanium Backup to backup all your apps as we will have to wipe your phone to install the ROM. You can use the same method if you ever want to backup/restore in the future too.

1) Download & Install Titanium Backup from the market. Open it and hit the 'Problems' button to download busybox, a suite of commands for rooted phones. Then hit menu then batch, and tap the button next to Backup All User Apps + System Data. Let it complete before moving on to the next step.

Next we're going to reboot into recovery mode to flash the ROM. You can use this if you ever need to get into recovery in the future.

2) Turn your phone off and turn it on again holding POWER + VOL DOWN to enter HBOOT mode. Wait a few seconds while it checks for images before using the VOLUME KEYS to scroll and POWER to select Recovery. Your phone will now vibrate and reboot into recovery mode!

Next we're going to do a full backup of your phone using Nandroid. This will backup the entire state of your phone in case you ever want to go back. You should really do this every time you flash a new ROM.

3) Use the TRACKBALL to scroll down to where it says Backup or Nandroid or Backup / Restore. Then select Backup and wait for it to finish.

Now we need to wipe your phone. Whenever you flash a different ROM you should Always do this, when you are updating the ROM you should check on the release thread for information.

[COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]4) If you are not on the Main Menu in recovery, hit back a couple of times to get there. Then, use the TRACKBALL to navigate down to 'Wipe Data / Factory Reset' and accept the scary warning to wipe your phone.

Now we can flash the ROM! Ensure you have downloaded a ROM and it is on the root (Not in any folders) of your SD card. The flashing process may take a few minutes.

5) From the Main Menu, scroll down to and select Install zip from SD Card and then select Choose zip from SD Card then select where you put your ROM and wait for it to complete. Then, select Reboot System Now to reboot into your shiny new ROM!

Your phone will now reboot, it may take a while to reboot as it's rebuilding the Dalvik Cache. If it still doesn't boot up after 10mins, pull the battery and consult the ROM thread for troubleshooting.

Now we're going to restore that Titanium Backup you made before starting Pt. 3. It will restore all your apps back but not system data. (ie Settings) You can use Titanium Backup any time you want to backup/restore your phone.

[COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]6) Download & Install Titanium Backup again and tap Menu Button > Batch > Restore Missing apps + data. It should prompt you to reinstall every app again.[/COLOR]

Flashing a Radio

The radio is the lowest part of your phone. (ie It's the very first thing that loads when you turn your phone on.
Most ROMs will have a required radio version, but most will agree that it's best to be on the latest as they often improve battery life etc.

You can downgrade your radio. You can find your radio version by going to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Baseband Version.

Your ROM should tell you on it's thread what the recommended radio version is, so download it, transfer it to the root of your SD card as you did in Pt. 3 then follow this.

Now we're going to reboot into recovery mode as we did in Pt. 3 to flash the new radio. There is also an app on the market called 'Quick Boot' which you can use to quickly get into recovery. The next step will assume you have this.

1) Open Quick Bootand tap Recovery then tap Allow on the SuperUser permissions prompt.

Note: The SuperUser Permissions app will prompt you whenever an app is requesting to use root. You should look over which app is requesting this before you allow it.

Next, we need to flash the radio. You do this exactly the same way as you flash a ROM, which you did in Pt. 3.

2) Use the same method you flashed the new ROM in Pt. 3 to flash the radio. You do not need to Nandroid backup or wipe to do this, just flash the zip.

Note: Your phone may reboot a couple of times and will show a picture of the Android Robot while it is flashing the radio. It has NOT crashed, it is flashing it. DO NOT pull the battery, it will reboot when it is done.

Your new radio has now flashed!
Congratulations, You now have a fully rooted phone with the latest radio!