Is the RUU necessary when just flashing custom ROMs? - HTC One X

Hi there,
I completely understand how flashing custom ROMs works and the like, however I'm not too familiar with HTC devices so I'm not entirely sure how important RUUs are.
My girlfriend owns an unlocked One X (CID: HTC_102, 1.29.401.11 (WWE)). If I were to flash Android Revolution HD 8.1, it would technically be following the X.XX.401.XX update tree, right? If we were to keep her One X updated along with ARHD, would we need to worry about flashing RUUs? I think most people use the RUUs to update things like their baseband version, kernel and boot image - but if the custom ROM is taking care of things like the kernel and boot image, couldn't I just flash the updated basebands? I've been trying to Google my answers, but I'm really coming up with nothing.

It's always best to have a ruu handy incase you need to go back to near stock, or something messes up and a ruus the only way of sorting it
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

So basically the RUU is a way of restoring to stock if you, for some reason, do not have a Nandroid backup?

Yes. If you can't get one then proceed at your own risk

For the most part you will never need an ruu.
It returns the device completely to stock.
It differs from custom ROMs because it also flashes the protected partitions like Hboot
It is also the only way to get your phone to load after relocking your boot loader (for warranty purposes)
Better chance of been fixed if you send it back as stock as possible
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

Ah, so if I keep the RUU for the current stock ROM I have now on hand (I believe I've found it in the Endeavor Shipped ROM Collection thread) for a 'just in case' situation, I should be all good? Sure is handy that the CID matches the WWE RUUs, they're easy to find.
Thanks for your help, guys.

Related

Htc one x - custom rom questions -

Hey, haven't come across a post like this, been searching and I don't seem to have found one, sorry If anyone.does.
Right, so I'm thinking of flashing a custom rom on my HTC one x, however I need some questions answering before I even go ahead and try it.
If I flash a custom Rom, is there any chance of getting my phone fully back to stock except the bootloader relocked message?
Should I worry about radio numbers? What do they mean? Do they matter if so how and why?
What do the boot.img and system.img do and why might I need to flash them via adb?
Firmware? What is firmware and why do I need to be specific about it?
What is the likelihood of me bricking my phone?
Do I need to stay on my cid? (X
X.xx.771.x) if.so why?
What happens/do I do if ot stays on Yeh HTC screen after flash?
Can the kernel be changed back to stock?
Is it true I can't flash through cwm if I want a kernel flashing?
Sorry for all the questions it's just I broke my HTC sensation xe with roms, and obviously don't want to do the same here!
Please someone answer.
Thanks a lot
Sent from my HTC One X
smidgeox said:
Hey, haven't come across a post like this, been searching and I don't seem to have found one, sorry If anyone.does.
Right, so I'm thinking of flashing a custom rom on my HTC one x, however I need some questions answering before I even go ahead and try it.
If I flash a custom Rom, is there any chance of getting my phone fully back to stock except the bootloader relocked message?
Should I worry about radio numbers? What do they mean? Do they matter if so how and why?
What do the boot.img and system.img do and why might I need to flash them via adb?
Firmware? What is firmware and why do I need to be specific about it?
What is the likelihood of me bricking my phone?
Do I need to stay on my cid? (X
X.xx.771.x) if.so why?
What happens/do I do if ot stays on Yeh HTC screen after flash?
Can the kernel be changed back to stock?
Is it true I can't flash through cwm if I want a kernel flashing?
Sorry for all the questions it's just I broke my HTC sensation xe with roms, and obviously don't want to do the same here!
Please someone answer.
Thanks a lot
Sent from my HTC One X
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I flash a custom Rom, is there any chance of getting my phone fully back to stock except the bootloader relocked message?
yes there is, just find the correct matching ruu for your phone. the link to download should be one of the top ones in android development.
Should I worry about radio numbers? What do they mean? Do they matter if so how and why?
no you shouldnt. they just mean that it is an updated version of the radio. for me, the 1.29 radios work better than the leaked 2.05 radios. you can always test each one out to find the best for your phone.
What do the boot.img and system.img do and why might I need to flash them via adb?
because we dont have security-off yet, we cannot use cwm to flash the boot of the new roms directly, we have to use flash if through fastboot. imagine our phone as a car, and everytime u change the engine{ rom }, you need to give it a jump start.
Firmware? What is firmware and why do I need to be specific about it?
you dont need to be specific. if you are flashing, all roms would work for you, and there are two type, one based on the leak 2.0 build, and others using the 1.29 as their base
What is the likelihood of me bricking my phone?
if u follow instructions clearly, 0.
Do I need to stay on my cid? (X
X.xx.771.x) if.so why?
roming shouldnt change your cid. as a beginner..we shouldnt really even worry about that.
What happens/do I do if ot stays on Yeh HTC screen after flash?
if it stays there, it means you forgot to flash the boot.img, just go into fastboot, and flash the matching boot.img
Can the kernel be changed back to stock?
yes it can, just flash the stock kernel like u would any other kernel
Is it true I can't flash through cwm if I want a kernel flashing?
most custom kernels require modules, which is an add on package sort of. you first flash the boot of the kernel through fastboot, then boot into recovery and flash the modules. so u still need cwm.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Kevin Ma said:
If I flash a custom Rom, is there any chance of getting my phone fully back to stock except the bootloader relocked message?
yes there is, just find the correct matching ruu for your phone. the link to download should be one of the top ones in android development.
Should I worry about radio numbers? What do they mean? Do they matter if so how and why?
no you shouldnt. they just mean that it is an updated version of the radio. for me, the 1.29 radios work better than the leaked 2.05 radios. you can always test each one out to find the best for your phone.
What do the boot.img and system.img do and why might I need to flash them via adb?
because we dont have security-off yet, we cannot use cwm to flash the boot of the new roms directly, we have to use flash if through fastboot. imagine our phone as a car, and everytime u change the engine{ rom }, you need to give it a jump start.
Firmware? What is firmware and why do I need to be specific about it?
you dont need to be specific. if you are flashing, all roms would work for you, and there are two type, one based on the leak 2.0 build, and others using the 1.29 as their base
What is the likelihood of me bricking my phone?
if u follow instructions clearly, 0.
Do I need to stay on my cid? (X
X.xx.771.x) if.so why?
roming shouldnt change your cid. as a beginner..we shouldnt really even worry about that.
What happens/do I do if ot stays on Yeh HTC screen after flash?
if it stays there, it means you forgot to flash the boot.img, just go into fastboot, and flash the matching boot.img
Can the kernel be changed back to stock?
yes it can, just flash the stock kernel like u would any other kernel
Is it true I can't flash through cwm if I want a kernel flashing?
most custom kernels require modules, which is an add on package sort of. you first flash the boot of the kernel through fastboot, then boot into recovery and flash the modules. so u still need cwm.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, really grateful for your time in answering my questions, just wondering is everything I do to roms and kernels undoable? Just worrying that's all.
Can radios be downgraded easily?
Can software versions be downgraded easily? If I were to update to 1.29 (not released for me ota yet) is it possible to go back if ever I wanted? Sorry its just a lot to learn.
I'm very grateful.
Sent from my HTC One X
smidgeox said:
Thank you, really grateful for your time in answering my questions, just wondering is everything I do to roms and kernels undoable? Just worrying that's all.
Can radios be downgraded easily?
Can software versions be downgraded easily? If I were to update to 1.29 (not released for me ota yet) is it possible to go back if ever I wanted? Sorry its just a lot to learn.
I'm very grateful.
Sent from my HTC One X
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is everything I do to roms and kernels undoable? Just worrying that's all.
u can always wipe data and reflash.
Can radios be downgraded easily?
radios u can flash any one u want
Can software versions be downgraded easily? If I were to update to 1.29 (not released for me ota yet) is it possible to go back if ever I wanted? Sorry its just a lot to learn.
if u mean stock phone ota to 1.29, no u would not be able to go back. at least not until we get soff
but if say u root ur phone on 1.28 and flash any 1.29 roms or 2.05 roms, u can always go back to stock 1.28 by flashing ruu.
IF WE GET SOFF, u can flash ANYTHING, downgrade ANYTHING. and we dont have to flash boot.img everytime
that is why everyone is waiting for soff
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Kevin Ma said:
is everything I do to roms and kernels undoable? Just worrying that's all.
u can always wipe data and reflash.
Can radios be downgraded easily?
radios u can flash any one u want
Can software versions be downgraded easily? If I were to update to 1.29 (not released for me ota yet) is it possible to go back if ever I wanted? Sorry its just a lot to learn.
if u mean stock phone ota to 1.29, no u would not be able to go back. at least not until we get soff
but if say u root ur phone on 1.28 and flash any 1.29 roms or 2.05 roms, u can always go back to stock 1.28 by flashing ruu.
IF WE GET SOFF, u can flash ANYTHING, downgrade ANYTHING. and we dont have to flash boot.img everytime
that is why everyone is waiting for soff
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the replies.
I have one more question which i think you may have answered but i just need to make it more obvious to what i mean.
I'm currently on 1.28.771.9, rooted etc...
If i were to update to a 1.29 rom, is there anyway to get back to my current rom i'm on now?
Would that call for a nandroid restore?
Or? And these ruu's everytime in the past, i've tried to flash 'downgrade' sort of thing, it's failed? i think?
smidgeox said:
Thanks for the replies.
I have one more question which i think you may have answered but i just need to make it more obvious to what i mean.
I'm currently on 1.28.771.9, rooted etc...
If i were to update to a 1.29 rom, is there anyway to get back to my current rom i'm on now?
Would that call for a nandroid restore?
Or? And these ruu's everytime in the past, i've tried to flash 'downgrade' sort of thing, it's failed? i think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO, IF U OTA UPDATE, you will not be able to revert back.
right now, using ruus to downgrade is not possible, but if we get soff, then u will be able to downgrade to 1.28 by flashing that ruu
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
if you are going to flash custom roms the first and important thing to do is backup your stock rom..and always keep that..that way when you get an OTA update all you do is revert back to that stick a stock recovery and install the update..simple as that really.
Goku80 said:
if you are going to flash custom roms the first and important thing to do is backup your stock rom..and always keep that..that way when you get an OTA update all you do is revert back to that stick a stock recovery and install the update..simple as that really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do nandroid back ups ALWAYS work? No matter what? No matter what rom i've came from, it will go back to EXACTLY how my phone was before i flashed a custom rom?
Also, i thought that you couldn't flash radios because you need s-off to do so?
Also, say i was to flash a custom rom... for example the newest miui one? (http://www.clockworkmod.com/rommana...ger.js&name=MIUI.us&deviceName=HTC One X (GSM))
What does this change? Obviously my rom, but would it change my software version (1.28?) and say i flashed the MIUI rom, and for whatever reason i wanted to go back to the official stock rom (1.28?)... is that possible? Nandroid restore? Or RUU?
Basically what i'm trying to understand is what i actually change when i flash a rom? And what can be successfully undone?
Really sorry, i'm a newbie and i sound thick but everyone starts somewhere right?
Do i need to boot into recovery via fastboot to successfully flash kernels to? (I read online...)
can kernels be undone and are they stored in boot.img
Thanks for you help guys, i'm REALLY, REALLY grateful.
Thanks again.
Please stay on topic guys. This isn't a flirt forum.
Keep that stuff private please
Lol.... No... I'm a happily taken woman thanks. Lmfao.
Sent from my HTC One X

How dangerous is using the wrong RUU?

Hi
I have (naively) rooted my HTC Desire GSM PVT4 40000 with Unrevoked 3, and have come up against the issues this seems to cause: S-ON, flashes Clockworkmod recovery 2.5.0.7 which is incompatible with the Desire. I’ve been unable to flash AmonRA with all of the methods I’ve been able to find, and I’m now looking to use a RUU to return the phone to stock..
So, I’m at the point now where I’m looking to return my phone to stock using an RUU. However, I can’t find one with both my baseband version / software version / model, so before I take the next step I need to understand the risks involved with using an RUU that isn’t necessarily for my phone.
Will I be able to use an RUU with a different baseband, a higher / lower software version or a different model on my Desire without too many ill effects? And if so could someone suggest one?
Baseband: 32.48.00.32U_5.11.05.14
Software: 2.22.351.3
Many thanks in advance
You probably won't be able to flash different brand ruu without having a gold card.
Also, you may encounteer problems trying to flash older ruu then the one you have installed.
My suggestion is, like always, 2.3 ruu from htcdev, it's compatible with all screen models and branded.
Sent from my GT-P3100 using Flashes and Thunders
You can't flash another recovery because you are s-on. Use alpharev/revolutionary to get s-off and you can then flash 4ext.
You should be fine flashing (at least some) roms with the clockworkmod version you have, what problems are you having exactly?
hans moleman said:
You should be fine flashing (at least some) roms with the clockworkmod version you have, what problems are you having exactly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That recovery is is definitely outdated, albeit it is one of the best for this device. Evar..
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk 2

[Q] Htc one x Viber room

hey guys
right im new to all this rom stuff i have got viper 2.7 on my htc i have tryed to remove it and put a stock rom back on my phone as i didnt do a back how to i remove the hole look so iam able to stick a stock rom on my phone and try get back to normal
any ideas
thank you
Find a stock RUU for your device. There's a RUU thread in the Android Dev section.
Like the poster above me said, flash the appropriate RUU to go back to complete stock, however if you only want to change the appearance to stock sense then flash Viper ROM again and choose Sense theme while installing. That will give you a fully customizable ROM (with all the venom tweaks) that looks exactly like stock HTC ROM.
viper and ruu
nikzDHD said:
Find a stock RUU for your device. There's a RUU thread in the Android Dev section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have tryed to restore using RUU but keep saying it the rong one even if it the right version i dont
THIS INFO ON MY PHONE HTC ONE X
BASSBAND 2.1204.135.20
BULID 2.17.401.2 CL89015 KEY
i try so many ruu but still saying rong version
BUT I DO NO MY I NEED VIRGIN-UK VIRGI001 BUT I CANT FIND IT
I have nearly tryed ever ruu keep saying it the rong version what do i do?
Also make sure you relock your bootloader too.
The ruu will be out there, unless you updated to jb and updated your hboot, without keeping a nandroid back up, if so...you're pretty fudged.
Edit just re read haha, from viper x, the best Rom ever, hmm...
Sent from my HTC One X
Your on a branded device, did you not back up via CWM when you installed recovery? That's the first thing everyone should do! So you can restore back, if you had no backup your pretty fudged as you'll need your carrier specific RUU. Or find someone else with your CID and ask for a copy of their backup.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

T-Mobile HTC One M8 --> GPE

Has anyone tried flashing the GPE ROM.. I am a noob with HTC.. Been a Samsung user for years..
What is ruu?
What is S-off?
Is there anything like Knox counter on HTC that should be considered a risk?
Can anyone point me to the directions on converting Tmo M8 to GPE M8
Thanks in advance..
Sent from my HTC One M8 from Tapatalk Pro
Suhas_v said:
Has anyone tried flashing the GPE ROM.. I am a noob with HTC.. Been a Samsung user for years..
What is ruu?
What is S-off?
Is there anything like Knox counter on HTC that should be considered a risk?
Can anyone point me to the directions on converting Tmo M8 to GPE M8
Thanks in advance..
Sent from my HTC One M8 from Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can flash GPE roms just fine without converting. I am currently using a GPE rom myself and have not converted. I would only convert if you want the latest google updates. You probably need to remain as Stock GPE for those also. Also, once you convert to GPE, you cannot flash sense roms or go back to sense until a sense RUU is released. As of now there are none.
RUU stands for ROM Update Utility. Essentially it overwrites your all system partitions with stock partition files including hboot, recovery, radio, etc and software or ROM.
S-OFF stands for Security OFF. It disables security checks for things like CID (carrier identification) and allows you easier access to overwriting certain system partitions. This is both good and bad since, if you don't know what you are doing, or don't read/research enough before overwriting some partitions, you could end up with a brick, however, at the same time, there have been occasions where S-OFF prevents bricking as sometimes, HTC's own RUU's do not finalize checks until after flashing or wiping partitons, leaving you with a brick.
I think my information is pretty accurate, but anyone should feel free to add on if I am wrong about something or am lacking in some details.
exad said:
You can flash GPE roms just fine without converting. I am currently using a GPE rom myself and have not converted. I would only convert if you want the latest google updates. You probably need to remain as Stock GPE for those also. Also, once you convert to GPE, you cannot flash sense roms or go back to sense until a sense RUU is released. As of now there are none.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bear with my ignorance my friend..Thanks for the info.. Does that mean a stock rooted gpe will still get OTAs?
Sent from my HTC One M8 from Tapatalk Pro
Suhas_v said:
Bear with my ignorance my friend..Thanks for the info.. Does that mean a stock rooted gpe will still get OTAs?
Sent from my HTC One M8 from Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTAs rely on stock recovery so you could use a custom recovery to root and then flash back stock recovery to receive OTAs. In short, Yes, you could/would still get OTAs.
I could be wrong but i believe that yes even with the rooted option you will still receive OTAs. Now if you have custom recovery then you will have to flash gpe recovery to take the OTA. Here's a link to the conversion thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2708589
Wonderful.. Thank you guys.. Has anyone tried this on T-Mobile M8?
Sent from my HTC One M8 from Tapatalk Pro
I figured I should also post that typically an RUU cannot flash older versions.. or backwards.. You can only flash the same version or later. IE: You cannot flash backwards to version 2.0 if on version 3.0. If on Version 3.0 You can flash 3.0 and higher. However, with S-OFF it is possible to flash older RUUs.

[Q] Is it possible to create an RUU from the phone?

Disclaimer, I'm not a developer, just doing some searching to find a safety net before I try converting to full GPE using this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2708589
After reading the thread, some have been able to flash back to Sense ROM, but others have had trouble. As of date, there's no sure way to get back to a Sense ROM until an RUU is released for the Sense ROM by HTC
So I did a little bit of searching and found this: https://sites.google.com/site/htcthunderboltstuff/creating-a-system-ruu
Obviously, the guide was written for the HTC Thunderbolt and not the HTC One M8
Again, I'm not a developer. I'm just curious if it is possible to create an RUU from a bootable Phone and use that to get back to a Sense ROM after a GPE Conversion.
I was wondering if one of the many developers on this forums can take a look at it and share some knowledge?
I've never heard of that before. An RUU isn't special though, it's essentially just an image of the partitions and the flashing tools wrapped in an installer (and then cryptographically signed by HTC).
I did
fastboot boot recovery.zip
and took a backup of the stock partitions before fastboot flash whatever. I don't know how well it worked because I haven't tried to restore it, but it should be good to go.
Check here for some info. A nandroid backup is almost the same as a ruu. It just does not contain the firmware/bootloader info. And it doesn't come with an automated installer.
Your backup should work fine indeed Ben.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2701376
I appreciate the replies.
From what I read in the thread for the full GPE conversion, the issues is when you covert to GPE, the system partition gets changed (it gets smaller). The system partition size for a Sense Nandroid backup is larger and when you try to restore from a nandroid backup, it fails.
So I was hoping there was a way to build an RUU from my current phone that would restore needed System partition size for the Sense ROM.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
kman79 said:
I appreciate the replies.
From what I read in the thread for the full GPE conversion, the issues is when you covert to GPE, the system partition gets changed (it gets smaller). The system partition size for a Sense Nandroid backup is larger and when you try to restore from a nandroid backup, it fails.
So I was hoping there was a way to build an RUU from my current phone that would restore needed System partition size for the Sense ROM.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do it. I did for my Aussie htc_039 phone.
You need s-off.
Before you flash the GE ruu created by GrafixNYC open it in 7 zip and take note of the images it has. You can dump these images as they are on your phone using dd and create another ruu like the GE one but with your dumped partitions. I found a spreadsheet created by SneakyGhost that has the partition maps. Be careful but yes it's doeable.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
kman79 said:
Disclaimer, I'm not a developer, just doing some searching to find a safety net before I try converting to full GPE using this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2708589
After reading the thread, some have been able to flash back to Sense ROM, but others have had trouble. As of date, there's no sure way to get back to a Sense ROM until an RUU is released for the Sense ROM by HTC
So I did a little bit of searching and found this: https://sites.google.com/site/htcthunderboltstuff/creating-a-system-ruu
Obviously, the guide was written for the HTC Thunderbolt and not the HTC One M8
Again, I'm not a developer. I'm just curious if it is possible to create an RUU from a bootable Phone and use that to get back to a Sense ROM after a GPE Conversion.
I was wondering if one of the many developers on this forums can take a look at it and share some knowledge?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can convert back pretty easy, but if you are asking this question anyway, why not just flash a gpe rom. Its the same thing. Your not missing out on anything except ota updates which they are released probably faster than you would have received it on your device anyway.

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