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Hi everybody, I just bought a HTC Desire from The Carphone Warehouse on the O2 network.
I've taken it home, inserted my simcard, turned it on and put it on charge. I've flicked through the little introduction screens and then connected to my home WiFi.
I have been reading this and other forums for a while. I want to now root the phone and install a custom ROM.
Before I download any apps or do anything should I first root the phone as soon as possible and install the custom ROM of my choice?
The phone came with a 4GB memory card. I of course want to upgrade this to a bigger card. Should I buy and insert the new memory card before rooting and installing a ROM as I have read about people having problems with installing new memory cards.
Removing the back of the phone scared the life out of me. I thought it was going to snap. I don't fancy doing that too often!
Sorry about the long winded thread but any help would be appreciated.
Personally, if this is your first Android phone, I think you ought to just use it for a couple of weeks, to get familiar with it. There is no point in installing custom ROMs right away before you know what the standard software can or can't do, as you will not have anything to compare the new ROM to.
Many ROMs have issues/bugs, and you would do well to spend a couple of weeks reading up on the forums here, to gain an understanding of what rooting entails, and what you can expect from different ROMs. It is likely you will end up flashing multiple ROMs before settling on one you are happy with, so why not just enjoy your phone for a bit first? Trust me, flashing can become addictive, and you can often end up with a phone that has a non-working feature - which can be frustrating, as well as time consuming.
Also, rooting is very safe now, but regularly new problems are discovered - for instance the recent SLCD brick issue. If you don't know what that is then you need to do more reading. Trust me, you will save yourself lots of hassle in the long run - panicking over a £400 phone that won't boot up, not knowing whether you've broken it permanently, is not a nice feeling.
I'm not trying to put you off at all - rooting is the best thing I've done with my Desire (and my Dream before that), and I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in unleasing the full power of their phone. But do your research thoroughly first, then ask questions.
In reply to the questions you have asked:
Before I download any apps or do anything should I first root the phone as soon as possible and install the custom ROM of my choice?
If you're going to root then you have to wipe the phone as part of the process, therefore losing any apps you've installed. You would have to then reinstall them. Whether you root now or later, you will still have to install your apps. Once the phone is rooted, you can backup your apps when moving from ROM to ROM - Titanium Backup is good.
Should I buy and insert the new memory card before rooting and installing a ROM as I have read about people having problems with installing new memory cards.
Up to you. If you have the money now then I would go ahead and get the SD card you want now. Saves transferring stuff later on.
When you have any questions feel free to post here in the Q&A section and there will be people more than happy to help you out
Welcome to the world of Android!
EDIT: I have just re-read your post, and realised you said you have been reading the forums for a couple of weeks - I didn't mean to sound patronising at all when I recommended more research. Knowledge is power!
I have a T-mobile uk branded desire (firmware version 2.1 -update 1 )
(software number 1.15.110.11), I dont want to root as i want to keep the warranty, but the low volume problem is really pissing me off, I tried to watch a film while stuck on the underground today, I could not hear a word of it, even with hi end sennheisers, its really pissing me off!!!
I have been told that switching to the stock HTC rom will solve the issue.
If possible pls explain how? I am an android newb and will need help.
Many thanks in advance.
sadly, no.
But if you have a problem, you can keep a backup of the stock HTC sense rom, and restore it. Additionally, you can restore the recovery to stock (I think i saw it somewhere).
After all that, you are good to go. Warranty still valid, and you can RMA it
Thanks for the reply, pls remember I am a newb, how do I do this???
Root your phone, do what you want with it, just keep this handy...
http://shipped-roms.com/shipped/Bra...00.28U_4.06.00.02_2_release_127570_signed.exe
It's the current T-Mobile UK stock ROM and can be reflashed at any point to return to stock for warranty purposes (link may go down occationally so keep trying until you have it)...to reflash the stock ROM just make sure you have your Desire connected to your PC with HTC Sync and run the file - simple as that!!
I really dont want to root it to be honest, the phone is perfect except for the media volume! Do you think if I contacted htc they would be able to tell me how to change the rom without rooting it?
You CANNOT change the ROM without rooting, and HTC wouldn't tell you as it's breech of their warranty...just root it, you can always go back to stock if need be using the file I posted
Rooting isn't for everyone. If you have doubts about it, you should not do it. It's better to read some more about it than to hastely brick your phone. Most bricks are solvable these days, but it is no fun to do. If you want root just for the volume, it's not worth it if you don't know what you're doing, imho.
Sent from my Evil Lair using Doomsday Device
I have a T-Mo branded Desire that I have de-branded to a stock ROM, it's been OTA updated to 2.2 and just this morning it OTA updated to the new release all without rooting.
You just need to create a goldcard (very easy using the helper program) which will allow you to install any stock RUU. I have left the goldcard in my phone as it works as a standard microSD anyway to avoid any problems that occur when updating with out a gold card in.
I can't post links as I'm too much of a newb around here but search and the links are there.
Hi, I have the desire, and well I'm board with it, I want to mess around with different roms like miui, gingerbread extra. But I don't understand, please could someone help me with some of my questions? Thank :
1) What are the chances of breaking it through rooting, and what could happen, and would should you do it it does happen?
2) what does bricked mean, and is there away of unbricking?
1) what do you do if a bad rom breaks?
1.5) what are the chances of things going wrong?
2) Can you have more than one rom installed at a time, and switch between them, a bit like you can with launchers, and uses the same apps and data on those roms?
2.5) Is unrevoked the best way to root?
3) I you can have more than one rom, can you have a gingerbread rom, side loaded with a froyo from?
4) How do you switch between the roms?
5)Does rooting affect battery life?
6) Using unrevoked, is there anyway to unroot?
7) where do you find roms, and does the rom manager in the market allow you to install them without flashing?
8)Is there a good htc sense hd or gingerbread rom that works well?
9) With different roms increase the speed of the device, like the n1 is faster than the desire, yet they have the same hardware?
I know that a lot of questions but i am really nervousness about this and I can't seem to find todate answerers to these questions. If someone could help me with these questions I would be very great full, as I want to get more our of my device. Thanks ( I know there are a lot of rooting threads, but I really need to find out as much as i can before I undergo this, I love my desire too much to allow it to break when there was something that i could have done)
There is a remote chance (0.00000001%) of anything going wrong as long as you follow the steps to the rooting process and S-Off. If you become bricked then there is a topic on how to unbrick.
Easiest and best way to root is to using unrevoked 3.32. Make sure you download the HBoot drivers from their website. After rooting, it is also good to make your device S-Off'd. Your able to flash HBoot templates to change partition sizes and also change the splash and remove system apps and so on.
You can only have 1 rom installed at a time. You have to flash roms as well, that's how you install them and other zip files through the recovery. If a rom breaks, you can just flash it again. Installing a rom takes 5 mins, if that really.
You find roms in the Android Dev section. You can use Rom Manager but you have to pay or something.
You can have a fast rom or a "slower" rom. It depends on how it's been built and stuff but also the kernel can help to speed things up. (Speed isn't always the answer). There is no best or crappiest rom either. It's best to test many out for yourself.
Battery life again depends on the rom and the kernel.
Things To Download
To root a device
To S-Off your device
Roms and alsort of other nice things
Hope this helps you out.
Thanks very much , but do you need to install "S-Off" as I don't quite understand what it does, and which one to download and how to install it. Thanks
You don't need to install S-Off after a root. S-Off just allows you to do more things like uninstall system apps, change the splash screen, change the HBoot (not quite sure what else). If your not going to be doing them sort of things then stay away from it.
When you root, the unrevoked utility roots it and changes the recovery to ClockworkMod 2.5.1.8. That recovery allows you to boot into it and install roms through it. It has a menu and you use your optical tracker to navigate through them. That is how you install different roms.
With the roms, you need to see which one you like. I've been through almost all of them and I have one I stick to now. I can't say which is the best, that's for you to decide. The Gingerbread roms are Android 2.3 and I THINK, emphasis on the THINK, that the rest of the roms are Android 2.2.
I think at first your like, oh what if I mess things up and stuff but you won't if you follow instructions. When I first did it, I completely messed up and couldn't even boot into a rom at all and was wondering how to sort it out. I got there in the end but still. I also forgot to mention, if you want the stock rom back, you can install one of the RUU's. It will wipe everything and you will have to root again, but you will have stock.
Thanks very much , when change roms will you lose all of your apps, and data?
Yes. When your changing roms, you have to erase all data. It is a must and everything will go, apps, user data including texts and contacts, EVERYTHING!!!.
Thanks so much for all your help, i'm going to do it now, and use cyanogen mod 7 or 6.x. Thanks again
No worries. If you get stuck, just message me or something.
Completely IGNORE S-OFF if you're a n00b, it shouldn't be recommended to anyone who:
1. Doesn't know what it is
2. Doesn't actually need it
Concentrate on rooting and running a custom ROM first
Not actually true. When I S-Off'd my Desire, I didn't have a bloody clue, other than it disables all security, what it was. You eventually learn things like I did and read a little more. S-Off is a great tool to have on your phone because it gives you all the more freedom to do what ever you want with your device. I will say for all the "n00bs" out there that if you are S-Off'ing then please read it all carefully, unlike me because I could have messed it all up.
You were lucky - better to learn first, do second
I saw recently a wiped imei which made me cautious
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Thanks for all you help, I have rooted and now have a custom rom (cm 6.1). Thanks
EddyOS said:
Completely IGNORE S-OFF if you're a n00b
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would add that if you're a n00b, don't even try to get your device rooted!
Lothaen said:
I saw recently a wiped imei which made me cautious
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would ask if that's even possbile. Apparently it is.
Delete the efs storage without a backup... doh
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I had a stock Desire and wouldn't move from it. Then the niggles in the current build just annoyed me enough to actually go down the root route (see what I did there? )
So I rooted and after a few mishaps along the way (make backups of everything, phone and SD card, especially if you partition it!) I am very happy with my Ginger Villain ROM. A few things still niggle (Me avatar in texts blank, phone reboots randomly to name a few), but its not as bad as it used to be. I can live without Sense as well surprisingly enough.
I also did the same for a friend, and stuck them on LeeDroid 2.3d and as they are technically challenged, it works for them sweet as.
stringent said:
I had a stock Desire and wouldn't move from it. Then the niggles in the current build just annoyed me enough to actually go down the root route (see what I did there? )
So I rooted and after a few mishaps along the way (make backups of everything, phone and SD card, especially if you partition it!) I am very happy with my Ginger Villain ROM. A few things still niggle (Me avatar in texts blank, phone reboots randomly to name a few), but its not as bad as it used to be. I can live without Sense as well surprisingly enough.
I also did the same for a friend, and stuck them on LeeDroid 2.3d and as they are technically challenged, it works for them sweet as.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha that made me laugh. As for your contact icon of yourself, you need to add yourself. Your own number and name and then you can add a picture. Yes it is annoying a little because Android natively doesn't have like a "contact card" for yourself.
Rooting and S-Off is the best thing I did by far
GoogleJelly said:
Haha that made me laugh. As for your contact icon of yourself, you need to add yourself. Your own number and name and then you can add a picture. Yes it is annoying a little because Android natively doesn't have like a "contact card" for yourself.
Rooting and S-Off is the best thing I did by far
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bump creates a contact card for yourself...
right at the top of the phonebook called 'My Contact Card'
Lothaen said:
bump creates a contact card for yourself...
right at the top of the phonebook called 'My Contact Card'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odd, I don't have that, I had it in the Sense UI, not on the stock Ginger Villain ROM, unless I am missing something ...
Hey guys! I'm picking up an Xperia Play in a couple of days and was looking for some general advice about the phone. This will be my first Android device, I've been on WebOS/Garnet for my last two phones. I'm just a little overwhelmed with the options presented by the Play and Android in general. For instance, I'm not sure if I should root my phone or not - what are the advantages?
Any other general guides to Android/the Play would be wonderful if any such guides exist. I'm looking to deck this thing out with every emulator on the market as well as get the PSXperia hack up and running (I've downloaded the program, but can't figure out how to use it).
You can sense my overall noobishness in general, I'm sure. Any advice or tips about this device would be great. I'm really excited about the Play and getting comfortable with Android. Thanks everybody!
kershner25 said:
Hey guys! I'm picking up an Xperia Play in a couple of days and was looking for some general advice about the phone. This will be my first Android device, I've been on WebOS/Garnet for my last two phones. I'm just a little overwhelmed with the options presented by the Play and Android in general. For instance, I'm not sure if I should root my phone or not - what are the advantages?
Any other general guides to Android/the Play would be wonderful if any such guides exist. I'm looking to deck this thing out with every emulator on the market as well as get the PSXperia hack up and running (I've downloaded the program, but can't figure out how to use it).
You can sense my overall noobishness in general, I'm sure. Any advice or tips about this device would be great. I'm really excited about the Play and getting comfortable with Android. Thanks everybody!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
congratz im waiting for mine is the mail right now lol
rooting allows you to have full access to the file system sorta like a administrator
on a windows machine since out the box you cant edit files or remove bloatware without root you cant install certain programs from the market without root
also having root and unlocked bootloader allows you to flash a custom recovery image which will allow you to flash customs roms(a custom version of android dev by a user here on xda or anywhere in general)
yes i highly recommend but if you ever plan on returning the phone to verzion for example you will have to revert it back to stock
and for the program psxperia you need to install the latest version of java from java.com
and if your on a windows machine you double click the psxperiatool.JAR file
and it should run not sure on OSX
in the end you made a good choice on choosing android as mainstream as it became its still a powerful system way better IMO than ios or even webos
since android has so many developers theres gonna be an endless amount of programs
will post new finds myself etc
edokassiah said:
and unlocked bootloader allows you to flash a custom recovery image which will allow you to flash customs roms(a custom version of android dev by a user here on xda or anywhere in general)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot flash the recovery image directly or you will mess up boot partition, you need to flash a kernel with embedded recovery built in
Thanks for the info. I'm confused about the locked/unlocked bootloaders. How do I know which one I'll have? And how "easy" of a process is rooting the phone if I don't plan to install any custom roms or anything?
Also, how does transferring .apk files from my PC to the device work?
kershner25 said:
Thanks for the info. I'm confused about the locked/unlocked bootloaders. How do I know which one I'll have? And how "easy" of a process is rooting the phone if I don't plan to install any custom roms or anything?
Also, how does transferring .apk files from my PC to the device work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you havent unlocked your bootloader yourself it is locked there are many risks and advantages to unlocking your bootloader, but if you dont intend to flash custom roms there really is no need, just like with root, if you dont know what it is, you probably wont need it
transfering .apk's from your pc is easy, just copy the .apk to your sd card, then use a file manager to find the .apk, tap on it and the installer will pop up , you need to tick unknown sources in settings though
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1176367
AndroHero said:
You cannot flash the recovery image directly or you will mess up boot partition, you need to flash a kernel with embedded recovery built in
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hes asking about android in general not aiming specifically at the xperia play
If I root my phone, do I have to switch everything back in order to get updates? All I really want to root my phone for would be to remove bloatware/speed it up a bit, is there a better way than rooting?
There is plenty of tutorials here, I suggest that you read, read, and then......read some more
_terror_ said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1176367
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for this link, it's seriously going to help me while rooting my phone. This might be a dumb question, but bear with me - better safe than a bricked phone. The guide to rooting in that link says that I need to flash my Play to the .184 Generic UK firmware...am I understanding it correctly that I need flash this firmware onto my American Verizon Play? I want to make sure nothing is going to get screwed up regionally, as I'm going to want to keep getting OTA updates and all that.
Just to share my own experiences since I'm new to the Xperia Play (previously had an Acer Liquid.. crappy hardware but great community of devs.. anyways..)
I'd recommend rooting your phone off the bat - the simple reason is rooting will involve wiping your phone's data, so if you already have a few months of use that means having to restore everything which is tiresome. First thing when my phone arrived was follow the rooting guide here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1116090
After that however I wouldn't recommend messing around TOO much with custom firmwares and such etc.. get used to the phone as it is and figure out what you like, don't like. if your like me within a few weeks or months you'll want something new - this is when you might want to start looking at messing around with the phone - new home launchers or even a new ROM (if your phone can have it's boot loader unlocked, from what I understand mine can't). The games and Emulators should keep you busy as is
The only customizing I've done to my phone is rooting it with Gingerbreak and using the leaked Sony Launcher.
I realize this is a pretty nooby thing to do that annoys all the veterans, but I consider this to be a fairly crucial piece of information I need before I attempt to root my phone, so I'm just gonna go ahead and bump this thing before it gets lost in the shuffle.
In order to root with a locked bootloader on an American Verizon XPlay, I need to flash to the .184 generic UK firmware, then root, then OTA update, correct?
kershner25 said:
I realize this is a pretty nooby thing to do that annoys all the veterans, but I consider this to be a fairly crucial piece of information I need before I attempt to root my phone, so I'm just gonna go ahead and bump this thing before it gets lost in the shuffle.
In order to root with a locked bootloader on an American Verizon XPlay, I need to flash to the .184 generic UK firmware, then root, then OTA update, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. That method will not work on the r800x (verizon xplay) to root yours you will need to see [How-to] R800x Root
Dont worry about annoying people lol . Who cares what others think? Everyone has to start somewhere.
But it would be better with a stickied thread for new users to look @.
So now, instead of the 3 step process linked previously in this thread, I have to unlock the bootloader and do a whole bunch of other stuff? This method is like 100x more complicated. Is there no other way? I don't intend to install any custom roms, I strictly want to root solely for freezing bloatware.
No i dont think so. You would be better asking for help from other r800x owners in that thread.
The exploit gingerbreak uses on 2.3.2 was patched in 2.3.3 (worldwide) and was also patched by verizon before they released the handset on 2.3.2. Up untill the bootloader was unlocked on the r800x rooting was not possible.
Ask in that thread and you should recieve the help/info you are after.
hiya mate right ive rooted and put on custom recovery but now its screwed up my cam , wifi , and the market so be warned im trying to fix this problem as we speak
---------- Post added at 10:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 PM ----------
im new to this to really but having a play with no cam and no wifi and no market. the market is there but cant dwnload nothing is taking the piss can anyone help me please
Mozza2k11 said:
But it would be better with a stickied thread for new users to look @.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is one already stickied in the Q&A section.That it has gone practically unnoticed counters this statement.
kershner25 said:
Thanks so much for this link, it's seriously going to help me while rooting my phone. This might be a dumb question, but bear with me - better safe than a bricked phone. The guide to rooting in that link says that I need to flash my Play to the .184 Generic UK firmware...am I understanding it correctly that I need flash this firmware onto my American Verizon Play? I want to make sure nothing is going to get screwed up regionally, as I'm going to want to keep getting OTA updates and all that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Their is not such thing as a bricked phone
always is a way to fix it and usually its as simple as flashing a FTF
or whatever stock rom your device uses takes like 5 minutes tops lol
and logsemans guides will tell you anything you need to know
just use them for refrence
Xperia Play Super Compilation (Q&A Sticky)
and if you head down the path of rooting and stuff
messing with files
you wont be able to get ota updates lol.
it will "brick you"
I recentally made a quick video with tips for android users/beginners if you want to watch it. Thought it would help people. http://youtu.be/Pd5DerUoEcY
I'm new to the world of android as I've been on the iphone for the past 3 years. I have been reading everything here that I can as to avoid pissing you guys off from having to answer these simplistic questions over and over. I know you guys get tired of it and I have been searching and trying to learn.
I have a pretty basic question and was hoping to get some input and advice.
I know nothing about Bootloader & Root. As I said I'm coming from the iphone. My question is, should i unlock the bootloader and root as soon as I get the device? What are the advantages in doing so? I really have no intention of modding the device and planned on leaving it totally stock. I got burnt out on modding way back with Motorola seam updates! I know doing this would wipe the device so I was wondering if I should do it 1st, but since google syncs everything to the device, couldn't I do it later and still sync everything back just like when you 1st get it?
Unlocked bootloader lets you flash costume kernels cooked and modded by the devs here, could give a more optimized phone or a more unstable.. root gives you super user or admin over your phone, that lets you delete, change or add systemfiles, some market appa depend on it.. as an everyday user, you do not NEED to do these things to your phone, but if you ever get boored and want to play around to keep your phone "new and exciting" its a nice way to keep you from tire and buy something new for a while. My xperia x10 is miles better then stock my incoming SGN i will probably keep it stock for a while.. Welcome to the community
Oh and yes, once you synced your contacts and apps you can play around with modds and allways get them synced to your phone, app DATA will however not sync.
Sent from my X10i using xda premium
I Unlocked my bootloader first thing out of the box.. Because it will wipe everything. After that you can root and flash CWM without any data loss so you are free to run stock or rooted stock as long as you want and be able to flash when your ready and use titanium backup to restore your apps.
I need Titanium backup. I don't know how people get by without it. Therefore I have to root every phone right away.
I would say rooting is the most important for backing up app data. The sync tells you that it will back up and restore app data but it doesn't really. It only backs up certain data and only if the app is written specifically to support it, iirc. With root you can use tools like Titanium Backup to back up everything in case you need to factory reset, change phone or simply just going back to an earlier backup.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
I don't have a SGN (yet) but when I. Got my DROID Incredible I rooted it as soon as someone found a way... took a few hours but I was too impatient for one-click root.
Anyway, I did it solely to remove bloat and Sense. Since the SGN is stock, and the GSM version doesn't have any bloat that I'm aware of... I'd say you could stay stock for a while, root if you feel the need later (or want the extra benefits of Titanium BU or other root apps).
Tapatalk Pro Sig. Yep, boring.