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Root Attempting to gain root with htc unlocked bootloader

Z

zamkat

Newbie
So, I stumbled onto this forum after trying to root normally using unrevoked, and of course, it said "failed to get root. Is your firmware too new?" I used the HTC tool to unlock the bootloader, because I thought I had to do that, I forget why. I have the Android usb HROOT driver thing on my phone, already, too. I'm new to rooting, btw.

So, then I found out that if you have 2.3.4, you have to root this way. So, I started downloading the files, and got the md5 summer, and the PB31 img file wouldn't unzip, no matter where I downloaded it from. I finally found one, but I'm pretty sure it has the wrong md5. I went ahead and tried to verify it and the other files, and keep getting errors about things "not exist"ing. Not sure what to do about this, or what it means. So, I can't even get started until I sort this out. No idea how to fix this or where to find uncorrupted versions of the files, if that's even the problem. Can someone please help me? Nothing seems to be working right...I'm so frustrated, I've been trying to root this phone for 2 days.

I know I'm probably doing something wrong, I just need help figuring out what.
 
zamkat said:
So, I stumbled onto this forum after trying to root normally using unrevoked, and of course, it said "failed to get root. Is your firmware too new?" I used the HTC tool to unlock the bootloader, because I thought I had to do that, I forget why. I have the Android usb HROOT driver thing on my phone, already, too. I'm new to rooting, btw.

So, then I found out that if you have 2.3.4, you have to root this way. So, I started downloading the files, and got the md5 summer, and the PB31 img file wouldn't unzip, no matter where I downloaded it from. I finally found one, but I'm pretty sure it has the wrong md5. I went ahead and tried to verify it and the other files, and keep getting errors about things "not exist"ing. Not sure what to do about this, or what it means. So, I can't even get started until I sort this out. No idea how to fix this or where to find uncorrupted versions of the files, if that's even the problem. Can someone please help me? Nothing seems to be working right...I'm so frustrated, I've been trying to root this phone for 2 days.

I know I'm probably doing something wrong, I just need help figuring out what.
Click to expand...


If you successfully unlocked your bootloader, just follow these instructions:

http://androidforums.com/incredible...egain-root-s-off-htc-unlocked-bootloader.html

Then if you want s-off you can follow the downgrade instructions in the OP of this thread.
 
sdrawkcab25 said:
If you successfully unlocked your bootloader, just follow these instructions:

http://androidforums.com/incredible...egain-root-s-off-htc-unlocked-bootloader.html

Then if you want s-off you can follow the downgrade instructions in the OP of this thread.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm having a bit of trouble still. I was about to move the files to the SD card, when I realized I couldn't access it via computer connected to my phone. So, someone said to download Astro File Manager, but after downloading, I noticed that that wasn't going to help me at all, since the files are on my computer. :\ Someone else said to plug in the phone after setting it to mount as a disk drive. Okay, so I did that, and now I can see the phone's memory and the SD card...but I don't know which is which. Sorry, if it's a dumb question, but I don't want to mess anything up by putting them into the wrong place. How do I know which one is the SD card?

I also read in the thread you linked me that "With only an htc unlocked bootloader, you will not be able to install alternate radios or downgrade to previous firmware versions. Having those options makes it much easier to recover a soft bricked phone." I don't want to not be able to fix my phone if something goes wrong. Would it be better for me to re-lock it and start over with the method in this thread?
 
zamkat said:
Thanks, I'm having a bit of trouble still. I was about to move the files to the SD card, when I realized I couldn't access it via computer connected to my phone. So, someone said to download Astro File Manager, but after downloading, I noticed that that wasn't going to help me at all, since the files are on my computer. :\ Someone else said to plug in the phone after setting it to mount as a disk drive. Okay, so I did that, and now I can see the phone's memory and the SD card...but I don't know which is which. Sorry, if it's a dumb question, but I don't want to mess anything up by putting them into the wrong place. How do I know which one is the SD card?

I also read in the thread you linked me that "With only an htc unlocked bootloader, you will not be able to install alternate radios or downgrade to previous firmware versions. Having those options makes it much easier to recover a soft bricked phone." I don't want to not be able to fix my phone if something goes wrong. Would it be better for me to re-lock it and start over with the method in this thread?
Click to expand...
When you have the drives mounted to your computer, right click on one of the drives and select properties. Look at the drive size for the one you selected, the phones internal storage will be about 6.6gb and the drive size for the sd card will be whatever size card you have .

Once you unlocked your bootloader through htc, you gave up the ability to start over. If you want to achieve s-off, you have to first get root with your current setup using the first link I posted ( http://androidforums.com/incredible...egain-root-s-off-htc-unlocked-bootloader.html ), then follow the directions in the first post of this thread (start with the downgrade section).

Rewrite the misc.img
Load the 2.2 pb31img.zip file
Reroot using unrevoked
(possibly have to flash unrevoked forever)
Upgrade back to gingerbread
 
sdrawkcab25 said:
When you have the drives mounted to your computer, right click on one of the drives and select properties. Look at the drive size for the one you selected, the phones internal storage will be about 6.6gb and the drive size for the sd card will be whatever size card you have .

Once you unlocked your bootloader through htc, you gave up the ability to start over. If you want to achieve s-off, you have to first get root with your current setup using the first link I posted ( http://androidforums.com/incredible...egain-root-s-off-htc-unlocked-bootloader.html ), then follow the directions in the first post of this thread (start with the downgrade section).

Rewrite the misc.img
Load the 2.2 pb31img.zip file
Reroot using unrevoked
(possibly have to flash unrevoked forever)
Upgrade back to gingerbread
Click to expand...

I put them on the SD card, and when I went into HBOOT, it said "main version is older" and asked if I wanted to reboot. I said no bc I wasn't sure, and went to Recovery like the instructions said. Now there's a picture of a phone with a red triangle and exclamation point. DX Crap, I think I skipped a step. What do I do?
 
zamkat said:
I put them on the SD card, and when I went into HBOOT, it said "main version is older" and asked if I wanted to reboot. I said no bc I wasn't sure, and went to Recovery like the instructions said. Now there's a picture of a phone with a red triangle and exclamation point. DX Crap, I think I skipped a step. What do I do?
Click to expand...

What step are you attempting, did you install clockwork and superuser yet?
After that, then you need to rewrite the misc.img, then you can attempt to downgrade.
 
sdrawkcab25 said:
What step are you attempting, did you install clockwork and superuser yet?
After that, then you need to rewrite the misc.img, then you can attempt to downgrade.
Click to expand...

Okay, I cleared the cache and got back to working order. I'm following the steps in order this time. I got nervous and skipped one. >.> I'm a nub. I'm on the 4th step, where I'm in the boot menu, but it still says "Main version is older, do you want to reboot device?" I'm confused because it doesn't say anything like that in the instructions. How do I load the PB31IMG?
 
zamkat said:
Okay, I cleared the cache and got back to working order. I'm following the steps in order this time. I got nervous and skipped one. >.> I'm a nub. I'm on the 4th step, where I'm in the boot menu, but it still says "Main version is older, do you want to reboot device?" I'm confused because it doesn't say anything like that in the instructions. How do I load the PB31IMG?
Click to expand...

Okay, so...I just wiped all the data, because HBOOT didn't have an option to Power Down, which is fine, I guess; I didn't have anything on the phone yet. According to a forum, this undoes the HTC bootloader unlocker, but I'm not sure if that's true since I can still access it. I think the only thing still on it is the HBOOT driver, which I guess allows me to do that. I'm so confused as to which method I need to use to root my phone at this point, since I've more or less tried all of them, and none of them worked. I can't hardly seem to even get past the first few steps. I'm getting very depressed about this. I really wanted to root my phone, but I'm totally in apathy about whether or not I can even figure out how to do it, at this point. I'm at a loss.
 
zamkat said:
Okay, so...I just wiped all the data, because HBOOT didn't have an option to Power Down, which is fine, I guess; I didn't have anything on the phone yet. According to a forum, this undoes the HTC bootloader unlocker, but I'm not sure if that's true since I can still access it. I think the only thing still on it is the HBOOT driver, which I guess allows me to do that. I'm so confused as to which method I need to use to root my phone at this point, since I've more or less tried all of them, and none of them worked. I can't hardly seem to even get past the first few steps. I'm getting very depressed about this. I really wanted to root my phone, but I'm totally in apathy about whether or not I can even figure out how to do it, at this point. I'm at a loss.
Click to expand...
You just need to do this:
http://androidforums.com/incredible...egain-root-s-off-htc-unlocked-bootloader.html

Download the files from that thread, delete any other files you may have downloaded or put on the phone.
 
sdrawkcab25 said:
You just need to do this:
http://androidforums.com/incredible...egain-root-s-off-htc-unlocked-bootloader.html

Download the files from that thread, delete any other files you may have downloaded or put on the phone.
Click to expand...

Okay, so, I'm stuck at step 4. I pushed Volume Up to apparently load the PB31IMG file, and the phone rebooted on its own. I'm confused about the step "follow instructs to reboot". Does it mean for me to turn the phone off then on again? Or to just keep following the instructions on down? And if I'm supposed to keep following the instructions, how do I remove the PB file from the SD card without turning it off and on again, or reconnecting it to the computer? Because when it rebooted, it connected in Charge mode, so I can't access the SD card unless I do one of those things.

The instructions are a little confusing and I don't want to mess anything up. I really appreciate your help, btw. I know this sort of thread is probably annoying to someone who knows a lot about software.
 
zamkat said:
Okay, so, I'm stuck at step 4. I pushed Volume Up to apparently load the PB31IMG file, and the phone rebooted on its own. I'm confused about the step "follow instructs to reboot". Does it mean for me to turn the phone off then on again? Or to just keep following the instructions on down? And if I'm supposed to keep following the instructions, how do I remove the PB file from the SD card without turning it off and on again, or reconnecting it to the computer? Because when it rebooted, it connected in Charge mode, so I can't access the SD card unless I do one of those things.

The instructions are a little confusing and I don't want to mess anything up. I really appreciate your help, btw. I know this sort of thread is probably annoying to someone who knows a lot about software.
Click to expand...
You can remove the file through any method you prefer, either mount the phone to the pc and remove or use your file manager app on the phone to remove. Then power back down to get into hboot and continue with the instructions.
 
So, took PB31IMG off, and I rebooted in HBOOT, and selected Recovery, and got the Red Triangle, again. Was that supposed to happen? Am I supposed to Vol Up + Power and then select "Apply update from sdcard" or what? My other options are:

Reboot system now
Wipe data/factory reset
Wipe cache partition
 
zamkat said:
So, took PB31IMG off, and I rebooted in HBOOT, and selected Recovery, and got the Red Triangle, again. Was that supposed to happen? Am I supposed to Vol Up + Power and then select "Apply update from sdcard" or what? My other options are:

Reboot system now
Wipe data/factory reset
Wipe cache partition
Click to expand...
If you are getting the red triangle it means the pb31img file didn't install correctly. Try it again.
 
sdrawkcab25 said:
If you are getting the red triangle it means the pb31img file didn't install correctly. Try it again.
Click to expand...

So, should I download a new one from somewhere else or download the same one again or just take the same one I still have and put it back on the SD card? Is there something wrong with the one I tried to use the first time?

Was I supposed to unzip the Clockwork/PB31IMG before putting it on the SD card?

Also, when they say that the SD card has to be FAT32 formatted, they don't mean that it needs to be reformatted, as in totally wiped, right? They just mean it can't be FAT type format, ya?
 
zamkat said:
So, should I download a new one from somewhere else or download the same one again or just take the same one I still have and put it back on the SD card? Is there something wrong with the one I tried to use the first time?

Was I supposed to unzip the Clockwork/PB31IMG before putting it on the SD card?

Also, when they say that the SD card has to be FAT32 formatted, they don't mean that it needs to be reformatted, as in totally wiped, right? They just mean it can't be FAT type format, ya?
Click to expand...
I'd download it again just to be safe.

The card just needs to be in the FAT32 format, doesn't have to be done again if it already is in that format.
 
Okay, I have to take a break for a while. I wanted to let you know so you weren't waiting for a response. I'll be back later tonight, if you're around. Thanks again. I'd be totally lost without you guys.
 
i skimmed thru this,so forgive me if ive missed something,but my impression is youve htcdev unlocked,and are trying to install a recovery so you can install superuser 3.07,so you can down grade. is that correct?

if so,my advice is to give up on installing a recovery with a PB31IMG. take the image out of your download,place it inside the same folder that contains adb and fastboot(you set up this folder to htcdev unlock)
then:
-put your phone into fastboot by powering on into hboot. chose fastboot with vol rocker and power button
-open a cmd window(like when you got and flashed your identifier token)
-with the phone in fastboot,and type in your cmd window:
fastboot devices
if you get your serial number back,youre good to go.
-write your recovery with this command:
fastboot flash recovery recoveryname.img
(so if your image is called "recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.4" then your command is: fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.4.img )
-then
fastboot reboot
to reboot your phone
-when your phone reboots,you can go to recovery,and it should be clockwork,not the red triangle :)


*once youre rooted,the steps to downgrade will work. i believe you will have to relock in order to run the downgrade PB31IMG( fastboot oem lock with your phone in fastboot.or right after "adb reboot bootloader" if youre following the guide.)

*once youre on froyo,you can try unrevoked 3.32 to get s-off. if it works,great, if not,dont be discouraged. another user went thru this,and ended up having to run 3.22 on froyo to get s-off.

ill try and watch this thread,as well as the original thread,if you have questions :)
 
scotty85 said:
i skimmed thru this,so forgive me if ive missed something,but my impression is youve htcdev unlocked,and are trying to install a recovery so you can install superuser 3.07,so you can down grade. is that correct?
if so,my advice is to give up on installing a recovery with a PB31IMG. take the image out of your download,place it inside the same folder that contains adb and fastboot(you set up this folder to htcdev unlock)
then:
-put your phone into fastboot by powering on into hboot. chose fastboot with vol rocker and power button
-open a cmd window(like when you got and flashed your identifier token)
-with the phone in fastboot,and type in your cmd window:
fastboot devices
if you get your serial number back,youre good to go.
-write your recovery with this command:
fastboot flash recovery recoveryname.img
(so if your image is called "recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.4" then your command is: fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.4.img )
-then
fastboot reboot
to reboot your phone
-when your phone reboots,you can go to recovery,and it should be clockwork,not the red triangle :)


*once youre rooted,the steps to downgrade will work. i believe you will have to relock in order to run the downgrade PB31IMG( fastboot oem lock with your phone in fastboot.or right after "adb reboot bootloader" if youre following the guide.)

*once youre on froyo,you can try unrevoked 3.32 to get s-off. if it works,great, if not,dont be discouraged. another user went thru this,and ended up having to run 3.22 on froyo to get s-off.
ill try and watch this thread,as well as the original thread,if you have questions :)
Click to expand...

Always forget about that damn(awesome) method.... Thanks
 
scotty85 said:
i skimmed thru this,so forgive me if ive missed something,but my impression is youve htcdev unlocked,and are trying to install a recovery so you can install superuser 3.07,so you can down grade. is that correct?

if so,my advice is to give up on installing a recovery with a PB31IMG. take the image out of your download,place it inside the same folder that contains adb and fastboot(you set up this folder to htcdev unlock)
then:
-put your phone into fastboot by powering on into hboot. chose fastboot with vol rocker and power button
-open a cmd window(like when you got and flashed your identifier token)
-with the phone in fastboot,and type in your cmd window:
fastboot devices
if you get your serial number back,youre good to go.
-write your recovery with this command:
fastboot flash recovery recoveryname.img
(so if your image is called "recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.4" then your command is: fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.4.img )
-then
fastboot reboot
to reboot your phone
-when your phone reboots,you can go to recovery,and it should be clockwork,not the red triangle :)


*once youre rooted,the steps to downgrade will work. i believe you will have to relock in order to run the downgrade PB31IMG( fastboot oem lock with your phone in fastboot.or right after "adb reboot bootloader" if youre following the guide.)

*once youre on froyo,you can try unrevoked 3.32 to get s-off. if it works,great, if not,dont be discouraged. another user went thru this,and ended up having to run 3.22 on froyo to get s-off.

ill try and watch this thread,as well as the original thread,if you have questions :)
Click to expand...


I'm just trying to root my phone. If this is how I have to do it then, yes, evidently. :p And I'm actually unsure of whether I'm HTC unlocked or not, since I did a factory reset since I used the Unlocker. Some people were saying it relocks it, some people said not. When you say to take PB31IMG image out of my "download", do you mean to take it off of my phone's SD card? And when you say image, do you mean take the whole folder off, or just the img file within the folder?

I have to go to bed, but I'll talk to you guys tomorrow.
 
zamkat said:
I'm just trying to root my phone. If this is how I have to do it then, yes, evidently. :p And I'm actually unsure of whether I'm HTC unlocked or not, since I did a factory reset since I used the Unlocker. Some people were saying it relocks it, some people said not. When you say to take PB31IMG image out of my "download", do you mean to take it off of my phone's SD card? And when you say image, do you mean take the whole folder off, or just the img file within the folder?

I have to go to bed, but I'll talk to you guys tomorrow.
Click to expand...

well,the lock state is the first thing we need to check ;) a factory reset should not have relocked it,but anything is possible(the eris htcdev hboot is really quirky :eek:) so remove PB31IMG and go to hboot and report what you see. if your still unlocked,youll see unlocked across the top.

actually,what i said was to quit using PB31IMG to try and install the recovery. with htcdev,and unlocked s-on,the android info text document is now very important,and the incorrect info on it will prevent PB31IMG from flashing. it can be extremely fustrating.

take the PB31IMG that you downloaded,that contains clockwork recovery. if youre on windows 7,you should be able to right click,then extract. if not,you may need a utility such as 7 zip to extract,or unzip the file.

once youve extracted it,youll see inside a android info text document,and an image (.img file).

take the image out,and place it into the folder containing adb and fastboot. you can move it however youre comfortable. i like to drag and drop files,but you can copy/paste,or whatever :)

last andn ot least,yes,remove PB31IMG entirely from your sd card,and do not put it back. if use the commands above,you wont need it. :)
 
scotty85 said:
well,the lock state is the first thing we need to check ;) a factory reset should not have relocked it,but anything is possible(the eris htcdev hboot is really quirky :eek:) so remove PB31IMG and go to hboot and report what you see. if your still unlocked,youll see unlocked across the top.

actually,what i said was to quit using PB31IMG to try and install the recovery. with htcdev,and unlocked s-on,the android info text document is now very important,and the incorrect info on it will prevent PB31IMG from flashing. it can be extremely fustrating.

take the PB31IMG that you downloaded,that contains clockwork recovery. if youre on windows 7,you should be able to right click,then extract. if not,you may need a utility such as 7 zip to extract,or unzip the file.

once youve extracted it,youll see inside a android info text document,and an image (.img file).

take the image out,and place it into the folder containing adb and fastboot. you can move it however youre comfortable. i like to drag and drop files,but you can copy/paste,or whatever :)

last andn ot least,yes,remove PB31IMG entirely from your sd card,and do not put it back. if use the commands above,you wont need it. :)
Click to expand...


Alright, it was still unlocked, so I followed the steps you gave me and was able to boot into CWM, YAY! So, I'm rooted now, and I'm still a little confused about what to do next. Do I need to have S-off to make the fullest use of CWM? What does it mean if I don't have it off? All I really wanted to do was be able to remove the stupid pre-loaded apps off of it and have more control over certain otherwise-blocked aspects of the phone's functionality. I don't even know all the stuff you can do with it, I'm pretty new to rooting. I just learned what it was a few months ago. Wat do? O.o
 
s-off has several advantages: access to ALL partitions of your phone,meaning the ability to change radios and splash images at will,and also the ability to flash older versions of htc approved software.

htcdev has limitations. it ONLY lets you have access to boot,system,and recovery. technically,it works... but if you want to flash roms,change kernels,etc. its a PITA,as "boot" is not accessible from recovery,so kernels muct be flash seperately in fastboot or hboot.

IMO,s-off is safer,as long as a pereon realizes that he can flash ANY parition with an unsigned file,and uses extremem caution. s-off will offer much greater flexibility in rescuing a soft bricked phone,since bootloaders can be changed,and you can flash any factory images.

you can certainly remove bloat with htcdev unlock. so i guess wether its worth the effort to downgrade and s-off is up to you,and what other functionality you want control of.

the next step from where you are is to flash the supueruser 3.07 root files in clockwork recovery,if you havent allready.

from there,you can use titanium(or equivalent) to remove/freeze bloat,or you can continue on with the downgrade :)
 
scotty85 said:
s-off has several advantages: access to ALL partitions of your phone,meaning the ability to change radios and splash images at will,and also the ability to flash older versions of htc approved software.

htcdev has limitations. it ONLY lets you have access to boot,system,and recovery. technically,it works... but if you want to flash roms,change kernels,etc. its a PITA,as "boot" is not accessible from recovery,so kernels muct be flash seperately in fastboot or hboot.

IMO,s-off is safer,as long as a pereon realizes that he can flash ANY parition with an unsigned file,and uses extremem caution. s-off will offer much greater flexibility in rescuing a soft bricked phone,since bootloaders can be changed,and you can flash any factory images.

you can certainly remove bloat with htcdev unlock. so i guess wether its worth the effort to downgrade and s-off is up to you,and what other functionality you want control of.

the next step from where you are is to flash the supueruser 3.07 root files in clockwork recovery,if you havent allready.

from there,you can use titanium(or equivalent) to remove/freeze bloat,or you can continue on with the downgrade :)
Click to expand...

Okay, I'm still unsure of what a radio image is or does; I found this article, however, it still doesn't explain it very well: How To: Flash Radio Image In Android | Gadget Feel. I also feel, though, that having S-off is safer. Did you say that I had to relock the phone to do the next step of flashing the superuser files? Also, I have no idea how to do that. I'm sorry. T_T
 
zamkat said:
Okay, I'm still unsure of what a radio image is or does; I found this article, however, it still doesn't explain it very well: How To: Flash Radio Image In Android | Gadget Feel. I also feel, though, that having S-off is safer. Did you say that I had to relock the phone to do the next step of flashing the superuser files? Also, I have no idea how to do that. I'm sorry. T_T
Click to expand...

nope,no need to relock to flash superuser. just download,place on root of sd card,then boot to recovery,wipe cache,wipe dalvik cache,then flash the file. when you reboot,youll see superuser in yur app drawer :)
 
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