Error updating HTC Desire to ROM 2.3.3

[JamesUK]

Don't laugh, I've got an older phone and want Android 2.3.3 so I can use Skype. Instruction on the web for the 2.2 to 2.3 upgrade seem to vary, but anyway I've run the unlock bootloader via HTC (sent them the code and they've sent back small data file which I uploaded).

I can't get the 2.3.3 image file from HTC website (I found it but the "download arrow button" just takes me to the unlock bootloader page) but I've got it from the web. When I run it connects to the phone and says it will update from 2.33.161.6 to 3.14.405.1, however it starts then fails after about 1 minute with error 151.

Phone still works (on 2.2) although was all reset. I have searched the web quite a bit but can't find what the problem would be. My phone is a normal HTC Desire, unlocked, s-on, with HTC Sync installed. Any help appreciated.

 

[Hadron]

The official 2.3.3 update is an RUU. You do not need to unlock the bootloader to run it, and indeed unlocking the bootloader might well stop you running it (the unlockable bootloader is newer than the one in the 2.3 package, so the updater may not run if you have already applied the unlock package). That actually sounds like the problem here.

If this is the problem, your best bet for getting 2.3 may be to actually unlock the bootloader, install a custom recovery and then a custom ROM based on a newer version. Look in the "all things root" section of our Desire forum for some more info - start with the All Things Root Guide sticky post.

 

[JamesUK]

Ok thank you for the reply. So I guess from your suggestion that I can't just revert the bootloader to how it was before, then install the standard update?

 

[Hadron]

No, afraid not. The problem is that an RUU is a ROM Upgrade Utility, and they don't like to downgrade, and the official "unlockable" bootloader for the Desire is the last one they ever made. Unless you are S-Off the only way to change the bootloader is using an RUU, and to add a final Catch-22 to this, the official unlockable bootloader is incompatible with the S-Off tools for the Desire. So once you do the HTC bootloader unlock for the Desire you are stuck S-On with that bootloader.

It's actually the reason why we never recommended people wanting to root the Desire (Bravo) used the official unlock: it wipes the device and stops you ever going S-Off, while the community-developed tools do neither.

 

[JamesUK]

Well, I don't totally understand that, but enough to help me decide I can live without Skype, and will therefore stick with Android 2.2!

 

[Hadron]

Sorry, was a bit terse as I was posting from my phone. Official HTC upgrade packages are called RUUs (ROM Upgrade Utilities). They check the phone's status first, and won't run unless several conditions are met. Unfortunately once you've run the one that installs the unlockable bootloader you can't run one which will install an earlier bootloader. The other way to change bootloader is to bypass one of the system security flags, but the utilities to do that won't work with the unlockable bootloader. So if you run the HTCDev unlock package on a Desire, you are stuck with that.

It's still possible to get 2.3 (or later), just you'd have to root the phone to do it:

* unlock the bootloader (wipes the phone)
* fastboot flash a custom recovery
* copy a custom ROM to the phone
* install the ROM using the custom recovery

The second step onward is described in this rooting guide, which is linked from the Desire All Things Root guide (a good thing to look at if you contemplate rooting the Desire). Skip the stuff about downloading and running revolutionary (because it won't work any more), but use the official unlock to unlock the bootloader instead. The rest will tell you how to install a custom recovery or ROM.

But don't rush into rooting or custom ROMs - read about it and make sure you understand it and know what you need to do before trying it. And there's no shame in deciding it's not for you. However, right now I think it's the only way to get something later than 2.2 on your phone.