HTC One S won't update software

[PatronSaint]

HTC One S. This was a new phone I just bought on Amazon because my previous phone was stolen.

Please understand I don't know and don't particularly care anything about rooting a phone. Not at this point anyway. I am not very technically inclined.

My issue is, this phone keeps wanting to update the software. It is currently running 4.1.1.

The software update says: 3.14.531.19 (15.0MB)

This phone has an app called Super SU version 2.01 on it. I read somewhere else that that's an app used to root and change things on the phone.

I did not install Super SU as far as I know. I might have done so accidentally when I first started the phone. In any case, I don't even know if Super SU has anything to do with the problem. When I tap the icon for Super SU, I get a dialogue box that says: "There is no SU binary installed and Super SU cannot install it. This is a problem!" And it won't let me do anything else. I just want to uninstall it.

So I don't know if all that's even relevant.

When I try to install the update, it starts out like it's supposed to, but then it goes to a screen that has a lot of buttons. This is TWRP and I don't know what it's for or how to use it.

All I want is to update the system software, but I reach this screen and can't do anything else.

Should it even be GOING to this screen?

If anyone can give me any help, in plain, simple English, I would really appreciate it!

Thanks!!!

 

[Hadron]

I assume this is a second-hand phone, because the software has clearly been modified:

* SuperSU is used to control which apps can use root privileges. If the phone doesn't have the superuser binary installed it does nothing.

* TWRP is a "custom recovery". This is a replacement for the stock HTC recovery program, which allows you to install unofficial system software such as custom ROMs.

Both are things I'd expect to see on a rooted phone. Neither are installed by HTC or any carrier. Hence the previous owner must have rooted the phone, or at least attempted to (it seems they didn't finish the job by installing the su binary).

TWRP is the reason the phone won't process the update: official updates are installed by the official recovery program, which in this phone has been replaced by TWRP (that's why the phone enters TWRP - it's trying to use the recovery mode to install the update). This isn't a problem for people who install TWRP themselves because they'll use custom ROMs rather than official updates, but it is a problem for you.

So, what can you do about it? If you don't want to deal with custom ROMs then returning the phone to fully official software is what you want. This is done using an HTC "ROM Update Utility" (RUU), a Windows app which will flash a new set of official software to your phone. This process also erases the phone, so back up anything important you've already installed or loaded to the phone.

The interesting bit is finding the right RUU for your phone. If it was originally sold through a network you'll probably need an RUU for that network's software (the RUU will check and won't run if it thinks it's not intended for your phone). An RU also cannot downgrade the software, so it needs to be as new as or newer than the software you are running now. There is a guide to using these things here, which includes a couple of links to places you can download RUUs from. The first part of the guide tells you how to find out what the phone's "customer identity" (i.e. region and network it was originally sold to) and software version, but if you know these you can skip that bit.

However, if the bootloader is unlocked you will need to lock it first. To check this, shut the phone down completely, then boot it up again while pressing the "volume down" key. This will bring you to a white screen with some text at the top and a short menu (this is the bootloader). If that text includes the word "locked" (or "relocked") you can just select "fastboot" from the menu, connect to a PC via USB, and run the RUU .exe. If it says "unlocked" you'll need to follow the instructions in the guide to relock. To do that you'll need to install the "fastboot" command on your PC: this guide is probably the simplest way of doing that - follow the instructions for the "mini SDK" (second post of that thread).

(I'm guessing it will say "unlocked", as you need to unlock to install TWRP, though it's possible the previous owner relocked after doing so. This bootloader unlocking is nothing to do with network unlocking).

Sorry if this is rather long and if some of the things appear complicated. The problem is that usually only people who are rooting their phones need to do this stuff, but you've been sold a phone which has at some point had the bootloader unlocked and a custom recovery installed (the first 2 steps towards rooting), so without having wanted to do that you've been put in the position of needing to. Just don't get overwhelmed by the amount of information in those guides: read them at whatever speed suits you and try to work out what you actually need (i.e. a locked bootloader and the right RUU), and deal with other stuff only if you need to.

If you need more advice, please register (it's free) so you can post in our One S forum, and someone there will be able to guide you through whatever you decide to do.

Good luck

 

[PatronSaint]

Thank you for all the information. I suspect you're right about the phone being second hand, although it was represented on Amazon as being NEW and it came in an original sealed box...so I'm a little confused

I think I can follow all your advice and check out the links. My one question is the bit about connecting to a PC and running an exe. I am a Mac user, so I suspect it won't run on my machine. Is there an equivalent for a Mac? Or do I need to use my pc at work?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[Hadron]

Fastboot, if you need it, will be fine on a Mac - I use one myself.

Unfortunately the RUU itself is only Windows. There are tricks to extract the real content in a way that can then be flashed without a PC, but you need a PC to do the extracting! So it's simplest to just use a PC for this.

Sealed box? That is very strange, because HTC certainly aren't putting TWRP on phones (occasionally they are sold with one of the security flags off, but not with a custom recovery).

 

[PatronSaint]

Well, I think I'm just going to return the phone and start over. I wanted a new phone, so I'm going to get one. Thank you for the advice and help!

 

[Hadron]

That makes sense to me