Database Info

Questions about HardSPL/Unlocking and going back to stock Telus ROM

Okay... so I have never played around with using different ROMs, unlocking phones, or anything to do with hacking perfectly good devices. I want to start!
I am quite confident that I have the technical know how to play around with the above mentioned items. I have spent significant time reading up on the different programs, methods, ROMs, issues, fixes, etc. I understand the risks and am willing to try some new things on my TP2 from Telus (CDMA).
My objective right now is to simply play around with some different ROMs. At a later date I may be interested in unlocking the GSM radio to work on any US/Canadian carrier. But for now, simply custom ROMs.
Before I venture off into the unknown I'd like a couple of questions answered if possible that I can't seem to find answers to:
1) Does the HardSPL offered here (rhodiumw.htc-unlocks.com/hard-spl.php by "OliNex" team) require the phone to be unlocked first (CID/Security/SIM Unlocker)?
2) If the phone does not need to be unlocked first before using HardSPL, is there any complications unlocking the phone after?
3) I see that it is possible to revert back to a stock ROM if necessary (for warranty, etc). I notice there is a Telus Stock ROM listed at PPCGeeks, and that the HardSPL info refers to putting back on the original SPL (v0.63.0000) as a final step (obviously for warranty). My question is that I have v0.62.0000 on the Telus TP2 and is it possible to get this SPL somewhere? I don't want to run into issues with warranty if it should be v0.62.0000 and they see v0.63.0000 loaded...
*My knowledge on the separation of SPL and ROM is a little limited right now, so maybe this is packed with the Telus Stock ROM? Please clarify if possible.
I think that should be it for questions before I move forward. Basically I want to ensure I can put my device back to its original condition if necessary and that the resources to do that are available right now.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks

1: no, in fact its the other way around, HardSPL must be run before the phone can be SIM unlocked
2: none
3: i think SPL updates can be packed into rom updates, but im not sure, i know one of the features of HardSPL (other than flashing custom roms) is that it cannot be automatically overwritten, so there must be cases where people are flashing official roms and getting SPL updates as well

HTC Sensation (UK, vodafone) - first time htc flasher - pointers needed

Hi,
I'm new to the sensation - in fact it isn't my device byt my wifes. I'm more a Galaxy S II/III person and have done many flashes of different firmware on the former. Flashing on that device is really easy... no locked bootloader (which I've therefore never had to deal with) etc
The sensation is currently running Vodafone UK 3.32 build, but we're getting far too frequent crashes, so I'm considering reflashing with the latest generic UK, European, or global firmware to see if this alleviates the issue
I posted the images of the firmware screens on a g+ thread here if any more detail is needed.
A quick peek around this thread didn't immediately point me to a quick-start guide on flashing. Could anyone oblige with a useful link or two?
I'd be flashing from Windows 7 x64. Required language is UK English. I really want stock or very close to stock (she won't want anything to *look* different - in fact I'm still getting slated for allowing the ICS update as before that it was fine ..). Ideally on an official ROM that would allow future OTA updates (preferably generic, more recent). Rooting is not required. Preservation of date would be useful (as this would be a 3.32->3.33 stock upgrade) though isn't essential
Many thanks

without root preserving apps data is not possible ..you can still backup your message and call logs ..using lots of apps (super backup pro, sms backup and restore)
now as you want pure stock or stock like rom with future updates ..the RUU is the option
for RUU info and guide to flash it look here
now you can try the same Vodafone UK ICS RUU ..which i haven't found in any of the repositories
and as you want to try flashing other generic RUU's ..there is a condition to be met ..that is supercid* ..and to do supercid you need SOFF*
CID: carrier Identification ..A 8 character word which is used to identify which carrier and country the phone belongs to .as sensation is global device it has lots of cid's (eg genric unbranded european : HTC__001, Vodafone: VODAP001 etc etc ..more info present in the RUU guide) ..supercid (11111111) is a special cid ..which can be accepted on behalf of any CID
SOFF: security off ..by default the sensation internal memory is locked aka signed (SON) ..and unless we remove sign check ..we cant change much of stuff (we cant even do ROOT as it requires modification in system partition which is a signed internal memory partition). but HTC has provided an alternative UNLOCKED bootloader method ..which removes sign check verifications on certain partitions ..thus allowing custom rom support (remember even UNLOCKED bootloader by HTC is not sufficient to change the CID to supercid as this process involves modification in bootloader itself which is still signed(locked) )
now to SOFF there are two methods ..and its explained in this post

Hi and welcome to the HTC flashing family
Please find the Android Revolution HD link in my signature for most of the info you requested.
It is a close to stock rom as requested, with a very large community and great support.
The ARHD thread's first few posts contains both lots of useful info and some great links for other posts dedicated to newcomers.
I cant link you directly with the info you requested as I'm not on my computer atm. Please reply with more questions if the info above is not sufficient and I'll get back to you in a day with more specific links.
Good luck
Sent from my HTC Sensation using xda premium

You can try THIS thread for information on rooting/s-off and other things. Once you've read through those and successfully rooted our phone you can try THIS thread for a stock experience, but with a lot of the inherent HTC bugs fixed, and more optimizations. I will point out that ARHD ROM is a fixed stock ROM essentially. Thus relies on HTC to put out new official updates. But the sensation is an old phone now, and probably won't receive many more updates if any at all. Thus this ROM will unlikely see any major updates.
EDIT: Woops! Beaten to it! TWICE!

Thanks guys, that info is really useful. Will look through tomorrow
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] HTC - What exactly does S-ON restrict?

So, I have often received mixed answers to this and wish to put this to bed once and for all. I know that Motorola specifically restricts writing to /system (right?). But what about HTC's S-ON?
What partitions does S-ON protect? People have been telling me that S-ON also protects the /system partition but HTC's FAQ says otherwise. Here's a portion of their FAQ that talks about S-ON:
Your device is shipped with Security on (S-ON) to protect your system software configuration (such as the bootloader, radio, boot, recovery, system and others). After you have unlocked the bootloader, however, you will have lifted the restrictions on boot, recovery and system. This means you can customize boot, recovery and system images on your phone as you desire. You can easily see that you have successfully unlocked the bootloader by looking at the top of the screen when entering the bootloader screen. Security is left on to protect things like the radio, and SIM lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They also say that:
There are those who will insist on disabling S-ON purely to have full access regardless of security implications or to primarily promote specific tools and installation techniques that have taken the more convenient route of assuming all security is off. If a command line tool is deemed as inconvenient, developers can easily develop alternatives that would allow others to install their custom roms without having to alter their device’s Security-ON status.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, then why do apps like Xposed Framework and others require me to be S-OFF to use them? Do they need to make serious changes to my radio and SIM lock? Going by what HTC says, S-ON shouldn't be a problem to me if my device is factory unlocked, should it?
Request someone to shed some light on this.

buggerman said:
So, I have often received mixed answers to this and wish to put this to bed once and for all. I know that Motorola specifically restricts writing to /system (right?). But what about HTC's S-ON?
What partitions does S-ON protect? People have been telling me that S-ON also protects the /system partition but HTC's FAQ says otherwise. Here's a portion of their FAQ that talks about S-ON:
They also say that:
So, then why do apps like Xposed Framework and others require me to be S-OFF to use them? Do they need to make serious changes to my radio and SIM lock? Going by what HTC says, S-ON shouldn't be a problem to me if my device is factory unlocked, should it?
Request someone to shed some light on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i could be wrong, its different for every HTC phone, For instance, i was able to Flash a recovery and rom on my S-ON ( but my bootloader is unlocked) HTC incredible but for my HTC inspire 4g and my HTC evo 4g it was required to unlock the bootloader and S-off the devices. As for something like Xposed framework, You are messing around with the framework = Ui changes which Sense Roms would not take too kindly, You cant even Use Xposed on Sense Custom Roms (i could be wrong again, but i think you can only Flash Sense Roms with S-ON only) as for your radio and sim lock question, im not sure what you mean to that. You shouldn't have to do anything to your Radio or Sim if you are going to S-OFF. s-on is to keep us developers from doing stuff and lock down some areas. Its late in my end so if you didnt understand something thats because i stayed up to late and such, ill be happy to try again to re-explain.

Trozzul said:
i could be wrong, its different for every HTC phone, For instance, i was able to Flash a recovery and rom on my S-ON ( but my bootloader is unlocked) HTC incredible but for my HTC inspire 4g and my HTC evo 4g it was required to unlock the bootloader and S-off the devices. As for something like Xposed framework, You are messing around with the framework = Ui changes which Sense Roms would not take too kindly, You cant even Use Xposed on Sense Custom Roms (i could be wrong again, but i think you can only Flash Sense Roms with S-ON only) as for your radio and sim lock question, im not sure what you mean to that. You shouldn't have to do anything to your Radio or Sim if you are going to S-OFF. s-on is to keep us developers from doing stuff and lock down some areas. Its late in my end so if you didnt understand something thats because i stayed up to late and such, ill be happy to try again to re-explain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for replying.. Really appreciate it.
Let me elaborate more to make the question more specific. The device in question is an HTC One E8, which is very similar to the HTC One M8 but differs in build material (it is plastic) and camera (which is better). You can call it a relatively poor man's M8.
The stuff I wrote is from HTC's website. As far as I know, Xposed works with Sense, since I see many Sense specific tweaks in the Xposed plugin library.
I am aware that with an unlocked bootloader I can flash a custom recovery like TWRP and flash an SU Manager like SuperSU. What I wanted to know is why do some apps (like Xposed Framework for example), which do not even supposedly touch radio and carrier locks, need S-OFF? Would tweaks like SDFix work without S-off?

Looking for a compatible RUU File for HTC One S Cincinnati Bell (PJ40110)

Hello everyone! Sorry for my bad English
I've got a HTC One S (HTC__017) with unlocked bootloader, S-ON, HBOOT 1.06.0000 and Radio 1.11.50.05.28 and recently, i'm a little motivated to give a try for a Custom ROM (Obviously, there's more work to do with the S-ON) but i want to prevent a big accident in the process and i need the correct RUU File for my phone, I've been looking on my own the file but I couldn't find it
Now, someone knows which RUU file can I use? I'm novice with HTC Phones and this is new for me
Thanks in advance

Auraburst said:
Hello everyone! Sorry for my bad English
I've got a HTC One S (HTC__017) with unlocked bootloader, S-ON, HBOOT 1.06.0000 and Radio 1.11.50.05.28 and recently, i'm a little motivated to give a try for a Custom ROM (Obviously, there's more work to do with the S-ON) but i want to prevent a big accident in the process and i need the correct RUU File for my phone, I've been looking on my own the file but I couldn't find it
Now, someone knows which RUU file can I use? I'm novice with HTC Phones and this is new for me
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's easier to find the correct one if you know your firmware version/build number. If you're still using stock rom you can find it in settings>about>software information>more. If you already deleted the stock system on your phone you need to use
Code:
fastboot getvar all
in fastboot mode (look at the line beginning with "version-main"). Since you already unlocked your phone I assume you know how to use fastboot with the windows cmd.
RUUs can be found here for example. Just use the search function of your browser and be sure that you download a RUU and not an OTA. Since there are two versions of the One S you need to be careful not to use VilleC2 (Snapdragon S3 with 1.7 gHZ) files on a Ville (Snapdragon S4 with 1.5 gHz) and vice versa (this rule applies on roms, kernels, etc., too). If I remember correctly your hboot is Ville specific but if you want to be sure you can find the answer in the getvar all output (look at the line beginning with "product").

Thank you so much man, i understand a little more but i have another problem: i can't find a proper version of the RUU File (My build number is 3.14.422.11) and there's only one similar (3.14.422.9) and matches with my radio version (1.11.50.05.28) but i'm not sure if it works with my One S (It's a Snapdragon S4 and in the "product" line says "vle" btw)

Auraburst said:
Thank you so much man, i understand a little more but i have another problem: i can't find a proper version of the RUU File (My build number is 3.14.422.11) and there's only one similar (3.14.422.9) and matches with my radio version (1.11.50.05.28) but i'm not sure if it works with my One S (It's a Snapdragon S4 and in the "product" line says "vle" btw)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is that the only file with the 422 SKU is an OTA and not a RUU. If your phone was S-OFF you wouldn't need to use corresponding RUUs because you were able to flash any you want. It's a vicious circle in your case since you wanted the correct RUU before you start flashing. On the other side if you carefully follow the instructions of the S-OFF guides there shouldn't be any risk of bricking. Simply don't try to use any short cuts if any step doesn't not work the way the instructions tell you. Since I'm not living in the states I'm not completely sure but Cincinnati Bell is part of Bell Mobile, right? If that's correct I would change the CID to SuperCID (depending on the S-OFF method you use you may need to get the SCID anyway) and try to run one of the "BM" RUUs on AndroidRUU. Since all of them are older than you actual firmware your phone will be downgraded then but you can update it by using the OTA function in settings>about.
Btw.: With that output you can be sure it's the Ville and not the VilleC2.

Okay, so, in simple words, what can I do with SuperCID (S-OFF) is:
-Restore my phone with any RUU regardless of my version of Radio, and without any risk
-Safe downgrade to upgrade my version of HBOOT (Because I want to try a custom ROM and most require HBOOT 2.15)
If not so, tell me in what I am wrong, btw, there's any custom ROM that you can recommend? I want to try Cyanogenmod 12.1 or MaximusHD, both look great but I'm a little undecided and would listen to someone more experienced with this phone

Auraburst said:
Okay, so, in simple words, what can I do with SuperCID (S-OFF) is:
-Restore my phone with any RUU regardless of my version of Radio, and without any risk
-Safe downgrade to upgrade my version of HBOOT (Because I want to try a custom ROM and most require HBOOT 2.15)
If not so, tell me in what I am wrong, btw, there's any custom ROM that you can recommend? I want to try Cyanogenmod 12.1 or MaximusHD, both look great but I'm a little undecided and would listen to someone more experienced with this phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually your radio doesn't matter at all in regard of RUUs. Flashing a RUU is never risky as long as it's a signed/official one and you do not turn off the phone during the flashing process or disconnect it from your pc. If you are not S-OFF and your CID and/or firmware version doesn't match (SCID always matches) official RUUs will simply abort the flashing process.
After you achieved S-OFF and got the SCID you simply need to relock your bootloader, boot into fastboot mode, connect the phone to your pc and run the RUU.exe. (As far as I remember relocking was needed for being able to install OTAs afterwards but I'm not completely sure. I just remember that I always did when I downgraded. Maybe someone else can confirm this.)
I personally do not like Cyanogenmod on this phone. Since there never was a GPE of the One S (the first HTC GPE that ever existed was the HTC One M7 GPE which is actually younger than this phone) there are no AOSP drivers for this phone and you can notice this problem for example in a worse camera quality on roms that are not based on sense (there are other problems but that's the most prominent one I can remember).
MaxximusHD is based on the leaked but never officially published android 4.2.2 firmware of the One S. If you want to use it without memory problems (the leaked firmware changes the way the phone interacts with it's memory) you need to flash the hboot 2.16. Instructions can be found in the Maxximus thread for example. I personally prefer hboot 2.16 because of its reorganized memory but the radio 1.20 that gets flashed with that firmware has some problems with the incall voice quality.
To sum it up, every custom rom has its pros and cons and every user has his/her own preferences so it's hard to tell others which rom to use. The best way is to look which ones fullfil your needs and to test them out by yourself.
Edit: Downgrading isn't needed if you just want to start flashing. I just wanted to point out what happens if you run a RUU that is older than your actual firmware.
Edit2: Nevertheless here is a chronological list of the roms I liked and used longer than a week on this phone: Viper 2.2 (hboot 2.15), MaxximusHD (hboot 2.16), Viper 3.2.1 (hboot 2.16).

HBOOT - which version to use

Would somebody please advise me about the pro's and cons of changing my HBOOT version.
I can successfully root my phone via The Revolutionary method after downgrading using an earlier RUU etc.
What I am not clear about is whether I then need to flash an ENG HBOOT after this process .... which version.... why I should do this ?
If I have the "wrong" HBOOT installed will that prevent certain ROMs from running correctly ?
Do I need a specific "level" of HBOOT for a GB based ROM to run and another for an ICS based ROM

Choosing your HBOOT Version
I don't know absolutely everything about this, but since you've waited over a month with no replies, I'll tell you what I know. It should be enough to answer your question, if you're looking for something more advanced then you may need to keep looking!
The original HBOOT version is 0.98.00000, this is the HBOOT version that you need if you want to S-OFF your phone as the later version, 2.000.00002, blocks the vulnerability that allows the Revolutionary exploit to work. S-OFF unlocks root level access to the phone permanently, allowing you to flash new ROMs directly from the SD card without having to use ADB and USB Debugging to flash the boot image every time.
Basically, if you want S-OFF you may need to downgrade your HBOOT to 0.98.0000 if that's not the version you already have.
The phone originally shipped with Android Gingerbread 2.3, this can be upgraded to a certain point, beyond which, the newer version of HBOOT is required. I don't know which version is the crossover point but I'm sure a quick search of the forums will provide the answer, I'll leave that up to you (I think the main reason you haven't had any replies is that ALL this info is already available in the various guides in the forum, so people think you're being lazy not looking for it!).
So....
Unless you're trying to do something out of the ordinary, the most common approach is a follows;
Unlock bootloader on HTCDev.
Downgrade to HBOOT 0.98.00000 (f necessary).
Use Revolutionary to gain S-OFF.
Upgrade to HBOOT 2.000.00002 (not necessary for Android 2.3 but later versions require this)
Download and flash new ROMs directly from the SD card using custom recovery, such as TWRP or Clockworkmod.
I hope this helps, I do understand that it's not always easy piecing things together from multiple forum threads to learn about something new, but ALL the info you needed IS already available on here.
There are some excellent guides and tutorials here on XDA Developers, both official and unofficial. I would say if you don't already have a bit of knowledge then stick to the official guides and you can't go wrong.
Hint: Try searching the forum for [Guide]