[Q] Need some serious advice about roms! Been away for loooong - HTC One S

So, i was here back when the phone came out, unlocked the bootloader and got a few Roms in the start, and ended up with Paranoid Android V2.54 i believe, and never really cared about looking for anything new since i thought it was pretty good, and i enjoy as close to stock as possible. But now my phone is getting really slow, and i need a change. And getting back onto the forums here im just really intimidated by the amount of Roms, the term S-OFF and Kernel. I generally know the basics i suppose, but when i was installing Roms back in the early days of the HTC one S it was as easy as getting the rom on the SD card an flashing it. Im probably coming off as a bit stupid here, but i dont wanna brick this phone just because i did one thing wrong.
So where im getting at is, what Rom should i go for? I just need something easy to install, and nothing super flashy. As said earlier, i enjoy the stock android, and i wouldnt mind getting the newer version of android aswell. So give me some pointers, and feel free to give me the details on how to flash it as i havent done this in a while

Jahrern said:
So, i was here back when the phone came out, unlocked the bootloader and got a few Roms in the start, and ended up with Paranoid Android V2.54 i believe, and never really cared about looking for anything new since i thought it was pretty good, and i enjoy as close to stock as possible. But now my phone is getting really slow, and i need a change. And getting back onto the forums here im just really intimidated by the amount of Roms, the term S-OFF and Kernel. I generally know the basics i suppose, but when i was installing Roms back in the early days of the HTC one S it was as easy as getting the rom on the SD card an flashing it. Im probably coming off as a bit stupid here, but i dont wanna brick this phone just because i did one thing wrong.
So where im getting at is, what Rom should i go for? I just need something easy to install, and nothing super flashy. As said earlier, i enjoy the stock android, and i wouldnt mind getting the newer version of android aswell. So give me some pointers, and feel free to give me the details on how to flash it as i havent done this in a while
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First thing you should tell us some more info about your phone, just to know better what guides and adices we should give you:
1. Phone model: S4 or S3 (is it with dual core krait 1.5 Ghz or with older dual core 1.7 Ghz processor?)
2. What hboot/firmware do you have, what radio, are your bootloader locked or not (at HTC Dev site)...in fact we need all the info that you have on your bootloader screen (power off phone then keep pressed VOLUME DOWN while pressing POWER)
3. What recovery do you use (CWM or TWRP) and what version?
4. Finally but not least....WHAT DO YOU WANT? A Sense ROM, an AOSP ROM, do you want latest Android version (4.4.2 KitKat) or it doesn't matter to you...things like this. You said something about this but maybe give more details
Then we might have some guides for you and some advices and you could choose among them based on your pers preference :good:

Rapier said:
First thing you should tell us some more info about your phone, just to know better what guides and adices we should give you:
1. Phone model: S4 or S3 (is it with dual core krait 1.5 Ghz or with older dual core 1.7 Ghz processor?)
2. What hboot/firmware do you have, what radio, are your bootloader locked or not (at HTC Dev site)...in fact we need all the info that you have on your bootloader screen (power off phone then keep pressed VOLUME DOWN while pressing POWER)
3. What recovery do you use (CWM or TWRP) and what version?
4. Finally but not least....WHAT DO YOU WANT? A Sense ROM, an AOSP ROM, do you want latest Android version (4.4.2 KitKat) or it doesn't matter to you...things like this. You said something about this but maybe give more details
Then we might have some guides for you and some advices and you could choose among them based on your pers preference :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. According to Quadrant i have a CPU Frequency of 1512MHz, so by definition that should make it a S4
2. For recovery, im almost 100 percent sure its SuperSU, and heres the details from my bootloader:
VLE PVT SHIP S-ON RL
HBOOT-1.06.0000
RADIO-0.15.315018.19
OpenDSP-v21.1.0.32.0314
eMMC boot
Mar 15 2012.23:37;23
And yes i used HTC Dev website to unlock it. got some sort of key and everything.
3. The recovery i use atm is CWM 5.8.3.1 the none touch version. Tried the touch version a few times, but it doesnt seem to work for me.
4. For ROM as i mentioned i really like AOSP, and can't really see myself going for a Sense ROM unless there's something really awesome out there. Ive used CM 9 and 10, AOKP, ParanoidAndroid and one of those Pac-man ROMs before, and they have all been decent. But now i want something newer. Preferably something over 4.1.2 as ive had that for probably a year now, and i need SOMETHING new. I dont particularly want anything that isn't as complete as possible. The ROM im rocking now reboots my phone ATLEAST 1-2 times a day, and have some minor Wi-Fi issues. (not really that bad anymore after buying an expensive new ASUS Router)
So those are like my only things when it comes to ROMs. Doesnt need to be as flashy as coming with a completly themed interface and that sorts

I like CM11. It seems to running ok, but better check the latest in the thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2528113&page=367

Jahrern said:
1. According to Quadrant i have a CPU Frequency of 1512MHz, so by definition that should make it a S4
2. For recovery, im almost 100 percent sure its SuperSU, and heres the details from my bootloader:
VLE PVT SHIP S-ON RL
HBOOT-1.06.0000
RADIO-0.15.315018.19
OpenDSP-v21.1.0.32.0314
eMMC boot
Mar 15 2012.23:37;23
And yes i used HTC Dev website to unlock it. got some sort of key and everything.
3. The recovery i use atm is CWM 5.8.3.1 the none touch version. Tried the touch version a few times, but it doesnt seem to work for me.
4. For ROM as i mentioned i really like AOSP, and can't really see myself going for a Sense ROM unless there's something really awesome out there. Ive used CM 9 and 10, AOKP, ParanoidAndroid and one of those Pac-man ROMs before, and they have all been decent. But now i want something newer. Preferably something over 4.1.2 as ive had that for probably a year now, and i need SOMETHING new. I dont particularly want anything that isn't as complete as possible. The ROM im rocking now reboots my phone ATLEAST 1-2 times a day, and have some minor Wi-Fi issues. (not really that bad anymore after buying an expensive new ASUS Router)
So those are like my only things when it comes to ROMs. Doesnt need to be as flashy as coming with a completly themed interface and that sorts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I got more info now, maybe some others will step in and give you their opinions and advices. What I can tell
1. SuperSU is not a recovery (you already said you're using CWM)...it's the root program.
2. You have hboot 1.06 the same I had on my device some time ago (not too long ago). It has some advantages and some disadvantages. I'll try to be brief and prsent you all and you can decide what you wanna do.
First some background: S-Of basically means you are able to write to certain partitions on your device, partitions that are normally locked. Most important are the firmware/hboot partition, radio partition and kernel partition. If you are S-On, you cannot write/flash radio or firmware and you MUST flash any kernel via a separate command in fastboot.
Now what makes 1.06 hboot so special...it is behaving like a partial S-Off device even if you are not S-Off. What does this mean? You will be able to flash radios and kernels as any other S-Off user. Only thing you won't be able to flash is the firmware/hboot. On the other hand, all new ROMs require hboot 2.13/2.15 or the leaked 2.16. That means that IF your current hboot allows you to run such a ROM, you won't be able to flash it unless you're editting EVERY TIME the updater-script in the ROM ZIP you're flashing to bypass the hboot check. So things will become little bit complicated.
To avoid all these you should first S-Off then you should upgrade to hboot 2.15. This is the last official firmware and it is supported by all new KitKat ROMs. DO NOT flash 2.16 firmware unless you would like to flash and use Sense based ROMs like MaximusHD.
I made S-Off by using Rummrunner because I found it the simplest way to do it...it's like a one-press-S-Off. If that doesn't work for you, you can try other methods like Facepalm or Moonshine. You can find separate threads for each in Dev section and I'll also link them below
Rummrunner
Facepalm
Moonshine
After you made S-Off, next step will be to upgrade your hboot/firmware to 2.15. You can use the flashable ZIP from THIS thread and you'll find info on how to do it in the thread. I would suggest you to choose the Unbranded 2.15 hboot and that has also the red warning gone (the one you see when start up the device with "This device is for development purposes only...bla bla bla")
For all the above you might also want to check/try a tool that incorporates most of them. You can find it in THIS thread.
Now that you have S-Off and upgraded your hboot, you might want to flash a newer radio. Hint:If you're satisfied with your current signal strength, mobile data and so on, don't flash another radio. Even if in a ROM thread it is recommended or mandatory a certain radio, my advice is to first try the ROM with your current one and only if performance is not satisfactory, flash another radio.You can find radios in tecardo's thread HERE or if you want the newer radios you can find radio 1.20 HERE or 1.35a HERE. One more note regarding tecardo's thread with the radio collection...that thread is old and some info is not updated. Just remember that you must flash ONLY the V6 Sense Radio installer for any ROM you'll be using, being it sense based or AOSP. Also ignore that warning that the procedure is only for hboots below 1.3...at that time there was no S-Off (remember what I've said about the particularities of 1.06 hboot earlier). Now things are different, you're S-Off so you will just need to flash it
Before flashing, you might consider upgrading to a newer recovery. I would recommend you the latest official TWRP 2.7.0.0 that will support flashing anything made for hboot 2.15. If and only if you decide to try sense ROMs based on hboot 2.16, you'll need a different recovery specific for 2.16 and that you'll get from that specific ROM thread. Official TWRP downloads for Ville S4 are HERE
Now youre almost done. You just need to pick your ROM and flash it...pretty difficult task considering how many they are. I tested most of AOSP ones and also some Sense based ones (not the ones for hboot 2.16 tho). I don't want to advice too much here since it could be considered I favour one or another...the truth is I do and that's normal, but I'd like to be objective
First, all KitKat ROMs are pretty stable. On CM11 there are regular nightlies and there are also less stable or bugged builds but this is expected. So you might try several ROMs to see which suits you most and you can decide by reading each ROM's thread. I'll list some ROMs (not all), the ones that are updated most often and I've tested, in no particular order...in fact I'll list them alphabetically to avoid interpretations
AOSP based
Beanstalk
CandyKat
CM11
Infamous (IOAP)
PAC-Man
TwistedKat
Vanir
Sense based
Viper ROM 3.1.3
Liberty ROM
Sorry for the long post but I wanted to get most in a single place and if you'll have more questions we'll detail them later. Just try something... READ READ READ...each thread contains valuable info about each procedure and step and also the experience of the users. I know it is easier to ask but don't forget it's YOUR PHONE and YOUR INTEREST to see things working on it. So you should make some effort to read and search also
Good luck

I've read the entirety of your post now, and it's definetly helpful!
As it's pretty late here atm, i will come back to the tread tomorrow and S-Off and all that jazz. Im not a complete moron on this area, allthough thats what it probably seemed like Im glad i asked before i did anything, cause this was alot more complicated then when i was flashing ROMs when the phone came out.
I will definetly try to hold on to my current Radio as i have had no complaints ever on connection and service. So thanks for telling me about that, otherwise i would probably have flashed a new one each time.
Ill be sure to keep you posted on my progress tomorrow, just incase i totally **** up or something, or just cant get myself to understand something. If it is as easy to flash ROMs as it used to be once im ready to flash again, ill figure out my Next ROM, so im grateful that you listed a few of them that i can try out.
Again i wanna thank you for taking the time to explain a total Noob how to go about doing this, i really appreciate it!

rapier's post just about expresses all the basic info you need, couldnt have been put better!!
as far as going on to the newer sense based roms i'd suggest not to take that road yet as they require hboot 2.16 and it can get fairly tricky to go back to the previous hboot.
also for hboot 2.15 also you have more choice for roms available... just a point of view!!
happy flashing!!

So, now im totally lost. did the S-off, and now im trying to do the firmware, but im clueless here as i cant find the folder adb/fastboot in my platfomr-tools sdk folder or whatever you wanna call it. It wants me to place the firmware inside the adb folder, and i cant find any folder with that name.
I followed a guide on how to get adb working on my computer as i did not have that anymore on my PC, so had to redo it.
was following the guide, and did not see this "2. Now place the Firmware_named_something.zip into your adb/fastboot folder" at first, and tried to flash and was welcomed with cannot open "named file here" for obvious reasons when i saw step 2.
but this step 2 is what is confusing me, as ive mentioned, there is no adb/fastboot folder. is this a folder i make somewhere in my sdk? or what am i missing here. to give you the full info, i used this guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1752270
the second post.
i remember having fastboot in that sdk folder on my old PC, but did not get it this time around when following these instructions, maybe thats what im missing

Jahrern said:
So, now im totally lost. did the S-off, and now im trying to do the firmware, but im clueless here as i cant find the folder adb/fastboot in my platfomr-tools sdk folder or whatever you wanna call it. It wants me to place the firmware inside the adb folder, and i cant find any folder with that name.
I followed a guide on how to get adb working on my computer as i did not have that anymore on my PC, so had to redo it.
was following the guide, and did not see this "2. Now place the Firmware_named_something.zip into your adb/fastboot folder" at first, and tried to flash and was welcomed with cannot open "named file here" for obvious reasons when i saw step 2.
but this step 2 is what is confusing me, as ive mentioned, there is no adb/fastboot folder. is this a folder i make somewhere in my sdk? or what am i missing here. to give you the full info, i used this guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1752270
the second post.
i remember having fastboot in that sdk folder on my old PC, but did not get it this time around when following these instructions, maybe thats what im missing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ADB/fastboot are not folders, are commands. What that instruction meant was to place the firmware zip in the same folder where your ADB/fastboot executable is. Usually this is in "android-sdk/platform-tools". You'll notice there the ADB and fastboot executables

Rapier said:
ADB/fastboot are not folders, are commands. What that instruction meant was to place the firmware zip in the same folder where your ADB/fastboot executable is. Usually this is in "android-sdk/platform-tools". You'll notice there the ADB and fastboot executables
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG! That makes more sense, still that sentence he used in the guide was pretty misleading though. literally tried making a fastboot folder with the .exe in alot of different folders xD
Will try that one out and see if it works! Thanks, AGAIN!
EDIT:
Just tried to put the firmware inside C:/android/sdk/platform-tools/ folder, but still i got
"Error: Can not open 'Fuu_Downgrade2.15_Unbranded.zip'
EDIT:
Turns out there was a program instead of a .exe :s just tried though, and it failed.
"FAILED (rempote: 99 unknown fail)
EDIT:
Apparently the S-OFF didnt work. Tried Rumrunner, as i didnt understand jack **** about the alternatives
EDIT:
Tried Facepalm aswell, not 100 percent sure if i did it right though, as there was no confirmation anywhere, but still no S-OFF

Related

Radio download links?

Hey all, I'm sorry if this seems an odd question, but I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around the process of how the One S gets different features flashed to the device.
I don't have my One S yet (Hopefully it'll arrive later today, 7/27) but I wanted to be prepared when it arrives.
It seems the links are broken in this post and it's stating that this thread is outdated.
If I'm going to flash a new ROM on the device, are the radios generally included in that ROM already? I see that you often times need to manually flash BOOT.IMG on a per-ROM basis due to not having s-off? I'm comfortable with all of that, I just want to make sure that I'm not missing anything, and unfortunately it seems as though there is little information in some of the threads on XDA that clearly answer my question.
Call it a personality defect, I just like to 100% understand something in every possible way before being able to attempt it. Unfortunately when I don't have the device in front of me, it prevents me from being able to do that, but that's what forums are for, right?
Cheers all, I appreciate anyone taking the time to answer my question.
TooSlo said:
Hey all, I'm sorry if this seems an odd question, but I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around the process of how the One S gets different features flashed to the device.
I don't have my One S yet (Hopefully it'll arrive later today, 7/27) but I wanted to be prepared when it arrives.
It seems the links are broken in this post and it's stating that this thread is outdated.
If I'm going to flash a new ROM on the device, are the radios generally included in that ROM already? I see that you often times need to manually flash BOOT.IMG on a per-ROM basis due to not having s-off? I'm comfortable with all of that, I just want to make sure that I'm not missing anything, and unfortunately it seems as though there is little information in some of the threads on XDA that clearly answer my question.
Call it a personality defect, I just like to 100% understand something in every possible way before being able to attempt it. Unfortunately when I don't have the device in front of me, it prevents me from being able to do that, but that's what forums are for, right?
Cheers all, I appreciate anyone taking the time to answer my question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The latest radio with android 4.0.4 rom is said to be much better in terms of performace of wifi and cellular data signal then all previous versions, unfortunately buying a phone at this stage means that you probably will have a later hboot version 1.13 and this hboot doesnt allow flashing radio from recovery like the previous versions. You can find out more info about the radio in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1781033
To answer your other question the radio has to be flashed separately from the ROM. Hopefully your phone comes with a lower hboot so flashing wont be a problem, make sure you dont accept the ota update out of the box like i did so u dont accidently get an upgraded hboot. Makes life more diificult ;p.
Its a used phone and is already running CM9, so I'm hoping its the older boot. I already made sure it was the S4, but I just realized that the unlocked phones don't support TMOUS bands, so I'm a bit screwed at the moment.
I don't know what the next step is for me, so I may be forced to move to Straight Talk until I can get another 100% compatible TMOUS phone. I saw it has 2100 HSPA radio frequencies so I had assumed it would work on TMOUS. Needless to say I feel pretty stupid now.
Thanks again for the links, they were exactly what I was looking for!
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2
just boot into bootloader it will tell you hboot. i think .06 is stock one
there are radio links here .10 latest for us--if you want 4.0.4 one--research needed
http://ville.giev.de/?page_id=42
flash thru twrp or if cwr you must boot into recovery thru fastboot then flash
Radio from 4.04 update and hboot 1.13
rugmankc said:
just boot into bootloader it will tell you hboot. i think .06 is stock one
there are radio links here .10 latest for us--if you want 4.0.4 one--research needed
http://ville.giev.de/?page_id=42
flash thru twrp or if cwr you must boot into recovery thru fastboot then flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for putting this question another time, but the answers concerning this are treated in a lot of different threads, just to confirm:
I am on Leedroid 2.1, Radio Version 0.1631501S.17_2_10.23.31501S.10L; i have Hboot 1.13,
I there a possibility for me to flash this new radio radio from update 4.04??
Regards, Dwino
Dwino said:
Sorry for putting this question another time, but the answers concerning this are treated in a lot of different threads, just to confirm:
I am on Leedroid 2.1, Radio Version 0.1631501S.17_2_10.23.31501S.10L; i have Hboot 1.13,
I there a possibility for me to flash this new radio radio from update 4.04??
Regards, Dwino
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to get this new radio, the only way to do it at this moment is to change to SuperCID and follow the steps from this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1781033

[Q] HOX Basic Root and Rom

Ive been keeping up with the ThinkTank 2.20 thread since page 20... we finally have root.. Awesome! Thanks to djrbliss!
My Background: Every device Ive ever owned Ive flashed with custom firmware, Ive had the iPhone since iPhone1. A few weeks ago I decided I was tired being a part of the system and i threw it on the ground. I bought the HTC One X solely because I eventually want to build my own ROM for security and functionality reasons. Now that we're unlocked, i need to know where to start. With so many posts of different ROMs and Tutorials... none of them seem to relate to each other so its hard for me to learn the basics. So here I am.
My Device: HTC One X 2.20 ATT
Current Status: Tampered, Unlocked with Evita PVT SHIP S-ON RL
Rom I want to use - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1946784
Question
The ROM itself is only 6mb... that cant be the full size of the ROM to be flashed can it? what am I missing? am i supposed to copy other required files from the ROM.zip to the phone by USB transfer in normal boot or what? Ive put the boot.img in the same "android" folder along with the fastboot and adb files, Ive followed the tutorials, I've tried the one click GUI program somewhere on here... its still not working.
Request:
Can someone explain to me the basics of rooting, recovery image, installing superuser, and installing ROMs and how the whole process works? I might be able to figure out how do these "basic tasks" myself if I understood. I'm just so confused with such an information overload that its hard to find out whats necessary and whats preference.
Most importantly - Ive completely wiped my phone in the process of trying this (i was aware it was going to happen so its cool) but I still have original ROM with ATT bloatware. It just doesn't make sense to me...
Thank you
Your right that's not the size of the Rom a Rom will be 400 mb at least ... I believe the thing u downloaded was just an update...now go to main dl link to the left of the one b...if there isn't any full roms I can give u a mirror ...I'd suggest trying viper xl or one of the other roms too their all good
omario8484 said:
Your right that's not the size of the Rom a Rom will be 400 mb at least ... I believe the thing u downloaded was just an update...now go to main dl link to the left of the one b...if there isn't any full roms I can give u a mirror ...I'd suggest trying viper xl or one of the other roms too their all good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded the full rom (was 500 somthing mb) but from everything ive read, it tells me to extract the boot.img inside and thats all i use? do i rename the full rom zip to "boot.img" and run the command "fastboot flash boot boot.img" ?

[Q] Bought a rooted phone by accident, in over my head

First android phone it's a AT&T One X, i'll be using it on the Bell network. Got a good deal on Kijiji and I didn't ask enough questions apparently, lol.
The phone is clearly not stock, took me several hours to piece that together. I get it, I'm a noob. I can tell it's running Cleanrom 4.5. I want to get it back to something close to stock. I plan to learn all about rooting/roms but I want to do it from a vanilla phone so that I get to actually do it myself.
I googled and found a tutorial (link). I deleted the 'su' file and superuser.apk. I followed the rest of the steps and it didn't seem to do anything, just rebooted back into cleanrom.
I kept googling and now I'm following this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1859714
I guess i'm going to flash from an RUU now ? My CID is 11111111, so I've read that means I have superCID and any RUU will work. I want to get to JB eventually, so can I just flash direct to the Europe 3.14 JB from HTCRUU? Or go with one of the ICS versions?
Am I doing this right?
No no no!
Edit: still writing but wanted to say don't flash that ruu
If you want completely stock you need to use fast boot and boot into hboot and run fastboot OEM lock
(You may need to search around to learn how do that)
Then run this ruu. http://beta.androidfilehost.com/?fid=9390077933525139511
Sent from my One X using Tapatalk 2
that is for the wrong phone
only place you should look at is here AT&T, Rogers HTC One X, Telstra One XL
Its good your asking the questions now if you want to go completely stock run an ruu which means relicking the bootloader and running it ill link you to some guides in a sec
---------- Post added at 07:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:43 AM ----------
Oh and like others said don't use that ruu! We have the one XL
cleanrom 4.5 is pretty good and close to stock but adds quick settings, debloated, power menu and some other tweaks. i would keep it how it is and just learn about how custom roms work. you can learn how to use twrp in its current state and maybe learn how to use some root apps.
just so you know your phone is the evita not the endeavoru.
Thanks for the replies.
I haven't tried flashing anything yet so don't worry. I'm taking it slow.
I've already been into fastboot. Figured that out because it was a required step in the guides I said I was trying to use. I have all the drivers installed and I'm able to talk to the phone via fastboot at the comand prompt.
LOL, thanks for letting me know my phone is Evita. I guess I can delete the 600mb RUU I downloaded
I'm a little unclear about HBOOT vs. fastboot. I can get into the bootloader and go to the fastboot USB mode... is this analogous to HBOOT?
So my steps right now are:
1) Download correct RUU, Evita 2.20 ICS - I've also seen people discussing 1.85 vs 2.20, why chose one over another?
2) fastboot oem lock
3) Install RUU while phone is in bootloader mode
That right?
I would strongly suggest to slow down, and learn more about what root is and means, before going back stock. Root is just a change in permissions. You gain absolutely nothing by unrooting, and lose quite a bit. You lose the ability to do all sorts of mods to your phone, flash custom ROMs, use apps that require root like Adaway and Titanium Backup (and many others), remove carrier bloatware, activate tethering, and much more.
People have gone through great pains to find root methods for our device (and other Android devices). Many come on here looking for these root methods, for the awesome benefits that root means. I've seen very few, if any, people before you that have said "crap I accidentally got a rooted device, and don't want root". Think about that one for a while.
Plus, CleanROM 4.5 is already based on a more updated firmware version than any of the official AT&T RUUs. Plus it includes a lot of cool features and optimizations. Again, going from CleanROM to stock is a step backwards, not forwards, and you are gaining nothing, and losing quite a bit. Another thing about CleanROM, is that it is devoid of the AT&T bloatware (and there is a lot). Keep in mind that on the stock AT&T ROM, the bloat is not removable without root, so you are stuck with quite a few crappy apps that you will never use. That alone is a huge reason to have a rooted device. Also bear in mind that stock AT&T does not allow tethering (unless you have a data plan that allows it) and has other stock HTC apps (like FM radio) disabled. These cannot be enabled unless you have root.
Another thing, is that you will not get Jellybean any faster on stock than rooted. While its true that rooted, this phone will not be able to take the OTA when it rolls out (hasn't happened yet). But a stock rooted JB firmware will almost certainly be posted here on XDA, that is safely flashable on a rooted device. This often happens within a couple days of the OTA starting to roll out, if not faster. Sometimes even before the OTA, as sometimes the official RUUs get leaked before the OTA. All it takes is for a dev to get his hands on the files, apply root, and upload it here. Learning how to flash such a file to your device is very simple. Not much more than: download the file to your phone, boot into recovery, and press "install". So yet again, stock gains nothing over being rooted.
While its true that root is not for everyone. But if you've already found this place, and learned what things like RUU, bootloader, and fastboot are, then you probably already know more than most folks do about Android. You may feel in over your head, but it really just takes a few hours of reading to learn the fundamentals. And with that knowledge, you can do so much more with your phone than you can without root.
redpoint73 said:
I would strongly suggest to slow down, and learn more about what root is and means, before going back stock. Root is just a change in permissions. You gain absolutely nothing by unrooting, and lose quite a bit....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate the advice, thanks. To be clear, eventually I will probably bring the device back to where it is now. I've used linux before so I have an understanding of the permissions system and the added benefits of root.
My goal here is to get the phone back to stock so that I can learn the rooting/flashing process from the start, not the end. I understand why that might seem counterintuitive but I'm a very hands on person and I'll learn more of the theory by walking through the process than reading about how somebody else hacked this device to get where it is now.
Sure I'm making extra work for myself but I know what im getting into.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
echoboomer said:
I appreciate the advice, thanks. To be clear, eventually I will probably bring the device back to where it is now. I've used linux before so I have an understanding of the permissions system and the added benefits of root.
My goal here is to get the phone back to stock so that I can learn the rooting/flashing process from the start, not the end. I understand why that might seem counterintuitive but I'm a very hands on person and I'll learn more of the theory by walking through the process than reading about how somebody else hacked this device to get where it is now.
Sure I'm making extra work for myself but I know what im getting into.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should have said so from the start, then. This pretty much negates everything I just typed above.
Its admirable that you want to learn the process from scratch, and its the opposite attitude of most n00bs here.
My advice, as another mentioned above, is stick to XDA, and don't follow instructions from random Googled sites. Most of those sites don't clearly delineate between our phone (Snapdragon S4) and the international (Tegra3) version, and following instructions for the international version is a great way to brick your phone.
Other than that, lock the bootloader, run the RUU, and have fun. Also check your hboot version. If its anything but 1.14, don't run the 2.20 RUU. You will want the 1.73 or 1.85 RUU instead, as the 2.20 RUU will update the hboot to 1.14, which plugs the holes by which boot.img and radios can be flashed from recovery. Unless you want to create ever MORE work for yourself, as the hboot can be downgraded using a Linux computer, lol!
Be sure to check out my index thread, as most anything you will need is here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1671237
Thanks, sounds like I'm on the right track.
Also check back to my OP, I did say that I wanted to learn the whole process but I wanted to do it from stock. sorry you typed all that out but in sure it will help some other noob down the line.
Last thing, 1.85 vs 2.20?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
ChummyDays said:
2.20 has the new hboot, and that means that you have to extract the boot.IMG out of the ROM and flash it through fast boot. With 1.85 you just flash the ROM.
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool thanks, I found a tutorial last night on how to extract boot.IMG from the ruu exe. I think I'm good to go.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
You might be confused. You shouldn't have to pull a boot.img from an RUU typically, only from a custom ROM zip. And only if you are on boot 1.14.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
Probably confused. Here's what I see in the boot loader.
***
Tampered
Unlocked
Evita PVT Ship S-ON RL
HBOOT-1.09.0000
Radio-0.19as.32.09.09_L
OpenDSP-v28.1.0.32.0504
eMMC-boot
***
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
echoboomer said:
HBOOT-1.09.0000
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what you want to see, and why you need to be sure to use the 1.85 RUU.

[Q] How to i change my CID and allow OTA updates

Hi,
i recently got an HTC One S phone (used, no warranty). The phone seems to have been "played with" as it had Super User installed. However it was acting wierd so i did a factory recovery using the boot menu. This meant Super User was gone.
I am totally new to the updating an HTC phone, i found doing firmware changes to Sony and Samsung phones to be pretty much more easier!
My needs are pretty basic ! which is i want to achieve the following
I want to change my phone to have a normal CID without depending on carrier delays for updates (my CID is ORANG1)
I do not want to install a custom ROM, i want OTA updates to happen
I want to have my phone get the OTA update for Jelly Bean
When i boot into the phone (volume - + restart), i see the following,
*** TAMPERED ***
*** UNLOCKED ***
VLE PVT SHP S-ON RL
HBOOT-1.06.0000
RADIO-0.15.3150S.19_2
OpenDSP-v21.1.0.32.0314
eMMC-boot
Mar 15 2012, 23:37:23
Other facts
My CID - ORANG1 (using CID getter app)
Phone model - S4 Z520e
I hear the Jelly Bean update sorts the helicopter issue with the HOME button, though i am not sure if the restart issue when browsing with the stock browser has been resolved. The helicopter HOME issue is driving me nuts.
Appreciate if someone can provide me the steps about how i can go about getting my phone CID changed and the OTA udpates working for the new CID, as searching the forums have not really helped me nail the way i can go about doing this.
Before we get started I'd like to know your home country (sorry I don't know your flag) and whether you're on stock or custom recovery.
As I'm on this device from the very beginning and know almost any corner in this forum I'll point you out where to find the things and information you'll need and some advantages as well as some disadvantages of what you want. Also I'll point out an alternative.
rootrider said:
Before we get started I'd like to know your home country (sorry I don't know your flag) and whether you're on stock or custom recovery.
As I'm on this device from the very beginning and know almost any corner in this forum I'll point you out where to find the things and information you'll need and some advantages as well as some disadvantages of what you want. Also I'll point out an alternative.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wonderful to hear a quick response.
I live in Sri Lanka (small Island nation located at the bottom part of India, last colonized by the British!). The situation is that i think i am in stock, as i got this phone used and though everything is functional the helicopter home button issue, phone freezing when i use the stock browser for over a few minutes, connection looses (all reported errors with 4.0.3 and even 0.4) means i need to get this to Jelly Bean to make the phone more usable as i love the size and speed of the phone.
To start of is there any way i can see if my phone is in stock or custom recovery? I just searched and found http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2124349, does the instructions "Fastboot getvar version-main" work?
Another twist is that i have the much loved Windows 8 running on my PC, i am not sure if that will have any effect on any command executions.
Wait you got 1.06 Hboot I would not flash RUU or OTA if you got that because you can update what is needed or if needed for roms plus you don't have to piss about when flashing roms so if I was you don't do it.
Thank you and welcome to this forum!
Your bootloader is still at version 1.06. Which is very good, as yours and version 1.09 allow you to flash nearly everything (kernels, radios, etc.) from within your device. Bootloader versions higher than 1.09 don't allow this anymore. For flashing kernels and radios you then will need to get into the phones fastboot mode and use the Android SDK on your pc, typing things like 'fastboot flash boot boot.img'.
Let's get started with recovery. To root your phone you usually need to flash a custom recovery. TWRP is the only one working bugfree atm. You can download it here.
To flash it and doing other usefull things try to get comfortable with the HTC One S All-in-one-toolkit.
So why do I mention this, also you wrote that the only thing you want to do is udating straightly to JB?
After the OTA update you'll be on bootloader version 2.15. It's just one more thing from htc to lock their devices even more, as at this time they don't behave very friendly to the dev community. Downgrading the bootloader is kind of pain and not easy so, unless you're familiar with linux (I did it succesfully several times).
Also stock JB from htc has one more surprise: Your system folder will be kind of write protected, which means, also you seem to have full root, after a reboot your formerly deleted (you thought so) files wil be back. Also added files in that folder won't be present any more. That crap is hardcoded into htc's JB kernel and sources are not available atm. But this problem was solved by flar2, who wrote a kernel module to bypass this.
So your hardware issues are left. As I'm not concerned by this I can only summarize what I read about these in the forum. They are obviously hardware related and therefore independant from software. Somebody wrote, a new radio had helped, others write different. In summary you'll have to check this out for your device.
Let's resume at this point:
Your device is unlocked and at 1.06. It needs to be relocked for the JB update and it will have a less comfortable bootloader version afterwards and it will be hard to get rid of the crapware in your system folder, as you'll have to unlock and root again for doing so. And it's questionable the JB OTA update will fix your hardware issues.
So I'd recommend the following procedure (you could still do the OTA update at any time, I'll help you then):
- use the all-in-one-toolkit, flash latest TWRP
- Flash latest EU radio 1.11 from here with twrp
- restore JB from my nandroid backup (download 3.16)
- if you experience troubles with your wifi connection, flash these wifi partitions
- check if your hardware troubles have been resolved
- to get root use all-in-one-toolkit again and flash elemental kernel (by flar2)
It seems a lot of work, but it's worth it. PM me, if you need additional help or decide to do the OTA update.
wow, thanks so much for all the info. I will give this a try tonight as i have the phone @ home, using my One X as the regular phone until i get the One S sorted. Then i will hope push out the One X and keep the One S as my regular phone. I prefer the One S size which is more ideal for one handed operation, shame that HTC opted for a pentile display that took out the sharpness.
Also based on your suggestions would it be better for me to opt for a custom ROM than HTC standard to resolve my issues?

[Q] Manual update, need help

Hello,
I am trying to update my phone without losing all of my data and of coarse, root as well. Below is what I am working with:
*** TAMPERED ***
*** UNLOCKED ***
EVITA PVT SHIP S-ON RL
HBOOT-1.14.0002
RADIO-0.19AS.32.09.11_2
OpenDSP-v29.1.0.45.0622
eMMC-boot
Jun 11 2012, 14:36:28
Recovery TWRP v2.6.3.0
Android Version 4.0.4
Sense 4.0
software # 2.20.502.7.710RD
API Level 4.23
HTC extension 403_1_GA_20
Kernel 3.0.8-01558-g7f75e5b
baseband 0.19as
build 2.20.502.7
That's probably way more than you needed to know, but I like to be through. (c;
anyhow, I want to update everything to the latest version... firmware, hboot (if applicable), OS, radio, etc. without losing my data, recovery or root.
I have downloaded RUU_EVITA_UL_JB_45_S_Cingular_US_3.18.502.6_Radio_0.24p.32.09.06_10.130.32.34_release_signed_With_Partial.exe from HTC
and OTA_EVITA_UL_JB_45_S_Cingular_US_3.18.502.6_0.24p.32.09.06_10.130.32.34_release_3061616bcty3drvawwo01k.zip from my phone.
I tried upgrading using adb sideload (renaming zip from carrier to update.zip) and it failed
I tried upgrading using install feature of TWRP using update.zip and it failed
I then thought I will just extract the .img files and flash using adb, but quickly discovered I don't know what .img file is which. If some one has a better way of accomplishing my goal i am all ears, however if someone can assist in identifying which .img files i should flash and how to best approach it I would be very appreciative.
the files extracted are attached (didn't want to flood the post)
It's better to provide too much information than not enough, which is what most people do lol.
I think you're a bit misguided on the whole process so I'll break it down for you. You've downloaded the right RUU but you don't need the OTA. You're also approaching it with the wrong methodology, you're not meant to extract the RUU and flash any image files manually. All you need to do is connect your phone to your PC in fastboot mode and run the RUU exe program in Windows then follow the prompts. You must get s-off first though, very important, do not skip this step!
You will lose your custom recovery and root, there's no way around that. But getting them back is as easy as flashing the custom recovery again and installing root or a rooted ROM. The RUU shouldn't wipe anything from your sd card but it's a good idea to make a backup just in case. You'll lose text messages, call logs, things like that but you can back those up using backup apps before the process.
So head over to the Rumrunner site and get s-off first and you'll be good to go.
Sent from my Evita
timmaaa said:
It's better to provide too much information than not enough, which is what most people do lol.
I think you're a bit misguided on the whole process so I'll break it down for you. You've downloaded the right RUU but you don't need the OTA. You're also approaching it with the wrong methodology, you're not meant to extract the RUU and flash any image files manually. All you need to do is connect your phone to your PC in fastboot mode and run the RUU exe program in Windows then follow the prompts. You must get s-off first though, very important, do not skip this step!
You will lose your custom recovery and root, there's no way around that. But getting them back is as easy as flashing the custom recovery again and installing root or a rooted ROM. The RUU shouldn't wipe anything from your sd card but it's a good idea to make a backup just in case. You'll lose text messages, call logs, things like that but you can back those up using backup apps before the process.
So head over to the Rumrunner site and get s-off first and you'll be good to go.
Sent from my Evita
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response!
I figured I didn't need both the ruu and the ota, but I didn't know if one had newer componets than the other. Also, I didn't know that s-off had been accomplished, last I checked it was still unavailable.
The reason I was thinking of flashing the images manually was because it was so simple for the nexus 7 upgrade, and prevented data loss. The ruu says data loss will happen on it, so I was skeptical to run it as is. So now I am off to check out that link and get this party started! Thanks again!
Spy_64 said:
Hello,
I am trying to update my phone without losing all of my data and of coarse, root as well. Below is what I am working with:
*** TAMPERED ***
*** UNLOCKED ***
EVITA PVT SHIP S-ON RL
HBOOT-1.14.0002
RADIO-0.19AS.32.09.11_2
OpenDSP-v29.1.0.45.0622
eMMC-boot
Jun 11 2012, 14:36:28
Recovery TWRP v2.6.3.0
Android Version 4.0.4
Sense 4.0
software # 2.20.502.7.710RD
API Level 4.23
HTC extension 403_1_GA_20
Kernel 3.0.8-01558-g7f75e5b
baseband 0.19as
build 2.20.502.7
That's probably way more than you needed to know, but I like to be through. (c;
anyhow, I want to update everything to the latest version... firmware, hboot (if applicable), OS, radio, etc. without losing my data, recovery or root.
I have downloaded RUU_EVITA_UL_JB_45_S_Cingular_US_3.18.502.6_Radio_0.24p.32.09.06_10.130.32.34_release_signed_With_Partial.exe from HTC
and OTA_EVITA_UL_JB_45_S_Cingular_US_3.18.502.6_0.24p.32.09.06_10.130.32.34_release_3061616bcty3drvawwo01k.zip from my phone.
I tried upgrading using adb sideload (renaming zip from carrier to update.zip) and it failed
I tried upgrading using install feature of TWRP using update.zip and it failed
I then thought I will just extract the .img files and flash using adb, but quickly discovered I don't know what .img file is which. If some one has a better way of accomplishing my goal i am all ears, however if someone can assist in identifying which .img files i should flash and how to best approach it I would be very appreciative.
the files extracted are attached (didn't want to flood the post)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you get stuck or need more info, I threw together a guide with info from the forums that may help:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2593037
By the way, tell me about your footer "HTC Evita Gummy 4.4.2 | Torched KK Kernel S-off | 2.14 | Modified TWRP 2.6.3"..... Cooked rom? How do you like it? How does it compare to stock?
Madcat8686 said:
If you get stuck or need more info, I threw together a guide with info from the forums that may help:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2593037
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
Spy_64 said:
By the way, tell me about your footer "HTC Evita Gummy 4.4.2 | Torched KK Kernel S-off | 2.14 | Modified TWRP 2.6.3"..... Cooked rom? How do you like it? How does it compare to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a really good Rom. Extremely stable with excellent battery life. It's my current "go to" Nandroid back up I use during the day now. I flash new Roms almost daily when I don't need the phone for work. It's based off AOSP and that's what I like most about it. It has tweaks but not too many. For someone making a jump to 4.4+ Roms, I would highly recommend this one as a starter. We are very fortunate to have many like this and I'm getting around too try all of them (we are very lucky to have some talented individuals working Roms in our Forum.)
As for stock, I have to be honest, I can hardly remember what stock is like. I tried most of the stock Roms a few months ago and I have Nandroid backups of them. I remember a few were very stable but as I said, I'm a sucker for pure AOSP.
AHHH shoot, I suppose I just fielded a question meant for Timmaa, my bad!
Madcat8686 said:
It's a really good Rom. Extremely stable with excellent battery life. It's my current "go to" Nandroid back up I use during the day now. I flash new Roms almost daily when I don't need the phone for work. It's based off AOSP and that's what I like most about it. It has tweaks but not too many. For someone making a jump to 4.4+ Roms, I would highly recommend this one as a starter. We are very fortunate to have many like this and I'm getting around too try all of them (we are very lucky to have some talented individuals working Roms in our Forum.)
As for stock, I have to be honest, I can hardly remember what stock is like. I tried most of the stock Roms a few months ago and I have Nandroid backups of them. I remember a few were very stable but as I said, I'm a sucker for pure AOSP.
AHHH shoot, I suppose I just fielded a question meant for Timmaa, my bad!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the insight. (c; Know of any place i can see screenshots or more info? better battery life is very important to me. I have been steering clear of aftermarket rom's because it always seems that there is always one thing or another that doesn't work... and it always seems to be either or a combination of, tethering, GPS, MMS, or wifi, all are rather important to me. (c;
Spy_64 said:
Thanks for the insight. (c; Know of any place i can see screenshots or more info? better battery life is very important to me. I have been steering clear of aftermarket rom's because it always seems that there is always one thing or another that doesn't work... and it always seems to be either or a combination of, tethering, GPS, MMS, or wifi, all are rather important to me. (c;
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Roms are in the development and original development threads. I don't want to steer you down the wrong path and tell you that one Rom is better than another because that's not the XDA way. It implies that one dev's work is better or inferior in some way (plus it's against the rules.)
I can recommend Gummy Rom as a starter if you are ready to try out a custom Rom. I like it and I consider it a daily driver but a couple of the others are just as good. You just have to flash and find out. Many of the 4.4+ Roms on our Forum are stable and work really well.
well I have tried two different PC's running different OS's, and two different USB cables and I cannot get past
....
Checking for updates......
Test 1: Rebooting into bootloader
Waiting for fastboot (11/120)
Waiting
Test 2: Booting device
Waiting for ADB (49/120)
Device detected.....................
[TTTT********************************************** **********]
Press ENTER to exit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when running rumrunner. I cannot seem to find anything out there that fixes it either )c;
Any thoughts?
Sometimes Rumrunner says it's failed but it has actually worked, does it still at s-on in your bootloader?
Sent from my Evita
timmaaa said:
Sometimes Rumrunner says it's failed but it has actually worked, does it still at s-on in your bootloader?
Sent from my Evita
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yah bootloader still says s-on. )c;
It's possible that it's the ROM/kernel that's the problem. You might consider flashing the latest MagioRom, I've had confirmed reports of success with that ROM.
Sent from my Evita
timmaaa said:
It's possible that it's the ROM/kernel that's the problem. You might consider flashing the latest MagioRom, I've had confirmed reports of success with that ROM.
Sent from my Evita
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wont I lose all my data doing so?
What do you mean by data? If you mean your images, music and such on your sd card, no you won't lose it. You never lose that when changing ROMs, I've flash multiple ROMs every week for the last few years and I've never once lost that data in all this hundreds of flashes.
You will lose your text messages, call logs, apps, stuff like that, but you can use several apps to back those up before you flash and then restore it afterwards. Do you use Titanium Backup? If not I suggest you look into it, it allows you to backup pretty much everything.
Sent from my Evita
timmaaa said:
What do you mean by data? If you mean your images, music and such on your sd card, no you won't lose it. You never lose that when changing ROMs, I've flash multiple ROMs every week for the last few years and I've never once lost that data in all this hundreds of flashes.
You will lose your text messages, call logs, apps, stuff like that, but you can use several apps to back those up before you flash and then restore it afterwards. Do you use Titanium Backup? If not I suggest you look into it, it allows you to backup pretty much everything.
Sent from my Evita
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mainly just, well data and apps...stored on sd or internal storage. That's great news though!
No problems. The rule of thumb is this: if it's worth worrying about it's worth backing up, just in case.
Sent from my Evita
I was going to backup using twrp to USB and an OTG cable but apparently that is not implemented in this kernel... so now its onwards to titanium backup... i haven't tried it for a few years now.
another question.... the romrunner page has modified hboots for htc one....does that include onex? could I use it once i get this all sorted out?
No. You don't want to use a modified hboot. Also, in TWRP recovery you can use the mount usb storage feature so your internal storage shows up on your PC and you can backup that way.
Sent from my Evita

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