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How To: Load the HTC Hero ROM onto Your G1 (OBSOLETE)

June 24, 2009 in Featured

PLEASE NOTE! This method is obsolete! Please refer to the newer Rooting/Loading Custom ROM methods on our site:
Unroot (G1) OR Unroot(MyTouch), then Root, then Load a Custom ROM, Apps2SD/Hero etc.

So you like HTC’s new Rosie Interface on their new HTC Hero phone? We do too. Well, if you have a G1 we have a way you can try it out! Only problem is that it doesn’t run very well… but if you know what you’re doing and are just HAVE to try it, go for it. Steps below.

PLEASE Keep in mind, that the G1 has some 90MBs of RAM less than the HTC Hero so it can’t run the widgets and UI very smoothly. We just figured we’d put this up for the brave who wanted to check it out for themselves. If you can wait, wait. Hopefully someone will come up with a better version of this ROM…

*Some Notes about the New Hero Roms  -

  • Once you reboot after loading the ROM and go through the set up process the phone will reboot. It’s normal.
  • After you get to the home screen for the first time, just set the phone down as it will sync with Google servers like normal, but the phone is reallly slow while it is syncing for the first time so just go take a nap or something.
  • As with all Hero ROMs, the less widgets, the faster the ROM. So don’t go nuts with widgets just yet (still waiting for an optimized ROM that will let us do that…)
  • NO NEED TO RELOAD THE RADIO AND SPL IF YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE SO! Just rename the new ROM file to update.zip, put on SD card and Alt W then Alt S in the recovery utility.

We only recommend people familiar with flashing radios, roms, spls, etc. attempt this. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

!!!BEFORE YOU BEGIN THIS, YOU MUST HAVE DONE THE ROOTED YOUR PHONE (Click Here for How To Video), Loaded a Custom ROM (Click Here for How To Video), and then done the Apps2SD procedure (Click Here for How To Video)!!!

1. CHECK WHAT RADIO YOU HAVE! Power off the phone, power it back on holding the End key and the Camera button.
IF YOU ALREADY HAVE Radio Version 2.22.19.26I then do NOT download the Radio listed here and SKIP STEPS 6 – 10 (If you load the same radio twice it can harm your device!).

2. Take out the battery and put it back in then turn the phone on.

3. Download the lastest Radio, SPL, and Hero ROM from here:
 Radio (BEFORE DOWNLOADING THIS RADIO, DO STEP 1!!!!)
 SPL
 JAC HERO ROM (Select the latest one from the page).

4. Plug in the G1 to the computer, pull down the notification and click it. Then click Mount.

5. Save each one to the memory card of the G1 in the root (topmost) folder.

6. Rename the Radio file to update (YOU MUST LOAD THE RADIO FIRST, DO NOT DO THESE OUT OF ORDER OR YOU WILL FREEZE YOUR DEVICE).

7. Unplug the G1.

8. Turn off the G1.

9. Turn back on the G1 by holding down Home and End buttons at the same time. When the screen comes up, Alt S to apply the radio update.

10. Once the phone is done hold Home and Back to reboot (it may

11. Plug in the G1, open the SD card on the computer, and delete the update.zip file (used to be the Radio file), and rename the SPL file to update.zip this time.

12. Unplug the G1 and turn it off. Turn it back on holding Home and End again.

13. Hit Alt W to wipe the device (it may automatically reboot, if so just take out the battery once the G1 screen comes on and put it back in. Then turn the phone back on by holding the Home and End key) then hit Alt S to apply the SPL update.

14. Once the phone is done hold Home and Back to reboot.

15. Your G1 will most likely get stuck on the G1 screen after it reboots. No worries. Just take out the battery and put it back in. Then take out the SD card from the phone and put it into the SD adapter it came with and put that into your computer.

16. Open the SD card on your computer. Delete the update.zip file and rename the Hero ROM to update.zip.

17. Put the memory card back into the G1 and then turn the G1 back on by holding the Home and End keys.

18. When the screen comes on, then hit Alt S to apply the Hero ROM.

19. Once the phone is done hold Home and Back to reboot.

20. Wait a long time for the phone to boot up (it may take a while to boot up, so long as you do not see the logo symbol with the android popping out over and over and over then keep waiting. If you do see the android popping out over and over, then take out the battery, put it back in, and turn the phone on).

21. If a Root warning comes up about swapper, hit Deny (NOT Always Deny, just Deny). Then continue with the setup process.

22. Once the phone is at the home screen and you have set everything up, goto Terminal in your menu and type:

su
chown system.system /data/app

^This will allow you to download applications from the Market.

23. Then goto Swapper in your programs and open it. Click on Settings and Swap Place.

24. Change the Swap location from /sdcard/swapfile.swp to /system/sd/swap.swp then click back.

25. Click on Swap ON. Once it is done, click the home button.

26. DONE!

Enjoy trying the ROM. If you find it too slow and frustrating to use, simply use the update.zip method to load a different ROM (the SPL and Radio will remain updated forever unless you change those so if you go back to a non-hero ROM and then want to try a new Hero ROM again, just skip the first 15 steps).

Let me know how it goes for everyone!

Reported Issues

Issue: I have the Hero ROM and I only have 70-80MBs of free internal space, why don’t I have 1300mbs or whatever I had before I went to the Hero ROM?

Solution: The Hero ROM does not correctly support the Apps2SD procedure like the other, more stable ROMs do.

Issue: I’m stuck on the G1 screen!

Solution A:
 If this happened during step 14, then just read step 15! :)

If this happened after step 19, then redo steps 15-19.

Solution B:
If you tried solution A without any luck, read the next issue below and try the 2 solutions below it.

Issue: I’m stuck at the HTC logo, and the Android keeps popping up and taunting me over and over! OR I’m stuck at the G1 logo and the above solution didn’t work!

Solution A:
 1. Take out the battery from the phone.

2. Put the battery back in (do NOT turn the phone on yet).

3. Hold the End and Home key and keep holding them until the ! or recovery image pops up.

4. Hit Alt W to wipe the phone. (See if it gets past the HTC logo/G1 Logo already, if not then repeat steps 1-3, and then do step 5).

5. Hit Alt S to reupload the Update.zip file (See if it gets past the HTC logo/G1 Logo now, if not then try Solution B).

Solution B:
 1. Take out the battery from the phone.

2. Take out the memory card.

3. Put the memory card into the SD adapter it came with and put that into your computer so you can view the memory card contents on your computer screen.

4. Open the memory card on your computer and then delete the update.zip file on it.

5. Take the Hero ROM.zip file and put it onto the memory card. Rename it to update.

6. Put the memory card back into the phone.

7. Put the battery back into the phone (do NOT turn it on yet).

8. Hold the End and Home key and keep holding them until the ! or recovery image pops up.

9. Hit Alt S to reupload the Update.zip file.

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262 responses to How To: Load the HTC Hero ROM onto Your G1 (OBSOLETE)

  1. blaze said on August 3, 2009

    ok so i had the htc hero rom on my G1 (JAChero r2.3.6) it was working well, slow of course, so i wanted to upgrade and put the JAChero “2.7.4r2″ rom http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=534479 so i followed the instructions but when i hit “alt+s” it didn’t upgrade it said something like “can’t open file, there’s no such file” so i tried it again, & the samething happened why is this happening?? i didn’t do the App2sd thing cause the rom supposedly do it for you, also i wiped my phone before upgrading and that message came up..
    i will appriciate your help =]]
    thank you!

  2. Gil said on August 3, 2009

    Hi blaze!!!! I don’t know much but did u renamed the file to update

  3. blaze said on August 3, 2009

    yes i did but but it doesn’t work

  4. clemshady said on August 4, 2009

    To everyone with Hero roms:

    I know most of you are tired of Hero issues like I was. I had the 2.3.6 and later the 2.7.4 but gave up on it due to all the lags and force closes. I actually un-rooted by phone back to stock. Unfortunately, once you experience Hero, nothing else seems to fit the bill.

    Anyway, I am happy to report now that I am running a Hero rom that is pretty much as STABLE and FAST as cupcake (I swear am not kidding). Its by a developer @ xda-developers called Drizzy. Check out http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=540791 The rom is called Newvision Touchflo 3D v2.8. If you follow all the instructions carefully, you will be amazed at the outcome. My Hero is running like a true champ.

    The new Drizzy rom is light years ahead. You dont need to overclock, apps2sd is automatic and you dont need swapper. Just have the latest radio and spl, use Cyanogen Recovery 1.4 Image which will allow you to partition your sd card (3 partitions: fat32, ext3 & linux-swap)and you are all set. If you check out the forum link I posted above, you will see everyone testifying to how good this rom is. The best part is that the rom is not even optimized and he is soon coming out with the optimized version 2.9 which I cant even imagine what level of awesomeness that will be.
    Perhaps David will make a how-to video but I will recommend to wait for 2.9. In the mean time, I will be happy to help any one with questions. It is worth a shot. Good luck!

    • TheUnlockr said on August 4, 2009

      HELLO CLEMSHADY AND EVERYONE WITH HERO ROMs,

      First thank you Clemshady for helping out others with issues!
      I actually used the Drizzy ROM and ended up switching to the JACxHero ROM that came out yesterday and it works better for me, but goes to show you that everyone has different experiences.

      But It’s funny you mention it because I just put up instructions for how to load the Drizzy or the new JACxHero ROMs with the 3 partitions (FAT32, Ext3, and Linuz-Swap) on the site: Hero Improved Method

      Video is being edited and should be up by tomorrow (assuming YouTube doesn’t mess up the upload like normal lol). Enjoy guys!

  5. clemshady said on August 4, 2009

    Thanks for the acknowledgement David. I have not tried the new JACxHero ROM. I was having such a great time with Drizzys 2.8 that I vowed not to try anything else till his 2.9. However, if you of all people recommends the new JACxHero ROM and are backing it up with your awesome how-to videos, who am I not to oblige. Afterall, b4 I found this site, I thought ROOTING a phone meant burying it in the mud. lol. I’ll post up my impressions tomorrow. Thanks again!

  6. clemshady said on August 4, 2009

    To Everyone with any Hero ROM:

    A lot of people often complain that their new ROM runs great but starts to crawl after a period of time. One possible factor is the accumulation of cache by several applications like the browser, market, maps, streetview, Gmail, etc. which is automatically stored in your G1’s internal memory.

    Although you can periodically go to your G1 Settings, click Manage Application to delete it (which could be a pain after sometime), you may actually prefer not to always delete your cache. A cached site for example will open up quicker in the browser.

    I therefore strongly recommend that you get the free app in the market called “Move Cache for Root Users”. As the name implies, it moves the cache of the apps mentioned above to the fat32 partition of your sd card where space is not an issue.

    This way, even if you have 99 problems with your G1, slow downs caused by cache accumulation wouldn’t be one of them. lol. Enjoy!

  7. kestheillest said on August 5, 2009

    man haha my phone fucked up it doesnt want to get off the g1 boot screen you know when it just first turns on

  8. Christopher said on August 6, 2009

    Can someone help me? I bricked my phone when trying to install the HERO rom.

    How do I restore it back to the factory defaults from the SD card? I can not get to terminal.

    All I have is the G1 Boot screen.

    Thanks.

  9. Michael said on August 7, 2009

    when i try to turn swapper on it fails

  10. JorgeRod said on August 21, 2009

    Hi I got to the hero UI but when I get to the terminal emulator step it doesn’t appear in the apps and when I tried to go to the market the the terms and conditions never load up and say that to try later. What should I do?

  11. Victor said on August 28, 2009

    Ok so i loaded the Hero rom on my g1 nd it works, but its very laggy and tends to force close, freeze, and load alot so is there a way i can optimize the performance of the hero build? what are your suggestions?

    • TheUnlockr said on August 28, 2009

      Hello Victor,

      Check the Bold writing at the top of this post and do the Rooting in 1 click (to get the special recovery image) and then the Load a Custom ROM etc. video and if you follow the instructions it will be a lot faster (still not as fast as the Hero itself but not bad considering the lack of almost 100Mbs of RAM that the G1 and MyTouch have).
      Good luck!

  12. John said on September 13, 2009

    Hi David,

    I flashed the new Hero Rom but i kept getting stuck at the HTC Screen. It loads but google maps will force close and dialer will also force close.

    And i get stuck at htc screen forever. Need your kind help pls

  13. alfonso said on September 18, 2009

    when i turn swap on everything say fail!!

  14. pappy said on December 10, 2009

    hey man i don’t know why u guys do it but wht ever the reason it .. thank you very much from me and from everyone else… let me know when ever thier is an update pls

    • TheUnlockr said on December 10, 2009

      Pappy,

      Thanks! Its just me, but I like doing it, figured the internet might need a place like this :)
      There is a newer procedure than this by the way, read the bold writing at the begininng.

  15. bryanz said on January 6, 2010

    i tried to root my phone and install custom roms but i didnt have any luck, so i try to unroot my g1 and now when i try to do the system recovery it would say android system recovery utility E:cant open /cache/recovery/command… and i wont find the update file on my sdcard

    • TheUnlockr said on January 6, 2010

      Bryanz,

      This is the wrong procedure. Goto our How To Unroot procedure and skip the SPL step. Just do the dreaimg.nbh file steps and your all set.

  16. bryanz said on January 6, 2010

    thanks theunlockr i got it. now i imma try to root my phone using ur method and install a hero rom

  17. Tom said on January 12, 2010

    my G1 does not work when i press the alt and s botton to update…….how?

  18. edgar said on February 3, 2010

    I did the unlokr. Root but can’t run cyanogen roms their zip files. Do they need to be apk files. Or did I do something wrong because I can run hero Rome’s but that’s it.

    • TheUnlockr said on February 4, 2010

      Edgar,

      They need to be zip file. You are reading the wrong procedure. Read the bold writing at the top.

  19. Jerry said on March 16, 2010

    whenever I try to flash a hero rom I get the following;
    e.cant chown/mod/system/xbin
    (no such file or directory)
    e. failure at line 80
    set_perm_recursive 0 2000 0755 0
    install aborted
    this only happens with hero why??

  20. michael said on June 4, 2010

    i have the 1.6 donut on my g1 do i skip te radio download.

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