How To: Load a Custom ROM on Your HTC Hero
August 27, 2009 in Featured
1. Download a ROM from forum.XDA-Developer.com to your computer. Or check our Downloads section and click on Android then ROMs and use the search bar at the top and type in “Hero ROMs”. *IF YOU HAVE A SPRINT HERO MAKE SURE THE ROM YOU WANT IS COMPATIBLE FOR THE SPRINT HERO!
2. Plug in your phone and pull down the Notification bar when the SD notification pops up.
3. Click on the notification and select Mount.
4. Once the SD card is on your computer screen, copy the ROM from your computer to your SD card (make sure NOT to put it in any folders on the SD card, just on the SD card by itself).
5. Once it is done copying, rename it on your SD card to update (in windows it should just need to be renamed update and you should still see the Zip folder icon to the left of the file to indicate that it is still update.zip).
6. Unplug your phone and turn it off.
7. Turn the phone on by holding down Home and Power till you get to the custom recovery screen.
8. Select Wipe from the menu, then select Apply Update.zip
9. Once it is done, select Reboot and you are all set!
Reported Issue:
Issue: I can’t find Format Fat32+Ext2+LinuxSwap.
Solution: This means you are using Amon Ras latest recovery image, he has put this option under Partition > Partition SD > then it asks you what values you want for the different partitions. Here are the standard values, but feel free to change them according to what the ROM you wish to use recommends.
LinuxSwap – 32MBs
Ext2 – 512Mbs
Fat32 – Remainder
Eric said on May 18, 2010
If i have firmware version 1.5 and the MoDaCo Custom ROM(most recent build) and the phone is rooted, goldcard made, and RA recovery, will updating to the newest firmware affect any of these mods to the phone. or can i just upgrade and be fine? and if i update to eclair, can i put another rom on the phone so that i can continue to have wifi tether, and other goodies that i really enjoy. ???? What is the procedure to go about updating to the new firmware? and then installing eclair? And can you even install a new rom on eclair? i am trying to figure out if this question about updating firmware is relevent or not? Please let me know something…
And thanks again, all the steps you have posted work flawlessly so far.
Clarkeee said on June 3, 2010
OMFG! I can’t believe it worked! I’ve been waiting 6 months to root it and have my own custom ROM! Thanks Unlockr!
Echuz said on June 15, 2010
is it rooted after this steps?
ANDRE said on July 6, 2010
hey!
thanks a lot…
not my ‘old’ HERO on Orange UK runs a smoth Villain Room.. BETTER THEN 2.1!!!!
xox
joe said on July 9, 2010
Hi i was successful and rooted my hero gone to load 2.1 from htc website. renamed to update. did the wipe thing but it keeps saying install failed?
jjankowski76 said on July 14, 2010
Unlockr,
Could you please reply to the post listed below from Derick. I want to root my phone but I think I may have the same issue as him. Before I do so I would like to make sure it can be done on my Sprint HTC Hero phone. Also my Hero doesn’t look like yours, is this an issue or just a different design?
Derek says:
February 24, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Hi Unlockr,
First up, my props to you for your amazing work. I’m reading everything i can here twice so i make sure i do this correctly. However, I have a Sprint HTC Hero and when i enter recovery mode [home + pwr button] I do NOT see the screen with the various options as shown in the video. It is a screen with a white background, little green android guys across the bottom and a couple of options, one of which is something to the effect of erase user data. That spooked me a tad so i tried to turn it off and the power button would not allow it to do so. I ended up having to pull the battery. When i put it back in, it seem dead “dead”, no lights, nada. I pulled the battery and waited longer, stuck it back in and luckily it powered back up.
Per your Oct 11, ’09 post:
“TheUnlockr Says: October 11th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Hello Ghecko,
NO. There is no rooting method for the Sprint Hero yet.
If someone wants to let me borrow one we could work on it…”
By that post, I understand there is no root access for the Sprint Hero yet and that explains why Titanium backup is giving me the message it is. [Although that confuses me being as there is a link: "How To: Root Your Sprint Hero in One Click! | The Unlockr". Maybe that URL is from a later date and there is now rooting for Sprint HTC Hero?
That being said, and being a premium Modaco member, i don't think i can load a modaco ROM [custom or otherwise] UNLESS i can have those options from recovery mode to apply update.zip, no? Sorry for being so verbose, but I guess my real question is why my recovery mode screen is not what I see in the video i.e. with the options in green text?
Many thanks,
Derek
Fahad Raza said on July 19, 2010
I am getting Error screen when i press home+power button on startup..
I am running firmware 1.5
Kindly help. Thanks
john said on July 20, 2010
hi, ive installed the froyd rom and everything seems fine except for my sync. i cannot sync with the pc programme. when plugging my usb into my hero the only option i get is for using it as a storage device via the usb. no sign of the sync option. any ideas what gone wrong?
sam said on July 20, 2010
my phone wont go into the custom recovery when holding the power and home buttons, i have the hero for sprint does that make a differece?
Mex said on August 8, 2010
Hi,
Whatever I do, I can’t boot to the the custom recovery screen. It just goes to a pic of the phone on it’s side under a large explanation mark. What am I doing wrong and how do I fix this?
Mex
Razvan said on June 12, 2011
did u manage to fix it? got the same problem now
jonathan said on August 30, 2010
i did everything exactly what the video did but the htc boot up screen just stays there help ?
Eugene said on October 15, 2010
Hello Unlockr,
I recently began the rooting process for my buddies Sprint HTC Hero. The phone was handed down to him, so neither he nor I know if the phone was rooted beforehand or not. Either way, when I got the phone, it was on firmware 1.5. I finished rooting the phone from the instructions on this site, and when I attempted to restart the phone by holding the home and power keys, I don’t go into Amon Ra’s recovery image, but another screen. This screen simply asks me if I wish to clear data or not. Nothing about flashing or wiping that Im used to. Im pretty sure that I properly flashed the recovery image in the Flashrec program. Any ideas as to what I am loading up when I restart my phone, or how to get to the Amon RA recovery image?
Thanks for any help
David Cogen said on October 15, 2010
That means the recovery image wasn’t flashed. Try it again.
Eugene said on October 15, 2010
I reflashed Amon Ras recovery image, and it still isnt booting. When I restart by holding the Home and Power button, another image is opening instead of Aman Ra’s.
Here is what I see on this image.
HERO XC
HBOOT-1.41.0000 (HERO20000)
MICROP-0110
TOUCH PANEL-SYN0104
RADIO-1.04.01.09.21
Sep 1 2009, 19:18:45
And then it justs asks me if I wish to clear all user data.
How do I delete this image? Or is there another way to access Aman Ra’s image instead of this one?
Like I said before, this is not my phone, I am rooting for a friend who was handed down this phone as well so he doesn’t know what the previous owner did with it
Robert said on October 20, 2010
I get this,
E:Can’t open /cache/recovery/command
–Install from sdcard…
Finding update package…
Opening update package…
Verifying update package…
E:signature verification failed
Installation aborted.
My cell is Rooted and on my sd card I have The Update zip file
So why isn’t it working? PLZ someone help me.
I have never been able to load a custom rom on my sprint htc hero
Westjerk said on December 24, 2010
i got this too. SOMEONE HELP
Westjerk said on December 24, 2010
i got this too. SOMEONE HELP
Marquinho731 said on November 13, 2010
my phone got stuck on the Htc white screen, whats’s wrong?
SuperDave said on December 26, 2010
i have a sprint htc hero and i got all the way up to where i copy the files on my sd card and open threw file manager and installed the recovery flash but when i push Back up Recover button on recovery flash i get Backup FAILED: Could not run command thats as far as i can get. any help?
SuperDave said on December 26, 2010
i have a sprint htc hero and i got all the way up to where i copy the files on my sd card and open threw file manager and installed the recovery flash but when i push Back up Recover button on recovery flash i get Backup FAILED: Could not run command thats as far as i can get. any help?
Anonymous said on January 24, 2011
will this work on a canadian Telus Hero? with 2.1?
Demanmorris said on March 21, 2011
one problem save the custom rom and kernal to the root of the sd card don’t unzip the files go to install zip from from sd card then enjoy the custom. Rfom a
Demanmorris said on March 21, 2011
I mean enjoy the rom and kernal
AlexanDer said on October 26, 2011
Rooted and installed MoDaCo’s ROM .. But when i turn the phone on it passes the HERO screen then gets to an HTC screen and kinda freezes there then it automatically goes back to the HERO screen .. and same thing over and over… Can anyone please tell me whats the problem?