How To: Downgrade Your HTC Hero So It Can Be Rooted (Updated 02.05.10)
October 18, 2009 in Featured
BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
Make sure you have an SD Adapter to put your MicroSD in so you can plug it into a computer and access it.
I. Download and Install the Android SDK and USB drivers (If you already have this done, skip this section).
1. Follow our video procedure on HOW TO SETUP ADB/USB DRIVERS.
II. Create a “GoldCard” from a MicroSD Card
1. Put the memory card you want to use for the GoldCard into your phone.
2. With the memory card in your phone, click on Settings, SD and Phone storage, then click Unmount SD card. Once it unmounts, click Format SD card. (Please keep in mind that some memory cards don’t work, and this will erase all data on your SD Card so back all the data up first to your computer)
3. On the Phone, goto Settings, Applications, Development and then make sure USB Debugging is checked.
4. *Make sure you have installed the SDK and Fastboot correctly from Section I!!!
Plug the phone into the computer and then open the Command Prompt (goto the start menu and type in cmd in the search box). Then type the following with hitting enter at the end of each line.
cd\
cd\AndroidSDK\tools\
adb devices
(wait for the it to show a serial number underneath, if it doesn’t then reinstall the drivers from section I). Then type:
adb shell
cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid
5. A code will display, write the code down (MAKE SURE TO WRITE IT DOWN EXACTLY!)
UPDATED 02.05.10:
6. Goto this site, http://hexrev.soaa.me/, then put in your code you just wrote down into the text box and click submit. It will generate the code reversed and replace the first two digits with zeros automatically. Write that down and continue to step 9.
7. Now, on your computer, goto http://revskills.de/pages/goldcard.html and enter your email in the appropriate field and for CID enter the reversed CID you just copied down BUT REPLACE THE FIRST 2 DIGITS WITH 2 ZEROS! (i.e. 12345678910 becomes 00345678910). *Thanks to Viper for providing these Goldcards for FREE!
8. Click continue and then you will receive your goldcard.img via email. Once it arrives save it to your computer.
9. Now, goto http://download.cnet.com/HxD-Hex-Editor/3000-2352-10891068.html?part=dl-HxDHexEdi&subj=uo&tag=button to download the HxD Hex Editor. Save it and install it to your computer.
10. Take your SD card out of your phone and put it into the SD adapter it came with. Then put that into your computer so it shows up on your computer as Removable Disk.
11. Open the Hex Editor (Run as Administrator if one Vista or Windows 7) and click on the Extra tab, then click on Open Disk. Under Physical Disk select Removable Disk (your SD card you just put into the computer). Make sure to UNcheck “Open as ReadOnly”. Click OK.
12. Goto the Extra tab again and click Open Disk Image. Open up the goldcard.img that you saved from your email. You should now have two tabs, one is the SD card (Removable Disk) and the other is the goldcard.img
Press OK when prompted for Sector Size 512 (Hard Disks/Floppy Disks).
13. Click on the Goldcard.img tab and click on the Edit tab and click Select All. Then click on the Edit tab again and click Copy.
14. Click on the Removable Disk tab (Your SD Card) and select offset 00000000 to 00000170 then click on the Edit tab and click Paste Write.
15. Click on File then click Save.
16. Close the Hex Editor.
17. Test what we’ve done:
Take out the memory card from the computer, then put it back in.
Try to open the memory card on the computer (Removable Disk), if it lets you, you are all set. If it asks/tells you to reformat the card, then try steps 13 – 19 again. If it gives you the same error again, then try a different memory card (Erlern said it didn’t work for him until he finally went and bought a Kingston 2GB card, then it worked on that card only).
18. Put the GoldCard into your phone and reboot the phone with the GoldCard inside.
III. Downgrade the Hero using the Goldcard
1.Download and install
2. Plug in your phone via USB cable to your computer (make sure the GoldCard is in the phone).
3. Once HTC Sync is installed and your phone is plugged in, pull down the notification bar on the phone and select HTC Sync. Make sure it connects to HTC Sync on the computer.
4. Download the Original HTC Hero RUU
5. Double click the RUU you downloaded while the phone is plugged in with the GoldCard in it and follow the on screen procedure.
THANKS JESTERZ at XDA!
Reported Issues
Issue: I get an issue at step 5 or this procedure does not work for me.
Solution: Try to repeat the procedure with the 2.73.405.5 RUU listed on the site here:
Issue: I get Wrong Customer ID or a similar error when trying to use the RUU.
Solution: This means your Goldcard did not work and you need to try to do it again with a different SD card.
dan said on September 10, 2010
I can do the goldcard method fine, but when I try and use RUU HERO HTC WWE, it fails, saying that it can’t read my phone. Then tells me to check and make sure my USB is plugged in. I can assure you it is. Any ideas? I really want this to work…stuck with android 1.5
Akhtar said on September 21, 2010
Ive done everything the instructions said until the last part with the RUU.
It keeps giving the error 130.
I already tried 3 different micro sds ……..
Any ideas on how to fix this.
PhenomenalGore said on October 15, 2010
I can’t get very far with this. I enter “cat /aha/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid” and I get “‘cat’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, portable program or batch file.” Any help would be appreciated.
dwattsy21 said on October 30, 2010
I am getting the same thing phenom. Anybody know why this is?? I have followed the steps and video exactly!!
Davidwattsmail said on October 31, 2010
to get round this, i just typed in su into the terminal emulator on the phone
then typed the same command in and it gave me my number
Sant340 said on May 25, 2011
i have same problem
Gregory said on October 30, 2010
Hello, i got de same error 170 USB connection problem when i run de update
where can i find line 170
i opened my sdcard but line170 i can’t find it
can some body help
thank you
Jomega said on November 3, 2010
Here’s an new one (I think!): got right through to step 17 – perfect (8Gb SanDisk SD-HC), but asked to reformat. Now – Windows 7 cannot reformat it! Yet if I put it into HTC Hero (t-mobile) it sees it as corrupt but formats and mounts it fine. I can even see it fine via the USB Connection and write to it from the PC while it’s in the HTC. BUT it STILL won’t be recognised by Windows 7 – which asks to format it, but simply fails.
Have I bricked this 8Gb Sandisk or can I get it formatted again so that Windows 7 can see it (I can’t edit it in HxD as it’s not recognised by Windows)
Thanks SO much
Jomega said on November 3, 2010
By the way, Step 6 had me REALLY confused as I was expecting all the digits to be reversed! I really thought the website tool had got it wrong, until I finally realised that it reverses the digits in PAIRS.
You may like to make that a bit clearer!
But thanks so much for your efforts here
Jomega said on November 4, 2010
Ref my is my SD card Bricked 2 comments below, amazingly, I traced the problem to a faulty micro SD card adapter that seemed to fail at exactly the same time I tried my new goldcard – since I can’t see how the new goldcard could have caused the SD adapter to permanaently fail even with other micro SD cards installed) – I’m assuming coincidence!
Jomega said on November 4, 2010
Quick question: my Goldcard.img first first 8 lines 000000 to 000070 are all zeros (00), whereas the HTC card I’m overwriting has quite a lot characters at the start – just to check – is this normal???
Mitko said on November 14, 2010
The error 140 isn’t resolved yet ?
Al said on November 28, 2010
Hey Mitko, give me a heads up if you find a work around on this 140 thing.. I give up!!!
TheUnlockr said on December 22, 2010
That is fine.
Devon Gulati said on December 28, 2010
http://psas.revskills.de/?q=goldcard This is the new updated link for step 6
Joac21 said on January 5, 2011
hi there. im getting error 110 all the time.. it says please get a complete RUU file.. what im doing wrong? i also tried making another goldcard and it gives me error 130!
Snnnnn said on January 16, 2011
I got a customer ID error, do i HAVE to use another SD card? Can I just format and use the old one?
Snnnnn said on January 16, 2011
I got a customer ID error, do i HAVE to use another SD card? Can I just format and use the old one?
Curious said on January 31, 2011
Much like everyone else on this page of comments, I do have an issue as well.
I have yet to commence this procedure because the computer in choice I work with is indeed a Mac.
Now I have read previous comments, and it seems that it would be ‘easier’ on a PC, but my question is, is it even possible to root my htc hero on my mac?
bab said on February 6, 2011
plz help
i have error 131
help
bab said on February 6, 2011
plz help
i have error 131
help
James said on April 3, 2011
Okay. So what do we do NOW that the revskills website req’d for Goldcard.img retrieval has changed, and we can no longer get an e-mail to open up and continue on in the steps??
Pokemonpokemon1 said on May 1, 2011
i get error 140 my bootloader version is wrong or something like that
oliwek said on May 15, 2011
Worked with a Kingston 8GB microSD, on HTC Hero GSM unbranded (belgian) with last update OTA (2.1-update1). After being created, the goldcard was seen as defective by the Hero, I didn’t try to mount it, just synced with HTC sync microSD unmounted, then opened RUU 2.73.405.5 on the PC and it did flash, no problem, done.
Uz187 said on June 5, 2011
When i type:
adb shell
cat/sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid
I get “cat/sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid: not found” ?? Help plzz!!!!
Ben437 said on June 15, 2011
After return my HTC Hero to SAV, HTC has installed version 3.36, since impossible root.
like Pokemonpokemon1, err 140 =(
Who have a solution please??
share2nirolf said on September 9, 2011
After return my HTC Hero to SAV, HTC has installed version 3.36, since impossible root.
same problem
what did you do ? do you have solved the problem ??? plz reply tnx
Gilad said on October 8, 2011
“cat /aha/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid” and I get “‘cat’ is not recognized tryed to type this command and it did not work for me also, also tryed to type in in the phone in terminal emulator. anyone know?