BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
UPDATE (03.06.10): Before trying this procedure, try the How To Root the Hero In One Click since its update. Should work for all Heros (read the before you begin on that procedure carefully). If not then come back to this procedure.
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.
NEED SOME HELP?
I. Type Your Issue into the Custom Search Below!
We have designed it to only search sites that may contain solutions to issues that might come up!
II. Look for the Solution or Ask for Help in the Forums!
Find your phone's Technical Support Forum in the Forums.III. Comment(s) Section below
In an effort to minimize cluttering up the Comment(s) section below with back and forth technical support, I ask that you please refrain from posting technical support questions in the Comment(s) below. Instead, please find your phone's Technical Support Forum in the Forums.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:02 am
100% works. Its easy if you are confident with changing this kind of things.
Worked on my Hero after i updated to the tmobile official release last week.
i had a Sandisk 8GB SD-HC Card, worked no problem.
thanks unlockr for posting this.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:22 am
I second that it certainly works! I think you should put “mandatory for Hero with 2.73.707.9″ ROM. This type really needs the “goldcard” method for custom rom to be installed. So wat’s nxt? I will be looking forward to install either Xperia 3 or future ROMs for android XDXD
October 19th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Thanks for the info. one question before I take the plunge. I have updated with Tmobile 2.73 ROM. All I want to do is to install wifi tether. Do I have to go through all these to root my device to install wifi tether..?
Thanks
October 19th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
would like to try to make a custom RUU with just the custom recovery rom in it for use on sprint hero any help on how to make custom RUU’s thx
October 19th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
when i clicked on the RUU files and clicked update and next, the status window thing loaded and it was stuck at waiting for bootloader. also windows was unable to install a driver for “Android 1.0″
October 19th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
After I format the SD card, I have .footprints folder on my card. Is that a problem.? What should I do? Can I leave the folder on the goldcard..? or should I delete it..?
October 19th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Hello Haris,
Just delete it then continue
October 19th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
The link to the Hero RUU is not actually a link. I would like to attempt this method, however I do not want to be stuck without a phone. Can you post up a link to the Sprint Hero RUU?
October 19th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Hello Geoff C,
Sorry waiting for it to upload… should be up in a bit.
By the way, don’t think you will be able to install the drivers, think Sprint is blocking ADB. Tell me if you can get past the adb devices in the command prompt step.
Good luck!
October 20th, 2009 at 4:21 am
Thanks for the reply. Can I delete it after making the gold card or should I delete is before making it. I wonder if the CID will change with that .footprints folder in it. I noticed after I finised the process of making the gold card. Thanks
October 20th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Hey Unlockr,
Yeah the adb portion is not a locked out, i am even using the 1.6 sdk. I can get the devices, logcat, and shell with no problems. My issue is that I am getting an error when I try to flash the original Hero RUU. The error is ERROR[110]: FILE OPEN ERROR. I can email you a screen shot of it if you would like. I was also able to find the Sprint RUU from an android site.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Hello Geoff,
Can you email me using the Send us a tip form in the contact us section if you have a sprint hero with adb access? Might have a way to root…
October 20th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Some things can be written/remembered better by computers.
Line will throw the cid information to the C:\ drive:
adb shell cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid >c:\cidinfo.txt
If in the adb shell:
cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid >/sdcard/cidinfo.txt
October 20th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
And for the love of…. if they are writing it down… why not just have then write it down backwards?
October 21st, 2009 at 4:27 am
Successful! Able ro flash the HERO ROM on my G2. successfully flashed the recovery image in one click. Now has the MCR ROM with root access. Great stuff. Thanks for the video and XDA.
Regarding writing backwards, when using GMAT if you look at it, it does not list the figures backwards. It reverse the numbers in blocks. I am not sure simply revering the figures will work.
October 21st, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Hey Unlockr,
Can I downgrade like that HTC HERO from Honk Kong, ver. 2.73.721.9 ?
October 21st, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Hello Elimor,
Yes, should work just fine with this procedure. Good luck!
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
So it looks ever closer to having the Sprint Hero rooted. Which I personally can’t wait for because that was one of the big selling points of an android phone. I still don’t understand why they lock them down in the first place. Hello, open OS, that’s your ENTIRE sales pitch. Why muffle it?
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Hello Unlocker,
I have HTC HERO from Honk Kong, ver. 2.73.721.9 .
I made this procedure and everything was OK untill the last step. When I tried to install the Hero RUU, I got this messege:
“ERROR [140]: BOOTLOADER VERSION ERROR
The ROM update Utility cannot update your Android phone. Please get the correct ROM Update Utility and try again.”
Can you help me to solve that problem ?
Thanks
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:46 am
will this downgrade work on aa Tmobile MyTouch (us) runing on 1.66 firmware?
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:05 am
Hello Spydaboi,
This procedure is for the HTC Hero.
Look for the How to Root a Dount Phone procedure on our site.
TIP: You can find all the procedures for your specific phone by using the Category dropdown and selecting MyTouch/Magic under Android How Tos.
October 24th, 2009 at 3:04 am
Hello Unlockr,
I have an Asian HTC Hero, version 2.73.707.x and I have the same problem as eimor.
Everything works fine until the last part where they the installer says “The ROM update Utility cannot update your Android phone. Please get the correct ROM Update Utility and try again.”
Please help us, thanks.
October 24th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Hello John,
That means the CID check is still active which means your Goldcard is not working properly.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
@Alcaron (or anyone else who knows why he made such a BOLD statement)
Why do you think its closer to rooting our Sprint Heroes?
October 26th, 2009 at 12:01 am
Hello Il Padrone,
He said that because technically this method would work on the Sprint Hero (it is the same block that is stopping the other Hero phones). But the problem is that unlike the other Hero phones, we do not have an old Sprint Hero version to downgrade to that is rootable. So this is a step in the right direction, but not quite there yet.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:21 am
HURRY!! REally want SPRINT HERO rooted
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE
October 27th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I tried it.. doesnt work. It aborts in the RUU Installer with the Error
“ERROR [140]: BOOTLOADER VERSION ERROR
The ROM update Utility cannot update your Android phone. Please get the correct ROM Update Utility and try again.”
I have installed the original Version from the HTC.Com website. Version is 2.73.405.5
I even tried this howto 2 different micro sd cards. A 2gb and a 8gb card. both didn’t work.
Do you have a hint for me?
October 27th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Micha,
You need to do the goldcard procedure. That error means the goldcard did not work.
October 27th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
hmmm i did that what you have done in your video/tutorial ( i worked with my own CID)
and the test if the goldcard works was ok… no request to format the mikro sd card
October 27th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Hey, me to. The goldcard procedure worked fine and I’m not prompted to format.
Still I get the 140 error. What can we do?
October 27th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Everything works fine for me until I try paste writing the goldcard image onto the removable disk 1. The part that I paste shows in red and when I try to save it just says ‘I/O device error’ just wondering if there is anything I am doing wrong.
Thanks
October 27th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
hi thijs
try this one… it works for me…
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=559613
October 28th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Tried this with my Sprint HTC Hero. Everything worked up to the RUU utility and then i got this error:
ERROR[130]: MODEL ID ERROR
The rom update utility cannot update your Android phone.
Please get the correct ROM Update utility and try again.
Any suggestions?
October 30th, 2009 at 4:01 am
9. 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!
My CID when reversed starts wiht de01982454121412,
So do i replace the first 2 caracters(de) or the 2 first digits (01)
Please help guys
October 30th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Edu Mertz:
It’s hexadecimal counting. That means that instead of 0-9 being digits it’s 0-F so these are all valid “digits” in hex:
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F
Your CID of
D,E,0,1,9,8,2,4,5,4,1,2,1,4,1,2
when converted to decimal would be:
13,14,0,1,9,8,2,4,5,4,1,2,1,4,1,2
Therefore it stands to reason that you’d replace the ‘de’ with ‘00′ and that would follow the directions posted.
October 31st, 2009 at 9:37 am
It’s the first 2 characters.
November 1st, 2009 at 6:57 am
Hi, my HTC HERO DOWNGRADE FAILED … screenshot: http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8858/htcherodowngradefailed.jpg
AND RUU_Hero_HTC_WWE_1.76.405.1_R3_WWE_release_signed_NoDriver.exe TOOL reports error [140]
November 1st, 2009 at 6:58 am
btw, im from Czechia (Eastern Europe)
November 1st, 2009 at 7:18 am
well, propably some SD cards just doesnt work … i dont know why, i am trying another one …
BTW, you dont need to have QMAT installed … you can use http://www.andyappz.com/cid.html service to get reverse code …
November 1st, 2009 at 7:39 am
well. same eroor 140 with another nokia 256MB sd card (previous was transcend 8gb) … doesnt matter, same result
November 1st, 2009 at 8:19 pm
I got error 140 when I tried following this guide to the letter, but when I used the firmware here ftp://xda:xda@ftp.xda-developers.com/Hero/Official-ROMs/RUU_Hero_HTC_WWE_2.73.405.5_WWE_release_signed_NoDriver.exe it allowed me to go through with rooting, and as such, installing custom roms. The guide here is pretty much the same as this one http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=573866 but if you are having trouble here, the other one is worth a try.
November 1st, 2009 at 8:40 pm
EthelFT,
Thanks for the addition! What is the actual difference, was it just the firmware and that’s it? I’ll just add that firmware to this page in case people are still having issues.
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:49 am
i need to dawngrade my i phone softrame …or some thing like that
November 2nd, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Yep that’s the only difference. for some reason, even though it appeared (superficially anyway) to be the same firmware I was already running, when I updated to that, I was then able to use all the usual root methods etc.
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Also, once successful here, I can highly recommend Modaco’s 2.8 ROM. It’s as fast as the stock HTC ROM, and is packed with goodies. Good luck to anyone who hasn’t been able to sort this out yet, I’ll continue to try and offer help, but my knowledge is a tad limited.
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Hello!
I’ve tried the Goldcard-step twice now, but still got error 140 when running Hero RUU. Any idea what to try next?
I have a Hero with firmware 1.5 and build 2.73.405.5.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Finally, somehow, I got it to work. Thanks for all your guides!
November 6th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Ok, i have a problem.
Tested 2 SD cards A Sandisk 6Gb and a Kingston 2Gb but everytime i re-insert card it want’s to be formated (running windows 7 x64).
Anyother solutions?
November 7th, 2009 at 11:15 am
i have a problem it says permission denied when i write this code : adb shell
cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid my phone is from t mob
November 7th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Yucel,
Please post your issue in the Tech Support Forum for your phone and we will be glad to help you there (so we don’t clog up the comments). Thanks!
November 7th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
@Trackbacks: No, your wrong.
@TheUnlocker: You forgot 1 minor detail on hexeditor. I went back to the source and you should have mentioned :
13. Install and launch HxD Hex Editor program. (make sure you use “Run as Administrator” under Vista and win 7)
With that i managed to get 2 goldcards both 2 and 6 gb
November 7th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
TheUnlocker, How can i contact you for a new method (atleast it worked for me and still on latest FW) ROOT access?
I can make nice describtion of it for you if you would?
November 7th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Visitor,
Thanks I think I said it in the video but forgot to write it, thanks again.
November 7th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Visitor,
I’m going to do a post next week on it (I’m in NY right now helping family out). And I’ll elaborate on it. Amazed how they got it, would have never thought.
November 8th, 2009 at 12:44 am
16. 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.
17. Click on File then click Save.
Each time i click save im getting an error message. Anyone had this problem before?
November 8th, 2009 at 8:53 am
I have a SEA Hero using the crippled Asia_SEA_WWE_2.73.728.5_release_signed_NoDriver ROM (this ROM lacks the marketplace and some other functionality). I was unable to downgrade or use any of the WWE ROMs to reflash it.
I followed the instructions and used the RUU suggested by the article but got the Error [140] message on trying to reflash. I used the RUU EthelFT suggested – the 2.73.405.5 WWE Unsigned No Driver file – and was able to successfully reflash the device!
Will try rooting and all now, but there is hope for SEA Hero users who wish to have the WWE ROMs (with the additional functionality) on their machines now.
November 8th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Hi there, i seem to be getting an error at step 4 whilst attempting to create my GoldCard and i cannot seem to find an answer in the tech forums, the problem is:
after i type ‘adb’, it seems the next line of input is preceeded with a’#', im assuming this is correct, however, when i attempt to type ‘cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid’, i get the following error… and i will post exactly how it appears on the cmd:
# cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid
cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid
cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid: not found
Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer me.
November 8th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Btw anyone done this on Telus Hero Before??
November 12th, 2009 at 9:47 am
I have done everystep uptill the last one:
5. Double click the RUU you downloaded while the phone is plugged in with the GoldCard in it and follow the on screen procedure.
I have sync it with my pc and ran the RUU and it restarts the phone and begins but its saying i dont have the right ROM or something? Ive checked and i am running 2.73 so i do have to downgrade it right?
Please help someone asap im SO close…
November 14th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Hello Unlockr
Could you telle me if this work on a HTC magic From Denmark branded with 3 ?
It’s beacuase that i have upgraded my phone with the new officiel Magic Rom, and now i can’t root my phone any longer
November 15th, 2009 at 2:22 am
where is my post?
November 15th, 2009 at 2:25 am
i said my problem is the same as Bizzle’s one!
pleas check the problem
in the middle of downgrading the rom is says that incorrect rom utility version or sth like that!
November 15th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Hello TheUnlockr, I’ve just made a webpage to reverse the CID without the need for QMAT. Feel free to use it in your tutorial.
http://hexrev.soaa.me
November 15th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Soaa-
Thanks Soaa!
November 16th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I think I found the solution for the problems people are having at step 5. I followed the link to the xda-forum: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=573866
and there I downloaded the Rom image 2.73.405.5 instead of the one mentioned above. Then I used the RUU program to downgrade it and it worked! Although it’s still fw 2.73.xxxx , I could use the one-click root…
ftp://xda:xda@ftp.xda-developers.com/Hero…ed_NoDriver.exe
November 16th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
For Ali and Bizzle:
I don’t know if you have just tried downgrading to the firmware that is in the main body of text at the top, but if you have only tried that, then try again with the file that I linked to in an earlier post
(TheUnlockr mentioned putting this file into the article for people having difficulty with error 140?)
Anyway, Here is the link again. Give it a go – you never know, it might just work for you as it did for me!
ftp://xda:xda@ftp.xda-developers.com/Hero/Official-ROMs/RUU_Hero_HTC_WWE_2.73.405.5_WWE_release_signed_NoDriver.exe
(For people having difficulty with error 140 or incorrect software version.)
November 18th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
@Sylvain: Yes, I’ve done it, along with a few other people on the xda forums.
November 22nd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Is anyone able to post a mirror or a link for “RUU_Hero_HTC_WWE_2.73.405.5_WWE_release_signed_NoDriver.exe” ? The xda-developers ftp seems to be down and I haven’t been able to find it anywhere else. Thanks.
November 22nd, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I just found this on megaupload, will give it a go.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RCQ6V92U
November 22nd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Nindim,
Thanks for the link let us know if it works for you and Ill host it here so we never lose it and others can find it. (I dont have a Sprint Hero to test on).
November 22nd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Have a Sprint HTC hero, updated to new firmware, spent 8hrs trying to get the thing to root. Tried the adb way, tried to downgrade, then root and one click, but I get all the way to flash recovery step on the one click method and it doesn’t show flash custom recovery it just show flash revoery, does anyone know if it can actually be downgraded and if so what is the actual Sprint HTC Hero RUU used already tried the 1.29 and it didn’t work. Please help very frustrated.
November 22nd, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Can you downgrade or root using a mac?
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Anyone try this on the Sprint Hero yet?
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Greatpen,
So you used the Sprint RUU and what happened? Error?
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Bone,
You can but its easier to just use a friends PC or use Boot Camp and load Windows. As with most programming, its assumed your using a PC.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Hey TheUnlockr,
I have a British T-Mobile G2 Touch and was successful in rooting my hero after installing the Rom I listed above. Hope this helps someone at some point.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Little bit of extra info, before “downgrading” I was on the latest T-Mobile branded G2 Touch firmware and I received an Error [140] message with the original Hero rom listed in the instructions.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Hello I have a Sprint Hero and would like to root/mifi my phone. Has there been a solution found yet? If not I would be happy to help and share the solution.
November 26th, 2009 at 2:06 am
How do I fix the I/O error when saving the goldcard.img data to the SD Card? I click File -> Save, but the I/O error prevents me from saving. I followed the directions exactly. Please help!
November 26th, 2009 at 2:51 am
Corpsed,
Some memory cards are incompatible for some reason, we have no idea why, but they just don’t allow us to write on them. Are you using a Sandisk?
November 26th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
hello Unlockr
i have a sprint htc hero i want to increase the memory on my phone what is the best way for me to do so? I read online that rooting and installing app2sd is the best way to do this. also i want to run the new os on the hero please help.
Happy Thanksgiving
November 27th, 2009 at 1:53 am
I followed this procedure. I’m on Orange UK. It allowed me to load the RUU no problem. The only problem was once it booted it still asked me for my SIM number!
Very annoying.
November 29th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Hy all!
I have a T-Mobile G2.
I used this method but when i write the goldimage to the sd card its sad me to reformat the card. I tried whit Kingstone and Sandisk sd card and its not work.
Please help.
Thx
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
For those who are struggling with finding an SD card that works – check that when opening in HxD that you are opening the PHYSICAL disc and NOT the logical disc. I ended up buying LOADS of different SD cards because I didn’t see this casual but significant difference!!
December 2nd, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Kam,
Thanks for the tip!
December 6th, 2009 at 2:48 am
My phone is currently unlocked. Should I still start at step 1 or will I be duplicating work that’s already done?
Have a Hero but under About Phone:
Firmware: 1.5 (Android 1.5?)
Build # : 2.73.405.5 (firmware?)
Software Version: 1.0.0.A6288 (?)
Please advise. Thanks.
December 6th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Hi i was wondering i am such a newb to Android…i just converted from an iphone to a GSM HTC HERO and i love it but i want to load a custom rom because it’s pretty laggy as i expected i am kinda scared to screw all this up because all the instructions are all on a PC and i have a MAC?!?! can you refer me to a different source or could you guide me on a mac? thanks again all your videos are AWESOME!
December 12th, 2009 at 10:24 am
i have tried 8 micro sd cards in all sizes and brands…no one worked…
kingston 2 and 4gb
lexar 2gb
scandisk 1,2,4,8 and 16gb….
is there any other way to downgrade my htc hero??
or other way to root it??
December 23rd, 2009 at 2:48 am
For those having problems with their SD cards, try using the official SD Card formatter – http://www.sdcard.org/consumers/formatter/
This for instance can cure the cid not being accessible as well as other problems.
December 23rd, 2009 at 6:35 am
Hi,
I’ve got a unlocked HTC Hero from France (virgin mobile) with build 2.73.405.5 and on fourth step when I type adb shell nothing occurs and if I type adb shell cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid
It returns: “error: protocol fault (status 30 32 35 34?!)”
Can anyone help?
Thanks.
December 23rd, 2009 at 8:43 pm
I cant get this to work, i have the goldcard img, and do as instructed but everytime i get the same error .. not correct id.. i have tried Nokia 512mb,SanDisk 2gb,SanDisk 4gb SDHC and SanDisk 16gbSDHC
December 24th, 2009 at 12:16 am
Solved !
I was trying via Parallel Desktop on mac.
Switching to my PC laptop (that I’ didn’t have yesterday…) solved the issue.
Thanks to all the community and those guys behind the scene!
December 24th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Hello Unlocker,
When i get to the HxD, copy, paste. When i click save, it asks “are you sure” i click yes and it tells me that “The media is write protected”…. how can i fix this?
December 26th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
When i type adb devices it show my device as not connected
December 26th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Hi,
I have got to the final stages, however during the new rom installation it says I have a wrong custom ID, Error 131, any ideas?? Thanks
December 29th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Hello,
I have error 131 when I tried to downgrade my htc.
I have T-Mobile G2 Touch, Firmware version 1.5 Build number 2.73.110.26 CL#69351.
I tried two sd card, one 2 Gb phone original and one 8 Gb and get same error. I tries more then one time create the gold card, but result is same – error 131.
Thanks.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:39 pm
i cant do this:
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.
sync was working before i made goldcard.now i cant start sync? any ideas? (phone and sd card are working normally)
January 4th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Hello Unlockr, ive followed all the steps above really carefully. but once i tried installing the RUU i got this ERROR [131]: Customer ID error. Could you help me out please? Btw I bought my phone in Malaysia so its using the SEA Ver2.73.721.9. Thanks in advance and good job with all these cool guides. Appreciate it.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Bryan,
Thanks!
You need a different RUU or you need to do the goldcard method. Our site has the goldcard method, good luck!
January 6th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Hi everything works but i cant connect at the end to the sync. I was checked my storego devices and says that everthings is working properly.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Sabek,
Your phone shouldnt be recognized as a storage device. zinstead of mounting the sd card you need to pull down the notification and click htc syn. You also needed to download HTC Sync from HTC first.
January 6th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
my CID shows as 0353445355303247800000b3f009688 its a 2GB Sandisk that came with my g2 all tools reject it as invalid CID – any clues??
January 6th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Lukka,
9. 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!
January 7th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Helo dear friends.
I have the Orange hero spain. upgraded official rom to 2.73.61.5, worked fine. Now i am trying to downgrade it, did the gold card, failed few times with error 140 when tried the 1.76.405.6 and 1.76.405.1… rom links . then tried to downgrade to 2.73.405.5 rom as someone suggested here. and the process started happily, downloaded Splash1 ok, system ok, userdata ok, boot ok, bootloader ok, then GOT STUCK ON “radio-V2 – updating” (85%). froze!
This happened few times, sometimes never even started to download, was just froze at the beginning of the process with: “zip header checking…”
So every-time this happened i had to disconnect and restart the windows which by the way, works on parallel (mac) …
Now the hero naturally is not stuck on that screen, i have pictures if wish to laugh
Any idea someone? how do i bring a dead hero back to life?
Thanks in advance!
January 7th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
By the way, thanks for the guide, was really helpful for the gold card…. but maybe i should do it again?
or am i missing something else?
Cheers!
January 10th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Downgrade the 2.73 is not necessary.
I rooted my Hero 2.73 using this steps:
http://androidforums.com/htc-hero/19660-guide-installing-modaco-custom-rom.html
January 10th, 2010 at 11:13 am
thank u ,
all step work good but the last one when i download this hero ruu it can not be completed and i have wrong message can not complete so pleas help me to solve this problem
also the flashrec program can not make any backup or any thing
thank u hope to help me to solve this problem
January 10th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Bruno,
No need to scream not true
But thanks for the addition!
January 10th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Mohammed,
Try this procedure that Bruno posted and come back and comment if it works and we’ll update this procedure.
http://androidforums.com/htc-hero/19660-guide-installing-modaco-custom-rom.html
January 10th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
I get the 171 error after the RUU tried to connect to bootloader. Everything worked until this
I’m using a dutch t-mobile unlocked phone with
2.73.110.26.
anybody has an idea?
January 10th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Bustscape,
Goto the How To Root the Hero procedure in a bit, I think I found a quick solution and I’m updating it now.
January 10th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Thanks a lot!
But where can I find it exactly?
January 10th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
Bustscape,
On any page on our site use the Choose a Category dropdown menu and select the HTC Hero and you’ll be presented with all the How Tos for the Hero
January 11th, 2010 at 4:07 am
Oh, yes I knew that, but I get it now:
I do not have to downgrade anymore, right?
January 12th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
HAHAHAHA I’m free from the T-mobile G2 Touch now got the Hero Rom…
TheUnlockr is the best site… any suggestion to do after this?And the sim unlocking I should do now…
January 12th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Tarik,
Ha, glad to help!
SIM unlocking can be done here on this part of our site if you need us to do it
January 12th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
but why gps is not working with this rom?
January 13th, 2010 at 6:29 am
I got same problem as bustscape and can’t find anything that will solve my problem in the How To Root the Hero procedure.
Error code 171, what should I do?
January 13th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
I figured it out now:
I have t-mobile G2 so onfortunatly I still have
to downgrade, but that isn’t working either because
I’m working on Windows 7 with updated drivers.
So if you have t-mobile G2 on a windows 7 computer,
U should probably search for a different pc (vista,xp etc.)
That’s what I’m gonna do
but thanks for your help The Unlocker
January 13th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Tarik,
Check with the developer of the ROM.
January 13th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Bustscape,
You’re welcome! Good luck!
January 14th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Everything went fine for me until the RUU. I tried both suggested RUU installs but got ERROR[130]: MODEL ID ERROR
The rom update utility cannot update your Android phone.
Please get the correct ROM Update utility and try again.
Does this mean my Gold Card is not working?
What else can I do to work around this error.
Thanks
January 18th, 2010 at 12:04 am
Im reading all your comments but still didnt find answer for most frequent question here:how to root your Hero if gold card went ok, downgrade to 2.73.405.5 ok,but cant install flashrec and backup for continue?Do I need to downgrade to 1.76. to make flashrec work and what will i lose with that (radio downgrade or so)
January 18th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Ivan,
You need to downgrade below 2.73 so 1.73 or 1.76.
If you have any other issues, please post in the technical support forums or use our custom search at the bottom of the post.
January 19th, 2010 at 3:10 am
Hi Unlockr
My CID that I got was a massive number and ended with ‘ce’ at the end of all the numbers and once I reversed the CID it started with ‘ce’
My question is do I replace that the ‘ce’ with 00 or the 2 first numbers after the code?
Thanks. Would help put me at ease
January 19th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Hey Unlockr in HXT my sd card appears in logical disk and not in physical disk, how do i make it appear in physical disk??
January 22nd, 2010 at 8:40 pm
just got a hero on 3 UK
build no. 2.73.771.73 CL#94055
no joy with instantroot, flash rec, anyone successfully downgraded this build the gold card route? or is it confirmed for any 2.73.xxx build in general?
January 23rd, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Trunker,
The gold card route almost always works, but it is complicated. Did you say you tried the 1 click method first?
January 23rd, 2010 at 6:45 pm
yeah TheUnlockr, tried the one click on your guide, didn’t work, created a gold card but 2 problems with the phone, couldn’t HTC sync, tried usbdeview drivers – nothing. phone and PC not recognising. also existing connectivity issue with the phone unable to connect outside 3 HOME (walled garden) i fear it’s a faulty unit so arranged a replacement, 2 days old so might as well be safe and send it back to 3
will give the downgrade a go when I get it back
January 28th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! oh my god, what a head ache, my hero was the uk t mobile branded one with their latest rom….. it took me ages and several failed attempts but thanks to you i got there
oh n by the was the sd card i created the gold card with was the 2gig one that came with it. im freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 
January 31st, 2010 at 3:36 am
I went to the website: http://revskills.de/pages/download.html
and got redirected to the PSAS website. Is the first no more?
February 2nd, 2010 at 4:51 am
htc sync will not sync for some reason, i have everything down to that point working fine, i’m sure it has something to do with windows 7, but i cant figure out how to get it to sync, any suggestions?
February 2nd, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Hey Unlockr
Thanks for making these guides for us noobs! I’ve tried this process and got up to Section 3 with no probs. However, HTC Sync does not recognise my phone anymore. Is there a work-around for this perhaps?
Thanks!
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:56 am
done all of it up to step 9 but when i go on the link it goes on the website but doesnt come up with any boxes to fill in?
To Kevin Hamel, use this and you wont need QMAT http://hexrev.soaa.me/ just put the number in and it will reverse string it.
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:59 am
sorry, didnt scroll down, sorted,
thanks aswell
February 3rd, 2010 at 12:51 pm
I just purchased a HTC Hero GSM phone from newegg and this one came with a newer bootloader that would not do the root in one step from the unlockr. Weirder is that it had the google experience applications except for market. Don’t know what’s up with that. I successfully downgraded using this approach and was able to then use flashrec and load a recovery image. Something is up with the newer phones that are coming out now. Just a warning for people buying from newegg or perhaps other places. An additional note is that the locale was set rather strangely for a US phone.
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Jake,
Welcome!
Check on HTC’s site for an update for HTC Sync in the Support section.
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Michael Perry,
Interesting. Thanks for the heads up.
February 4th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
This is a great guide that works a treat for my asia phone, I went to http://hexrev.soaa.me/ to do the code reverse as I couldn’t install QMAT 4.36. the site also did the zero replacement automatically.
February 4th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
@Kevin Hamel
Just download the free version of PSAS. It has the ‘reverse string’ function described in this guide
February 5th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Maria,
Thanks! Added it to the procedure!
February 6th, 2010 at 2:01 am
Well my downgrade didn’t go so well. Made gold card twice and still get the same error and followed all instructions to the letter:
Error [130] model ID Error
Rom update utility cannot update your Android
any ideas?
this is with an ACS Hero.
February 6th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
I have the same problem as Kevin, when i try to update it says update failed, tried with both roms
I have T-Mobile G2 with:
Firmware version: 1.5
Baseband version: 63.18.55.06FU_6.35.07.08
Kernel version: 2.6.27-0078c992
Build number: 2.73.110.26
Software version: 1.0.0.A6288
February 9th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
i have a htc hero.the main carrie is cellur south,but the phone is flashed to cricket service with talk only.im trying to get mms or wep to work,i have all the setting ready but it wont connect .it says stand by for connection but never connects.i have read that the phone needs to be rooted.i tried the oneclick method and it fails.in this thread i get to running the ruu and get error 110.i have tried both ruu fills.please help.help me please ty.
February 18th, 2010 at 8:32 am
Fantastic, I wish that I had found your guide some days ago. The gold key and RUU_Hero_HTC_WWE_2.73.405.5_WWE_release_signed_NoDriver.exe are the essential components, earlier RUU files didn’t work for me.
Excellent work a BIG thank you for your work!!
John.
February 18th, 2010 at 8:36 am
Fantastic job, I wish I had found your guide before spending days with others. A Goldcard and RUU_Hero_HTC_WWE_2.73.405.5_WWE_release_signed_NoDriver.exe were the essentials for me, the earlier RUU_Hero_HTC_WWE_1.76.405.1_R3_WWE_release_signed_NoDriver.exe would not flash even after goldcard.
Many many thanks, excellent!!!
John.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Hi Unlockr, i have a problem.
I am not sure if i have got the goldcard trick done properly, although i followed all your guide to the letter and i have ticked all the boxes several times over and over.
My problem is when i finally come to install the RUU for my phone, it says error [132] wrong utility or something??
Any ideas on this?
I really want to root my phone and i feel like im banging my head against the wall.
My phone is a HTC Hero (orange uk branded)
Firmware is 1.5
Build 2.73.61.66 (official orange update)
I don’t know if it’s worth mentioning, I used to be rooted and with a custom rom, but i tried the method to get back to root my phone again and it wouldn’t even let me use back up recvovery, using flash rec 1.1.3 or 2.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
February 18th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Paul,
It is because of the new update you got. We cannot root that update yet (and it stops you from downgrading as well).
February 21st, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Thanks for the information. I really think you guys should stop using the ’strike through’ formatting and edit the post. Looks confusing and makes my eye go squint.
February 21st, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Been trying this for a while now. The SD card keeps asking me to format everytime I edit the HEX and put it back in to check.
I do have the 2gig Kingston card which came with the phone. Not sure what I need to do next. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
February 21st, 2010 at 5:57 pm
Sub,
Ha thanks for the advice. Ill fix it this week.
February 24th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Hi,
i have same of this problem
Error [130] model ID Error
Rom update utility cannot update your Android
what may gonna do ?
pls help me TheUnlock
February 24th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Abode,
Did you try the How To Root Your Hero in One Click Procedure?
If yes, please post in the comments on that procedure your phone model, what carrier it is locked to (or if it is unbranded), etc. So we can help figure out how to root.
February 26th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
Thank A Million TheUnlockr…followed your guide and managed to root my HTC HERO
Previous Phone Version:
Firmware 1.5
Baseband version 63.18.55.06EU_6.35.06.18
Kernel version 2.6.27-8dd6deee htc-kernel@and18-2
Build number 2.73.728.5 146733 CL#61627 release-keys
Software version 1.0.0.A6288
Previous Phone Version:
Firmware 1.5
Baseband version 63.18.55.06EU_6.35.06.18
Kernel version 2.6.27-8dd6deee htc-kernel@and18-2
Build number 2.73.728.5 146733 CL#61627 release-keys
Software version 1.0.0.A6288
After Custom Rom Update:
Firmware 1.5
Baseband version 63.18.55.06EU_6.35.06.18
Kernel version 2.6.27-mck-teknologist-1.91 root@neutrino)
Build number MaDaCo Custom ROM 3.1 Core, SSH password: XXXX-X
Software version 1.0.0.A6288
p/s: for those having a hard time looking for a file manager you can install one using the htc hero built-in web browser just type in http://openintents.googlecode.com/files/FileManager-1.0.0.apk and download it directly in your htc.
February 27th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
my phone is a cellular south htc hero
firmware 1.5
baseband version 1.04.04.10.09
kernel version 2.6.27-6bc66721 htc-kernel@and18-2#958
buid number 1.44.557.2 CL81721 release-keys
software version 1.44.557.2
does anyone know if it can be rooted,and possibly how to root it.ty
March 1st, 2010 at 6:35 am
Trying to root my Hero and tried the ruu and the alternate ruu. the goldcard is set up fine just cant finish the final step here.
I am on 3 (UK)
firmware 1.5
baseband: 63.18.55.06JU_6.35.08.29
kernel: 2.6.27-430d1aea htc-kernel@and18-2 #983
buld: 2.73.771.73 CL#94055 release-keys
software: 1.0.0.A6288
March 1st, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Thank you so much for this guide.
Aside from your great help, two comments that really helped me and saved me from buying another card.
Before you throw your card for not working consider this:
- Under vista or win 7 you must right click on HxD and choose ‘Run as Administrator’
- In the ‘Open Disk’ part don’t make my mistake and be sure to choose from the ‘Physical Drives’ section.
I missed those two points at first but after failing several times I saw them in the comments and now it works
Thank you
March 2nd, 2010 at 3:49 am
Hi
I am sure for my card [ GoldCard ] n every thing is ok !!
but i have same problem too !:(
March 6th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Hi Unlockr,
I am stuck like many others with error 140 in the final step. I am Orange UK ROM 2.73.61.66.
The original RUU listed on this site does not work for me. I can’t retrieve the alternative RUU from the link provided. Not sure, if I could do anything else.
Regards,
Amit
March 6th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Amit,
Updated the procedure, read the update at the top of the page.
March 7th, 2010 at 7:04 am
Thanks Unlockr,
The biggest reason I did this goldacard procedure was because the link for the RUU for Orange UK was down – it still is. Moreover, I think the link points to a T-Mobile RUU. No issues with that as long as it works. For now, I will wait for the link to be back up.
Regards,
Amit
March 7th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Amit,
Ah I see. I just fixed it. Try to use that now.
March 7th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Hi i have a problem trying to downgrade it got to last part were i need the RUU but saying when i flash it customer ID error looked ont he web and i need the T-mobile RUU is there anywere were i can find it ??
Thanks
March 7th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Chris,
That means the goldcard did not work.
What firmware version do you have right now?
March 7th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
UnLockr,
Many thanks for all the help. I am now on Villain 3.2. RIP Orange!
Regards,
Amit
March 8th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Hi Unlockr,
Thanks for posting up such a great tutorial! I didn’t manage to downgrade my 2.73.709… HERO the first few tries though I feel that I’ve been successful in my goldcard creation.
Thanks again!
For downgrading, I used the 1 click root method…
The steps were easy enough
(P.s: If you guys are wondering, the sd card im using is a SanDisk 4gb grade 6)
March 12th, 2010 at 4:01 pm