Hero Rooting,Nandroid backup and warranty - Hero, G2 Touch General

Hi guys!
I have my Hero since December and I am more than happy with it.However,having used Custom ROMs on my Diamond and having seen all the amazing work that's been done with the Hero,I occasionally catch myself thinking that I am really stupid staying with the stock ROM and wanting to try something new,something "shiny".BUT!All my contacts,messages etc are in the Hero and it's my everyday phone.What's more,I don't want to void my warranty(not permanently and irreversibly that is),to put aside the fact that I already love it as it is!I just like change,like most of you here I assume.On my Diamond I must have changed more than 20 ROMs and not just one install for every ROM,but the updated versions of some etc.
I am still very skeptic on whether to root my Hero,so I want some questions answered if possible.
First off,what is Nandroid backup and what does it backup?Can I bring my phone back EXACTLY in the state it was?All stock,like nothing has happened!I don't care about losing root access on my phone,I only want to be able to undo any changes that I make.
And secondly,what chance of bricking my phone is there?I see most chefs recommending wiping.Is it something like MTTY for WinMo devices?
Thanks in advance!

Nandroid only backs up certain parts of the system; as of a few months ago, they don't include user apps, but do include all system apps and system settings.
If you want to make your phone stock again, flash an HTC official RUU update. I'm talking about the .exe, not a .zip cooked by anyone here - the RUU will rewrite every part of your phone, putting it back to a 100% fresh state.
Also, the only way I can think of that you can brick a Hero easily is interrupting a radio flash.

So there's no way to somehow backup my current ROM and bring it back?
If so I guess there's no rooting etc for me until I get my next handset...
Also,some say that,once the hero is updated to 2.1 by htc there will be no rooting,flashing and so on.True or what?

developing said:
Nandroid only backs up certain parts of the system; as of a few months ago, they don't include user apps, but do include all system apps and system settings....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still working bang on here. Use apps2sd, do Nandroid+Ext backup and it restores everything exactly how it was.
EDIT.... Oh yeah,... Post in General or Q&A next time.

I am posting here because I,maybe later on,will come to issues concerning ROMs.Sorry however!
Anyway!I think I cannot use apps2sd,I am still using the stock 1.5 ROM and haven't rooted my phone yet.
But what do you mean saying that everythings goes back to how it was?Only programms or contacts,settings etc?
Sorry for the trouble I am causing you,I hope you understand!

Ok... first of all, you cannot nandroid backup before you root AFAIK, and the backup restores your phone to *exactly* the same state as it is when performing backup (including messages, phone contacts, apps, etc.). However, since you must have root to backup it will restore your phone with root, which means you will lose your warranty.
However, you can also backup most of your settings with apps on the market. You can sync contacts with google, so they will never get lost, backup apps and messages and then restore them without having to have root.
Also, in case, you want to use your warranty, you can always remove root, etc. with the stock .exe update. Then you'll have to restore apps and settings with whatever backup application you were using to backup them. So I don't think you'll have any problems with that.
And, as mentioned earlier, there is no chance for you to brick your phone by simply flashing roms. Only way is to flash wrong radio (for example CDMA radio on GSM hero) or to pull out the battery during radio flashing.

Nandroid backs up (almost) the entire state of your phone.
If you need to unroot then use an ruu (the exe) which are official HTC programs to get your entire phone back to stock.
With your warranty, it's only void if they know it's rooted, so if you use an ruu everything will be fine .
And if you don't decide to root then DO NOT flash the official update as you will (probably) not be able to root again.
if you want to root then I recommend www.roothtchero.co.uk it's a great guide to rooting your phone.

One more question.If I root my phone but don't flash a custom rom,can I do a Nandroid backup for my stock rom?

I am gonna root my phone via villianrom forum instructions..noob alert..do we HAVE to add radio RUU? or we can just root the phone. And thats it?
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Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App

Related

Root questions

I know if you root you lose your warrenty, but my question is will you still be able to get an insurance replacement? Or is that also void? If you still can get an insurance replacement I don't see a reason not to root. I know for the Fuze I would just have to reinstall the factory rom, does this work the same way on android?
Also if I root and flash a new rom onto my nexus one, will I lose all the apps i bought? I really don't want to have to buy them all again.
Moved as not Android Development.
No, the apps you buy are synced with your google account so when you sign back in then you can redownload them.
About insurance, just give it some water damage or something and claim that. Root status or not shouldn't void it.
First off, thank you for your reply.
So my purchased downloads should appear under the downloads tab in the market after I finish flashing a new rom?
Also, just to make sure I have this process down right (trying hard not to brick my phone so please forgive my noobness to andriod, I got so used to WM phones)
First I need to make sure i have all the proper USB drivers.
Next I have to root my phone found in the following link which will wipe my phone also? http://theunlockr.com/2010/01/02/how-to-root-the-nexus-one/
Then I can flash CM 5.0.2 following his first time flash instructions found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=623496
I assume this has the recent OTA update already built with in the rom.
Finally I can then install the black bar (reason for doing any of this) found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=617336
It says it just has the framework so I really don't know what to do yet, but I'm figuring after I go through this process it will make more sense by then?
I see on some places that it would be a good idea to use nandriod before I root, but when I read the nandroid description it says the phone has to be alreayd rooted. So I'm assuming this would be a waste of time for now?
Is there any way to back up my messages, bookmarks, etc. before I root? If I just have to kiss them good bye I'd understand, but just trying to make sure before I do it.
on most of the things you are correct, the black bar mod, you just flash in recovery after you flash the rom.
technically you can nandroid before you root, unlocking your bootloader and rooting are two separate things. After you unlock your bootloader and flash the recovery image to it, you are not technically rooted and can use the recovery image to make a nandroid of your unrooted phone.
there are a few backup apps in the market for various things. I know there are a few sms backup apps, but am not so sure about bookmarks.
you have the idea of what to do down though

Make a full imaging of the device without permanent root

Hi. I'd like to completely image my wildfire before rooting so that I have an image of it before I did anything. Just in case. Is it possible with soft root or unrevoked?
Bump......
Hi. I used androot to get a soft root. Any way to backup rom?
You could use adb to extract the whole tree, but it won't preserve permissions so will be useless.
Short answer: no. Do a proper root.
Sent from my HTC Wildfire using XDA App
Yes, but the thing is that I want the ROM preserved completely as-is, with no custom recovery or anything. Say, something got broken in hardware, so to get the phone serviced I'd need to flash the stock ROM back on. I heard they don't even check the recovery, but if someone did I'd be in trouble.
On my Linux, I used "dd if=/dev/sda of=/root/hddimg" to get the byte-for-byte copy of my HDD. Will that work in Android as well?
EDIT: Of course I didn't mean /dev/sda, the ROM device is another one, right?
i don't think you can with soft root, you can dl titanium backup and save all your apps and settings on your sd card, but that won't backup your entire rom. i would just do a full root, im not that clumsy enough to kill my phone
you can also use the ruu to go back to your stock rom, but use the right one in case you lose root
I'm looking for a way of backing up my Vodafone Rom so when I install a sim free one I can restore all settings if I ever need to send if off for warranty, it won't void it.
Anything I can do???
Sent from my HTC Wildfire using XDA App
This doesn't make sense.
You can't ROOT a device, surely, without flashing the ROM?
So... ROOTING the device, by flashing the ROM, and THEN you want to backup the entire device? This sounds useless, as as soon as you ROOT the device, you've overwritten the original ROM! So how can you backup the Original ROM if you've overwritten it?
Which came first? The Chicken (ROM) or the Egg (Root)?
I didn't flash a ROM to get a root. I used Universal androot which does soft root on wildfire as well. Soft root means just getting root without modifying the system files permanently (ie. Changes disappear at reboot). Secondly, full root like unrevoked only write-unlocks the phone and flashes custom recover y. What I want is to have full backup of the phone WITHOUT the custom recovery so that when I flash it, it is the actual stock ROM. I know this is quite hard to do but I'm sure it is doable one way or another.
Can someone please link me to a thread on step by step Rooting
and backing up my entire device
its my first android phone and took me a long time to install apps n games n contacts a backup would help me a lot.
kindly help thank u
realxception said:
Can someone please link me to a thread on step by step Rooting
and backing up my entire device
its my first android phone and took me a long time to install apps n games n contacts a backup would help me a lot.
kindly help thank u
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you did a search of the forum or looked around the wildfire threads you'd easily find it... anyway here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=788776
to backup your rom you need to do a nandroid backup, to backup apps and data dl titanium backup
I know about nandroid. Don't you have to flash a custom recovery to use it? If so, then the original aim of preserving the ROM completely the way it is becomes broken, right?
xc1024 said:
I know about nandroid. Don't you have to flash a custom recovery to use it? If so, then the original aim of preserving the ROM completely the way it is becomes broken, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nandroid backs up your original rom, there is no other way to back up without root... unless you use a ruu to return to stock
Aren't RUUs a bit risky to use?
Yes if you use the wrong one. But rooting and flashing a custom rom is not , very simple and not hard
Wildfire is also my first android phone but I easily learnt by reading and searching around the forum.

[Q] Awaiting first Android phone, DHD, a little baffled!

First off, Hi! Decided to remove myself from Apple's clutches and become a Droid user and the device that swayed me, the Desire HD (just waiting for the stock now from Orange!). Admittedly, Apple have relaxed App approval but I would not use the iPhone without the Jailbreak community and Developers, opens up the device a little for tinkering but the whole Unlock, preserve baseband, Apple update, Jailbreak tools release game has taken it's toll but if honest, it's the personalization for MY DEVICE which is moving me to Android as well as the fiddle ability. Not a fault of the DEV's who work tirelessly and need much applause, time to change and can always return!
So onto some questions, I'm coming on late so please forgive these queries, I've read what I can over the last couple of months!
No doubt I'll be playing with the phone in it's standard guise for a while BUT the time will come when I want to progress further and start ROMing. I'm aware of Visionary by the way, what it can do but the actual facts and what I'll see once complete is where I get lost
Can I restore the phone to factory if temp or perm rooted?
After a month of stock usage (photo's SMS email contacts, usual stuff), how would I get this stuff back if, after rooting (temp or perm) I want to go back to factory or remain rooted i.e different custom ROM?
If I root, do I have to setup everything again? Hard resetting the DHD if using temp root returns the factory ROM? If prem root is applied, how do you return to factory? Where is the factory ROM stored?
I'm not having a go but most of the guides explain the process, think I'm just missing the 'what it actually does?' in Android for Dummies speak. Long as I can backup, restore (yes, I'm used to iTunes taking care of this), apply custom ROM with Sense (requires perm root?), go back if needs be, I'll be a little happier.
No abuse please, I've been Jailbreaking iPhones since their inception so totally up to speed...this is all new and it's the same olde, once fiddled I'll probably laugh at asking! I have bookmarks spread across multiple sites for the DHD, great community and can't wait to get started!!
Cheers
-Chris
Veitchc said:
First off, Hi! Decided to remove myself from Apple's clutches and become a Droid user and the device that swayed me, the Desire HD (just waiting for the stock now from Orange!). Admittedly, Apple have relaxed App approval but I would not use the iPhone without the Jailbreak community and Developers, opens up the device a little for tinkering but the whole Unlock, preserve baseband, Apple update, Jailbreak tools release game has taken it's toll but if honest, it's the personalization for MY DEVICE which is moving me to Android as well as the fiddle ability. Not a fault of the DEV's who work tirelessly and need much applause, time to change and can always return!
So onto some questions, I'm coming on late so please forgive these queries, I've read what I can over the last couple of months!
No doubt I'll be playing with the phone in it's standard guise for a while BUT the time will come when I want to progress further and start ROMing. I'm aware of Visionary by the way, what it can do but the actual facts and what I'll see once complete is where I get lost
Can I restore the phone to factory if temp or perm rooted?
After a month of stock usage (photo's SMS email contacts, usual stuff), how would I get this stuff back if, after rooting (temp or perm) I want to go back to factory or remain rooted i.e different custom ROM?
If I root, do I have to setup everything again? Hard resetting the DHD if using temp root returns the factory ROM? If prem root is applied, how do you return to factory? Where is the factory ROM stored?
I'm not having a go but most of the guides explain the process, think I'm just missing the 'what it actually does?' in Android for Dummies speak. Long as I can backup, restore (yes, I'm used to iTunes taking care of this), apply custom ROM with Sense (requires perm root?), go back if needs be, I'll be a little happier.
No abuse please, I've been Jailbreaking iPhones since their inception so totally up to speed...this is all new and it's the same olde, once fiddled I'll probably laugh at asking! I have bookmarks spread across multiple sites for the DHD, great community and can't wait to get started!!
Cheers
-Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an option to unroot in visionary so you dont lose anything..
Rooting alone will not let you flash custom roms or kernels..
You will need
Perm Root
S 0ff
Android sdk - adb/ fastboot
Clockwork Recovery
Now you can easily flash roms and kernels..
The difference from stock is laughable...really...Im using leedroids mod and an overclocked kernel of 1.5ghz..
Quadrant scores of 3000
Linpack 52.149
Neocore 58.7
Crazy scores...my DHD is flying !
rixsta said:
There is an option to unroot in visionary so you dont lose anything..
Rooting alone will not let you flash custom roms or kernels..
You will need
Perm Root
S 0ff
Android sdk - adb/ fastboot
Clockwork Recovery
Now you can easily flash roms and kernels..
The difference from stock is laughable...really...Im using leedroids mod and an overclocked kernel of 1.5ghz..
Quadrant scores of 3000
Linpack 52.149
Neocore 58.7
Crazy scores...my DHD is flying !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Surely these figures mean nothing without stock to compare with?
ghostofcain said:
Surely these figures mean nothing without stock to compare with?
Anyhow back to question, I would personally recommend installing Titanium backup (requires root) with this you can backup all your apps and data which could be re-installed after hard reset, with certain proviso's
Restoring data may cause problems (especially if swapping to radically different roms)
Certain apps may be firmware specific i.e only work with 2.2.1 not 2.2.x
Whilst using stock firmware avoid any new OTA upgrades, as similar to iOS upgrades they may close off exploits used for obtaining root, also you cannot currently easily downgrade the OS or hBoot so you cannot restore the original OS if you have upgraded from it.
Personally I use ADW launcher, instead of stock (or SENSE) which allows you to backup your desktop configuration and Prefernces, Titanium backup to restore apps and data and sms backup to restore my SMS's, so after flashing a new ROM I restore the apps with data via Titanium then restore the settings with ADW which give me the look back and then restore the SMS's and I'm good to go!
TBH if you can find your way around jailbraking and unlocking an iphone (which from my experience with the Wifes Iphone can be very convoluted) flashing android ROM's is a piece of cake once the original root has been achieved, especially as you don't need to re-root (=Jailbreak) after each OS upgrade provided you stick with custom ROM's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didnt put stock because all you need to do is look at the quadrant thread...and I cant remember my stock ones ...i think 2300 give or take.
If you install a custom rom you wont be able to install OTA updates anyway..
The Devs always puts updates in their custom roms so its not a problem.
Titanium is good for backups if you do a format using recovery unless you flash over the stock rom then you will keep them.
Flashing a rom is a piece of cake...its what you need to do to be able to flash a rom thats the hard part unless you know what your doing.
Veitchc said:
No doubt I'll be playing with the phone in it's standard guise for a while BUT the time will come when I want to progress further and start ROMing. I'm aware of Visionary by the way, what it can do but the actual facts and what I'll see once complete is where I get lost
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a huge change is what you'll see, Visionary will tell you root is achieved but thats about it, but it's what you can do that matters
Veitchc said:
Can I restore the phone to factory if temp or perm rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Visionary has an unroot option, which should put you back to square one, and provided you first produce a nandroid backup, essentially a snapshot of the system as is, when recovery is installed you can always put your ROM back to standard as well
Veitchc said:
After a month of stock usage (photo's SMS email contacts, usual stuff), how would I get this stuff back if, after rooting (temp or perm) I want to go back to factory or remain rooted i.e different custom ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
again Nandroid is your friend
Veitchc said:
If I root, do I have to setup everything again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More than likely, although titanium backup maybe be able to restore your settings and google can also back up stuff for you
Veitchc said:
Hard resetting the DHD if using temp root returns the factory ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if Visionary is not set to attain root on boot yes
Veitchc said:
If prem root is applied, how do you return to factory?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unboot with Visionary as long as hBoot has not been flashed
Veitchc said:
Where is the factory ROM stored?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you do a NANDROID backup its on your SDcard, if not its been wiped by your custom ROM
Veitchc said:
Long as I can backup, restore (yes, I'm used to iTunes taking care of this), apply custom ROM with Sense (requires perm root?), go back if needs be, I'll be a little happier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nandroid again
Veitchc said:
No abuse please, I've been Jailbreaking iPhones since their inception so totally up to speed...this is all new and it's the same olde, once fiddled I'll probably laugh at asking! I have bookmarks spread across multiple sites for the DHD, great community and can't wait to get started!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as youve read up, no sensible question will be scorned, well not by most of us anyway, we (with notable exceptions who where born to greatness) where all noobs once, so get on an enjoy the freedom that android brings should be a breathe of fresh air after apple

[Q] Nandroid backup on a new handset?

Ok I am doing a warranty claim on my phone through ATT. So I need to unroot my phone and get it back to stock, not a problem. My question is, I have everything backed up using nandroid, to get the new handset I'm getting from ATT to be just like how mine is do I just need to root it then do a nandroid restore?
That "should" load everything back onto the new phone just like my current one is correct?
Thanks guys
Look at this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=728266
Make sure you backup the new phone before trying it, that way you won't have any risk trying it at least.

[Q] Droid 2, Roms & activations

You guys must be tired of people asking the same over and over, and to be honest that is because information is so scattered newcomers often get confused.
But Anyways.
I've got myself a motorila Droid 2 a few days ago, poking around internet i found about rooting and roms and all that stuff, however I've got a question that's yet to be answered!
I'm currently residing in Mexico, my Droid 2 is unlocked and activated on a mexican carrier, however on the guides I've red so far it says that one of the requirements for installing custom ROM's one must wipe all data from the phone and return to factory settings, this means i will have to pay AGAIN to get it unlocked and activated?
As i said before, information is scattered, and is not always accuarate.
Somewhere on the net i also found a post that states customs ROM's come unlocked... whats with that?
And one last question.
What will happen if i only root my phone, no custom rom added? will this be harmful in any way? could i be able to overclock and get rid of the annoying verizon apps or do i forcefully need to install a custom ROM?
Thanks for all answers in advance.
Rooting itself would not harm your device, however rooting allows you to do pretty much anything on the device. So, in other words, rooting wont hurt it, however what it allows you to do CAN hurt it.
As far as the roms being unlocked, as far as I have read, all roms are unlocked. However I could be mistaken. But there is an easy way to find out for sure: give it a try. What I would do first root the device and install the Clockwork Recovery Mod and then boot into recovery and make a backup. This way you can restore the phone back exactly as it was when you backed it up (using the restore option), as if you never made any changes. Then I would go ahead and install whatever rom you wanted to try out, and see if everything works as intended. If you dont like it, or it doesnt allow you to access the network, etc then all you need to do is boot back to recovery and restore your backup and when it's done you'll phone will be back to it's old self.
Links:
Root: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=782556 (This is the process I used)
Clockwork: http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/how-to-install-clockwork-recovery-to-your-android-phone/
Not sure how experienced you are - or aren't - so if you have any deeper questions about the process or need more detailed instructions just let me know.
EDIT: Oops, I completely skipped some of your questions. With just rooting you can uninstall SOME of the preloaded crap, however there is allot of the preloaded applications and such that you cant uninstall without crippling your phones functionality. My originally plan when I first rooted my device was just to remove the bloatware. However after I saw just how much there was I couldn't remove I decided to jump to a custom ROM. Just to give you an example, I have the Fission ROM installed on my device, and it's packaged filed were about 70ish mb, while the packaged files to restore it back to stock/factory was nearly 300mb. And yes, rooting alone would allow you to overclock your phone.

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