[GUIDE] How To Root The Sprint CDMA Hero (Windows)

[theresthatguy]

I have compiled this guide from the other one posted on this forum, the discussion therein, and my own knowledge. If you have any suggestions on making it better or to correct any mistakes I may have made please let me know.

This guide is intended for Windows and includes detailed instructions. It will cover the steps necessary to root, flash the new recovery image, create a full backup. This will work with software versions 1.29.651.1 and 1.56.651.2 (aka Android 1.5). If you have updated to 2.1 please following this guide here. I am not responsible for any damage done to your phone using this guide. Root at your own risk.

I have put to together a video on YouTube for you to follow along as well. The version numbers of certain files are now outdated in the video so change file names as necessary.

If you own a non-Sprint Hero, you will need to do some extra steps. Follow the guide in the How to Root Non-Sprint CDMA Hero thread.

Step 1: Download the Android SDK from http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html The Windows file is called android-sdk_r06-windows.zip. Extract the files to your C: drive so that you now have the folder C:\android-sdk-windows

Step 2: Download the asroot2 exploit file from http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=244212&d=1257621154 Extract asroot2.zip to C:\android-sdk-windows\tools folder.

Step 3: Download the Hero recovery image from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4898505&postcount=1g Place this file in C:\android-sdk-windows\tools as well.

Step 4: Make sure USB Debugging is off by going to Settings>Applications>Development. Now connect the phone to your PC via USB cable.

Step 5: Mount your sdcard; Browse to the HTC Sync folder and install HTC Sync on your pc. After it is done installing unmount the sdcard then enable your USB debugging.

Step 6: Open a command prompt by clicking the Start button and typing cmd into the search box and pressing enter or found under All Programs>Accessories.

Step 7: You will now enter a series of commands which I will place inside code boxes to indicate the entire command. You may copy and then paste them into the command prompt window by right clicking. Only enter one command at a time.

1:

cd C:\android-sdk-windows\tools

2:

adb devices

If you've been following this guide you will see your phone's serial number. If you get "device not found" error, you either need to make sure you the drivers were properly installed or make sure you enable USB debugging AFTER you connect the USB cable. Continue on once you get the proper phone serial output.

3:

adb push asroot2 /data/local/

4:

adb shell

5:

chmod 0755 /data/local/asroot2

6:

/data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh

You should see an output that says:

$ /data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh
[+] Using newer pope_inode_info layout
Opening: /proc/857/fd/3
SUCCESS: Enjoy the shell.
#​

Now for a few last commands.

7:

mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

8:

cd /system/bin

9:

cat sh > su

10:

chmod 4755 su

You are now officially rooted. A few more steps and you will have flashed the recovery image.

11:

exit

12:

exit

13:

adb push recovery-RA-heroc-v1.6.2.img /sdcard

Pushing is equivalent of copy the file to the root of your sdcard. By the time you finished reading this it should be done. You'll know its done because the ouput will say something like transferred X bytes in X secs.

14:

adb shell reboot

This will cause the phone to restart automatically. Wait till it is fully booted to continue.

15:

adb shell

16:

su

17:

cd /sdcard/

18:

flash_image recovery recovery-RA-heroc-v1.6.2.img

FLASHING TO THE RECOVERY TAKES SEVERAL SECONDS-- BE PATIENT. ENTER THE NEXT COMMAND ONLY AFTER THE COMMAND PROMPT RETURNS TO THE # (ROOT SYMBOL).

19:

reboot recovery

Step 8: This is the last command; you may now close the cmd prompt. This will cause your phone to boot into recovery mode; it should take no longer than 30 secs. The third option on the list is "- Backup/Restore"; select it. Now, select the first option "- Nand backup". The phone will prompt you to press HOME to confirm which is want you want to do. The backup will begin. You will see the screen say, "Performing backup : .........." When done, the bottom of the screen will say "Backup complete!" and you will be given the menu options again. Go back to the main menu and select reboot system. Rebooting your phone after installing the new recovery image may take several minutes.

Step 9: Once your phone is fully booted, mount the sdcard. You will see a folder called "nandroid"; I highly recommend you copy this to your pc in case you lose your sdcard data or reformat it. Your phone is rooted, 100% backed up, and ready to install a custom rom if you wish!

 

[izanagi]

wow dude,

instructions worked great on Win7

i was able to download the missing usb_drivers by running SDK Setup in C:\android-sdk-windows, and selecting the usb driver from the available packages. I was unable to download the index for the SDK Setup program until I enabled "force http://" in the settings menu.

had to copy over asroot again after i ran SDK Setup (that program deleted it from the directory)


your instructions worked like a charm. total time spent rooting this thing after finding your post: 18 minutes.

(you might want to add a line there in the "mount and copy over the zip file step" to backup the nandroid folder from your SDCard to your comp just as a backup of your stock phone image)

anyway.. cheers!

 

[theresthatguy]

wow dude,

i'm about to follow these instructions. thank's for the precise list!

(btw, about to try it on Win7.. may have to change some folder pathing but we'll see)


okay.. typo on the first command in parentheses, and I'm missing the usb_drivers folder (do you have it / can sent it to me) so am unable to install the device in win7.

Heh, thanks for the misspell heads up. I did my rooting from Win7 pc; it automatically installed correct drivers for me. To check go to the Control Panel>View devices and printers. You see one device named "Android Phone". Otherwise as far as Ive heard installing HTC Sync installs proper drivers.

​

 

[theresthatguy]

*** edit had to copy over asroot again after i ran SDK Setup (that program deleted it from the directory)

**** edit: all done.. your instructions worked like a charm. total time spent rooting this thing after finding your post: 18 minutes.
(you might want to add a line there in the "mount and copy over the zip file step" to backup the nandroid folder from your SDCard to your comp just as a backup of your stock phone image)

anyway.. cheers!

Thank you for taking the time help make my guide better. I'm very glad to know there are little to no hiccups.

 

[detox702]

When I do step 5, instead of:

5. "/data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh"
You should see an output that says:
$ /data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh
[+] Using newer pope_inode_info layout
Opening: /proc/857/fd/3
SUCCESS: Enjoy the shell.
#

I get:
[1] Killed /data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh

Any suggestions? Should I just be quiet until there is an Eris specific way to do this?

 

[detox702]

When I do step 5, instead of:

5. "/data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh"
You should see an output that says:
$ /data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh
[+] Using newer pope_inode_info layout
Opening: /proc/857/fd/3
SUCCESS: Enjoy the shell.
#

I get:
[1] Killed /data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh

Any suggestions? Should I just be quiet until there is an Eris specific way to do this?

 

[theresthatguy]

When I do step 5, instead of:

5. "/data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh"
You should see an output that says:
$ /data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh
[+] Using newer pope_inode_info layout
Opening: /proc/857/fd/3
SUCCESS: Enjoy the shell.
#

I get:
[1] Killed /data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh

Any suggestions? Should I just be quiet until there is an Eris specific way to do this?

This guide is for the CDMA Hero not the Eris!

 

[ELIMINATED]

When I go to apply the rom I get an white screen with skateboarding androids on the bottom and the prompt to erase data yes/no. I press the home key and the Hero reboots without asking to "Apply sdcard:choose zip". This is done from the boot menu. Does the rom load automatically? Did I do something wrong? I got root with no problem. A tip; to make it easier and to avoid spelling mistakes copy and paste the rooting commands from the instructions. Made it go faster too. Thanks in advance.
Never mind. I held down Home and Power at
the same time instead of Home THEN power! ARRGH! Loading up now as I type. Sorry.

 

[johnsongrantr]

When I go to apply the rom I get an white screen with skateboarding androids on the bottom and the prompt to erase data yes/no.

I press the home key and the Hero reboots without asking to "Apply sdcard:choose zip".This is done from the boot menu.

Does the rom load automatically? Did I do something wrong? I got root with no problem.

A tip; to make it easier and to avoid spelling mistakes copy and paste the rooting commands from the instructions. Made it go faster too. Thanks in advance.

yuck... break up your sentences, that's alot of crap to throw on someone all at once... and the bold doesn't help it any.

check to see if you have the custom recovery installed....

-turn off phone
-hold vol down + power
-should search for some stuff then give three options
-press "home" to enter recovery image

do you see "!" and a phone.... does it just hang or do you see a green/yellow menu?

 

[theresthatguy]

At the end of his post he says he figured it out. He wasn't holding down home key

 

[awesomeindeed]

None of this is working for me at all... I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but every time I enter ANY of the commands into the prompt all I get is "cannot find the path specified".

For reference, i have done everything in this guide to the letter, everything is downloaded, unzipped to the correct location, USB drivers installed, etc etc. Not sure what's wrong.

EDIT: I figured it out.. user error, awesome. Worked great, thanks for this!

 

[fenske09]

None of this is working for me at all... I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but every time I enter ANY of the commands into the prompt all I get is "cannot find the path specified".

For reference, i have done everything in this guide to the letter, everything is downloaded, unzipped to the correct location, USB drivers installed, etc etc. Not sure what's wrong.

EDIT: I figured it out.. user error, awesome. Worked great, thanks for this!

"cd C:\android-sdk-windows\tools" is actually "cd C:\android-sdk_r3-windows\tools"

is that where you are stuck?

 

[fenske09]

thank you TS. I've been lurking xda for a couple years now when i had the mogul and tp. First time on an android device. Thank you for your time in helping me.

 

[djsplitimage]

someone buy this man a drink!!!

Invaluable piece of work right here, helped me get it done in no time at all....real clear concise and very helpful....REQUEST THIS BE A STICKY!!!!!

 

[theresthatguy]

"cd C:\android-sdk-windows\tools" is actually "cd C:\android-sdk_r3-windows\tools"

is that where you are stuck?

That was the name of the zip file not the extracted folder.

 

[newtodroid]

Please help, I followed all of your instructions, I received no errors however I can't boot the recovery image. I checked and it is in the sd card, but every time it just hangs at the HTC logo

I downloaded a terminal emulator and typed su and it gave me # so I assuming I am rooted?!

 

[theresthatguy]

Please help, I followed all of your instructions, I received no errors however I can't boot the recovery image. I checked and it is in the sd card, but every time it just hangs at the HTC logo

I downloaded a terminal emulator and typed su and it gave me # so I assuming I am rooted?!

Redownload the recovery image and reflash it. The one you're using probably became corrupt during DL or something.

 

[johnsongrantr]

Redownload the recovery image and reflash it. The one you're using probably became corrupt during DL or something.

also make sure you have the heroc version there's a hero and heroC, i messed that up once and had similar results

 

[kristaps]

new ROM

So i loaded the custom ROM, and i followed all the istructions as listed on this guide. When i rebooted my phone, a bunch of my apps started Force Closing on startup.

did i miss something, or do something wrong?

if i reinstall them on the new ROM will they work right?

thanks for any insight

 

[johnsongrantr]

So i loaded the custom ROM, and i followed all the istructions as listed on this guide. When i rebooted my phone, a bunch of my apps started Force Closing on startup.

did i miss something, or do something wrong?

if i reinstall them on the new ROM will they work right?

thanks for any insight

you converted your sd card to fat32,ext2,swap and now the apps are looking for the program on your sd card,

turn off your phone
take out sd card
turn on phone
uninstall app
turn off phone
put in sd card
turn on phone
reinstall app

this should fix you