HTC Sensation General FAQ's. New to this device? Read here! UPDATED 8/3/11

[ClydeB1]

I don't get what the SUPER CID is good for. Google tells me it allows you to flash any ROM onto it, even if the phone is branded. huh? I thought that's what S-off+root allows you to do?

I have a branded Sensation with s-off and root on stock rom. Should I do the SUPER CID thing and what is good for?
thank you

S-Off allows you to flash a custom rom, but super cid allows you to flash a stock rom which is not meant for your device. Say you are on a TMOUS branded device full of bloatware and want to flash a stock Europe unbranded rom, without super cid you would get an error regarding device id not matching when you run the rom ruu.

 

[pedrohp]

Again, i'm new to this.

But what i think is:

S-OFF allows you to write data on the NAND.
CID is a string stored in the NAND that is used to calculate witch ROMs can be flashed.

That's why you need to S-OFF your device BEFORE doing SuperCID. After SuperCID, you can flash any ROM.

Please anyone correct me if i am wrong.

 

[pedrohp]

Hi there,

I am currently on stock S-ON on Sensation 4G runing 1.29.

I just downloaded the latest unbranded HTC RUU and want to flash it.


I'd like a recommendation on how to backup my current apps/contacts/everything. What do you guys recommend?

 

[Vipeout]

S-Off allows you to flash a custom rom, but super cid allows you to flash a stock rom which is not meant for your device. Say you are on a TMOUS branded device full of bloatware and want to flash a stock Europe unbranded rom, without super cid you would get an error regarding device id not matching when you run the rom ruu.

Thanks for the input. I stll am not sure I get it 100%. I have a branded phone so I only need the SCID if I want the official /unmodified unbranded ROM but custom ROMs are designed in a way that they can be just installed?

@pedrohp: Either backup your contact via google sync or get root and use TitanBackup (it backs up everythign u tell it to). When u flash the new unbranded rom just get root&titanbackup again and restore

 

[pedrohp]

Thanks for the input. I stll am not sure I get it 100%. I have a branded phone so I only need the SCID if I want the official /unmodified unbranded ROM but custom ROMs are designed in a way that they can be just installed?

As far as I could get it, YES. You only need SUPER CID to flash RUUs that were not supposed to your phone's CID. I think custom ROM's flashing procedure won't check your CID.

@pedrohp: Either backup your contact via google sync or get root and use TitanBackup (it backs up everythign u tell it to). When u flash the new unbranded rom just get root&titanbackup again and restore

I did the root/Ti Backup way to backup my apps, but as soon as i flashed the latest unbranded RUU, it downloaded most of my apps back (wallpaper and a lot of other stuff too), so i didn't need to root/Ti Backup again.

 

[zim2dive]

This thread was created simply for Noobs. Yes, if you don't know how to boot into the bootloader..than you should be reading this.

so, shouldn't there be a clear section on how to boot in to bootloader?? (the only reference I see is via adb)

 

[ClydeB1]

so, shouldn't there be a clear section on how to boot in to bootloader?? (the only reference I see is via adb)

That's one way. You can also download QuickBoot from the market and choose bootloader option, if you're on a custom rom you can install Extended Power Menu and when you select Restart you can select bootloader option there. The most common though probably is to either disable fastboot in Settings>Power and then switch off, hold vol down and switch on, or else pull battery, put back and do the vol down and switch on.

 

[ClydeB1]

Thanks for the input. I stll am not sure I get it 100%. I have a branded phone so I only need the SCID if I want the official /unmodified unbranded ROM but custom ROMs are designed in a way that they can be just installed?

Correct

 

[zim2dive]

That's one way. You can also download QuickBoot from the market and choose bootloader option, if you're on a custom rom you can install Extended Power Menu and when you select Restart you can select bootloader option there. The most common though probably is to either disable fastboot in Settings>Power and then switch off, hold vol down and switch on, or else pull battery, put back and do the vol down and switch on.

Right.. I was trying to point out the OP only lists adb.. and if this really is to be an FAQ, that seems like a topic which should be more throroughly covered....

BTW, did the Wiki's here die? ie. why isn't this FAQ in the Wiki instead, where we all could edit it?

 

[ClydeB1]

Right.. I was trying to point out the OP only lists adb.. and if this really is to be an FAQ, that seems like a topic which should be more throroughly covered....

BTW, did the Wiki's here die? ie. why isn't this FAQ in the Wiki instead, where we all could edit it?

Good point (now that I reread your post I can see that it was more a suggestion than a question )

The wiki's are still around - http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Sensation but are not being used fully. They just link back to the normal forum for any information on the Sensation and I never see users being referred there either, so I guess for all intents and purposes they are pretty much dead.

 

[gauravdhure994]

How to make notification bar transparent....?

 

[chiragkrishna]

any one having problems in turning of the weather sound effects,... i tried to uncheck the settings i.e

weather-->settings-->sound effects-->uncheck

but with no use,... i unlock the phone and the sound still comes,... tried other roms as well lee,AR,stock,... but am not able to shut that sound down

lil help will be appreciated,... thanks

 

[kvijaymur]

Nice.............

Really nice work........

 

[jdmarko]

I'd love to see even more added to the FAQ:

- What's a RIL (and why do I care)?
- What's an RUU (and why do I care)?
- How is the Sensation's dual-core CPU architecture different than other phones... and what does this mean if I overclock?
- How can I search for answers in XDA?

 

[tictac0566]

I'd love to see even more added to the FAQ:

- What's a RIL (and why do I care)?
- What's an RUU (and why do I care)?
- How is the Sensation's dual-core CPU architecture different than other phones... and what does this mean if I overclock?
- How can I search for answers in XDA?

Sorry, no offense, but those questions/topics are indeed completely "basic", valid for any kind of (HTC) smartphone, not only HTC Sensation. That is why you might want to do some research on your own.

Google helps, as well as the search function of the forum.

Back to your questions:

- RIL corresponds to "Radio Interface Library"
- RUU corresponds to "ROM Update Utility" (used by HTC mostly)
- Dual core vs. single core, check Wikipedia. Overclocking may brick the device.
- Use your common sense for selecting search terms

 

[jdmarko]

Sorry, no offense, but those questions/topics are indeed completely "basic", valid for any kind of (HTC) smartphone, not only HTC Sensation. That is why you might want to do some research on your own.

Google helps, as well as the search function of the forum.

Back to your questions:

- RIL corresponds to "Radio Interface Library"
- RUU corresponds to "ROM Update Utility" (used by HTC mostly)
- Dual core vs. single core, check Wikipedia. Overclocking may brick the device.
- Use your common sense for selecting search terms

I wasn't looking for the info myself but rather suggesting content for a "FAQ," which is this very topic. I would hope that someone doing a search as you suggested, would be pointed to a topic just like this one.

So, your answers are good if you're looking for a 2-second answer and acronym definitions, but it wouldn't answer the questions that someone might have if they're "New to this device" (which, again, is what this topic is all about).

I'd love to see a FAQ and topic area that I could point my grandma to, for example. It would have all of the terms defined, wouldn't assume any previous knowledge.

I personally find myself answering the same questions over and over again and would love to point people to a thread for them to get started.

I'll see if I can suggest updates to the FAQ that can be included in the OP.

 

[sinisin]

I saw it somewhere but can not find it again to save my soul. What is the irc channel for the Sensation?

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

 

[tictac0566]

I wasn't looking for the info myself but rather suggesting content for a "FAQ," which is this very topic. I would hope that someone doing a search as you suggested, would be pointed to a topic just like this one.

So, your answers are good if you're looking for a 2-second answer and acronym definitions, but it wouldn't answer the questions that someone might have if they're "New to this device" (which, again, is what this topic is all about).

I'd love to see a FAQ and topic area that I could point my grandma to, for example. It would have all of the terms defined, wouldn't assume any previous knowledge.

I personally find myself answering the same questions over and over again and would love to point people to a thread for them to get started.

I'll see if I can suggest updates to the FAQ that can be included in the OP.

OK, understood.

The thing is, even xda-wiki does not fully explain the acronyms.

As most of these terms are not really specific to HTC Sensation only, imho it might be an idea to add such information to the xda-wiki - and there you go with an easy solution to point somebody to. Maybe at the end of the day, it would be helpful for FAQ threads like this one just to be able to point to the xda-wiki for basic terms and explanations, not just acronyms spelled out.

I actually wrote such an FAQ in another HD2 forum, explaining all the terms you might encounter during the whole flashing process. It indeed cleared out almost all questions, but then again, some notorious users never really take their time to use the search function.

 

[corsasri]

I am going to flash my radio on my htc sensation. But i better check i know how to do evrything before i start.
How do i back up my stock radio from my sensation ?
What is the md5 checksum ? as says this in the radio link
Remember to check MD5 Checksum before flashing !!! this is the part i need a tad more info on.

thanks gary

 

[ClydeB1]

I am going to flash my radio on my htc sensation. But i better check i know how to do evrything before i start.
How do i back up my stock radio from my sensation ?
What is the md5 checksum ? as says this in the radio link
Remember to check MD5 Checksum before flashing !!! this is the part i need a tad more info on.

thanks gary

You should be able to find your original radio here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1178143, so no need to back it up.

MD5 performs a check on the download file and allows you to compare to the original source file to ensure you get a complete download. Flashing the radio is one of the few instances where a bad flash can brick your device so it is vital to check that the file is not corrupt. You can use an app like Hash Tab to check. It adds a tab into the file properties pop up box and you can copy and paste the MD5 from the file into the box and the file will compare the 2 for you.