HTC Desire from Taiwan

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Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek

#64944 26-Jul-2010 14:55

I have an HTC Desire A8181 purchased from MobiCity in Australia. It's the Taiwanese version. The ROM used is 1.19.832.2.

While it is working fine on Vodafone it has a couple of issues that are driving me nuts - no options to change location/region (locked to Asia I suspect), which leaves me with international English and Chinese. As a result, in web searches I end up on Chinese pages and YouTube favourites are all Chinese.

So, I want to replace the Taiwanese ROM with WW English.

For warranty purposes, I'll need to be able to flash back to the original ROM. Does anyone know how to take a copy of that ROM or know where I can get an original HTC version of it?

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5828 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#357044 27-Jul-2010 11:58

Hi Elpie

You want to go to Modaco.com and have a real good read in the device-specific Desire forum under Android. The keys threads wil almost certainly be pinned up / stickied.

There is also xda-developers.com. Many of the same people are active there, too. But Paul O'Brien at Modaco is the BMOC for Desire as far as I know. Not a bad place to start anyway.

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Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek

#357055 27-Jul-2010 12:22

Thanks. I've hung around there for the past few days and read everything I can find. Nobody seems to have an original 1.19.832.2 ROM and if what I've read on Modaco.com is right, there is no way to back it up from the phone.

I'm new to Android so very wary about just racing into changes the way I did with WinMo. Given our proximity to Asia I live in hope that someone smarter than me either finds that ROM or a way to copy it down off the handset

GarethNZ

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#357511 28-Jul-2010 01:38

Hey Elpie,

I've got the same phone, so I'm in the same boat :)

The best I've found so far is:

1.19.832.2rom - HTC Desire ROM - HTC Desire

Link isnt working in this WYSIWYG

http://hiapk.com/bbs/thread-308177-1-1.html

or google for: HTC_Desire_Asia_HK-NoCSL_preroot

But that's in chinese / some language I don't know... Google translate crap trying to help

Seems like it might be what you & I are after, but I'm not sure how to verify what's in it (if it is the thing we want... etc).

Currently trying to install something to make a rom out of my own unit... :(

DIFFICULT!!

Let me know how you get on!

Cheers,

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek

#362725 4-Aug-2010 01:35

Hey Gareth,

I haven't tried to get an image of the original ROM yet (I've been away) but was intending to follow this if I don't have any luck in finding an already available original Taiwanese ROM: http://android.modaco.com/content/htc-desire-desire-modaco-com/308704/how-to-dump-the-rom-image/

Android 2.2 (Froyo) is already rolling out for the Desires so I will probably get stuck into it this weekend. I'm a bit nervous about rooting my first Android so its likely to be a nail-biting time

Have you had any luck yet?

GarethNZ

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#362843 4-Aug-2010 11:22

Hey again,

Yeah I got bored, so I just ended up using the one-click root for my phone. This just replaces the recovery image (seperate to the phone's 'ROM' etc) so you can then install ROMs with root access etc.

So after that, I checked what was on in that HTC_Desire_Asia_HK-NoCSL_preroot by installing it :P
And it seems pretty close to what we had, except maybe the keyboard (now I forget)? But version and pretty much everything is the same.

ALSO: With the custom recovery image installed, it's very easy to backup your ROM and user data (using nandroid - part of the haxed recovery image) so I also have a full backup of my old phone. So the only thing I'm missing is "remove custom recovery image"...

But meh anyways :)

Good luck!

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek

#362909 4-Aug-2010 12:56

@Gareth - the keyboard on the original ROM is Chinese input.

I had a chat with both HTC and Mobicity, which was interesting. The guts of it is this:

Mobicity phones are unlocked but not necessarily unbranded.

1.19.832.2 ROMs are used on branded phones both in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

A Froyo update for this ROM is likely to be released in November.

HTC says rooting the phone & changing ROM's will not validate its warranty terms. Mobicity says it will validate the warranty.

The current HTC Desire Froyo releases are for unbranded phones, which makes them unsuitable for OTA updates to Android 2.2 on Mobicity phones. Mobicity have not offered any solution for this beyond sending the phone back under a warranty claim for them to "look into".

I assume this means they will debrand and root the phones themselves, which leaves me wondering if future updates will be able to be made OTA. So, I'm going to hunt a bit longer for a Taiwanese ROM then do it myself.

jjero

45 posts

Geek

#363243 4-Aug-2010 20:50

Hi,

I am in the same boat and have the same software number 1.19.832.2 although I bought it from gadgetsonline not mobicity.

The Chinese keyboard really annoyed me but I replaced it with HTC_IME mod. I have the same youtube problem, and additionally google places show distances in miles.

What do you guys think of using this method: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=741836 (not rooting phone just using gold card to install WWE rom then OTA update). Will this method result in an unstable phone? I am highly considering it because there is so much bloat that you can't install (chinese keyboard, plurk - 244kb, musicholic - 566kb, info easy reader - 335kb, invest pro - 184kb, useless chinese web links - ~200kb, etc) So much for android being open. HTC are almost as bad as apple i swear... I have 25mb free with only ~25-30 essential apps installed.

I wish I bought the nexus one or samsung galaxy S.

Also, if I install the WWE rom, will I have to rebuy all my paid apps? (documents to go, copilot etc)

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek

#363259 4-Aug-2010 21:10

jjero: Hi,

I am in the same boat and have the same software number 1.19.832.2 although I bought it from gadgetsonline not mobicity.

The Chinese keyboard really annoyed me but I replaced it with HTC_IME mod. I have the same youtube problem, and additionally google places show distances in miles.

What do you guys think of using this method: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=741836 (not rooting phone just using gold card to install WWE rom then OTA update). Will this method result in an unstable phone? I am highly considering it because there is so much bloat that you can't install (chinese keyboard, plurk - 244kb, musicholic - 566kb, info easy reader - 335kb, invest pro - 184kb, useless chinese web links - ~200kb, etc) So much for android being open. HTC are almost as bad as apple i swear... I have 25mb free with only ~25-30 essential apps installed.

I wish I bought the nexus one or samsung galaxy S.

Also, if I install the WWE rom, will I have to rebuy all my paid apps? (documents to go, copilot etc)

That method looks like it should work ok and I can't see any reason to worry about instability. I'd go that way myself except that I will need to root if I want to have any chance of backing up the existing ROM.

The problem with all those apps really has nothing to do with HTC. The Asian phones are almost all branded and the ROM's were developed for the network they were to be sold on. If gadgetsonline are doing the same thing as Mobicity then all you get is an unlocked phone that still has all the branding. If I'd known this beforehand I would have bought out of the UK and avoided locally-available phones but I'm still really pleased to have my HTC Desire.

Nexus One through Vodafone would have been a lot easier though

As for the paid apps - you will have to reinstall them. Most of them allow a second download without it costing more but you might want to check with each app. You may also have some luck by using MyBackup or a similar app to backup the paid apps before you do the ROM update.

Brendan

716 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#363374 5-Aug-2010 00:39

Elpie:

That method looks like it should work ok and I can't see any reason to worry about instability. I'd go that way myself except that I will need to root if I want to have any chance of backing up the existing ROM.

The problem with all those apps really has nothing to do with HTC. The Asian phones are almost all branded and the ROM's were developed for the network they were to be sold on. If gadgetsonline are doing the same thing as Mobicity then all you get is an unlocked phone that still has all the branding. If I'd known this beforehand I would have bought out of the UK and avoided locally-available phones but I'm still really pleased to have my HTC Desire.

I purchased mine from expert infotech here in NZ - doesn't appear to be branded.

Nexus One through Vodafone would have been a lot easier though

As for the paid apps - you will have to reinstall them. Most of them allow a second download without it costing more but you might want to check with each app. You may also have some luck by using MyBackup or a similar app to backup the paid apps before you do the ROM update.

That is all wrong.

The paid for apps are attached to your google account and you can install them as many times as you like - as long as you use the same google account. You can change phones, flash a new rom - whatever. Just so long as you type in the same google account when you are done. And there will be your paid for apps, waiting to download and install - first time or 100th time. Using mybackup is un-necessary - unless you want to save the setting your put in.

I'd root and flash if I were you. Do a nandroid backup first so you can go back to the original firmware if there is a fault.

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek

#363381 5-Aug-2010 00:59

Brendan:

The paid for apps are attached to your google account and you can install them as many times as you like - as long as you use the same google account. You can change phones, flash a new rom - whatever. Just so long as you type in the same google account when you are done. And there will be your paid for apps, waiting to download and install - first time or 100th time. Using mybackup is un-necessary - unless you want to save the setting your put in.

I'd root and flash if I were you. Do a nandroid backup first so you can go back to the original firmware if there is a fault.

Aha! So that's what I did wrong - thanks Brendan.

Here's the FAQ about retrieving previously-purchased apps from the Android Market for everyone's reference: http://market.android.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=113410

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek

#363382 5-Aug-2010 01:26

GarethNZ:

So after that, I checked what was on in that HTC_Desire_Asia_HK-NoCSL_preroot by installing it :P
And it seems pretty close to what we had, except maybe the keyboard (now I forget)? But version and pretty much everything is the same.

I've been super-sleuthing and have more info about those phones now.

1.19.832.2 is the ROM used by CSL Ltd, who has exclusive distribution of the HTC Desire in Hong Kong. They also distribute it into the Philippines market.

It's sold online by CSL for 4598 HK dollars (today = $758.05 NZ Dollars)
http://shop.one2free.hkcsl.com/storefront/en/phones/htc-desire/prodHTCDesire.html

If you have a CSL branded HTC Desire it will include several non-standard apps, including:

Musicholic

MyNet

Studio on Demand

Invest Pro

GarethNZ

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#363480 5-Aug-2010 09:25

Yeah I that ROM has those apps, and I don't have them if I restore my backed-up ROM.

I've also read somewhere (not a reliable source, but anyway) that HTC will honor the warranty even if you root / change the ROM. Warranties from 3rd parties may however be invalidated... (But maybe you can just claim straight to HTC?)

I never mentioned I bought mine from expert Infotech, like Brendan, just an FYI.

Also, you shouldn't need root to backup the rom, it just needs read access to /system & /data so non-root SHOULD be fine for backup. (You'll need root to restore tho).

In summary I'm not too worried about rooting. I've also seen tools to un-brick android phones too, but havent needed them yet :P

On a side note I'm not fussed by 2.2 without Sense UI. I miss HTC's interface improvements and widgets. So maybe I'll just wait. There is not a lot of difference in performance for 'every day' stuff, just Java apps. Quadrant score before: 570, after 2.2 ROM: 1270.

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek

#363600 5-Aug-2010 12:30

GarethNZ: Yeah I that ROM has those apps, and I don't have them if I restore my backed-up ROM.

I've also read somewhere (not a reliable source, but anyway) that HTC will honor the warranty even if you root / change the ROM. Warranties from 3rd parties may however be invalidated... (But maybe you can just claim straight to HTC?)

I got email confirmation from HTC this morning. Swapping the ROM with another official HTC ROM does not invalidate their warranty. However, because the phone has a Hong Kong serial number/IMEI any claims under warranty to HTC require the phone to be sent back to Hong Kong.

It's worth knowing what the options are.

I wanted something in writing so used their web contact form on the HTC site. I had a response within 24 hours.

HTC's NZ support line is 09 925-0415.

Giggs

252 posts

Ultimate Geek

#363624 5-Aug-2010 13:24

Hi Elpie

That is interesting. As I understand it and no doubt someone can correct me if I am wrong, the only two ways you can replace a ROM is by either rooting the phone or using a gold card see here for example of the latter http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=7448321#post7448321.

Are they saying then as long as I use an offical ROM it does not matter how I get it on the phone?

Actually thinking about it when I first got my Desire I did have a look at the warranty terms and I could not see anything that said changing the software invalidated the warranty. Perhaps I will have another look tonight.

Cheers

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek

#363828 5-Aug-2010 18:56

That's what their reply indicates, especially as there is no other way to replace the ROM apart from flashing it. Root access isn't needed, but since I want to root my phone I responded with a follow-up question on my ticket.

I've asked specifically whether rooting the phone is ok under the warranty, and if flashing a new ROM is ok then are they prepared to honour the warranty with that new ROM still on the phone.

It doesn't make sense to me for them to say replacing the ROM is ok, then say the original needs to be reinstated before the phone goes back under a warranty claim.

I'll post the response here when I get it.

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