Root Your HTC Hero how to

This guide is really old and outdated. Please use this guide instead.

WARNING! Make sure you read all these instructions CAREFULLY! If there is anything you don’t understand or can’t do, get help.
THE PROCESS WILL ALSO ERASE ALL YOUR APPS & APP DATA SO BACKUP!

NB: If you installed the 2.1 Update via an OTA notification, this guide will still work for you. (99.9% of users)

If you installed it manually via an RUU on your PC, you need to follow this guide.

Downloads:
Hero Root Pack – YOU MUST extract it to C:/heroroot
Generic RUU
Goldcard Tool
Step 1 – Goldcard & Downgrade

1. Check your phone’s version by going to Settings > About Phone > Build Number If it is exactly 2.73.405.5 or 2.73.61.5 then use this guide.
2. Format your SD card to FAT32 by going Settings > SD Card & Phone Storage > Unmount SD Card then Format SD Card
3. Launch the goldcard tool (in the step 1 folder) as admin by Right click on App > Run as Admin
4. Connect your phone to your PC and make sure USB debugging is enabled (Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging)
5. Click get CID (Try clicking MMC0 if MMC1 fails)
6. Click the link to open the goldcard generator, copy the reversed CID from the tool into it. You will get an email with the goldcard.img
7. Enable USB Mass Storage on your phone.
8. Click ‘Refresh‘ in the goldcard app and select your micro SD card.
9. Click ‘Load goldcard.img‘ and select the file you received by email.
10. Click ‘Patch MMC‘
11. You now have a goldcard!
12. Now run the Generic RUU you downloaded and follow the instructions in the program.

Step 2 – Install the Custom Recovery Image

1. On your phone, go Settings > Applications and make sure Unknown Sources is on.
2. Then Settings > SD Card and Phone Storage > Unmount SD Card then Format SD Card. Make Sure You Backup your SD Card First as this will wipe it!
3. Plug your phone into your computer and mount the SD Card.
4. Transfer the recovery.img and flashrec.apk from the step 2 folder into the root of your SD card (not in any folders)
5. Install flashrec using a file manager.
6. Open the app called ‘Flash Recovery’ that you just installed and tap ‘Backup Recovery‘ (if you get an error here then it means the downgrade failed)
7. Once that has done, in the box above, type /sdcard/recovery.img and then tap ‘Flash Custom Recovery Image‘
8. When that’s done, turn off your phone and turn it back on again with power and home down.
9. If you see a load of green text on a black background and ‘Android system recovery’ at the top, You’re done!
10. Now go to step 3 to load a custom ROM or you will not have root!

Step 3 – Load a Custom ROM

1. Download a ROM from http://hero-roms.blogspot.com and transfer it to the root of your SD card.
2. Once you have a ROM, rename it to update.zip and copy it to the root of your SD card (ie not in any folders)
3. Then get into recovery mode (by turning on holding HOME + POWER)
4. Using the trackball, select ‘nandroid‘ then ‘Backup‘ (If you need to restore it then NANDROID restore)
5. If your ROM requires a wipe (Check on the ROM page) then select ‘wipe’ from the menu then ‘wipe data’. This will erase all your data but not stuff on your SD card.
6. Select ‘apply sdcard:update.zip’ and wait for it to finish.
7. You have successfully rooted your HTC Hero!

Troubleshooting

Step 1

Q. The goldcard app doesn’t find my phone!

A. Make sure you have HTC Sync installed or if you’re using Windows 7 try a Windows XP computer.

Q. The RUU says ‘ERROR: CUSTOM ID ERROR – Please get the correct application for your phone’

A. This means that your goldcard hasn’t worked, try again or try another SD card.

Step 2

Q. When I reboot into recovery I just see a phone and a !

A. Try flashing the recovery image again.