How to S-Off and Root the HTC Desire S, Sensation, Wildfire, Evo, Flyer HD - A step-by-step tutorial
1,419Hi folks! I'm back with my repaired HTC Desire S and I'll be showing you how to get root access to the phone by making it "S-Off".
This should work on the following phones and devices:
HTC Desire, HTC Desire S, HTC Wildfire, HTC Aria, HTC Incredible S, HTC Droid Incredible 2, HTC Thunderbolt, HTC Evo 4G, HTC View, HTV Flyer, HTC Sensation, HTC Evo 3D and the myTouch 4G
What you will need:
1 HTC Desire S (It does work on the Desire too and others mentioned)
1 USB cable
1 PC
1 lemon
What does S-Off mean?
If your phone is S-Off it means you have access and can write to the NAND memory of the phone. This allows you to do things that you wouldn't normally be able to do -- such as rooting your phone and installing custom ROMs (firmware).
Step 1:
Go to http://revolutionary.io and download the Windows package (or Linux if you are on a Linux box). Unzip it to somewhere you can easily find (such as your Desktop).
Step 2:
Uninstall HTC Sync if you have it installed on your computer. This is just so that it doesn't interfere with the S-Off process. Go to your Control Panel and then find Add/Remove Programs (Windows XP) or Uninstall a Program/Programs & Features (Windows Vista/7) and find HTC Sync in the list of installed programs on your computer. Click to remove/uninstall the application.
Step 3:
Turn off "Fast boot" on your HTC Desire S. This has to be disabled so you can boot into the recovery mode properly. Go to Settings on your phone and then Power. Now un-tick the Fast boot box to disable it.
Step 4:
Download and install the HTC Fastboot Drivers from the Revolutionary website: http://unrevoked.com/rootwiki/doku.php/public/revolutionary
Step 5:
Time to create your Beta Key. The beta key is required for the Revolutionary program and is generated using the serial number of your phone and the "HBOOT" version.
So, on the Revolutionary.io website, scroll down to the Beta Key generator and fill in all the details: your PC operating system, your phone model your HBOOT version and your phone's serial number.
You can get your Desire's HBOOT version by booting it into recovery mode. Simply power down the phone completely and then power it back up whilst holding the "Vol Down" button. You'll see the HBOOT version listed at the top of the screen.
To get your Desire's serial number simply go to Settings → About phone → Phone identity.
Make sure you get the serial number and NOT the IMEI number like I did initially!
Once you've filled in all those details you can now generate the key. I'd recommend pasting your beta key into Notepad (or something similar) so you can easily tell what letters are in CAPS etc -- just so you don't type it wrong.
Step 6:
Make sure USB Debugging is enabled. Settings → Applications → Development -- tick the USB debugging box.
Step 7:
Plug your Desire into the computer and wait for any drivers to install. Now run revolutionary.exe and it shuold pop up and detect your phone (showing its serial number on-screen). This is where you type your Beta Key. Type it in and hit Enter.
Step 8:
Your phone will reboot into Fastboot mode and whilst you wait this is where you can use your lemon. I prefer to squeeze mine over a pancake or something but you can also throw your against a wall or something. It just helps to pass the time.
Step 9:
When prompted, press "y" to install the ClockworkMod Recovery tool on your phone and then press Enter.
Step 10:
That's it! Your phone should now be S-Off! If you now want to root your phone -- and let's face it -- why wold you be watching this video otherwise -- then follow the next steps.
Get yourself back to revolutinory.io and on that same documentation page you downloaded the HTC Fastboot drivers find the link to download the "su" (this means Super User) zip file. [UPDATE 28/03/2012 - the link appears to be dead now so try this instead: http://goo-inside.me/superuser
Step 11:
Once the su zip file has downloaded, copy it to the root of your SD card on your phone.
Step 12:
Turn off your Desire and then power it up into recovery mode by holding the "vol down" button. Select RECOVERY from the list byt moving the volume key down and press the power button once to select it. This will load up the Revolutionary program.
Step 13:
Go down to where it says "Install zip from sdcard" and select it. Now select "choose zip from sdcard" (again pressing the power button once to select an item). Now scroll down to the su zip file you copied across earlier and press the power button once. Scroll down to the "Yes install...." and press power once more. This will root your phone.
Step 14:
Once the su zip is installed reboot your phone and try a root-needing app such as Titanium Backup. If it loads up and asks for Superuser access then the rooting process has worked successfully!
Step 15:
If you liked this video then please give it a thumbs-up and subscribe and then you can clean up that lemon you threw at the wall earlier.
Any question, please ask.