AT&T HTC One (M7) Restore to Factory?

[Rob Walker 3rd]

Hello, back when I first got the phone (on release) I've since rooted and unlocked it. Well it's time for me to get a new phone and I tend to box these old boys up in case I ever need them again, so I am wondering if I would be able to "un-root" the phone (not sure if that's even an option) so I could it could receive OTA updates if I ever gave this away to someone.

TLR- Is it possible to unroot the HTC One M7 and bring it back to out of the box factory settings or will I have to forever flash it if I need to update it.

Thank you,

 

[benny3]

You can use a RUU to get back to factory stock

AndroidRUU | The #1 source for Android RUU files

 

[cohoman]

I'm in a similar situation with my HTC One M7. I unlocked it, installed the TWRP custom bootloader, and rooted it. I did not install any custom ROMs, and I'm still S-ON. Can I use a stock RUU.exe file to restore my M7 back to factory (recovery boot and OS) if I'm S-ON? I'm not concerned about the "Tampered" notice on the bootloader screen; I just want to get my phone ready for the upcoming Lollipop OS update from AT&T, and stay unrooted for a while.

I was thinking of just installing the original stock bootloader (replacing TWRP) which should allow me to get OTA updates again. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[benny3]

Yes you can use the RUU. Can also flash the stock recovery and uninstall superuser through the app if you havn't changed or modified any of the system apps/files. You said you installed twrp custom bootloader i assume you meant recovery.

 

[cohoman]

Yes, I meant Stock Recovery. Thanks for your comments!

 

[cohoman]

If I use the RUU method, do I first need to lock the boot loader and remove SU?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[benny3]

You need to lock the bootloader and no need to mess with anything else. Remember tho thr RUU will wipe the internal storage so backup everything you want to keep

 

[cohoman]

Great! Thanks, Benny3.

 

[cohoman]

ugh! I've spent all day trying to return my M7 back to stock and unrooted. I tried using the RUU.exe file for my ATT phone (Cingular) but I keep getting the dreaded "htc_fastboot.exe has stopped working" dialog box at the 5% install mark. I did a ton of googling and installed several Microsoft Visual C++ redistibution and service packs on my Win8.1 system. I believe I have the correct HTC device drivers, since I can use the command window to see my device with the "fastboot devices" command.

I also tried using a RUU.exe that was for an older JellyBean installation which ran ok (no fastboot error), but ultimately gave me a generic ERROR and didn't install anything. Man, I'm at my wits end now! I wanted to use RUU so I can reset the "tampered" and "relocked" notices in the bootloader screen back to the factory settings. I also want to go unrooted, so completely stock. I only have 1 Windows PC in the house (all others Macs), so I can't try this procedure on multiple PCs until one of the works (as some have posted as a solution).

Any other ideas I can try?

Also: Currently Rooted with S-ON

Thanks.

 

[benny3]

You say Win 8, Is it using usb 3.0? if so thats your problem. Hers a few links for a Mac

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FTQBxSSiA8

[TUT][Win/Mac/Linux] Back to stock using RUU… | HTC One V | XDA Forums

[TUT] Update your phone via RUU in Linux/Mac… | AT&T, Rogers HTC One X, Telstra One XL | XDA Forums

 

[cohoman]

Thanks for the links, Benny! I was so focused on getting the RUU.exe to work on my Windows machine I didn't think of doing this operation from my Mac in a terminal window. I'll have to double check if I'm using the USB 3.0 or 2.0 port on my Windows PC.

Thanks again for the help. Very much appreciated.

 

[vpatelwork]

Did you have any luck with getting back to stock to get lollipop update? I am in the same boat and trying to evaluate options

 

[cohoman]

I could never get the stock RUU methods to work for me. Instead, I flashed the stock ATT recovery image to my M7 and relocked the phone. After that, I was able to get the OTA update for Sense 6 and Lollipop. BTW, I used my Mac and a terminal window to do the procedure of flashing the stock recovery.

Updated:

I used the instructions found here:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2545227

Once I was able to reflash the stock recovery to my phone, I used the terminal command to relock it. After that, my phone was able to get the Lollipop update from AT&T and install it.

 

[vpatelwork]

Thank you very much. I will try it out tonight and will update you.

 

[vpatelwork]

I was able to update to stock recovery and as part of lollipop update, i was able to get the first 198MB update done successfully, however, the second update (860 MB) is not applying as it shows red triangle once it starts updating it. Upon reading, it mentions that i don't have correct stock recovery.
So, do you mind sending me which one you used or share that stock recovery.

Thanks a bunch for your help

 

[cohoman]

I was able to update to stock recovery and as part of lollipop update, i was able to get the first 198MB update done successfully, however, the second update (860 MB) is not applying as it shows red triangle once it starts updating it. Upon reading, it mentions that i don't have correct stock recovery.
So, do you mind sending me which one you used or share that stock recovery.

Thanks a bunch for your help

I used this terminal command to get the correct stock version for my HTC One M7:

fastboot getvar version-main

It reported back, "5.12.502.2", so from the [Collection][GUIDE] HTC One Stock Recoveries | HTC One (M7) | XDA Forums web site I downloaded that specific version of the stock recovery img file.

I then made sure my phone was unlocked, then flashed this new stock recovery img. Then, I relocked my phone and rebooted it.

Yes, there was two updates in sequence (the 198 MB followed by the 860 MB).

 

[vpatelwork]

thanks for quick reply. I was also on the same "5.12.502.2", and did the same thing. But not sure if i did "I then made sure my phone was unlocked". Can you elaborate on this one?

 

[cohoman]

thanks for quick reply. I was also on the same "5.12.502.2", and did the same thing. But not sure if i did "I then made sure my phone was unlocked". Can you elaborate on this one?

By "unlocked", I mean the bootloader needs to be unlocked. You must have done this originally when you first rooted your device. You need to be sure the bootloader is unlocked, or the stock recovery won't flash properly. Here's the HTC link to unlocking the bootloader: HTCdev - Unlock Bootloader

 

[vpatelwork]

thanks again for quick reply. Yes my boot loader is unlocked, still having challenges. I will keep you posted on what my findings are..Thanks again. Appreciate your help and prompt response

 

[vpatelwork]

Can you share your recovery file? I seems like i have corrupt recover file

it states Package expects build fingerprint of htc....error