HOW-TO root your Sprint Hero (condensed and easy to read version)

this will not work for you. 2.1 can't be rooted yet (and may never be). The only way to have a rooted 2.1 is to have flashed over a ROM that had root permissions inserted manually.
 
darn, thats what I thought also. Because I read that if you have it rooted and 2.1 comes out you have to set it back to default update it to 2.1 and then root it again.
 
nah, you can't root it again. The asroot2 (exploit from 1.5) doesn't work with 2.1. There are developers over at XDA working on it.
 
rooting

the sdk setup gives fail when attempting to run setup...I think I'll take that as a sing not to push the issue. I just read this doesn't work with 2.1...that explains it. :cool:
 
2.27.651.5 ruu?

Hi,

Does anyone have the rootable 2.27.651.5 RUU they can pass along so I can revert back? I grabbed one off HTC's site, but it apparently has the root disabled. No surprise!!

Thanks,
Brian
 
now, i'm not new to this by any stretch of the imagination but i'm having some difficulties as of late and as much as i want an EVO, i would much rather fix my HERO.

the problems started when flashing the newest CM6 oct19 build. i had MAJOR market issues, not being able to download, getting stuck at the "installing" screen, etc... i posted over at XDA and got some suggestions (fixing permissions in ROM Manager, flashing a different ROM then back to CM6) but nothing worked. the next thing i tried was reverting back to sprint's RUU for both the .5 release and the .6 release, flashing, re-flashing...nothing worked! finally i found the 2.31.651.7 RUU release and a guide for rooting it (found here: [ROOT] Easy Root, works with any Stock ROM (Including 2.31.651.7!) - xda-developers) but this is not working for me. plus, when i try to roll back to .5 or .6, the RUU tells me that i can't roll back to an older version!!

so, in a nutshell, are there any other methods for rooting the 2.31 release that exist right now? can i roll back to the .5 or .6 release any other way so i can be positive of a root method? or, should i just go get an evo? i really appreciate any help anyone can give. thanks much!
 
I'm stuck at the very beginning, on how to make a workspace on my computer, can someone enlighten me? I do not go into the dos window to do this, do I?
thanks,
coadman
 
This youtube video finally got me to a place where I was able to root a Sprint CDMA pretty quickly. Look in the video description for download links to all the software goods that you'll need.

When I first started searching around, I had a very difficult time finding good info. I did find a lot of crappy outdated, byzantine, confusing, and obtuse docs on how to do this. So I've tried to boil it down below into something short and sweet.

Summary of steps I took (shorter procedure and does not exactly follow the video)

1) Install HTC Sync on a Windows PC to get the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) USB drivers on your PC. You might have to immediately uninstall the program (while leaving the drivers) in order for the RUU (Rom Upgrade Utility) program to run properly, but I can't remember for sure.

2) Run the RUU to install root-vulnerable Android 2.1 2.27.651.5 build on the phone. This will wipe all data.

3) Fire up the phone, skip all the new setup crap, get on wifi network, then download and install the unrevoked apk for Sprint Hero. http://unrevoked.com/m/unrevoked.apk You'll have to allow installation of untrusted apks. Run the app and pray it finishes w/out errors.

4) Launch Android Marketplace, sign into a google account, accept agreement, then search for, download and install a free terminal emulator from the marketplace. Launch the Terminal Emulator then type in "su". The prompt should change to a root prompt with the hash # sign. I think you also get a popup dialogue asking if you want to allow superuser to do something.

This last step was the one that kept tripping me up. ROM Manager was telling me that the phone wasn't root even though I ran the unrevoked app w/out errors.

Good luck!
 
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You are my Hero...no pun intended. I was up all night last night trying to get my HTC Hero rooted (build 1.56.651.2). I followed all the instructions from many different android forums that I respect and never made it to completion (including the so called "one click" root). I followed your excellent instructions and I now see "Backup complete!" Thank you very kindly and my wife (who's phone I rooted), thanks you as well. You are a master in your field. I appreciate your efforts and bid you a good day sir!
 
what version is your Hero? This thread is for 1.5 and is outdated. Check your os version by going to menu-settings -about phone -software.

If you are not 2.1, then search for the other root thread by Beezy. It has a program to uprade the os to 2.1 and root with an app.
 
Lost

I'm a newbie...yes. I've read through almost all of the posts and can't figure out where I'm going wrong. HTC is running so I can see my device when I do db devices. .

I've tried adb push from both platform-tools and just tools (copied all files from platform-tools into tools). When I run the sequence

adb push asroot2 /data/local/

adb shell

chmod 0755 /data/local/asroot2

/data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh

I I don't get "Success! "Enjoy your Shell" or whatever ever its supposed to say, but I get

[1] Killed /data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh

Please help....
 
See the thread referenced in my post above. Are you on 1.5 or 2.1? Check by going to menu > settings > about phone and see what software version you are on. If on 1.5, then see the second post of the thread I posted. If on 2.1, follow the first post in the thread I posted. :)

These instructions are outdated and there is an easier way to gain root access without having to deal with all the adb commands.