Unlocking an HTC Hero

[Pappa Lurve]

Title pretty much says it! My Hero is supplied by Orange but I want to use other sim cards in it. I tried one to see what would happen and the phone asked for an unlock code. I spoke to two local places that unlock phones, each wants £30. Online the codes can be purchased for about half that but the companies that do the codes seem to have a lousy reputation. Does anyone here supply the codes or recommend a place that can?

Cheers

[mouseymousey]

I unlocked my Orange Hero a few months ago but I can't find the website I used.

There is one major issue with unlocking the Orange Heroes though, the firmware version I had would not accept an IMEI unlock code because of a bug. To get around it I had to 'root' my phone and flash a custom ROM which didn't have the bug. I was then able to order an IMEI unlock code which worked great.

If the local places are guaranteeing the unlock for £30 I'd be tempted to use them to avoid the hassle of rooting and flashing a custom ROM (which will delete all your applications, settings, contacts etc.) although they may well use the custom ROM approach anyway.

[Pappa Lurve]

Thanks for that. You are clearly more technical then I as I would not want to mess around with ROM settings at all. I have upgraded it online through the HTC site but thats my limit. Ill head of to my regular phone chap and get him to do it as you suggest.

I love PH - no question ever goes unanswered, although this may be the first thread for ages where the answer is not that I should have got an MX5!

Thanks again chap.

[mouseymousey]

No problem, but just had a thought. If you're at the end of your contract won't Orange give you the unlock code for free? Might be worth a try, if it doesn't work then take it to your friendly phone man.

[Pappa Lurve]

Can't - Orange and I are having something of an argument, hence I am leaving. Turns out Orange HTC Hero cannot be unlocked so now looking at getting a rebel sim or something. Very annoying frankly.

[mouseymousey]

Pappa Lurve said:

Can't - Orange and I are having something of an argument, hence I am leaving. Turns out Orange HTC Hero cannot be unlocked so now looking at getting a rebel sim or something. Very annoying frankly.

I can give you a step by step guide to flashing a ROM and unlocking if you like. It's not too difficult.

[Pappa Lurve]

That would be fantastic! Thank you so much. How simple are we talking here?! If I go this route, is there anyway if I mess it up it could cause the phone not to work at all?

Thanks again, much appreciated :-)

Edited by Pappa Lurve on Thursday 4th March 14:20

[gingerpaul]

I have a sort of related question.

I have a Hero that was originally on T Mobile and has been unlocked (no idea how, I got it off ebay). I would quite like to update the OS to a generic one rather than the T Mobile branded one so I can get the most recent version, which I believe is up to 2.something compared to 1.6 on mine.

I know I need to root the phone to do this but will I need to unlock the phone once this is done? Alternatively does anyone know if T Mobile are ever updating their Heros and if so can an unlocked phone be updated?

[mouseymousey]

Pappa Lurve said:

That would be fantastic! Thank you so much. How simple are we talking here?! If I go this route, is there anyway if I mess it up it could cause the phone not to work at all?

Thanks again, much appreciated :-)

Edited by Pappa Lurve on Thursday 4th March 14:20

It's pretty simple. It involves downloading the software, plugging the phone into a PC, issuing some commands and that's about it.

There is a very slight chance you could ruin the phone but it's minimal, really really tiny. I'll test my instructions on my own phone before posting them here. Only catch is you'll lose all applications, contacts, settings etc and will have to set up your phone from scratch again. If you currently sync with Google or Exchange then you'll be able to get contacts back easy enough but applications will have to be downloaded again.

If this isn't a problem then let me know and I'll do the instructions. Won't be able to do it until Monday though as I'm about to go away for the weekend.

[mouseymousey]

gingerpaul said:

I have a sort of related question.

I have a Hero that was originally on T Mobile and has been unlocked (no idea how, I got it off ebay). I would quite like to update the OS to a generic one rather than the T Mobile branded one so I can get the most recent version, which I believe is up to 2.something compared to 1.6 on mine.

I know I need to root the phone to do this but will I need to unlock the phone once this is done? Alternatively does anyone know if T Mobile are ever updating their Heros and if so can an unlocked phone be updated?

If your phone is unlocked already then it's probably already half way ready to taking a new ROM. To see how far along in the process you are turn your phone off and then turn it on whilst holding down the home key. Let me know if you see a green menu appear or if the phone just boots normally and I'll tell you where to go from there.

If you wait for the official t-mobile ROM you'll probably be waiting at least 2 months but there are unofficial ROMS which are working well.

[Engineer1]

Related I have a HTC Touch Diamond on Orange and was wondering how easy it is to unlock as I will be upgrading to an iPhone in 2 weeks time, I intend to use the htc as my work phone on T mobile.

[Pappa Lurve]

Mousey, that would be great of you could post up or send me the instructions. I would very much appreciate it. My only other option appears to be a rebel sim which I am slightly unconvinced about frankly.

Have a great weekend.

Oh and as far as I know, this problem is only on Hero on Orange. I know a place in North London that can unlock pretty much anything and are open about phones they can't do as oppose to charging you and then sending duff codes etc. If anyone wants their details I'll happily send them. I have no involvement with the company, just used them a few times in the past and found them to be very good.

[gingerpaul]

mouseymousey said:

If your phone is unlocked already then it's probably already half way ready to taking a new ROM. To see how far along in the process you are turn your phone off and then turn it on whilst holding down the home key. Let me know if you see a green menu appear or if the phone just boots normally and I'll tell you where to go from there.

Ok, thanks for the help.

I've just tried this and it flashed up the G2 Touch T Mobile start screen and then I get a triangle with an exclaimation mark inside with a phone sitting next to it. None of the buttons appeared to be active so I had to take the battery out to power it down. I've started it again now to make sure it's not done any damage and all appears well. Does this bode well for me?

[mouseymousey]

gingerpaul said:

mouseymousey said:

If your phone is unlocked already then it's probably already half way ready to taking a new ROM. To see how far along in the process you are turn your phone off and then turn it on whilst holding down the home key. Let me know if you see a green menu appear or if the phone just boots normally and I'll tell you where to go from there.

Ok, thanks for the help.

I've just tried this and it flashed up the G2 Touch T Mobile start screen and then I get a triangle with an exclaimation mark inside with a phone sitting next to it. None of the buttons appeared to be active so I had to take the battery out to power it down. I've started it again now to make sure it's not done any damage and all appears well. Does this bode well for me?

That just means that you don't have a 'recovery image' on the phone yet, it's just another stage we'll have to go through. Travelling at the moment but will report back on Monday. If you can't wait then there is a whole load of information on the xda-developer forums.

[gingerpaul]

I'm in no hurry so I'm happy to wait. Thanks for offering to guide me though. I might have a peek at that site to see what's what though.

[Greedydog]

Whilst flashing of ROMS on Android is easy once you know what you're doing I would suggest heading over to XDA Developers or Modaco for specific information on each device as there are subtle differences even between apparently identical models, read VERY carefully....

[gingerpaul]

Greedydog said:

Whilst flashing of ROMS on Android is easy once you know what you're doing I would suggest heading over to XDA Developers or Modaco for specific information on each device as there are subtle differences even between apparently identical models, read VERY carefully....

I have skimmed over the subject but I'd have a good read before trying to turn my phone into a door stop. A good point though.