- 5,049,669
REGISTERED - 39,955
ONLINE NOW
May 23, 2012 By: FallenWriter
One of the most common questions here at XDA over the past several months has been, “When will my HTC device receive Ice Cream Sandwich?” Now, thanks to a tip from XDA Senior Member neoofoox we have our answer.
Although we previously mentioned the devices confirmed to get ICS from HTC’s blog back in March, it was only recently that HTC finally confirmed their timeline for this year’s releases. According to HTC:
What is the overall timeline of Android 4.0 updates?
The majority of devices will receive upgrades in June and July 2012 and we expect to finish upgrades in August 2012 for all announced devices.
When will my device get the Android 4.0 upgrade?
The target timeline for announced devices is below. Because of partner and network testing, and approval processes for device updates, it can take up to 45 days for all carriers and countries to get the update after a rollout has begun.
Device
Schedule
DROID Incredible 2 by HTC To be determined (by the end of August) HTC Amaze 4G May-June HTC Desire S June-July HTC Desire HD July-August HTC EVO 3D June-July HTC EVO 4G+ May-June HTC EVO Design 4G June-July HTC Incredible S June-July HTC Sensation March-June HTC Sensation 4G March-June HTC Sensation XE March-June HTC Sensation XL April-Jun HTC Rezound June-July HTC Rhyme June-July HTC Thunderbolt July-August HTC Velocity 4G March-June HTC Vivid March-June
Please note these dates are targets and may shift due to testing and approvals.
For a detailed look at when your specific device will be getting a taste of frosty Android goodness and several other questions answered, head on over the official page and salivate over your upcoming good fortune.
May 12, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
For owners of many HTC device such as the HTC Amaze 4G, EVO 3D, MyTouch 4G Slide, Sensation, and the Vivid/Raider/Velocity, this has been a long time coming. A fully functional method to restore a device from a full brick is a pretty big deal. This then gives users more confidence when performing potentially risky tasks such as HBoot updates, ROM flashes, or turning S On.
XDA Senior Member dexter93, along with a host of other developers, has finally released this project after several months of beta testing and waiting. This is great news for many HTC users who have bricked devices under certain circumstances, and is much better news for users who unintentionally—or even intentionally—brick theirs in the future.
The method is pretty complicated and requires a number of things on the user side. The method also requires the use of a Linux-based computer and the most up to date RUU for your device. Finally, the most important thing, according to dexter93 is as folllows:
a device bricked by writing security flag 3 with an unsigned hboot, or caused by a damaged hboot via interrupted OTA update/RUU flash on a S-ON device
In other words, this will not work for all kinds of bricks. Rather it will only work for devices bricked by setting S On with an unsigned HBoot or if your HBoot was somehow damaged. While this unfortunately doesn’t help those who may have bricked their devices through other means, it will undoubtedly help many previously helpless users. It should be mentioned, though, that dexter93 and crew are looking to find way to fix other bricks as well.
For all of the information—and there’s quite a bit—as well as download links, screen shots, the full instructions, and discussion, head on over to the appropriate thread to get unbricked:
May 9, 2012 By: pstevep
With Ice Cream Sandwich quickly spreading across Android devices like wildfire right now, new drivers for the Adreno 220 GPU found in the Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 have surfaced. These drivers can potentially lead to improved 2D UI rendering performance in ICS and, of course, increased benchmark scores.
XDA Senior Member gjcamp has produced recovery-flashable update.zip files that work across multiple devices with this hardware. Every phone running the Adreno 220 from the HTC Evo 3D to a couple variants of the Samsung Galaxy S2 may be able to benefit from these drivers, and there are currently seven different devices for which gjcamp has created threads. In his words:
…I have seen dramatically improved result on my Quadrant 3D scores with “Force 2D GPU rendering” UNCHECKED in the Setting->Develop Options Menu of this ICS Release. With this option checked I have seen improvements on both 2D and 3D. Although results are slightly degraded for 3D from post update the 2D results have doubled in value.
I can confirm this myself on my own Evo 3D that Quadrant scores were improved with these new drivers. Similarly, the 2D UI rendering does seem to be smoother, but this is always hard to measure objectively. As anyone who flashes bleeding edge tech to their phone knows, there could be side effects.
You can get started by visiting the threads in their respective sections listed below:
Even if your device isn’t explicitly, the drivers may potentially work on your device, provided that you’re running an Adreno 220 GPU and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. However, if your phone’s not on the list, be extra careful and be sure to have a working backup to revert to.
May 6, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
With every new Android firmware release, discussion almost immediately turns to whether or not it can be rooted. Most already rooted users will simply wait for a pre-rooted update in order to not be left without root access. However, some users accidentally update and lose root. Others yet purchase a new device preloaded with the newest firmware and need to achieve root. Sometimes, the firmware update is a whole new iteration of Android, which means it needs an entirely new root method.
This is the case on the HTC Sensation, which has recently been updated to Ice Cream Sandwich. Luckily, XDA Forum Member theSnakeX has put up the method for unrooted ICS users to root their devices should they be in the awkward predicament of losing root when updating.
The method requires users to download a few things including the Sensation All-in-One Toolkit by XDA Recognized Developer hasoon2000. The method isn’t overly difficult, and the longest part is unlocking your Sensation using HTCDev’s website. From there, it’s just running a few tools and flashing root.
What’s particularly interesting about this method is that it may also work for other HTC devices as well. There are reports of it working for the European Sensation XE , and the method does involve using the same rooting procedure as the HTC One X. So this very well may be compatible with any HTC device running ICS, assuming you already have downloaded the appropriate recovery and All-in-One Toolkit for your device. However, any user who attempts this (especially on unsupported devices) should be warned that it could in fact harm your device.
To get started with rooting your newly updated Sensation, hit up the original thread!
April 23, 2012 By: egzthunder1
HTC’s locking of the bootloaders during last year was nothing short of a spectacular feat. It was really a battle of the titans, where the original line-up of Sensation-like devices came with a locked bootloader, which was later unlocked and S-OFFed, only to be updated to yet another revision of the HBOOT. But the second time around, it was locked to an almost unlockable state. Having heard many complaints from the user base (and us), HTC decided to offer the olive branch and simply gave up on locking the HBOOT. In fact, they themselves provided a way to unlock this and allow the flashing of custom code on the devices (of course, your warranty flew out the window if you did). Several giants came along such as Revolutionary, but now the next step in the evolution of S-OFF has arrived, and its name is Juopunutbear, and it has been delivered by XDA Forum Members Fuses and globatron.
Details on the unlock process are somewhat scarce (and quite frankly, that is indeed a good thing), but it seems to be that the devs found some sort of exploit common on most dev unlocked devices. The process seems to include what the devs have called a “wire trick”, which according to the pictures involves placing the device in download mode by touching a contact in the device’s board with one end of a wire (accessible without having to take it apart) and the other end of the wire to the device’s sd card slot metal casing. Everything else is done by the software, but your timing in doing everything must the right or else it will not work. Also, since the devices are somewhat different from each other, the devs have added a set of instructions, with video demonstrations, for each one of them.
The program has been extensively beta tested by a closed yet somewhat large group of people. However, as it is customary, the devs do state that the process is not perfect and that there is the likelihood that the devices could be bricked in the process. Having said that, proceed with extreme care and ensure that the device that you are going to S-OFF is in fact the one for which you are following instructions on.
The main unlock webpage can be found here. However, there are threads in each individual device section, such as this one for the Amaze 4G.
Want something published in the Portal? Contact any News Writer.
April 13, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
It appears that unlocking your bootloader through HTC Dev can cause a few problems on a few devices. Nothing serious, mind you, but enough for contributors around XDA to put up tutorials and fixes to help people get it fixed. It is also very unclear to a number of users as to what unlocking via HTCDev actually does. Fortunately, for those carrying the HTC Sensation, your questions and fixes are all in one place. XDA Senior Member trkaaa has written up a very nice thread that not only explains exactly what HTC Dev is designed to do, but identifies the most common problems with unlocking the bootloader this way and has listed ways to fix those issues.
The explanation and fixes are very thorough and very friendly to those who may not be as tech savvy as they’d like to be. It mentions the difference between unlocking with tools such as Revolutionary and unlocking with HTC Dev, and why users see S-ON even after unlocking. The big fix that’s listed, which is causes WiFi issues, has been linked to flashing ROMs and not being able to flash a kernel in recovery. This then causes a mismatch between the kernel modules and the kernel itself, leading to the issue. As explained in the thread:
the kernel is located inside Boot.img , and Also the kernel components ( when you install a rom ) are located in System \ lib \ modules . the Module Folder is a Kernel Folder . if there is a mismatch between kernel and kernel components you will have WiFi error
There is a lot more information packed inside this helpful thread, so any and all new HTC Sensation users—as well as some more experienced ones—could learn quite a bit by taking a look at it.
More information can be found in the original thread.
April 10, 2012 By: Will Verduzco
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: touch-based recoveries are the future. Aside from giving end users easier access to device firmware modification, they add a much needed element of polish to the Android hacking experience. While some may say that these upgrade recoveries take away from the feelings of thrill and excitement, I argue that they offer a more efficient interface and enable some truly unique new features not available in the recoveries of yesteryear.
In a rather large update to what is arguably the most popular touch-based recovery around, XDA Recognized Developer Dees_Troy presents to us Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP, for short) version 2.1. Aside from simply bringing a friendly UI, TWRP 2.1 packs a healthy feature punch by offering zip queuing, a basic file manager, and dual storage support for backups.
TWRP supports scripting via a new scripting engine called OpenRecoveryScript for use with GooManager. With ORS, users can install multiple update.zip files from within Android, wipe cache & dalvik, and run a backup. Furthermore, in the name of openness, Team Win has submitted ORS as a commit to ClockworkMod.
In the words of the developer:
Team Win Recovery Project 2.0, or twrp2 for short, is a custom recovery built with ease of use and customization in mind. We started from the ground up by taking AOSP recovery and loading it with the standard recovery options, then added a lot of our own features. It’s a fully touch driven user interface – no more volume rocker or power buttons to mash. The GUI is also fully XML driven and completely theme-able. You can change just about every aspect of the look and feel.
New features for version 2 of the recovery software:
Zip queuing as seen in TWRP 1.1.x is back
Dual storage capable (backup, restore, and install zips from internal or external storage – you choose)
Slider control (swipe to confirm most actions aka swipe to wipe)
Lockscreen (with slider to unlock)
Basic file manager (copy, move, delete, and chmod any file)
Added support for devices with /data/media (most Honeycomb tablets, new ICS devices like Galaxy Nexus)
Displays sizes of each partition in the backup menu
Added listbox GUI element (currently used for listing time zones)
Updated stock XML layouts to be more consistent and easier to port to different resolutions
XML layout files are significantly smaller
Partitions available backup are more accurate for some devices
Removed unneeded error messages (/misc errors, unable to stat sd-ext, etc.)
Fixed a bug with blkid detection code
Fixed bug where a blank line was inserted between every line of text during zip installs
Fixed a bug during zip installs where an invalid zip would cause TWRP to get stuck in the zip install
Added setting for themers to toggle simulation mode to make theming easier
New devices added – Galaxy Nexus GSM & CDMA (preview only, manual install), Acer Iconia Tab A500, HTC Vivid, Motorola Defy
Added support for .jpg images in the theme engine
Changed images for stock tablet theme – makes tablet builds about 500KB smaller
Removed unneeded non-GUI images from GUI – makes all builds about 100KB smaller
If you’re itching to get started, please visit the development threads listed below. If instead you are looking to theme the recovery, visit their theming guide.
March 25, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
Development for the HTC Sensation has been on fire recently. With a number of exceptional modifications, ROMs, and miscellaneous developments going on recently; the Sensation has been given a second wind of development. And, of course, from initial developments comes developments from those developments such as new ROMs getting mods, tweaks, and themes.
XDA Senior Member jerrytan93 has released an all-in-one mod that adds some fun tweaks and mods along with some good theming for users to enjoy. It can be used on any number of ROMs, but was built based on the framework of ROMs with Sense 3.6. The mod itself makes a lot of changes in anywhere from the framework to the Rosie even down to even modifying some settings and including a specially modified LeeDroid Tweaks. A few of the specific features are:
Super APM (Advance Power Menu) thanks to j4n87
NO FORCE CLOSE when preparing SD card
5×4 or 5×5 app drawer grid tweak-able by Leedroid tweaks
REMOVED ‘All Apps’ text below the icon and realigned to center
So users can not only expect a smoother experience but with the themed elements a much more eye catching experience as well.
For additional information, full change log and download links, check out jerrytan93′s AIO Mod Thread. As usual, don’t forget to make a backup in case something goes wrong. Say no to bootlooping.
March 21, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
Every now and again, there are is a tweak, a mod or a tool that most users can’t imagine not having. Things like Theme Chooser on CyanogenMod or the Rosie re-map function for most HTC devices, some modifications are so useful that they become common place in ROM feature lists. This is the case with LeeDroid tweaks, a mod pack by XDA Recognized Developer j4n87 that has become so popular that most ROM devs have added the tweaks to their ROMs, and those who haven’t have been urged by their users to do so.
The modification, available for the HTC Sensation and both the GSM and CDMA flavors of the HTC EVO 3D, gives users an application that can apply a very large number of mods from the MIUI battery bar to removing the paginated scrolling from the app drawer. Here’s a list of features available for just the status bar:
hide and reorder quicksetting
hide specific notifications icons: alarm/gps/bluetooth/wifi/data/headset/volume
center/hide clock
toggle am/pm
choose clock color
toggle for hide date on notification pulldown or show clock
center date/clock on notification pulldown
Battery Tweaks with MIUI Battery bar – + transparency!
OWN SIGNAL TWEAKS – choose up to SEVEN different colors for wifi/data/signal bars – DYNAMIC colors, dependent on signal strength – two icons sets to choose!
custom statusbar caption
center/hide clock
quick quicksettings toggle: if not notification to clear, show immediatly quicksettings
toggle tabs on/off
That’s just the status bar mods. There’s some for the Rosie, the lock screen and others. The full list of modifications and tweaks is truly long and impressive and it’s very highly recommended that users of the Sensation and EVO 3D at least check it out.
You can find LeeDroid Tweaks in either the EVO 3D GSM or CDMA threads, and for those with ICS on their HTC Sensation, the Sensation thread. As usual, make a backup before flashing, and get ready to enjoy one of the biggest single tweak packs out there.
March 20, 2012 By: Ian Stacy
HTC has always had a good relationship with its users, by industry standards. They’ve made several game-changing decisions in the past year, including unlocking device bootloaders and confirming Ice Cream Sandwich support for a wide range of handsets, including some that were lower range than most competitors bothered to support. Now, continuing in an effort to improve that relationship, HTC is challenging the idea that the company is slow to deliver source code for its devs and fans!
HTC ‘s relationship with the community definitely grew tighter this past weekend when the company released the Ice Cream Sandwich Kernel Source for the HTC Sensation, the HTC Sensation XE and the HTC Vivid. Developers can now get their hands on the code necessary to truly compile functioning ROMs that fully utilize the device hardware. This is great news for all HTC fans, as the source for the rest of the ICS line will undoubtedly follow!
The heads-up was first spotted in our forums for the Sensation here thanks to XDA Senior Member erto90 and for the Vivid here thanks to Senior Member come at me bro. Developers, head on over to the HTCDev download page here to nab the new kernel sources. You can also follow HTCDev on Twitter if you’d like to thank them!
March 20, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
One of the tougher things when working with future Android versions that haven’t yet been released for a device is getting all the features that worked on prior Android versions working on the new ones. Things like camera, 4G data, Bluetooth, and MMS are the kinds of features that take more time to port than things like 3G data and sound. Thankfully, they usually do get ported and it’s a very, very good day when they do.
For those running ICS on an HTC Sensation, your cameras can now function even better than ever thanks to a modification by XDA Forum Member NODO-GT. The mod, which is flashable over ClockworkMod Recovery, allows the HTC Sensationto record uncompressed video and audio. It not only allows for full 1080p video recording but also includes:
1080p Video Recording in 20mbps!
Increased Video Recording Quality
Rebuild Camera App
0 Compression on JPG Images.
Increase size cap of Images.
Improved Quality of Images.
This removes a lot of the issues with HTC Sensation camera quality, so users who often use their phone cameras should definitely consider giving this one a try to see if it has the intended effect of creating higher quality videos and photos. For additional information, download links and discussion, check out the HTC Sensation Camera on Crack Thread. As per the norm, don’t forget to make a backup before flashing.
March 15, 2012 By: orb3000
[Update: This modification has been temporarily pulled because many people were damaging their devices by not following instructions. The modification will be reinstated when simpler instructions are developed.]
Often times, much development work centers around a few key devices. This core group of devices has historically included the legendary HTC HD2, the Desire HD, and lately the HTC Sensation, which was one of the first devices to receive a custom ROM loaded with Android Ice Cream Sandwich and Sense 3.6.
The development work continues, as XDA Forum Member dexter93 lets us know about the alpha version of the Unbrickable tool for Sensation. This tool will help writesecureflag bricked devices and those phones that can achieve emmc_mode only few seconds, by using the Linux command dd to flash images into device.
The tool is in alpha state, so be extremely cautious if and when giving it a shot. It was designed to run it on Linux based computers only for now. It will also help those devices having QHSUSB_DLOAD issues. The developer is making an invitation for testers to contact him, so the tool can move forwards. In the words of the developer:
We are proud to announce that the sensation is now UNbrickable. Users with the QHSUSB_DLOAD issue can now fully recover their phones and get them fully functional.
Note: after consideration we decided not to post instructions here, as this is still developer preview and certainly not noob friendly. We do need testers though. If you’d like to be part of this, post inside or find us on irc. You need a linux box to be part of this and basic knowledge of it
IRC is now up! everyone get on freenode.net , channel #unbrick
online browser client: http://webchat.freenode.net/
from mobile use AndChatI repeat this is still alpha. noobs stay away
Continue on to the original thread to learn more, and make sure to stop by this post for a full breakdown on the procedure. This may be just the tool you’ll need to resuscitate your seemingly dead Sensation in the future!
[Thanks to M_T_M and xHausx for the tip!]
March 14, 2012 By: Will Verduzco
The billion dollar question right now in the Android world is whether or not your device will receive Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. As they so humorously put it:
Few innovations have improved upon ice cream as much putting it between two cookies and making a sandwich. Which is why we all want Ice Cream Sandwich! Ok, that’s not the real reason, but we’re all excited about Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, coming to HTC.
While there is constant speculation as to which devices will be added to the ICS list, not very many firm answers are to be found. Luckily, HTC has just released a public statement as to which devices are slated to receive Google’s latest tasty treat.
Timing is the next important question. HTC has spoken up on this issue as well, stating that the updates for the Sensation and Sensation XE would begin in the coming weeks, with the Sensation 4G andSensation following thereafter. However, the schedule still remains unclear for the other devices slated to receive the OS update.
As for timing, we’re in the early stages of rolling out Android 4.0 for the HTC Sensation and HTC Sensation XE and upgrades will be more widely available in the next few weeks. The update for the HTC Sensation 4G and HTC Sensation XL will follow. Please note, once we start pushing out updates it will take time for all carriers in each country to get the update. We are working closely with our carrier partners to nail down update schedules for our other smartphones and will have more to share very soon.
While many of us are still irked at the fact that HTC’s first generation Snapdragon devices such as the original HTC Incredible and the legendary Evo 4G are not on the update list, their omission is understandable given that not even the HTC-built Google Nexus One is receiving ICS in official capacity. However, the fact that these devices will be receiving Sense 3.6 rather than Sense 4 is a bit of a bigger blow. However, you can bet that our developer community will have that covered, as they have already begun to do so.
Source: HTC Blog
[Thanks to all who sent in the tip!]
YouTube
Follow
Like
Google+
