HTC Ace: Rooting & CyanogenMod

This guide will walk you through the process of taking the HTC Ace from stock to having the ability to flash a custom recovery image & the latest version of CyanogenMod.

Contents 1 Before you do anything — Make a backup 2 Downgrade to an exploitable Firmware 3 Rooting the HTC Ace 4 Flashing CyanogenMod 4.1 Method via Recovery 4.2 Method via ROM Manager

Before you do anything — Make a backup

Don't forget to back up your data. If you have synced the device with a Google account, then the contacts, calendar, Gmail, & select other Google-related data will not be lost and will come back after the next sync. However, you should backup anything you want to keep that is not stored on the SD card:

• SMS/MMS messages,
• Call Log,
• Bookmarks,
• Applications; use Titanium Backup or the Astro File Manager, for example,
• Any application data not on the SD card.

It would also be a good idea to backup everything stored on the SD card in the rare case the SD card must be formatted to resolve any major problems.

MyBackup Root, SMS Backup & Restore, and Call Backup & Restore are all free applications that can assist with backing up your data.

Downgrade to an exploitable Firmware

• AT&T Inspire 4G: Firmware Downgrade: Froyo, Gingerbread
• HTC Desire HD: Firmware Downgrade: Froyo, Gingerbread

Rooting the HTC Ace

Before you begin, if VISIONary is installed on the HTC Ace, uninstall it before continuing.

1. You will need ADB on the computer to root the HTC Ace and to flash the necessary files for radio S-OFF. Follow the Android SDK guide, to get the ADB shell on the computer.
2. Download busybox, the ClockworkMod Recovery, the Engineering HBoot, gfree 0.7, psneuter, root_psn, Superuser package:
   • busybox: Download

     md5: 25c5db694c987995909cc3166d4f01b0

   • ClockworkMod Recovery: Download

     md5: 072a643b0aba983a4b9994db0e113c5e

   • Engineering HBoot: Download

     md5: b2c8834905bfa2349f5223077493140a

   • gfree 0.7: Download

     md5: 6916cf05b0805aeac9effdc1725aaa12

   • psneuter: Download

     md5: 89c2dec8d72d87b4c669f44dd31c8d17

   • root_psn: Download

     md5: c8fe38ef55eb8951def9ff17b2eb99c1

   • Superuser package: Download

     md5: 43d9a40b63e916635d5ad7ca32433fab

3. Unzip the zip files and copy the contents to the same folder as adb (the /platform-tools folder within the Android SDK folder).
4. Connect the HTC Ace to the computer via USB.
5. Make sure USB debugging is enabled on the HTC Ace by checking Settings » Applications » Development » USB debugging.
6. On the computer, open terminal and run the following commands:

   adb push busybox /data/local/tmp/

   adb push gfree /data/local/tmp/

   adb push hboot-eng.img /data/local/tmp/

   adb push psneuter /data/local/tmp/

   adb push recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.3-ace.img /data/local/tmp/recovery.img

   adb push root_psn /data/local/tmp/

   adb push su /sdcard/

   adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/

   adb shell

   chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/*

   /data/local/tmp/psneuter

   NOTE: You will drop out of the shell after this command. Restart the shell using:

   adb shell

   cd /data/local/tmp

   ./busybox md5sum /dev/block/mmcblk0p18

   NOTE: Take note of this number, we will need it later. For the remainder of this guide, we will refer to this number md5 #1.

   ./gfree -f -b hboot-eng.img -y recovery.img

   ./root_psn

   sync

   NOTE: This may take a moment, just give it some time.

   ./busybox md5sum hboot-eng.img

   NOTE: Take note of this number, we will need it later. For the remainder of this guide, we will refer to this number md5 #2.

   ./busybox md5sum /dev/block/mmcblk0p18

   NOTE: Take note of this number, we will need it later. For the remainder of this guide, we will refer to this number md5 #3.

   • If md5 #1 & md5 #3 match, then gfree 0.7 failed to powercycle the eMMC chip on the device. Either the software version is too high and the device was not downgraded per the previous section, or you did something wrong. Try again or join #G2Root on Freenode for further help..
   • If md5 #2 & md5 #3 match, then everything should be fine and you continue on.
   • If md5 #3 does NOT match md5 #1 or md5 #2, then DO NOT REBOOT and join #G2Root on Freenode for further help.

   reboot

7. The HTC Ace is now rooted with S-OFF, the Engineering HBoot & the ClockworkMod Recovery. Continue to the next section.

Flashing CyanogenMod

Method via Recovery

1. Download the latest version of CyanogenMod.

   Optional: Download the Google Apps for the device.

2. Place the CyanogenMod update.zip file on the root of the SD card.

   Optional: Place the Google Apps .zip on the root of the SD card also.

3. Boot into the ClockworkMod Recovery.
4. Once the device boots into the ClockworkMod Recovery, use the side volume buttons to move around, and either the power button or the trackball to select.

   Optional: Select backup and restore to create a backup of current installation on the HTC Ace.

5. Select the option to Wipe data/factory reset.
6. Then select the option to Wipe cache partition.
7. Select Install zip from sdcard.
8. Select Choose zip from sdcard.
9. Select the CyanogenMod update.zip.

   Optional: Install the Google Apps by performing steps 7 - 9 again and choosing the Google Apps update.zip.

10. Once the installation has finished, select +++++Go Back+++++ to get back to the main menu, and select the Reboot system now option. The HTC Ace should now boot into CyanogenMod.

Method via ROM Manager

1. Launch RomManager.

   Optional: Choose the first option in the app, Flash ClockworkMod Recovery to update to the latest version.

2. Select the Download ROM option from the main menu in the ROM Manager.
3. Select the CyanogenMod option, and then choose the latest version of CyanogenMod from the menu.

   Optional: When you select the latest version of CyanogenMod, check the Google Apps option.

4. Once the ROM is finished downloading, it asks if you would like to Backup Existing ROM and Wipe Data and Cache.
5. If Superuser prompts for root permissions check to Remember and then Allow.
6. The HTC Ace will now reboot into the recovery, wipe data and cache, and then install CyanogenMod. When it's finished installing it will reboot into CyanogenMod.