Verizon Radio on HTC Hero for Sprint?

Have you ever considered switching to Verizon because your Sprint signal is no good? Won't make the switch because of the price? I don't blame you. Sprint has, hands down, the best data packages available for the price. Nothing even comes close.

Wish you could have Verizon coverage for Sprint prices? You can!

Can you hear me now?
Just like you don't need an Evo, or a Droid X, you don't need Verizon to get the best most out of an Android 2.2 phone. Let's flash a Verizon Radio onto our HTC Hero for Sprint!

WARNING: Everything posted on this blog has been tested and confirmed. That being said, if you brick your device, it's no one's fault but yours. No one is making you do any of this. Messing with Radios has, probably, the most bricking potential of anything you'll run into on this or other pages.

What you'll need:
1) Rooted HTC Hero for Sprint (CDMA HERO). Not Rooted? Everything you need to Root your HTC Hero for Sprint is over on the right in this blog's Archive. Start in August, 2010.
2) The Verizon Radio (Compliments to flipz at Geek For Me)
3) Some guts.

How to:
Step 1) Drop the Verizon Radio (zipped file) onto your sdcard's root directory (i.e. not in any folders). Like custom ROM's, Do Not Extract.

Step 2) Boot into your recovery image (i.e. boot into Nandroid, Clockwork recovery, etc.)

Step 3) Select - Apply sdcard:choose zip or Flash Zip from sdcard (depending on your recovery image) and then choose the Verizon Radio that you placed on your sdcard. Press HOME to confirm that you'd like to install it. The installer should walk you through the flashing of the new radio.

Step 4) Once the new radio is installed, you'll be back at the Nandroid Menu and it might say that it is clearing "cache..." Just wait a minute and then go ahead and - Reboot system now

That's it. You've got the Verizon radio on your HTC Hero for Sprint.

"Unroot" your phone (factory flash)

Unroot my phone? Why would I want to do this? Well, there are a number of reasons why someone might want to factory flash their phone:

• Need to send the phone if for repairs covered under warranty. You'll need your phone to be running the factory software and you'll need your phone to be unrooted. Sprint/HTC will reject your phone and void your warranty if you send them a phone that's been hacked up.
• Perhaps you loaded a custom ROM and forgot to make a backup of your phone's current state. Now all of a sudden, your phone is behaving badly, being buggy, etc. A factory reset will be your best (and sometimes only) fix.
• Your phone is totally messed up and really doesn't work at all anymore.

I'm sure someone can think of some other reasons why one would want to factory flash (unroot) a phone. Whatever your reason may be, here's how you'll go about it.

Step 1: Download the RUU: Click here to download

Step 2: Plug your phone into the computer you've downloaded the RUU to (or the network) and set it to "Charge Only"

Step 3: On your computer, navigate to the HTC Sprint Hero MR 2.27.651.5.exe that you downloaded.

Step 4: Run HTC Sprint Hero MR 2.27.651.5.exe (which you downloaded in Step 1) and follow the prompts. This piece of software will walk you through "Upgrading" your phone down to the vulnerable build.

Please Note
1) This software will most likely fail to load the "bootloader" (you'll know what I mean when it happens). Just unplug your phone and plug it back in and run the software again.

2) This software will most likely fail somewhere else along the way. Just unplug your phone and plug it back in and run the software again. It WILL work, it simply requires a few shots at it. Do not worry, you are NOT bricking your phone.

3) Once there is success, your phone will reboot. As it's booting, it will run through the normal start up splash screens (HTC, quietly brilliant, Sprint Now Network, etc.) The phone will appear to hang on "NOW" for quite some time; just leave it alone, it will come around and finish up just fine.

There you have it. You're unrooted and have completed a factory reset.