LaslowNET Technical Rants, HOWTOs, and Writing

Rogers, Android, and You

(Updated 04/29/2010) -- YOU CAN NOW ROOT the Rogers HTC Magic! Details here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=627384 Exact steps to root are here: http://greatbigdog01.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/rogers-magic-post-e911-update-to-cyanogen-5-0-7-android-2-1/

I've posted before about my HTC Dream, and some of the run-arounds I've had with Rogers, but I haven't posted about that recently. Rogers, it seems, is out to alienate Android users and seemingly could care less.

A little back story first:

In September of 2009, an Android user reported a problem with the Android 1.5 ROM where, if you had GPS enabled and attempted to call 911, your phone would crash and reboot. The issue was promptly fixed in the Android source, and all was good. The user then reported the problem to Rogers, who did nothing.

Fast-forward to January. Rogers comes under fire for the issue and disputes having known about the problem for several months. The make an update to fix it, and push it out. To make sure that their asses are covered, though, they tell everyone that it's a Mandatory Upgrade. "If you don't upgrade, we're going to disconnect your data." And, on January 24th, 2010, they did. All HTC Dream and Magic users lost data for at least a day. The official word was that if you upgraded to the new ROM, you're connection would be restored within 24 hours.

Those who didn't update not only lost data, but starting receiving daily telephone calls and text messages telling them to upgrade. Some people even had their outgoing calls redirected to Rogers Customer Support (and reportedly, even 911 calls were affected by this, although Rogers denies this happened -- Update: see the comment from RogersMary below).

Eventually, Rogers released a waiver users could sign that would allow them to continue using their old ROM and get their data back (although some people had gotten around this by phoning Technical Support and having them manually enable the data connection, with mixed results).

Then, for a five-day period (February 9th through 14th), Rogers re-instated their free HTC Dream to HTC Magic upgrade program (for users who purchased an HTC Dream before December 31st, 2009). I took part and received a shiny new HTC Magic at no charge, and promptly sold my still-rooted HTC Dream.

Okay, back story over. What's the deal with the new ROM?

Well, there's what you need to know. If have a Dream or Magic that's still rooted, you can simply upgrade to the newest Radio image (available on the XDA forums if you do a little searching). This will allow you to keep your root, as Rogers' network uses the Radio Version String to determine whether or not you've upgrade (it simply looks at the radio version string when your phone connects to the network). Alternatively, you can sign the waiver above and you're fine as well.

If, however, you already performed the ROM upgrade (or received/purchased a new Dream or Magic from Rogers after the beginning of February), you're in a little bit of trouble. Here are the relevant details. The new ROM contains:

• An updated Kernel, which contains a fix to the Root Privilege Elevation Exploit used by Flashrec. In short, the One-Click Root no longer works.
• A new 'perfect' SPL (version 1.76.2010 SAP50000). This one comes with Security On and Fastboot disabled. As such, Magic users can no longer simply boot from a new recovery image and flash.
• Strict sigchecks are now in place, which prevent running the RUU with the previous ROM from working (HBOOT reports a Main Version Error if you try to run the RUU or use the rom.zip as a SAPPIMG.zip).
• The Gold Card method no longer works. This is an odd one, because it seems to process, but then exits without error. It isn't likely that Rogers disabled it - rather, they probably changed how it operates (update: it appears that even when using a Gold Card, it still does a Main Version Check - as such, none of the existing SAPPIMG.img ROMs will work, as they are all older versions).
• There is an engineering SPL floating around the internet, however without a way to flash it, it currently does us no good.

As such, Rogers users with the Mandatory Update are currently boned. In order to gain root, we need one of the following:

1. A new Kernel Root Elevation Exploit that will allow an application like Flashrec to load a new recovery image.
2. A newer ROM that we can inject the engineering SPL in that will allow Fastboot (edit: although this is *very* difficult, if not impossible to do while keeping the signature in tact)
3. An answer to why the Gold Card method is failing, and a fix for that (edit: I've re-created my gold card and tried again, this time with no other specific errors. I'm on the lookout for a newer SAPPIMG that works with 32A Magic's that has a higher version than the Rogers ROM - that may well be the key). Update - the most likely reason that the gold card method is failing is that it doesn't bypass the Main Version check. As such, we're still stuck until a newer SAPPIMG is leaked with an engineering SPL.
4. An easier-to-use JTAG method (see XDA forum link below).

Until one of these solutions is found, we're stuck with 1.5. So far, solution number 2 looks like our best bet, as Rogers has announced that Magic users will receive an Android 2.1 update (with Sense UI) sometime soon - when this update comes out, it should be possible for an engineering SPL to be injected in to the update. Until that happens, we're stuck without access to a number of newer apps (like Google Goggles and Google Earth), and flaky Bluetooth.

The important things to take away from this are the following:

• If you care about rooting, NEVER perform a ROM update from Rogers unless you're prepared to lose the ability to root, possibly forever. When the 2.1 update comes out, avoid it like the plague until it has either been deemed safe, a de-fanged version has been released, or someone has 'fixed' it to allow rooting.
• Watch the XDA forums for information regarding updates.
• Don't trust Rogers.

Update: In response to a comment below, here are a few of the best threads for information on the rooting effort:

• Rooting Rogers HTC Dream
• JTAG Rooting (Claims successful rooting of the Rogers e911 ROM - requires JTAG, not for the faint of heart)
• Consolidated Info on Rogers Update (Magic)

Additionally, I'm currently selling my Rogers HTC Magic. Yes, it has the update applied, as I received after the update was released. If you're interested, send me an email. Currently asking $300 OBO.