Root and Wireless Tether the HTC EVO 4G Device

Background on Rooting EVO Attempts
I spent the majority of the night testing and retesting. At first I just tried to install UnRevoked with Wireless Tether, well since the new OTA, of course this would not work. Because my phone was brand spanking new, it came with the OTA updated. The newest OTA caused some minor heartache once I found out that it blocked most prior Root attempts. Well I was thoroughly bummed and in search of an answer. I went over to the XDA Developer Forums and found a thread, (see SimpleRoot .1 ---- 3 Click Root w/ nand unlock!! link above) and tried as I might to get it to root my HTC EVO. I kept getting “Main Version is Older!" error, which thoroughly baffled me and confused me. Well I searched that forums and found make shift “solutions", which none worked. Finally I went back to google and searched the XDA Site...well I found a similar post SimpleRoot OTA 1.47.651.1 Edition that was for the newest OTA, /facepalmed my self to oblivion. I was following the old guide and not the new one. Well since I started following the newest SimpleRoot guide, let's just say things go a bit smoother. So now that the background informations is set, here is the actual guide of the steps I took.

Root the HTC EVO
Pre-Requisite Alert!!!!
Before attempting this you will need the Microsoft .NET 4 Framework installed and HTC Sync . So obviously this will only work on a Windows Computer. If you are an avid Linux User like myself, simply find yourself a copy of a Windows, I chose Windows XP as I had a CD for it and install it. You should be able to accomplish this within the 30-day Trial Period.

Disclaimer:
The following instructions can potentially HARM or BRICK or BREAK your HTC EVO phone. Follow them at your own risk. This is simply a “learning guide" and nothing else. I take no responsibility in any adverse effects that may come to your phone from this. This may void your phone warranty or your phone companys TOS, so be sure to read them before trying and know that you are TRYING THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. ALSO NOTE: This may remove your 4G capabilities. If you have 4G Available and want to continue using it, DO NOT PROCEED!

The Steps to Root HTC EVO
First of all the software will be needed, as long as the download limit of 400 has not been reached, you should be able to download it here, if it has well see the forum for extra download links using Megaupload. Once the files are downloaded, extract them anywhere you want. I chose the Windows Desktop, given that it was just a temporary install. Once they are extracted it is time to do some prep work on your phone. First up, you will have to wipe all your data. If you have data (I did not as my phone was brand new) I would suggest finding ways to back it up, I do not know of any but I am sure Google.com can assist you in finding more information about backing your data up. Your phone needs to be in USB Debugging mode, to do this you will goto MENU > Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging and check it. This is a key step and the rest will not work without that mode set.

Open the SimpleRoot program, I believe it is called OTARoot. Once it is opened up you should see an image like below with 4 buttons:

Now before you connect up, make sure that you do want to do this. If you are, connect your phone up and press the first button “Push files + Factory Reset". A command prompt screen should pop up and give you instructions, be sure to follow them. Read the whole thing first before you act. The factory reset I had to manually execute it on the phone, the instructions should tell you how.

Once the factory reset and the instructions tell you to move on to Step 2 it is time to push the second button “Clear Browser". I am sure this does what it says, but I cannot recall exactly. Just be sure to read and re-read the instructions before acting on them that pop up. Once it is finished, time to move onto Step 3, which is “Use Flash Hack". Now this step I think I messed up on which gave me the “Main Version is Older" error. Make sure that after you goto the website it instructs you to, to refresh the page after it is loaded, if you do not well, it is not a complete loss as there is a way around that problem. It is better to follow the instructions.

If you did not follow the instructions, to re-mediate the problem that comes up with “flash_image" not found, simply copy the flash_image from the extract OTA SimpleRoot archive to your Phone. This is a pain because you have to un-plug your phone from the computer, plug it back in, set the USB Mode to Disk Drive and copy the flash_image to the root of the SD Card. Once that is done, un-plug your phone again, switch it back to Charge Only and then re-run Step 4.

Step 4, “Reboot + Scan" is the most important step. Make sure to read the instructions fully. This will basically install the earlier version of the OTA which will allow you to root your HTC EVO device. After the image is pushed, the initial boot will take around 5 minutes. So be patient. Once it is back online, you are set up! If the USB Cable is still connected, on the SimpleRoot program goto Extras > Clean Root Files. This will clear up your SD Card automatically. Once that is done, you can unplug your device, set the USB Debugging mode off if you want and poof! You have a Rooted device.

Wireless Tethering on HTC EVO
Since my ultimate goal was to setup my device as a WiFi hotspot, here are those instructions as well, I credited the writer / originator with the link up top, please feel free to view that post if you want. For ease of the guide I will post similar instructions here.

First up we have to allow “unknown source" applications to be installed (you can change this back after installing the following software if you like). To do this on your EVO Press Menu > Settings > Applications > Check the Unknown Sources. Once this is done, go back to the Home screen.

Next, open your EVO's Internet Browser (Applications > Internet) and browse to: Unrevoked and download / install their application. This is straight forward simply click on the screen when prompted. Once it is downloaded and installed, it is time to get the Wireless Tethering software installed.

Open your Internet Browser and browse to http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/downloads/list Or, I setup a goo.gl located at http://goo.gl/4lac (after the 4 it is an L just lowercased) to shorten the amount of typing you would need to do. Download the “wireless_tether_2.0.5-pre2.apk" and install it to your HTC EVO. Once downloaded and installed go back to the Home screen. Goto the Applications and open up Unrevoked (you will need to do this anytime you turn off the tethering or reboot the phone BEFORE you start the Wireless Tethering). Once at unrevoked press “Start" this will take a few seconds and will go green. Once the start is no longer green or you get a message that says “Rooted" go back to the Home screen to the Applications and start up the “Wireless Tethering" This should start up and you are good to go! Modify your settings for the SID / WPA Key etc and now you have a Wireless HotSpot with your new EVO.

Conclusion
Rooting the HTC EVO OTA 1.47 has been a great journey and learning experience for me. It was frustrating at times finding all the quirks of information, but in the end I got it done. If you find your self needing advanced help I can try via comments, but probably better to post the threads listed above, they are much smarter than I am and have more experience with the EVO. I am mainly writing this as a log for me in-case I accidentally update my phone and have to do this again. Hope it all works well and this guide saves you some hassle in the future.

Gods Speed!

EDIT:
Changed the unrevoked part, as that is not needed. The image should be rooted with out it.