By [Update 2]: The download site that we linked to earlier should now be showing the update (here’s a direct download link, and here’s a link to the PDF file for more information). The file is 118 megabytes in size.
[Update]: As of 9:05 am Central time, there doesn’t appear to be any links available from Sprint to download the software required to update. For now, your best bet is to call the Sprint store and see if they have the upgrade on hand. Otherwise, you’ll need to wait a while before the download link actually appears on the Sprint site.
As a bunch of you simultaneously take a huge sigh of relief, we can finally say that Sprint’s entire Android line-up to this point has been updated to Android 2.1. A couple of days ago, the Samsung Moment got its long-awaited update, and Sprint HTC Hero users will be able to say they’ve got theirs, as well.
The final ROM for the update was leaked a couple of days ago (ahead of its rumored May 21st date), so it was only a matter of time before we saw Sprint follow suit with the official availability. The only changes that Sprint describes for the update are as follows:
- Upgraded operating system to Android 2.1 Eclair
- Enhancements to sense user interface
- Enhanced corporate email support
- variety of minor bug fixes
Just like the Moment update, the Hero 2.1 upgrade will not be provided over the air. As usual, if you do not have a Windows PC, you need to get a friend with one to help you or take a stroll into your nearest Sprint store to have the update applied. If you do have a windows PC and are willing to try this yourself, head over to HTC’s support site for the Sprint Hero to find instructions on how to install and apply the update.
[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]
Does this work for the european HTC Hero?
Yes there is an instructions page but the actual download page does NOT contain a link for the ROM as of 7:00am MST.
I guess people can go find the unofficial downloads until sprint actually releases it.
It is sprint only.
There are instructions but no download link on Sprint’s website.
Victory FAIL.
The download page is in the text:
http://www.htc.com/us/support/hero-sprint/downloads/
This is only for the Sprint HTC Hero euro customers still have to wait :-(
If you’re a T-Mobile UK G2 owner then go to the URL below and spam the hell out of that forum until they give us some kind of response
http://forums.t-mobile.co.uk/discussions/index?page=forums&topic=80103803b2f8a6f0126c25b2e74007839
Download link live on HTC website
http://www.htc.com/us/support/hero-sprint/downloads/
Beats me why a phone which was released 3 months after the original Hero would get its update before the original model
Fair … NOT >:(
The OFFICIAL UPDATE IS FOUND ON THE HTC SITE NOT ON THE SPRINT SITE. That being said, here is the link. Enjoy and remember to have your phone at least 50% charged.
http://www.htc.com/us/support/hero-sprint/downloads/
No ROM available on HTC’s site. All the hype is just ANOTHER let down, so far. It’s like a cruel April Fools joke.
It is 10:22AM eastern time and I have started downloading both the HTC Sync software and the HTC Sprint Hero MR 2.27.651.5.exe file from the link provided in the article (HTC website).
Just got off the phone with a few reps at Sprint. It was explained to me that the update is “pending” and should be posted in a few hours. Apparently, Sprint is having trouble with their website. Surprise, surprise.
As an aside, a call center supervisor (who was apparently monitoring the call for quality assurance) interrupted my rep and took over the call to ASSURE me that THIS TIME the update date was actually happening. He even went so far as to ask for a call back number and offered to ring me when the wonky website issues were resolved and the update was posted. Granted, I won’t be holding my breath but, it was a nice gesture nonetheless.
I’ve already installed the leaked ROM so I’m in no rush.
I was really grumpy because this story was announced and there is NO download link on Sprint’s site.
HOWEVER!!!!
Go to HTC’s website. I’ll believe it when I see it, but I think THIS is actually the real deal:
http://www.htc.com/us/support/hero-sprint/downloads/
The download is available from HTC now.
http://www.htc.com/us/support/hero-sprint/downloads/
I have the leaked rom on my phone already which is the same version as the one listed on their official instructions.
I’m having problems with linking any of my facebook contacts to my google contacts like it was in 1.5. None of my facebook contacts are populating.
Anyone else having this problem?
All I know is that 2.1 rocks on the older hardware. Friends have updated to 2.1 on the Eris and it flies. Same goes for Cyanogen on the G1. Now if they can only get 2.1 out for the Backflip sooner rather than later to get my wife off of my ass I will be thrilled!
Sprints Download site says it just has the Sync software… but the sync software link takes you to the page with the official download yay :)
Here’s the direct link to it!
http://www.htc.com/us/support/hero-sprint/downloads/
The update is on HTC’s site: http://www.htc.com/us/support/hero-sprint/downloads/
sloooooooowwwwww download.
Just walked out of my Sprint store…they don’t have it.
I updated leaked sprint update last week that was on this site. it works great! I have Google goggles and Google navi with street view.
My download tanked about 25% through and now the page is dead. Any alternate websites where I can grab it from?
My connection dropped and I am no longer able to get to the download. HTC must be flooded with traffic.. :(
There is no link because as stated in the article the download and instructions are on the HTC site. Do some looking and you will find it.
Nevermind – it started working! Hopefully it won’t happen again…
I downloading the leaked rom all i want to know is if the official has live wallpaper. I also lost some of my paid apps that i cant find in the market. Finally i cant find google earth if anyone has any info on any of this i would appreciate it !!
Sprint’s website is now listing the 2.1 update but its just a link to the HTC download page.
Just walked out of a Sprint store. They aint got it yet. ;/
[GRIPE]
Great we get the official update. I’ve been running a custom 2.1 ROM for a couple of months now, everything mostly works.
I go to download the official update…WINDOWS EXECUTABLES!? WTF?
What about people who aren’t slaves to Microsoft? The ROM would be nice to have un-packaged so I could update using adb, but no. Now I have to find a Windoze machine to get my update. Ridiculous.
[/GRIPE]
@Graham
I was in the Sprint store last week for a non-Hero related question and asked the Sprint rep when 2.1 was going to drop. He wouldn’t give my anything outside the canned answer but he had already put the leaked ROM on his Hero and said it will NOT run live wallpaper due to battery concerns. That being said he said his battery life was much improved.
you’d think they would have more than one server available for everyone to use, this has been anticipated for so long. The connection keeps dropping, and I’m sure many more people are getting frustrated by it! RAWR!!
Veryy slowww download 15 KB/s for HTC sync and new firmware
Damn, my DL failed while I was out. Have to re-download it. BS. And, yes, Jamie, sloooooooowwwwww download.
I’ve restarted 5 times now. It never gets more than 10% done before failing. Giving up until later. :(
Running on Vista64, the download (HTC Sprint Hero MR 2.27.651.5.exe) does nothing but give me a massively uninformative error dialog:
>SetupNew\setup.cpp (140)
PAPP:
PVENDOR:
PGUID:
$
@Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (6002)
IE Version: 8.0.6001.18904
The long wait was sure worth it!
Ok Sprint needs to post the download on their servers as well so that HTC’s aren’t the only ones handling the downloads, or no one is gonna ever get finish downloading 2.1…its Always something with Sprint I swear
Just grab the mirror of the file at http://www.sprinthtcheroroms.com/ruu/HTCSprint_RUU_2.27.651.5.exe. I’m getting around 400kbps download speed.
If anyone can get me the file, I’ll post on CDN asap.
Okay, just came back from the same Sprint store. They had no idea it was there…apparently Sprint has not even communicated it down to their people…wow…anyway, one of them (CSR) had a Hero and he had no idea.
They went ahead and started downloading the update…I’ll head back later.
-smh@SprintCorporate-
@Geekgrrle – I too have the leaked version from last week and have the same issue with contacts not linking to facebook anymore.
Can someone post if this has been fixed with the official release? Also, any live wallpaper? Everyone was so pissed at Sprint for taking so long to release this, but I think people are going to be more pissed now when they find out they didn’t fix all the bugs before releasing!
I’m downloading the Sprint release now, it says I have 4 hours to go before the download is complete…
anyone able to download it? Upload it in mediafire or rapidshare or something… Plz. :(
First, yay for the update!
Second, I can’t believe HTC has, apparently, posted one update file on one dusty, old server in the back of some warehouse that’s on a dial up connection. Non-snarky comment: HTC completely fails to understand that a huge number of people have Hero phones and have been champing at the bit for this update. They fail.
Third, Sprint’s failure to host a version for download is a total failure to their customers.
This has probably been the most frustrating (in terms of release) and irritating (in terms of how it is being done) OS update I’ve dealt with in 10+ years.
This experience has put me off of both Sprint and HTC in terms of future purchases.
Take it with a grain of salt but this was just posted to XDA as a faster download for the update. (Unverified yet)
http://www.filedropper.com/htcsprintheromr2276515
Downloaded mine from the leak a couple days ago and works great. One thing that’s a little frustrating is that some apps aren’t available on 2.1 that were available on 1.5 (i.e. MLB at Bat and Calorie Counter) Otherwise… Epic Victory. Took long enough.
Sprint has now hosted the update on their site:
http://www6.sprint.com/downloads/htc/executables/htc_sprint_hero_mr_2.27.651.5.zip
It downloaded in under a minute for me – MUCH better!
Thanks Dusty, its currently downloading at 300kbs, compared to 60kbs from htc, will let you know if it works :)
Android is a mess, no one is on the same page….not the carriers, not the handset makers, not even google with the branching of android. But it’s open source so i guess there will always be a haphazard element to this.
Anyone install this one yet: http://www.sprinthtcheroroms.com/ruu/HTCSprint_RUU_2.27.651.5.exe ?
Downloaded in 5 minutes! woo
Root users beware. The update has a new frameware which blocks previous root techniques, its sprints way to stop “jailbreakin” it Android phone. Remember since Android 2.2 is rumored to include wireless hotspot and WiFi tethering, rooting it phone will endanger theory $30 4g hotspot charge
I got the leaked version i just want to know if the official one has live wallpaper or can find Google Earth in the market!!!!!!!!!!!
I downloaded the leaked rom a few days back does anyone know if there is any difference in this new update?
Just downloaded from the Sprint site in a couple of minutes. I’m sure everyone has had their own experiences with Sprint in the past, but just for the record with a bit of a chorus of negativity going on, I have been a Sprint customer for 10 years and while things did get a little dicey for a while customer-services-wise I think they have made great strides and I have had several excellent experiences. Also my coverage is great (in NYC), my plan is killer cheap, and I have one of what is the best lineup of Android phones out there. Just thought I’d give some love to Sprint since days like these inevitably bring any previous bad experience bubbling to the surface. FYI HTC I’m not so sure about. This update having been delayed so long is on them, but hey they are cranking out some pretty amazing phones. Jury’s out…
YES great question chris Sombody……Anybody know the answer to that!!!!!!!!!
Sprint is now hosting a download. Decent download speeds so far: http://shop.sprint.com/en/software_downloads/pda_smartphone/htc_hero.shtml
NO LIVE WALLPAPERS!
the leaked update from a couple days ago seems to be the same exact version of this software. so far at least. I have not found live wallpapers or voice-to-text.
Now that 2.1 is finally ready to roll….what are you guys using to backup your apps for reinstall???
Used the links posted by Dusty and Theresa (THANK YOU!!!) DLed in NO time! Finally my original dl quit giving me an error, but I am THROUGH with the update, and HTC’s server is only 35% accomplished on the dl.
Thank you to everyone for your help. It is ABOUT TIME. 2.1 on the Hero. I had about given up.
I had the leaked version from a couple days ago and just installed the “official” version from Sprint’s site. I don’t see any difference and the same bugs are still there. Won’t link contacts with facebook, no live wallpaper option. I was however able to find apps in the market that were previously missing (@ Marcel – Calorie Counter)
Thanks Jon im hopeful Sprint will release an OTA to fix whatever bugs there are soon
I take that back, the Facebook contact sync IS working now. I updated the FB app and gave it time to sync and it’s good to go again.
@Jon – i updated from the leaked version too, my Firmware version shows 2.1-update1. Do you see the same thing?
All my paid apps just popped up in the market thank god!! I insalled the leak a couple days a go and it took that long. Must be because it became official.
i am sure the googlemap app is ony found here
m.google.com/maps
Live Wallpapers:
The HTC Hero 1.5 from Sprint that I have cannot even run smoothly the way it is so why do some think it would handle live wallpapers?
It was a smart decision to leave something like that out of this custom rom. That would only irritate the user experience more for the unknowing average user. Be happy they did that, it was a smart decision.
anybody seen google earth
Does anyone know if 2.1 will fix the MMS issue? When someone sends me a picture message, it is perpetually downloading and I can never view it.
@Cold12pack – yes, it was 2.1-update1 before and after the Sprint update.
You guys are life savers! I tried for a few hours attempting to get the download from the HTC servers, but timed out constantly. This took no time at all. I love phandroid…
Emotion of the day: pissed
Why u ask? Cause the friggin update wont work on cellular south hero
any mirrors for sync??
woping 2kb/sec
http://d39v91y2g7hprn.cloudfront.net/HTC_Sprint_Hero_MR_2276515.exe
Thanks for posting the sprint link! Reposted for those still having problems w/HTC:
http://shop.sprint.com/en/software_downloads/pda_smartphone/htc_hero.shtml
2.1’s sweet!!live weather widget is awesome on the home screen.so far all i have seen is clouds move across the screen…waiting for the weather to change haha but as for the actual live wallpapers i could care less that they didn’t incorporate them…anybody have luck figuring out text to speech yet??i downloaded the app it suggested under settings but can;t figure it out yet
Wow! they put thethering in here!!!!
FINALLY TO BAD I DOWNLOADED THE LEAK, IF YOU WANT LIVE WALLPAPERS ROOT, BUT IT SUCKS, DRAINS BATTERY!
Here’s what I did to fix the Facebook contact linking problem. Under Settings -> Accounts & sync, removed the “Facebook” account and added the “Facebook for HTC Sense” account. I hit Sync Now and all my contacts slowly synced up with Facebook. Hope this helps.
Make sure on your gmail account, you have the same folders holding the in your phone, such as facebook….. or Facebook for HTC Sence, and when you have your widget for people, that is the folder that you choose… Such as VIP .. This will make all your VIP contacts come up in your people widget… Again make sure what folders you have on your phone are the same as the ones on your gmail account..
Other than that I love my Hero again, too bad it might not see 2.2 ( Froyo ) but this is great everything is working, I’m just sticking to the leak that came signed already.
Thank you for listening, and good night
Crash
USE THE SPRINT DOWNLOAD, it was FAST!!! : )
Welcome to 2.1.
F I N A L L Y
Is anyone else having a problem installing the update? I keep getting Error [170]: USB Connection Error.
and my phone is clearly connected to the PC! My PC sees my phone why cant the RUU?
man this somehow bricked my hero .it will not boot just flashes htc quietly brilliant then black then the same ….
Navigation is nice on the hero, much better than sprints.
If you.haven’t.spotted it yet its in navigator.
U will be prompted to txt to speech.
the update does not work on 64bit versions of windows…my windows 7 can’t run the htc sync….im glad i had my windows xp netbook…a 32bit os with synch installed is your solution udasjd
Will the new download contain the Sprint programs….especially Sprint Navigation? I’m concerned about losing that when I upgrade.
Keep checking my site at http://www.lieconomy.com I will try to post a mirror link for the update!
@mark
it contains all the sprint apps, nav, nfl,nascar
but once you use google nav, it runs much smoother and refreshes much faster especially since the last sprint nav update.
was trapped in boston and route tracking was horrid.
The htc_sync_2.0.33.exe download from HTC is tortoise-like slow. Everyone posted mirrors to the actual update but not the sync app. I am now trying to install without the sync update.
Ok, I am getting a “Error[170]: USB Connection Error” so it appears I must have this sync app. Looks like I have to wait another hour.
I downloaded this one but it keeps giving me an “Error 1722.There is a problem with this windows installer package. A program…”
http://androidforums.com/sprint-htc-hero/81344-official-htc-hero-2-1-update-now-sprint-com-6.html
Alrighty, if anyone else had my problem then here is what I did to fix it.
I downloaded htc_sync_2.0.33.exe via torrent and upon completion I analyzed the file size vi right click/properties to see if the bit size was identical, it was. Then something caught my eye on the original file from Android forums, it said at the bottom of the properties that “This file is from another website” or something to that effect and it was blocked, there was a button to “unblock” so I did, no cigar. Then I searched for this error 1722 and came across the below website with many solutions. I tried the first one and it worked, however, I first had to go into task manager and kill a previous msiexec.exe because it said it was already running. I am running XP SP2 if it makes any difference. Now the actual update is installing, it failed at the same spot as before, “Error[170]: USB Connection Error”.
http://community.htc.com/na/htc-forums/android/f/32/t/1258.aspx
Method 1
Unregister Windows Installer, and then reregister Windows Installer. To do this, follow these steps:
On the “Start” menu, click “Run:.
In the “Open” box, type “msiexec /unreg”, and then press ENTER.
On the “Start” menu, click “Run”.
In the “Open” box, type “msiexec /regserver”, and then press ENTER.
Ok, Error 170 solved. It appears you need to restart the computer after you install sync, particularly you need to see the green sync icon in the system tray and/or see a wizard pop up asking you to sync etc.
Once that happened the installer worked great, I am finally on my way to 2.1. Flashing in progress and going well!
Anybody feel that their HERO is running a little sluggish after the update?
DREAL05
At first mine did, typing was a pain, pressing answer call was slow(I actually missed a call)
I rebooted the phone, it seems to work as normal now.
I am not seeing any boost in snappyness yet, but certain apps like the new phone UI is much cleaner.
Dreal05, mine was HORRIBLY slow after the update. I wanted to chuck the whole phone. I did reboot a few minutes ago and hope that what I am seeing is actually faster performance. I deleted a contact app I used as the default with 1.5 (AContacts) because that was the absolute worst performing. Let’s see, I don’t get it :-(
Okay, since 11pm last night I have been playing with 2.1 and it is definitely more responsive! Also happy I can use Google Goggles now in addition to trying the official Mint and Twitter apps.
Love the new maps/navigation plus pinch to zoom.
My favorite though is the ability to have multiple Google accounts and also sync contacts from both!!!!
What a great update!!!
Anyone else see a drop in available memory after the update? I used to have between 80 and 90M free when running only a few apps, now its between 30 and 45 constantly. Feels like the phone is slowed down because of the lack of available memory.
Phone/contacts is nagging me, takes up to a min before one of my contact actually opens.
I do like the new drop downs in gmail
I have been using the official ROM release now for two full days I downloaded it moments after it posted. I hate to say it but the device was faster before the update. They claim improved proformance but I fail to see it. My Hero is “sluggish” and sometimes even “very sluggish” after the update to 2.1 … Disappointed but not all hope is lost. I have a feeling they released 2.1 ahead of schedule due to the leaked version spreading around. most likely a minor update in the near future with all the bug fixes, I hope.
I have been using it since May 21 and at first it was definitely more responsive but then I downloaded a bunch of apps for it and it slowed down. It has also been doing some odd things lately. Probably going to root my phone and go for a uberfast custom rom soon.
Looks like I will be eligible for an EVO 4G in October anyways. Innovation is happening quickly (which is awesome) and we all need new tech anyways!