[HTC Sensation] RoboDan918:
NEW YEARS UPDATE: CdTDroiD has put out SENSEaY XE40/3.0!!! I will update this tonight once I get it working on my phone :). You can also use Android Revolution HD and InsertCoin ICS ROMs as they are pretty stable

NEW YEARS UPDATE 2: Found 1.5GHz Kernel for ICS. Posted below.

NOTE: I AM NOT TAKING CREDIT OR DONATIONS FOR ANY OF THE ROMS, KERNELS, MODS, OR ANY OTHER BIT OF THE GREAT PRO BONO WORK DONE ON A REGULAR BASIS BY XDA DEVS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THIS POST. PROPS TO THE XDA DEVS WHO’S WORK THIS IS. DONATIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO THE APPROPRIATE DEVS. THIS IS JUST A “REMIX” OF (IMHO) THE BEST WORK OUT THERE. ALSO THANKS TO HTC FOR THEIR WORK ON SENSE, THE GREAT HARDWARE THEY PRODUCE, AND THE RUU FILES THEY PROVIDE FREE OF CHARGE TO DEVS. NO INSULT IS INTENDED TO ANY DEVS OF ROMS NOT IN THIS REMIX. YOU ALL DO GREAT WORK, AND THIS IS JUST PERSONAL PREFERENCE.

Look! Transparent taskbar, transparent dock, transparent calendar widget, and ICS-like theme throughout. Newest version google Apps, Sense 3.5 (PICS BELOW FOR Android 2.3.5. PICS FOR ICS COMING SOON, ONCE BETTER BUILDS ARE OUT)

Android 2.3.5 Current <Will Update to ICS when stable build is posted on XDA by a dev, complete with props>

HTC Sense 3.5

1.5-1.7GHz Dual Core w. HTC Kernel, 1.2GHz with SENSEaY kernel

768MB RAM (562MB addressable with HTC Kernel, 613MB with stock SENSEaY kernel)

Greetings from the great white north! As much as I’d like to think of myself as technically inclined, I’m a relative greenhorn (compared to devs and other hardcore XDAers). I’m a big fan of the work of devs on XDA. I’ve used Android since the G1, and have dabbled in unlocking, rooting, custom ROMs, etc. but have had a bit of a hard time sifting through all of the ROMs, Kernels, mods, etc on XDA. That’s why I decided to bring together a mix of the best options and features out there into a simple step-by-step instructional post.

Why root and unlock? You can use your phone on any carrier (as long as the radio is supported), unlock its hardware potential (including overclock), better battery life with custom Kernel, and NO MORE ADS with adfree.

Vol. 1: HTC Sensation (4G/XE, T-Mobile US, Bell Canada)

If you’re one of the proud owners of this phone GOOD FOR YOU! You’ve made a good choice on good quality hardware – that was the first step. Step 2 is making the phone work for you. We’ll go through rooting to give you control, free-unlocking to break the chains, custom ROMs that maximize your hardware, custom kernels to tune the ROMs, and custom Mods to make it really pop.

By the end of these 10 minutes you’ll have an HTC Sensation XE with Beats audio running at 1.5GHz (the design clock of the Sensation CPU, Overclockable to 1.9GHz) a swiping keyboard, and a really slick FAST interface

1.	Rooting permanently (S-OFF, Recovery, Root, etc.) [props to xl VipeR lx ]

a.	a) Remove your battery and write down your phone’s serial number. You’ll need it for c)

b.	Put the battery back in your phone and press the “Volume down” and “Power” buttons at the same time. This will bring you to a white screen. This is called “boot to bootloader”. Look for “HBOOT” and write down the number (ex. 1.18.0000). You’ll need this for c).

c.	Go to http://revolutionary.io/ - click “Download for Windows” if you have Windows installed on your PC. It will ask you for the Serial number, device, and HBOOT version you got in step a) and b). It will give you a beta key – write this down, because you’ll need it for e). Unzip “revolutionary-0.4pre4” and note the location (for f))

d.	Download HTC Sync (we’ll use this for device drivers, not the tool itself) and install.

e.	Reboot your phone and start it up as normal. Once it’s all up, plug it into your PC by USB, and select “HTC Sync” when prompted to do so. Enable USB Debugging (Settings>Applications>Development>USB Debugging). Uninstall HTC Sync after your PC finds your phone and installs the right drivers for it.

f.	Open the “revolutionary.exe” tool from the “revolutionary-0.4pre4”. Enter the beta key from c). It may take a few attempts. Once it does work let the tool do its job. It will ask you at some point if you want to flash a custom recovery (Clockworkmod). SAY YES.

g.	Rooting time. Download su-2.3.6.3-ef-signed.zip and copy it to your phone’s microSD card. Boot into bootloader. Select “Recovery” (henceforth, boot into recovery), which will take you to a black screen with blue text. Once there, make a “nandroid” backup (“backup and restore”) of your phone in case you decide to revert eventually or you worry about losing data. After, select “install zip from SD card”, “choose zip from SD card”, then “su-2.3.6.3-ef-signed.zip” and flash it. This may take 3 attempts until it gives you a “success” message. YOU’RE ROOTED!

2.	10-second Unlock [props to xl VipeR lx ] - Now that you’re rooted you can do a very simple free permanent unlock

a.	Download PG58DIAG.nbh and copy it to your SD card.

b.	Boot into recovery. It will bring you to that (now familiar) white screen, and automatically go through some fancy steps.

c.	Do these steps quickly: press “Vol down” to enter DIAG, rotate the phone so it’s horizontal, press “Power” to select “Clean S58 data” and “Power” again to execute. YOU’RE UNLOCKED! You can install any SIM card and the phone will recognize all networks as long as that network has the same radio frequency.

Pre-3. Decide on ICS ROM (my current favorites: InsertCoin and Android Revolution HD), but if you do you can't do any tweaks or overclock past 1.5GHz in step 5!

3.	Flashing a great ROM [props to CdTDroiD ]

a.	Download this recommended ROM: SENSEaY XE35 v2.1.0 and copy the .zip file to your microSD card. Download the “super wipe” erasing tool: Android_Revolution_HD_Super_Wipe_Sensation.zip and copy the .zip file to your microSD card.

b.	Boot into recovery. Flash the super wipe file, then flash the SENSEaY file. YOU NOW HAVE AN AWESOME CUSTOM ROM

4.	Enhancements

a.	Download a custom kernel

FOR ANDROID ICS 4.0.x click HERE or HERE (if first link not working)

FOR ANDROID Gingerbread 2.3.x (recommended: Bricked v1.4 w camfix. Copy this to your microSD card. Note, this will decrease memory showing from 613MB to 562MB.

b.	Download CdTdroid tweak (NOT IN ICS YET) CdTDroiD_Tweaks_Patch_1.8.x_v2.zip [props to CdTDroiD ]. Copy this to your microSD card.

c.	Download Transparent Taskbar (NOT IN ICS YET)JeffTrabar.zip. Copy this to your microSD card.

d.	Boot into recovery. Install zip from SD card, and install in the order above. Reboot. YOU NOW HAVE A SLICKER ROM

5.	Final steps and Overclock:

a.	Settings>CdTDroiD Tweaks>Battery Options – unselect “show battery icon”, and select “battery text style>Regular%”.

b.	Download “Antutu” CPU Master from the market. When prompted, allow “SuperUser permissions”. Now you can OVERCLOCK your CPU. Make sure select “Set on boot” or it will reset to the stock 1.5GHz on boot.

c.	Menu>Personalize>Display tab>Lock screen style>weather

d.	Menu>Personalize>Display tab>Lock screen shortcuts – set whatever your favorite shortcuts are. Mine are phone, GMail, camera, and SMS messages.

Congratulations, you made it this far! Now go out and enjoy the hell out of your phone.

Credits:

XDA Web team

Devs

If I’m leaving anyone out PM ME and I will add to this list. No disrespect intended, of course.