[One (M9) General] Flippy498:
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FAQ Section​

Q1: Everytime I flash a custom rom/restore a TWRP backup I lose my IMEI and my mobile reception and my phone stops recognizing my sim card. What's the reason for this?

A: You probably flashed a custom rom that is based on firmware 3.35.x although the firmware of your phone is 3.y (with y being any other number than 35). The boot image of 3.35.x based roms is not compatible with your firmware version. The solution of the problem depends on the question whether you are trying to install a Sense-based rom (like ICE or ViperOneM9) or a non-Sense-based rom (like CM): For Sense-based roms you just need to re-flash the stock boot image of your current firmware version. For non-Sense-based roms you need to flash thicklizard's custom kernel. There have been some reports, that this boot.img "trick" for Sense-based roms doesn't work with firmware 4.x, anymore. In addition, you might face this problem, as well, if you flash a 3.x based rom/restore a 3.x based backup and your phone is currently using a 4.x firmware.

Q2: You mentioned the term SKU several times. What is that?

A: The SKU contains between two and four digits and is part of the firmware version (x.xx.SKU.xx). It indicates which variant of the firmware you're using. Read Sneakyghost's and Behold_this' SKU-, CID- and MID-List if you want to know the meaning of a specific SKU.

Q3: I've always been looking at the CID and the MID of my HTC phones if I wanted to know which RUU I should use. Wouldn't that be easier than booting to Download Mode and looking at the line with "OS" at the beginning?

A: No, it wouldn't. If you only know the CID and the MID you still need to guess the correct RUU. If you boot to Download Mode and look at your current firmware version you know

exactly

which RUU you're looking for. Just look at the naming of the RUUs and you'll find out that it contains the firmware version a RUU corresponds to.

Q4: Which versions of TWRP and SuperSU are the recommended ones?

A: The answer depends on your current firmware version. If you're using firmware 4.x then you'll find your answer here in the FAQ of the TWRP thread. (Click here, if you can't find SuperSU 2.79 SR3. Version 2.79 SR1 doesn't seem to be available, anymore.) For firmware 1.x and 2.x the recommended versions are Captain_Throwback's Beta 1 of TWRP 2.8.7.1 and SuperSU 2.49. For firmware 3.x the recommended versions are TWRP 3.2.2-0 (official) and SuperSU 2.65. Using different versions than the recommended ones will probably lead to a bootloop. The M9 isn't compatible with the ramdisk changes that get executed by many flashable system-less SuperSU versions. However, updating the SuperSU app and its binaries via the Play Store after flashing one of the older versions is safe.

Q5: Are there alternative methods for gaining root?

A: Yes, you can use Magisk if you're using firmware 4.x. (Maybe a user with a lower firmware version can test whether Magisk is usable on firmware 1.x to 3.x, as well?)

Q6: I ignored Q4 and now my phone is bootlooping. How can I fix it?

A: You need to reflash the stock boot.img of your current firmware. If a backup for your version is available in this thread or if you made your own backup before flashing SuperSU you can use the instructions in TWRP section II for that purpose. Be aware that you don't need to wipe anything and that restoring "Boot" is sufficent. If this thread lacks a backup for your version and you didn't backup your stock system, either, you'll need to flash a RUU. If neither a backup nor a RUU are available you'll need to contact Llabtoofer's RUU Service.

Q7: I tried to unzip the RUU.zip files that you linked here and got an error! Looks like they're broken! Re-upload them!

A: Strictly speaking, this is not a question. However, such a situation happened that often that I have to add this point to the FAQ, as well.

The RUUs are not broken. They are encrypted and not meant to get unzipped.

Most unzipping programs can't open them due to the encryption. Use the Decryption Tool if you want to get one of the firmware files that are located in a specific RUU.

Q8: My Dowloand Mode is broken. How can I fix it?

A: The answer is a bit tricky. There seem to be two different states of a broken Download Mode: a Bluescreen and a black one with the red failed to boot to download mode. In addition to the black error screen, the bootloader shows a security warning and that the software status is modified if you boot to the Bootloader. According to this post you can recover the Bluescreen if you have S-OFF. However, users reported that they could flash the files with S-ON, as well. Nevertheless, I've never faced such a situation with my own M9 and therefore can't say who's right and who isn't. On the other hand, the black screen seems to be caused by a broken EMMC. (Remember that the M9 uses the SD810 processor which runs quite hot depending on your usage. All models from all OEMs that use this processor suffer from the hardware damages that result from the heat.) I therefore doubt that this variant of the broken Download Mode can get recovered without HTC's help. In other words: If you face this so called "dead nand issue" you need to send your phone to HTC's repair service if you want to keep it.

Q9: Whenever I connect my phone via USB with my PC it gets recognised as HS-USB QDLoader. How can I fix that?

A: Looks like you hardbricked your phone. This state already existed on older HTC phones. You need a JTAG device (like a RIFF Box) and the knowledge for using it if you want to recover your phone.

I have neither.

However, you can find further information in the fifth post of Sneakyghost's firmware thread.

Q10: I flashed a custom rom. TWRP stated the flash was successful but the rom doesn't boot. What's wrong?

A: This can happen if your phone's firmware is outdated. Get back to stock and install all available OTAs. You can flash a newer RUU (if one with a newer firmware version of your phone's SKU is available) for saving some time that would otherwise be needed for installing OTAs. Further information can be found in the RUU section.

Q11: I bought a M9 and I have no clue which variant it is. Is there a way for finding out the (original) MID whithout having to use a PC?

A: Yes, there is. Look at the bottom of the backside of your M9. There is a

small

engraving: Model 0PJA***. The part with the *** differs according to the variant you own. The explanation for the MIDs can be found in the opening post of this thread. Be aware that the MIDs from fastboot getvar (which I used in the opening post) have two additional zeros in comparison with the engraving. In addition, the MID from fastboot getvar may differ completeley from the engraving if the phone got converted to a different version.

Unfortunately, more and more people tend to replace the housing of their phone since the original one got damaged. The problem is that those people don't care whether the replacement housing got made for the variant they own or not. This leads to so called frankenphones which consist of parts that originally belonged to more than one variant of the One M9 (e.g. a hima_whl phone in a housing with the 0PJA100 engraving of the hima_uhl variant).

Q12: I try to enter the Stock Recovery but all I see is a red triangle and then my phone reboots. Is my phone broken?

A: No it isn't. That triangle is the Stock Recovery. HTC added this auto-reboot as a security feature so that you don't accidently factory-reset your phone. As soon as you choose "Reboot to Recovery Mode" you need to press and hold the power button. When you see the triangle you need to shortly press volume up while the power button is still pressed. The recovery's menu should appear now.

Q13: Your opening post states that the Verizon and the Sprint variants are CDMA devices. However, mine is using a SIM card so it must be a GSM device, correct?

A:

No, it's still a CDMA device and as mentioned before, flashing a GSM RUU/firmware on a CDMA device may lead to unrecoverable damages.

You need to be aware of the fact, that

LTE is a GSM technology

. Therefore, CDMA devices/carriers need to support

some

LTE-GSM frequencies and SIM cards if they want support LTE connections. Nevertheless, most slower connections are still based on the CDMA network of Verizon/Sprint.

Since CDMA networks are only available in the US, many people who need(ed) to travel to other countries preferred to buy GSM devices so that they are/were still able to use their phones abroad. To circumvent this loss of customers CDMA carriers started to support

some

GSM frequencies for G and 3G connections with their phones. That's why you might be able to use a CDMA M9 on

some

GSM networks but that neither means that it can be used on any GSM network nor that you can get LTE on any other network than the one that belongs to the branding of the phone.

Q14: I'm trying to install an OTA via the software update function but after ca. 25 % I see a read triangle with an exclamation mark and the update aborts. Why is this happening and what can I do?

A: That's the stock recovery and normally you shouldn't see that triangle during an update. If you do then your system partition isn't passing the security checks of the update. In other words your system partition isn't untouched but modified. You need to restore an untouched system partition for solving this problem. This can either be achieved by flashing a RUU or restoring a TWRP backup. If you never modified your phone and didn't buy it second-hand then this problem might be a precursor of the NAND death (c.f. the black download mode error screen in Q8).

Q15: My phone is modified and started bootlooping during normal usage. When I enter TWRP and try to wipe the phone or to re-flash the rom I'm currently using I face a lot of mounting errors. How can I fix this problem?

A: This seems to be another symptom of the NAND death (c.f. the black download mode error screen in Q8) even if you might still be able to access the Download Mode in this case. So far, it's not fixable without HTC's help. In other words: You need to send your phone to HTC's repair service if you want to keep it.

Q16: My phone is completely stock and during normal usage many/all apps started crashing (often but not always) followed by a bootloop. Now I can only enter the Bootloader since I face booting errors as soon as I try to enter the Download Mode or the Stock Recovery. How can I fix this problem?

A: This seems to be another symptom of the NAND death (c.f. the black download mode error screen in Q8). You might face a security warning while being booted to the Bootloader and the Software Status might be modified although you never tinkered with your phone in regard to rooting and/or custom roms. So far, it's not fixable without HTC's help. In other words: You need to send your phone to HTC's repair service if you want to keep it.

Q17: So I'm facing that dead nand issue and don't want to believe that there's nothing I can do in regard to a DIY repair. What are you hiding from us? There must be something I can do.

A: Believe it or not, there's nothing you can do, so far. Some users already said that they're going to buy spare parts and to repair the phone on their own. None of them reported back that they were successful. You have to accept that (at this moment) only HTC's repair service can fix your phone or that you need to buy a new one. If there was a working guide then it would be linked in this thread.

Q18: The ADB/Fastboot/HTC_Fastboot files you linked aren't working. Every time I try to "open" them via double-clicking on them they immediately close after some seconds. Fix them!

A: Strictly speaking, this is not a question, either. However, some seem to be not aware that not every *.exe file can be "opened" via double-clicking on it. You need to use ADB/Fastboot/HTC_Fastboot via a command window (c.f. the instructions in the sections on page 1).

Q19: I couldn't find a RUU or a TWRP backup in this thread that are flashable on my phone. What shall I do now?

A: You have two choices (

none of them is for free

). If you choose the second one you could help the community a lot by re-uploading the RUU on AFH.

Use Llabtoofer's RUU Service

Try to find a suitable RUU on websites that leak them (e.g. easy-firmware)

Q20: I urgently need the hosd.img for my phone. Where can I find it?

A: Download the correct RUU for your phone (c.f. step 1 of the guides in the RUU section). The hosd.img can get extracted from the RUU with the help of the Universal RUU Decryption Tool.

Q21: My phone is bootlooping and keeping the power button pressed for 10 seconds doesn't fix the situation. Am I lost?

A: No, HTC changed the button combo on one of the devices that are older than the M9. (Most probably due to the outrage of users that accidently rebooted their phone with the old key combo while simply carrying their phone in their pocket.) You need to keep the power button and the volume up button pressed for about 30 seconds.

Feel free to post a question in this thread if anything is still unclear

after

you read the all posts from the OP to this one.

Feel free to write a post as well if you know a common problem (

and

its solution) that should be added to this FAQ, too.​

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