[HD2 General] Snarksneeze:
Background:

The devs have had some major breakthroughs in getting Android ported over to our HD2s lately. Just a bit ago, they finally got Bluetooth working and I decided it was time to give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised at the stability of the version I ran and have actually been using it as my primary ROM for five days as of this writing.

My biggest problem was in wading through the myriad of techno-speak and complaints piled on top of vague references to a non-existent thread over on the Leo forums. However, once I got things figured out, I was good to go and haven't looked back!

Please see post 2 for some tips and tricks and "Don't do's" that I learned along the way.

You absolutely MUST HAVE data access to install Android. If you have WiFi, that might work, but if you may be able to talk a friend with a data account to lend you their SIM card for a few minutes ;)

For the curious, I did initially install Android on my 16gb C2 microSD card that came with the phone. See post 2 for why I am no longer doing so ;)

Read "Steps" for the fast and easy version, "Details" if you're a bit nervous or want to see how neurotic I can be with explanations.

And so, without further ado, here is the simple method for locating, download, installing and running Android on your HD2!

Steps:

I recommend finding a nice, stable ROM and flashing it fresh after a Task29 before moving forward. Be sure to hard reset (or use Clear Memory under Settings) and then soft reset your phone to ensure the ROM is stabilized.

If you are using a stock radio you may have issues, the radio I am using is: 2.10.50.26.

Once your phone is up and running, go to Settings Tab->Sound & Display: Single Volume On (100%), Pocket Mode On, then click Backlight: Ensure "Automatically adjust backlight" is NOT checked, adjust your screen brightness to optimal levels, then un-check the other four boxes.

Exit Settings and make a call using the Speaker Phone, then turn the Speaker Volume to 100%.

Visit GameSquare by clicking this link and scroll to the bottom of that page, look for the "Download" link at the bottom. Save the file (currently it is named "HD2Froyo_V2.1.7z") to your computer.

At this point, it would be a brilliant idea to backup the contents of your microSD card and reformat it.

Once your microSD card is ready, place the file you downloaded from GameSquare on the root of the card ("root" means don't put it in any folders you might have on the card) and extract the contents.

If you removed the card to reformat or unzip the file, put it back in the phone. It is a good idea to go ahead and soft reset the phone at this point, just in case some of the hardware has developed some issues while you were working.

Open File Explorer and navigate to Storage Card->Android, then click on CLRCAD.exe (it won't respond, but then it's not supposed to, click it anyway), then click haret.exe. Always run CLRCAD.exe before haret.exe to ensure you can actually hear phone calls :D

You phone should now show the HTC Penguin and a ton of text. The phone may hang a few times, but it's fine, just let it run.

Once Android has booted, follow the customization prompts. It may seem to take forever to boot, but let it go.

Once Android has completely booted and you can see the Home Screen, wait for the icon on the top left (sd card scan) to disappear and then soft reset and reboot Android. If you have run Android or used Google Backup in the past, wait for the sync icon to disappear before soft resetting the phone.

You should now be able to fully load Android and make calls, texts, data connections etc. Enjoy!

Details:

Myself, I chose to ignore the google location, facebook - twitter - youtube logins and weather; this is because I never intend to actually use the Windows Mobile ROM anyway ;)

You may or may not have luck with a different radio, but I know people running stock are complaining and looking for replacements. I will not explain where to find or how to flash radios in this thread, use the search button above to find one that will.

My screen brightness is set to 50%, which is optimal for me. Un-checking the boxes will prevent your phone from darkening the screen while Android is running!

This seemed to help when I had issues with a very quiet speaker and ringtones running Android.

I will not link directly to the build because (1) it's not my site or work and (2) there are important messages on that page that DarkStone1337 wanted everyone to read. For your edification, the original thread: [BUILD] [18.08.2010] [darkstone HD2Froyo V2.1] [kernel: darkstone 2.6.32.9 #36]

I haven't used a stock ROM in forever, but all of the customs I have run had a "Format SD Card" app in the Start->Tools folder. If you use your PC to format it, be sure to use Fat with a 32 cluster (or allocation) size. Formatting your card will help to eliminate issues that some have been having (I had the same issues and reformatted later). I found that formatting the card via Windows allows for a less-buggy system.

This will create a new directory named Android and a small text file. You can read the "readme.txt" file if you want, but don't move anything around. Unlike the original builds, HaRET is located in the Android folder and should stay there.

If I get a call, text or email on my phone before I get Android booted, I go ahead and soft-reset again. It may be a pain in the butt, but it helps to narrow down any issues you might have to just the Android build.

Android may reboot your phone before you see any prompts, and if so just go back and run CLRCAD.exe and then haret.exe as before.

If you have any issues, reformat the card and start over. Here is where you need that initial data (internet) access. Android does not require you to always have internet, but if you reset or re-install it, you will always need it at this point.

You can turn off the phone by holding the "End Call" button (that's the red one :P) and choosing "Power Off" from the popup menu.

Of course, you don't have to enjoy Android, that's just a suggestion ;)

This tutorial is subject to updates and bug fixes in the future, but no promises ;)

Be sure to read Post 2 for lessons I learned along the way!