Last Updated on October 9, 2022 by Mathew Diekhake

The HTC Desire is an Android smartphone brought out by HTC quite some time ago, however, there is still many people searching for the appropriate root method. When the mobile was first rooted, a method came out that is now out of date and unfortunately many people don’t know this so their root attempts are failing. Here is the updated version that still works like a charm today. This method is not only the most reliable, but also the easiest. It is without a doubt, the guide you want to follow for the time being.

Make sure you have the HTC Desire USB drivers. It is possible you have this already if you use the device regularly, in which case you can skip this step. This is necessary to connect the device to the computer, in order to upgrade the official firmware.

HTC Desire S

You will also need to have USB debugging mode enabled in order to complete this guide. You can follow the link that I provided and find out how to do that if you don’t know already.

Please note: the old method is known as the revoked method and the new method is known as the unrevoked method.

Files You Need

  1. There are two different files available. If the first does not work for you then please switch to the second.
  2. Download the unrevoked root package number 1.
  3. Version two of the unrevoked root package.

Rooting the HTC Desire smartphone and installing a custom recovery

  1. Download the root packages to the computer and transfer them to the desktop. Extract the files by right-clicking on the file and selecting the “extract here” option.
  2. Once you have downloaded the unrevoked root open it up and search for a file called HBoot driver. With it will be instructions on how to install these drivers. Go ahead and do that.
  3. Once you are satisfied the drivers are installed open the re-flash program.
  4. Now you have to power down your device and also take out the battery before putting it back in again. Power up your device and continue to the normal home screen for the HTC Desire.
  5. Looking at the computer screen right mouse click on the re-flash file and select to run as administrator. Soon a message will appear stating “waiting for device.”
  6. We now have to enable USB debugging on the Desire. To do this navigate to menu>settings>applications>development and check the USB debugging box.
  7. Connect the HTC Desire to the computer with the USB cable it came with.
  8. It will now detect your device and give you a few instructions to finish the root process.

Check if the guide worked by installing the root checker app before attempting to install the root-requiring app from the Google Play Store.