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Received a notice to upgrade to Android 2.2 Froyo for my HTC Aria device this morning. Spent the day trying to figure out the upgrade. I have a rooted HTC Aria and I was stuck upgrading for a while. The device would reboot, the installation start, and then stall shortly after forcing me to pull out the battery to reset. I tried a hard reset and I tried flashing the ROM using ClockWorkMod, both with little success. I ended up doing it the hard way by fully restoring to the original unrooted ROM and going from there… Here’s how.

Note: This Android 2.2 Froyo update is for unlocked HTC Aria Asia ASEAN/WWE phones (build 1.35.707.5). It checks for the base build version and will not allow the upgrade if the version is different.

• Restore the original shipped HTC Aria (Liberty) ROM (Only necessary if you have a rooted Aria and the upgrade doesn’t work)
  1. Enable USB Debugging on your phone: Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB Debugging (ensure this option is selected)
  2. Ensure that your laptop has all the relevant drivers. Easiest way is to install the latest HTC Sync from the HTC website.
  3. Ensure that your phone is at least 30% charged. Switch on your phone and attach to your laptop.
  4. Download the HTC Aria Asia ASEAN/WWE build 1.35.707.5 shipped ROM. For other location, you can download one of the following Shipped ROMs depending on your location and HTC Aria model if you ever want to restore to factory defaults:
     • HTC Aria Cingular US build 1.25.502.2
     • HTC Aria Cingular US build 1.25.502.12
     • HTC Aria Asia India build 1.35.720.2
     • HTC Aria Asia Hong Kong build 1.35.708.4
     • HTC Aria Asia Taiwan build 1.35.709.3
     • HTC Aria Asia ASEAN/WWE build 1.35.707.5
     • HTC Aria Optus Australia build 1.37.980.1
  5. Run the downloaded RUU executable and follow the instructions on screen
• Upgrade from HTC Aria Android 2.1 to Android 2.2 Froyo
  1. Initiate the system software update search on your phone: Menu -> Settings -> About phone -> System software updates -> Check now
  2. Follow the onscreen instructions to download the HTC Aria Android 2.2 Froyo upgrade file: OTA_Liberty_Froyo_S_hTC_Asia_WWE_2.37.707.5-1.35.707.5_release_159893iw72l79rpon47pnp.zip (78,917kb)
  3. Upon completing the download, follow the onscreen instructions to initiate the upgrade process. Your phone will reboot twice during the ROM upgrade process.
  4. After upgrading, check the version of your firmware: Menu -> Settings -> About phone -> Software information
     • Android version: 2.2
     • Baseband version: 47.54.35.20U_7.13.35.13
     • Kernel version: 2.6.32.21-gbc9b792 htc-kernel@and18-2 #1
     • Build number: 2.37.707.5 CL279279 release-keys
     • Software number: 2.37.707.5
     • Browser version: WebKit 3.1
  5. Done!

Froyo definitely feels faster than the original. Benchmarks show that it’s running faster than the original HTC Desire! However, to get to this point, I had to wipe my phone clean. The bright side is that it feels like I have a brand new phone! Having fun reinstalling stuff and reorganising my SD card to the way I want it. Aside from the speed, one cool built in feature is the ability to install to SD. Limited phone space for apps has always been a problem for the HTC Aria. With 2.2 and Apps2SD, that’s a problem of the past. Good stuff. Definitely upgrade to Froyo when it becomes available for your phone.