A developer on XDA has been hard at work, porting HTC’s newest Sense 5 software to the DROID DNA. Currently, it has some bugs that need working out, but nothing that makes it unusable. For instance, if you had big hopes for HTC Zoe on your DROID, that is currently unavailable. But no worries, the developer is plugging away on fixes. 

Beyond bugs, you will have access to that brand new BlinkFeed that HTC introduced, Android 4.1.2, and a Beastmode kernel. Before anyone asks, yes you must be rooted and running a custom recovery in order to flash this zip file.

You can see a preview of this ROM below, although I will have to warn you that the camera work is awful.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via: XDA

Cheers Tim!

Developer Ports Sense 5 ROM to DROID DNA, BlinkFeed in All of Its Glory is a post from: Droid Life

A couple of weeks ago, the DROID DNA received somewhat of an S-OFF through the work of a phone repair shop who had a special tool that they would use on your device should you be willing to pay at least $45. It really wasn’t all that practical. And hopefully, no one actually used the service, because a much simpler S-OFF method has been released tonight by beaups and jcase of TeamAndIRC. 

The method asks that you have adb and fastboot up and running, are rooted and have superCID. If you are into tinkering with your phone at all, I hope you at least have the adb, fastboot and rooting part already taken care of. If you do not have superCID, there is a 2nd link below to get you there before proceeding with S-OFF.

Once you meet the requirements, a file download followed by a handful of adb commands with a reboot here or there will get you to S-OFF and a phone that is much less a pain in the rear to flash ROMs and kernels to.

All of the instructions can be found at the links below.

This method also works for the One XL and One S.

Via:  XDA [superCID info]

Cheers Derek, Max, kevlar, and Dave!

DROID DNA Finally Receives S-OFF is a post from: Droid Life

The DROID DNA has S-OFF! Throw a party! Pull out your $45 for it! Wait, what? That’s right, there is a method to get S-OFF on your HTC DROID DNA, but it’ll cost you. You also can’t do it yourself and will need to part ways with your phone for a number of days. Phone repair shop MobileTechVideos has the solution, which appears to be nothing short of scary to watch. 

They use a service called JTAG, something that normal devs or tinkerers aren’t going to have, hence the price. The video below shows this service in action and is apparently justification by MTV for their price. Oh, that $45 doesn’t include shipping, which ranges from $10-$45.

Anyone want S-OFF that badly? Didn’t think so.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via:  XDA | MobileTechVideos

Cheers Max!

DROID DNA Receives S-OFF Via JTAG, Will Cost You at Least $45 is a post from: Droid Life

Been craving to try a new ROM on that DROID DNA of yours? Well, we have one that might deserve a look from you. Super Charged Hatka from developer MustafaHadaKing over on XDA brings your DNA up to Android 4.1.1, while also delivering one of Android 4.2′s most popular features, Photo Sphere. On top of that, there is also a working stock “vanilla” theme to make sure you aren’t having to deal with HTC’s Sense software. This, in and of itself, is a #win for some people. 

In addition, the developer has removed the permanent WiFi notification from the notification bar, removed the NFC icon that never goes away, removed all of the bloatware, added in the stock Jelly Bean dialer and contacts app, and whole lot of other great goodies.

I sometimes stress that custom ROMs are not as useful as they once used to be, but for this device and some of the fixes this ROM brings, I am still thankful to the countless developers out there that make these devices better. If you want to give it a try, you can follow the via link down below. And as always, don’t forget to make a backup.

Update: As a friend over on Google+ pointed out, the developer only switched the build.prop to Android 4.2 to get Photo Sphere working. Other than that, it is running Android 4.1.1. Sorry for the confusion.

Via: XDA

Cheers Matt!

Super Charged Hatka ROM For DROID DNA, Brings Android 4.1.1 and Photo Sphere (Update) is a post from: Droid Life

After Verizon and HTC decided that they weren’t fans of you unlocking the bootloader on your brand new DROID DNA through HTCDev, something we first reported as being possible, owners of the device waited impatiently for a work-around or fix to the problem to appear. After all, how much fun could a shiny, freshly opened smartphone be without the ability to unlock, root, and get to tinkering? Well, my friends, a method to trick HTCDev’s unlock tool has been worked out and is available for download. 

RootzWiki has instructions up, thanks to TeamAndIRC’s Justin Case, so I’ve linked to them below, along with a video. The process doesn’t seem difficult. My understanding is that it basically involves changing your CID so that HTCDev thinks you are using a different device. Once you have flashed all of the CID-changing files, you still use HTCDev to unlock the bootloader. Once finished, you then go about your normal business. The process is semi-risky though. There also may not be a way to re-lock your device, meaning your warranty is shot. Be careful, proceed with caution, and enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via:  RootzWiki

Cheers Jigga_Z, Imacellist, and everyone else!

HTC DROID DNA Bootloader Unlock Method is Back is a post from: Droid Life

To no one’s surprise, the HTCDev bootloader tool apparently no longer works on the HTC DROID DNA. The timing couldn’t be worse, of course, as the device launches on Verizon in the morning. We first reported that the tool was working, but feared that a last minute change would ruin our fun. That change has happened according to members at XDA.

In related and more positive news, developers do not appear to be worried about this change affecting their progress on fully unlocking to S-OFF. In the mean time, though, this will likely stunt immediate ROM development.

And do I even need to mention the responsible party for this move? Probably not.

Via:  XDA

DROID DNA Bootloader Reportedly No Longer Unlockable Through HTCDev is a post from: Droid Life

Last night, we broke the news that the bootloader of the HTC DROID DNA can be unlocked using the bootloader unlock tool over at HTCDev. But before the night was even over, ClockworkMod Recovery, root, and an unsecure kernel had been released, giving plenty of hope in the custom ROM world to future owners of HTC’s latest device. 

To gain root, the process looks something like this:

• Unlock the bootloader using HTCDev’s bootloader unlock tool
• Flash the unsecure kernel to allow you to gain root (done in fastboot)
• Flash ClockworkMod recovery (done in fastboot)
• Flash the root .zip file (done in recovery)

We know that none of you have the phone yet, but once you do, jump back to this post and then hit up the XDA thread below to make magic happen.

We mentioned this last night, but again, assuming nothing changes in the next few days up until launch, this is great news for those that are planning to pick up the DNA. Just keep in mind that Verizon could always change their mind on leaving this phone semi-open and lock it all up with an OTA update. Cross those fingers.

Via:  XDA

Cheers @Ben82379!

HTC DROID DNA Receives Root and Custom Recovery Before Launch is a post from: Droid Life

Well, that’s good news, right? The HTC DROID DNA bootloader can be unlocked through HTCDev, opening it up (for the most part) to a world that many of Verizon’s phones cannot enter. The phone is left with S-ON afterwards, but to my knowledge most HTC phones are after using this tool. The device pictured is more than likely a retail unit. Unless something changes or a software update blocks HTCDev from working, I’d say we are in luck. 

In theory, with the phone having S-ON, ROMs can still be flashed, you just have to flash a boot.img file before doing the heavy lifting. For example, my One X is unlocked via HTCDev and has S-ON, yet I can flash all sorts of goodies. (Updated) In order to flash kernels you will need to do it through fastboot, but in this day, that’s not nearly as big of a deal as it once was.

In order to unlock, we’ve been told that all you need to do is use HTCDev’s unlock instructions after choosing the “All other supported models” option from the device selection pulldown.

Assuming (and hoping) this carries through to launch, does this change your opinion of the DNA?

Cheers DNA!

HTC DROID DNA Bootloader Can be Unlocked Through HTCDev is a post from: Droid Life