It has taken a long time to get here, however at last HTC have released an official update for the Desire handset taking the Android version up to 2.3.3.
HTC initially said they would not be releasing this update due to restrictions on the handset, running our of ROM and RAM space.
They then had a change of heart and announced they would be releasing the update, before changing their minds once again and saying that the user experience with 2.3.x on the Desire would be poor.
So at last we have the release. It has been cut-back to allow it to run correctly on the Desire. Those hoping for many of the new "Sense" enhancements will be disapointed.
Those that were already running close to the limit of the phone with regards ROM and RAM will also be discouraged as the new OS installation takes up more space.
However many users have reported better battery life and a faster interface with this update. It also contains all of the latest security fixes.
There is a length disclaimer about this update explaining that it is only for "experienced" users and that the general user should avoid it. There is also no "Over the Air" way of installing this update, instead it has to be done via a PC. Also this is no minor update, your phone will be reset to factory settings so make sure you BACKUP everything you require before starting this process.
One final plus to this update is that it appears to remove uch of the network branding on the phone. If you actually like the Vodafone, O2 or Orange branding, applications and bookmarks this may not be the update for you. If however you wish you didn't have them this update will remove almost all of them.
The Method
1. Download HTC Sync.
It's important that your PC can recognise your phone when you attach it via USB. By downloading and installing HTC Sync you will also install various drivers which means Windows will recognise your device.
HTC sync can be downloaded from here.
Once downloaded and installed, run the application and make sure that when you plug your Desire in and select "Sync" the software can see the phone.
2. Download HTC's Gingerbread (Android 2.3.3) Update file
HTC had made quite a good job of hiding this file - well they do say it isn't for general consumption.
You'll find it on the HTC Developer site, alternatively just click here to go to the download section.
The file is around 161MB in size and contains the ROM update as well as the applications HTC removed from the ROM image due to size constraints - although there is nothing to stop you reinstalling those afterwards.
3. Connect your Desire to your PC
Make sure that your Desire has plenty of charge in the battery, the update program will check that you have at least 30% battery remaining so as to avoid a complete disaster if your phone ran out of juice half way through the update.
Data on your SD card is safe - this is not touched during the installation. SMS messages being stored on the phone will be lost so make sure you copy anything you need.
4. Unpackage and run the Installer
The update package needs to be unpackaged (it comes down in RAR format, so you may need to download WinRAR to unpackage it).
Once this is done you will find that one of the unpacked files is a ZIP file called "HTC Desire Android 2.3 Upgrade.zip". Unpack this file (you may need to download WinZip to do this) and you will find the main installation file - RUU_HTC Desire Android 2.3 Upgrade (Gingerbread).exe
Double-click this file and all the application to run.
Follow the installation wizard, accepting the default options each time. As this is considered "for experienced users only" there are quite a few disclaimers you will need to click through before the installation begins.
Once the update has completed your phone will reboot a couple of times and the updater will inform you that everything has completed successfully.
5. On first reboot of the Desire
Remember that the phone has been reset to factory settings, so when the phone has finished rebooting it will ask you which network you are on and which language the phone should use.
It is important that you select the correct network as this stage will setup all of the various SMS/MMS/Internet settings your phone needs to send text messages, multimedia messages and even make calls.
6. Reinstalling missing Apps.
The very easiest way of doing this is to go to the "Android Market" and download everything you need. As long as the same "Google Mail" account is being used on the phone, any "pay for" applications you had before can be re-downloaded for free.
Once you have downloaded all of the apps you require, remember to go into:
Menu>Settings>Applications>Manage Applications
And move as many of the apps as you can from the phone onto your SD card - this will free up valuable space on the phone and the applications don't really suffer from being run from the SD card.
I have noticed that more often than not when you attempt to use the "Move to SD" button for an application it will almost immediately fail with an error. Don't worry, just try again immediately and it will transfer without any further issue.
