- We currently have no knowledge of any planned updates for the HD. It is unlikely to be updated to 6.5 or beyond as Microsoft have made some hardware restrictions on devices that can use 6.5 that the HD does not meet.

… I decided to go ahead with my plans, since I know that many people use Windows Mobile 6.5 and later versions of Manila on their Touch HD’s and it runs just fine. I’m gonna go for Dutty’s “Leo” ROM with Windows Mobile 6.5 and Manila 2.5, since Dutty seems to be the most popular and skilled ROM cook out there, and here’s a step-by-step guide on how I did it.

First off, let me just say that I take no responsibility in any damage done to you or your phone for following my example, just in case.

Now, you need to decide if you want to use HSPL (Hard SPL) or USPL (User SPL). USPL is a temporary upgrade in memory only, to make the change permanent (survive a reset) you should use HSPL, and so I will.

You also need to check what SPL version you have, boot the phone holding the volume down button. This will put the phone in it’s “bootloader” screen. My phone had version 1.54 and I have a 1.56+ version ROM. In order to upgrade to a custom ROM you must change your SPL to allow uncertified upgrades, such a SPL has been made by “Olinex” and you must first install/flash this to you phone.

A guide and all the files you need are found in this tutorial; http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=505377. This will explain the terms more in details if you want.

I got an error when first trying to change the SPL (connection problem), but there is a troubleshooting guide just for this scenario. The solution is to download a program file to launch on your phone instead, then flashing the new SPL worked great.

TouchFLO 3D (Manila 2.5)

Once you have the new SPL in place, you can flash any ROM you like. I chosed Dutty’s Leo R2 ROM (Windows 6.5 and Manila 2.5). Just put your phone in bootloader mode again just as before, connect the USB-cable to your computer and wait until “USB” pops up on the screen. Then just launch the “BlackstoneRUUWrapper” program which usually is distributed with each ROM package, then flash your phone as you would with an official release.

After this it’s recommended to do a hard reset/factory reset twice. Do this by holding both volume up and volume down button while turning on your phone and follow the instructions on the screen.

All set, worked great for me! Just sync back all your contacts and files, install the CABs and customize your phone again. Programs you should install one by one and test them, to make your they are working correctly with the new ROM.

To sum up:

1. Backup your phone using Activesync etc.
2. Go for HSPL method.
3. Flash new SPL, if it fails then use SSPL (running boot loader from phone).
4. When SPL version is “1.56 (Olinex)”,  flash new ROM.
5. Hard reset.
6. Hard reset.
7. Restore backup.
8. Done!

Good luck! I can really recommend this if you’re getting abit tired of the same old user interface on your phone, this is close to getting a new phone, and much cheaper :).

Related posts:

1. Howto enable Telia MMS/Internet on HTC Touch HD
2. HTC Touch HD ROM update
3. My new HTC Touch HD!

1. Updated the Connection Setup Database.
2. Improved emergency call connections while using Airplane Mode.
3. The GPS position updating speed has been enhanced.
4. A Title bar display flicker in TouchFLO 3D has been corrected.
5. Fixed multiple browsing issues.

I will try to backup all my data and then upgrade to this new 1.56.413.0 version, from the current 1.14.413.0 version and update this post with the results. I hope some bugs are fixed in the mp3-player also.

Update: I have now installed the update. The update itself with without problems, but I encountered several problems with this new ROM.

1. Memory card kept getting disconnected after scanning for music, and couldn’t be mounted again until a reboot. Memory card was not available and not found.
   
2. Phone hanged during media synchronization, had to remove the battery, I hope it was a one time deal.
3. WIFI was not available in the communication manager, worked after a hard reset.
4. Phone was very slow after Windows Update attempt, had to reboot.

I did a hard reset of the phone, clearing the memory and doing the first setup once again. I also deleted all my music from the memory card (deleted the Music folder) and transferred it again with Windows Media Player. For now it seems to be working, the memory card is still there.

The contacts synced with no problem, along with the contact images, but you have to re-create the favorite-list manually.

It’s a shame HTC have these difficulties with ROM updates and bugs, I never experienced this with Nokia phones. I hope this is working like it should now, and that the most annoying bugs of the previous version being fixed along with the improvements they listed. But so far I am not impressed, it took me several hours to get it working somewhat satisfactory.

Update #2: I’m glad to see that the annoying bug with the TouchFLO 3D music player not being able to scroll through large playlists is now fixed. And also there were no problems for me to sync my music with Windows Media Player, I didn’t even have to reboot for the playlist to update and all songs worked, at last!

Related posts:

1. HTC Touch HD camera & free memory bug
2. My new HTC Touch HD!
3. Solution to HTC Touch HD empty playlist problem