How To Permanently Root HTC Desire HD [Complete Guide]

By Haroon Q. Raja on Feb 16 2011 52 Comments

While we already featured a guide on rooting HTC Desire HD a few months back when the device was newly launched, it was only a temporary root solution and did not allow you to install custom ROMs to your phone. That is why we are now bringing you this updated guide on how to gain complete permanent root access to your HTC Desire HD.

Note: If you are a Telus subscriber in Canada and want to root your Telus Desire HD, these instructions will not work for you. Please see our guide on how to root Telus Desire HD instead.
Before you proceed, take a look at our top 10 reasons for rooting your Android device to get a complete picture of what you will be able to do after you root your phone. Once you are ready, proceed with the following instructions.

Disclaimer: Please follow this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked during the process.

Requirements:
Before you proceed, please make sure that your HTC Desire HD does NOT have the official 1.72 OTA update released in December 2010 or any later OTA update. In case you have installed it, you must first downgrade it to an older version. See our guide on how to downgrade HTC Desire HD after OTA update.
Procedure:

1. Download Paul’s VISIONary+ tool and transfer it to your phone.
2. Install the tool by tapping on the APK file.
3. Launch the tool and enable the ‘Set system r/w after root’ checkbox.
4. Tap ‘Temproot Now!’ and wait for the process to finish.
5. Tap ‘Attempt Permroot Now!’ and again wait for the process to finish. The phone will automatically reboot once done.
6. To test if rooting has been successful, install Terminal Emulator from Android Market, launch it and enter the command ‘su’ in it (without the quotes). If you get the # prompt, permanent rooting has been successful.

While your phone has now been rooted, you must still gain S-OFF on it to perform several advanced functions such as the ability to install a custom recovery image that in turn allows you to install custom ROMs to your device. For details, see our guide on how to gain S-OFF on HTC Desire HD.
Credit for this guide goes to XDA-Developers forum member zexbig.