Thanks to AlphaRev team, the HTC Incredible S — which came up with locked bootloaders and S-ON thing — can now be S-Off’ed and that too without much pains. I tried it on my Incredible S and it was obviously a success — which prompted me to make a guide for others who are not-so-experienced in all this stuff. BTW, this guide is equally helpful for other devices supported by this tool of AlphaRev — HTC Desire, HTC Desire CDMA, HTC Wildfire and HTC Aria, until support for more is added later, for example, HTC Sensation.

BTW, some handful of HTC phones came with their security already Off (S-Off). So I suggest you check out your phone’s bootloader menu to know whether it’s already S-Off or not. If you need help, this guide about “How to Check S-ON and S-Off on HTC phones” will help you.

Check your phone’s HBOOT version and note it somewhere you could easily find because you’ll need that when using the AlphaRev’s tool to S-Off your phone. Go to Bootloader Mode and check out the HBOOT version written on the second line from the top on Bootloader screen.

Well, the detailed neat guide is just below but in case you wanna see the process before trying it out, check out this video below which will take you through the whole process. Good if you can spare some time before roaring in to S-Off your HTC phone.

AlphaRev S-Off Hack Tool on HTC Incredible S Video

Step-by-Step Guide on How to S-Off incredible S using AlphaRev’s Tool:

  1. Disable the “Fast boot” mode first. Find it under settings -> Power, and un-tick the checkbox.
  2. Install latest Drivers on your Windows PC by installing the HTC Sync.
  3. Backup your phone using HTC Sync. uninstall the HTC Sync then
  4. If you’ve HTC Sync installed — whether due to driver’s installation purpose or for any other reason — uninstall the Sync now. If you want it back, install it again after you’ve got the S-Off.
  5. Reboot Phone. Disconnect the phone from PC if it’s connected.
  6. Enable USB Debugging mode. Go to Settings – Applications – Development, Tick the checkbox against “USB Debugging”. Press ‘OK’ on warning.
  7. Now, the interesting part begins. Download the AlphaRev’s tool which will help you S-Off your phone from the AlphaRev’s page. When you’ll click on the Download link, you’ll get a small pop-up in the window itself with white text and blue background, this will guide you to the rest of the process. So, leave this window/tab open for now — don’t close it since you’ll require this blue window later to progress with the process. We’ll come back to this window in step 12 but until then, let’s focus on the downloaded file. If you missed the blue window, click on the download link again to get a new blue window. [BTW, the tool is available for both Windows and Linux OS, download the One which is meant for your OS. I am a Windows user and the file I got was – alpharevx.exe.zip — of course, this tutorial is based on Windows tool only.]
  8. Extract the downloaded file — alpharevx.exe.zip — to a folder and you’ll get 2 files. Run the ‘alpharevx.exe’ file by double clicking on it. It will open a window with the text “Waiting for device…”.
  9. Connect your phone to PC now. Select ‘Charge Only’ on phone upon connecting it to PC. AlphaRev’s tool should recognize it and will ask you to enter beta key — while also showing your phone’s serial in the format HTXXETDXXXXX. Note it down.
  10. Go back to browser to the blue window you came across in step 7 and enter the details asked: your Operating System (OS), your phone, specify the HBOOT version and then enter the phone’s serial number you got just got in step 9 above. Now, all the 4 fields of the blue window are filled up.
  11. Click “Generate Key” button now to get your all important beta key that will unlock the phone quite magically — and amazingly!
  12. You’ll get a new screen on the page now with green background. On the very top of which lies “your beta key”. Note it down and enter in the AlphaRev’s tool’s Window on PC. Hit Enter then — and cross your fingers for a very successful flash (if you want).
  13. The process would begun. For me, it tool some 2 mins for this process to finish once I hit enter after putting in the beta key. if the process doesn’t start for you, wait for some 15 minutes, after which you can disconnect the phone by removing the USB cable. (For Example, on some Indian/Asian HTC Incredible S phones, this tool would get stuck here and the process won’t start. They need to install Optus RUU first in order to make this tool run — I’ve done the same, actually, on my Indian Incredible S. So, if it gets stuck, maybe, there is a problem with your phone then — better Google it. Good luck!).
  14. When the process is finished, your phone will be S-Off’ed. It’s unlocked and you can go on to install ClockWorkMod Recovery, Root it and do whatever you wanna do. Enjoy! (Leave your all-important feedback to AlphaRev team using the very feedback form just below the green screen with your beta key.)
  15. [Optional] If you think your life is better with S-Off, do consider donating the AlphaRev’s Team.
  16. Enjoy!

Be with us, more great stuff — ROMs (including CM7), themes, etc. are on their way. Keep watching this space.