Dear Lifehacker, I’m looking to root my HTC Wildfire smartphone (2011 model) with Unrevoked3 . However, it says my phone is not supported. Can you explain a workaround or other rooting method I can use? Thanks, Janos
Dear Janos,
I’m going to be brutally honest here. This is a really tough one. Without a phone to try this out on, I’m in the same position as you, resorting to a search engine.
My guess is you’ve found most of the same search results as I have such as this advice from The Unlockr and this from Wikihow .
It’s hard to offer you more advice without knowing what your reasons for rooting the device are. Is there a specific activity you wish to execute that requires rooting the device that you can’t achieve without a freely available app?
My other suggestion is to consider updating to a newer phone. There are plenty of more recent models that allow you to either root the device or install custom firmware. If rooting a device is the only way to meet your requirements then that may be the path of least resistance.
Cheers Lifehacker
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Originally published in Lifehacker Australia on 26 September 2016: https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2016/09/ask-lh-is-it-safe-to-root-an-older-android-phone/