Today’s collection of hacks and homebrew feature may be the answer the prayers of many.

The first, extremely useful one, if one can make it work, it to enable USB tethering on HTC handsets.  The hack uses a USB tethering driver for HTC’s Android handsets and appear to work well for those who know their carrier’s settings.

To enable USB tethering follow the following instructions:

1. Download XAP file here
2. Download HTC Sync for Android from HTC for USB Modem driver from HTC’s site (the whole package) or just the driver here
3. Deploy XAP file to your phone
4. Turn of your Data connection in your phone.
5. Run DFRouter and click on “HTC Modem”
6. If you only downloaded driver package just unzip to any folder, then Open Device Manager (recommended for Win7 64bit). If you installed the HTC Android package skip to step 10.
7. Find USB\VID_0BB4&PID_0EFF&REV_0000&MI_01 and force update driver with HtcUsbMdmV64 (inside unzipped folder)
8. Find USB\VID_0BB4&PID_0EFF&REV_0000&MI_00 and force update driver with HtcVComV64 (inside unzipped folder)
9. You will get two new device HTC USB Modem and HTC Diagnostic Interface (COM8)
10. Connect device to PC, open HTC USB Modem and select Advance Label
11. Add below command +cgdcont=1,”ip”,”APN”
(APN = Your carrier’s APN)
12. Create a new connection with HTC USB Modem, diag number is *99#
13.Just connect without user name and password.

For more info see the associated XDA-Dev thread.  Please note that carrier surcharges may apply to tethering so check your carrier polices first.

Edit:  Now also a method which works for the Dell Venue Pro!

Kuo writes us with this procedure which brings tethering to the Dell Venue Pro also:

Based on your article about tethering for HTC devices, the same can be done with the Dell Venue Pro. The trick is to modify the driver INF files – I edited both HtcUsbMdmV64.inf and HtcVComV64.inf. Replace the HTC device IDs with VID_05c6&PID_3199. Leave the &MI_00.

To get into tethering mode for the DVP, open up EM (##634#), and go to Service Center. Switch to composite mode – password is *#301#. After rebooting the phone, open device manager. Select the first unknown device (USB\VID_05C6&PID_3199&REV_0000&MI_00). Select update driver and point to the root of the two folders (it looks like it’s using HtcUsbMdmV64). Once that’s installed, follow the XDA guide – the T-Mobile APN is epc.tmobile.com. You can safely ignore all the other unknown devices.

Special thanks to Dave (www.daveamenta.com) for helping decompile the EM XAP so I could figure out the password for composite mode.

The next hack, likely less useful, brings HTC’s visually stunning HTC Hub to all other Windows Phone 7 users.  The hack also provides access to HTC’s other exclusive apps.  The software needs a developer unlocked device, and is not the most recent (and more useful version) with the live weather tile, but of course does still feature the pretty animation that is HTC’s trademark.

Find the XAPs here.

Via MobilityDigest.com

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About Surur

Site Admin and Windows Phone enthusiast, he has been using Windows Mobile devices since before they were called PocketPC’s. He is currently sporting a HTC 7 Trophy.

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