HTC recently released an updated ROM (version 3.14.110.1) for T-Mobile (UK) HTC HD2 phones (review of the update is here). Updating to the new version is highly recommended as it makes the mobile more responsive, stable and power efficient. However, one of the issues you get after upgrading is that HTC Peep stops downloading tweets from your Twitter account and returns a rather unfriendly message: “The account was forbidden to access the Twitter server”. You might start thinking that something has gone wrong with your Twitter account but fear not, it is not your fault. It is due to some authentication security changes that Twitter made to their website and HTC Peep included with the update can’t deal with the new mechanism.
Fortunately, there is now a fix for it. Applying it is simple:
- Download the update from here. (No longer valid. See update below) Make sure you select the right download for your phone at the bottom of the page.
- Connect the phone to ActiveSync or Mobile Center and make sure connectivity is established.
- Although it is an .exe file, it is not for a desktop machine so don’t try to run it. Instead, transfer the file to your phone using Windows Explorer. Make note of the location.
- Go to the phone. Open Settings -> File Explorer. Find the file that you just transferred and select it.
- On the bottom bar, click “Setup”. The process completes quite quickly and a reboot is requested. Do the reboot.
- Once the device comes back up, go to HTC Peep and login to your account. Your tweets should start downloading now.
Hope that helps!
Update (30/09/2011): It seems that HTC have not only remodelled their site but have also removed support downloads for older models, which unfortunately, includes HD2 and Touch Pro 2 etc. So, the link mentioned in the post doesn’t work anymore. I’ve tried to find the updates on their site but failed. I’ll keep looking and if I find them, I’ll post the link here.
Update (19/12/2011): The links are back! Find this and all the other updates on this page.
Great post, But jus thought id chip in that the “forbidden” error message is not an issue with the 3.14 update exclusively…I (and others) was getting the same issue with 1.72 rom and the security patch fixed the forbidden access problem with D/ldng tweets. However after i upgraded to 3.14 i had to RE-install the patch, which i believe has to be installed after every flash or hard reset.
Hi Jono,
Apologies for the delayed response – I was away on business. You’re right that the issue is not exclusive to 3.14 and the fix is applicable whenever you go to an affected ROM version or rollback to factory default. This is because the fix is for the change in authentication mechanism by Twitter which the unpatched Peep couldn’t handle.
Ather
Hi
My issue is similar. With the error returning, “You have entered an incorrect username / password”
I know everything above is correct.
I had lost peep functionality in March, during this time I had already installed the latest updated ROM, Peep security patch. it worked great for awhile, but during this time, eventually the problem persisted.
I still get this error to this day, did a hard reset a few times, sent for repairs. unrelated issue, and got it back, hoping that it would work…
Peep is still not working regardless of this ever since I late march.
Any thoughts or is there any more news on this?
Hi Frederic
This seems like a different/new issue to me as what I described above is reliably fixed by the HTC Peep patch. Can you login to Twitter website OK? If so, then there must be some other bug that I haven’t come across before. Also, do you have special characters in the password which are generally easy to type on a regular keyboard but not so much from a mobile keyboard? In that case, changing the password to something alphanumeric (even if it’s just for the test) won’t be a bad idea. If you can’t log on to the website, then maybe you should go through the “Forget Password?” routine: http://twitter.com/account/resend_password. If nothing else, you will be absolutely sure about the password situation.
Apologies if I am stating the obvious here but can’t think of anything else that might help!
Ather
Thanks..it resolved the issue on my phone
Glad to be of service! 🙂
Ather
Great, it worked, thanks very much. Shame it hasn’t been advertised very well by HTC themselves?
Kind regards
R
Hi Rik,
That’s what I thought and hence the article. Glad it helped!
Ather
why it’s not available for all the htc hd2 ?? it’s not for the ( middle east & africa area ) :@@@@@
Hi,
Apologies I wasn’t able to reply earlier as I was away. How about this link: http://www.htc.com/mea-en/SupportDownload.aspx?p_id=297&cat=0&dl_id=1085 This is from the “Middle East and Africa” section of the site and points to the same fix. Have you tried that?
Ather
htc should show more respect for all customers in all over the world not just pick some and leave the others :@@@
Worked for me on my Sprint hTC Touch Pro2. I had the invalid username/password error as long as I’ve tried to log into Twitter. Saturday was the first time I got the forbidden access error which I immediately Googled and found this thread. The US hTC site did not have this fix available for the TP2 so I downloaded and installed it from the UK link and viola,thanks!
Hi Jeff,
Glad to be of service and thanks for the feedback! Touch Pro 2 is mentioned as one of the phones fixed by the patch so that’s not a surprise but it’s good to know that fix for UK phones also works on US phones. I guess it’s just an authentication mechanism fix so is probably region-neutral.
Ather
Telling me “This hotfix is not compatible with your device” When attempting to setup Leo file for Peep update.
Hi Ty,
Is your device in the list of devices mentioned on the download page? If not, then you might be out of luck, I am afraid. I hope that you also followed points 2 and 3 as they are very important i.e. you do need to transfer the update to somewhere on the device using either ActiveSync or Mobile Center, before running it. Unlike most updates, it won’t run on the PC where you downloaded it.
Ather
I’m getting the same error “not compatible with your device”. I have a HD2 and have downloaded the hotfix for HD2 (Leo).
Maybe it’s bacause I am in Australia? The Aussie HTC site has no reference to either the problem or the fix.
Hi Osdor
I take it that you’ve already tried the suggestions I gave to Ty above. In which case, all I can say is try a fix for some other region closer to you and see if it works, like it worked for Jeff.
Ather
Thanks – I’ll give that a try.
whoah this weblog is wonderful i like studying your articles. Stay up the good work! You already know, a lot of persons are hunting around for this info, you could aid them greatly.
Mine is still not working!! I’m only getting “There was a connection error while.trying to login” Any help? I’m in South Africa, using HTC T8585(HD2)
Hi Zisuxolo,
Your problem seems like a genuine connection problem rather than being caused by that issue. However, it won’t hurt trying to get the version of this patch for your region (link for the Middle East and Africa region is in one of my comments above) and trying it anyway. It won’t install if not required and you’ll be covered in case you need the patch.
Best regards,
Ather
Hi, I have an HTC Touch Pro 2, i boughted on US but I currently live on Mexico since I got this cell always is shown the “forbidden count.. ”
the ROM Update is able to help me? and where can i found it, cause i already looked on UK n’ US pages and i can not found it.
Please help
Hi cdanielorteg
It does seem that HTC have not only remodelled their site recently but have also removed downloads for older phones, which unfortunately, includes Touch Pro 2 and HD2 etc. What I can do is to send you the update I downloaded, which is for the HD2 and UK region but as Jeff mentions above, it might work as it worked for him. I must say that as I’ll be sending you the update, I accept no responsibility if the update doesn’t work or causes any issues with your phone. If you still want the update, please leave me an address where I can send it.
Thanks
Ather
http://handheld.softpedia.com/get/Security/Utilities/HTC-HD2-Peep-Security-Update-114550.shtml
I’m looking for the update in the US for the Touch Pro 2. Anyone have it?
Hi Michael
As Jeff noted above, the fix for UK worked for him on his US Touch Pro 2. If you have the fix, maybe it’s worth trying to see if it works for you too!
Ather
Yep, I tried. I’m getting the same error “not compatible with your device”.
Hi Michael
I am assuming that you ran it after transferring it to the device i.e. not from the machine you downloaded it to. If that’s the case, then unfortunately, I’ve run out of ideas. The only thing I can think of is to send you the copy I have, just to eliminate the possibility of the fix you have being different. If you want to try this then please send me your preferred email address and I’ll send you my copy of the fix.
Ather
Im from South East Asia is there any update for us here?
Thanks!
Hi,
I couldn’t find the new HD2 update page on the Asia-Pacific site. That said, I think update for the UK site should also work on other phones as it’s an update that just addresses the changes in the security mechanism that Peep uses to connect to Twitter. Some people from other countries have tried the same update with success so maybe you can try too. Please note: I have updated the link in the updates below as the page seem to have returned after some absence 🙂
Ather
@Ather, thanks for the update. I was able to download the correct driver here:
http://www.htc.com/uk/help/htc-touch-pro2/#download
That’s great! Michael
I am glad they brought the page back as there are lots of people still with these phones as they’re not that old.
Ather
I tried this and the message of “this hot fix is not compatible with your device” keeps popping up. Can you help please?
Hi Kristine
If you’ve tried the instructions carefully (i.e. transferred the update to the device BEFORE running it, using ActiveSync etc) then the only other thing I can think of is regional issues. The link is for the UK site so you may have to check if this is suitable for you or if you have to find and download one for your region.
Best regards
Ather
Hi,please how can I find the latest peep application for my htc touch pro 2.i need to get the latest version.Thanks
Hi Victor,
How about trying http://www.htc.com/uk/help/htc-touch-pro2/#download ? Please do bear in mind that I am posting this link with the assumption you needed the uk version. If not, I would suggest going to the site for your region and trying your luck there.
Hope that helps!
Ather
Oh my God. It killed my HTC Peep. My HTC Peep is unusable now. Geez.
Alex, did Peep work for you recently? It has been broken for months on my HD2, with and without the update. HTC seem to have abandoned the phone. Sad considering its age. I think I’ll look elsewhere for my next purchase. I expected more use at this price. Some poor people will be locked into contacts so it could be worse.
[…] Now, a couple of issues that you are likely to see. If you are a fan of social networking, you might be using the Twitter client called “HTC Peep”. After the upgrade, most of it works but it can’t download tweets. Instead it returns the message “The account was forbidden to access the Twitter server”. Don’t worry, there is nothing wrong with your account and there is now a fix for it which is in my next post here. […]