There were a few guides that I found but none of them worked exactly right for the U3800 so I had to piece them together. Here is what I did for those out there who are having similar issues :)
Note - this is for Windows I couldn’t get my Mac to recognise that the U3800 was plugged in :(
Step 1 - root the device
Plug the U3800 to the computer via USB, run the support software (there’s 4 options; modem, sync, file transfer and something else, you want to run sync) this will install the proper drivers.
Enable USB debugging on the device and open command prompt and cd to your Android SDK “platform-tools” folder (type “cd ” and then the location of platform-tools). From here we can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge). So first check your device is active, type “adb devices” this should say a device called “?” this appears to be a problem with Huawei phones where they don’t communicate their serial number or something but it’s not an issue as long as you only have 1 development device plugged in. If it doesn’t list any device then you might need to redo the drivers or you have the SD card mounted as a device (just eject it and unplug and replug the U3800). If it is listed as offline then make sure USB debugging is enabled and then unplug and replug, if that doesn’t fix it restart the U3800.
Once this is all working we can install z4root download the .apk to somewhere in your file system then in command prompt type “adb install ” and then the location of the .apk. This will install the z4root app on the phone, once adb returns a success find z4root in the U3800’s app page, run it and I used a permanent root. This will root the device and then reboot it.
Step 2 - installing an alternate recovery
I used the Clockwork Mod Recovery for Huawei Ascend, store this in your file system. You will also need fastboot (the .zip file contains lots of different things but at the root there should be a fastboot.exe) copy fastboot into your platform-tools folder.
Switch off the U3800 then turn it back on while holding the volume down and red dot buttons. This boots the phone into fastboot mode, it will freeze before it displays the shiny android logo. While in fastboot mode, in command prompt type “fastboot flash recovery ” and then the location of the clockwork mod .img. Once this says success, type “fastboot reboot”.
Step 3 - installing cyanogenmod 7
Download Adrenaline and store the .zip on the U3800’s SD card (mount for file transfer and copy it over), once this is stored then we need to reboot into recovery mode.
Turn off the U3800 then switch it back on holding down the volume up and green dot buttons (you can let go once the shiny android logo appears) a list of options will then appear, select install .zip from sdcard, then select the adrenaline .zip follow any prompts (I can’t remember there being any after this point though) then once it’s done (takes a minute or two) choose reboot into recovery. Once it’s back, select advanced, and then fix permissions (takes a minute or two) then select reboot. This will then reboot into Gingerbread :D
Mission complete! If you have any questions I’ll try to help but I can’t make any promises as I’m still new at this :)
