How I’m running a G1 on AT&T with Android 2.2

Earlier this week I decided to take the leap and root my T-Mobile G1 (aka HTC Dream) and upgrade the ROM from the standard T-Mobile Android 1.6 to Android 2.2 via CyanogenMod 6.

Now I know I just lost 95% of my regular readers, but for the rest of you, I thought I’d walk you through the process.

I had been holding out, in hopes that I’d be able to get at least Android 2.1 via an Over the Air (OTA) update, but it seems that Google and T-Mobile have moved beyond the G1 and don’t plan to support the phone much longer. So, with that in mind, I decided to take the leap.

To make the process work, I ended up flashing the phone 5 or 6 times during the day before all things finally clicked (I think the main issue was installing GAPPS correctly).

Hopefully you’ll avoid my mishaps and get to your new ROM a lot faster.

Ultimately, the process proved to be much easier than I expected, but probably more than most users would want to worry with. I equate it to upgrading a computer from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 for the first time.

Running the G1 on AT&T.

This isn’t difficult to do, it just takes some time and patience, or some money (Google G1 unlock code for loads of “vendors” or search E-Bay/Craigslist for unlocked G1s). I opted for the time and patience route.

My G1 was given to me by a good friend after I dropped my BlackBerry one too many times. He had kept the phone under contract for more than six months, so T-Mobile was willing to give him the unlock code for free.

The only downside is it took nearly a week of back and forth to get the correct code.

But once the e-mail was received with the proper code, I was able to unlock the phone and get rolling with my AT&T sim card.

After you unlock the phone, it still won’t recognize the AT&T settings automatically, so you’ll need to manually add the AT&T APN settings in order to access the phone.

From the start up screens press the Menu button and then Add an APN:

Here’s the APN info for AT&T (via http://www.unlock-tmobileg1.com – who will sell you an unlock code if T-Mobile won’t give you one.)

Name: AT&T
APN: wap.cingular
Proxy: leave blank
Port: leave blank
Username:WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password:CINGULAR1
Server: leave blank
MMSC: http://mmsc.cingular.com
MMS Proxy: wireless.cingular.com
MMS Port: 80
MCC:310
MNC:410
APN Type: leave blank

When you’re done adding the settings, be sure to save the settings using Menu Button > Save APN.

Now you’ll be able to sign in with your Google account and use the phone as normal (however without 3G access).

I unlocked my phone and ran with it for a couple months before deciding to upgrade. If you don’t want to go any further, you should have no problems stopping here and enjoying your G1 on your current AT&T contract.

Rooting and installing the new ROM

However, if you’re itching to upgrade beyond Android 1.6, you’ll need to do a little “hacking” to the phone.

My friend Randy Jensen has rooted and upgraded several phones so he was the biggest help in my process.

There are countless ways to do this but Wes Garner’s process is pretty simple and straight forward — although I found a few details missing/changed in the process.

NOTE: THIS IS FOR UPGRADING YOUR G1 TO CYANOGENMOD 6 (6.0.0-DS – 08/27/2010). This will erase any and all data on your handset excluding what is on the SDCard (aka pictures, music, etc won’t be deleted).

To begin with, you’ll need several files:

Bootloader: http://android-dls.com/files/upload/DREAIMG.nbh
FlashRec: http://zenthought.org/system/files/asset/2/flashrec-1.1.2-20090909.apk
ROM file: http://mirror.kanged.net/cm/stable/update-cm-6.0.0-DS-signed.zip
MiniGAPPS: http://mirror.kanged.net/gapps/gapps-mdpi-tiny-20100816-signed.zip (optional – download this file if you want to continue using apps like Gmail, Android Market and Google Sync. This is a smaller version of GAPPS that’s now recommended in the Cyanogenmod forums)

Let’s begin!

1. Download each of these files and then copy them to the SD card on your G1. (Don’t unzip the files, simply leave them as is.)
2. Power off your phone and then turn it back on by holding down the Camera key.
3. After the G1 logo appears, the DREAIMG.nbh file will load.
4. You’ll have an option to continue or cancel. To continue press the Trackball. The process will take a few minutes and then give you the option to reboot.
5. On reboot, your phone will be running Android 1.0 (enjoy it while you can :-))
6. Since all your settings have been wiped, you’ll need to log into your Google account before gaining access to the phone again
   – If you’ve unlocked the phone for AT&T you’ll need to add the AT&T APN settings again (see above) in order to complete the Google registration
   – There are also ways to access the phone via Wi-Fi but they seem to vary greatly so I’ll let you Google those options
7. Once you’ve gained access to the phone, open the Android Market and download AndExplorer from Lysesoft
   – Wes recommended Linda File Manager but I had no luck finding the app with Android 1.0 – ultimately you’ll need one that will allow you to open and extract Zip files
8. Once it’s installed, open AndExplorer and select flashrec-1.1.2-20090909.apk (FlashRec) and install the application (you’ll likely be prompted to allow applications from outside the Market – simply follow the on screen prompts to do so)
9. Once it’s installed, run FlashRec
10. Next, download and then Flash Recovery Image
11. When prompted, backup the Recovery Image as well
    – This is a good time to be sure you have all the files needed on your SD card
    – This is also when you’ll want to decide if you want to install GAPPS as well – be sure it’s on your SD card if you do

Time to flash your phone with the new ROM

12. Power off the phone and reboot it holding down the Home key
13. When the Android system recover screen loads, select “wipe data/factory reset”
14. Once it’s complete, select “apply any zip from sd”
15. On the next screen, select ota-radio-2_22_19_26I.zip
16. After the flash is complete, reboot your phone. It will automatically return to recovery mode.
17. This time, select “apply any zip from sd” and select spl-signed.zip
18. Once the flash is complete, reboot your phone. It will automatically return to recovery mode.
19. Select “apply any zip from sd” again and then select the ROM file, update-cm-6.0.0-DS-signed.zip

    — NOTE: Once your flash is complete and you reboot the phone, your phone will not automatically run the recovery mode. If you want to install GAPPS be prepared to hold down your home button as soon as phone powers off to return to recover mode.

20. If installing GAPPS, reboot the phone and hold down the home button as soon as the phone powers off to return to recover mode. (Otherwise, continue you’re done! Simply let the phone boot normally and enjoy!)
21. Once you’re back in recovery mode, select “nandroid 2.2 backup” to backup your current settings
22. Once that’s complete, select “apply any zip from sd” and then select gapps-mdpi-FRF91-3-signed.zip or gapps-mdpi-tiny-20100816
23. Once this flash is complete you can reboot your phone and you’re all done!

ENJOY!

Your phone should reboot with the G1 logo and the new Cyangenmod flash screen (multicolored, animated X the stable version shows the Android logo in a circle with cyanogenmod underneath). The initial boot may take a few minutes as your settings are being set for the first time.

My phone ended up in an endless loop several times (25 minutes+) after I installed the new ROM (due to me missing a step or having the wrong file). I simply did a battery pull and started the process over again.

Again, huge props to Josh for giving me the G1 in the first place and huge props to Randy for helping me through several steps… and if you’re needing some great web design, be sure and check Randy out.

UPDATE: For more enjoyment out of your phone – upgrade the launcher to LauncherPro. It’s WAY faster and seems to be more reliable than the launcher that comes with Cyangenmod 6. You won’t be disappointed. There’s a free version in the Marketplace or you can purchase LauncherPro Plus from the developer for $2.99.

To install from the Marketplace, install as normal and then hit your Home button. You’ll have an option to select which launcher to use. Select LauncherPro and your done. And you can always uninstall it from the Marketplace if it doesn’t meet your expectations.