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Install Android 2.3 Gingerbread On T-Mobile G1 / HTC Dream

Posted on: April 15, 2012

How To Unlock Google Nexus S Bootloader »

By Haroon Q. Raja on Dec 16 2010


The HTC Dream, also released as the T-Mobile G1, was the first Android phone on the market, and the device still enjoys a loyal following due to its form factor, especially the hardware keyboard. It originally shipped with Android 1.0 but later received updates to newer Android versions. Now, you can try out an SDK build of Android 2.3 Gingerbread on your G1, courtesy of XDA-Developers members. Read on after the break for more information.

Disclaimer: Please follow this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked during the process.

Released by XDA-Developers forum member bypass23, this is an SDK based build and therefore, has a LOT of features missing like most other SDK Gingerbread ports that we’ve featured earlier. At present, only data and radio are working, apart from the Gingerbread UI. The mic isn’t functional in calls either. This ROM is not suitable for daily use and you should flash it only if you want to further develop it or if you just want to try out the new Gingerbread UI enhancements on your Dream / G1.

To flash this ROM:

  1. Head over to the download link given below and download the ROM to your computer.
  2. Before you can flash it, your phone must be rooted. You can do so by following this rooting guide for the HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1.
  3. Once your phone has been rooted, download HardSPL from the link given below and copy it to the root of your phone’s storage card.
  4. Switch your phone off and boot it in recovery by keeping the ‘Home’ key pressed and pressing the ‘Power’ key. Once the phone boots, press Alt + L to bring up the recovery menu.
  5. Press Alt + S to apply the ‘update.zip’ file from the SD Card. Reboot the phone once the update is done.
  6. Rename the ROM that you had downloaded in step 1 to ‘update.zip’ and copy it to the SD card of your phone, replacing the earlier HardSPL’s ‘update.zip’ file that you copied to it in step 3.
  7. Repeat step 4.
  8. Press Alt + W to wipe your phone. This steps ensures that your device doesn’t hang during the new ROM installation.
  9. Repeat step 5, and you’re done. You now have Gingerbread SDK running on your device.

For more information, updates or feature requests, head over to the ROM’s thread at XDA-Developers forum and contact its developer.

Download Android 2.3 Gingerbread SDK Port for HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1

Edited by Sanchtech

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