Gingerbread on the G1

image via ShashwatPatel

Having problems with my HD2, I had to revert back to my old G1 temporarily. While I was using it though I thought I might as well upgrade it to Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Its amazing that this phone is going on 4 years and still works great.




Novice Guide for Updating Your G1 to Gingerbread

This guide will assume that you have some understanding of modifying your G1 and will install ezterry's Alpha Gingerbread Rom onto your G1. It is an alpha release so there may be some bugs, even though I haven't come across any. To me, its ready for daily use (because I am using it for daily use).


You'll need:

• rooted G1
• XDA Guide: here
• CWR 2.5.0.7 (ClockworkMod Recovery)
• ZAP4 Guide: here  
• ezGingerBread (G1) file pack (in the guide below)
• a mac or PC to download the file pack
• dedicated time
• its best to have a whole day where you can dedicate to this.

I. Download Files & Move to your G1's SD Card

1. Download the ezGingerbreak File Pack here onto your mac or PC.
2. Unzip the File Pack to expose a folder named ezGingerbread.
3. Mount your G1 to your mac or PC.
4. Drag the ezGingerbread folder to the root of your SD Card.
5. You can now trash the File Pack off your mac or PC.
6. Unmount and power off your G1.

II. Backup Your Phone from ClockworkMod Recovery

1. On your phone, boot into Recovery Mode.
2. Take a look at CWR (ClockworkMod Recovery)'s main screen. It has reboot system now as the 1st option and advanced as the last. You will be coming back here a few times.
3. Scroll down Backup and restore and select it (6th option down), using the G1's trackball .
4. At the next screen, select Backup (the 1st option).
5. CWR will now make a backup of your phone as it currently is. Should you mess up, you can boot back into Recovery and restore this backup.
6. Press Back on the G1 until are back at the main screen.

 

III. SuperWipe Your Phone

1. Select install zip from sdcard (5th option down) by using the trackball, once CWR loads.
2. Next, select choose zip from sdcard (2nd down).
3. Here you will see all the folders and files on your SD Card (folder on top and with a "/" at the end), select ezGingerbread/.
4. Next, select ohsaka-super-wipe.zip .
5. SuperWipe will wipe your phone. When it finishes, CWR will say Install from sdcard complete.
6. Press the Back button on the G1 until you back to CWR's main screen.
7. From CWR's main screen, select reboot system now.
8. Right when the screen turns black, press and hold the Home button to reboot back into recovery.

IV. Install Gingerbread

1. Again, select install zip from sdcard -> choose zip from sd card -> ezGingerbread/ .
2. This time though, select GINGERBREAD-DS-Alpha-20110208-1.zip .
3. You will see a confirm screen, scroll down to Yes - Install GINGERBREAD-DS...
4. CWR will now install ezterry's Gingerbread on your phone (it could take a couple of minutes).
5. Once you see Install from sdcard complete. at the bottom of the screen, press the Back button until you get back to CWR's main screen.

V. Install Google Applications & Reboot

1. Again, select install zip from sdcard -> choose zip from sd card -> ezGingerbread/ .
2. This time though, select gapps-mdpi-gb-20110205_S.zip .
3. CWR will now flash the gapps.
4. Once that is complete, press Back on the G1 to bring you back to the main screen of CWR.
5. Select reboot system now (the 1st option).
6. Congratulations, your G1 should reboot into Gingerbread now. Be patient though, the first boot can take up to 10 minutes.

Problems?

• did you remember SuperWipe your G1?
• maybe the  the files got corrupted during download and transfer. try downloading the ezGingerbread filepack again.
• if your G1 gets stuck at the T-Mobile G1 splash screen, try pulling out the battery and restarting it.
• if worse comes to worse, try researching ezterry's thread over at XDA.
• remember, because you made a back up using ClockworkRecovery Mod, you can boot into Recovery and restore your G1 back to the way it was before you started all this.

Disclaimer: These guides are intended to help others with their G1s. If something should go wrong, no one is responsible except for you. It is up to you to verify all the information given. This is how I did it and I am sharing my experience in hopes that it'll make it easier for others. It worked for me. If you do not want to risk breaking your phone and do not want to mess around with your phone, I recommend you buy an iPhone.