Swizz

The original thread, and all of my posts, were deleted in a freak electrical storm that gave me super human strength. Luckily Google Cache managed to save this page long enough for me to hit copy/paste.

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I've seen a few guides around the internet in regards to activating a G1 over wifi without a data package, and decided to test it myself. Since it worked, I'm compiling the information that I've gathered into one easy-to-read thread. This guide assumes that you have a semi-working knowledge of the command prompt or terminal.

Standard disclaimer:
Bricked phones, not my fault.

The Setup
1x Stock G1 running cupcake, this phone has no root modifications on it.
1x USB cable
1x SD card, at least 128MB
The image file to downgrade to version RC29 of Android, download here
ADB for your computer:
Linux Download
Mac Download
Windows Download
Windows Only:
AdbWinApi.dll, place in same folder as ADB.exe
Windows Drivers for Android (Tested on XP/Win7 only) If anyone can confirm these drivers work on other Windows OSs, please post.

--End Setup--

1. Ensure that your SD card is formated FAT32, and place the DREAIMG.nbh, that came out of the DREAIMG-RC29.zip file, in the root directory of the SD card. (No, DREAIMG is not a typo.)
2. With the phone off, insert the SD card into your G1.
3. While holding down the camera button, turn on the phone.
3a. You should see a rainbow screen, followed almost immediately by a gray screen. (mileage and colors may vary)
3b. One of the lines on the phone should read: "Press power button to start update image".
3c. Press the power button
3d. Wait for the entire process to complete, do not interrupt! It will tell you it is done updating.
4. Reboot phone.

Download the appropriate ADB file for your system, if you're on a Windurrs machine you'll need to download and install the Android drivers as well.

Ok, we're done rolling back to RC29; and we have access to the 'sploit which gives us terminal access without seeing the terminal.

Until I tell you to later on, do not touch the screen for any reason. During the rollback process the screen has turned into hot lava and will burn your hand if you touch it. If you can't resist, and touch the screen not only will you be sans one digit but you get to reboot your phone and start over.

You should now be at this screen:



5. Hit <enter>, type "reboot"(no quotes), and hit enter again.
5a. If all went well your phone just rebooted, yay good thing!
6. We're back to the last screen.
7. Plug your phone into your computer using your USB cable.
8. If you mistype this step or it doesn't work(because you mistyped), you'll need to reboot your phone and try, try again.
9. Hit <enter>, type "setprop persist.service.adb.enable 1"(no quotes), hit <enter>
9b. If all went well you should get an error message saying something like "cannot dial 7387767 7377478.7378423.232.362253 1, it's not an emergency number. This is a good thing, we hope.
10. Set your phone down.
11. Open a terminal on your computer, and navigate to the folder containing the adb file you downloaded earlier.
12. If all is well, you should be able to type "adb" and get a big screen of options.
13. Type "adb devices".
13a. You should see the following:

13b. If all you see is "list of devices attached", and nothing below it, reboot your phone and move back to step 8.
13c. type "adb shell" (no quotes)
14. Copy and paste "am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.android.settings/.Settings" into your terminal.(no quotes)
15. If your copy+paste-fu is strong, you'll see this screen:

16. Hit "Wireless Controls" (The screen is no longer hot lava)
17. Now you're at:

18. Hit Wi-Fi settingsm you're now at:

19. Turn on your wifi, and configure your network as necessary.
20. Hit the back button until you are back to this screen:

21. Run the standard setup instructions.

If all went well, you should now see:


Congratulations, you just stuck it to the man and activated your G1 without the data package.

Thanks to Noonehereyet for running Get Your Droid On, where you download the DREAIMG.nbh, and where you can find all sorts of G1 builds, rooted or not.

And thanks to Balazer for catching the missing step 13c.

__________________
Playstation Social Group

"I just lost a buck...to myself." -Officer Farva

Last edited by Swizz; September 12th, 2010 at 02:58 AM.

justjimjpc

Swizz :

I put your entire Guide in the FAQ along with the new link ... just in case you have another Brain-Storm ....

http://androidforums.com/faqs/1997-faq-t-mobile-g1.html#post12328

__________________
Help Us: Submit FAQ's You have answered over and over! Will add them to OUR FAQ LIB. Check out our FAQ's.... Also Check out our Tag Search.

Running 2 G1's & a MT3G(dMd64), Vibrant(rooted) : 1.) Legit G1=1.6 DRC83 // 2.) Rooted G1=CM's 4.2.15.1 (03/08/10), Recovery =RA 1.5.2

Link for --> G1 Dream ROOT GUIDE ///// Link for --> UN-ROOT GUIDE
.

Jayziac

thanks for the info. Hopefully the new myTouch 3G won't have to go through this, or someone needs to come up with a guide for it again. I cringe to think about all the android devices coming out that NEED data plans to activate.

Z06

Hey Swizz its me again, im apparently the reason u made this thread. I was going nuts that i couldn't find it. I still need ur help man. I just cannot get the G1 drivers to install. Ive tried a diff pc with XP and it still doesn't work. Windows just installs its default drivers always. please help me out. I have a paper weight!

justjimjpc

connect your phone to the pc
Go into your device drivers screen and you should find either a Yellow ! that indicates a problem or ...
You might find a Device named ADB Interface ...
delete them disconnect the phone and shutdown PC and restart ...
Recheck that you device drivers are all ok and clear of any problems ...
if not, Delete those as well and shutdown and restart PC ...

Now you can try to install the proper windows drivers again ...

Z06

tried all that and no go, im on Vista 32 bit SP2

Andorous

hi!!! i'm sorry guys, this will sound ********, doing all the above effectively means my phone is rooted right?

oOMassacreOo

Nice guide.

juls1488

i am having a little trouble with the image part. after loading the DREAIMG.nbh to the sd card, and the holding camera while the phone powers on, it goes to the rainbow screen, then very briefly flashes the gray screen. it does say loading on the gray screen, but then it says "no image file" and returns to the rainbow screen. I have tried using two different sd cards, and the DREAIMG.nbh from multiple sources just to be sure.
any input?

MRag

Hi,

"The original thread, and all of my posts, were deleted in a freak electrical storm that gave me super human strength. Luckily Google Cache managed to save this page long enough for me to hit copy/paste.

----

I've seen a few guides around----------"

Thanks this is a really detailed and useful post. I'm fairly novice at this stuff but am learning. Project 1 is to activate a stock G1 over wi-fi. I was able follow the instructions and get the phone to reboot when <enter> reboot <enter> is typed in. I'm having trouble getting adb.exe to work. Error message I get says "..failed to start because AdbWinApi.dll was not found". I did download the drivers (Windows) in the above directions and have them in a folder in program files. They do not have the above file but do have another dll file.

Perhaps there is a thread I can search/follow. Any help would be appreciated. Running Vista.
Thanks, MRag

oOMassacreOo

I've seen a few different guides and tutorials for rooting android, but by far this one seemed the easiest to follow for me.

How To: Root the MyTouch 3G or G1 in One Click! | The Unlockr

When you downloaded the DREAIMG.nbh was the file in .zip format? When I rooted my phone, that file was in .zip format and it wouldn't show up to flash until I unzipped the file. Try that.

Swizz

You need Vista drivers. The ones I provided are XP only.

No. More or less, if you have a rooted phone you wouldn't even need this tutorial. The purpose is to allow stock G1s to activate over wifi, so they can run without a data package.

However, flashing the DREAIMG.nbh is the first step towards rooting a G1.

chipfiasco

for steps 12 through 14, where exactly am I typing?
I'm a newb at this..
lol

chipfiasco

and another thing..
I'm getting the gray screen but it says "No Image File!" as it redirects me back to the rainbow screen..

I've tried this now with the RC29 file zipped and unzipped, and I don't know what the problem could be..

Wesley_minnie

Here is the deal. I bought a G1 from a friend. He did a master rest on the phone.( normamly not a problem). Except My t-mobil plan does not include data. My problem is i cannot get past the registration screen without a data plan. Now i did some research and there is a way to do it with wifi. See link http://androidforums.com/support/6564-activate-stock-g1-over-wifi.html probem is, I dont know what the heck they are talking about!!! Can anybody just simplify this for me or know of a different way to go about this? (besides the obvious: get a data plan with t-mobil which i am not in the position to do. Thanks to my credit standings with the company. Gotta love ex-girlfriends)
you can e-mail me or call wes Please help. ITS CHRISTMAS!!!!!

EVILEMPIRE

sorry to post this message but would this work with windows 7 x86 if not i need bust out my old pc with xp thinking of getting a g1 through a friend

watsupdoc67

i followed all of this and it worked great but does this root the phone ?

Swizz

no!

abonto

Hi guys,

Is there a similar procedure that can activate MyTouch, Magic, HTC G2 via wireless? If you noticed the G1 has a keyboard to typed the commands:

Hit <enter>, type "setprop persist.service.adb.enable 1"(no quotes), hit <enter>

but the phone mentioned aboved are touchscreen without keyboards.

Please help, I got out the iphone band wagon and selected android, but I need your help to get started. Thank you in advance.

Swizz

Oi. This is a tricky one as the files required have only been tested on the G1. By the time the mytouch came out, this particular sploit had been long patched.

Here is why it probably wont work: The .nbh file to drop it down to RC30(pre cupcake) does not have an on-screen keyboard, thus rendering this tutorial useless for an all touchscreen phone.

Best of luck

abonto

Thank you swizz for your reply...wow that's a bummer, makes me think that google is worst than apple in terms of marketing their product, forcing all android owners to have a data plan.:-( I'll continue searching for more answers, else I won't have any choice, but to find a different phone.

I'm sincerely hoping that somebody out here, still has an answer. Thank you guys.

Swizz

Well, a choice like that isn't really Google's. The carrier requests these features be put on the phones to ensure maximum profit; hey it's just business. All of the phones that come from Google, the ADP1 and the Ion to be specific, can bypass the initial sign in process. So, not really fair to pin that on Google.

Second, you may want to root your phone using the goldcard method. A tutorial of which can be found here.

Best of luck, once more.

vljt221

I have gone all the way to ADB Devices but it shows offline.. can anyone help me and tell me what I am doing wrong?

Swizz

trying running 'adb kill-server'

vljt221

When I put in adb kill-server it said *server not running*. Then I put "adb devices* and it still daemon starting and still shows offline. What am I doing wrong?

Last edited by vljt221; January 30th, 2010 at 01:57 PM.

vljt221

Is there any way to upgrade back to RC30 or 33 since I downgraded to RC29?

snapemiken

Having no luck doing this...
Looking for some one around DFW area to help me pass by the activation screen...anybody??

Swizz

Before you get yourself robbed, what issues are you having?

justinray

when i go to enter a shell command or the adb devices command the computer won't find it i know that i enter the command correctly cuz i watch the device go from normal to adb mode on the device manager the adb interface shows up but adb wont find it

Swizz

Hmm, semi-common problem. Are you using Windows 7 or XP? 32bit(if you dont know, you probably are)? If so, uninstall the drivers, reboot, and reinstall the drivers from the link provided above.

snapemiken

Thanks Swizz!

I was having the same problem by passing the activation screen.
I did activated over wifi the 1st time using the same method provided here. Now PC won't recognized or will recognized as a storage device. BUT THE USB DRIVER FROM GOOGLE WAS THE REVISION 1. (the USB driver is revision 3 now)

jdmaccormack

hahaha FINALLY found the camera button. I'm such a ree-ree. I'm gonna try this out when I get home so I can get my money's worth out of this otherwise nice black paperweight. Swizz you seem like a great role model.

jdmaccormack

I got the USB drivers for XP. When I plug in the phone, I get "unknown device". When I select the directory from which to install the drivers in the New Hardware Wizard, I get a message saying that the drivers already installed (no drivers) are the best ones? Help.

Swizz

uninstall the current drivers, reboot computer.

jdmaccormack

I got it to work from my Vista machine. Thanks Swizz.

smooverud133

Thanks this is a really detailed and useful post. I'm fairly novice at this stuff but am learning. Project 1 is to activate a stock G1 over wi-fi. I was able follow the instructions and get the phone to reboot when <enter> reboot <enter> is typed in. I'm having trouble getting adb.exe to work. Error message I get says "..failed to start because AdbWinApi.dll was not found". I did download the drivers (Windows) in the above directions and have them in a folder in program files. They do not have the above file but do have another dll file.

Swizz

Something that I have overlooked until now, I've updated the downloads portion of the tutorial to include the mentioned dll. Download it, and place it in the same directory as adb.

Sorry!

Melia1101

on the rainbow screen i get '' not allow '' ._.

Swizz

Can we get a little more detail? Model, 32A/32B, Carrier. Anything could be useful.

0rzmanx

So where do i find terminal on my computer? Is it the Adb.exe ? If is the adb.exe for some reason when i run it the window close itself.. so helphelp

Swizz

Start>Run>type CMD and hit enter. That brings up the terminal. Navigate to the folder containing adb, then continue on.

0rzmanx

ok the cmd is up how do i Navigate to the folder to the folder?

0rzmanx

using the cmd to Navigate to the folder?

0rzmanx

nvm i got it going

yparse

@Thankks Swizz
The Steps worked perfectly for me using Vista x32.

Is there any way to upgrade back to RC30 or 33 since I downgraded to RC29?or do i wait for an Over the Air update???

CantThinkOfAName

what are the chances of it getting bricked?

Swizz

yparse: You can either wait for the OTA to hit, or you can find the files needed on GYDO. Dealers choice.

CantThink: As long as you follow this guide and use the files provided the chances are a million to one.

Sorry for delayed responses.

ysap

Swizz,

Thanks for the time taken for posting this guide and still replying to messages in this thread.

A few days ago I bought a used T-Mobile G1 to be used as a WiFi enabled PDA in the USA and as a phone when visiting my home country. In order to have a clean phone, I performed a hard-reset, not realizing that you need a mobile account w/ a data plan to activate it. However, knowing that this is Linux after all, I was pretty sure there is a method to activate it on WiFi.

Then I found this guide, and a couple others, which were essentially similar. So I went on and followed the instructions - at firts, no firmware update since I passed the "reboot" test. But no matter what I did, I was stuck at the "No SIM found..." message. Then I tried the full method you described, including the RC29 install, but same thing.

After a few hours of trial and error, I decided to plug in my foreign SIM card an repeat the steps. Surprisingly (or not...) this time things went smooth, and I was able to activate on WiFi.

So let me just suggest you emphasize the requirement for a working SIM card in order to activate the G1 using this guide!

One more thing - after updating the RC29 image I got the installation successful confirmtion message and a line asking me to press the "action key" to continue. Now, what the hell is this "action key"??? Whatever it is, the G1 seemed to got stuck and I was unable to do anything. In order to reboot I actually had to remove the battery! No idea why it was stuck, but luckily a simple unplug/re-plug worked out.

Swizz

Yeah, the working SIM card was something that I just neglected. Action key is pressing the trackball.

geo781

Things went well until step 8 where the entry is ignored. Reboot works fine and I have a sim card inserted so the little Android displays the Welcome message. Any thoughts on what to look for?
Regards.
Tom Birchmire