How To: Activate the G1 Without a Data Plan

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You are here: Video » How To: Activate the G1 Without a Data Plan

So by request, here is how to activate a G1 without a data plan or even a SIM card 🙂 (If you have a request for us to do a How To Video on, visit here).

Thanks to all the people who sent this request in!
Thanks to JesusFreke for the procedure!

BEFORE YOU BEGIN:

If you are using the carrier the phone is locked to (Rogers in Canada, or T-Mobile in the US, etc.):

1.The easiest way to do this if you are in the US, is to get a friend to put his T-Mobile SIM with a data plan into your phone, activate it, then put your SIM in after.

OR

2.Just add the Data plan to your T-Mobile SIM for the day and then remove it once you have activated the phone. (This will literally cost $1, $30 data plan divided by 30 days in a month times the amount of days you used the data plan equals $1).

If you are using a company that the phone was not locked to (in other words you unlocked the phone with an unlock code or bought it unlocked from somewhere):

1. Just put in whatever SIM you are using, then on the activation screen, hit Menu then click on APN. Click add APN and put your company’s internet settings in (ask your provider for these settings). Then add the data plan to your account for the day and remove it after you have activated the phone OR get a friend with a data plan to activate it for you.

The following procedure can be used if none of the above are available to you…

I. Getting Back to RC29

1. This procedure requires you to be on an old version of Android (RC29 aka Android 1.0) so you must use our unroot procedure first and get to RC29, DO NOT DO THE STEP THAT TAKES YOU BACK TO CUPCAKE, skip it and come back to here once you are on RC29.

How To Get Back to RC29

2. You also need a WiFi connection to do this procedure.

II. Setting Up ADB

1. After you are back to RC29, follow our How To Setup ADB procedure EXACTLY as it is written. Once you are able to see your phone’s serial number after typing ADB devices in the command prompt, then come back to this procedure.

IIIa. Activating the Phone Over WiFi WITHOUT a SIM.

1. Borrow someone’s SIM card then procedure to Section IIIb.

IIIb. Activating the Phone Over WiFi WITH a SIM but No Data Plan.

1. Turn on the phone, you will get a Touch Here to Begin Screen.

2. Open the phone’s keyboard and hit enter once then type the following on the phone’s keyboard:

setprop persist.service.adb.enable 1

3. Then hit enter.

4. Hit enter AGAIN and type the following on the phone’s keyboard:

telnetd

5. Then hit enter.

6. With the phone still plugged in and the command prompt still up on your computer screen from the ADB process, type the following in the command prompt on your computer with hitting an enter at the end of each line:

cd\
cd c:\AndroidSDK\Tools\
adb devices

*this should bring up a serial number if your phone is connected, if not then redo the setup ADB process.

7. Now, in command prompt on your computer, type the following with hitting enter at the end of each line:

adb shell
am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.android.settings/.Settings

8. On your phone should pop up the Android Settings screen, you can now choose a Wifi network to connect to then hit back and finish the activation process over Wifi. Enjoy!

207 thoughts on “How To: Activate the G1 Without a Data Plan”

    1. TheUnlockr

      Wallingsworth,

      No since you need a keyboard for part of the procedure. The benefits are for people that do not have a data plan or that are using a Non T-Mobile SIM etc.

      Reply
  6. JKshowman

    really don’t you just have to:
    1. go to rc29
    2. on “click android” part setprop persist.service.adb.enable 1
    3. on adb: am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.android.settings/.Settings

    ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????

    Reply
  10. Wallingsworth

    i forgot to mention i started using google voice so i am wondering if it will still work if i don’t have a SIM? would my mt3g have to be unlocked or would i still be able to use wifi for google voice without the SIM?

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Wallingsworth,

      Google Voice SHOULD work with any internet connection technically once they make it entirely voip, but I believe right now it needs a GSM connection to operate. But give it a try, take out the SIM connect to Wifi and see if it works.

      Reply
  11. JKshowman

    Wallingsworth,
    i know im not unlockr but:

    yes all that should work, not going to go into details, but yeah without sim, wifi will will definitely work, and therefore google voice 🙂

    Reply
  12. tone

    i can get pass step 8 on part IIIa.

    i get the following error:

    ‘chmod’ is not recognized as an internal or external command…

    Reply
  13. tom

    i am having trouble with step 8 on part IIIa. I get an error when i try to modify the permissions on the busy boxfile. I get the following error.

    ‘chmod’ is not recognized as an internal or external command….

    anything helps.

    thanks

    Reply
  14. Tone

    @TheUnlockr

    It didnt work. When I entered the chmod command in ADB shell, it just spit the line back @ me. No confirmation on whether it worked or not. Also I typed in su and it replied permission denied. I am not sure if the two are related. hope that helps.

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Tone,

      Thanks alot. I’ll be doing a video for this (which always means revising the procedure with the little errors that come up like this one) early next week so I’ll have it done by then.

      Reply
  15. Tone

    TheUnlockr, thanks. I appreciate the effort! I know a visual demonstration will help a lot and will be appreciated by others as well. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  16. pablo9060

    i cant get past step 7 on IIIb. i get an error saying… ‘am’ is not recognized as and internal or external command, operable program or batch file

    Reply
  17. bengar

    Unlockrs
    Today I decided to follow this tutorial, I did the first part, get to RC29, no problem, now, I am in RC29 but when I started the second part the How To Setup ADB procedure, I can not see the USB Debugging on the phone. As I see on the video and the instructions below you it see that you need to have the phone already activated. Remember after I back to RC29 I need to activate the phone touching on the android tap ICON and set up the gmail account. How can I do the second part if I can not see the USB Debugging on the phone.
    Thanks ben

    Reply
  18. bengar

    Unlockrs
    I did it, but in the step 6 after you see the serial number you need to type this command on the CMD:

    “adb shell” (do not included the quote)

    and then hit enter, the symbol of dollar will be showed on the CMD

    $

    Now after the $ you will need to add the rest of the command:

    am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.android.settings/.Settings

    And the pop up screen will be showed.

    Thanks as ever

    bengar

    Reply
  19. soulashell

    TheUnlockr,

    Could you get this to work on a Motorola Milestone?
    I’m willing to make a donation up to $200 dlls for you effort.

    Reply
  24. Chan

    Cant go pass
    chmod 755 /data/local/busybox
    it says ‘chmod’ is not recognized as an internal or external command….
    Please I need help

    Reply
  25. Darrell

    This WORKS! I have some very valuable tips. I have t-mobile contract with my old Nokia 6301. I bought a used G1. I had the old owner put in his SIM card and activate it. I then put in MY sim card and then went to Settings > Applications > Gmail and clear all data ( go clear it for all the other google stuff too, like maps, gtalk, etc.). Install the free app ANPDroid via wifi. This turns off all data plans and such so now your phone will only work as a phone, text messages, and data only in wifi!!! PERFECT that’s exactly what I wanted!!! Thanks Unlockr!

    Reply
  26. adrian

    hey i have a question i want to root my G1 phone i know i need androi 1.5 intalled on my phone but my question is… If i intall android 1.5 my phone ask me to ativate with google account? i have not 3G in my area so what can i do to root my G1 without activate my g1 with google

    Reply
  27. Josh

    I’m having a number of problems. I have ADB working but when I type telnetd, nothing happens. Perhaps nothing is suppose to happen but the tutorial gives no further explanation.

    I continued to the push command as described, but as soon as I type in the chmod command I get an error the command is not recognized.

    There are a couple of problems taking place at this point:
    1. It appears I do not have root access, though I have successfully setup RC29. The reason I believe I do not have root access is because the busybox never got pushed over to the G1. I’ve checked the folders on the G1 and there is nothing there. When I type the chmod command, I get an error the command is not recognized.

    2. How does one go about setting up telnet on a G1 locked in the No SIM card screen? The service does not appear to be standard as I’ve come across many tutorials saying it needs to be installed from the market.

    Hope to get some good feedback soon! Thanks.

    Reply
  28. Josh

    A little more detail about the errors I’m receiving…

    c:\android\tools>adb push busybox /data/local/busybox
    1125 KB/s

    c:\android\tools>chmod 755 /data/local/busybox
    ‘chmod’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

    c:\android\tools>adb shell
    $ su
    su
    su: permission denied
    $

    Reply
  29. mobstazk

    i am trying to login on my G1 phon without a data plan using ADB. finish up to step 7 of the procedure on the unlockr how to forum, but when i type in adb shell in my command prmt i see the $ sign, good but when i type the cmd am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN com.android.settings/settings} }
    error type 3
    Error: activity class {com.settings/settings}does not exist. PLZ some genius help me am in Jamaica

    Reply
  32. hellcaeser

    hey unlockr can you post a list of new custom roms that can skip google account sign in so that i can sign in my g1 like this procedure and flash a rom that can skip google account sign in….

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      HellCaeser,

      Sorry don’t have a G1 to do all that trial and error. You’ll just have to load them and see, and then if they have a sign in boot into recovery wipe and load another.

      Reply
  33. hellcaeser

    thankx unlockr..finally rooted and flashed a custom rom,,flashed Donut by laslo 1.2,,can skip google sign in in this rom,,,

    Reply
  34. Michael

    Hey, everything here worked as far as getting WiFI activate, but…

    Even though Wifi is connected with full service, I still get the “Cannot connect to google servers” message or whatever.

    Do you have any experience with this problem?

    Reply
  35. steven

    So after we go back to rc29 do we need to do this step to get it to 1.5 or can we just apply the update? Or do we activate it with this step then apply the update and then can we then use this step to activate it again.. can we use this step as many times as we can???

    Reply
  36. Julian

    im confused how are you supposed to do the ADB process and connect it to your computer if you cant get to your phone since it isnt activated yet. im trying ot find my phone under devices but the computer isnt recognizing it. any help would be greatly appreciated 🙂

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Julian,

      So long as you downgraded to RC29 (like the procedure says lol), then install the drivers etc correctly you will be able to see the phone in ADB.
      Again though read the very beginning of the post. Do you know someone with T-Mobile SIM and a data plan? Just put that in the phone, much faster lol

      Reply
  37. Maurice B

    I can not set up adb, because to set it up i have to be able to mount usb and enable debugging. but none of this is possible from the “touch android screen”

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Maurice,

      Just follow the procedure…

      This step enables ADB BEFORE getting past the Touch Android screen.

      2. Open the phone’s keyboard and hit enter once then type the following on the phone’s keyboard:

      setprop persist.service.adb.enable 1

      ..

      Reply
  39. antonio

    i was trying to do the thing without a data plan and i tried typing the stuff in on the command prompt and it wont work can u help me

    Reply
  42. john

    i am trying to sign into my phone without data plan but one of the steps is to set up my phone with ADB. However, when i go to that section and try to set up ADB it requires that i have access to the settings on my g1… if i cant get sign into my phone, how am i supposed to get into the settings and turn usb debugging on?

    Reply
  43. john

    unlockr, i think maurice and i have the same problem… we actually need to set ADB up, not enable it… and we cant do that unless we can sign into our phones.

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      John and Maurice,

      The phone doesn’t need to be past that screen. Just type what it asks you to type in the procedure (that enables ADB to see the phone). The rest is you getting ADB working from the computer to see the phone (installing drivers really).

      Reply
  44. jhay

    hey unlockr,

    I bought a g1 phone from a friend. He factory reset the phone and set up everything so I wouldn’t have any difficulties with the google account login. I have had this phone for a good 3 weeks now. Then whenever I would go to market, and any data plan relating app, it would say his gmail account, and then prompt me to enter a password and says ‘gmail password changed’ but everything was still working fine over wifi. today, just recently, all my contacts got erased and whenever I click the gmail icon, it leads me to a google account set up. I don’t kno how the information on my friends google account got deleted, but now I cannot even add contacts, it always force closes.

    is there anyway to create a google account without the data plan just so I can data sync contacts to my phone? or at least add contacts?

    Reply
  45. david

    hi unlockr and other users i was wondering if there is a similar process for the mytouch 3g i do not have a data plan and im stuck in the activation screen and dnt kno anyone with t mobile data plan is there any way you can help me? i will really appreciate any help 🙂

    Reply
  48. michael weathers

    my g1 is working fine without a data plan thanks to the unlockr…!!!thanks again it took me 2 day to figure it out but it was worth it thanks man…

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Kevin,

      Yes. It is $30/month and they prorate it. So if there are 30 days in the month and you use it for one day, that is $30/30 days x 1 day = $1 (ish)

      Reply
  50. Isaak

    Can u plz help me cuz when i was tryin to do the setup without using data plan and when i was doin to command prompt its said AndroidSDK\Tools\ is not recongized

    PLZ HELP ME!!!

    Reply
  51. jeff

    Hi my name is jeff i buy a HTC G1 from someone in united state,the reason he sale it to me is because he didnt know how to use it so….. me right now i’m in france with the phone i will want to use it to a french operator n the name call SFR but the thing is i went to unlock it they toll me is unlock but they didn’t know how to make it works cause they was asking on the phone the only thing i could do is to make emergency call thats all so i will want to know if you could me……. also they be asking me to do a Gmail account i did it but still don’t want to work…… my french sims card is not a plan its a prepard card i will want to no if a will work or if you could help me to work this G1 thanks

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Jeff,

      Do this procedure and it will let you connect to WiFi then you can get past the activation screen. Then if the phone IS unlocked you should immediately be able to make phone calls and send texts etc.

      Reply
  52. jeff

    im doing that just now but the thing say the system cannot find the path specified a also say adb is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file

    Reply
  53. Dave

    I plan on buying a new phone fairly soon and would like to give my G1 to my grandson to use as a texting phone (no data plan). It would be nice, however, if he could connect to a GMail account of his own for backing up contacts. Obviously, the phone will be activated when I take my sim out and he puts his in, but it would be my Google account. Would you recommend the second step–activating the data plan for a day?

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Dave,

      Sure. I would recommend going into settings > security (it might also be in sd card or privacy, they moved it depending on what version of Android you have on the phone) and do a Factory Reset of the phone. This will erase everything and then reboot the phone. When you get to the login screen say that you don’t have an account with Google and create one for your grandson to use (unless he already has a gmail then do I have an existing account, but put HIS info in instead of yours). Then once you get to the home screen, take out your SIM and put his in. Done. Now he’s activated and it has his GMail account.
      Just make sure he doesn’t ever factory reset it, or he’ll have to do that again.

      Reply
  56. Blair

    Having the same problem as Michael, with the wifi. Followed the tutorial, got the wifi on & reading a signal. However, I still get the “Cannot connect to google servers” message & noticed that I get 2 different wifi signal strengths. At the top of the main screen or homepage, the wifi icon shows but reads no signal, but in the wifi settings page or screen, where it shows that I’m connected, it clearly shows a full signal strength. Did I miss something or is there a hardware issue of some kind? Why don’t both icons show the same signal strength & does this contribute to my being unable to connect to the internet?

    Reply
  57. Yusuf

    I got the phone from my cousin and well basically i just want to use this as a media device without a sim and i’ve tried using adb etc. but i have no clue whats wrong with it i get the $ symbol on msdos but when ever i put a command in the line sends bakc a message that says i have no permissions
    HELP!

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Yusuf,

      Find your cousin (or anyone with a data plan on T-Mobile). Put his SIM that had a data plan on it in the phone, activate it using your GMail account, then take out his SIM and give it back to him. Easiest way to solve it.

      Reply
  58. John

    I tried the steps to many time. it will not what so ever list my device under the command prompt . do i have to have Administrator privileges to install the t mobile g1 hardware to the computer because the Administrator of this computer is long gone. and every time i repeat these steps it asks for the password too many times

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      CharlesC,

      Not this procedure since we need the physical keyboard to input things with. The easiest way to activate the phone is either add the data plan to your phone for a day (cost you $1) or borrow a friends SIM with a data plan activate the phone and put your SIM in.

      Reply
  62. Ian

    okai ive done up to step 6 on IIIb….Buut my computer still wont give me a serial number I suspect its because my phone isnt mounted to the computer…. but i cant mount it to thee computer because it wont let me past thee sign in….

    PLZ!!!!!!!! HELP im too close to quit…………………=]

    Reply
  63. Kim

    hi, i am trying to use my g1 without the data plan on my sim card and when i first turn it on, i hit answer and proceed to type but i dont have a search bar like you, please help

    Reply
  64. Dave

    I’m back!! As noted above, I followed Unlockr’s advice and activated my G1 using my sim but my grandson’s Gmail account. However, even though he connects to WiFi, the phone will not connect to any Goggle services including email, maps, or the app market. Is there something I have to do to work around this? Thanks!

    p.s. Loving my Nexus One!

    Reply
  65. Kyle

    I got through all of that but when I go to sing-in with my gmail account to try and activate it, an error comes up saying “There is a problem communicating with the Google servers. This could be a temporary problem or your SIM card may not be provisioned for data services. If it continues, call Customer Care.” I don’t have a data plan on my SIM but I shouldn’t have to right after I set up the wifi right?

    Reply
  66. VBeezy

    im getting a G1. but i dnt have the internet data plan, could i possibly use someone sim that has the internet for a mytouch. or would it need to be for a G1?

    Reply
  67. everett

    Thanks a lot, great guide!

    Just one thing though. In step II, you instruct not to continue until you see the phone’s serial number in adb. It seems like this is a flaw in the guide because, for me at least, I was not able to see my serial number in adb until I did step IIIb, #2 through #6.

    Reply
  68. RE

    same problem as some above. Got to ADB with drivers updated. But adb devices doesnt return anything, just “List of devices attached” but nothing there. I read somewhere the USB debugging should be on, but that requires acitvating the G1 first. Am i doing something wrong? I can not pass step IIIb-1 since adb doesnt link with the G1

    Reply
    1. RE

      Finally i got the G1 activated without the SIM card data plan !!! The instructions above are ok, but i found the next sites to provide some help with the adb not listing the device. Follow http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=2676 comment 5 for making sure the drivers are properly updated if your PC doesn’t recognize the adb drivers. Follow http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f606/bypass-t-mobile-g1-google-activation-phonecarecenter-781472/ for connecting to G1 and get the Wifi menu. The instruction on the last are very similar to this post but i found them to work better. Let me know how it works

      Reply
  69. Keith

    I have a question. I bought the phone off a friend and it was activated, but I needed to factory reset it because the SD card on it was messed up. I forgot you had to activated once the phone is factory reseted. So my question is, does the phone have to have wifi on BEFORE you already Reset the phone? Or is there a way to turn on wifi after it’s already reset but cannot be registered?

    Reply
  70. 007Bond

    nice tutorial, but I have a question. I have MT3G. I realized that when you’re on activation screen, if you hold the “MENU” button, the keyboard comes up. So I was wondering if you could use these instructions on MT3G..?

    Reply
  71. jerry

    when i put in “adb devices” it say “list of devices attachted” then i put “adb shell” and it says phone not connected

    Reply
  73. Mondy

    TheUnlockr,

    Wow! looks like you have done a great job helping others. I bought a used G1 to use it as Internet Access device (like I-Touch) and get familiar with Android. This was a T-mobile phone and is not unlocked.Without the SIM the phone would not let me do anything. I have an old T-mobile SIM which I took out of an old phone and put it in G1 and got intial screen upto “Touch Android”, but I can’t go beyond. I do not want to use the phone feature, but want to use for web surfing through home wifi. What is the best way to solve this issue?

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Mondy,

      Either have a friend with a data plan on their T-Mobile SIM put their SIM in the phone so you can activate it then just take their sim our after. Or do this procedure…

      Reply
  74. Mondy

    TheUnlockr,

    WOW AGAIN!!! your solution works. It took me a while to get hang of downloads on my laptop and the device, but works like a charm!!!!!!!!!!!!!. THANK YOU!!!!!!
    I am new Android user and more I look at the speed, the “market”, the functionality, etc., the more I am getting amazed. I am not using it a phone but a cheap internet access device. I now need to slowly upgrade the android version. Any idea if G1 supports Android 2.2?
    Keep up the great work.

    Reply
  75. Jason

    Thanks for this video… I thought I was going crazy trying to get USB debugging working. in the end, I had to use a third machine with a fresh install of XP before it would recognize the ADB “Android Phone” device… I hate those usb drivers! I see a lot of other people in various forums who may be having the same problem.

    Anyway, thanks again!

    Reply
  77. nene

    Hi i have g1 and when i tried to do the IIIb, 2 the g1 dont show nothing we i put enter in the keyboard. What i can do?

    Reply
  78. Sokhout

    Hey! When u say I can use anyone sim card that have a data plan. Does it mean that person need to have a G1 too??? Please help me….

    Reply
  80. Kris

    when i put in “adb devices” i get “list of devices attached” but i see no serial so i put in “adb shell” and get “error: device not found”
    help plz!!!

    Reply
  81. anab

    hey, am i supposed to download alle of the phone drivers if i cant find my device? if not, how do i know what drive i am supposed to dowload

    thanks 😉

    Reply
  83. Martin

    Using ‘adb shell’ the response is ‘error more than one device an emulator’
    or sometimes ‘devices is offline’. Problem? Solution?

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Patricia,

      Please click on Wireless 101 at the top of the site, then click on General Wireless 101 and then look for the article call Android 101: Rooting, Jailbreaking, Unlocking and read it. Then look for Unlocking 101: CDMA vs GSM and read that as well.
      After that you’ll have a better understanding of what you just asked.

      Reply
  85. patricia

    ok so im going to be completely honest with you. im slow when it comes to doing stuff like this. i dont know where to download the sites from or anything like that. my phone just wont go past the android guy. well past the log in screen. 🙁 i would really apperciate the help

    Reply
  86. Jagrut

    hey i was wondering if i root my phone without the data plan how i do it. and also it says i have to go back to rc29… why? lol and how would i do that if i was rooting it

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Jagrut,

      1. The easiest way to do it would be to just either add the data plan for one day to your account (just add it then remove it tomorrow) – it will LITERALLY cost you $1 for a day’s usage. OR just borrow a friend with a T-Mobile SIM card with a data plan to activate the phone and then put yours in once it is activated.
      2. You need to go back to RC29 with rooting because that version has the exploit we use for rooting in it.

      Good luck!

      Reply
  88. Jagrut

    and also will rooting cause the phone to screw up…i have no warrenty anyways lol. also what should i do if something goes wrong in the middle what should i do then

    Reply
  89. OneConfusedGuy

    TheUnlockr,

    having some serious issues with this whole process. i downgraded to RC29 and all that jazz, but I can’t get the driver part to work (I think, no serial appears after running the commands). Using windows 7 and a g1. Any ideas?

    thanks!

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Once its past the activation screen you can turn it off and on without having to reactivate it. You’d only need to do the activation screen again if you factory reset the phone (swapping sim cards is fine).

      Reply
  93. Meanna Juke

    How can I mount my g1 to my pc if my g1 has never been activated and I can’t access it at all! PLEASE HELP ME! I don’t live in the US and I bought the phone on ebay so it’ll be tough trying to send it back! Please Help!!!

    Reply
  95. franck-o

    Hi
    I just reset my G1 and I am having problem following the procedure. I’m from Canada so i don’t have acess to a T-Mobile simcard. Do it will work if i borrow my friend sim card(other than t-mobile) with a data plan on it.

    thank you

    Reply
    1. TheUnlockr

      Is the phone unlocked? Have you used a non T-Mobile SIM in it before? If so then you can use any SIM card so long as it has a data plan.
      Just make sure when you get to the Activation screen, you push the Menu key then hit APN, then either choose your carrier from the list or hit New, then put in your carrier’s APN settings in, hit Save and then select the APN and hit back.

      Reply
        1. franck-o

          I reset accidently reset my G1. Then I use my brother sim card and I unlock it with is sim card. Today I borrow my cousin simcard to activate my cell, he has a data plan. But the phone didn’t dectect the connexion… desperate i don’t know what to do. …. please help me

          Reply
  97. MinaM

    is it just to unlock the g1? can i use the method of putting in a friend’s sim card that has the internet plan into a motorola cliq and then taking it out and putting mine in?

    Reply
  100. Yona

    This has been quite helpful. Although the only solution I had was to use a SIM with Data to reactivate. The phone had RC30 and I could not find out how to return it to RC29.

    Thanks

    Reply
  101. Desz Plays NoGames

    this actually works but make sure to download PDANet —> http://www.junefabrics.com/android/download.php & In Number2, part2 of the PDANet install on this website https://theunlockr.com/2009/10/06/how-to-set-up-adb-usb-drivers-for-android-devices/ this is the driver needed to install for the G1 —> http://stuff.foamcoffee.com/misc/adb/win/android_usb_windows.zip extract the contents into a new folder on your desktop. when you browse for the file look in your desktop for the files you just extracted. Thanks So Much To ALL The Developers And Hacking Community

    Reply
  104. Gabriel Lavarro

    @ Unlocker,
    i’m currently on step 6 on procedure IIIb. when i typed “cd c:AndroidSDKTools” it says “the system cannot find the path specified”
    what shall i do to fix this problem?
    please help me.:(

    Reply
    1. mark

      go to your c: drive and click on your androidsdk folder, there should be another folder there before getting to the tools folder. add that name in between androidsdk and tools in the command line.

      Reply
  105. Steven18112

    in command prompt wen i type cd c:AndroidSDKTools it sais the system cannot find the path specified…..what do i do…..nothing works…..

    Reply
  106. selena

    if you are sarting up your g1 with a sim card from another country.. does it work with a prepaid card or does someone that has a internet planner?

    Reply
  108. GeekonaBike

    Has anyone been able to install the ABD drivers in windows or Linux with an unactivated phone. every approach I’ve tried so far want the phone mounted or USD debuging turned on.

    Reply
  109. GeekonaBike

    What worked for me (Tmobile G1) after a few tries was at Step II 1 not getting serial# – uninstall HTC driver using USBview, unpluging phone. follow steps & replug phone at step IIIb 6
    Now the correct drives installed including the ABD driver

    Reply
  110. GeekonaBike

    What worked for me (Tmobile G1) after a few tries was at Step II 1 not getting serial# – uninstall HTC driver using USBview, unpluging phone. follow steps & replug phone at step IIIb 6
    Now the correct drives installed including the ABD driver

    Reply
  113. Hazim Ibrahimovic

    Ok, I can get everything else but i just realized i dont have a SD card in my phone is there a possible way to put a new SD card in there will it format it self? or should i get all the files and put it on the cardf thats what I need.

    Reply
  115. John

    Hey Im trying to put adb on here… Im on rc29 but you said you need to type something on the g1 keyboard to get it to recognize the device… I cant find what you typed on the how to adb page

    Reply
  116. Fail

    IIIb. Activating the Phone Over WiFi WITH a SIM but No Data Plan big fail!!!!!

    You cant do any of this unless you have it already debugged usb.

    Reply
  119. Error

    MAN I WAS A BOUT TO GIVE UP! DUDE YOU GOT THE DAMN (am start -a android) <– CORRECT WAY.
    You had it off by 1 space. YOU FORGOT SPACE BETWEEN t & a. Get your stuff right!

    Reply
  122. g1user

    Did the ‘easy route’ by taking my sim card out & putting in another sim card. If I was registered on the g1 initially, how do we have the other person register on it afterwards?, and it seems as though data/web is working on the phone even though the plan for the sim card that is in it doesn’t have the data plan on it – your thoughts?

    Reply
  123. g1user

    Did the ‘easy route’ by taking my sim card out & putting in another sim card. If I was registered on the g1 initially, how do we have the other person register on it afterwards?, and it seems as though data/web is working on the phone even though the plan for the sim card that is in it doesn’t have the data plan on it – your thoughts?

    Reply
  127. Jeff

    Unlockr
    I tried to go back to rc29 I copied the files over and during the format the battery fell out and now I try to start the phone and the rainbow screen comes up and then goes to loading screen and then below says NO IMAGE FILE and then back to the ranbow screen. Man this sucks can you help me out not sure what to do now. I need my phone man oh man what should I do next???

    Reply
  131. Greatscottkt

    when i tried to do this,it lists 2 different Serial numbers, 1 is offline, the other shows device, but the first one is listed as offline, so i can’t go any further 

    Reply
  134. Hitman1895

    Hello there. i would really appreciate if someone can help me. i installed SDK And AVD program and installed the JDK program but nothing works i follow every ******* step but i still can get into my Phone. when i start up command prompt and type in the instructions and type in adb devices it says that adb is not a recognized file blah blah blah crap! so can some one tell me what i am missing so i can F******** get this G1 to work! Thanks  

    Reply
  137. Anonymous

    Hello..i have made the step with RC29..everything went well..the
    problem is that i have wireless router and i cant connect my G1 at
    internet..( i cant log in with my google account)..can you please give
    me some steps to fallow? i have read everything and even try some
    tips..but useless..I am from Romania, but i`ve received the phone from
    UK..please reply me..if i cant get any further..my phone is dead at
    this step. thank you very much

    Reply
  141. Daniel Jones

    Instruction II.1 is wrong. If you are trying to activate it without a SIM card or a data plan, that means it’s obviously not activated. If the phone is not activated, you can’t turn on the USB Debugging on the phone. If you could come up with a solution that works, please, let me know. I’m at a dead-end here, and becoming more and more frustrated with my failed attempts to connect to ADB. I can’t get past the activation screen (I have a Blackberry data plan, not an Android plan, so I can’t activate my gmail account with my SIM) to turn on USB Debugging. Any help?

    Reply
  142. estebang_12

    IT WORKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

    I did the proccess with the option IIIb.
    Highly recommended.

    Reply
  147. Peter

    Error type 3

    error activity class {com.android.settings/com.android.settings.settings} does not exist  pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaas help me
     

    Reply
  148. seven0don

    can u help me?
    i have the new version of the g1 and the command prompt kept not working..PLEASE HELP im soo worried

    Reply
  151. Jude

    Please am using Htc dream. i have signal with my sim card but am not able to log in to my google account, and also i don’t have wifi signal. What should i do please?

    Reply

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