Quick Guide on How to Update your T-Mobile G2 to Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread)

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • To use this method, you MUST be running STOCK Android 2.2
  • This will NOT work for the Desire Z or HTC Vision
  • This is SOLELY for unrooted T-Mobile G2 with Google by HTC
  • Do NOT try this if you do not know what you are doing or have any qualms about doing this
  • While it is unlikely, there IS the chance you will lose your settings, data, apps, etc – do this at your own risk!

REQUIREMENTS:

  • A computer with internet and working USB connectivity to your G2.
  • Enough space on your G2′s SD Card for the update files.
  • 10-20 minutes of your time.
  • A 50% or better battery level on your phone.
  • The ability to follow instructions to the letter.
  • And of course, as noted above, an unrooted T-Mobile G2 with Google by HTC.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preparation Steps:

  • Download the official T-Mobile/HTC update package from Google’s servers to your computer. The file can be downloaded from here.
  • Rename the file to update.zip (all lower case, and if using Windows, make sure it doesn’t get named update.zip.zip).
  • Connect your G2 to your computer and enable USB Mass Storage. Your G2′s SD Card should now be visible on your computer.
  • Copy the update.zip file to the root of your SD Card (just open up the SD Card folder and copy it into that directory).
  • Unmount your G2 from your computer.
  • Turn off USB Sharing on the G2 (and wait for it to complete).
  • Power off your phone.

Installation Steps:

  • Press the volume down button (and hold it). While still holding it, press and hold the power button until you see a menu on the screen.
  • Use the volume up/down buttons to navigate to “Recovery”
  • Once “Recovery” is highlighted, press the power button to select it. You should now see a picture of a red triangle & exclamation mark and a phone on the screen.
  • Press and hold the volume up button. Wait one second, and then while still holding it, press the power button.You should now see a menu and the following error:
    “E:Can’t open /cache/recovery/command” (ignore the error)
  • Using the volume buttons as you did before, highlight “Apply sdcard.update.zip” and then select it by pressing the power key.The phone will start the update process. Do not touch it at this point.
  • When you see that the first stage of the update has completed and the phone offers you a menu with a reboot option, use the volume buttons to highlight that option, and then use the power button to select it.
  • Your phone will now restart, and continue the update process. You’ll see two green arrows and various messages. DO NOTHING at this point. Let it complete the process itself. It will go through additional reboots as this happens.
  • Once done and it boots back up into “smartphone mode”, you’re all set!

That’s it! It’s actually pretty easy, even though my instructions are very verbose. Thanks to “jorenko” and the rest of the gang at xda Forums for all the work they put into figuring this out and writing up the preliminary instructions (I’ve simply fleshed them out a little bit here).

Jorenko has some tips on his instructions page for what to do if you run into problems.