Streak-off-froyo-tut

The official Android 2.2 update was released late last night/early this morning, depending on your time zone, for the US beta version of the Dell Streak (the one that came in the fancy packaging).

Unfortunately, as of this writing, no one has been able to complete the update process successfully [see update below]. This includes users who legitimately received the software update notification on their devices and those who downloaded the file and crossed their fingers that it would work on their non-US beta Streaks.

Disheartened and frustrated, most people have decided to continue what they've been doing, which is to wait for Dell to get its act together and then wait some more for the update to be officially released for their particular version of the Streak. While this is certainly the safest, most legitimate route to take, there's another path to follow that's a lot more fun and ends with you having the official Froyo update on your Streak right now.

How? Join me below and find out.

IMPORTANT: I can only personally confirm that the following instructions work if you're running DJ_Steve's latest Froyo build (version 1.3) because it's exactly what I did. It may work on other versions of his build too, as well as other Streaks, but I have only done it with Steve's v1.3 build as my starting point. Your mileage may vary. [Update: See list of all versions that have been upgraded here]

Other important notes:

  • The official build is not as optimized/tweaked as DJ_Steve's build. If you want the fastest, smoothest ROM on your Streak, then you should use Steve's.
  • Applying this update with this method does not wipe your device. All of your apps and settings are still intact; however, since it never hurts to be prepared (you never know when you'll need to do a factory reset), you should create a backup before proceeding.
  • I am a Windows user, so the fastboot file and the instructions are provided and written for Windows. Apologies to Mac and Linux users.
  • Anything you do to your Dell Streak is done at your own risk. If you are uncomfortable with any of the steps, then please wait for Dell to release the official update for your device.

Still with me?

Great! Now let's move on to getting the official Froyo update on your Dell Streak using a Windows computer.

Note: I simplified the instructions as much as I could by keeping all the necessary files on your computer's desktop and hosting one of the files you need. I did this to simplify the command line work and eliminate the need to download the Android SDK.

1. Download this fastboot file to your computer's desktop. Don't do anything with it; just leave it on your desktop. If you feel more comfortable getting the file from the SDK, you can download the whole kit.

2. Download this .zip provided by DJ_Steve. Extract the folder and put the contents (amss.mbn, boot.img, system.img) on your computer's desktop.

3. Turn off your Dell Streak.

4. Hold down the power button. When the buttons light up on the side, press and hold down the camera button. Keep holding down both buttons until you see this white screen:

Streak-offroyo-fb (1)

5. Press the "FastBoot" button in the top right corner. You will see "Wait for USB FastBoot detect" on the Streak's screen.

6. Wait a few seconds (I usually count to 10, though this may not be necessary) and then plug the Streak into your Windows computer. "Fastboot_Mode" will be displayed in the lower left corner of your Streak's screen.

7. On your Windows computer, open the Command Prompt program. If you don't know where it is (it's preloaded), search for it in the Start Menu's search bar.

8. You should see C:UsersYour Name (or whatever your computer is called). All the files you need are on your desktop, so type cd desktop and press enter. You should now see C:UsersYour NameDesktop.

9. Now type fastboot -i 0x413c flash amss amss.mbn and press enter. Wait until you see "finished" and the active line in Command Prompt is C:UsersYour NameDesktop again.

10. Next type fastboot -i 0x413c flash boot boot.img and press enter. Wait until you see "finished" and the active line is once again C:UserYour NameDesktop.

11. Finally, type fastboot -i 0x413c flash system system.img and press enter. Wait until you see "finished" (it may take a few minutes this time) and the active line is C:UserYour NameDesktop.

If everything went smoothly, your Command Prompt should look similar to this (minus the "Jenn" part, presumably). Click to view in full size.

Commands-streak

12. Disconnect the Streak from your computer and remove the battery.

13. Reinsert the battery and power on the Streak normally. It will take several minutes to boot (mine took about 3 minutes).

14. Run through the start-up wizard and enjoy the official Android 2.2 build on your Dell Streak. Use z4root from Android Market or SuperOneClick to root the new build.

Thanks to DJ_Steve for once again coming through for Streak users around the world!

UPDATE: Looks like a new update.pkg was just released. Most people are reporting success with it, including those who do not have US beta Streaks. If your baseband ends with 00, you should be able to visit this link from your Streak and install the update with no problem. As always, your mileage may vary.