[How-To] Force the Official Android 2.1 Update for the Motrola Droid (ESE81)
This is a guide on how to force the official Android 2.1 update to your Motorola Droid. I have tested every aspect of this and it works. Go slowly and read through the entire guide before you begin. This process should take no longer than 10 minutes. To see a complete list of everything included in this update, take a look at the official Verizon Support page!
Release notes are now available. Attention: Make sure that you are running 2.0.1 before installing this! If not, you will receive an error! You MUST be unrooted with stock Android 2.0.1 before you can update! If you try to update with SPRecovery, the stock Boot.img, or a custom ROM the update.zip will NOT work!
*Instructions on how to install the update to your phone without using your computer can be found at the very bottom of this post.
What You Will Need:
-MicroSD Card inserted into your Droid
-USB Data Cable
1. Download the update.zip File:
-To begin, you will first need to download the update.zip file and save it to your computer.
-You will need to have file extensions showing if you should have to rename the file, otherwise you effectively name the file update.zip.zip. This is what causes errors with the instillation. When extensions aren't on, it assumes that anything you type in for the file name should go before the extension. Both Windows and OSX have options for this in Explorer and Finder respectively.
-This should not be necessary though since the file will already come downloaded to you bearing the proper name by default. SO DO NOT RENAME THE FILE!
Note: If you are a Mac user using the Safari browser, you’ll need to do the following before downloading the file:
Safari > Preferences > General > Uncheck "Open Safe Files After Downloading"
*If you would like to make a mirror of the file, send me the link and I’ll add it to the OP.
2. Mount Your MicroSD Card:
Connect your Droid to a PC via USB. You will be notified that there is a USB connection. Drag down the notification panel and select “USB connected.”
You will now see an option to mount your phone; do so at this time by selecting “Mount.”
This will turn your Droid into a mass storage device. Your computer should automatically recognize it and an auto-run popup should appear on your desktop. Select “Open folder to view files” and it will open the folder containing all of the files on your Droid’s MicroSD card.
Then, drag the update.zip file that you already downloaded onto the MicroSD card folder you opened on your computer. After the file has finished transferring to your MicroSD card folder, continue to the next step.
3. Turn Off MicroSD Mounting:
Slide down the notification shade and select “Turn off USB storage.”
An option will then popup allowing you to “Turn Off”–select this now.
If you haven’t closed the SD Card folder on your computer, the window should close automatically once you turn off USB storage.
4. Prepare for the Update:
Once you have unmounted the phone, it is now time to prepare the Droid to perform the update. You will be accessing Recovery Mode to do this. Start by powering down the phone completely.
While holding “X” on the physical keyboard, hold the power button to turn on the phone. You may let go of the power button, but do not let go of X.
After a few seconds, an Exclamation Mark icon will appear. You may now let go of X. To access Recovery Mode from the exclamation mark icon, hold the volume up button and then press the camera button.
5. Perform the Update:
You will then open a text menu with four options. Using the directional pad, navigate to “apply sdcard:update.zip” and push the gold, center button to select it.
The update process will begin immediately and should take no longer than a minute or two. It will let you know when the process is complete.
You might get this error:
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/command
DON'T worry about it... it just blows right past it and installs fine.
From here, navigate to “reboot system now” and select it. Your phone will shut off and reboot. Some users are reporting a longer than usual boot time after installing this, be patient and do not be alarmed, this is normal.
6. Congratulations!
Your Droid has now been updated to the official Android 2.1 release! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns what so ever, please post them to this thread!
Be advised:
If you had placed a shortcut to the Gallery on your home screen prior to running this update, long-press on it and toss it in the trash. Then open your drawer and pull it back out onto the home screen. Otherwise, the Gallery shortcut simply will not work.
Some users are complaining of certain things not working (like GPS) after the first boot. If you run into a similar issue, try a battery pull. If that doesn't work for you, post your issue to this thread so we can help you out.
ENJOY!
------------------------- How to install the update without the use of a computer:
1. Install Astro File Manager from the Android Market if you don’t already have it.
2. Download the update.zip file from one of the locations listed above in step 1 straight from the internet to your phone.
3. Open Astro File Manager, click on the downloads folder, click and hold on the update.zip file, select edit then copy. Now click the Astro up button so you're in the root directory, click the Astro edit button, then paste. The update.zip file should now be in the root directory.
4. Continue on from step 4 above.
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re: [How-To] Force the Official Android 2.1 Update for the Motrola Droid (ESE81)
Quote:
Few questions before upgrading.
Do I have to unroot first? Will this kill wifi tethering? Does this just install over 2.0.1 w/o removing any apps/personal info? TIA!
Installing this will just remove root access. So, yes it will kill wifi tethering. It does just install over 2.01 and all of your apps/ personal info will remain untouched.
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
The Following User Says Thank You to Trident For This Useful Post:
I *think* someone made a pre-rooted update.zip for this but I'm not positive. Might be over at alldroid.
__________________ So I'm guessin' there's questions that need addressin' like how he fresh in the adolescence and wreckin em' Rules & Guidelines, Zero Tolerance Policy.
Im new to forums. I just tried to install the 2.1 update and get error message that it cant open. Am i doing something wrong??? I have renamed the file on my desktop to update and update.zip.zip and still get error
Im new to forums. I just tried to install the 2.1 update and get error message that it cant open. Am i doing something wrong??? I have renamed the file on my desktop to update and update.zip.zip and still get error
Nope, the 3D app drawer appears to belong to the Nexus One, and apparently we're still stuck with 3 screens.
I can't seem to drag the zip file from the pc desktop to the sd card after i mount it. I can see all the files on the sd card everytime i try to drop the file into it though it says its protected. Any tips?
Does forcing an update in any way limit your phone from recieving OTAs in the future? Does it change the phone in any way different than if you just got the OTA instead of forcing? Or is this just fooling your phone into thinking its been selected for an update and nothing more?
OK! Installed and working like a charm. Noticeable differences include desktop dock button layout change and of course the wallpapers and news/weather widget. Seems to be working ok with Home++ but slightly laggy. I'd previously installed the news/weather & gallery apps months ago but had uninstalled due to lag. Now that they are native I'm not seeing that same lag so that's good.
I noticed the App Drawer is the same (no square of dots) and I've not found how to add addition screens in the main home screen...
Alternative method that worked for me in 2.01 and i'm assuming will work here is:
download straight from the web to your phone
or
download the file on a computer, GMail yourself the zip, go to GMail in your Browser (not the App) and download the .zip
then use Astro or another file manager to move the .zip from downloads to the root dir.
Alright, I guess I'm the only one with this signature issue then. Not sure what the problem is, as I have done this several times before. I have downloaded from all three mirrors with the same result. If I keep going, my battery will not allow me to update. Any help?
Alternative method that worked for me in 2.01 and i'm assuming will work here is:
download straight from the web to your phone
or
download the file on a computer, GMail yourself the zip, go to GMail in your Browser (not the App) and download the .zip
then use Astro or another file manager to move the .zip from downloads to the root dir.
edit- beaten to it
After I move the zip file to the root directory what should i do next?
Do I Just follow along from a certain point in the OP, or is there a different procedure?
__________________
These aren't the Droids you're looking for... Move along!
After I move the zip file to the root directory what should i do next?
Do I Just follow along from a certain point in the OP, or is there a different procedure?
Yes, after it's moved to the root of your SD, make sure the file is named update.zip within astro (if it's not rename it), then continue from step 4.
The Following User Says Thank You to Trident For This Useful Post:
uhhhhhh. i just updated and didn't lose root. i still have the superuser ninja. that's what i'm basing my assumption on. i moved all the old roms to another folder so i would ONLY have the official update.zip in the root folder.
firmware : 2.1-update1
build : ese81
what happened or didn't happen?
btw, the droid version of the nexus wallpaper rules, but it is so freakin laggy.
Last edited by karmagedon; March 31st, 2010 at 09:13 AM.
The Motorola Droid - the first ever Verizon Android Phone - exploded onto the mobile market with an incredibly successful ad campaign that brough Android to the masses. With a huge and vibrant touchscreen, solid metal body, full QWERTY keyboard, 5M... Read More
[How-To] Force the Official Android 2.1 Update for the Motrola Droid (ESE81)
