Advertising
Written by

Kellen

Kellen

It’s not often that you get to merge personal passions into a professional life, but that’s what Kellen did when he launched Droid Life in 2009. After working years of unsatisfying jobs in the medical and property management fields, he took a risk to try and create an online community while playing with the coolest gadgets on the planet each day, a risk that has turned out to be incredibly rewarding. Outside of Droid Life, Kellen is your typical Portlander who drinks way too much good beer, complains often about the Trail Blazers, and can be found out on the streets for a run, rain or shine.

More Reading

Post navigation

322 Comments

  • I know this sound stupid but I cannot get into recovery mode. Switching off, the power button and 'x' brings me always to normal boot up (no triangle whatsoevfer)
    Please what do I do wrong?
    Thanx

  • Hey, I have copied the the update file in the Root folder of my SD Card(when you open SD Card through Astro, where all the folders are there, like Motonav, Mobile, Albums, albumthumbnail etc etc… One of the folders is Update.zip. I can see the update logo as well through Astro in the root). I am getting the below mentioned error of E:failed to verify whole-file signature.

    E:Can’t open/cache/recovery/command
    –Install from sdcard…
    Finding update package…
    Opening update package..
    Verifying update package…
    E:failed to verify whole-file signature
    E:signature verification failed
    Installation aborted.

    Kindly help… I am using Motorola Milestone

  • should i delete the zip file i downloaded for the manual update after i install it or is it necessary to have for the update to work properly?

    • For some reason my droid started to download the 2.1 update and i didnt ask it to? Can i just not do ot or does it auto upload when i reboot?

  • I have the Triangle with exclamation point but when I hit the volume and camera button, nothing happens…anyone else having this problem or any suggestions?

    • You need to use the D-pad to move up and down and the gold center button to accept/hit OK, I believe the volume and camera buttons only work with sprecovery or clockwork recovery (don't quote me on that one). Hope this helps.

  • How long do you think it takes for the phone to restart once it starts doing the cycling between Droid and Eye? Mine has been almost 15 minutes now

  • I downloaded the updae and placed it in the root directory of phone. Restared per the directions and it will not work. This is for an ERIS. My understanding is that this should work with an Eris, but it will not even find the upgrade folder. It is named correct as a zip and no duplicates. HELP

  • Go to sd card and rename it update.zip, it might say update.zip.zip, thats what mine said. renamed it and it worked. Also JUST WONDERING WHAT TO DO WHEN THE UPDATE COMES TO MY PHONE IF I ALREADY MANUALLY UPDATED?

  • E:Can’t open/cache/recovery/command
    –Install from sdcard…
    Finding update package…
    Opening update package..
    Verifying update package…
    E:failed to verify whole-file signature <—This is the thing don't understand.
    E:signature verification failed
    Installation aborted.

    Why is this? And how do I fix it?

  • When trying to do this without a computer i ran into a problem. When i tried to click the link to download it, it started and then stopped the download and said that the phone doesn't support that file type.

    • Download Astro File Manager from the Android Market, then try to download the update again.

  • Why are all the android/droid site pushing so hard for us to upgrade manually??? I don’t trust the file some guy uploaded to the internet.. has anyone stopped to consider that it might be tampered with in some way?? How do you know its the correct update file and not some trick someone his playing on you??? The update is mostly eye candy, but sets us up for flash.. so whats the rush??
    I hope all the best for all those that manually updated but Im waiting for the official untampered file to be pushed out from the only real source..
    Don’t fall for the hype…

  • I keep getting this

    “E:Can’t open/cache/recovery/command
    –Install from sdcard…
    Finding update package…
    Opening update package..
    Verifying update package…
    E:signature verification failed
    Installation aborted”

    Im totally un-rooted and the link above is the only “update” thats on my sdcard and yes I have the “zip” after it. And its not in any folder either, its just on my sd card

  • Why are all the android/droid site pushing so hard for us to upgrade manually??? I don’t trust the file some guy uploaded to the internet.. has anyone stopped to consider that it might be tampered with in some way?? How do you know its the correct update file and not some trick someone his playing on you??? The update is mostly eye candy, but sets us up for flash.. so whats the rush??
    I hope all the best for all those that manually updated but Im waiting for the official untampered file to be pushed out from the only real source..
    Don’t fall for the hype…

  • Ok so I have Droid Mod and I have attempted to download multiple ROMS with no succes, every time I download one be it BlackDroid or Cyanogen I always get a loop on the boot up screen. There has to be something i am mossing if none of them are working. I'm close to returning to stock and trying but before I do…any tips?

  • If i am rooted using droid mod and dm updater,are there any files that need to be removed before installing ota 2.1 update

    • I believe you just have to use dmupdater to go back to stock, then delete the update.zip file from your root access. I would delete out update-stock.zip as well before you install the 2.1 update.

    • What i mean is after i return to stock are there any files that need to be the removed before installing ota 2.1 update?

  • Do we have to clear the cache after we install the update, if so, how? sorry if this is a dumb question…

  • Anyone else install the 2.1 Rooted from Rom Manager? I have it working great except setCPU no longer allows me to up to 1ghz?

    • I installed Ultimate Droid v9.0.0 last night and it is working great. Is that what you are referring to? Does anyone know if v9 is the same as the v2.1?

      • No not ultimate droid. In Rom Manager I went to Download Rom, Stock Images, then I chose Verizon Droid 2.1 Stock (Stable, Radio, Rooted). It is definitely rooted because other root apps work but setCPU isn't working properly.

        • That is good news. So ROM Manager creates the access. All programs except SetCPU are working? Is it smooth?

          • Very smooth in my experience so far. I actually am suprised because its not overclocked at all. Maybe cynagoen was slowing it down before??

    • Installed the file directly to SD and reboot into Clockwork Recovery and bam.. A rooted 2.1

    • i had that same problem earlier, and i've been mulling it over all day, i know setcpu has a custom frequencies setting at the bottom of the list for roms, i'm wondering if we can edit the setcpu.txt on the sd card it talks about to allow us to create our own frequency range. It looks like we'll have to make the .txt file ourselves, theres directions for it, i'll try tomorrow, i'm done for the night.

  • Hi Folks;

    Just a quick update report from me – nothing sensational, just data points FWIW, I updated 2 droids – one's mine the other my wife's and both went flawlessly I'm happy to report:

    Droid#1 (been rooted ROMed once): time to process update.zip 2:20 mins, time for first boot: 6:01 mins
    Droid#2 (never been rooted/ROMed): time to process update.zip 3:03 mins, time for first boot: 1:56 mins

    As usual – thanks to everyone for super useful info sharing/help and esp to kellex for the #1 kick tail/up to date yet friendly place to learn/discuss all things Droid …

  • I you haven't received the OTA 2.1 update but installed it manually. What do you think will happen then Verizon pushes it out to your phone? Anyone have a clue?

    • If you install it manually you will not receive it OTA because you already have the update. Your basically just downloading it early. A lot of people were worried about installing it manually but its the EXACT same file Verizon is going to send you OTA.

  • I tried to dwnld file from Alldroid.com, but Norton security stopped me and said the certificate for that page was for another page and going therewould be dangerous. The page was clients.google something. Is the file safe?

  • I was going to dwnld but when I clicked on the file, my Norton security stopped me from opening the page. It said that the certificate was for a different page and not valid. Is it safe to dwnld this file?

    That was on the link from Alldroid.com and was clients.google something.

  • when i reboot wile holding power and the x button it go's straight to recovery no icon were you push volume up and camera at the same time?

  • Enjoying 2.1 so far. Some force closes for helix launcher but no fc loop so I'm happy

  • if i update to 2.1 will i lose my contact info and my apps that i have installed..do i have to create a backup or something

  • I just downloaded and installed the update.zip, everthing is working perfectly. Thanks Droid-life.

  • If you are using the HTC UI launcher. When you update to 2.1 it will continually force close the launcher to where you can't see the home screen or do anything at all.

    I fixed it by going to the drop down bar where I have advanced task killer, then long press on “Settings” switch to, and going to manage applications and uninstalling the launcher.

    Whats the deal with this 2.1 launcher? I thought it was supposed to be like the nexus ones. Where it has the little square in the middle of the bottom then you open it and it has the sling back.
    I have the old launcher from 2.0.1 =/

  • Ok, newbie here…just downloaded the 2.1 update and I have successfully installed it. Now, can anyone point me to a web site that tells me all the new features are for this update. thanks!!

  • I'm running Ultimate Droid v9 – from what I understand it's based off this update. So far I'm loving it!

    I have a couple questions tho… I never installed the 2.1 update, so if I ever have to go back to stock from the new Ultimate v9, will I go back to 2.0.1? If I do go back to 2.0.1, will it prompt me to install 2.1 OTA? I might go to stock as soon as there is a a tutorial on how to go from 2.1 to root, just to ease my mind.

  • i uploaded the 2.1 zip file onto my droid. will that have an effect on the actual 2.1 update that verizon will be sending?

    • That is the actual 2.1 that you just manually installed. Basically what your doing is installing it in advanced before VZW sends it to you OTA. Now that you manually installed it you will not receive it OTA. They are both the exact same file.

        • Nope. Verizon tried to claim it would on Twitter but that's because they are covering themselves pretty much incase someone tried to upload it manually and ended up screwing up their phone. Its the exact same update as their sending OTA so no worries. Enjoy 2.1!!!

          • all you guys are saying about it “not voiding your warranty because they are only covering themselves” is that they can't prove it…. it doesn't mean that your not voiding your warranty, however, without looking at the warranty and the contract, I'm not sure they can change the terms of your contract. So really, you need to look at the warranty provision of the contract and figure out if installing an update w/o Verizon's consent voids your warranty….

            like i said, I haven't looked recently but I'm guessing it does. But like everyone is saying, they can't prove it seemingly.

            However, you being on here might be sufficient proof, especially if you say it…. but unless you linked your profile to facebook or something they still can't tell.

            But, really Verizon will not go through all these steps to make sure when you come in with a broken phone

          • not to mention most of the readers here and other android blogs are no angels in regards to rooting/ modding/ installing .apk files which pretty much would also void your warranty.

  • Updated to 2.1 a few hours ago. after renaming the file and moving it to the /sdcard my update went off without a hitch. Though i have to admit i don't really see all that big of a difference. I did have a problem not being able to run the Helixlauncher 1 too. i even uninstalled and reinstalled with no luck… decided to give Home++ a try.

    • someone told me to download the Home Switcher app. now im able to run the updated 2.1 and the helix launcher simultaneously.

  • I just noticed that since the upgrade, my default voice mail provider is now Google Voice… I never made the manual change (GVoice handled GVoice calls, Verizon handled Verizon calls)… Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining here, but it seemed a bit weird…

    I also noticed that the home screen has new icon positioning. You need to remove the current shortcuts, and re-add them to the home screen to take advantage (it spreads them out a little bit more vertically), but there's no real functional change (unless you add one next to an existing one, in which case you'll see the difference)…

    Everything else has been great so far! I look forward to finding more hidden or minor gems…

    • I was wondering if anything had changed there… the spacing does seem better. Good eye.

  • Anyone else having Live Wallpaper problems? Mine goes back to the previous (normal) wallpaper whenever I go into standby. Also, downloading new live wallpapers produces an error (failed to download correctly, it says, though I suspect it's more that it won't install properly). I'm using HelixLauncher, so I'm not sure if that plays a role. Any advice would be appreciated!

    • Not sure what the deal is but my phone doesn't like live wallpapers with helix either.

    • which live wallpaper because the nexus mod live wallpaper doesnt work for ESE81 for some reason

    • I restarted the phone and live wallpapers seem to be sticking for now. I'm not sure what I did that caused them not to be able to survive going into standby mode, but I suspect there's some bug.

      Still can't seem to download new live wallpapers; I've tried with 3 on the market, and all give an error while downloading.

  • I have one quick question..i rooted my droid with droidmod a while back, and now there is an update.zip in the root of my SD card..i went back to stock a while back..i'm just going to wait for the OTA update..will I still receive the update if I already have an update.zip in my SD card? Or should I just delete it now? Thanks.

      • no clue… i downloaded the helix launcher.. but it doesnt come up at all. is there something i have to do after dling it? cause it worked before i installed the 2.1 file

  • anyone having issues booting to recovery mode, once update2.1 installed? I powered off, powered on holding down x…and yet when I hold volume up and camera, nothing happens…and I've done it a million times.

    • No problems here, just make sure you are only pushing the camera button half way down…don't push too hard.

    • LIES AND PROPAGANDA! lol i mean the update i used worked haha its just verizon being verizon. i dont trust them as far as i can throw them, and considering they are a phone company i cant throw them at all

  • k, tried the update from below, and sadly could not overclock (which again, was the only thing keeping me from going back to stop and using the legit update.zip). I'm nandroiding it now and waiting for someone to give confirmation of still being able to clock 1+Ghz. Let me know how the ROM Manager 2.1 works

  • I just notices ROM Manager now offers the official 2.1 update under the Stock Images section and it looks like it comes pre-rooted. Has anyone tried using the 2.1 image in ROM Manager yet?

  • I'm not seeing this verizon tweet. I'm looking at the official verizon twitter page right now!!

  • Kellex are you there are you catching a nap? LTFOL. I'm sure most of us last night were like kids on Christmas eve.

  • Has anyone noticed any performance improvements? I am currently running black droid and I love it. I would hate to go to 2.1 for zero performance improvements.

    • I don't know if it's placebo effect or not, but it does seem snappier in a lot of places. The gallery is a little bit slower to load, but once it loads, it's FAR faster than the stock 2.0.1 one…

  • wow now they are just trying to scare people into waiting to update? how is this a void of my warranty its THEIR update file! Big Red will never disappoint me when it comes to trying to dupe its customers. they should know by now that the force is strong in the Droid community haha

  • One thing to note … if you have the nexus one / sense ui 2.1 launcher from this site, you'll end up in a force close loop. just hit search, type settings, and remove it. but annoying! or change your default back before updating.

  • Wasn't there some camera and music player improvements? Everything looks updated gallery, pinch & zoom, news & weather widget, goggles google, etc. But the camera is exactly the same and the music player is just missing the main screen (with play list, artist, song & tile)? And yes, I used the new icons from the app drawer? Anyone have music or camera updates on 2.1?

    • Pretty sure music is updated, I had a look at it, enjoyed it and deleted mixzing.

  • Installed two Droids! First one I had prepped since yesterday, I already went back to stock 2.0.1 downloaded all apps I wanted setup phone expecting the 2.1 OTA to be pushed, when it didn't happen, did the manual update and everything went smooth! Loving the update it feels to run allot better and the battery life has definitely improved. Second update was tricky it was a Cyanogen Mod Droid and I had not yet rolled it back to stock, I checked forums and found most of updates are coming from stock 2.0.1 so I manually (using Kellex instructions) went back to stock 2.0.1 I had trouble signing into Google, once I was in stock but I just bypassed that and went ahead and installed 2.1. Once I rebooted I still had the issue of not being able to sign into Google, even when I had 3g working also tried wifi. Eventually I rebooted the phone a few times and finally signed into Google. I also had trouble trying to get News and Weather widget to use my location, and found that the problem, I had to check the use GPS satellites under Location and Security settings. Maybe that had to do with the reason I wasn't able to log into Google?!! who knows. Anyway I see allot of people with problems getting updated, I'm assuming those with problems are updating from a rooted phone or from a ROM?? Please specify..

  • hey guys. i recently downloaded the 2.1 file off of this website and uploaded it onto my phone. im just wondering if its possible to simultaneously use that 2.1 upload version with the Helix Launcher? i downloaded the helix launcher 1 and it doesnt seem to work with it.

          • So does that mean you have completed your install of Pete's new ESE81UPDATE.zip? Does it infact have root access already?

          • Yes.. Just got phone re-activated via Verizon start-up call.. Snoopin around now..

          • I also found in CyanogenMod Premium version that the under stock menu it lists the ROM now. I just finished the install and activation myself. Didnt want to update without gaining root back. I can live without most everything else just didnt want to give up my root access. Went from 5.0.5.4 to Stock Verizon ESE81 with root access! Will continue to get my phone set back up the way I had it and then see what else is new.

    • Let us know if you see any performance improvements. Are you coming from a rooted droid with customer rom?

  • WHOA WHOA WHOA!!! Voiding my warranty??? We need a more thorough explanation!!!

  • So I followed the steps. And now I have a wonderful Red Eye. I waited over 1 hour before trying to factory reset. Now I think I am generally hosed. Any thoughts on how to undo my mistake(s)?

  • When I apply the update.zip, all I'm doing is rooting my phone and it isn't installing the update. What am I doing wrong?

  • Took a chance and downloaded file from first link to my computer. Since my computer is Windows XP i did not rename the update file. Put it on the sd/card and followed the directions to recovery and worked perfectly. Not that impressed so i'm waiting to root soon as you guys get it going. Thanks for the instructions.

  • used the update from the link down below pretty simple,
    1. backup with any backup apps you have, i use astro and sprite backup
    2. download (i only downloaded the update.zip, and may be missing out on the baseband, don't know yet)
    3. rename to 'Update.zip' and move to sd root
    4. had to update clockwork recovery
    5. install rom from sdcard

    installation process went smooth, now running 2.1 with my little ninja buddy(superuser)

    • Having any issues yet?? I'm runnin smooth.. After a few bumps at the Verizon call in..

      • the verizon call was different, never had to do that before, i'm restoring all my apps and settings now, i'll keep you posted

    • what rom did you pick in rom manager after you did clockwork recovery. It proly be the same if i unrooted from 2.0.1 and put that update.zip to root the 2.1 right?

      • I didn't choose one from ROM Manager.. Put the file on the SD and rebooted in Clockworkrecovery and applied the zip and rebooted..

        • ahhh were you running 2.0.1 rooted when you did that and just put the new update.zip in and applyed it? Or did you come from the new 2.1 update. So for so many questions i didnt unroot because i wanted to wait till 2.1 was rooted lol

      • install from sd card / Update.zip

        Looks like setcpu won't let me overclock though, which sucks, main reason i waited to update, not sure if it's something on my end, or if it just needs to be updated to work with 2.1, if i can't overclock, i may be nandroiding it

    • This is just the new radio update that was included in the official VZW update if anyone has ROM manager installed they can get the new.3 baseband by going into download ROM Cyanogen then the DL link will be right there. Better service I've noticed so far… supposed to have better batt life too

      • ok so that file isnt to root the 2.1 yet. I was about to unroot and update to 2.1 and root that lol

        • I know I saw that this morning and rushed to check ROM manager lol… I would guess probably a new Cyanogen build on this officlal build in a couple of weeks TOPS. Glad I didn't unroot sounds like the VZW one is a bit sluggish with the LWPs

    • When I did this after I installed I had to reactivate the phone as if I had just bought it

  • Mine worked first try.

    Rockin 2.1 and not complaining at all.

    Now for flash watch a TAT watch.

    Off topic question?? Kellex… Is the Android market having issues today. Or is it just me?
    When I woke up this morning I had a facebook update.. when I went to install it was unsuccessful.By the time I got to work it was installed so I figured it was working.

    Now i'm trying to download some live wallpapers but it keeps saying unsuccessful as for all of them.

    Just curious if you've heard anything.

    • sounds like Verizon is just trying to cover their asses in case someone applies the update and screws up. All I know is, it works, now patiently awaiting root access so I can OC this beast

  • hey bro did you download all four of those files and put it in your root or just the update.zip file for it to be rooted

      • Just the Update.zip and the baseband.. Still trying to figure it all out but I'm running Pete's Bugless ESE81..

        • Cool so if i just put those files in my root i don't have to have petes bugless rom but run it 2.1 stock with root and set cpu it until other roms come out right? What about a backup

  • I only had one issue in this whole process: Swype quit working. I was running DroidMod 1.0, decided to return to stock and manually update to 2.1. Once I got back to stock I noticed that Swype was no longer functional. I did a complete Swype (and Swype Installer) uninstall, then continued with the manual update to 2.1. Everything went fine, 2.1 is installed and running perfectly, then went to the Swype website from the phone's browser:
    https://beta.swype.com/android/get/
    and re-downloaded everything for Swype from there. Now it's running again and I couldnt be happier. Now I'm just waiting for the good people here at Droid-Life to post some info on rooting for the 2.1 and I'll really be back in the black.
    Let me know if any of you have any additional Swype questions.

  • No flash on this build, huh? That actually hurts a bit, as that wait is truly hurting.

  • I didn't even notice til now they changed the stock music player a little. Looks a lot better now.

  • so will we not have to wait till tomorrow for the next batch to go out..it will go out tonight?

  • Anybody know if the 2.1 update will erase all my settings, i.e. notes, to do lists, call logs, SMS, etc…

    Thanks

    • Nope, it does not do that 😛
      Just dont clear your cache and you should be good to go!

      • Thanks, but that raises another question for me, why is it necessary then, to “Wipe data and cache” when installing the custom roms?

        • Excellent question 🙂
          I don't use custom ROMS so I actually don't have an answer for you 🙁
          But I think I have read about that under one of the Cyanogen posts…
          Maybe you will have luck there.
          Good luck!

  • Just installed Pete's ESE81 Bugless Beast with baseband and SU Permissions.. Went through ClockworkMod.. Preparing to re-boot.. Cross your fingers..

  • Just installed Pete's ESE81 Bugless Beast with baseband and SU Permissions.. Went through ClockworkMod.. Preparing to re-boot.. Cross your fingers..

  • After my update I cannot download from the Market I tried to switch to wifi like you suggested but I have no luck there either. any Ideas?

    • If anyone else is having this issue I was able to solve it by wiping my data from the phone. I had to set everything up again but I'm in business.

    • umm, so yea, if you have a gallery on your home screen you gotta delete it and put the one in the app drawer up. oops.

  • Hope this isn't a stupid question but if we installed the update manually into our sd card, for people who receive the update OTA does that still get downloaded into their SD card? If that's the case then how would VZW ever know if you received the update OTA or manually regarding warranty issues?

  • How do I know which is my root file my phones rooted but I don't have one labeled as such

  • I dowloaded update.zip file to my pc but can't figure out how to copy it to the phone and then to SD card…can u help me?

    • I just plugged my phone into the USB port. Mounted my SD Card. Opened it up under My Computer and dragged it over. There is probably an easier way but it worked for me!

    • you just open up your phones files on your computer and drag it to the root of your sd card (not in any folders)

  • FYI – just so you all know….,
    Verizon has come out and said they will be voiding all waranties on those who root AND those that update their phones manually.
    Kellex, you really should mention this more…

    • CDM-

      Verizon has to cover themselves…basically we are receiving the update from a 2nd party and not through them, in which case they don't want to assume the liability something goes wrong.

      Kellex is also not forcing anyone to install the update…we can all make decisions for ourselves.

      Thanks for the news

    • Yeah, that's the same warranty that they try to get out of time and time again, when you need a new phone and they don't believe it's broke or replace it with a lame ass used one.

  • So looks like we didn't get Flash on this update. Adobe's site still says “Sorry, Adobe Flash Player is not available from Adobe.com for your device's operating system or browser.”

  • Updating manually was SUPER easy.
    I love it to be honest. I would rather just be happy with this, instead of messing up my phone by trying to root cause I have terrible luck lol

    I like it 🙂

  • I am noticing smoothed scrolling on the browser. .. does anybody see someweird stuff when you scroll trough screens and have the sound wave live wallpaper

  • I'm enjoying all the passion and engagement here, re the 2.1. My challenge is that I am SO happy with Cyanogen 5.0.5.4 with GDE, with 7 screens, cubed rotation scrolling, and all the rest of the bells and whistles – plus it seems to be really smooth now that I also tweaked the SetCPU as per Kellen's suggestion – that I don't feel motivated to install the 2.1 (yet). But I feel kind of twitchy as I read all these posts, because I feel like I SHOULD be installing the 2.1. Maybe I'll wait for Koush's integration of 2.1!

    • for some reason I could never get cyanogen to work or ultimate droid it kept looping for me… but I am still hesitant to upgrade…

      • Strangely I started developing a problem, for reasons that aren't clear, and my phone crashed two nights in a row, at the same restaurant, during Happy Hour. I envisioned that it was some bad energy at the venue. After it happened twice in a row, and I had to recover, etc., it made sense to move to a more stable platform. So I took the plunge, and went back to stock and installed 2.1. While it's not exactly as fast as an overclocked custom ROM, eg. while browsing the gallery, it's definitely smoother all around, which is a treat. It FEELS very stable, so far no lagging or glitches. I'm still using GDE which I just love. I just miss using SetCPU, and a bit of tweaking of the root. But the difference in speed is minute, and obviously we'll get all the ROM updates really soon.

  • hey guys. i recently downloaded the 2.1 file off of this website and uploaded it onto my phone. im just wondering if its possible to simultaneously use that 2.1 upload version with the Helix Launcher? i downloaded the helix launcher and it doesnt seem to work with it.

  • “There is no FLASH included in this update.” Hmmm, I thought that the 2.1 update was a requirement that was going to allow Flash 10.1 to be installed? I'm confused now. Do we have to wait for the Flash Player to be pushed to us? Or can we go to the Adobe web site after the 2.1 update and download 10.1 Flash Player from there?

    • 2.1 is a requirement but Adobe will be releasing Flash probably in a few months. You cannot download it as of yet. May or June I would imagine. Hopefully sooner.

  • So, If I do decide to try and go for this update to try it out, and I don't like it and want to go back to my custom rom, is that possible? or will you be stuck with it until 2.1 is rooted??

  • I cant wait to get off work so I can give this a whirl. Everyone feed back is definitely helping
    Thanks again droid-life giving all of us inpatient droiders a quick fix lol

  • Does anyone have the problem with the weather widget not displaying weather and saying no data available…? My friends worked fine.

    • Mine works fine…try powering off and on…
      you should be fine, you probably are roaming or have very low data connectivity right now.

      • Thanks for the quick reply. I tried to power off than on and also tried clearing cache in setup menu. I also tried reinstalling the update file. No luck. Also when I type in manual my city which is las vegas, paradise shows up in the city name. Any thoughts…?

        • do you have GPS turned on? Mine automatically got filled out. I installed the Genie awhile back when there was .apk file and I do remember being annoyed because it was giving me the same hassle you are having, I chalked it up to low bandwidth or service and or something Verizon was maybe doing and eventually it worked fine. Not sure how long I waited but that was the problem. Does anyone else have a problem or insight??

          • I as well downloaded the apk file a while back and I got the same message a couple of times…. I think mine was from my task killer.. I added it to my ignore list and have not had the problem since

          • Fixed the problem…..Just had to check both places for the GPS to look for network and GPS satellites.

  • Does anyone know if the launcher app (ported from 2.1 awhile ago) works with this update?

  • Everything on the install worked. I'm concerned that the Browser does not have Pinch Zoom. Thought this was included.

  • so is this the actual official 2.1 update….is verizon going to push this to the phones or do we have to do it manually?? new to droid so sorry

    • No Brian, you do not have to do it manually…it's just out there if you are as impatient as I am and want to do it yourself. You're fine with chilling and letting it happen.

  • Here comes a dumb question but need to make sure. If I factory default my phone after I've upgraded, it will come back up on 2.1 right?

  • my gallery stopped working, now it says “application is not installed on your phone” how can i go back to stock 2.0.1?

    • You most likely clicked on the icon for Gallery from one of your 3 screens right? You need to delete that shortcut and create a new one from the as list.

  • Well I just got my 2.1 OTA update this morning(forced of course ;)and I've got to say, I'm a little disappointed…It had most of what I expected: 3D picture gallery(which is cool), speech-to-text(which works WAY better than TTMK), live wallpapers and native pinch-to-zoom(FINALLY)…but one thing that it didn't have that I WAS expecting: better performance. Maybe mine is the only Droid that's this way but I expected everything to just run smoother than it did before(less choppiness), and it REALLY lags when you're using live wallpapers. I was rooted for about a month before yesterday but I wasn't using a custom rom, I just wanted to be able to have control over my CPU. I wanted to wait for the 2.1 update so that Koush and other developers could build their ROMs on this particular build(which they said they would do)so that I didn't have to wipe my data…Is anyone else thinking the same thing or did I do something wrong? Perhaps my expectations were a little too high 🙂 Any thoughts, comments or advice ANY of you have on my thoughts would be greatly appreciated – Tommy Taylor

    • if you were overclocked before then it wont be near as fast but regardless your phone should run smooth. It might lag the first few minutes after you update but then it should be fine. I run HelixLauncher1 and it works smooth and nice. Everyone else running Helix1 says the same thing. Maybe try the task killer if you have a ton of things going on but it shouldn't be lagging

    • the live wallpapers do slow it down alot, i also thought the 3D launcher would be included

  • Update was easy to do! Worked fine the first time I tried. So tell me, other than live wallpapers and pinch and zoom, what was all the excitement about? I don't really see much difference!

  • anyone having problems with pandora radio? since i installed the update, the pitch is all over the place.

  • if your running windows 7 leave the file name update, windows 7 will put the .zip extension on it, when you reboot in recovery to install the update, it will say update.zip.

  • Can anyone please compare the 2.1 with Custom ROMs?

    Your experience …..

    PS: I am on CM and may not change unless I see something great about 2.1

  • having trouble, my Gallery just keeps loading and doesn't work after the update? Suggestions?

    • Same issue here. Slow as heck. Loading, loading, loading… and then, nothing.

      How many images do you have on your phone? I have quite a few (>500). Not sure if it's that or something else. Also, did you install the pre-2.1 gallery port that was going around previously? I did, and perhaps there's something weird going on here now?

      • I heard this works so its worth a try. If you already had a shortcut on your homescreen for your gallery before the update delete it off your homescreen then install the shortcut to the gallery again on your homescreen. This is what I did and it worked fine.

    • My gallery seems to be loading fine now. Not sure what it was. I let it try to load and load and load, finally got tired of it, then deleted the icon from the homescreen (as @nkhex19 recommended), went back in, and things come up almost immediately. Are you having any luck yet?

  • Kellex,
    Last night I check ROM Manager and they had Ultimate Droid V9.0.0 available for installation. So I did and it says Firmware Version 2.1. Is this a rooted version of 2.1? The last version of UD had a Firmware version of 2.1 updater 1, if I remember correctly. Is Verizon 2.1 better than the UD v9.0.0?

  • I farted with doing it from my laptop for 2 hours. Took me – a digital idiot – in 5 minutes just from the phone.

  • im getting this when trying to install update

    Finding update package…
    Opening update package…
    Installing update…
    Verifying curren system…
    assert failed: apply_patch_check(“/system/app/AccountAndSyncSettings.apk”, “2dc380fc5a5dbcc53f32fdda44d2309ff88d8784”, “9054bce1c3abc201f06b444aee101952062f3227”)
    E:Error in /sdcard/update.zip
    (status 7)
    Installation aborted

    Any suggestions?

  • This does seem like just an eye candy update, but I did know what to expect. I can get a better feel for the battery life and smoothness of the overall os in a day or so. Does anyone know how to use the speech to text function to write for you?

  • Kellex…I looked over at DroidMod and they suggested not to update untill they full develop an alternative ROM to ESE81. I tried to root and even used the update.stock.zip to no avail. They said that everything is basically the same except for the recovery image. What you think? Let's begin the countdown till they find a root lol.

  • Yeah, I learned the hard way about Helix 2. and it definitely sat at the all-seeing eye for at least 2 minutes. Had me a bit nervous. But running Helix 1 very smoothly. No other problems.

    • the dev of helixlauncher2 really needs to make this compatible with the Droid because that would be amazing. we'll just have to stick to helix1 until he does :

      • the problem with the helix launchers is that it wont let you do multiple touches on the LWPs

        • you can do multiple touches on the LWPs you just cant do them very fast. as long as you do it slightly slower than a double tap it works. i was playing around with that when i updated for a good 2 minutes haha and if u do double tap then a third tap not on one of the mini screens dismisses the mini screens

  • Everything seems to be good, but theres one thing. Whenever i have a live wallpaper on, scrolling through my screens and everything else seems laggy and delayed. I thought it would be as smooth as it would be without a live wallpaper. I still dont know why milestone users can get up to 9 home screens while we are still on 3. It's the same phone.. So if the milestone can handle it why cant the droid?

    • Mine is running fine with angry single live wallpaper there is and helix launcher. So you are doing something wrong!

      • Actually there are some live wallpapers that seem to cause screen switching to slow just a tad, but not bad. I think this is most evident in the maps wallpaper.

    • I'm running HelixLauncher1 and everything works smooth. It was a little laggy the first minute or so but now it runs awesome with live wallpaper. I even went to the market and downloaded the starfield live wallpaper (which is really cool) and that works perfect too. I'm really enjoying this update. maybe try killing some things in your task manager. Your live wallpapers should be running smooth.

  • hey anyone having a problem with the latitude widget. It's there but it's blank and won't load anything.

    • same problem here…the widget is just blank and won't load…I've tested all the widgets I have and this seems to be the only one that does not work…

  • I'm not getting my Picasa web album to show up in my gallery. I can still upload to it, but I thought it was suppose to show up in the gallery? Can anyone confirm or deny?

  • Unrooted and installed using the instructions you posted. I had to make sure to move the original update.zip from the root of my sd card. It kept trying to grab the 2.0.1. I after that little brainfart everything worked fine. Installed the helix launcher to get more screens. Now all I have to do is sit back and wait for 2.1 Root access and the amazing ROMs that droid life will drop on us. Kellex, great job getting this up for all of us. Thanks!

  • I say if you're a novice in manual update, just wait for another 12 hours or so as 200,000 OTA updates will be distributed to Droid owners by VZW.

    • I don't agree, I haven't ever done a root or any of that business and my manual install went just fine. I would say that if you are brainless then just wait for the OTA update.

  • The ONLY thing that has my attention from this official update is “Yahoo! Mail”

    Is it it's own app now? Or is it the same email app? Does the icon for email or inbox/outbox look any different?

    Oris it just merely a change in setting your Yahoo email up being easier?

      • Funny you mention this because I don't know why facebook for Android slacks so damn much. There was an update to it in the market (it applies the updates to your current stock app/same dev) but I didn't see ANY improvments. I uninstalled the updates because it changes. The icon and as silly as it seems, I dislike the icon it has in market (tilted & blurry).

        But interested in knowing aboutYahoo email update

        • One of the main reasons that it sucks so hard is that Facebook did not corroborate with Google in the development of the app. Compared to the powerful iPhone app that Facebook and Apple corroboarated on the Android App is weak. Especially in regards to sending messages from the inbox, which Facebook has not allowed developers since Apple to gain access to.

  • Mine updated perfectly, but I did also notice the:

    E:Can’t open/cache/recovery/command

    Does this indicate any kind of problem or anything I should do?

  • Is anyone else noticing a delay when entering in your screen unlock pattern with a live wallpaper set?

  • So I opened up that 2.01 Google Earth and it seems to work. Anyone else think it would be advisable to uninstall it and install the official version from the market? Or would it even matter. 2.1 works like a teenage wet dream btw. Kellex, YOU ARE THE MAN!

  • I know a lot of people are getting this message in yellow print when they are in the recovery menu-
    E:Can't open/cache/recovery/command
    –Install from sdcard…
    Finding update package…
    Opening update package..
    Verifying update package…
    E:signature verification failed Installation aborted.
    I have a windows computer and when I originally downloaded the file I renamed it update.zip and when I put it to the root of my sdcard I got this exact same problem. I don't know if it is just Windows but make sure the update file is just named update. DO NOT change it to update.zip, it would now work when I renamed it. I deleted the update.zip file from my sdcard and computer (just as an extra precaution) downloaded it again from this site but DID NOT rename the file. Leave it named update (I believe Windows recognizes its a zip file already) retry all the steps and BAM!!! 2.1 SICKNESS!!!

    • I do want to say this may not work for everyone but people mentioned when they renamed the file update.zip it wouldn't work and it didn't work for me but when I just left it named update it worked perfectly. This is something to try if your getting stuck like I did. I certainly hope this helps.

    • The Windows file manager will auto-hide the file extension. To show the extension, it depends on which version of windows you have but for windows 7, in the windows explorer screen when looking in the folder where the file in question is located, cluck on organize in the top left corner. Click the View tab. Uncheck the item that says “Hide extensions for known file types.” The process is essentially the same but if you can't figure it out, there are plenty of sites that go through the steps for each version of windows.

      • Thanks for the info. That definitely sounds a lot easier to do then what I tried. Good looking out.

    • Besides the windows issue, I got the same problem. I got the same error but I'm not sure I got the unable to open message. I downloaded the update from the first download link around 9 this morning. After I got the verification error message, I rebooted, downloaded the update from the first alternate link off the android 2.1 page posted earlier. Went through the steps as kellex described and all went well. Got the red droid eye on reboot for a while bit it was fine after that.

    • exactly what happened to me.. tried update.zip and it failed. renamed to update and it worked. I did have to uninstall swype and reinstall it but all is back to normal now and running the 2.1.. thanks for the help!

  • ran fine, used official d/l, also another phone from link 2.

    downloaded Helixlauncher1, ran fine so far.

    Major suprise so far, bluetooth support seems better, haven't gotten Voice dial to work, but being able to answer the darn thing will do for now. (anybody else confirm, or is it just me?)

  • Mine worked fine. Updated with update.zip from root of SD card, overlooked /recovery/cache error, cleared cache after the install, and am currently enjoying 2.1. It's awesome. 🙂

  • The update went smooth. Is there any chance I might still get the OTA update or will it sense that my phone has been updated? Not a huge fan of stock 3 screens and only one Nexus style live wallpaper. But hey, can't wait to see what new ROMS come out so I can root again.

  • Maybe I missed this somewhere. Is it possible to root over the new ESE81 2.1? Has it been tried?

    • I'm sure it's being worked on as we speak (or type). Milestone took 3 hours to break. I couldn't see this taking any longer than the weekend to be completely stable.

Comments are closed.

Related Posts

back to top