Taimur Asad·

Update Rooted Nexus One to OTA Update for Multitouch

Google today has released a significant update for their flagship Android phone – Nexus One almost right after when Apple pushed firmware 3.1.3 for iPhone users. This new update (ERE27) for Nexus One brings the much needed official support for multitouch in Web Browser, Maps and 3D Gallery. You can now finally use pinch-to-zoom gestures just like how you can on an iPhone. This update also fixes the 3G issue which has been bugging T-Mobile users. The complete feature list as illustrated on the official blog is as follows.

Multitouch on Nexus One

Google Goggles: this mobile application will now be available directly on your device by launching it from your All Apps menu. Just use your Nexus One camera to start searching the web
Google Maps: the Maps application with be updated to a new version, Google Maps 3.4, which will include:

  • Starred items synchronized with maps.google.com – access your favorite places from your phone or computer
  • Search suggestions from your personal maps.google.com history – makes it easy to search for places you’ve searched for before
  • Night mode in Google Maps Navigation – automatically changes your screen at night for easier viewing and driving

This OTA update is currently being pushed out and it will take Google at least a week before the rollout completes. You will not be prompted for the official update if you are on a rooted Nexus One with a custom ROM installed. However rooted Nexus One users with stock ROM will be offered the OTA update via the built-in update utility in device itself. So if you either have a custom ROM installed, or if you are still waiting for the update to arrive, then you can instead follow the instructions, as posted by AndroidCentral which will update your Nexus One to the latest update with all the multitouch glory.

These instructions are as follows.

  1. Download the update from here (Google official) or here (mirror).
  2. Rename the file to update.zip. Note that if you’re using Windows, just rename it to "update" (no quotes, of course) because it’s already a zipped file.
  3. Copy the update.zip file onto your microSD card.
  4. With your Nexus One off, hold down the trackball and press the power button.
  5. You’ll be booted into a white screen with three Android robots on skateboards. Select "Bootloader."
  6. On the next screen, select "Recovery."
  7. Your phone will reboot, giving you a picture of the Android robot and an exclamation point inside a triangle.
  8. Now press the power button and volume up button at the same time. It could take a couple of tries.
  9. Now choose "Apply sdcard:update.zip" and let things run their course.

You should now have following update installed and running on your phone.

Model Number: Nexus One
Firmware Version: 2.1-update1
Baseband Version: 32.24.00.22U_4.03.00.21_2
Kernel Version: 2.6.29-01117-g4bc62c2 android-build@apa26 #1
Build Number: ERE27

I tried this procedure on my rooted Nexus One and can confirm that it is working flawlessly. Let me know how it goes for you. [via BlogsDNA and ithinkdiff]

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