Tag Archives: G1

Complete US Guide to Update Your G1 to Cupcake

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Via @IamLugo on Twitter, I was able to update my T-Mobile G1 to the new Cupcake firmware without having to wait for T-Mobile to release it to my corner of the US. It was dead simple and does not require your G1 to be rooted. I’ve compiled these steps from Android Central and I’m also including a link to the US OTA link for Cupcake. I’ve also included a couple steps that weren’t outlined in the things I’ve read. Here goes!

  1. Grab the US Cupcake update from here. I suggest you have a USB cable to connect your phone to your computer to transfer the update file.
  2. Rename the downloaded zip file to “update.zip”. The phone will not recognize the file if it is named something else (I learned this myself).
  3. Connect your G1 to your computer and throw the update.zip file onto your SD card. Do not place it any folder. Throw it on the root (outside of all folders you see on your SD card.)
  4. Disconnect your phone from your computer (make sure to eject it if you’re on a Mac!).
  5. Turn your phone off like you normally would.
  6. Reboot your phone while holding the home key. Make sure to continue holding the home key until you see a triangle icon with an exclamation point in it. You don’t have to continue holding the power button. Just tap it to start the reboot process.
  7. When you see the triangle icon press ALT+L on your G1 keyboard to bring up a system screen that shows some options.
  8. Press ALT+S to update your phone using the update.zip file that it will automatically locate on your SD card. Let the update run. You’ll see it following through with the installation and you’ll see a progress bar.
  9. When prompted press home and back at the same time to reboot your phone. You only have to tap them, not hold them. You will see the phone reboot a couple of times, which is completely normal. When you see the new Android boot screen logo, you’ll know that your phone is running Cupcake.

Voilá! Your phone is now running the official OTA US release of Cupcake, thanks to Android Central and @IamLugo! One thing I noticed is that the update erased all the icons I dragged onto my G1 desktop. No big deal but at first when I saw no icons loading, I thought something was wrong. There’s nothing wrong though. Just drag them all back to where you desire. I found this to be a tiny issue to get the awesome new Cupcake update (which I must say really is awesome, especiall the video recorder and the global interface appearance and effects updates).

How to Conserve Battery Life On Your T-Mobile G1

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T-Mobile G1

T-Mobile G1

As some of you may know, I got a white T-Mobile G1 not long ago and have loved it all along. Android and the G1 are awesome at pretty much everything… well, with the exception of battery life. I’ve found a few things that when disabled or configured differently, conserve a vast amount of battery life on the G1. I’m sure a lot of you G1 users out there have found these things already but I figured I’d compile them for those of you who are still dealing with constant recharging.

1. Don’t leave messaging services logged in all day

I learned this within my first week of owning the G1. I found that when I left my Google Talk account logged in all day, my battery was taxed by mid day and was nearly dead. Unless you’re a messenger fiend who has his/her fingers glued to the slide-out keyboard all day long when you should be finishing that TPS report, keep it logged out.

2. Turn off Bluetooth

Nobody out there needs Bluetooth enabled for the entire day except those annoying business people you see in supermarkets and on busy city sidewalks, blabbing away on their bluetooth earpiece about nothing and misleading you into thinking they’ve set aside a second of their “busy life” to talk to you. If you’re like myself, you don’t use Bluetooth at all. Obviously having it enabled serves no purpose other than to eat battery life. I turned this off almost immediately. If I don’t use it, I don’t need it on.

3. Turn off data roaming

While reading around on the web, someone had mentioned that they turned off data roaming. Apparently when data roaming is enabled, your phone will search out all and any towers in order to be able to deliver data to and from your phone. I turned this off and it was also a slight help to conserving battery life. I haven’t really found a use for this setting to begin with. Also, turning off data roaming might save you from some hefty charges.

Here’s how to turn off data roaming on your G1:

  1. Go to “Settings”
  2. Go to “Wireless controls”
  3. Go to “Mobile networks”
  4. Click on “Data roaming” to uncheck it

There is a “bug” in the Android OS that baffles a lot of people as to why Google and/or T-Mobile would allow this. Despite your efforts to avoid data roaming charges, some third party Android applications will still access the network, unbeknowst to you and thus earning you some hefty charges in data roaming. I’ll never understand who’s idea it was to allow applications to override a user-defined setting. If I shut something off, NOTHING ELSE SHOULD ENABLE IT.

4. Assess third party applications’ abilities as you download them

I’m sure you’ve been to the Market application on the G1 and have already downloaded cool apps. If that’s the case then I’m sure you remember the little yellow warning messages that follow the click of the “Install” button prior to actually installing the application. Make sure you read these. Some applications like to access the network even when you’ve closed them, so that they can update things in the background. Twidroid (an awesome Twitter mobile application) is one of the apps that has the option to access and update your timeline even when it’s closed. Make sure to disable this. Leaving applications on in the background can also tax your G1 battery considerably. Make sure you read those warnings prior to downloading that cool app you found. Those are one of the fantastic features of the Android Market and they’re there for your safety.

So if you’re a G1 owner and you’ve got some secrets on saving some of that precious G1 juice, make sure to share them in the comments below. I am currently getting 2 days worth out of my G1 battery and I think that’s pretty good. I hope you find this helpful and thanks for reading.