By 
Thanks to a tip off from one of our Android Forums posters, Superatim, U.S. users can download and install the already released UK version of Android OS 1.5 (cupcake). You will be giving up some of the U.S. features of 1.5, but will gain them back once the U.S. version of 1.5 is released and made available for manual upgrades. If you’re ready to take the U.K. plunge head on over to the T-Mobile Forums and follow the directions provided. And no, root doesn’t seem to be required for this.
Just from reading the original post, it seems the only things that are missing are Voice Search and the Amazon mp3 store.
Update: Seems a few users have been reporting that their contacts are gone upon initial boot; however they seem to return after ~30 minutes. Let the sync do its thing! This will probably hold true for the calendar as well, but that is only speculation.
[Thanks Superatim]
I did this last night.
Quick and easy. Works like a charm.
Did it at 11pm and stayed up until 3am in the morning eating cupcake in bed. Drove my wife crazy.
As a side note, I didn’t experience the loss of contacts for over 5 minutes. Just go into your sync settings, uncheck autosync, and then recheck it. that will sync it almost instantly.
Also, when you go to that thread on the T-Mobile forum, be sure to click on the “Solved-Go To Solution” link on the right. that will bring you to a zip file download that does NOT have to be modified in ANY way.
Then, just follow the instructions on the first post.
If you download one of the other zip files, i’ve heard that certain people have issues.
I did this and it’s amazing. EVERYTHING is better. What you lose is:
* Amazon MP3 Store
* The built-in IM app (use Palringo or Meebo from the market, both free)
* Voice Search
The Battery life and signal aren’t that much better, but it may be because the UK radio flash optimizes the phone for the UK GSM frequencies and we use different GSM frequencies here in the States. They’re certainly no worse than they are with RC33, in fact, they’re slightly better.
Sorry for the double post…I forgot to mention…It indeed does not require root and you can go back to RC33 if you don’t like it.
Also, I had the contacts issue, but because i suck, i didn’t wait for them to re-sync, i just added them all back manually. :P
It’s FANTASTIC! Screw T-mo US.. This thing is amazing! I’m glad SOMEBODY got it right!
Thank you T-mobile for at least allowing this to be made available via your website. While others call the impatience “whinning” many people bought these devices with the idea that it would be a release early, release often type of situation. So people are expecting updates and fixes on a fairly quick and constant basis.
I just did it. Was able to download the file on the phone, cut/paste using AndExplorer into the /sdcard folder. Followed the instructions and had no issues. Worked like a champ!
Even kept all my apps/settings!
I do like haivng the onscreen keyboard, finally.
When I go to reboot, it tells me that the zip file does not exist. I downloaded it and followed the instructions. Any help?
I DID IT LAST NIGHT AS WELL… NO COMPLAINTS AT ALL
I also did this last night.Couldn’t wait for the US release anymore.Works like a charm:)
This is fantastic news I’m going to head over to the tmobile website right now and try to figure this out I just hope that this is easy and simple to do.
@Stan.
Check out my first posting. Make sure you use the download link that you see after clicking “SOLVED – GO TO SOLUTION”.
That link is the only one that doesn’t have to be slightly modified before using. All of the other require renaming, etc.
Ok I went ahead and did the update. Well I must say its a nice improvement. The phone is snappier so far…the visual cues probably have something to do with that as well. The shrunk down the text size where it needed it. The only thing I dislike so far is the way they redid the contacts. I liked having the visual dividers. Not its all the phone numbers and emails in a line. Aside from that its nice so far.
I just downloaded it and works awesome. I had a little bit of lag issues at first and thought maybe I made a mistake, but it works great. I did lose my contacts for about 15 min but I had like 80 plus so it took a little bit for sync to work. I downloaded some widgets from the Android market. Cupcake is awesome!
One more thing…the Myfavs icon is gone on my phone so hopefully when the USA version of cupcake comes out hopefully it returns! Anyone else have this problem?
or just flash HardSPL and the CupCake Dev-firmware ;) no localised crap, just pure CupCake :D
Just did it. ROCKS!!!! Thank you TMo forums and PHANDROID! I just couldn’t wait any longer!!
I need some help I couldn’t find any directions on the tmobile thing can someone email me directions my email is [email protected]
Has anyone had problems with the auto-rotate? I seen it work one time and it hasn’t since. Any thoughts?
Doesn’t work on the Australian version. Gives a “no signature” error when loading the update.zip file.
Oooooooo, I got mentioned on the main page!
MAN…THIS IS GREAT! For the person who was worried about MyFaves not being there, don’t worry. You can still update your contacts online.
Does this void the warranty?
ok i just did this but im having trouble trying to play music through my bluetooth headset. Does anyone know how tto do this?
Ok does anyone know how to make the MyFaves work
Anyone having issues with the APPS under the “My Downloads” not showing the correct apps as being installed. Also, I’m having issues with it showing the apps that currently have an update.
OTHER THAN THAT, flawless victory.
OMG I just saw that you can finally delete the market cashe to clear up space on your phone. Ive been waiting for this
I haz cupcake UK now.
I updated to UK 1.5 for my US T-Mobile phone. There is something that I hate with it though, and that is the inability to hear music with my headphones via the HTC audio-out/charger USB adapter.
What the hell happened?
I need to listen to my music for my morning commute!
For MyFaves, you’ll have to wait for the US version. All calls made to your “faves” will still be free and unlimited, you just won’t have that app on your phone.
so after you install the update, can you delete the zip file off your sd card?
has anyone figured out a2dp on the uk firmware yet? I can’t seem to play my music over bluetooth.
I did the update wit success but I’m wondering wit will I need to do wen the ota is pushed out. Will I receive the update or will I have to go back to my previous firmware. I’m not rooted so I’m worried I can’t go back. Email me at [email protected] wit an answer. Thx a mil
Ok so i did everything i was told to do and it didnt upload it told me there was no such file i want to update my fone cuz ive been waiting for this update for ever and i want it can sum on eplease tell me how to fix wut im doing rong, PLEASE!!!!!!!! these are the things i did:
I downloaded one of the files
Renamed it to just update
Then rebooted my phone and all that crap
Then it told me that there was no such thing.
I dont think i put it on my sdcard but it told me on my phone that it was on my sdcard can sum one tell me wut im doing rong and the exact steps they did if they used windows xp i dont wanna wait no more
no problems so far.
for sync issues, go into data synchronization in your settings from the home screen, and manually update them all and presto! they are back. calendar and everything.
it’s ok for me!
I don’t have see any battery amelioration at this time. (i’m on an europeean carrier… Switzerland).
The only thing i’v noticed: now i’ve got the simcard toolkit installed. and just Gtalk, no msn/aim. and a shortcut namded: web’n’talk. (useless)
ATTENTION!!!
If you use “DxTop” as a home replacement on your phone, and you install this version of cupcake, your phone gets fucked. I couldn’t access any applications, and essentially my home screen was frozen.
I had to to do a factory reset, so now I DO have cupcake, but I have to reinstall all my applications AND redo their settings.
Be careful to turn OFF DxTop before you install cupcake.
I’m not the only one with this problem, I wish I had read about it earlier.
@Devyn
Try this. Your file should be named “update.zip”. Remove the “.zip”, so the file reads “update”. After that, put the file on your SD card, and try again.
Is there a way to silence the shutter sound? Is this a cupcake thing or a uk thing?
(sorry if this is posted twice)
I tried to download it from what the first poster said to do but it told me my phone did not support it. Any ideas on what I need to do?
i have the apps issue too, this is what happens:
running android market:
– the user agreement message pops up (once only).
my downloads
– previously downloaded apps appear in the list but aren’t marked as “installed”.
– the apps themselves are working fine.
i tried redownloading each app in the list and everything works fine now.
when i did it the apps download instantly almost like they just reinstall straight away,
maybe the phone can recognize the existing apps and simply fix the UK-US compatibility?
I had the same problem with the market when I got the update on my UK phone. I thought it was because when I got the agreement message then it force closed.
What scares me is this:
“Rooting will prevent your phone from receiving automatic updates.” I thought it wasn’t rooting??
I want automatic updates. :\
I forgot to say, if I don’t like it, or if I want to remove it how can I go back? And if I DO remove it, will the automatic update, and other missing features be lost still?
Will this void the warranty?
@Ricky, you are reading too far into it. Yes, the disclaimor says that rooting your phone will prevent automatic updates, but you are correct. you are NOT rooting your phone to do this.
So just chill, and enjoy!
I just updated this morning using the directions, worked fine. I don’t think I lost my contacts but I also disabled sync before I started and turned it back on first thing after the update. One thing the update did do was jack up the installed status of over half my apps. The work on the phone but the market makes you install them before you can uninstall them or update them again. Nothing fatal but strange. I also noticed that the photo frame widgets on the OEM Home screen take a minute to grab their photos. I have two and they are both blank when the phone restarts, which was not the case before the update. They get their photos after a minute or two. But otherwise, I am very happy with the faster more responsive 1.5 version. Now just to do it again when the US version is OTAd to me.
How do I switch back to 1.1?
will this void my warranty
@Austin.
See this thread: http://forums.t-mobile.com/tmbl/board/message?message.uid=98763#U98763
IT IS A SCAM DON’T DO IT, IT WILL RUIN YOUR PHONE FOR 5 MINUTES!! Then everything will be fine after :)
It is awesome, seriously I love cupcake. Fast and fun, the way it should be. This is a real release for Android and I can rub shoulders with my colleagues at work that have iPhones. They keep teasing me and calling me a traitor because I left the iPhone for the G1. I ordered a bluetooth stereo headset. When they see me using it, the on screen keyboard, and the video recording they’ll keep quiet!
It was worth the 6 month wait. Just install this and get the US one at a later time since it only adds a few more features.
I never auto sync my phone, so I had to manually sync it. Nice and fast. I had to delete a lot of apps and reinstall cupcake versions. It is so fast now! Lovin it, lovin it. Only problem I have is that an icon keeps disappearing whenever I restart. I created a data sync shortcut with AnyCut so I could easily go in and do my manual syncs. It disappears at restart.
If you have time, download the toggle widgets for the desktop. Totally awesome!
If your having problems with the “file doesn’t exist” thing, download Linda File Manager from the market. After you download the zip file, go to the file manager and cut the file from the downloads folder and paste it into the sd card. Then repeat the steps. It won’t work without doing this because the phone is not looking in the downloads folder for the zip. File.
@Tyler haha I am enjoying it very much. ^^ Cupcake is awesome, I hope the US version is out soon tho.
none of my contacts have come back up. is there a way to fix this?
hahaha i love cupcake
but quick question will i get the us version automaticly or will have have to manually put that 0n my ph0ne
[email protected]
My twidroid feed won’t update feeds. I’ve uninstalled, reinstalled and rebooted, but nothing, what’s with that?
So if you do the update does it erase all the apps you have or will you still keep them since it just updates the android os?
After the update if i reset my phone will it go back to version that was on the phone out of the package or stay as 1.5 just cleared out of the custom settings & apps. I ask because i’m interested in trying this & then switching back so i get the official ota update when its released
Hey as many people have mentioned you just have to wait for you contacts to resync after installing 1.5. Or you can just go into your settings and manual sync them. That worked great for me.
just updated to cupcake..its pretty tight..everything that we all asked for..the whole contacts thing will come back in like 2 mins after its been loaded..i was leary myself at first but i love it!! the only thing is that u wont have native instant msg/myfavs/amazon mp3 store…3 apps i never used anyway..lol 3rd part apps all the way! haha but yea i love it..im just waitin on the US version..this will def hold anyone hungry for the cupcake till then!
i installed it and then soiled my pants and then my yarmulke fell off my head.
I installed it and then wiped feces all over the phone. Will this void my warranty?
I want to go back to the rc33 update. I did all the steps but it will not let me. I want to be able to get the OTA cupcake but I won’t be able to until I revert back. I downloaded the file renamed it to update.zip not update.zip.zip Can someone help me out. email me [email protected]
thanks
My experience. I downloaded by following the instruction with no problems at all. All you gotta do for your contacts is resynch by unchecking synch and rechecking…..my contacts were back in 30 secs. All my apps were on my phone, and i just had to update all my apps in the download section of the market.
The update is running great and everything works except:
No myfaves app, no amazon store app, no voice search and no voice dialing….but those things were not that big of a deal and i can live without them for a week or so.
Update took about 2 mins to complete and was really easy.
peace
The oddest thing just happened to me, i received an update ota and it did the same thing as the rc33 update when it went ota. I looked at the build number and it says CRB43. i forgot what the build number changed to when you manually updated to the UK version can someone tell me what it is?
Well I installed the uk version two days ago and got the OTA update 30 minutes ago. The upgrade should have switched me back to the US version and restored my faves and voice search but did not.
The problems i found were no myfaves no IM Program and if u downloaded a Home aternative like i did (DXTOP) then if you restart your phone will not reboot it will stay stuck on the word ANDROID you have to remove the battery to shut off the phone and as soon as you press the power button hold on to the home button until you see a screen with a triangle and press alt+L then alt+W and that will wipe your phone to factory setting without the Home aternative and everything else then restart phone with home+back buttons. When you go to the Market your downloaded apps should be under downloads just download them again.
I too just got the ota and nothing changed. I got all stoked thinking holy sh!t I’m gonna get the us cupcake and I got nothing. Someone please get the us cupcake manually so we can all restore our phone!
Yeah i just got the OTA update as well and i am running the UK version of Cupcake and nothing changed. Was it because of the UK version of cupcake.
Im so confused. I was running the UK cupcake and then my phone asked me to update to 1.5. I accepted and my phone restarted but nothing changed. Did the UK get an update again or was this US cupcake that confused my phone?
@The GMG This happened to me too!!! I am hoping that there is a way to fix this asap!
Yeah Same Here Dammit I Should Have Look @ More Info… Just Got To Exited.
c’mon people.
did anyone actually read all the instructions before updating their phone.
it clearly states, “7)when 1.5 for the US comes out ill just repeat the same process except with the USA update.zip”
…meaning that you will have to do the USA update by hand as well if you chose to do the UK version by hand. As far as T-Mobile is concerned, it is impossible to upgrade from 1.5 to 1.5.
Be patient. people will start posting the USA 1.5 zip on forums any minute now, if they haven’t already.
Personally, i’m in the US and am going to keep the UK version instead. I like that Google Talk isn’t locked up with a bunch of other messengers that i do not use. I also never, ever use voice search.
Ill wait for the update….even though i would love for this phone to be a little faster and smoother
If you have UK 1.5, and received an OTA update recently.
That update is a 4.5mb security patch from Google. Nothing else…
If you dreamed this update to be something else… well stop dreaming and wake up to reality.
Sure the UK 1.5 udpate doesn’t include some apps.
Most of those apps weren’t used.
How many people actually used GoogleVoice?
Yeah it was cute, but its faster to type it than correct wrong words entered from GoogleVoice.
I’d rather the OS be cleaner leaving more memory for processing, than just hogged space.
The UK 1.5 update is just a 4.5mb security patch.
Nothing else…
Stop dreaming that it was anything else.
.
Be glad there are updates, or learn to code and release it yourself.
I updated manually uk 1.5 a couple days ago, this morning I got the OTA US Update
I have the UK Cupcake and woke up this morning to an update. Was hoping it would set me back to the US Cupcake, but it didn’t :( Glad to know I’m not alone!
I just did the update and now I have no 3G signal. Its been 20 minutes now. Has anyone had to wait to see their 3G signal reappear?
Still no 3G connection and reading this it seems like no one else is having this problem. hhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm. I have to keep wifi on while at home.
Updated but lost MyFaves and Voice Command. Anyone know how to get these back?
Just updated to US version after UK version and MyFaves and Voice Command did NOT come back.
Still no 3G, Im going to reinstall.
@Ed I updated to the US version and everything is great. Maybe you did something wrong??
I just updated and when it restarted it told be that my sd card is damaged…is anyone else having this problem and does anyone know how I can recover all my files? :(
just updated and it gave me a “damaged sd card” error. Anyone else have this or know how to recover/repair my sd card?
i dont understand do you turn the phone off then hold the home button to boot it and the button wit the house is home lol just wanna make sure
can anyone tell me if this is 100 percent safe or is there still a chance i could break my phone like they said could happen if you rooted it?
updated with REAL 1.5 from tmobile just a few hours ago, now when I check out 1.5 (wow. awesome job, besides…) and to my amazement I see an icon in my top bar, so I drag open and it says “SD card damaged” wtf an update that destroys my card?? I again installed real 1.5 us, not hacked like above guy with same card damaging updates as me….very odd anyone else plzzzz post!
also to the noobs that are thinking about manually doing 1.5, a tip I have I have is turn your phone off enough time to d/c it from the network and turn your phone back on… the time I got the update my up and down were constantly going 100% for the few minutes after bootup, so I checked and deleted recent progs but it was still full throttling my edge only connection…man wtf! So I knew the update was coming this week and I checked the phone>update page in settings and there it was half downloaded 1.5…wish tmobile told us it started! Lots os niceeee features. now my phone is even more like a pc. More tools to make and prove this phone and android future phones are destroying the iphone. Did you guys see the new “iphone2″…same bs pretty much, just a LED apple logo on the back….cause everyone knows most people that buy the 199 iphone is to showoff on myspace (sigh)…again no way iphone is better fools.
Really wanted to mmanually install the uk version until I heard no AIM!…I called tmobile yesterday and got my update today…I know theirs an on screen keyboard but dnt know how to make it appear on the screen yet also seen the camcorder..the phone looks a little different..other than that no major changes that I have seen yet..
You actually have easy step by step instructions here
http://www.livecrunch.com/2009/05/27/how-to-manualy-upgrade-your-g1-with-android-15-cupcake/
With the file!
I just upgraded mine.