Holders of the Sony Xperia E1 and E1 Dual smartphones are beginning to see a brand new and flash-able firmware finds its way to device’s as a notification. People will accept to download and install the new OTA update or hold onto it for a later date. However, if you choose to download the new firmware later it will need navigating to Settings > About phone > Software updates > System updates. From there, you can install it anytime, although we recommend using a stable home WiFi connection for better success rates. A user who chooses to use the mobile data plan run the risk of drop-outs and if that happens it may require a factory reset. if a factory reset is deployed the data is wiped in the process. Therefor it’s important you backup the data such as contacts, photo galleries and more so you still have them if something goes wrong.
The D2004 D2005 single SIM E1 smartphone get the 20.1.B.0.64 firmware and the E1 Dual D2104 and D2105 gets the 20.1.A.0.47 firmware. Moreover the D2114 Dual SIM model gets 20.1.B.0.65 arriving. Both packages upgrade the current stock software to Android 4.4.2 Kitkat. The E1 started with Android 4.3 Belly Bean and since then saw the Android 4.4. KitKat. Some owners are disappointed it didn’t bring 4.4.3 or the later 4.4.4 update but there is no reason to worry.
The new update brings a mixed bag of goodies inside. There’s all the usual features such as new Location menu, white status bar icons, color Emoji faces, full screen album art from the lock screen and a transparent status bar. In addition, we get some exclusive Sony-related features, including the app to SD card feature that come out with the Xperia T2 and the new Home Launcher. Furthermore, the Walkman app moves up to version 8.4.A.1.5 and Xperia Home jumps up to the 6.3.A.0.7 build.
As I mentioned, everyone can wait for the notification to come in over the air or they can download it using the Sony PC companion suite.
We are hitting a slow spot with software as we wait out for the Android L software coming soon. We don’t expect these two handsets to receive it when it first arrives either, so enjoys the added functionality while you can.
As usual, the new firmware comes out in stages so there’s no telling when it will arrive in the inbox. It relies on a complex mechanical algorithm that no human can predict based on date of purchase, name and other variables. As such, some of you will start seeing it straight away and others will have to wait a while longer. If you are using it already, please leave a comment and tell us about any new bugs or features you are witnessing that we didn’t mention so far.