Nothing Phone (1) users offered huge Android upgrade – here's how to get it

If you love Android phones, you'll be well aware of the brand Nothing. Founded by ex-OnePlus CEO, Carl Pei, the brand fuses familiar designs with unique features to create a really interesting product.

Recently, the brand unveiled the Nothing Phone (2). That marked the second generation of their phone range, succeeding the popular Nothing Phone (1). The Phone (2) has earned rave reviews since it launched, taking a popular design and making tweaks in all the right places to step things up a notch.

But fear not – the fun isn't all reserved for users of shiny, new tech. Nothing Phone (1) users have just gained access to a sizable software upgrade. It's part of the beta testing for Android 14, enabling users to give the new features a go, before the public release.

Fair warning in advance – this is a developers beta, which means there are likely to be issues. In fact, Nothing has even released a list of features which aren't working at launch, which you can find below:

• Fingerprints can't be registered
• Face unlock unavailable
• Glyph features unavailable
• Battery sharing unavailable
• No Portrait Mode or slow motion feature in the camera app
• No pre-installed Nothing weather and Nothing X apps
• Screen cast to TV connection unavailable

Regardless, it's still a cool boost for users. It gives those who are interested in the development of their software a chance to test out the new goodies, while also providing crucial feedback to make it better for the public release. 

How to install the Android 14 beta on Nothing Phone

With most phones that offer a beta program, it's relatively simple to implement. Most have a dedicated spot – usually in the settings menu, where users can opt in and action the upgrade.

Of course, this is Nothing. They don't ever blindly follow the crowd, and they haven't here, either. The process is slightly more involved – as outlined in a post on the Nothing blog – but it should be fairly easy to follow along.

First, you'll need to download two files. One is the Android 14 beta upgrade package, and the other is the roll-back package. That second one is mighty important – if you don't like what the beta software has done to your device, you'll need that one to take it back to a stable build.

Once they're downloaded, you'll need to go to Settings > About phone > Software info, and ensure your device is updated to Nothing OS 1.5.6. Once you've done that, you'll need to create a folder in your devices' internal storage directory. Name it "ota".

Then, copy the update package to that folder. Once that's complete, you'll need to hop out of that screen and open the dial pad on your phone. On there, enter the code "*#*#682#*#*". That should open the local update tool, which is signified with a pinkish hue.

On that screen, a drop down menu will appear. Select the upgrade package you just copied from there, and hit the "Directly apply OTA from selection" button. That will trigger the download of files. Once complete, a pop-up will appear asking you to reboot. Hit confirm, and once the reboot is complete, you should have full access to the new features.