T-Mobile unleashes Lumia 521 Windows Phone 8.1 Cyan update

Last week, T-Mobile US let loose the Windows Phone 8.1 update for their Nokia Lumia 925. At the time, we noted that the budget Windows Phone Lumia 521 was slated to get its update sometime in November.

It looks like that day is today November 4 as numerous reports are coming in from users who have a fresh update to install.

We have plugged in our Lumia 521 and sure enough, there is an update. We are attempting to verify the version number of the OS and firmware, but it does look to be Windows Phone 8.1 and the Lumia Cyan software package that users have been wanting.

Lumia 521 users should now be able to enjoy Cortana, the new swipe keyboard, Action + Notification Center and all the Lumia Cyan benefits as well.

To grab Windows Phone 8.1 and Lumia Cyan, head into Settings > Phone Update > Check for update. You will need to be on Wi-Fi to pull down the full package. The backup and installation process could take upwards of 20 minutes, so make sure you have some free time.

Thanks, DigTheNoise, rfutscher, and Hermanthegman in our Lumia 521 forums, for the tips

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and wearable tech. He has reviewed laptops for over 10 years and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, Arm64 processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, performed polysomnographs in NYC, and was a motion-picture operator for 17 years.