To be honest, at this stage I'm willing to pay for expert advice, since I'm a noob, and probably always will be, and I really just want a fast, functional phone. I don't have a lot of time to experiment and recover from bricking errors. I do have a job and PayPal though.
I am looking for opinions on ROMs, easiest methods, as well as technical advice.
I've read a lot of threads, some of which have contradictory opinions so I'm looking for maybe a combination of some free advice, and a paid step-by-step for my particular situation?
So what I have is a rooted Xperia arc. LT15a
I believe the bootloader is still locked.
Android: 2.3.3
Baseband version: 7X30A-AAABQMAZM-1290_21-22
Kernel version: 2.6.32.9-perf
Build: 3.0.1.A.0.145
I used DooMLorD's Zerg Rush script to root the phone. That was great. It was simple enough even I could do it. I was able to use Titanium Backup and to remove some of the crappy stock apps. However, over time my phone has become sluggish and I want to:
-clean it off
-upgrade to ICS
-gradually add back my most commonly-used apps
-have all google apps working (important)
I am looking for stability, and less hassle. I have even considered unrooting the phone and trying to do an OTA update, because things would be safer that way. I tried doing an OTA update but it didn't work ("could not update software"). I'm assuming because the phone is rooted?
I am open to trying a better performing kernal or ROM, even a beta, if that's the only way to get ICS and keep root. Please assume I am really dumb and need every step written out in order (or links to guides will work).
Please only offer an opinion if you know it works with the phone I described above.
So, what do you think? If you want the bounty, just PM me.
Download the flashtool, download a stock ROM, follow flashtool instructions, flash ROM, done. Stock ROMs can be found in stickys in General and the flashtool has it's own sticky in Development.
Advice here at XDA is free btw.
XperienceD said:
Download the flashtool, download a stock ROM, follow flashtool instructions, flash ROM, done. Stock ROMs can be found in stickys in General and the flashtool has it's own sticky in Development.
Advice here at XDA is free btw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can probably follow this guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1133650&page=30 to do most of that, but what ROM do you recommend?
i use jj's hybird rom with shirkay's kernel . it's very stable, with great ui ad extremely battery efficient. in idle mode it just discharges as low as 0.5% per hour (measured using battery drain app from play store)
and as XperienceD mentioned, advice is always free
Yup JJ Hybrid rom is amazing and stable for ICS
Related
Can i safely root/install custom roms in a desire z that was upgraded to gingerbread?
I am completely new to rooting/installing custom roms to any android phone. i held out doing so because my original plan was to wait for the 2.3 update from htc. using the official update is a nightmare. i always have lags in messaging and the sense always restarts when i go back to the home screen. can i safely root and install custom roms in my phone? can anyone point me to a very easy to follow guide to do so? thank you very much.
tsk tsk tsk
dude... first of all: USE SEARCH FUNCTION!!! XDA mods have hard time maintaining the community and thousands (hundreds of) posts as is so any unnecessary posts should really be avoided.. back to thread..
Is it possible? YES! Is it safe??? No way!!!
As you can probably see in every single rooting/custom ROM flashing tutorial/guide - there's no such thing as "safe rooting/installation of custom ROM" and nobody will give you any guarantees there. ppl share their experiences but those don't necessarily relate to your (or any) other device in general.
if you mess with your phone - you must be mentally prepared for the worst, otherwise - don't do it.
there's a thread which already covers this topic
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1178912
also - WIKI is your friend!!! cheerz!
franciselmer said:
Can i safely root/install custom roms in a desire z that was upgraded to gingerbread?
I am completely new to rooting/installing custom roms to any android phone. i held out doing so because my original plan was to wait for the 2.3 update from htc. using the official update is a nightmare. i always have lags in messaging and the sense always restarts when i go back to the home screen. can i safely root and install custom roms in my phone? can anyone point me to a very easy to follow guide to do so? thank you very much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just give the search a chance
thank you very much for your answers alcak4ever and QSchachi. i followed the link above and did it.so far im think i got it. the only problem is the download for the rom is slow.hehe. thanks again!
"Safe" is a relative term. Almost any phone modding carries some risk of damaging your device (brick, soft brick, etc.). But if you read up BEFORE you start, and follow the instructions carefully, the risk is pretty small. Just do the research, and understand the risks, and you should be fine.
franciselmer said:
thank you very much for your answers alcak4ever and QSchachi. i followed the link above and did it.so far im think i got it. the only problem is the download for the rom is slow.hehe. thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't mention it. Just keep up with it. This is a nice device to mess with!
First of all, im new on these forums, so hello everyone
I have experience rooting, custom rom'ing and such from my Samsung Spica i5700, but dealing with ARC S roms and unlocking seems to be a whole different world!
So, the .62 update hit me, and ofcourse without reading XDA, I updated my -only- rooted phone. Now I have the bloatware back and cannot root, blasphemy!
So I thought about unlocking the bootloader, there comes the first question
- Does the automatic root kit (DoomLords thread, v4 by now) work with .62 that has had i'ts bootloader unlocked (he mentioned it DOES NOT work with stock .62)? If it does not, which tutorial or tool should I use? Ive seen Flashtool being used, and something about flashing whole new stock roms?
Now also, I am a big fan of custom roms - but the default rom of ARC S has some great things I've noticed and use alot, so I would love to keep those. As I was looking into Arconium 6.1 rom (nearly perfect it says!), I would love to know if it has the following things still available
- Sim Toolkit, known also as STK. Because in my country we have Mobile ID cards integrated into SIM cards, so basically I can use my phone to prove my identity and give digital signatures wherever I go. This is a must have for me.
- The phone has Sony Ericsson menu under Settings. Under there, I can connect my phone to my PC over WiFI (if it has PC companion installed) - I love this feature as I dont have to connect the cable, or mess about with slow Bluetooth speeds. Does the Arconium have this capability?
The stock rom is good enough, atleast for the moment, but I love getting more out of my device. Although if it means losing those two features, I will probably stay with stock rom, and just try to root it, and remove all the bloatware.
I have been reading the forums, but lot of different threads, and they all tend to say some different things. Confusing to say the least! Also tried searching the Arconium thread about SimToolkit, only had some questions about version 3. So again, no info there.
If any of you could give me any insight into these matters, would be very lovely. Would save alot of time by not installing Roms and such that do not even suit the needs.
Once again, thank you in front for all the help
Best wishes,
Erki
painkillah said:
So I thought about unlocking the bootloader, there comes the first question
- Does the automatic root kit (DoomLords thread, v4 by now) work with .62 that has had i'ts bootloader unlocked (he mentioned it DOES NOT work with stock .62)? If it does not, which tutorial or tool should I use? Ive seen Flashtool being used, and something about flashing whole new stock roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it only works until .62 firmware (e.g .42 & .58 firmware).
Search a little about how to root .62 firmware.
Or you could downgrade to .42 firmware using Flashtool and root.
painkillah said:
Now also, I am a big fan of custom roms - but the default rom of ARC S has some great things I've noticed and use alot, so I would love to keep those. As I was looking into Arconium 6.1 rom (nearly perfect it says!), I would love to know if it has the following things still available
- Sim Toolkit, known also as STK. Because in my country we have Mobile ID cards integrated into SIM cards, so basically I can use my phone to prove my identity and give digital signatures wherever I go. This is a must have for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Sim Toolkit is integrated.
painkillah said:
The phone has Sony Ericsson menu under Settings. Under there, I can connect my phone to my PC over WiFI (if it has PC companion installed) - I love this feature as I dont have to connect the cable, or mess about with slow Bluetooth speeds. Does the Arconium have this capability?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Afaik, it has the same Connectivity settings in SE settings as stock ROM.
painkillah said:
The stock rom is good enough, atleast for the moment, but I love getting more out of my device. Although if it means losing those two features, I will probably stay with stock rom, and just try to root it, and remove all the bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
V6 Supercharger would be also great if you only want to root and remove all bloatware.
Definitly try arconium 6.1, it's awesome and super fast
Sent from my iPad 2 using Tapatalk
Cheers to the both of you. Cleared up my questions nicely.
I shall try out the Arconium.
But the kernels - lot of people using DoomKernel, and then the one dp94 mentioned V6 Supercharger. Benefits - downsides to both of them? Dont care much for overclocking, because the performance of 1.4 Ghz single core is more enough for me (atleast for the time being). Would love better batterly life and/or performance without overclocking.
As far as I understand, the best way to do things is unlock bootloader, root, install CWM on phone, then let it install the CWM recovery, and from there just apply the custom roms?
Erki
painkillah said:
But the kernels - lot of people using DoomKernel, and then the one dp94 mentioned V6 Supercharger. Benefits - downsides to both of them? Dont care much for overclocking, because the performance of 1.4 Ghz single core is more enough for me (atleast for the time being). Would love better batterly life and/or performance without overclocking.
As far as I understand, the best way to do things is unlock bootloader, root, install CWM on phone, then let it install the CWM recovery, and from there just apply the custom roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
V6 Supercharger is a script, not a kernel.
You should definitely try DooMKernel. It's the best combination of battery life (recommend to try -36 baseband) and perfomance.
And you have to flash kernels using fastboot.
Thanks again
After looking for ways to root .62, and not finding anything - I felt like an idiot.
Then suddenly I realized what I had read about Doomkernel - it does root and CWM automatically!
Now running DoomKernel and Arconium
Would love to run CMmod, but as far as I can see, it is still missing HDMI and FM.
Cheers for all the help mate
painkillah said:
Would love to run CMmod, but as far as I can see, it is still missing HDMI and FM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that's correct.
Atm, these features are only working with stock based ROMs.
Hi, Can someone put together a newbies guide for getting ICS on the Xperia Arc S.
I have a unlocked bootloader, but all the information in the developers section is rather confusing (most because they don't differentiate between Arc or Arc S, so it's unclear if it's safe to load). It also seems much more complicated to get CWM that it is on my other Android device (Asus Transformer) and previous Android devices.
I am looking for something is is basically the ICS beta release by SE, but with the fixes to get the missing stuff like Wifi back.
Thanks.
bare in mind i am very new to this but i have managed to flash install ICS on my arc
for CWM i assume you say its difficult because rom manager says device is not supported?
well i was worried but after some searching i found "auto instaler"
which allowed me to install CWM
i then managed to get ICS
id feel better if i didnt explain steps...as i dont want to confuse you as i said i am very new to all this
... search is your friend.
[GUIDE] How to install the Ice Cream Sandwich Beta: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1516130
Make sure you click through to the video and read the description.
Im also a NOOB..... few day ago
my experience is
u need to
1.unlock your phone
2. root your phone
3. learn use fastboot to install Kernel
4. use CWM (mostly include in Kernel) to install ROM
then will work (this is short version explain)
im using arconium ICS (choose one of the kernel that provided and install first then install the ROM)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1515148
READ CLEARLY THOSE INSTRUCTION SHOULD BE NO PROBLEM
Have been searching for it from many days but am unable to find it!
What I need is going back to Stock ROM from CyanogenMod.
I don't have an arc. It is for my friend. Actually he asked me to root his mobile. But I installed CM in it because I liked CM in my 'Samsung Galaxy ACE'. He accepts that CM is fast but he is asking me to install stock firmware in it. He is saying that he is missing some features like timescape.
Switching ROMS in ARC (even in my ACE) is very simple. But I would like to know how to install Stock ROM over Custom ROMs in ARC. Can I simply use flashtool for it? Or will I end up bricking the mobile?
If at all if I end up bricking his mobile then he may ask my 'Sony Xperia S' that I ordered just few days ago!!! (LOL!)
Damn! Things were very simple in Samsung Phones! But in sony, understanding the terms itself is taking a hell lot of time for me!
Wrong section..should be in Q&A...
You need to download flashtool and flash a generic firmware. JUST SEARCH! THIS QUESTIONS BEEN ASKED A MILLION TIMES BEFORE so you could easily have found the answer before starting this new thread.
Sent from my LT18i using xda premium
Jazz Like That said:
Have been searching for it from many days but am unable to find it!
What I need is going back to Stock ROM from CyanogenMod.
I don't have an arc. It is for my friend. Actually he asked me to root his mobile. But I installed CM in it because I liked CM in my 'Samsung Galaxy ACE'. He accepts that CM is fast but he is asking me to install stock firmware in it. He is saying that he is missing some features like timescape.
Switching ROMS in ARC (even in my ACE) is very simple. But I would like to know how to install Stock ROM over Custom ROMs in ARC. Can I simply use flashtool for it? Or will I end up bricking the mobile?
If at all if I end up bricking his mobile then he may ask my 'Sony Xperia S' that I ordered just few days ago!!! (LOL!)
Damn! Things were very simple in Samsung Phones! But in sony, understanding the terms itself is taking a hell lot of time for me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use the flashtool and chillax
just download the .42 firmware and flash it using the flashtool.No need to get worried dude
If you dont know how to flash then follow this link here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1133650
The link to get .42 firmware is here as well
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1330314
Hi Guys,
I am running the .62 official rom and looking for a bloat/crap free ROM to use with my Arc-S. It is a bootloader locked and cannot be unlocked so I need a working rom.
ICS is too slow for me. I can install CWM with x-parts so that works, I have installed some custom ICS roms from CWM backup zips and it works but I can't find any for the GB.
I am hoping for a very rustic base rom with no crap installed. I found a few like X-Gamer but they require the .42 official rom first and I cannot find any working link for it.
Hoping someone can help, I have done quite a bit of searching and really looking to put an end to this journey!
sombra84 said:
Hi Guys,
I am running the .62 official rom and looking for a bloat/crap free ROM to use with my Arc-S. It is a bootloader locked and cannot be unlocked so I need a working rom.
ICS is too slow for me. I can install CWM with x-parts so that works, I have installed some custom ICS roms from CWM backup zips and it works but I can't find any for the GB.
I am hoping for a very rustic base rom with no crap installed. I found a few like X-Gamer but they require the .42 official rom first and I cannot find any working link for it.
Hoping someone can help, I have done quite a bit of searching and really looking to put an end to this journey!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... It is not possible to run jellybean/kitkat without unlocked bootloader, so you have no choice but to use ics ICS has awesome batery life BTW.
Have you tried Xperia ultimate hd by jader? Its not bad. It has aroma installer, so u can unselect those crappy apps.
Press thanks if i help^^
Glad to help:highfive:
sombra84 said:
Hi Guys,
I am running the .62 official rom and looking for a bloat/crap free ROM to use with my Arc-S. It is a bootloader locked and cannot be unlocked so I need a working rom.
ICS is too slow for me. I can install CWM with x-parts so that works, I have installed some custom ICS roms from CWM backup zips and it works but I can't find any for the GB.
I am hoping for a very rustic base rom with no crap installed. I found a few like X-Gamer but they require the .42 official rom first and I cannot find any working link for it.
Hoping someone can help, I have done quite a bit of searching and really looking to put an end to this journey!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Ultimate HD 5.0.1 its awesome
sombra84 said:
Hi Guys,
I am running the .62 official rom and looking for a bloat/crap free ROM to use with my Arc-S. It is a bootloader locked and cannot be unlocked so I need a working rom.
ICS is too slow for me. I can install CWM with x-parts so that works, I have installed some custom ICS roms from CWM backup zips and it works but I can't find any for the GB.
I am hoping for a very rustic base rom with no crap installed. I found a few like X-Gamer but they require the .42 official rom first and I cannot find any working link for it.
Hoping someone can help, I have done quite a bit of searching and really looking to put an end to this journey!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. You're not allowed to create threads that ask for fastest ROM, or "speedy ROM" as you put it. Please change thread title or a mod will close your thread.
2. Since you're on locked bootloader, you have no choice but to stick with stock based custom ROM. UHD is one good example. However, if it doesn't suit you, you will have to find out for yourself. None of the users or the developers can help you here since you're the one using the phone.
Please read this thread for more information:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2097137
_kohjun_ said:
Hmm... It is not possible to run jellybean/kitkat without unlocked bootloader, so you have no choice but to use ics ICS has awesome batery life BTW.
Have you tried Xperia ultimate hd by jader? Its not bad. It has aroma installer, so u can unselect those crappy apps.
Press thanks if i help^^
Glad to help:highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ICS consumes more battery as a base ROM as compared to GB since it uses more resources and has more functions. Please do not give wrong information. The few ways to help ICS save battery are ROM tweaks, kernel tweaks and basic knowledge about maintaining your ROM to make it less power hungry.
If he prefers performance over functionality, GB will be a better choice for him.
esarve said:
Use Ultimate HD 5.0.1 its awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Each ROM has it's pros and cons so you can't say for sure which ROM works best. Of course if you feel that it works fine, I have nothing to say since it's your phone.
僕のLT18iから送られてきた
popthosegaskets said:
1. You're not allowed to create threads that ask for fastest ROM, or "speedy ROM" as you put it. Please change thread title or a mod will close your thread.
2. Since you're on locked bootloader, you have no choice but to stick with stock based custom ROM. UHD is one good example. However, if it doesn't suit you, you will have to find out for yourself. None of the users or the developers can help you here since you're the one using the phone.
ICS consumes more battery as a base ROM as compared to GB since it uses more resources and has more functions. Please do not give wrong information. The few ways to help ICS save battery are ROM tweaks, kernel tweaks and basic knowledge about maintaining your ROM to make it less power hungry.
If he prefers performance over functionality, GB will be a better choice for him.
Each ROM has it's pros and cons so you can't say for sure which ROM works best. Of course if you feel that it works fine, I have nothing to say since it's your phone.
僕のLT18iから送られてきた
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But he doesnt have a unlocked bootloader
_kohjun_ said:
But he doesnt have a unlocked bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't mean he cannot flash custom ROM. As long as the custom ROM is stock based and uses stock kernel he can flash it with no problems. He can easily use X-Parts to install recovery, flash any stock based custom ROM and use it. Locked bootloader does not allow unsigned kernel(a.k.a any custom kernel) to be flashed on the phone since only Sony can sign the kernels.
僕のLT18iから送られてきた