Develop Bugs

[Q] Xperia Play Beginners guide?

Hey guys! I'm picking up an Xperia Play in a couple of days and was looking for some general advice about the phone. This will be my first Android device, I've been on WebOS/Garnet for my last two phones. I'm just a little overwhelmed with the options presented by the Play and Android in general. For instance, I'm not sure if I should root my phone or not - what are the advantages?
Any other general guides to Android/the Play would be wonderful if any such guides exist. I'm looking to deck this thing out with every emulator on the market as well as get the PSXperia hack up and running (I've downloaded the program, but can't figure out how to use it).
You can sense my overall noobishness in general, I'm sure. Any advice or tips about this device would be great. I'm really excited about the Play and getting comfortable with Android. Thanks everybody!

kershner25 said:
Hey guys! I'm picking up an Xperia Play in a couple of days and was looking for some general advice about the phone. This will be my first Android device, I've been on WebOS/Garnet for my last two phones. I'm just a little overwhelmed with the options presented by the Play and Android in general. For instance, I'm not sure if I should root my phone or not - what are the advantages?
Any other general guides to Android/the Play would be wonderful if any such guides exist. I'm looking to deck this thing out with every emulator on the market as well as get the PSXperia hack up and running (I've downloaded the program, but can't figure out how to use it).
You can sense my overall noobishness in general, I'm sure. Any advice or tips about this device would be great. I'm really excited about the Play and getting comfortable with Android. Thanks everybody!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
congratz im waiting for mine is the mail right now lol
rooting allows you to have full access to the file system sorta like a administrator
on a windows machine since out the box you cant edit files or remove bloatware without root you cant install certain programs from the market without root
also having root and unlocked bootloader allows you to flash a custom recovery image which will allow you to flash customs roms(a custom version of android dev by a user here on xda or anywhere in general)
yes i highly recommend but if you ever plan on returning the phone to verzion for example you will have to revert it back to stock
and for the program psxperia you need to install the latest version of java from java.com
and if your on a windows machine you double click the psxperiatool.JAR file
and it should run not sure on OSX
in the end you made a good choice on choosing android as mainstream as it became its still a powerful system way better IMO than ios or even webos
since android has so many developers theres gonna be an endless amount of programs
will post new finds myself etc

edokassiah said:
and unlocked bootloader allows you to flash a custom recovery image which will allow you to flash customs roms(a custom version of android dev by a user here on xda or anywhere in general)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot flash the recovery image directly or you will mess up boot partition, you need to flash a kernel with embedded recovery built in

Thanks for the info. I'm confused about the locked/unlocked bootloaders. How do I know which one I'll have? And how "easy" of a process is rooting the phone if I don't plan to install any custom roms or anything?
Also, how does transferring .apk files from my PC to the device work?

kershner25 said:
Thanks for the info. I'm confused about the locked/unlocked bootloaders. How do I know which one I'll have? And how "easy" of a process is rooting the phone if I don't plan to install any custom roms or anything?
Also, how does transferring .apk files from my PC to the device work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you havent unlocked your bootloader yourself it is locked there are many risks and advantages to unlocking your bootloader, but if you dont intend to flash custom roms there really is no need, just like with root, if you dont know what it is, you probably wont need it
transfering .apk's from your pc is easy, just copy the .apk to your sd card, then use a file manager to find the .apk, tap on it and the installer will pop up , you need to tick unknown sources in settings though

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1176367

AndroHero said:
You cannot flash the recovery image directly or you will mess up boot partition, you need to flash a kernel with embedded recovery built in
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hes asking about android in general not aiming specifically at the xperia play

If I root my phone, do I have to switch everything back in order to get updates? All I really want to root my phone for would be to remove bloatware/speed it up a bit, is there a better way than rooting?

There is plenty of tutorials here, I suggest that you read, read, and then......read some more

_terror_ said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1176367
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for this link, it's seriously going to help me while rooting my phone. This might be a dumb question, but bear with me - better safe than a bricked phone. The guide to rooting in that link says that I need to flash my Play to the .184 Generic UK firmware...am I understanding it correctly that I need flash this firmware onto my American Verizon Play? I want to make sure nothing is going to get screwed up regionally, as I'm going to want to keep getting OTA updates and all that.

Just to share my own experiences since I'm new to the Xperia Play (previously had an Acer Liquid.. crappy hardware but great community of devs.. anyways..)
I'd recommend rooting your phone off the bat - the simple reason is rooting will involve wiping your phone's data, so if you already have a few months of use that means having to restore everything which is tiresome. First thing when my phone arrived was follow the rooting guide here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1116090
After that however I wouldn't recommend messing around TOO much with custom firmwares and such etc.. get used to the phone as it is and figure out what you like, don't like. if your like me within a few weeks or months you'll want something new - this is when you might want to start looking at messing around with the phone - new home launchers or even a new ROM (if your phone can have it's boot loader unlocked, from what I understand mine can't). The games and Emulators should keep you busy as is
The only customizing I've done to my phone is rooting it with Gingerbreak and using the leaked Sony Launcher.

I realize this is a pretty nooby thing to do that annoys all the veterans, but I consider this to be a fairly crucial piece of information I need before I attempt to root my phone, so I'm just gonna go ahead and bump this thing before it gets lost in the shuffle.
In order to root with a locked bootloader on an American Verizon XPlay, I need to flash to the .184 generic UK firmware, then root, then OTA update, correct?

kershner25 said:
I realize this is a pretty nooby thing to do that annoys all the veterans, but I consider this to be a fairly crucial piece of information I need before I attempt to root my phone, so I'm just gonna go ahead and bump this thing before it gets lost in the shuffle.
In order to root with a locked bootloader on an American Verizon XPlay, I need to flash to the .184 generic UK firmware, then root, then OTA update, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. That method will not work on the r800x (verizon xplay) to root yours you will need to see [How-to] R800x Root
Dont worry about annoying people lol . Who cares what others think? Everyone has to start somewhere.
But it would be better with a stickied thread for new users to look @.

So now, instead of the 3 step process linked previously in this thread, I have to unlock the bootloader and do a whole bunch of other stuff? This method is like 100x more complicated. Is there no other way? I don't intend to install any custom roms, I strictly want to root solely for freezing bloatware.

No i dont think so. You would be better asking for help from other r800x owners in that thread.
The exploit gingerbreak uses on 2.3.2 was patched in 2.3.3 (worldwide) and was also patched by verizon before they released the handset on 2.3.2. Up untill the bootloader was unlocked on the r800x rooting was not possible.
Ask in that thread and you should recieve the help/info you are after.

hiya mate right ive rooted and put on custom recovery but now its screwed up my cam , wifi , and the market so be warned im trying to fix this problem as we speak
---------- Post added at 10:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 PM ----------
im new to this to really but having a play with no cam and no wifi and no market. the market is there but cant dwnload nothing is taking the piss can anyone help me please

Mozza2k11 said:
But it would be better with a stickied thread for new users to look @.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is one already stickied in the Q&A section.That it has gone practically unnoticed counters this statement.

kershner25 said:
Thanks so much for this link, it's seriously going to help me while rooting my phone. This might be a dumb question, but bear with me - better safe than a bricked phone. The guide to rooting in that link says that I need to flash my Play to the .184 Generic UK firmware...am I understanding it correctly that I need flash this firmware onto my American Verizon Play? I want to make sure nothing is going to get screwed up regionally, as I'm going to want to keep getting OTA updates and all that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Their is not such thing as a bricked phone
always is a way to fix it and usually its as simple as flashing a FTF
or whatever stock rom your device uses takes like 5 minutes tops lol
and logsemans guides will tell you anything you need to know
just use them for refrence
Xperia Play Super Compilation (Q&A Sticky)
and if you head down the path of rooting and stuff
messing with files
you wont be able to get ota updates lol.
it will "brick you"

I recentally made a quick video with tips for android users/beginners if you want to watch it. Thought it would help people. http://youtu.be/Pd5DerUoEcY

xperia play, help.

Hey, I have an xperia play 800i and am wanting to no the best way to get the most out of my phone, I was just wondering whats the best things to do to it? Like what have you xperia play users done to to it? What are the must haves any help is appreciated, thanks.
I have my play rooted. It was the one click way I think.

unlock your bl.
flash doomlords kernel
overclock it
additional:
create ext3 partition on sd card for link2sd to increase your internal memory

Thanks but without the links to what your talking about, I dont no what your really talking about, thanks for replying tho.

I good place to start out would be to root you phone, instructions found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1312859
From there, you can decide if you want to unlock your bootloader and flash custom ROMs.

As I mentioned above I have my phone rooted, thanks anyway.

i think that's a good question.
i remember having the same thought when i picked up my wife's phone to 'do up'
anyways you need to first check out all the various gingerbread/ICS roms in the development section.
see if you are happy with stock or would like a little 'difference'
do note that compared to stock there are always chances of a few bugs which you definitely can live with.
next or alternately i would suggest you check out all the emulators & games out there.
it's a play, so that's probably the first thing you would want to do
am guessing you new to this, so do a LOT of reading in this section, the Q&A section and the dev section... am sure you'll soon find more than enough ways to get the most off your phone.
enjoy

Yea im pretty new to this, ive rooted it and tried a few scripts thats it, ive been reading thru threads for bout 2hrs ha, theres loads of different stuff. I use my phone a lot so if I overclock it what would be safe? Or should I even overclock it? What have you done to your phone?

[Q] i did try search first but could find the answer..

yes i'm a noob and yes i'm sorry...
bit of info first.
phones been rooted using superoneclick
I unstalled some stock apps see below..
3D Flare
Bruce Lee
Crash Bandicoot
FIFA 10
Star Battalion
Tetris
The Sims 3
And some other apps which first owner installed i'm guessing but none of which came with the phone.
I used root Uninstaller (free ver.)and like a noob never backed up (small SDcard)
but today i found out if i want to update to future SE i will need to install them again.
found a link on another thread but the links seemed broke.
I have just rooted my phone to installed Rooted apps i don't want to mess around with bootloading or custom Rom right now.
ICS looks fine to me and i may want it if i can on a rooted device.
so my noob question is....
I would like to know how to install what i have removed if possible?
here is some phone info
lastest update.
Model R800i
Android ver 2.3.4
baseband ver 8x55A-AAABQMAZM-203028D-56
Kernel ver 2.6.32.9-perf
Build number 4.0.2.A.0.42
Don't like asking and wearing the 'noob did bad hat'
please don't flame me and sorry if i forgot anything..
i managed superoneclick ok but thats about it..

You could use the forums and search the "Xperia Play Android Development" for a .zip of the stock 4.0.A.2.368 software and open the zip goto>System>Apps and copy the apks to your phone's memory card and install them,
or you can use this link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1221105&highlight=stock+2+3+4 and flash the orginal ROM using Flashtool. There are plenty of tutorials about Flashtool on Google and in the forums.
Once you've got the original ROM back, you can do a Titanium Backup and all that jazz to get root back.
Let me actually check to see if I have backups of those apps and I'll post them.
Hope this helps.
Edit: I don't have backups. But also just wanted to add that you can always install the latest SE update yourself once it comes out. Don't worry about not having those apps. You can flash it with Flashtool. Someone will post about it in "Xperia Play Android Development" once the official Android 4.0 is released and they will have instructions. Just search up how to flash custom roms and how to use flashtool until then.

Justinchi said:
You could use the forums and search the "Xperia Play Android Development" for a .zip of the stock 4.0.A.2.368 software and open the zip goto>System>Apps and copy the apks to your phone's memory card and install them,
or you can use this link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1221105&highlight=stock+2+3+4 and flash the orginal ROM using Flashtool. There are plenty of tutorials about Flashtool on Google and in the forums.
Once you've got the original ROM back, you can do a Titanium Backup and all that jazz to get root back.
Let me actually check to see if I have backups of those apps and I'll post them.
Hope this helps.
Edit: I don't have backups. But also just wanted to add that you can always install the latest SE update yourself once it comes out. Don't worry about not having those apps. You can flash it with Flashtool. Someone will post about it in "Xperia Play Android Development" once the official Android 4.0 is released and they will have instructions. Just search up how to flash custom roms and how to use flashtool until then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for reply but all the .zipFiles I found are now broke or removed.
wanted to stay away from Flashtools always have problem's with CMD stuff.
I guess by the time ICS comes out i might know a bit more.
so in short if i can find the apks for the stock apps i can install them using
Flashtool ?
is there no other way with just a rooted device ?
Just checked a backup of my Sd and couldn't see DIR System>Apps ? so is this on the phones memory ?

You can use a root explorer to access the system folder on your phone, any apk can be installed on your phone by enabling the unknown sources option, you don't need flashtool to do it.

T-Virus-79 said:
thanks for reply but all the .zipFiles I found are now broke or removed.
wanted to stay away from Flashtools always have problem's with CMD stuff.
I guess by the time ICS comes out i might know a bit more.
so in short if i can find the apks for the stock apps i can install them using
Flashtool ?
is there no other way with just a rooted device ?
Just checked a backup of my Sd and couldn't see DIR System>Apps ? so is this on the phones memory ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you flash your entire system with Flashtool. I don't think there's a way to extract the apks from a .ftf file. If you had the zips yea u could just extract the apks and send them to ur phone and install or install them via flashtool or adb/fastboot.
Another option is to search Google for the apks for each one of the games you uninstalled. You could very likely find them that way.
Yes, it's on phone memory. If you have a root explorer app u can get to system. System directory is not on Sd. It's at /system. (One bak from Sdcard is the default directory where the System folder can be found.

Can't u jst find an exact firmware of ur phne n flash it via flashtool??
That'd be easier i thnk
Sent from my R800i using xda premium

Ok small update and question.
Thanks to justinchi I did google search and found a Apk for Bruce Lee game,installed it with root explorer form a new fold on sd root.
But I was wondering how I can move it to playstationpocket app ?
Does it have to be in the pocket like before for an update in the future ? Hope thats clear...
Sent from my R800i using XDA

Well unfortunately, the ICS update for the PLAY has been cancelled for now:
http://blogs.sonymobile.com/product...ream-sandwich-rollout-for-xperia-smartphones/
But I don't think the Bruce Lee was in the Playstation Pocket App. It was in the Xperia Play launcher. If it isn't showing up there, try to use titanium backup to convert it to a system app and then reboot your phone. It's not sure to work, but I hope it does.
See my post on writing letter to Sony about the cancelled update:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1673123

worked a treat mate thanks had to get titanium paid ver to do it tho.
sad news about sony...but sony have a habit of letting down gamers
my vita is collecting dust due too them not pulling there finger out...
anyone know a fix for dead pace or is it just a touchscreen platform now.. i sear i saw a vid on youtube of it running on XP controls..

T-Virus-79 said:
worked a treat mate thanks had to get titanium paid ver to do it tho.
sad news about sony...but sony have a habit of letting down gamers
my vita is collecting dust due too them not pulling there finger out...
anyone know a fix for dead pace or is it just a touchscreen platform now.. i sear i saw a vid on youtube of it running on XP controls..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, glad it worked. Yea, the Vita is a little disappointing right now, but there are a lot of great titles coming for it. I think it still has hope! Gravity Rush, Soul Sacrifice (though it's very eery), LittleBigPlanet, and others. They can't abandon their only real mobile gaming device.

rodaedg cause

-- Im not sure why the title of this thread went to that... It was supposed to say - Help on Root/Rom.
Okay, my phone lately has been slowing down and I've been thinking of resetting it. I remember my friend telling me awhile back to get a ROM for it and root it and stuff, I just dont know how to go about doing that.
I've been looking around on here but there's just so much information everywhere and a bunch of stuff that I'm not sure where to even begin...
Is there somewhere with a guide of how to do this stuff step by step to help install the root and custom rom to get my phone going faster?
Thanks

This is a great example of how not to make a first post on XDA!

XperienceD said:
This is a great example of how not to make a first post on XDA!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not super-advanced on these things. I've looked through tons of stuff before signing up and asking. There's just so much stuff thrown at you it's hard to know what you have to do.

SnowPin said:
I'm not super-advanced on these things. I've looked through tons of stuff before signing up and asking. There's just so much stuff thrown at you it's hard to know what you have to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of us started out where you were but I learned from reading what was posted and relevant at the time of joining. Just go through the first 10 pages of this Q&A section and see how many similar thread titles there are to this.
All you should be reading is the stickys and grasping some sort of understanding of what does what and why and how to do it.

SnowPin said:
I'm not super-advanced on these things. I've looked through tons of stuff before signing up and asking. There's just so much stuff thrown at you it's hard to know what you have to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You dont have to be super-advanced on these thing to make it work.
Just google for
"how to unlock bootloader on xperia arc"
"how to root xperia arc"
"how to install CWM on xperia arc"
Read a little bit of these tree up.
Then learn about flashtool and how to use it,it's not that hard.(you'll need it for flashing FW if something goes wrong and kernel for some ROM's.
Learn about roms for Arc and how to install them.
And you'll be redy to go.
This is what i did when i started rooting,unlocking bootloader and installing rom's.'Cousei wanted to learn a little bit about these thing so if i brick my phone how can i fix it.I bricked my phone so many times but here i'm,my phone is still alive.Just read a little bit about all these stuffs so you can understand how this works.
One more thing,when you unlock bootloader and root your phone and then install CWM you will be able to make nandroid backup so if something goes wrong you can restore nandroid backup and everything will be back to normal.I know all this sounds so complicated,it was for me aswell,but after reading about it and from others on this forum i understood how it works and i did it,not just with my phone i did it with my sisters Xperia X8 to.So its not that hard.Good luck and cheers.Oh yeah and sorry for my english.

XperienceD said:
This is a great example of how not to make a first post on XDA!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I think there is probably a post of mine somewhere just like this one. I'd like to think I've taken my noob pants off by now tho...
SnowPin said:
-- Im not sure why the title of this thread went to that... It was supposed to say - Help on Root/Rom.
Okay, my phone lately has been slowing down and I've been thinking of resetting it. I remember my friend telling me awhile back to get a ROM for it and root it and stuff, I just dont know how to go about doing that.
I've been looking around on here but there's just so much information everywhere and a bunch of stuff that I'm not sure where to even begin...
Is there somewhere with a guide of how to do this stuff step by step to help install the root and custom rom to get my phone going faster?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found for me personally, try hitting up you tube for tutorials on what you need to do. It's sometimes easier to grasp a concept when you can see it in action.
Sent from my LT15i using xda premium

How do I root this thing (Arc S)

Yea sorry, I know there are tons of threads on rooting this stupid thing but I've been trying out so many different ways today and failed that I'm sick of and tired of this stupid piece of crap.
This is my brother's phone, and it's run out of internal memory (seriously 300 mb?), anyway he has like 10 apps installed on the internal memory, these plus all the updates have filled it up. So now I'm trying to root it so I can swap the SD cards (already got him a 32 gig microSD for that).
And oh boy am I sick of this thing, so far I've tried multiple options and none work, and some are too complicated with poor instructions for me to figure out.
Rooting my Galaxy W was so easy and this thing here just makes me hate everything.
Stuff I've tried:
Sony Xperia Flasher
ERoot
Flash tool
bootloader
I'm at the end of my wits here, completely frustrated and yea, if this where my phone I would have already smashed it with a hammer.
I really don't have time for this sh*t since I have to study for a big test, so I would appreciate something super simple and fast, like with the Galaxy W.
Again, sorry for sounding like a **** and creating yet another thread, but I'm desperate.
Thanks for any help.

dial *#*#7378423#*#* on your phone then go to service info then to configuration & at the bottom what does it say regarding your bootloader ?

Bootloader unlock allowed: Yes

Dead Metal said:
Bootloader unlock allowed: Yes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is good,what version of android do you have ?

It says Android Version 2.3.4
But build number 4.02.A0.69

Dead Metal said:
It says Android Version 2.3.4
But build number 4.02.A0.69
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok i used this app to root my phone (google it or search this forum for it,easy to find):
DooMLoRD_v4_ROOT-zergRush-busybox-su
& i used this video to unlock bootloader:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-crbhMFSuaQ

Thanks , I'll try that tomorrow, right now I'm just too tiered.

Dead Metal said:
Thanks , I'll try that tomorrow, right now I'm just too tiered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you need help send me PM & i will reply back in this thread. take care

If you want you can unlock the bootloader (loosing your warranty, of course), and then install a newer version of android up to 4.2.2, which is much more smoother than 2.3.4 and has much more features...

Madness, if you can't figure it out you're either not reading enough or just being lazy. There's about 4 or 5 links in my guide with how to root, add to that the amount of other threads there is, starting a new one means your lazy, because you've read nothing whilst signing up and just want to be spoon fed. Luck for you, there's some willing to do it.
Sent from Myushi

Rooting Tools
you can root using doomlord root script.
I have rooted several times after flashing few roms and the script works great.
Hope this helps..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1321582

XperienceD said:
Madness, if you can't figure it out you're either not reading enough or just being lazy. There's about 4 or 5 links in my guide with how to root, add to that the amount of other threads there is, starting a new one means your lazy, because you've read nothing whilst signing up and just want to be spoon fed. Luck for you, there's some willing to do it.
Sent from Myushi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had you taken a look at my join date and post count you may have noticed how I did not sign up to be spoon fed to root this device. And had you read my post you may have noticed how I stated that I've already rooted the Galaxy W, which is my phone, which was also real easy and straight forward.
I signed up to be able to hit the thanks button for Sir Arco's CM10 ROM, and give feedback should I notice bugs or other problems with it.
All I wanted was to root it without flashing a new ROM, since all my brother wants is more space on his phone, I don't think he'll want to check the forums constantly to check if there's a new version of a ROM out so he can flash it, so unlocking the bootloader and flashing a new ROM would be pretty pointless.

you can try to use the doomlord process, but you will always install a new rom, in that case will upgrade de phone to 4.0.3 and then you will be able to root the phone with de .bat file inside :good:

Dead Metal said:
Had you taken a look at my join date and post count you may have noticed how I did not sign up to be spoon fed to root this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you still clearly hadn't read anything whilst signing up, otherwise you wouldn't have started a new thread on something as common as "how do I root". I assume you will have managed it by now?

XperienceD said:
But you still clearly hadn't read anything whilst signing up, otherwise you wouldn't have started a new thread on something as common as "how do I root". I assume you will have managed it by now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did, which is why I apologized for posting another thread like it, there where also no I do I root this in this forum, since apparently I'm the only one who had trouble with the options that are posted in the guide threads.
And no, the doom script did not work, it did say it was successful but the phone remained unrooted. So after a couple more tries (and rectifying the "drivers out of date" error message) I unlocked the bootloader, tried again a couple of times still to no effect. So I want ahead and flashed a new ROM and Kernel. At first my brother wasn't too happy about that but he's starting to like the new ROM.
Man, it was easier flashing android onto the bloody HP Touchpad than this phone.