I will soon be buying an Xperia Play. I have some noob questions. What is the best model to purchase and why? If I upgrade the OS to Ice Cream Sandwich, would I still have the built in games and Playstation Suite? What be the best way to root and overclock the phone with Ice Cream Sandwich (Preferably 1.6 GHZ)? Once again I am a noob so please don't bite my head off.
Depends on your carrier for one if u want to play Gamez stay on gingerbread ICS and jb the games lag a lot I'm on jb gta3 lags bad I have a r800x CDMA with built in gamepad which works great for emulated games And other games I am also on Verizon network too if you get the r800x like I have use super one click on 2.3.3 (I stayed on 2.3.3 awhile a lot of ROMs And mods if you went to get In to that stuff
Unlocked using turbo jb kernel on slimbean
The Essential Starter's guide.
Nanosuituser059 said:
I will soon be buying an Xperia Play. I have some noob questions. What is the best model to purchase and why? If I upgrade the OS to Ice Cream Sandwich, would I still have the built in games and Playstation Suite? What be the best way to root and overclock the phone with Ice Cream Sandwich (Preferably 1.6 GHZ)? Once again I am a noob so please don't bite my head off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there. I'm six months in with the GSM AT&T r800at model. (Xperia Play 4G) I'll give you what I know.
Flashtool and SuperOneClick are your best friends. Both offer the ability to root. Flashtool has only rooted me twice with success, so where it failed, SuperOneClick saved me. SuperOneClick will also find and install missing drivers that you'll probably end up needing for Flashtool later. These are the essential software tools you'll need for any situation with your new Xperia Play.
When you're looking to flash firmware or "*.ftf" files, (usually in Flashtool) in order to boot into flashmode, press and hold the back button while the phone is off as you plug in a usb cable.
If you're waiting around before unlocking your bootloader, you can still install a number of Roms on the locked bootloader. What you'll need to accomplish this is X-Parts, your essential tool for CWM (or as close as you can get) on a locked bootloader. My favorite Rom that worked on a locked bootloader was Gin2Jellybean, which was strictly GSM.
As far as I could tell from my research, the r800i had the ability to get its bootloder unlocked courtesy of their site, here. As of November 30th, 2012, it was reported via XDATV that r800x (Verizon models) were now supported for free unlocking as well as the r800i. As for the r800at, the bootloader status is locked, and I ended up paying (recently) to get mine unlocked. Seeing as you're coming in later than most, the normal price for unlocks have dropped from $24 to $15, with a chance of price drops now and again. The site that hosts unlocks can be found at this location. The guy also has a facebook page, where he hosts trivia (for free unlocks) now and again, and posts sales on unlocks.
An overlooked problem was when on custom roms and not on stock, there was problems with the baseband which caused the microphone to mute itself every other call. This problem wasn't applicable to every phone, but was scattered. I did more research and came up with the much unnoticed solution, courtesy of Archfeind2 (here, which also gives you instructions of what to flash) who linked to the Xperia Play stock basebands, found here.
I'm currently using the Ice Cream Sandwich Pureness ROM which has access to Crash Bandicoot from the stock rom, and gives you access to the PS Store as well. In this rom specifically, you have a overclock tool built into the settings from the get-go. It's pretty nice to be able to control it internally.
So, that's what I have to offer, and hopefully others in this thread will give you other good advice I didn't cover. Enjoy your Xperia Play!
Most custom roms are pre-rooted, meaning you don't have to root them yourselves. Note that there is no official ICS available, only via custom roms, which (most of them at least) require custom kernels. To flash a kernel, you need an unlocked bootloader, like DeusJZ mentioned. Most kernels available have the option to overclock (Doomkernel can go up to 2.0Ghz).
My initial post was a bit confusing. I will be more specific. R800a or R800i and why? How to root, and how to overclock to 1.6 ghz(with ICS) and keep Playstation Suite and Playstation Mobile compatibility? (Don't want any higher than 1.6 ghz because I heard it can reduce the life of the processor?)?
You need to choose your model based on where do you live, the "a" stands for america, "i" for international and both have different basebands. If you want ICS you'll need to unlock your bootloader, which will enable you to change your kernel and overclock the phone. Some kernels usually come overclocked and rooted, look around for some.
Nanosuituser059 said:
My initial post was a bit confusing. I will be more specific. R800a or R800i and why? How to root, and how to overclock to 1.6 ghz(with ICS) and keep Playstation Suite and Playstation Mobile compatibility? (Don't want any higher than 1.6 ghz because I heard it can reduce the life of the processor?)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As said by jasb92, r800i/a is dependent upon where you are. r800i is (if I'm not mistaken) a phone model that can be unlocked for free, without a paid service.
In order to root, use Flashtool or SuperOneClick, as I mentioned in my post above. They both have simple buttons to root your phone.
Most customs roms come pre-rooted, so it's not much of a problem.
As for overclocking, some roms come with the ability built in, some are built into custom kernels, and others will need an app. It's fairly easy to find one on Google Play, and a popular example is SetCPU.
When choosing custom roms, if you're looking to play games, I suggest you check the changelogs to make sure that both the touchpads and gamepads are supported.
DeusJZ said:
As said by jasb92, r800i/a is dependent upon where you are. r800i is (if I'm not mistaken) a phone model that can be unlocked for free, without a paid service.
In order to root, use Flashtool or SuperOneClick, as I mentioned in my post above. They both have simple buttons to root your phone.
Most customs roms come pre-rooted, so it's not much of a problem.
As for overclocking, some roms come with the ability built in, some are built into custom kernels, and others will need an app. It's fairly easy to find one on Google Play, and a popular example is SetCPU.
When choosing custom roms, if you're looking to play games, I suggest you check the changelogs to make sure that both the touchpads and gamepads are supported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not all r800i can be unlocked for free (like mine) which sucks
Ok, I'll answer
Nanosuituser059 said:
I will soon be buying an Xperia Play. I have some noob questions. What is the best model to purchase and why? If I upgrade the OS to Ice Cream Sandwich, would I still have the built in games and Playstation Suite? What be the best way to root and overclock the phone with Ice Cream Sandwich (Preferably 1.6 GHZ)? Once again I am a noob so please don't bite my head off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"I will soon be buying an Xperia Play" - Great, good choice
"What is the best model to purchase" - R800i - if i think what you mean is what type of the play. They are all the same more or less. R800i is the latest one
"If I upgrade the OS to Ice Cream Sandwich" - Currently next to impossible as Sony are being a load of f****** idiots withholding he ICS upgrade to never. It's possible to do with ROMs but that requires unlocking the BL (Bootloader) whuch at present I am not able to do curtsey of O2 placing a lock-down that i have to pay to remove.
" I still have the built in games and Playstation Suite" I never installed a ROM to be honest but I think all your stuff gets wiped when you do (Apart from SD card). To keep all of your stuff I'd use Root uninstall (Don't call an ambulance yet!) to back up all your apps usin the back up button to your SD card and then resore the backups using either a file explorer like FX or The amazing Batch installer tool available here
"What be the best way to root and overclock the phone with Ice Cream Sandwich" - Root first, overclock second. Root with Su[erOneClick - that's the way i did it or use this guide. To overclock I use the Overclock widget available on google 'play'
Good luck with ICS though - I wish I got the unbranded phone - BL unlocking would've been 10 times easier.
Check your country's frequencies. R800i is not pentaband regarding hdspa (sp?), it only works in 900/2100 mhz. It supports all four gsm bands.
DeusJZ said:
Hi there. I'm six months in with the GSM AT&T r800at model. (Xperia Play 4G) I'll give you what I know.
Flashtool and SuperOneClick are your best friends. Both offer the ability to root. Flashtool has only rooted me twice with success, so where it failed, SuperOneClick saved me. SuperOneClick will also find and install missing drivers that you'll probably end up needing for Flashtool later. These are the essential software tools you'll need for any situation with your new Xperia Play.
When you're looking to flash firmware or "*.ftf" files, (usually in Flashtool) in order to boot into flashmode, press and hold the back button while the phone is off as you plug in a usb cable.
If you're waiting around before unlocking your bootloader, you can still install a number of Roms on the locked bootloader. What you'll need to accomplish this is X-Parts, your essential tool for CWM (or as close as you can get) on a locked bootloader. My favorite Rom that worked on a locked bootloader was Gin2Jellybean, which was strictly GSM.
As far as I could tell from my research, the r800i had the ability to get its bootloder unlocked courtesy of their site, here. As of November 30th, 2012, it was reported via XDATV that r800x (Verizon models) were now supported for free unlocking as well as the r800i. As for the r800at, the bootloader status is locked, and I ended up paying (recently) to get mine unlocked. Seeing as you're coming in later than most, the normal price for unlocks have dropped from $24 to $15, with a chance of price drops now and again. The site that hosts unlocks can be found at this location. The guy also has a facebook page, where he hosts trivia (for free unlocks) now and again, and posts sales on unlocks.
An overlooked problem was when on custom roms and not on stock, there was problems with the baseband which caused the microphone to mute itself every other call. This problem wasn't applicable to every phone, but was scattered. I did more research and came up with the much unnoticed solution, courtesy of Archfeind2 (here, which also gives you instructions of what to flash) who linked to the Xperia Play stock basebands, found here.
I'm currently using the Ice Cream Sandwich Pureness ROM which has access to Crash Bandicoot from the stock rom, and gives you access to the PS Store as well. In this rom specifically, you have a overclock tool built into the settings from the get-go. It's pretty nice to be able to control it internally.
So, that's what I have to offer, and hopefully others in this thread will give you other good advice I didn't cover. Enjoy your Xperia Play!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After further consideration, I will be getting this version of the xperia play, do you know if the R800AT has 2g capabilities? I ask this because I have a friend who wants the xperia play and has 2g. Also, would Ice Cream Sandwich Pureness works with the r800a version?
Nanosuituser059 said:
After further consideration, I will be getting this version of the xperia play, do you know if the R800AT has 2g capabilities? I ask this because I have a friend who wants the xperia play and has 2g. Also, would Ice Cream Sandwich Pureness works with the r800a version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
R800at will have 4g if you use AT&T service. But if you use R800a on any USA GSM carrier you will have 2g no matter what.
Related
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.
Hello,
Had a quick question for anyone willing to give me a bit of feedback. I've been thinking about rooting my Xperia Play. I'm hesitant only because I don't want to get it if the functionality of ICS will be much of an improvement, if at all.
Should I stay with Gingerbread and wait to upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich or should I root now and wait till the root for ICS is available in the future? I've been reading the forums here and found plenty of people trying the Beta ICS and it seems like it depends on the person whether they are fond of it or not. I'm certainly not wanting to Beta test ICS.
I'm looking for a kick in the right direction. I mean, I know I can unroot the phone if necessary I've seen forums about such, but it seems like an ordeal to root and then just to undo the root and I can tend to be a bit lazy. So should I stick with plain Gingerbread, wait to upgrade to ICS, or go and root my phone for the boost now in terms of power?
I use my Xperia Play as a phone, emulator, music player, and for general apps. Basically, just general recreation and it can certainly feel slow when just pulling up my texts on my phone. Let me know what you think is best.
Why would you need to unroot to upgrade to ICS? Just root now and upgrade when ICS is stable
An ordeal to root? The rooting methods are 1-click, it couldn't be easier
jacklebott said:
Why would you need to unroot to upgrade to ICS? Just root now and upgrade when ICS is stable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly bro! Root on gb will beunrooted if you upgrade to ics. I thnk you mess up infos about rooting and unlocking bootloader.
Sent from my R800i using XDA
Asking too many questions. If you wanted it, you would know you want it and you would have done it by now.
Stick with what you have. Wait for the official update. It'll be along soon I am sure
d31b0y said:
Asking too many questions. If you wanted it, you would know you want it and you would have done it by now.
Stick with what you have. Wait for the official update. It'll be along soon I am sure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use DoomKernel with either the Official Sony Beta ICS or KA12 ICS beta roms you have Root.... if you flash KA12 it auto roots on install.....just FYI
Michealtbh said:
An ordeal to root? The rooting methods are 1-click, it couldn't be easier
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't think one click rooting methods are available if he is on the latest firmware..
correct me, if im wrong..
Gonna comment to the OP's question about the speed difference as someone who has now tried (1) the standard GB rom (on verizon, so 2.3.3), (2) a super-fast GB replacement (Cola), (3) the Sony stock ICS beta, as well as (4) a custom rom based on the ICS beta....
IMO aside from a couple of very specific cases (email on GB releases really slowing the phone down when connected to Exchange ActiveSync, for one), no version of ICS will ever be able to match the speed of GB on this phone. I'm sure that some custom ICS roms will be great, but a custom GB rom built for speed will still be able to win in the end.
I could not help but upgrade to ICS lol, My boot loader has been unlocked since the day I bought it but when the Beta was released and they made progress on it (WiFi, and stuff) I just could not help myself , Once you remove bloatware its really stable and smooth.
Hi,
I'm a new Xperia Arc S user, this is my first android phone as well (previously - WP7 on Samsung Focus, unlocked it and installed custom roms there - im experienced)
Got this phone since a couple of days now, it's running android 2.3.4, as ICS update is not available in my country yet. The phone came with PlusGSM branding, although can't tell the difference to stock android because I never had one.
I installed couple of apps, did some updates from android market and now I have like 44MB free only. Anyway now I'm wondering what to do next? Do you recommend anything in particular, like flashing to ICS, rooting, wait for official ICS update, etc?
Gonna read some guides like "Ultimate v1.0 Newbie's Guide For Arc / Arc S User" meantime
Wrong forum for question look at Q&A Section
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1182
Oh sorry for that, could a moderator move my thread there?
ps. I'm just upgrading to official ICS via PC Companion, it poped up 1h ago...
I heard that there is no valid method of unlocking bootloader on Xperia Arc S without loosing DRM's. So I would like skip this part and try some custom roms that doesnt require to have it unlocked. Could you recommend any particular custom ICS roms ?
im not sure if this is in right spot but i need a custom rom and kernal that will work with sony ericsson r800at i just got the bootloader unlocked and am stuck trying to find this info if this is in wrong spot in forum i am sorry in advance
Look in the Development section... just about any GSM ROM will do, since AT&T is a GSM service:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1093
I've been using DarkForest, but I'm not sure how actively it is being developed anymore, so I'm considering trying JokaWild.
I've also used TEAM Stock which is a little different since it really just patches the stock rom you're already using:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1507280
As for kernels, the DoomKernel seems to be the standard for unlocked devices.
I haven't tried the ICS stuff yet, though so can't offer any advice if you want to go that way. I'm still waiting for a bit more maturity and assurance that games will still work.
Or if you want to go the non-stock route, you can try one of the CyanogenMod builds. Just keep in mind the gamepad will not work the same for all apps/games and some games may not work correctly. (I personally switched to Stock roms when the GameLoft Spider Man game crashed on startup on CM7)
~Troop
After 1 year I'm coming back to Android scene from Windows phone 8.
I want to clarify a few things.
The model I got (6506) is a Bell Canada phone which from my understanding doesn't support the bootloader unlock. What are the limitations of not having a unlocked bootloader. It looks like I can still root it and install CWM and flash a few custom roms. Essentially the only thing a unlocked bootloader would provide is me going to 4.4 now as I could run a custom kernel correct? I dont care about overclocking my phone so the kernels aren't really of any interest but its always nice going to 4.4 before sony releases it. Will there be custom roms available for my phone based on 4.4 once its out? Also will a vanilla (CMS) style rom be possible on 4.4 once sony officially releases it for this device or will that still require a custom kernel (unlocked bootloader).
Lastly is there a way to carrier unlock this via a application or something outside of paying $20 on the websites for a code?
Sorry for all the questions and greatly appreciate your feedback. I went with the C6506 for not only the price but also because it wills upport AT&T LTE bands here in the US.
Thanks!
ej_424
ej_424 said:
After 1 year I'm coming back to Android scene from Windows phone 8.
I want to clarify a few things.
The model I got (6506) is a Bell Canada phone which from my understanding doesn't support the bootloader unlock. What are the limitations of not having a unlocked bootloader. It looks like I can still root it and install CWM and flash a few custom roms. Essentially the only thing a unlocked bootloader would provide is me going to 4.4 now as I could run a custom kernel correct? I dont care about overclocking my phone so the kernels aren't really of any interest but its always nice going to 4.4 before sony releases it. Will there be custom roms available for my phone based on 4.4 once its out? Also will a vanilla (CMS) style rom be possible on 4.4 once sony officially releases it for this device or will that still require a custom kernel (unlocked bootloader).
Lastly is there a way to carrier unlock this via a application or something outside of paying $20 on the websites for a code?
Sorry for all the questions and greatly appreciate your feedback. I went with the C6506 for not only the price but also because it wills upport AT&T LTE bands here in the US.
Thanks!
ej_424
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you cannot flash custom roms like cyanogenmod etc some stock based roms root and cwm is all what u can get,any rom which requires u to change kernel vl not work .There must be a way to unlock it unofficially on xda but according to me to me i dont think paying 20$ is some kind of worth (this is my opinion if u still want to do it then first make sure that it vl not be some sort of fake).
sony zl 6506 bootloader
bhavstech said:
you cannot flash custom roms like cyanogenmod etc some stock based roms root and cwm is all what u can get,any rom which requires u to change kernel vl not work .There must be a way to unlock it unofficially on xda but according to me to me i dont think paying 20$ is some kind of worth (this is my opinion if u still want to do it then first make sure that it vl not be some sort of fake).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sony zl user.
I have the same model with bell. Unlocking carrier will be no less than the $20 you found. Also bootloader can be set to yes, but if you are not concerned with overclocking I wouldn't suggest worrying about the bootloader. Also once there will not be anyway to go to 4.4 until the official rom is released and then ftf decrypted...give it some time and u will be able to update with root still available.