yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
This guide is now dormant as of the 25th of September and will not be updated again.

The information contained within still holds true, the guides to the likes of unlocking your bootloader, flashing using FlashTool etc are all still correct even with the release of newer firmware updates but I won't be adding anything further to it.

Purpose:

This thread is my personal attempt to provide Arc owners with a guide to getting the most out of the handset.

It draws upon the combined expertise of the Arc userbase here on XDA-devs and collates it in a simple, easy-to-follow format.

I am in no way claiming this as all my own work, full credit is given where due and my thanks go out to all of the wonderful, knowledgeable contributors whose work I am honoured to be able to showcase here.​

Words of warning:

:

As with any modding or tweaking of a mobile phone, there is always a risk attached that you end up bricking, killing, blowing up, disintegrating, shrinking, beaming your handset to an alternate dimension or sending it forwards or backwards through time.

The risks are slight, countless people have undertaken the procedures listed in this thread with no problems at all - I myself have unlocked the bootloader on my Arc, rooted it using Bin4ry's image-flashing method, deleted some of the pre-loaded apps, flashed the 2.3.3 update using FlashTool are re-rooted again using Bin4ry's method... and my Arc is absolutely fine.

However, if you somehow manage to mess up or break your phone in any way, neither myself nor the authors of any other threads or resources I link to accept any responsibility or blame for what happens.

No-one is forcing you to do any of this, it's your own decision. If you're uneasy or nervous, just don't do it.

Also, whilst unlocking the bootloader is supported to a degree by Sony Ericsson, rooting, flashing custom ROMs, all the rest of it is not and there is always a chance you'll end up voiding you warranty.

As above, no-one else accepts any responsibility for your decisions and actions.​

Also, on a personal note, please don't PM me asking for help.

I don't wish to sound rude or ungrateful but I'm not a developer, I'm not coming up with new tweaks/mods/ROMs or anything like that, everything I know is laid out in this guide in a manner that should be plain and simple to follow, if there's something that isn't covered here chances are I don't know either.

There is a whole section here for the Arc literally teeming with people happy and willing to answer any/all questions you might have, so you'd probably find your question answered quicker that way than if you were to contact and individual and ask for help.
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Contents

The bootloader:

Unlocking

Relocking

Rooting:

GingerBreak (inc how to use GingerBreak to root a handset running 2.3.3)

Bin4ry's flashing method

Recovery update method

Recoveryhttp://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=13340438#post13340438http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=13340438#post13340438

Updating firmware/flashing ROMs:

SEUS

Flashtool

Wotan

Theming using UOT Kitchenhttp://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=13967176#post13967176http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=13967176#post13967176
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Bootloader - Unlocking

What you need:

A factory-unlocked Xperia Arc

Your handset's unlocking code from the SE unlocking webpage

Fastboot and drivers (if necessary)​

What you need to know:

Handsets with unlocked bootloaders cannot be updated via SEUS.

Though if you re-lock your bootloader, you will regain this ability.

Handsets that have their bootloader unlocked will stop working with SE's various music-related services (TrackID and the Facebook-inside 'like music' function).

This is due to the unlocking process rendering DRM function inoperable and cannot be recovered by re-locking the bootloader​

How to do it:

Back up any important information from your handset -

unlocking the bootloader wipes the handset

Download Fastboot and, if necessary, x86/x64 Windows drivers

Retrieve your unlocking key from Sony Ericsson's website:

Follow the link

Click 'Continue'

Click 'Yes, I'm sure'

Agree-to/accept the terms and conditions

Enter your name, e-mail address and

first 14 digits of your IMEI

, not the whole thing

Copy the code into a text file or similar for use later

Extract the contents of the fastboot rar file you dowloaded in step 2 and open the folder that is extracted

Open a command prompt and change directory to the folder that fastboot.exe is in (in Windows, the easiest way to do this is to hold shift and right-click on the background of the folder and select 'Open command window here')

Connect your phone:

Switch it off

Press and hold the Menu key (the right-most of the three)

Connect the USB cable whilst still holding the Menu key

The indicator LED next to the USB port should turn blue to indicate your are in fastboot mode - if it doesn't, then try again; if it completely refuses to enter fastboot mode, then you may well have a locked/branded handset in which case you cannot unlock your bootloader

If your computer fails to find or install the drivers automatically, download and install the drivers included in step 2

Once your phone is connected in fastboot mode and any driver installation has finished, type fastboot.exe -i 0x0fce getvar version into the command prompt you opened in step 5 - this should return a value such as 0.3 or similar, if it doesn't then the phone is not connected properly, start again from step 5

If step 8 worked, then type fastboot.exe -i 0x0fce oem unlock 0x[key] into the command prompt, [key] being substituted for the unique unlocking key you retrieved in step 3 (I told you you'd need to keep it safe...)

You should see some text output by the command prompt stating that it is erasing certain blocks and then that it is finished - congratulations, your bootloader is unloked

Credits:

lollylost100 - Source thread​
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Bootloader - Re-locking

What you need:

An Arc with an unlocked bootloader

FlashTool

Blagus' relocking ftf​

What you need to know:

Relocking will allow you to use SEUS to update firmware and restore your handset.

You will still be able to use FlashTool to update firmware if you wish though.

Re-locking the bootloader won't reactivate the DRM-based music features like TrackID, they're permanently gone​

How to do it:

Download and install FlashTool (for those of you who don't speak French, you want to click the 'Extraire' button)

Download Blagus' re-locking ftf and place it in the /firmwares sub-directory of where you extracted FlashTool to

Download this file, rename it to LT15.sin and place it in the /loaders sub-directory

Switch your handset off

Run FlashTool

Press the 'Flash' button and select the .ftf file you wish to flash

When prompted, connect your handset in 'flash mode' - FlashTool should explain exactly how to do this but just in case, press and hold the 'back' button while connecting the USB cable

FlashTool should automatically detect your handset and start flashing it - if it doesn't however:

Disconnect your handset (it should remain switched off)

Close FlashTool

Go to the /drivers sub-directory and run/install ggsetup-2.2.0.10.exe

Now go back to step 6 and follow the instructions once more, everything should work ok this time

When FlashTool finishes, disconnect your phone and switch it on - don't worry if it's a little slow the first time it boots after flashing

Credits:

Blagus - Source thread​
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Rooting - GingerBreak

What you need:

An Arc running 2.3.2 - and with a locked bootloader if you wish to update to 2.3.3 OTA

GingerBreak​

What you need to know:

GingerBreak will not directly root 2.3.3 (or later) ROMs. The exploit it uses, which was patched by Google in the vanilla 2.3.4 release was patched by SE in their 2.3.3 release.

This is not a deliberate attempt to prevent rooting, the exploit in question was to the best of my knowledge the same exploit that led to the widely-publicised security hole through which personal information could be intercepted on unsecured wi-fi connections - Google and SE are just looking out for us, it's merely an unfortunate coincidence that they 'broke' GingerBreak.

As it happens, there is an indirect way to root 2.3.3 using GingerBreak but I'll come back to that.

Do not follow steps 5 and 6 if you have an unlocked bootloader - updating a handset with an unlocked bootloader OTA is fraught with issues.

If you have a handset with an unlocked bootloader, follow these instructions instead​

How to do it:

Download GingerBreak v1.2 (older versions are also availablehttp://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=13230331#post13230331)

Transfer the apk file to your phone's memory card

Install

Optional:

Download and run BusyBox installer

To get your 2.3.3 bootloader-locked handset rooted using GingerBreak, follow steps 1-3 then...

Prepare your handset:

Make sure you've got a decent charge or better yet connect the handset to a charger

If possible, connect to wi-fi for best data speeds and to avoid the signal dropping out

Update your handset to 2.3.3 OTA:

Menu > Settings > About phone > Software update > Update now

NB: as mentioned in the 'what you need' and 'what you need to know' segments above, GingerBreak will only root 2.3.2 handsets so if you've already updated to 2.3.3 you'll need to revert back to 2.3.2 prior to following these instructions - this can be done using either FlashTool or Wotan

Also, some people have reported issues with the OTA updates if they have modded their handsets, again this can be sorted by flashing back to stock 2.3.2 immediately prior to following these instructions.

Credits:

Chainfire - source thread

kistigun - source thread​
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Rooting - Bin4ry's flashing method

What you need:

An Arc with an unlocked bootloader

Fastboot and drivers (if necessary)

The appropriate image file based on your handset's firmware version - available from here and/or here​

What you need to know:

Only compatible with handsets with unlocked bootloader (obviously)

You must ensure the image file you flash is the correct one for the ROM you're running, if you flash the wrong one you'll end up stuck in a boot-loop​

How to do it:

Unlock your bootloader (in doing so, you will have downloaded and installed fastboot and, if necessary, the drivers)

Download the correct image file and move it to the same folder as fastboot.exe

Open a command prompt and change directory to the folder that fastboot.exe is in (in Windows, the easiest way to do this is to hold shift and right-click on the background of the folder and select 'Open command window here')

Connect your phone:

Switch it off

Press and hold the Menu key (the right-most of the three)

Connect the USB cable whilst still holding the Menu key

The indicator LED next to the USB port should turn blue to indicate your are in fastboot mode

Type the following into the command prompt:

Windows: fastboot flash system [image file]

Linux: fastboot -i 0x0fce flash system [image file]

Mac: fastboot-mac -i 0x0fce flash system [image file]

...where [image file] is the full filename of the image file you downloaded in step 2 -

including the '.img' at the end

Optional:

Download and run BusyBox installer

Credits:

Bin4ry and zdzihu - source thread

kanzone - source thread​
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Rooting - Recovery update method

What you need:

An Arc with recovery

Bin4ry's root zip file​

What you need to know:

Recovery is still in beta, not all functions work fully - use of the recovery solution is very much at the user's own risk​

How to do it:

Download Bin4ry's root zip file and save it to your handset's memory card

Boot into recovery

Install the root zip:

Select 'install zip from sdcard'

Select 'choose zip from sdcard'

Navigate to where the zip file is on you handset's memory card and select it

Confirm you wish to install the zip

Optional:

Download and run BusyBox installer

Credits:

Bin4ry - source thread​
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Recovery

What you need:

An Arc with an unlocked bootloader

Fastboot and drivers (if necessary)

Bin4ry's beta recovery image​

What you need to know:

Recovery is still in beta, not all functions work fully - use of the recovery solution is very much at the user's own risk

DO NOT flash the image file, follow the instructions exactly as listed.​

How to do it:

Unlock your bootloader (in doing so, you will have downloaded and installed fastboot and, if necessary, the drivers)

Download the recovery image file

Open a command prompt and change directory to the folder that fastboot.exe is in (in Windows, the easiest way to do this is to hold shift and right-click on the background of the folder and select 'Open command window here')

Connect your phone:

Switch it off

Press and hold the Menu key (the right-most of the three)

Connect the USB cable whilst still holding the Menu key

The indicator LED next to the USB port should turn blue to indicate your are in fastboot mode

Type 'fastboot boot recoveryARC.img' into the command prompt

Your handset will now boot into recovery

To navigate through the menus, use the volume keys to scroll up and down and the power key to select an option

Credits:

Bin4ry and the rest of the FreeXperia Team - source thread​
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Updating firmware/flashing ROMs - SEUS

Handsets that still have their bootloader locked are able to perform software updates using SE's own updating program, SEUS - Sony Ericsson Update Service (link included system requirements - Windows only).

However, handsets that have had their bootloaders unlocked cannot use SEUS.

Also, obviously, as SEUS is Sony Ericsson's official update program, it can only be used to flash official SE updates - no custom ROMs.
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Updating firmware/flashing ROMs - Flashtool

What you need:

An Arc

FlashTool

The ftf file you wish to flash​

What you need to know:

Not much to be honest.

FlashTool is, to the best of my knowledge, compatible with pretty much any Arc.​

How to do it:

Download and install FlashTool (for those of you who don't speak French, you want to click the 'Extraire' button)

Download this file, rename it to LT15.sin and place it in the /loaders sub-directory of where you extracted FlashTool to

Download the firmware you wish to flash to the /firmwares sub-directory

Switch your handset off

Run FlashTool

Press the 'Flash' button and select the .ftf file you wish to flash

When prompted, connect your handset in 'flash mode' - FlashTool should explain exactly how to do this but just in case, press and hold the 'back' button while connecting the USB cable

FlashTool should automatically detect your handset and start flashing it - if it doesn't however:

Disconnect your handset (it should remain switched off)

Close FlashTool

Go to the /drivers sub-directory and run/install ggsetup-2.2.0.10.exe

Now go back to step 6 and follow the instructions once more, everything should work ok this time

When FlashTool finishes, disconnect your phone and switch it on - don't worry if it's a little slow the first time it boots after flashing

Credits:

Androxyde and Bin4ry - source thread

itskapil

Nimche​
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Updating firmware/flashing ROMs - Wotan

What you need:

An Arc with a locked bootloader

Wotan Client

A Wotanserver account​

What you need to know:

Whilst it is free to register a WotanServer account as I am writing this, that may change in the future.

Honestly, IMO, you're better off using FlashTool (which is a free, community-developed program) but I've included this in my guide for the sake of 'completeness'.

If you are flashing back to 2.3.2 so that you can root using GingerBreak then update OTA, obviously you'll have to flash a 2.3.3 firmware.

Prior to doing so, check that there is a 2.3.3 firmware available for the same CDA otherwise you won't be able to update OTA after rooting​

How to do it:

Download Wotan Client

Register a WotanServer Account

Run Wotan Client

Connect your handset as per the on-screen instructions

Check 'Enabled advanced settings'

Select your preferred CDA/firmware combination and click 'Next'

Login with your WotanServer account and click 'Next'

Wotan Client will then download and flash the necessary file(s)

When Wotan Client is finished, close it, disconnect your handset and switch it on

Credits:

PhyzX - source thread​
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Theming using UOT Kitchen

Foreword - I never really quite got round to writing this bit up as nicely as I'd hoped, my apologies for not revising this to match the rest of my guide.

NB: this more than any other part of my guide you do at your own risk as I cannot guarantee which parts of the kitchen are compatible with the Arc and which will result in boot-loops.

One of the easiest ways of theming/customising your Arc (beyond the basic wallpaper, widgets etc) is to use the excellent Ultimate Online Theme Kitchen - a brilliant free site that allows users to change battery icons, status/notification bar icons, the status-bar/notification area background amongst other things.

First you need to extract the framework-res and SystemUI apk files from your handset.

framework-res is found in the /system/framework folder and SystemUI.apk is in the /system/app folder.

To extract both of these you need a file manager program with root access, for this I strongly recommend Root Explorer - unfortunately it's not free but it works where others fall down, so it's well worth the money.

Once you've extracted the two files, you need to upload them to the Kitchen ('File upload' tab, second from the end).

The third file is for CM7 handsets only so as of writing Arc users should just leave it blank.

As for the settings down the left hand side, everything should be left as is:

Edify scripting, not Amend scripting

Type MTD (default) not Type EMMC

Use script to flash files... - unchecked

Use automated images fixing - checked

Generate preview... - checked

The Kitchen will eventually spit out a zip file for you to download from the pick-up page - don't worry if this takes a while, when the Kitchen is busy it can take nearly an hour for files to appear.

This zip file is designed to be flashed using recovery but since there is no recovery solution available for the Arc just now, we have to resort to 'ghetto' measures...

If you extract the zip you'll find a number of folders which will contain, amongst other things, your modified framework-res and SystemUI apk files.

You then need to manually copy these files back into the appropriate directories on your handset, being sure to change the permissions on each one.

For framework-res.apk, the permissions need to be rw-r--r--. I'm pretty certain they're the same for SystemUI.apk but I'll check this.

This is where apps other than Root Explorer start to fall down - I tried a couple such as Super Manager and none of them were able to correctly set the permissions on the apks, leading to my handset boot-looping.

It should also be possible to flash the zip files using Bin4ry's recovery for the Arc
[Xperia Arc General] stevencxr:
Hi guys, I have a question about the term "sim-free" phone.

does the unlock-code purchased from anywebsite gives you the "sim-free" phone, which will enable the fastboot mode?

Thanks!
[Xperia Arc General] stevencxr:
sorry for the question post in here =( don't know how to delete this ....
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
No.

If your handset won't enter fastboot mode, then as things stand there's no way to enable that - having the handset unlocked makes no difference.

edit: scratch that. it seems there is a way using SEtool but that requires purchasing specific hardware.
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Yes, that command boots you into recovery.

You don't install it, you can only access it by using fastboot to boot into it.
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
It's not possible, if you try and install it, you'll end up with bootloops.

But to be honest, how often do you need to get into Recovery when you're not at your computer?
[Xperia Arc General] hectorrai:
not working for me plz help !!!!

hey man this whole thing is not working for me.........i tried on 2.3.2 and also on 2.3.3 but it aint worked......actually my command prompt open fastboot for a second then close down automatically.....is there any problem with my command prompt or fastboot program.....m using windows xp media centre edition.....:confused:
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Does your handset even connect in fastboot mode?
[Xperia Arc General] SiL3nTKiLL:
thanks for the tut!
[Xperia Arc General] vmcuong:
thank for TUT
[Xperia Arc General] qetuR:
Does these rooting guides work for the new Xperia Arc S?
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
GingerBreak definitely won't work as the Arc S runs 2.3.4 out of the box (AFAIK), the other two methods would be pretty much the same for the Arc S but some of the files would need to be different.

For example, using Bin4ry's method would work but obviously, as it says at the start of the post, you'll need the appropriate image file for your handset/firmware.
[Xperia Arc General] CHez0or:
Hey all,

It seems that FlashTool is not recognizing my Arc LT15a. Im trying to flash from 3.0.1.A.0.145 to 4.0.A.2.368 in order to get GSM signal in CM7 as per XperienceD's post here ---> http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=18548311&postcount=2

I follow the instruictions... and when it says Connect cable in fastboot mode, the LED turns blue, but the program does not respond

Do other versions of FlashTool support the Arc?
[Xperia Arc General] SXUsr:
You use flashmode for ftf files, not fastboot.
[Xperia Arc General] CHez0or:
yea thats what i meant, when i connect the USB cable to the phone while pressing the menu button, then the LED turns blue but FLASHTOOL wont do anything... just keeps saying connect cable
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
The menu button is to get into fastboot mode - you should be pressing the back button to flash with flashtool.

It says so in the guide:
[Xperia Arc General] SXUsr:
As above.....
[Xperia Arc General] CHez0or:
hahha... oops... :S

Sorry guys... trying it with the BACK button this time...

EDIT:

Yea im just an idiot! It turns out i was using the wrong button. Trying CM7 again as i type to see if its fixed...

Thanks guys!!
[Xperia Arc General] bombast3r:
plz can u udate the link of the loader.sin file cause the link u previously provided wont work ,

and if u can provide me of a link to download 4.0.A.2.368
[Xperia Arc General] CHez0or:
the files you need can be found right here

http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/34194-how-to-fix-no-signal-on-cm7-arc/

EDIT:

Just realized i linked you to your own post.... hahha Enjoy!!
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Still works for me.

There are plenty of threads around here with copies of the ROM you can download.
[Xperia Arc General] moolash:
question

Can I use this method to flash 4.0.A.2.368 - Android 2.3.3 (newest official) ROM (found in the firmware index thread) without unlocking the bootloader? I don't want root either.

I have 3.0.x - 2.3.3 at the moment and PCC doesn't offer an update, I may do it manually.

If yes, will further updates work through PCC?

By the way, is 4.0.A.2.368 considered a custom ROM?

(sorry for so many questions at a time...)
[Xperia Arc General] Step666:
Yeah, the method should work for any Arc firmware/ftf.

I personally have updated to 2.3.3 as per the instructions you quoted and I have helped people to update to 2.3.4 the same way (haven't quite gotten round to doing that myself yet).
[Xperia Arc General] trarex:
I follow all of this step, and reboot. Then my phone freeze at Sony booting screen. I try to unbrick it using Flashtool with no luck (aborted warning). Please help me. Thanks
[Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mossys:
The Atrix headphones that came with the phone work fine. Including the Microphone, But its not so great quality in sound.

I've purchased an apple headset with a microphone... And I can confirm it does not work.

Anyone recommend a good pair of headset with mic for the atrix?