yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Xperia Play Android Development] Willis111:
You might want to add that the only thing you should do after flashing, before ota update is to root. I swear root isn't detected but all those apps/bloat I removed was what was causing the trouble with OTA updates on the .184 firmware (I messed around with .184 a bit before I just wiped, re-installed, rooted, ota and bammo)
[Xperia Play Android Development] awoken:
CAn i downgrade from 2.3.3 to do this ?
[Xperia Play Android Development] emann56:
Yes you can:) The instructions on my first post also downgrades your phone if you are on 2.3.3
[Xperia Play Android Development] Dousan:
I read about one who tried it and he lost his home launcher. It flashed and booted up and then just the blue wallpaper and nothing else working. Can't remember which thread but it's somewhere around here in xplay section. Don't know if he fixed it.

He might have done a bad flash or incorrect ttf file. It might be possible to do i don't know it's just a heads up.

Regards Dousan...

e: here's the link:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=14677042#post14677042
[Xperia Play Android Development] emann56:
Well I've done it before bc I didn't know I would lose root. It worked fine for me.
[Xperia Play Android Development] awoken:
Thanks for the heads up. I think i`ll wait on a 2.3.3 root then, cant afford to brick my play.
[Xperia Play Android Development] Willis111:
Follow the steps in my {Rogers}Rooted 2.3.3 thread, it downgrades you then roots, then ota update to rooted 2.3.3. The firmware I used to do this is listed in the thread, I had SE Launcher removed and go launcher installed on my phone before starting, just stock SE after downgrading.
[Xperia Play Android Development] axiomjunglist:
I've got an R800a non-Canadian unit in the US and I'm on .184 and it says no OTA update available. I'm hesitant to flash to UK .184 generic if I'm going to get the same no OTA update available message. I would think getting an OTA update is region specific, despite whatever firmware you loaded on the device?

Maybe flashing the .181 Arc firmware would lead to a different result. Anyone actually tried it?
[Xperia Play Android Development] Willis111:
I'm sure you're right but rogers isn't usually on the ball with firmware releases let alone ota. I think after flashing the generic UK build your phone searches for UK firmware updates (mine had a huge language selection screen after both initial generic install and ota update) though some testing would probably have to be done to confirm it. You might want to check my thread, there are people there from Canada, Columbia etc reporting it as working. Basically after doing this your phone would stop looking for your regional firmware and download the latest UK firmware package instead.
[Xperia Play Android Development] Logseman:
That would brick the phone for sure!!!
[Xperia Play Android Development] axiomjunglist:
It's certainly plausible... now I just need to get the gumption to try it! ;)

Also, what language did you use? Mine didn't need any initial setup. Does it ask for a region or just english?
[Xperia Play Android Development] axiomjunglist:
I figured as much, had to see if someone had the guts to try it, lol.
[Xperia Play Android Development] axiomjunglist:
Got my gumption. Downloaded .184 UK generic, flashed, selected 'English (UK)' as the language, rooted via gingerbreak, checked for OTA, found & downloaded over AT&T, rebooted, went through install and now have 2.3.3 rooted!

The nice thing is that after the initial flash it picked up my APN automatically.

I think we just solved this one. This is definitely not a regional thing. This should truly work for anyone anywhere (except R800x), including AT&T R800a dev unit owners like myself.

Cheers guys! :cool:

emann56, can you update your 1st post with a note to let AT&T R800a dev unit owners know it's working? I bumped a post in the general forum but it seems silly to make a whole new thread when yours covers all models except R800x. Thanks!
[Xperia Play Android Development] Montechristo1979:
Does it work with other generics (f.e. german) too? Or is there something special within the UK-Firmware?
[Xperia Play Android Development] MechaBouncer:
Thanks for doing this. I have yet to even root my R800a (Build 3.0.A.2.184) yet and have been waiting for an official update so far.

My main concern right now is how to best backup all of my apps and settings so that I don't lose everything when I install a new ROM. Did you do a wipe first, or did you install the UK generic ROM over top of yours? And does it affect any of the pre-installed games and apps? I remember reading that unlocking the bootloader wipes the security key and I thought that affected the pre-installed apps, but can't remember how. I just want to make sure I don't lose anything by installing this.

Also, did this have any effect on the PlayStation Pocket app for searching for games or seeing PlayStation titles in the Android Market? I still don't see them from mine on AT&T, but I don't know if this is a regional thing or something about the phone itself.

Thanks!
[Xperia Play Android Development] Montechristo1979:
I didnt wipe anything or "clean" my system. I just did the downgrade. After that, i got 1 issue. I always got this message: "android.process.acore has stopped". Google said that this is an issue with synchronize the contacts, etc. But i didnt freak out :D I just installed GingerBreak, did the root, then the OTA, and after OTA everything was fine again. Now i have full rooted 2.3.3 :)
[Xperia Play Android Development] axiomjunglist:
I did a complete wipe. I didn't even bother to restore the bloatware I got rid of beforehand either. There is an option to toggle off the 'wipe user data' in flashtool, but I didn't elect to use it. I would suspect no problems preserving user data, but I heard reports of people having issues if things in the system files were tweaked (or added). Not sure if this includes /system/apps though. I think you'll be safe if you never rooted though.

Also, you won't need to unlock your bootloader for this process, which is great.

As for the Playstation Pocket and Xperia Play app, those seem to both be region set as soon as the SIM connects to the network. I left my SIM in for the whole process of flashing/updating. You could try taking the SIM out and doing the update via wifi and see if other region specific games/apps appear, but for me Playstation Pocket still had no access to games (not available in your region) and Xperia Play app had the same games as before. And I assume that as soon as you put your SIM back in you'll be in the same boat as me ;)
[Xperia Play Android Development] Dousan:
Thanks to the op for starting this thread and all people involved to make this happen ;-)

Worked like a charm and I'm now on 2.3.3 and rooted :-D

Regards Dousan...
[Xperia Play Android Development] awoken:
Any ideas as to why flashtool doesnt start flashing?

It doesnt recognize my play and when i press flash the pop up comes up saying to turn it off and put it in flash mode. The blue light comes on but notthing happens.

I installed the drivers that came with flashtool and windows sees an ADB device.

I`m on windows 7 64 bit. Same thing happen with vmware windows xp.

EDIT: nevermind, I was turning it into fastboot mode instead of flashmode.
[Xperia Play Android Development] xperiaplay:
so will this work on my uk play 2.3.3 .145??
[Xperia Play Android Development] awoken:
I advise everybody to use the "wipe user data" option. First time i flashed it i unchecked it. After flashing the phone was having alot of error messages and i couldnt even use gingerbreak. I reflashed with the "wipe user data" checked and everything worked like it should. I was on 2.3.3 unrooted btw.
[Xperia Play Android Development] TheBassman369:
How can I tell if my bootloader is locked? I'm not the first owner of this phone so I don't know if it's unlocked.
[Xperia Play Android Development] NielDK:
Check if TrackID is working. Unlocking the BL makes it not working, due to wiped DRMs. If it works, BL is still locked.
[Xperia Play Android Development] Techdread:
Worked for me

This worked for me too, I backed/restored Apps using Titanium Backup.:)

The fresh Install must be only rooted when the phone has been downgraded, removing system apps can prevent the OTA.

Now I have a method to restore my phone if its giving me trouble:cool:
[Xperia Play Android Development] Willis111:
@emann been trying to see if I can get mod status, one reason of course would be to combine our two similar threads and hopefully take care of a lot of questions. Regards, Will
[Xperia Play Android Development] laman:
I just upgraded my Xperia Play and found that my root lost.. I'm using the Singapore phone. Can the 184 UK generic firmware be used to downgrade my phone so that I can root again? or where can I get the Singapore generic firmware to doengrade?
[Xperia Play Android Development] Willis111:
The easiest way is to downgrade to the uk generic firmware, root and update IF you have an locked bootloader. If it's unlocked I think you just flash the rooted system.img
[Xperia Play Android Development] thomassafca:
GingerBreak unmounts my SD card, is that supposed to happen?
[Xperia Play Android Development] thomassafca:
Same with a different formatted sd.. :confused:
[Xperia Play Android Development] Dousan:
Yes it's umounting the sdcard when rooting your phone (running the exploit) :)

Regards Dousan...
[Xperia Play Android Development] thomassafca:
Ok, so I should have more patience! Thanks :D
[Xperia Play Android Development] Dousan:
It could take up to 10 minutes if more just reboot and try again. I've done it 3 times now and all of them have only worked on the second try. So it hanged like 10-12 minutes the I just hit the home button and rebooted then started gingerbreak again and bam within a few minutes I got root :)

Regards Dousan...
[Xperia Play Android Development] MechaBouncer:
I finally bit the bullet and tried this on my Google I/O R800a. Here's what I did:

1. Installed and ran Gingerbreak. Phone shut down quick, but took a while to start back up.

2. Installed Titanium Backup to backup all of my apps and settings just in case.

3. Downloaded the Generic UK firmware and the flash tool.

4. I then followed the installation instructions for the tool, but I decided to not delete my settings. I never removed any apps or made modifications before this point and I had everything setup how I liked it, so I wanted to risk it. I saw no errors and encountered no problems. Although the phone now reports itself as an R800i instead of a R800a.

5. Ran Gingerbreak rooted phone again.

6. Ran the OTA update and downloaded and installed the new firmware.

And now I have Android 2.3.3 running smoothly on my R800a on AT&T. I wanted to thank everyone for their advice and instructions on this.

The only hiccups I've noticed were when I went to run BackStab, Star Battalion, and Crash Bandicoot again for the first time. BackStab froze, but then started normally after that. Star Battalion and Crash Bandicoot could not find the game on the memory card, so they had to download it again. Although I did replace my card with a new 16GB one, so it's possible that the games did not copy along with the other files and I didn't notice because I haven't run them since then.

I also noticed that Madden is gone from the game list, but I don't really mind because I don't play Madden anyway. Must be that the games bundled with the R800a were different.

Otherwise, it's been working just fine. I'm excited! I was worried that I was going to be stuck on a dead-end device, but now I'll get updates right away. Thanks again! :D
[Xperia Play Android Development] Montechristo1979:
Does it work with a Global Generic or German Generic too?
[Xperia Play Android Development] emann56:
The Generic UK firmware works worldwide. Doesn't matter what phone you have except for the Verizon version.
[Xperia Play Android Development] monsterday2002:
hi,

my XP running 2.3.3 build 3.0.1.a.0.145. Will i be able to flash UK generic?

flash tool does not have XP as an option for flashing.

Pls advise.

Below from log:

03/028/2011 23:28:54 - INFO - <- This level is successfully initialized

03/028/2011 23:28:59 - ERROR - Cannot identify your device. Found R800 while expecting X10, E10, U20 or E15 (read from ro.product.model from build.prop)

03/028/2011 23:28:59 - INFO - Selecting from user input

03/029/2011 23:29:34 - ERROR - Unplug and replug your device to detect it
[Xperia Play Android Development] monsterday2002:
Able to flash UK generic and rooted it.

Updating to 2.3.3 via OTA
[Xperia Play Android Development] narflynn619:
well that's a heads up for me since you said it works worldwide..

EDIT: rooted my phone already! :)

QUESTION: So now we have rooted 2.3.3. Obviously, what we usually do first after rooting is removing bloatware. After removing bloatwares that are mostly system apps, are we still able to upgrade to 2.3.4 when it comes out this October without going through the entire process again?
[Xperia Play Android Development] narflynn619:
up

answers please....
[Xperia Play Android Development] Mozza2k11:
If you want to do another ota update to 2.3.4 in october in hopes of keeping root you will need to have all the bloat present on the phone before you update or it will fail. If you have frozen the apps you can just unfeeze them and use ota. If you have uninstalled them rather than freeze you will either have to reinstall the apks you removed or repeat the process again to regain the removed apps
[Xperia Play Android Development] abudabu:
Huzzah!! I got it rooted! Thank you mucho!!

HEre's what I had

1) Rogers Xperia Play R800a unlocked, on .145 firmware on 2.3.3 running on AT&T

2) Followed the steps in the original post, i.e.

a-Flash with generic UK firmware

b-Root with Gingerbreak

3) Saw Superuser icon appear. Got root access.

My phone now displays it is a R800i with Android Version 2.3.2 on build number .184. I had my SIM card out, so the update is not happening OTA even with Wifi on. Will probably need to put the SIM card in and try on AT&T.
[Xperia Play Android Development] abudabu:
Put the SIM for AT&T, got the Update. On 2.3.3 now.
[Xperia Play Android Development] Cymatrelic:
Hey guys!

So after fiddling around a little bit i managed to root my play and get it on 2.3.3.

The main reason why i did it was to overclock my xperia play, but i cant figure out how to do it with setcpu :(

It doesnt let me go higher then 1024 mhz.

Am i doing something wrong, or do i have to use a different programm?
[Xperia Play Android Development] Logseman:
In order to overclock your phone, you need a kernel which supports overclocking. Root access allows you to activate it, but the OC support must be present first. It's not the case of the stock kernel. You need a custom kernel like CyanogenMod7's in order to get OC. And of course, in order to flash a custom kernel, you need to unlock the bootloaders.
[Xperia Play Android Development] Cymatrelic:
Ah ok I see. Thanks for clearing that up!

So i guess rooting isnt the same as unlocking bootloaders? Can i just flash Cyanogenmod now that ive got root, or do i still have to do something else (unlock bootloader first?)
[Xperia Play Android Development] Logseman:
Here you have some insight on your question: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1076720

You need to unlock your bootloaders to install CM7.
[Xperia Play Android Development] Jahy420:
how can i know if i have unlocked bootloader and i need to use this? :D

my phone is:

R800i

2.3.3
[Xperia Play Android Development] Mael5trom:
If someone develops an overclock kernal module that can be run after boot then your good to go for overclocking, many phones without unlocked bootloaders use this approach.

I would say for those with lock bootloaders that would be your first best bet to gain a bit more flexibility... apart from actually working out how to unlock it :p
[Xperia Play Android Development] emann56:
Let's hope so! Since 1ghz seems low for a gaming phone.
[Xperia Play Android Development] dassub:
When using FlashTool to flash the generic UK firmware, a list of Firmware Content appears in the right column:

adsp.sin

loader.sin

system.sin

kernel.sin

amss_fs.sin

fota1.sin

fota0.sin

simlock.ta

apps_log.sin

amss.sin

userdata.sin

cache.sin

Do I select all of these and then flash the phone? Or do I select the first? None?

Thanks.
[Xperia Play Android Development] ashergray:
I wouldnt flash the simlock.ta just to be safe.

but everything else should be fine to go.
[Xperia Play Android Development] captain67:
I flashed all of them. Worked perfectly.

Sent from my R800
[Xperia Play Android Development] lunaticxgr:
Ok after trying so many times i cant root my phone

i will explain all steps i did

1: i download flashtool and put the image of uk on firmware folder.

2: connect my phone run the flash and flashed succesfully.

3 turned on phone (took a while in order to load for first time)

4: skipped first setup (also tried to setup also (carrier - sim contacts etc)

5: setup my gmail market account and logged into market ,

6: download and installed - ES file explorer

7 : installed gingerbreak - on phone memory

8 : enabled usb debug - enabled uknown sources

9 : run gingerbreak - got the uknown error that says to restart phone and check if root was success.

tried all version of gingerbreak. - same everytime

tried 3 sd cards. - formatted them several times

tried to power cycle unit by removing battery for a while.

also tried to root via - superoneclick - this doesnt work either - it gets stuck on

PHONE INFO :

Model number R800I

Android Version : 2.3.2

Kernel version : 2.6.32.9-perf SEMCUser@SEMCHost#1

Build number : 3.0.A.2.184

BaseBand Version : 7X30A-AAABQMAZM-1290_14-14

Anything i'm doing wrong?
[Xperia Play Android Development] captain67:
Gingerbreak only worked for me when I formatted the card from the phone right before running it, and for some reason it wouldn't work with wifi on. Also I think it makes a difference whether it's plugged into usb or not.. Can't remember whether I had to plug or unplug it..

Sent from my R800
[Xperia Play Android Development] Cat_On_Droid:
Can there PLEASE be a guide somewhere @_@ ? i am Stuck with FlashTool,i dont know how to add Devices,edit Properties,put that all on a phone somehow :'(

im such a n00b ...

And gingerbreak doesnt R00T my phone,i guess you need the flash generic Uk ? Also,will flashing wipe out my memory Internal and SD completely?
[Xperia Play Android Development] captain67:
In the folder you put flashtool, there's a folder that says firmware. Put the ftf file in there. Select the firmware from the list in the program, load it up. Flashtool will tell you to turn off the phone, hold the back key, then plug it in. Just follow it's instructions

And flashing does wipe your apps and settings. Back up everything beforehand.

Sent from my R800
[Xperia Play Android Development] Cat_On_Droid:
Flashtool in the phone you mean? I get the add firmware but what do you mean by "plug it in"? And how do I load the ftf fw?
[Xperia Play Android Development] kingvillain:
Just done mine and all went nice and smooth, just restored most of my apps and getting things set how I like them. Many thanks for this guys, now to explore what all the fuss is about with 2.3.3 even though I`m not a facebook fan, but the apparent performance boosts are welcome :)
[Xperia Play Android Development] captain67:
The flashtool in your computer. Look up the thread with the uk generic firmware

Sent from my R800
[Xperia Play Android Development] kershner25:
Hopefully someone replies to this -

I just wanted to make sure flashing the .184 UK Generic firmware onto my American Verizon XPlay isn't going to screw anything up with the region. Am I gonna be good to go?
[Xperia Play Android Development] captain67:
To my knowledge, the UK generic won't work on the verizon version because it uses a different baseband than most of the other versions of the play.

Sent from my R800
[Xperia Play Android Development] dassub:
Is anyone on Rogers using UK generic with root? Do we keep our ability to tether? I'll be rooting this weekend, but if it loses tethering capabilities, it would be a deal breaker.
[Xperia Play Android Development] captain67:
I'm using the generic with rogers. Tethering works just fine.

Sent from my R800
[Xperia Play Android Development] dassub:
Rooted this morning. Everything works great now :) Not gonna remove any system apps quite yet since the xloud update looks to be on its way soon.

Edit: Although, if I freeze the system apps/bloatware, does this mean I can OTA to the next one (if they offer it as OTA)?
[Xperia Play Android Development] dassub:
I'm going to add one more thing to this thread.

After rooting, I noticed my battery usage stats weren't updating.. it would simply show the apps that were using the battery power before flashing.

After a few days of it not updating, I used the Battery Calibration app by NeMa found in the market, and there's a thread in these forums on it by the creator of the app. Note: This app requires root.

After using it this morning (recommended to have a fully charged battery when using it), it has cleared the battery stats and it's more accurately showing the usage again.
[Xperia Play Android Development] squall12:
Hi guy,

Please help as i facing the below issue before flashing my phone as i did enable the Unknown Sources and Debugging but the error still appear. thanks

So far so good, but when the flashing begins and start with the first file, this massage appears:

13/013/2011 05:13:49 - ERROR - Error flashing. Aborted

13/013/2011 05:13:49 - INFO - Now unplug the device and power it on

13/013/2011 05:13:49 - INFO - Then go to application settings

13/013/2011 05:13:49 - INFO - turn on Unknown Sources and Debugging
[Xperia Play Android Development] Cat_On_Droid:
1.Are you using Flashtool 2.9.1? use it instead.

2.Did you highlight all the .SIN folders inside the Firmware?

And do a backup btw,to make sure you wont get force closes,Wipe User data,if you dont.Please report backup :)
[Xperia Play Android Development] squall12:
if i were to wipe user data without backup the apps what would i lose beside games save and my contact number?

thanks
[Xperia Play Android Development] captain67:
Literally all your settings. The phone will appear to be stock out of the box again.

Sent from my R800
[Xperia Play Android Development] squall12:
ic thanks a lot
[Xperia Play Android Development] vemoxy:
I can confirm that this works on my R800i bought in Singapore from Singtel.

Even the Chinese input is there, I was surprised because it's a UK image. After the OTA update it brings many features that the current Singapore rom doesn't provide, all the xLoud/landscape homescreen/widgets etc.

Thank you for the tutorial. You certainly helped me a lot. :)

And to all Singaporeans with the XPlay - use this rom. It's great man.
[Xperia Play Android Development] dassub:
My phone is now showing update available OTA (on rooted Generic UK firmware). Safe to update?

Edit: Updating now, will report back soon.

Note: I have root, but I have not uninstalled or froze any apps prior to this update.

Edit #2: OTA update done! Successfully kept root.
[Xperia Play Android Development] squall12:
so if i want to perform the new OTA on my rooted xp with generic UK firmware(With bootloader locked) do i need to unfreeze the app on my titanium backup to perform OTA for new 4.0 firmware?

thanks
[Xperia Play Android Development] Alexander33:
you need to unfreze all apps and have all the bloatware you uninstalled.

Method confirmed to work with .368 firmware

jumps directly from .184 to .368
[Xperia Play Android Development] TheVicious:
Can i make a root using this method when I have 4.0.A.2.368 system version ?
[Xperia Play Android Development] TheVicious:
OK . It WORKS. Now I have a root and 4.0.A.2.368 system version. THANKS!
[Xperia Play Android Development] ff7fan4eva:
I tried this, rooted in generic release version, didn't touch any services or anything left it bare, tried to OTA and all i got was a could not connect to network or something never been able to connect ota, even when i first got the phone, any ideas?