[Sony Xperia S, Acro S, Ion] SykoFerret:
EDIT: THIS IS NOT ACCURATE! If YOU use this process to repair phone make sure to choose your correct model. Sorry, apparently the rep I spoke with was a bit overzealous about me returning the phone, or was mistaken. NO ICS yet. it merely restores gingerbread. It was neither confirmed nor denied to hit in November.

Dear Adam,

Thank you for contacting Sony Xperia™ Online Support.

To unlock your phone from the Pattern Lock, please follow the steps below:

Download PC Companion

Turn the phone off and disconnect it from the computer. Run the Software.

1. No matter what the program says do not connect the phone until you complete step 9.

2. In the welcome screen if asked click on Start, next you will be shown what Media Go offers, click on "next" then you will see a presentation on what Support Zone offers, click on "Finish".

3. In the next section from "Support Zone” and "Media Go" new select “Support Zone" and click on start.

4. On the next page select "Software Update" and click on "Start".

***At this point if you get an error stating that "unable to install update components" or "server is busy”, please proceed to step 12.

5. The program will say that there is no phone connected and will ask you to connect but disregard that and instead choose the option to "Repair Phone". (The program will issue you a warning on the content that you will lose during the update). Please be aware that any data saved only in your phone memory will be erased as part of the Phone Repair.

6. Choose Continue.

7. After that, the program will download the necessary information (several minutes) and it will present you with a list of phones.

8. Choose the X10 from the list (close to the bottom of the list) by clicking on the icon for the phone. Then click on "Next". Then you will see a new section telling you how to connect the phone. (Don't connect it yet!).

At this point the phone must be off and disconnected from the PC.

9. Connect the cable to the PC but not to the phone, then while pressing and holding the back key (the one on the lower right part of the screen that has the icon of an arrow pointing to the left on top) Connect the cable to the phone and keep holding the back key until the program says "The update of your phone has started..." (In some cases a message of "Installing drivers" will appear before the message of "The update of your phone has started..." is shown.).

10. If the steps were not followed exactly the phone will turn on and it will request that you "Proceed with the following steps, slide down the notification bar". If this happens disconnect the phone from the cable, turn it off and repeat from step 9).

11. If PC Companion proceeds correctly with the update it will tell you to release the back key. Wait for the update to finish and follow instructions on the screen.

12. If you receive the message: “Unable to install update components".

a. Close PC Companion.

b. Install Java

c. Start Pc companion again and try to do the software unlock process once more

As part of Sony Mobile's commitment to excellent customer service, we offer a wide variety of mobile products to suit your lifestyle. If you require more information, or have any other questions, please visit NOLINKSALLOWED or call us at 1-866-766-9374.

Kind Regards,

Joseph

Sony Xperia US Customer Services

Apparently these are the instructions to update to ICS, directly from Xperia support. I managed to brick my phone having it plugged in before step 9. I am currently waiting on a callback for a walkthrough of the process from the same rep. He has the LT28at and ICS already. He told me he was having me update to ICS when I told him I was just going to return the phone and wait for an ICS release device. ICS on the LT28at is available through sony, just not at&t yet. Hope this helps everyone who was as frustrated as I am with battery life and many other UI issues.