[Xperia SP General] Deleted member 4529355:
I made this guide with my C5303 running .254 o2 branded firmware. Should work on all other SP variants. (02,03,06) and even other Xperia phones. AFAIK this was made for the Xperia U and works on the S.

ORIGINAL THREAD http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2301489

At the end, you will have a like new phone with BE2, root, and recovery...even the offline charging bug will be gone.

This is not n00b friendly, If you unlocked the bootloader I think you know what we are talking about. Post any questions before you start.

Last night this was a PITA. I hate my new VAIO Fit 14e...it's a great computer but runs on 64-bit Windows 8. I can't install ADB drivers. So this morning I borrowed my father's Win7 PC (Old but reliable, as an old man's Buick)

Suggestions before attempting to do this:

GRAB A SNACK. This will take about 20 minutes

Download everything you may need (I'll provide some downloads)

Make sure the phone is charged up to 100%

We will be using SuperSU

If possible,delete ALL pictures,videos and music on the external microSD card. We don't want any data in Album,Movies or WALKMAN.

We are going to use some .zips, put them on the external microSD, so they wont be deleted.

Optional: Use a Windows 7 PC, it's easier to do this.

MUST USE THE NEWEST FLASHTOOL Download from the official site: http://flashtool.net/

STEP 1

If you are on a custom ROM or Kernel, Flash a stock .FTF. Remember: BRAVIA Engine only works on the stock firmware and LOCKED Bootloader. After Flashing the stock firmware relock the Bootloader and turn on the phone and wait for it, Do not update, install or login into any app,we need to do a clean install of everything. An example of how Flashtool should look like.

STEP 2

After the phone turns on its time to prepare it for Rooting. Go to the Settings>Xperia>USB Connectivity and uncheck Install PC Companion. Now on the Settings menu go to Security and check Unknown Sources Last step: Go back to the main menu and scroll down to Developer Options and turn them on.Scroll down a bit and enable USB debugging. Now you are ready to root the phone, follow this instructions: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2405933 BUT do not put the correct kernel, not at this moment. Just root the phone and then check for proper root access. Download this .apk, It's an older version of ES File explorer that works better than the new one

http://www.mediafire.com/download/n81418pco8d6igw/ES_File_Explorer_1.6.2.5.apk

Put it on the external microSD or whatever you want. o2 firmware has File commander preinstalled :)

Be sure the SuperSU app is installed. If not, run the rooting tool kit one more time.

STEP 3

Now we need a recovery. Check out this thread on how to install the recovery for locked bootloader: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2352920

STEP 4 Optional: Install any other apps you want. Install cerberus, my xperia or any other ones. Check my thread for some interesting ones: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=45840764&postcount=11

Update SuperSU by downloading a .zip http://download.chainfire.eu/351/SuperSU/UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.65.zip

After updating SuperSU check that you have proper root access. If you downloaded the old ES file explorer, open it and go to it's settings to enable it as a root explorer, see the picture

If you can delete system apps, such as chrome.apk or facebook you can continue. If not try again.

STEP 5

Now for the real fun: It's time to put the correct kernel for our firmware. Remember, these kernels are .sin so they are installed via flashmode. See the picture, SELECT AL THE WIPES AND NO FINAL VERIFICATION, BUT WE ARE GOING TO EXCLUDE SYSTEM, SO WE CAN KEEP THE ROOT AND RECOVERY. THIS IS A CRITICAL STEP!!

After the flashing is done turn on the phone, It will take some more minutes. As before, dont waste time updating or installing apps, avoid logins

STEP 6

After a few minutes if everything goes OK we are going to need a root explorer, It's a good idea to reinstall the Es File explorer, to avoid loggin in the playstore. Go to Settings>Apps>All and CLEAR THE DATA FROM ALBUM, CREDENTIAL MANAGER SERVICE, DOWNLOAD MUSIC INFO,MOVIES AND ALL WALKMAN APPS (3)

STEP 7

After clearing the data from those apps, immediately go to System/App and DELETE CredentialManagerService.odex

STEP 8

Immediately turn off the phone and get into recovery and flash the BE_and_music_info_fixes .zip No need to clear cache or dalvik cache. After the phone restarts, let it stand a minute or two...now do a reset: Go to Settings>Backup&Reset and perform a Factory data reset. After this...this is the last one...now you can use the phone in a regular way, doing every step of the setup guide, updating apps and more important: Upload your media and see the BE2 :)

Here is a mirror of the BE fix from the original thread: http://www.mediafire.com/?6gm9jb0lnwvvlfm

THE END​