[Xperia SP Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mrjraider:
I see a lot of threads created by users with one question:

What is the BEST ROM for the Sony Xperia SP?

These kind of threads are not allowed here on XDA so I almost instantly report them ;)

Well to give a straight answer to the question:

NONE!!!

Ofcourse you want to know Why?

~ Well lets start with the very beginning shall we?

There are a lot of diffrent custom ROMS. I know of the following:

No doubt there are more but I dont want a list that is miles long

CyanogenMod

AOSP (Android Open Source Project)

AOKP

Panandroid

MIUI

Omni ROM

Crystal PA

Carbon ROM

And ofcourse we have ROMS that are Stock Based.

To define Stock Based: Stock based are ROMS made from the firmware that has been released for any phone.

Below you see a picture with the Plain Stock Android Look and Sony UI:

This is one of the major diffences between the Plain Stock Android (from Google) and the Plain Stock from Sony. Ofcourse this is not the only diffrence. ROMS like CyanogenMOD, AOKP, AOSP, Omni and Panandroid do have the looks of Plain Android from Google.

As you may know by now Sony has his own Skin (duh!).. This skin is a layer on top of the Plain Android build from Google and includes:

Diffrent looks

Other App drawer

Other Homescreen layout

Other phone, conctact and messaging apps

Themed settings app

Themed Statusbar

Sony is the only brand that has his own theme engine!! Other brands like HTC, LG and Samsung have their own device/brand specific things ;)

~ Some other layers on top of Android:

Samsung Touchwiz (Galaxy S4) against Sony UI:

HTC Sense 6 (From the M8) agains Sony UI from the KitKat update or Z2:

The above pictures only shows the diffrence between all the looks of the homescreen.. These diffrence are also found in:

App Drawer

Statusbar and notification area

Settings

On Screen buttons (only if the phone has them)

Apps

~ Lets get back to the Custom ROM talk shall we?

The main issue with most users is the performance of all the ROMS.. Plain Stock ROM released by Sony

should

be stable for daily use. This is not always the case and Sony is not the only brand that has issues with either updates, or their software.. Let me recall a few things:

Huawei Acend P6: 1 big bug. Wifi does not reconnect automaticly.. Wifi needs to be turned off and on again for connection

Samsung Galaxy S2: Update from GingerBread to Ice Cream Sandwich had battery drain issues

HTC One X: Hardware issues; poor wifi signal

Samsun Galaxy S3: No KitKat due to ammount of bloatware from Samsung

Samsun Galaxy Advance: Major lag since Jelly Bean update

So we are not allone when it comes to software or in some cases hardware. :victory:

Back to performance....

We all know that hardware plays a big part in terms of performance. Our Sony Xperia SP has good hardware for a mid end device.

Our hardware in short:

Snapdragon Dual Core running 1.7 Ghz

Adreno 320

1 GB RAM

All the ROMS will be running just fine on our device.. Our hardware is good enough to run it without issues..

We only need to remember a few words:

Testing, Alpha, Beta, Stable, WIP

Testing: Build is done but still in testing.. Things could be removed, added or fixed in a later build

Alpha: Build works proper but there are some bugs that keep the ROM from being a daily driver

Beta: Build is working enough for a daily driver but there are still some bugs

Stable:Build is stable enough for daily use. All the major issues and bugs are fixed and gone but it is possible you encounter one or two.

WIP:Work In Progress. ROM is build but far from stable and the work is in progress

Almost all the ROMS for our device are either in Beta or in Stable status. Which means that all the ROMS are working proper enough for daily use!

Thanks to all the hard working developers!! Thanks guys

But lets stop here for a second.. Not all the ROMs have the same feeling or gaming performance (as stated by some users) as stock ROM... Why is that...

This is an question I just dont know how to answer. All the ROMS are using other sources from other developers ( or development teams) so it is possible that a bug or optimatisation is missed. Just keep reporting bugs an issues to the developer and someday it will be fixed :angel:

So before I end this massive post I need you to do a small check list:

I want Root? (if Yes go to 3 if no go to 2)

Dont change anything

Root the device and go to 4

I want a custom ROM? If yes go to 6 if no go to 5

Install a pre rooted Stock ROM (See Android Development)

I am able to unlock my bootloader (Yes I can but I dont want to; go to 7, No I cant; go to 7, Yes i will unlock it; go to 8)

Install any custom ROM for Locked Bootloaders (Yes you can choose CyanogenMod for LB Look in the Original Android Development Section)

Unlock the bootloader and install any custom ROM you want!

How do I know which custom ROM suits my needs?

Answer:

BACK UP AND TRY OUT!!​

You need to determine the following things for yourself:

Do I want the latest Android version?

Do I want to have Plain Android?

Do I want the SonyUI?

Am I willing to test things out?

Please remember some of the development rules:

Do not ask for ETA

Do not post issues without proper documentary like logcat, dmsg etc

Do not spam the development thread for requests

Be nice to each other

Be nice to the developer because he or she has worked hard on their rom