Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Android phone finally has chance to enjoying Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich even not official from manufacturer. It happens after some independent Android developer release their custom ROM and kernel to allow your X8 runs Android ICS. The ICS ROM for X8 based on CyanogenMod 9 which custom built in mini version on the top of the nAa kernel.
The ROM is quite stable and most feature complete Android 4.0.4 ICS ROM. You can use the ROM on your phone for day to day use. But it left one unworking feature that unable to do HW video encoding and decoding.
MiniCM9 is built for Xperia X8, X10 Mini, and X10 mini pro. So you must notice to download the correct ROM and kernel depend on your existing Xperia phones. Also you must download the pair of kernel and ROM, because I’ve got problem when upgrading Xperia X8 with latest custom ROM Android ICS while my kernel still for Android Gingerbread. The phone stuck on nAa logo, but after re-flash with correct kernel nAa for ICS, the phone running well.
However the MiniCM9 is hocking me because now Xperia X8 runs with Android 4.0.4 ICS that impossible if you wait the official upgrade from Sony. Once you upgrade your X8 to Android ICS you will face some features such as
Built for MDPI
Full hardware acceleration (the ICS way)
Camera
Opengl rendering
MiniCM Update notifications via c2dm (Settings -> System -> Update notifications)
App2sd / Dalvik2sd compatible with 2.1 app2sd (storing to ext2/3/4 pre-existing partition is detected and mounted as such)
Android’s native App2sd (move to sdcard, storing to fat)
In kernel ClockworkMod recovery v5.0.2.3 and option to reboot into Recovery
Modular Undervolting handled Settings -> Performance menu (by default not active)
KSM support
Extra Settings display option for Ultra brightness, also handled via notification bar icons
Smooth 2D scrolling in menus
Native Wifi Hotspot
Native USB tethering
Native Bluetooth tethering
Your Xperia X8 has a new life and of course impress your friends since you have Android ICS running on the old Android phone. But before you upgrade Xperia X8 to Android 4.0.4 ICS you must know the requirements where it based on the latest 2.1.1.A.0.6/2.1.1.C.0.0 SE firmware, Baseband M76XX-TSNCJOLYM-53404015, unlocked bootloader, and the latest version of the ICS nAa kernel.
If your phone never flash with custom ROM, you must unlock the bootloader by follow the instruction from unlock bootloader for Xperia X8 link. You must success unlock the bootloader before upgrade X8 to Android ICS. Afterward you must flash your phone with latest nAa Android ICS kernel with flashtool, you can download the nAa kernel from download link. Now you can continue to upgrade X8 to Android ICS by following instructions below.
Intructions to Upgrade Xperia X8 to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
- Download the MiniCM9-xxx.zip from the download link, pick the latest one
- Backup your /data contents: contacts, apps, sms, etc. or backup via recovery if needed
- Move the MiniCM9-xxx.zip to the root folder of your sdcard.
- Download the Google Apps for CM9 from download link, pick the latest one
- Ensure you are using the nAa-ics kernel
- Enter CWM and:
- Select ‘backup and restore -> Backup’
- Select ‘wipe data/factory reset’ (MUST DO)
- Flash the MiniCM9-xxx.zip. To do this, Select ‘install zip from sdcard -> choose zip from sdcard’
and select the MiniCM9-xxx.zip
- Flash gapps in the same way
- Reboot (first boot will take ~2 mins)
That’s all, now you can enjoying ICS experiences on your Xperia X8 Android phone. Impress your friends with your old Xperia phone by upgrade Xperia X8 to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
hye there.
i believe we need to notify the potential ICSer of x8 to be aware of the ‘number’.
i ocassionally hard bricked my x8 trying to upgrade to ICS before noticing the number at the back of the phone (batt needs to be removed, thought)
safe number are below than 11w33, (11w33,11w32,~11w29~11w21 and goes on)
the number more than 11w33 would not be entertained for bootloader unblocking for this ICS.
but they will work for former, say, gingerbread,
mine was 12w04, luckily the customer serbive bought my line.