Xperia mini st15i guide for rooting, unlocking bootloader, flashing cyanogenMOD

[shivam94]

Note: This is not my work and I am just sharing this here for the benefit of xperia st15i users. 

Original Post @ Xperia mini st15i guide for rooting, unlocking bootloader, flashing cyanogenMOD,

This guide is for Xperia mini st15i ONLY!

All Credits to rEcEivEr for this tutorial

The st15i is still relatively new on the market (came out in august, 2011), so there's not that much support for it in terms of rooting, custom ROM's etc. Unlike the Xperia X8, which I had before.

Anyway, I spent some time on the web searching, researching, and gathering various links, tutorials, guides etc. on unlocking the bootloader, rooting, custom ROM, custom kernels, etc for the Xperia mini st15i.

It wasn't that easy to find all that stuff, but well, I had the time

I thought I'd put all the stuff I've found together to help, and make it easier for other Xperia mini st15i owners.

I tried writing this guide to the best of my knowledge, so I hope you find it useful

I don't take any credit for all this.

I've used guides and tools from other people&devs, and all the credit goes to them. (mainly XDA forums) That's why I linked to all the original guides.

If you have no luck following my instructions, just go to the original link :-)

Links I used:

[bootloader unlock] To unlock the boot loader of your phone | unlockbootloader.sonyericsson.com

[bootloader relock] [Tutorial] Relock bootloader! - xda-developers

[2.3.3 firmware for rooting] [FIRMWARE][4.0.A.2.368][Mini][sT15i][smultron] Official Firmware + ROOT solution - xda-developers

[Rooting] [04/Jan][ROOTING/UNROOTING] DooMLoRD's Easy Rooting Toolkit [v4.0](zergRush Exploit) - xda-developers

[CyanogenMOD install instructions (works with st15i)] Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro: Full Update Guide - CyanogenMod Wiki

[FOTA unbrick] Fota unbrick - xda-developers

Contents:

1. Unlocking/re-locking bootloader

2. Rooting/Un-rooting and installing ADB drivers

3. Flashing cyanogenMOD

4. FOTA unbrick

5. Custom Kernels for st15i

6. link to build.prop tweaks and sysctl.conf tweaks by imoseyon

7. Custom ROM's

8. CM9.0 RC0/ CM7.2 RC0

9. Some theme links

1. [unlocking the bootloader]

Luckily, sony ericsson made it possible to unlock the bootloader on the Xperia mini st15i.

Unlike my former Xperia X8, wich I bricked trying to somehow unlock it :-(

You need to have unlocked bootloader to install cyanogenMOD, custom ROM's, custom kernels etc.

Follow the official guide for best results:

To unlock the boot loader of your phone | unlockbootloader.sonyericsson.com

[Re-locking bootloader] thanX to Blagus from XDA

[Tutorial] Relock bootloader! - xda-developers

I haven't tried this by myself, but I've read reports that it works with our st15i. And it's in my bookmarks, should I ever feel the need to re-lock it.

So if you wanna do it, just follow the guide

2. [4.0.A.2.368 firmware for rooting, android version 2.3.3] thanX to DooMLorD from XDA

This is a *.ftf file, which you can flash using FlashTool.

Thing is, you can't root the phone if you're running an incompatible firware.

I was running ICS, while trying to root the phone. I think I lost half a day figuring out why I can't root it LoL!

So you just have to downgrade, and then root it.

If you need to downgrade,

Go to [FIRMWARE][4.0.A.2.368][Mini][sT15i][smultron] Official Firmware + ROOT solution - xda-developers, and download "ST15i_4.0.A.2.368__GENERIC_(1244-2098).ftf”.

Download FlashTool: Flashtool - Xperia devices flashing

Install FlashTool.

Go to your flashtool folder, and place the .ftf file in the folder "firmwares".

Turn off your phone.

Now open flashtool.exe> click the thunder icon> select flashmode> adsp.sin should be selected> click ok. Wait till it asks you to connect the phone.

When it does, hold down the -DOWN- volume button while connecting, to enter flashmode (the LED should turn green).

The flashing will commence.

After that, disconnect and turn on your phone.

Now you're set for rooting

[Rooting] thanX to DooMLorD from XDA

You need to have stock 4.0.A.2.368 firmware, before you can root. If you don't, you have to downgrade it.

You can't root it otherwise.

Check your firmware by going to settings> about phone> build number.

Follow the link provided under firmware for rooting if you need it.

Just try it. Follow the below instructions, and if you're not rooted, you should flash the firmware.

You won't brick the phone if you try, you'll just fail doing it. I did it too, until I found out I have the wrong firmware

If you haven't unlocked the bootloader (following instructions in the link), then i assume you haven't installed android SDK tools, so you'll need to install it. It contains adb drivers that are needed for the rooting process.

I've found a great "how to" for setting up adb drivers.

And I decided to discard my explanation, and link to it for best results.

How To Set Up ADB/USB Drivers for Android Devices

How To Set Up ADB/USB Drivers for Android Devices (Updated 12/13/11) - TheUnlockrTheUnlockr

thanX David Cogen :-)

If you have the right firmware and installed adb drivers, you're all set.

Go to [04/Jan][ROOTING/UNROOTING] DooMLoRD's Easy Rooting Toolkit [v4.0](zergRush Exploit) - xda-developers and download DooMLoRD_v4_ROOT-zergRush-busybox-su.zip, then extract it to some folder.

Connect your phone in USB debugging mode. To do that, go to settings> applications> development> turn on "USB debugging". Also turn on "unknown sources" in applications.

Then run the runme.bat in the folder you extracted the zip.

It takes about a minute, two. If you get a positive message, then you have a rooted phone!

[un-rooting] thanX to DooMLorD again :-)

If you want to un-root your rooted phone, get this file:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=765523&d=1319922608

Follow the instructions on this youtube video:

It's basically the same as the rooting process. Connect phone in USB debugging mode, turn on unknown sources, and start the process. This time you just have to confirm SU request on the phone. So you might wanna go to settings> applications> check stay awake, so the phone won't go standby during the process.

Important: If you haven't rooted your phone with the method described here (easy rooting toolkit by DooMLorD), don't use this tool!

3.  [Flashing cyanogenMOD 7.2.0 kanged]

I tried to install CyanogenMod 7.1 from the official website, but it didn't work. I got to the touch the green android start page, and it just kept displaying it. So I've found a kanged version. It's not official, but it's cyanogenMOD alright, and it works flawlessly

Download link: update-cm-7.2.0-rc0-xperiamini-st15i-kang-signed.zip - 4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download

There aren't that many custom ROM's around for Xperia st15i. DO NOT make a mistake by installing a Xperia miniPRO/x10mini ROM! They may SOUND similar, but they are not. I personally haven't tried it, but as far as I know, it won't work and will possibly brick your phone.

If you have unlocked the bootlader, rooted your phone and downloaded cyanogenMOD from the link, you should be ready to flash cyanogeMOD.

I assume you've installed android SDK tools. You had to when unlocking the bootloader.

Open the cyanogenMOD zip file and extract boot.img to \platform-tools folder in your android SDK installation.

Press win+r, and type cmd. This should open the command prompt.

Inside the prompt go to \platform-tools in your android SDK tools folder.

Turn off your phone. Hold the volume -UP- button, while connecting it via USB to the PC. The LED should turn blue, indicating you're connected in fastboot mode.

Now type the following command: fastboot flash boot boot.img

After a few seconds you should have flashed the kernel with recovery in it.

(CyanogenMOD won't work with stock kernel)

Disconnect the phone, and turn it on. While it's booting, you'll see picture, now keep pressing volume -DOWN- button until you see the recovery menu.

Use the volume buttons to move in the menu, home button to select, touch back button to go back.

Now select Wipe data/factory reset, then Wipe cache partition.

Go to Install zip from sdcard> Choose zip from sdcard> choose the cyanogenMOD zip file.

That's it! After flashing's complete, go back in the menu, select reboot, and you should be booting into cyanogenMOD 7.2.0.

If you want google apps (chat, maps, market, sync etc), flash them in the same way as cyanogenMOD. Download from here: gapps-gb-20110828-signed.zip - 4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download

Easy way to flash a kernel (instead of using command line):

Connect phone in fastboot mode> open FlashTool> select fastboot> select kernel to flash

4. [Link to FOTA (Firmware Over-the-Air) unbrick guide] thanX to testadeferro from XDA

The thing with the bootloader is that when you unlock it, you loose the ability to upgrade via Sony Ericsson PC companion/SEUS.

What happened to me is, I thought I could update from 2.3 to 4.0 directly with my phone if not via PC... It downloaded the software, and restarted to install it. And that's where it froze, and went black.

I had my heart in my throat when I tried to turn it on, and it didn't respond. I thought omg there goes another phone... (I lost my X8 due to messing with it's bootloader)

So it wouldn't turn on, but when I connected it to the PC, the green light went on... what a relief LoL! It was still alive, but bricked.

So I found this FOTA unbrick guide, which did the job

If you wanna know more about FOTA, go to wikipedia> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOTA_(technology)

If something like this should happen to you, download the *.ftf file from the link.

It's easy really, the zip contains FlashTool 0.2.9.1 with the necessary firmware in place.

Turn the phone off.

Unzip the file, run X10FlashTool.exe, click the flash button, and click ok (don't modify anything. It will ask you to connect the phone now. Take the turned off phone, hold the volume DOWN button while connecting. the led light should turn green, which indicates you're connected in flash mode. You should see the flashing process progress now. After it's completed, disconnect your phone and turn it on :-)

5. [Custom Kernels]

I found 4 working custom kernels for the Xperia st15i mini.

As far as I know, WiFi will not work with any of these kernels, if you're running CM7.2.

As far as Hybrom goes, it's 100% working. So I guess other ROM's will work too.

Maybe CM will only work properly with it's own kernel...

(You might wanna try [setCPU], a free app for overclocking and setting CPU profiles)

[KRsH kernel] [KERNEL] KRsH Kernel v3.0 (Mini) - xda-developers

[Rage Kernel v2.4] [KERNEL][Mini/MiniPro/LiveWithWalkman/Active] Rage Kernel v2.4 - xda-developers

X Kernel [KERNEL] [Mini/MiniPro/LiveWithWalkman/Active] X kernel 2.6.32.56 ZRAM [4-Feb-2012] - xda-developers

bboof kernel [CUSTOM KERNEL] WITH CWM AND ROOT FOR ST15i 2.3.4 (4.0.2.A.0.42) [FIXED] - xda-developers

To flash a kernel, use fastboot. Explained above under #3, flashing cyanogenMOD.

6. [sysctl.conf tweaks] tweaking android:

imoseyon: Sysctl tweaking for faster, longer lasting Android

[build.prop tweaks]

[MOD] Super Build.prop Tweaks - xda-developers

[Tweaks]Build.Prop edit for faster DL speeds, better battery life and more fluid UI - xda-developers

7. [some custom ROM's/modded stock firmware for Xperia st15i mini:]

Hybrom v13: [sK17i-ST17i-ST15i-WT19i ROM][HYBROM v13 (USERS REQUESTS)] BASED ON 0.62 FIRMWARE - xda-developers

MiNi Turbo & MIUI ROM for st15i: [ROM] -=Mini Turbo=- | 1. MINI TURBO | 2. MIUI | ?????* Super Speed & Graphic *????? - xda-developers

[PORT] Spartan ROM(currently not for download?): [ ROM - Mini ] Spartan Rom V1.6.1 [V6] [2012-01-24] - xda-developers

Flush78_v3.2: [ROM] [Mini ST15][Mini Pro SK17][Active ST17] Flush78_v5 S Edition [28/feb/2012] - xda-developers

Clean'n'Tweaked-v3.1: [ROM] [MINI] Xperia Mini ST15a/i Clean 'n' Tweaked - 4.0.2.A.0.69 - v4 (26/02/2012) - xda-developers

[DEVELOPMENT] AOSP Android 4.0.3 (ICS): [DEVELOPMENT][ROM] [MINI PRO] [MINI] MiniCMSandwich AOSP Android 4.0.3 RC1 - xda-developers (check this thread frequently as it's work in progress with updates every few days)

[ROM][iCS][MINI][MINIPRO] ExMIUIv4 2.2.10-r1: [ROM][iCS][MINI][MINIPRO] ExMIUIv4 2.2.10-r1 - xda-developers (alpha version)

[ROM][MT11i/MT15i] NeoV_emann_1st_edition FOR * ST15i * ++ FAST FAST [ 5 - 3 - 2012 ]: [ROM][MT11i/MT15i] NeoV_emann_1st_edition FOR * ST15i * ++ FAST FAST [ 5 - 3 - 2012 ] - xda-developers

8. CM9.0 RC0/ CM7.2 RC0

{Mini/MiniPro/Active/Live}[DEVELOPMENT] - CM9.0 - FXP109 - FreeXperia Project - xda-developers

CM9.0 still somewhat buggy, but check out the thread there for more info

(frequently updated)

Download CM9.0 RC0, open .7z and extract.

Copy update-cm-9.0.0-RC0-ST15i-KANG-signed.zip to SD card.

Flash boot.img using fastboot.

Boot the phone and keep pressing down volume button to enter recovery.

Flash .zip file.

Optional, download and flash cm9.0 ICS GAPPS ADDON for google apps.

9. Themes

Some nice cyanogenMOD themes:

12 Awesome CyanogenMod 7 Themes [Android]

DefaultThemes:

[MOD][v3,v4 Lite] DefaultThemes for Live/Mini/Mini Pro - xda-developers

[shashwat]

Nice guide,+3. I Once did this on my friend's x8, it was relatively easy. Well, its not necessary to have bootloader unlocked to flash custom rom, just root does the trick, but if you want to flash custom kernel then unlocked bootloader is must, I wish something like flashtool could be available for s^1.

[shivam94]

Nice guide,+3.

I Once did this on my friend's x8, it was relatively easy.

Well, its not necessary to have bootloader unlocked to flash custom rom, just root does the trick, but if you want to flash custom kernel then unlocked bootloader is must, I wish something like flashtool could be available for s^1.

Thanks and Yes@ flash tool.  My father had a st15i but unfortunately, he lost it a week ago.  I was going to flash it with ics

[shashwat]

Thanks and Yes@ flash tool.  My father had a st15i but unfortunately, he lost it a week ago.  I was going to flash it with ics

Oh! I am sorry.

Just to make you feel better, ICS Sucks in x8 , I tried it and then went back to gingerdx.

[shivam94]

Oh! I am sorry.

Just to make you feel better, ICS Sucks in x8 , I tried it and then went back to gingerdx.

No problem mate. My father recently bought galaxy y and I am really feeling nostalgic about my xperia st15i .and ics sucks in x8 because qualcomm has not officially relased drivers for arm v6 processors.  If they come, it will give true ics performance

[yourtitan]

what if i have ics version 4.1.B ? which ftf file should i use?

[yourtitan]

excellent tutorial..did it succesfully!