If you want the best that the Android community has to offer, give your Sony Xperia S LT26i a taste of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the form of CyanogenMod 9. Thanks to the Free Xperia team, Xperia S users can make the most out of their Xperia S devices. For those of you unfamiliar with the name, CyanogenMod is one of the leading ROMs for Android devices, and the Free Xperia team has been working tirelessly to make sure that CyanogenMod 9 arrives on other devices. With CyanogenMod 9 on your Xperia S, you’ll also get a taste of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, so you don’t have to wait until Sony pushes the official update when you can enjoy it packaged into one of the best ROMs available.

Like all works in progress, CyanogenMod 9 for the Xperia S has a few bugs that need working on. Rest assured, the developers are on it and we should be seeing them resolved in upcoming updates. If you’re excited to try this out on your Xperia S, keep reading and learn how to flash this ROM.

Warning

• The instructions in this guide are intended for use with the Sony Xperia S, model number LT26i. Applying these instructions on another device or model may produce undesired outcomes.
• The information in this guide is provided for instructional and educational purposes only. There is no guarantee that these instructions will work under your specific and unique circumstances.
• Use these instructions at your own risk. We shall not hold any responsibility or liability for whatever happens to you or your device arising from your use of the info in this guide.
• Read and understand the whole guide first before actually performing the instructions.

Requirements

• Sony Xperia S with an unlocked bootloader.  Unlock your phone’s bootloader by using Sony’s official instructions.
• Backup all personal data on your phone to make sure you have a copy of your personal data (e.g., contacts, SMS, MMS, Internet settings, Wi-Fi passwords, and the like) in case the procedure in this guide erases such data.
  • For backup tips, check our guides on how to sync your data to the cloud and how to create local backups of your mobile data.
• Make sure that the appropriate drivers for your device have been installed on your computer.
• ADB and Fastboot package: Windows (adb-fastboot-win.rar, 6.6 MB) | Linux (adb-fastboot-linux.rar, 6.4 MB)
• WinRAR (for Windows)
• CyanogenMod 9 ROM for Xperia S (FXP117_update-cm-9.0.0-RC0-nozomi-UNOFFICIAL-signed.zip , 137 MB)
• Google Apps package (gapps-ics-20120317-signed.zip, 52 MB)

Instructions

1. Copy both the CyanogenMod 9 ROM and the Google Apps package ZIP files into the root of your phone’s SD card.
2. Using WinRAR or a similar program, extract the contents of the ADB and Fastboot package into a folder on your computer.
3. Extract the contents of the CyanogenMod 9 ZIP file into a different folder.  You should see boot.img among the extracted files.  Copy boot.img into the same folder as where you extracted the ADB and Fastboot package.
4. Turn off your phone.
5. Place your phone in Fastboot Mode. You can do this by first plugging the USB cable to the PC. Pick up your phone and hold down the Volume Up key as you connect the USB cable to the phone.  (Or, you can simply hold down both Volume Up and Power buttons until the LED turns blue.  Then, connect the phone to the PC.)
6. Launch a terminal or command prompt on your PC.  If you’re on Windows, you can just double-click the commandprompt.bat file inside the folder where you extracted the ADB and Fastboot package.
7. Type the following commands to flash the kernel. Press Enter after each command.
   • fastboot flash boot boot.img
8. Once the kernel has been flashed, you will get a “finished” message in the Command Prompt or terminal window.
9. Reboot your device by typing:
   • fastboot reboot
10. Disconnect your phone from your computer.
11. Turn on the phone. The screen should display the kernel logo. As soon as the LED lights up in amber/blue, start pressing the Volume Up button repeatedly to boot into Recovery.
12. In Recovery, use the Volume buttons to navigate and the Home button to select options.
13. Select Install ZIP from SD Card.  Select the CyanogenMod 9 ROM.  Confirm installation by selecting Yes.
14. Repeat step 13 and this time, select the Google Apps package.
15. Select Go Back.
16. Select Wipe Data/Factory Reset.
17. Once data wipe is complete, select Reboot System Now.

The first boot may take some time. Once your Sony Xperia S LT26i has booted, you can now enjoy Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the form of CyanogenMod 9. Congratulations!