Upgrade Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 to Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich with MIUI 4

In the light of the latest, more powerful, and heavyweight releases of Xperia phones, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 would look like it has been overshadowed.  One would think that the Xperia X10 would never see the day when Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich would bless its internals.

The truth, however, is that such a day has come.  Thanks to a modified version of MIUI 4, Ice Cream Sandwich is just a flash away from the Xperia X10.  The ROM, called Oodie Prime ROM, is an alpha version of MIUI 4 for the Xperia X10, so, this is still pretty much unstable.  Oodie Prime is based on the CyanogenMod 9 Free Xperia Project (FXP), and therefore carries all of the issues and bugs that the FXP CM9 code has.

The camera, mobile data, USB tethering, and USB mounting do not work yet, according to the developer.  But, the following do work: GSM, messaging, Music, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi tethering, Superuser permissions, and GPS.

So, if you’ve got what it takes to take your Xperia X10 on an ICS joyride, continue reading our step-by-step guide on how to install Oodie Prime – MIUI 4 (ICS 4.0.3) on your mobile device.

Requirements

These are the things you need before flashing the ROM:

• A rooted Xperia X10 with a fully charged battery
• ClockworkMod Recovery installed on your device
• Flashtool (latest version is 0.6.7) — get the Windows version here, or the Linux version here.  Install Flashtool on your computer.
• FXP ICS custom kernel for the X10.  Get it here and save it to your computer.  The file has a *.ftf filename extension. You will flash this file to your X10 using Flashtool.
• Oodie Prime – MIUI 4 ROM for the X10.  Get the update ZIP file from here and save it to your computer.  Then, copy it to the root directory of your phone’s SD card.
• Perform a full wipe before flashing the kernel and ROM. To that you will need to boot to ClockworkMod Recovery mode and do the following:
  1. Select Wipe Data/Factory Reset, then confirm on the next screen.
  2. Select Wipe Cache, then confirm on the next screen.
  3. In the main menu, go to Advanced > Wipe Dalvik Cache, then confirm on the next screen.

Reminders

• Backup your phone data or transfer all files on your SD card in case it gets corrupted while flashing the ROM
• The instructions in this guide are intended only for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.  These may or may not work for other Xperia models.
• Install the ROM at your own risk. We are not held liable for any damage arising from the use of this guide.

Instructions

1. Run Flashtool on your computer and use it to flash the FXP ICS custom kernel for the X10.  (Check this easy guide on XDA Developers for using Flashtool to flash a kernel to your Xperia X10.)
2. After flashing the kernel, disconnect your phone from your computer.
3. Turn off your phone.
4. Reboot the phone into ClockworkMod Recovery by pressing and holding the Back button when the “Sony Ericsson” logo appears.
5. Install the ROM by selecting “Install Zip from SD card” and choosing the downloaded MIUI 4 update ZIP file.  (You copied it to your phone, didn’t you?)
6. Wait for the installation to finish completely.
7. Reboot your phone. It may take a while for your device to boot after flashing the ROM.
8. Launch the Superuser app.  Go to its Settings dialog, and make sure Superuser/Root Permissions is turned on.
9. Enable USB Debugging by going to Settings > Applications > Development Settings > USB Debugging.
10. Perform a final reboot on your Xperia X10.

Voila! You have successfully installed Oodie Prime – MIUI 4 on your Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and now runs Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich.