Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Android 2.1 Update Via Hack

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I’ve been reviewing an Xperia X8 for Sony Ericsson, and while I love the phone, my main gripe is that it’s still running Android 1.6. We earlier wrote that 2.1 is available for the X8, but on a gradual roll-out. If you’re impatient, you can do a simple hack to trick Update Service into thinking your X8 is eligible.

Sony Ericsson usually decides to roll out updates to its handset on a staggered basis, depending on locality or region. This means that folks in one part of the world might get their upgrades sooner than others. While this might sound fair, considering different operators have different customizations, not everyone will be happy.

If you’re a bit impatient, you can do these (relatively) simple steps so you update your X8 via Sony Ericsson’s Update service:

• Root your phone.
• Change your “SI” or customization code.
• Reboot.
• Update.

I’m currently in the process of updating (about 50% of the 126.3 MB update file), but I’m optimistic it will turn out OK. Do note, though, that changing your SI code might result in a change of default language packs, so use this with caution.

Update: The update completed without a hitch. I was actually surprised the X8′s first language was from my region (promptly switched to English thereafter). I decided not to restore and backup, since this is a review unit anyway. As someone who hasn’t used an Eclair phone before, the changes are very much welcome, such as multiple Gmail and Email accounts, and the like. Also, the phone seems a bit faster.