Update Xperia L C2104, C2105 to

Android 5.0 Lillopop with AOSP Custom

ROM
by Hayder Ameen on November 11, 2014 in AOSP, Custom ROM, Update Android0 Comments

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Sony Xperia L has become one of the first few Sony smartphones to get the taste of
Android latest recipe, Android 5.0 Lollipop. Because of open source nature of Android,
developers are able to port the latest versions of Android to those devices which have not
been officially updated by their manufacturers. Sony Xperia L has been updated using
AOSP based custom ROM, Android 5.0 Lollipop. It is the pure Android 5.0 with no additional
mods. Android 5.0 is based on material design which is a completely new makeover to the
Android operating system. It looks much cleaner and sharper than any other Android
version. Google also introduced large number of APIs with this version, which makes it the
best and most prominent Android release yet.
Sony Xperia L is a mid range device but it can easily compete with some high-end devices
when it comes to gaming performance. It has been officially updated to Android 4.2.2 Jelly
Bean and it will not receive any more updates. To update Xperia L to Android 5.0 Lollipop,
you must update your device to Android 4.2.2 official firmware first. Flashing
this firmware over 4.1.2 or older firmwaremight cause unwanted crashes. This update guide
is for two variants of Xperia L: C2104 and C2105. If you own another variant, then you
should probably not use this guide.

Important!
If you have installed a custom ROM previously, then you should flash the
official firmware first. Doing a dirty flash for the first time will give unwanted errors and
crashes. There can be unexpected bugs, for which only the method of flashing will be
responsible. It should be installed with a clean flash. A clean flash means that cache,
system, boot and data partition are wiped before installing this firmware. The first three
partitions will be wiped automatically. The data partition must be wiped because system
settings are stored from previous ROM and they can conflict with the settings of newly
flashed ROM. It will cause bugs like loss of Wifi connectivity and loss of signals maybe.
System UI might crash several times and battery drain might be unrealistic! Before flashing
this custom ROM, make sure that:

You should flash it over the latest available official firmware

Wipe cache, dalvik partition and do a factory reset

Install ADB and Fastboot Tools

To install this custom ROM, and unlock bootloader, fastboot mode will be required. This is
built-in function of the phone. To connect the phone to PC in fastboot mode, fastboot and
ADB drivers must be installed. This is a generic term which is used for almost all Android
devices. Same tools are used for all Android devices which use fastboot mode. There are
two guides for installing ADB and Fastboot tools on PC. The first one given below is the
comprehensive one which requires heavy downloads. If you do not want to use this, then
use the second guide to install Minimal ADB and Fastboot tools which is, as the name
states, minimal package of the ADB and Fastboot tools. It is very small in download size as
compared to the full fastboot tools. It can get the job done just like the other tools. In case,
these tools do not work, then you will have to install the full ADB tools.
How to Install ADB and Fastboot tools on Windows PC
How to Install Minimal ADB and Fastboot Tools in Windows PC
Also note that you should use Windows 7 instead of Windows 8 or 8.1 on your PC. The
fastboot tools do not work with Windows 8. You will get connection errors on Windows 8.

Install Xperia L USB Drivers

This is the installer package which makes the installation of USB drivers pretty easy. Install
device specific drivers with fastboot and flashmode drivers.
Sony Xperia USB Drivers Installer

Unlock Bootloader:
Installing this custom ROM will require a custom kernel which requires unlocked bootloader.
Thebootloader of Xperia L can be officially unlocked from the Sonys website. If you have
not unlocked the bootloader yet, then visit the Sony website to unlock it. This ROM cannot
be installed on a phone with locked bootloader.
How to Unlock Bootloader of Xperia L

Backup Files on Internal Storage:

Installing this custom ROM is going to wipe everything stored on the device, because of
clean installation. If theres anything stored on your devices SD Card that you do not want to
lose, then it is the time to make a backup of that data on a PC or some other suitable
device. Once flashed, the data might not be recoverable. Copy all of your media files to a
safe storage before starting to flash this custom ROM.

Backup Contacts and Messages:

If the contacts are stored in the phone memory, then you should make a backup of those
contacts right away. If you do not how to, then follow the below given guide to make a
backup of all the contacts stored on your phone. Using this guide users can also make a

backup of their messages. This guide includes backup of text messages. To make a backup
of Whatsapp messages or any other messaging application, simply copy its files stored on
the internal storage along with the media files(as described in the previous step).
How to Backup and Restore Contacts and Messages on Android

Backup Applications:
If there is a larger number of applications installed on your device and you cannot afford to
lose those (including save files of games) then here is the solution for it. You can make a
backup of all applications installed on your device along with the data of these applications.
It requires that your device should be rooted. If you have not rooted your device yet, then
follow this guide to root it. Once the device has been rooted, follow the guide given below to
make a backup of all the applications along with data.
How to Make Backup of Applications Using Titanium Backup

Make a Nandroid Backup:

This is perhaps the most important step and very useful before installing any custom
ROM or custom mod. A nandroid backup can be renamed as the ultimate backup of an
Android device. Users can make a nandroid backup using a custom recovery. This backup
includes the entire system firmware, system apps(with data) and user installed
applications(with data). Nandroid backup is used if you do not like the newly
installed custom ROM and wish return to the point where you came from. It is like a restore
point. It can be used anytime and it will completely recover the device. If you do not know
how to make a Nandroid backup, then use the following guide.
How to Make Nandroid Backup Using CWM or TWRP

Install Custom Recovery:

To make Nandroid backup in Xperia L, a custom recovery like TWRP or CWM is required. If
you have not installed a custom recovery on your device yet, then you can install one using
the link given below. Use this custom recovery to make Nandroid backup but not for the
installation ofcustom ROM. Once the backup has been made, continue with the ROM
installation procedure.
How to Install CWM Custom Recovery on Xperia L

About ROM!
Before you continue with the installation, you should know few important things about
this custom ROM. This is an early build, which means it is not stable and it is not
recommended to use it as a daily driver. Users should know that there are some bugs in
this custom ROM, which should be fixed as the development in this custom ROM continues.
Following is the list of working and non-working features of this custom ROM which are

directly from the developers forum. These bugs should be fixed as the development on this
ROM continues.
Working:
Display
Touchscreen
Hardware Acceleration
System audio
Hardware Media Decoding/Playback Audio and Video
All sensors Auto brightness, magnetic, accelerometer etc
Headset
Vibrator
Camera Front and Back
GPU Rendering
Internal Storage
External Storage
LEDs
Not working:
Wifi, Bluetooth, RIL and GPS
Here are some screenshots from the custom ROM.

Required Downloads

Xperia L C2104 / C2105 Android 5.0 Custom ROM

Download

How to Install Android 5.0 Lollipop on Xperia L

1. Before continuing make sure that your device is charged to 50% at least. The phone
or PC must not turn off during the flash process
2. Download and placed the ROM zip and extract it anywhere on PC
3. Now turn off your device completely
4. Connect USB Cable with PC only
5. Hold volume up button on Xperia L and connect the USB device
6. The phone should enter fastboot mode
7. If LED changes and phone starts charging, then retry the whole method

8. Once the phone has successfully enter fastboot mode, proceed to next step
9. Copy the extracted files to the fastboot folder(If installed full ADB Tools) or Minimal
ADB installation folder
10. Open the folder
11. Hold shift button on keyboard and right-click on mouse
12. Click on Open Command Prompt Here
13. Type fastboot devices and press enter
14. You should see your device in list
15. There should be only one device
16. Now type fastboot flash boot boot.img and press Enter
17. Type fastboot flash userdata userdata,img and press Enter
18. Type fastboot flash system system.img and press Enter
19. After flashing is complete, type fastboot reboot and press Enter
20. The first reboot will take longer than usual. Be patient.
21. Thats all!