How To Use CM 13 Custom ROM

The legacy devices Xperia Arc and Xperia Arc S are not likely to get an official update to Android Marshmallow from Sony.  But owners of these devices can still experience Marshmallow unofficially by flashing a custom ROM.

In this post, we are going to show you how you can flash CyanogenMod 13 (CM 13) on a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc or Xperia Arc S.  This ROM is based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

This ROM is in the development stages so there are a few features that are not working such as the HDMI support, FM radio and 720p video recording.  If these features are important to you, you might want to wait for a later build, but if they are no big deal for you, go ahead and get Marshmallow on your Xperia Arc or Xperia Arc S with CM 13 ROM.

Prepare your phone

1. This guide will only work with a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc or Xperia Arc S. Using this guide with other devices could brick the device.
2. Your phone must already by running the latest available Android firmware for it. In the case of the Xperia Arc/Arc S, this is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
3. Charge battery to at least over 50 percent to prevent you from running out of power before process is finished.
4. Have an original data cable on hand. You will need it to establish a connection between your phone and a PC.
5. Unlock your device’s boot loader.
6. Install USB drivers for the Xperia Arc/Arc S. Do so by using drivers installer in the Flashtool installation folder.
7. Have ADB and Fastboot Drivers installed.
8. Back up important contacts, SMS messages and call logs. Back up important media files by copying to a PC or Laptop.
9. Have a custom recovery installed on your device. Make a Nandroid Backup.

Note: The methods needed to flash custom recoveries, roms and to root your phone can result in bricking your device.  Rooting your device will also void the warranty and it will no longer be eligible for free device services from manufacturers or warranty providers.  Be responsible and keep these in mind before you decide to proceed on your own responsibility.  In case a mishap occurs, we or the device manufacturers should never be held responsible

Download:

• cm-13.0-xxxxxx-UNOFFICIAL-LegacyXperia-anzu.zip
• HDPI_miniGAPPS-6.0-20160226-tb-signed.zip

Install:

1. Format phone’s SD card to ext4 or F2FS format
   1. Download MiniTool Partition and install this on your PC.
   2. Using a card reader, connect your phone’s SD card to your PC, or, if you are using internal storage, connect phone to the PC and then mount phone as mass storage (USB).
   3. Go to and open MiniTool Partition Wizard.
   4. Select SD card or connected device. Click delete.
   5. Click create then configure as follows:
      • Create: Primary
      • File System: Unformatted.
   6. Leave other options as is. Click ok.
   7. A popup will appear. Click on apply.
   8. A popup will appear. Click on apply.
2. Extract downloaded ROM zip file . Copy boot.img and put it on your desktop.
3. Rename ROM zip file to “update.zip”.
4. Rename Gapps file to “gapps.zip”
5. Copy downloaded files to internal memory of your phone.
6. Turn phone off and wait 5 seconds.
7. Keeping volume up button pressed, connect phone to PC.
8. After connecting the phone, check the LED is blue. This means phone is in fastboot mode.
9. Copy boot.img file to Fastboot (platforms-tools) folder or to Minimal ADB and Fastboot installation folder.
10. Open folder and open a command window.
    1. Hold shift button and right-click on empty space.
    2. Click option: Open command window here.
11. In command window, type: Fastboot devices. Press enter. You should see the devices connected in fastboot.  You should see only one, your phone.  If you see more than one, disconnect all other devices or close Android Emulator if you have one.
12. If you have PC companion installed, disable it first.
13. In command window: fastboot flash boot boot.img. Press enter.
14. In command window: fastboot reboot. Press enter.
15. Disconnect phone from the PC.
16. As phone boots up, press volume down repeatedly to enter recovery mode.
17. In recovery, go to format options in Advanced/Advance Wipe. Choose to format system/format data and then format cache.
18. Return to custom recovery and select Apply Update> Apply from ADB.
19. Connect phone to the PC again.
20. Go to the Command Window, type this command: adb sideload update.zip. Press enter.
21. In command window, type: adb sideload gapps.zip. Press enter.
22. You have installed the ROM and Gapps.
23. Go back to recovery and choose to wipe cache and dalvik cache.
24. Reboot the phone. The first reboot could take up to 10-15 minutes, just wait.

Have you installed this ROM on your device?

Share your experience in the comments box below.

JR