How to install CyanogenMod 7 on Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray handset was released on the market last year, on Auguts 1st (in UK), being a relatively good smartphone. Its specs are not high end ones, but it should please an entry level, or average user. Now, if you own this device, you should know that its performances can be upgraded. How? Well, the easiest way is by installing the CyanogenMod 7 ROM on it. Therefore, during this guide I will teach you how to flash CM7 on your Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, by following a few steps. Further info can be found below.

Now, the first reason for getting the CyanogenMod ROM for your Xperia Ray is related to the features that will be added. As I have already mentioned, the phone’s performances will be improved and its operating system will be optimized for providing more speed and an upgraded battery life. Then, its internal system will be unchained from all those factory restrictions, meaning that you gain more access over your gadget. There are also some negative aspects but we will discuss about them a little bit later.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray handset

In order to make a proper idea about the concept, here is what you need to know. CyanogenMod 7, or if you prefer CM7, it is a firmware that offers features not found in the official Android platform and it doesn’t come like default software in your Xperia Ray system. It is a free aftermarket distribution of Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system and can be installed without having any particular Google apps, being based on the Android Open Source Project.

In the end, you will be able to enjoy a whole new Android 2.3.4 experience. Furthermore, you won’t have to wait for Gingerbread or, for any OS updates from now on. The CM developers will take care of that, by updating the CyanogenMod version. As a final note, CyanogenMod will work only for Android based handsets, or tablets, no other platforms being supported.

Regarding to the features added, here are some of them: as mentioned, your Xperia Ray will gain more speed you will be able to change and customize the phone’s settings and its operating system by your own taste, get apps from outside the Android Market as long as it is ending with the .apk extension and save power for more battery life. Its users will be able to change the appearances, customize the menu, status bar, buttons, icons, shortcuts and the theme manager will be perfect for personalizing the looks, or impressing the audience.

What can scare you is the fact that installing the CyanogenMod 7 ROM, will make you void the Sony Ericsson warranty, so if you’re not sure about this, maybe you should stop here. If somehow, something is going wrong, you are on your own. Furthermore, it’s necesarly to backup the Xperia Ray data, contacts, messages, apps and everything else because the process will wipe the data out from it and from its SD card too. Finally, the phone must have an unlocked bootloader; if not check our previous guides and learn how to do that too.

In order to make through the procedure, make sure you have a Windows / Linux / Mac computer and the smartphone’s USB cord. Also, on the PC fastboot must be installed. You can find how to do this from here:

• install Adb on Linux / Mac.
• install the Android SDK on Windows.

That being told we can start the proper step by step guide. Pay attention and make sure you read all my explanations.

How to install CyanogenMod 7 on Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray

1. Download from here, the latest CyanogenMod version.
2. Extract the boot.img from the file you just downloaded and place it to the same folder as fastboot (take a look above and see how to get fastboot).
3. Place the CyanogenMod update.zip file on the root of the SD card.
4. Disconnect the phone from the computer and then turn it off.
5. Turn it back on and while connecting it again with the computer, make sure you press and hold the Volume Up button.
6. On your computer open terminal (Start -> Run -> cmd) andt then enter the following commands:
   

   type in cmd:

7. While the device is rebooting press the “Volume Rockers” a few times to boot into the ClockworkMod Recovery.
8. Now select “Wipe Data / Factory Reset” and then “Wipe partition cache” option (this is why you need to backup your data from the Xperia Ray).
9. Select “Install from zip card” and then go to “Choose zip from sdcard”. Navigate to the update.zip file and select it.
10. Select +++++Go Back+++++ to get back to the main menu and then hit “Reboot system now”.
11. Done, CyanogenMod 7 was installed on your Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray.