TOKYO: Popular mobile software developer team, CyanogenMod has released the latest CM12 series update to Sony’s 2013 mid-range smartphone Xperia M.
Last year, Sony officially ended the software support for the Xperia M with the final release of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Sony Xperia M owners never got to taste the chocolate-wafer flavoured KitKat update nor got to experience the sweet candy Lollipop firmware.
Well, the things are about to change big-time for Xperia M owners thanks to hard-working Cyanogen team. For the first time they have released the CM12 custom ROM which comes incorporated with all the goodies of Android Lollipop, more custom features, performance tweaks and a lot improvements to enhance user experience.
The new CM12 series custom ROM is based on the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) 5.0.2 Lollipop OS. However, this CyanogenMod custom ROM is a nightly version. It is unstable and has some un-tested bugs in it.
So, we advise our readers go through the whole tutorial article first before going ahead with the custom ROM installation.
[Note: Cyanogen has confirmed that they are on final stages of the development (85% complete) of the stable firmware and would release it soon. Until then users can upgrade their device with the nightly update.]
Prerequisites (Things to remember before installing the CyanogenMod CM12 Nightly):
Users are advised to update their third party add-ons to ensure compatibility
The CM backupscript.sh in recovery will ignore and remove incompatible applications from your system partition (these are usually non-CM apps that users have opted to install). You must install a compatible app (or app pack) to regain that functionality
You can flash CM12 nightlies directly from CM11 M12 or CM 11 nightlies (no need to wipe), provided you read and followed the above 1 and 2 steps
Once on CM12 nightlies, you cannot downgrade back to CM11 without wiping – if you are thinking of just exploring the release, then take a backup of your existing installation if you want to go back to it.
Users must install Lollipop OS compatible recovery before installing the new CM12 custom ROM.
Make sure the device is rooted before going forward for custom ROM installation
This new CyanogenMod CM12 Android 5.0.2 Lollipop firmware has to be installed only on the single-SIM Sony Xperia M (aka nicki) models – “C1904 & C1905”; if tried on other devices, it might get bricked [To check your device model: Go to Settings >> About phone >> model number]
Installation of custom ROM requires clearing of memory in the smartphone, so make sure to back all the data by installing Clockwork Mod (CWM) Recovery/ TWRP in the smartphone.
Users make sure you have installed USB drivers on the PC, or else your smartphone (Sony Xperia M) will not be recognised by the computer.
Make sure your device has more than 80% battery, or else there is a chance of smartphone getting temporarily bricked if the installation process is interrupted mid-way.
