Last Updated on April 10, 2017 by Mathew Diekhake
The Sony Xperia Ion is by no means the flashiest smartphone out there in any range. However, it does have a faithful following, all of whom were tickled pink after learning about the newfangled Android software update. If you want to use the latest software and update your device so it has additional features, smoother and faster UI, security enhancements and more you should want to install the latest OS available. The Ion is receiving a new Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update that carries the build number of 6.2.B.0.211 with it and all of you can install the update on your devices so long as you have the LT28i or the LT28h model numbers. You can check the model numbers by turning the phone on and navigating to the “Settings” followed by the “About Phone” menu.
The Ion starts with Android 2.3 Gingerbread back in 2012 and since then has Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and finally the 4.1.2 Jelly Bean made available. The aforementioned software update marks the last update we will see for this handset until further notice.
Those of you with root access on the previous firmware build want to manually flash the root access away before upgrading over the air or via the update Centre. Updating OTA will soft-brick the device. However, flashing the files manually is how we take away the unlocking of the system internals, therefore it does no harm. You should remember that installing all official stock firmware and software updates does take away all custom ROMs and custom firmware. You must search for additional ROMs that are available on the updated firmware version. Root is available once again in most cases. However, you may want to look up that’s possible before starting the steps just in case.
Backup the OS and settings each time you think about updating. You want to backup the phone contacts, call logs, SMS texts, MMS texts, photos, music files, video files, device settings and everything else you have added to the phone since opening it up out of the box. Use applications such as Helium for Android available from the Google Play store to help with syncing the contacts and backing up the market apps.
Sony smartphones use the “Flash Tool” made available for computers for the flashing of files manually. Therefore, you must have the computer with the tool ready and waiting. We provide the links for everything you need during the steps. Furthermore, you can use a laptop, notebook or desktop computer for the tool.
The Ion comes with USB charging set as a default feature. As a result, we know that as soon as we start plugging the handset into the computer it will start charging the battery of the phone. That means we mustn’t worry much about how much battery charge we have remaining before starting the steps since we are plugged into the machine for the duration of the guide. However, if you know the USB charging feature is not working for you we recommend starting with no less than 50% battery power. You can verify how much power is left by turning the phone on and taking a glance at the battery icon from the stats bar.
You must enable USB Debugging Mode from the Developer Options menu available from the Settings menu. Likewise, you must have the USB drivers for a successful connection to the computer.
Temporarily disable all antivirus programs running on the Android smartphone as well as the computer. Also stop any malware and spyware protection from running since they both can interfere with proceedings. However, remember to turn them all back on again before browsing the web after you finish with the guide to make sure you remain properly protected. We can verify that no files in these steps carry any potential threats or viruses along with them.
How to update the Sony Xperia Ion with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
- Turn the computer on and log into your user account.
- Download the flash tool from here.
- Download the official 6.2.B.0.211 firmware file here.
- Extract the contents to the desktop of the PC.
- Follow the on-screen instructions from properly setting up the flash tool and then finish by opening it up.
- Click the “Thunder’ icon from the flash tool.
- Choose the Flashmode option followed by clicking “OK”.
- Upload the firmware .ftf file from the desktop.
- Fetch the USB cable.
- Make sure the Ion is off.
- Hold the Volume Down button + Power and connect the ion to the computer with the USB cable at the same time.
- Now the phone is in Flashmode.
- The installation starts automatically once in Flashmode.
- Do not touch any buttons until it finishes.
- You will notice the phone reboots itself once it is complete.
- You can verify the success by tapping the “Settings” application followed by “About Phone” and the build number. Check the new build number matches the numbers we are presenting to you here today.