Friends keep asking to update the xperia rom for this GDS model and found this source at xda : PureXperia Z2 by bgos10. Credits goes to them and Purexperia Team, I’m only re-porting this for GDS, so please visit their post to say thanks for their hardwork. And here is my version for axioo PICOpad GDS :

Features :

  • Android 4.2.2 with 3.4.5 kernel
  • Rooted, busybox, fully deodexed, zipaligned
  • rooted boot.img
  • init.d support + busybox run parts
  • gps, bt, hsdpa, performance tweak
  • 3G switching on both sims
  • Superuser by Clockworkmod (thanks to Koush)
  • entropy generator tweak (thanks to lambgx02)
  • Xposed framework (thanks to rovo89 and Tungstwenty)
  • GravityBox customization module (thanks to C3C076)
  • PureXperia rom base (thanks to bgos10)
  • … something i forgot to list

Known issues :

  • on this rom the preferred installed location is point to ext-sdcard by default. if you don’t like this, go to the Settings -> Storage -> Preferred Install Location, and change the default memory to write with whatever you like.
    Also, be careful with auto-mount feature of this rom, on my linux os, this rom will auto-mount the sdcard each time I’m connecting the usb data cable, and this means the android os cannot see the sdcard and all the apps during that time.
  • When you touch Android version on about page, they will open an OS animation of the android version, named os-plat. On this rom, the android version is already modded to show android 4.4.2 kitkat plat eventhough the real android version is still jellybean 4.2.2.

Here we go the custom rom :

Download : picopad_gds_xperiaz2_signed_061214_101014.zip

MD5 : c08b512675327882291ab8cbf1369746

And here is the steps to flash this custom rom :

Requirement and Preparation :

  • Read this thoroughly :
    Your warranty is now void !!!
    I am not responsible if you brick your phone, get stuck in a bootloop, or if your phone grows arms and tries to kill you. Flash at your own risk!
    Please do some research if you have any concerns about risk of flashing a custom rom before continuing! YOU are choosing to make these modifications, and if you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will laugh at you!!
    If you have any other objection, don’t bother to comment, just close this page!
  • This custom rom need a custom recovery to flashed into the device, if you haven’t got it, get it here : cwm and twrp recovery for PICOpad GDS. Both are working good for this device, get it whichever you like.

Flashing Process :

The steps to flash this custom rom is pretty straight forward :

  • Download the custom rom from link above and copy it to the root of your sdcard, you may check it first with your file manager to confirm it was there. There are two sdcard storage on this device, so you must know it’s at the internal sdcard or external sdcard. I prefer you to put this on external sdcard to avoid any difficulties.
  • Boot into recovery mode by turning off your phone, hold down Volume + button then press power button, hold them both until you see axioo logo on screen then release it. Wait a sec or two … then you’ll be in recovery mode.
  • BACKUP your stock rom and data using BACKUP feature, make sure you use external storage as destination because this backup is relatively big.
  • Choose Wipe Data / Factory reset and execute it.
  • Choose Wipe cache partition and execute it
  • Choose Wipe Dalvik Cache and execute it
  • Go back to main menu, and choose Install
  • It will open a list of file on your sdcard, choose the custom rom zip file that you put on step 1 and flash it.
  • After the installation completed, choose Reboot System
  • Done

Here is the result after flash :

Some other notes from me :

How to get 13mpx camera resolution

Using Full View on camera application, you will get only 5mpx image resolution. To get the 13mpx resolution you have to change the setting preview on the camera application from Full View into 4:3 ratio preview.

Turn off xLOUD to avoid sound crackling

Like on every audio loudness system, this xLOUD will boost the sound level of the device speaker. It was intended to enhance the sound performance when you’re listening at very low level volume so it’ll increase the music clarity. So, if you’re increasing the volume to near max with this xLOUD enabled, it will make the speaker crackling and can damage your device speaker. My opinion is, i don’t think this xLOUD feature is needed on this PICOpad GDS because the output speaker level was already high enough, besides this is only a tiny speaker system, what do you expect anyway? Thus, if you want to turn off this xLOUD feature, please go to Walkman application -> Menu -> Settings -> Sound Enchancements -> Settings -> xLOUD and disable them for sure. With this xLOUD disabled, everything will sounds great !

Have fun!