After a short vacation i am back with ICS update for HTC sensation XL, This huge HTC droid eagerly waited a long time for ICS firmware, and now official update is out 
Make a smile on your face and hit big thanks for XDA developers forum member XDA member pvp26 introduced this ICS update and claudenegm developed an app “Android recovery manager” by which you can easily flash any recovery to your phone, we will use this app to install update on our phone.
Lemmings no more , Now i am going to explain step by step and easy tutorial to update your HTC sensation xl with this official android 4.0 ICS firmware. Be patience and firstly take a look on some bright features of this official ICS firmware.
Features
- Android 4.0 ICS based firmware
- ICS based UI
- Improved speed and more fast process
- Enhanced data usage monitoring
- New android market
- Better configuration of apps
- Easy toggles and user interface
- Better camera app
Firmware Info
- Firmware that we flash- Android 4.0 ICS
- Compatible handset- HTC Sensation XL
- Firmware status- Official
- Update provider- XDA developers
- Firmware region- Europe
Disclaimer: We are are not responsible for any kind of error or damage to your device cause of using any kind of info of this tutorial. So do anything only at your own risk.
Now finally come up to the updating procedure.
Tutorial to update HTC Sensation XL to Official Android 4.0 ICS
Step [1]. Download these require files below
- HTC drivers. [Get them here]
- .Net framework package. [Get it from here]
- Android recovery manager.Recovery manager link 1 (Might have some bugs for Windows-XP)
Recovery manager link 2 (contains the fix for Windows-XP) - Android 4.0 ICS package for HTC Sensation XL. [Get it from here]Also do- After downloading the above firmware package named as “OTA_RUNNYMEDE_ICS_35_S_HTC_Europe_
2.31.401.2-1.05.401.4_R2_release_258338d2wzjl71eps0s2e6.zip”, just rename it to “update.zip”
Step [2]. Prepare your phone (Pre- requisites)
(A) Make backup of all your important data such as SD card, SMS, Contacts, Call logs and APN and MMS settings, to avoid the risk of losing data cause of sudden error during the process. Use below recommended links
[How to backup your Android phone before upgrading firmware]
(B) S-OFF is require for this update so also fill this requirement first. Search on XDA Forum or the web about your specific S-OFF guide.
(C) Disable all kind of security suites and firewalls such as antivirus to avoid interruption during the process.
(D) Enable the USB debugging mode by going to Settings>> Applications>> Developments>> USB debugging. And here just ticked the “USB debugging” option.
(E) Charge your HTC sensation xl battery at least 70%.
Step [3]. Follow the below procedure to flash the firmware
1. First copy the downloaded firmware package that we renamed earlier as “update.zip” in root of your phone’s SD card.
2. Install the downloaded HTC drivers and .Net framework package in your computer.
3. Extract the android recovery manager RAR package in any suitable folder of your PC.
4. Connect your HTC sensation xl to your computer using the original USB cable.
5. Now launch the “Recovery manager.exe” executable file from the folder where you extract the recovery manager package earlier and task the below instructions in this recovery manager.
(a) Click on “Start” button.
(b) Click on “Download recovery” tab.
(c) In right side of android recovery manger window, choose your compatible android recovery according to you handset, region and current android base such as “FR 1.23.163.1” for android 1.23.163.1 base. [To check your current firmware base just follow “Settings>> About>> Software information”]
(d) Select “I agree……” option.
(e) Download the recovery by clicking on “Download selected recovery and flash it”.
(f) When the download is finish, click “yes” to flash the recovery.
(g) When the flashing is complete, click “No” to boot the into recovery.
6. Now come to the phone, it will reboot and you will see a warning “!” icon on the screen, at this time enter in recovery mode by- press and hold “power” button + “Volume Up” simultaneously.
7. In recovery mode menu choose the option “Apply Update from SD Card”.
8. Now browse and select the firmware file named “Update.zip” that we copied earlier in SD card.
9. Now the firmware flashing process will begin, so wait for few minutes to install.
10. After the flashing is get finished, phone will automatically reboot.
Note: If your device get stuck to reboot or some start up problems occurs than just reboot the phone after pulling out the phone’s battery and re-insert it again.
That’s all.
Congratulation! you have successfully updated you HTC Sensation XL with Official Android 4.0 ICS.
For more queries just heads over to XDA developer’s Update thread | Android Recovery Manager thread
Thanks to Androidauthority
Enjoy and Have Fun with tasty ICS !!!
About Amit Garg