The K550i is a mid-range Cybershot branded phone manufactured by Sony Ericsson.

The phone is greatly improved when the firmware is changed to its almost identical brother, the W610i. When you change it over, you will end up with the brilliant Walkman 2.0 software (with megabass etc) and fancy features such as flash menus. Basically, you turn it into a W610i with a superior camera. Below I will be explaining how you go around doing this (I am not responsible for any damage caused to your phone, use at your own risk, also, this may invalidate your warranty. The firmware images available on this site, are not the latest versions. I will do my best to post newer versions when I find them. Another thing - If you have a K550 that was bought before July 2007, you will need to upgrade your phone to CID52 by using the Sony Ericsson Update Service. This is apparently because XS++ only supports flashing of CID52. UPDATE: DO NOT USE SONY ERICSSON UPDATE SERVICE TO UPDATE, AS IT WILL NOW UPDATE YOUR PHONE TO THE NEWLY RELEASED CID53, SETOOL/XS++ ETC DO NOT SUPPORT IT, AND THERE ARE NOT A LOT OF FIRMWARES AVALIABLE FOR CID53 YET.

Requirements

PLEASE NOTE: The downloads have not been checked for corruption, I will do my best to resolve corrupted downloads, but I cannot be held responsible for them. If in doubt, download the files from a different website.

• Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista (x86 NOT AMD64 OR ITANIUM64!!!)
• SEMC Flash Driver installed (just install the Sony Ericsson update service to get this)
• XS++ (Can be downloaded here: Click Here)
• W610i FS Image (EUROPE 2 R1KG001 version can be downloaded here: Click Here)
• W610i MAIN Image (EUROPE 2 R1KG001 version can be downloaded here: Click Here)
• FastPort USB Cable (the one you get with the phone)

NEW: Much newer firmware versions available on this site, use these instead:
W610_R8BA024_MAIN_GENERIC_NA_RED52.mbn
W610_R8BA024_FS_EUROPE_2_RED52.fbn

Method

First of all, you must back up all your contacts and files, and remove your micro m2 card if applicable.



Turn off your phone, and remove and re-insert the battery. When done, keep holding down the C button



Start XS++, you should get this screen



Click Connect



Keep holding down the C button, and insert the USB cable



If your phone was found, you should see a load of information appear



Now, put a tick in the box next to "Flash Main Firmware" and click the "..." button. Navigate and select the file you downloaded named "W610_R1KG001_MAIN_GENERIC_NA_RED52.MBN"



Now, put a tick in the box next to "Flash File System" and click the "...". Navigate and select the file you downloaded named "W610_R1KG001_FS_EUROPE_2_RED52.FBN"



Next, put a tick in the box named "Customize File System"



Select the phone model "K800", and no this is not a typo.



Select the CDA/Region named "EUROPE_2 (CDA102568/11)"



Now, you can click "Flash". Make sure the process is not interrupted, you do not have to intervene at any stage. Here in the screenshot, the Main firmware is being flashed. After this has been finished, XS++ will then begin flashing the Filesystem, see below.



In this screenshot, the Filesystem is being flashed. This will happen straight after the Main firmware has been flashed.



When XS++, says "Disconnected...Unplug the phone", you may unplug your phone and close XS++. DO NOT DO THIS BEFORE IT SAYS THIS, EVEN IF FLASHING APPEARS TO HAVE FINISHED.



Remove and Re-insert your phone battery, then turn it on. You will be able to select Normal and Flight-Mode and then you will see a screen saying "Please Wait", with a progress bar. This stage takes about 2 minutes, after that, it's done!



You now have a K550 running as a W610. Now you can re-insert your micro m2 card, and restore your contacts etc.

Restoration

For your convenience, I have uploaded the K550 MAIN and FS Firmware images for download incase you want to revert the phone back to the k550 firmware. They are not the latest versions, but once they have been flashed, you can use the Sony Ericsson update service to upgrade it to the latest version.

To flash these firmware files, simply follow the same steps above, but instead of selecting "W610_R1KG001_MAIN_GENERIC_NA_RED52.MBN" as the MAIN firmware, select the "K550_R8BA024_MAIN_GENERIC_LI_RED52.MBN" (downloadable below) as the file to use. The same goes for the File System firmware image, instead of selecting "W610_R1KG001_FS_EUROPE_2_RED52.FBN", select "K550_R6BC002_FS_S_E_EUROPE_RED52.FBN" (downloadable below) as the file to use instead.

MAIN - K550_R8BA024_MAIN_GENERIC_LI_RED52.mbn
FS - K550_R6BC002_FS_S_E_EUROPE_RED52.fbn

Links

Akshayy - If you want a more in-depth guide, including backing up the GDFS