Japanese Keyboard not available

[justinw]

Hi,

I just purchased a Sony Xperia S as a Christmas present for my Japanese girlfriend (we reside in Australia). When setting up the phone the Japanese keyboard was available. We updated to the latest OS after being prompted by the phone that an update was available (we are now on Android 4.0.4). The Japanese keyboard has disappeared and we now only have the three options of Google voice typing , Xperia Chinese keyboard and Xperia keyboard.

I have tried resetting the phone via the settings menu and even used the PC Companion to repair it. The phone is rebuilt to Android 4.0.4 but still doesnt have the Japanese keyboard. Is there a way to get it back? (Do we have to downgrade)

Specs: Xperia S

OS: 4.0.4

Build #: 6.1.A.2.45

Kernel Version: 3.0.8+1.0.21100-30145-01956-g43358ca

Thanks in advance for any help,

Justin

[justinw]

Cheers for all the info. In my ignorance (first time using Android) I think I managed to mess things up. On my first attempt at getting POBox installed it didnt work and I managed to install a JapaneseIME designed for a similar Xperia phone (doesnt work in the Xperia S, link here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=15034320#post15045232). Anyway the POBox5 wont install now since the phone says there is a signature clash. I am planning to refresh/repair the phone tomorrow with PC Companion again (where the internet connection is faster). Just to confirm though, after enabling "Non-Market Apps" you just load the apk file through a third part file viewer in the phone? (such as Astro or OI File manager).

Thanks once again, I've learnt a lot by googling and reading over the past day.

[justinw]

Got it to work. For those that want to know I recommend following the instructions Trubo left. For completeness

Installation instructions:

Method 1:

i) Mount on contents of POBox5.1 on SDCard and allow non-market apps to be installed.

ii) Use a file explorer to install on phone.

(For me this didnt work, received a failed installation message, if it worked for you, great, you can stop reading, otherwise read on).

Workaround steps: I rooted the phone, deleted all traces of POBox, removed the shared key values from packagex.xml (seems to be the cause of the installation error for me) and then installed from the file explorer again.

i) Root the phone (see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1886460)

ii) Follow the instructions here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1219029

iii) Delete traces of any possible failed POBox installation (I attempted to use the install.bat after file explorer failed). I used Root Explorer to get rid of the following:

/system/app/POBoxSknPink.apk

/system/app/POBoxSknWood.apk

/system/app/POBoxSknMono.apk

/system/app/POBoxSknSelector.ap

/data/app/com.sonyericsson.android.pobox.skin.MatteBlack-1.apk

reboot the phone

iv) Install the POBox5.1.apk using a file explorer. (optional: Install any the other skins)

This may not be the most efficient way to do it but it worked for me. Thanks everyone for the help.