Here are my Sony Xperia Tipo (ST21i) (EC450) settings including miscellaneous notes. This is the newer Xperia with Android 4. See also: Android App Settings.
Before considering making a factory reset
Before factory reset first try to clear all data for apps (e.g. Facebook, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Play Store, Foursquare) and restart phone.
Before factory reset
Before factory reset make backups of photos and other files.
1) Uninstall these
Music Unlimited.
OfficeSuite.
PlayNow.
2) Disable these apps and things for trouble shooting purposes
Never launch, never update the following (after factory reset):
Exchange Services (Microsoft Exchange).
Facebook.
Facebook CalendarSync.
Facebook Setup.
FBiX Post Viewer.
FBiX Proxy.
Friends' music & videos.
LiveWare Manager.
Music & Videos (see above).
News and Weather (maybe not, because this is a Google's app).
Recommender.
Timescape.
Timescape Feed (can't be disabled).
Timescape Friends (can't be disabled).
Timescape Friends View.
Timescape Share (can't be disabled).
Top Contacts.
Update Center (can't be disabled).
Weather widgets.
3) Disable these extensions for trouble shooting purposes
Facebook extension (v4.0).
Twitter extension (v3.0).
Wikipedia extension (v3.1).
YouTube extension (v3.1).
YouTube karaoke extension (v3.1).
4) Do not install these
Google Keep: seems to cause unstability at least with Nexus 7.
5) Do not start these
Google Talk.
6) Do not update these
Smart Connect.
7) Stop saving words to user dictionary
Settings, Language & input, Xperia keyboard, text input settings, [ ] Learn words.
8) Make sure the phone can connect to the Internet
Instead of immediately connecting to Wi-Fi to speed up installation and updating of apps, make sure the phone can connect to the Internet.
Settings, Xperia, Internet settings, Download settings for Internet and MMS, Kolumbus (after this you may need to check the Access Point Name (APN) settings again) (this hasn't worked since about 2015).
Settings, More, Mobile networks, Service providers.
Settings, More, Mobile networks, Access Point Names, APNs.
9) Location/Foursquare problems
These are not causing problems that prevent Swarm/Foursquare acquiring your location: Data roaming settings, Smart Connect not updated, Xperia Lounge not updated.
What is causing problems that prevent Swarm/Foursquare acquiring your location: Google Maps (see below).
a) Start Google Maps. Update Google Maps. Start Google Maps again and accept Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
b) Google Maps, Google location settings, Install Google Play services.
c) Settings, Location services, [x] Google's location services, [x] GPS satellites, [x] Location & Google searches.
d) Start Google Maps, "Enhance your Google Maps experience". You need to accept this or "Google's location services" will be disabled in the Settings.
e) Restart phone.
f) After phone restart you will be asked: Location consent: Allow Google's location service to collect anonymous locations data, [Disagree].
g) Start Google Maps.
h) Update Street view on Google Maps (from Google Play Store).
i) Go to Settings, Location services, and you might see that "Google's location services" is disabled if you did not accept "Enhance your Google Maps experience" (see above). Enable it.
j) Google Maps might still not find your location.
*) Go outdoors or near a window. Your phone might not get a signal from a GPS satellite inside a building.
*) Turn on Wi-Fi.
What is causing problems that make Swarm showing an empty page for suggested places: cache. Empty the Swarm cache to see suggested places again.
10) Turn on Wi-Fi
Turn on Wi-Fi to speed things up.
11) Installation/update order after the above
Google Maps (used by apps that need your location like Browser, Swarm, Google+, Google Search).
Google Maps: start and accept terms of service or something. Then update.
Google Drive: you might not need this at all, because downloading files is so slow and opening the files from Google Drive slows phone very much. Use Sony Bridge for Mac instead for PDF files (Excel files are too heavy).
Gmail.
Google Play Store (might already be updated when you updated Google Maps).
Google+.
Google Translate.
Google Talkback (updating the accessibility software shouldn't cause problems).
File Manager Pro.
Adobe Reader.
Weather (FMI).
Stopwatch & Timer+.
Ping.
QR Code Reader.
Speed Test.
Foursquare.
Swarm.
Smart Connect: major culprit
Updating to Sony's Smart Connect version 5.7.15.274 crashed Gmail after a few minutes. This same Smart Connect app might cause unstability to some or all apps running on the phone.
SD card
SD card: try not removing any files with a computer by removing the SD card from the phone and connecting the SD card to the computer.
Music: try not adding any music to the SD card, except the one song you use for ringtone.
Factory reset history
Some of the factory resets I have made: 12/2014, 2/2015.
Unresponsiveness
Unresponsiveness/lagginess is not resolved with a restart, because in a day or two, the problem appears again because of low memory. See below about cache and synchronizing.
Clear cache for: *Browser*, E-mail, Gmail storage, Google Plus, Market, Messaging, Speed Test, Video, Wifi Analyzer, YouTube. Usually only clearing cache for Browser works.
If you turn on all Google user account synchronizing even after turning off synchronizing there might be processes that make Android unstable. Restarting phone should fix this issue.
Typing text using the touch screen
Even though your finger is larger than a key on the virtual keyboard, try using the middle area of the finger instead of a corner of the finger. Phone will calculate the center of the pressure point.
After pressing a virtual key concentrate on lifting your finger in perpendicular direction, so you won't accidentally select some other key.
Last key you touch will be selected, not the first key you press.
Card confusion
/mnt/ext_card/ is the external SD card!
/mnt/sdcard/ is the internal card!
Google Play Music stores music to the internal card: /mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.music and that way the internal card got full (over 2 GB of music data).
Add an image folder for Gallery app
Create a folder on a computer, for example "Flowers". Copy/duplicate all the images to that folder.
The image that is last in alphabetical order (for example Zzz.jpg) becomes the album image on Gallery.
On the phone do not rename that folder with Filemanager Pro, because the folder disappears from Gallery.
Start Sony Bridge for Mac. Connect the phone with the computer using a USB cable.
Click "Browse files on your Xperia device" on Sony Bridge for Mac.
Click "MEMORY CARD" for your SD card.
Drag the new folder to DCIM.
Now there should be two folders inside DCIM: 100ANDRO and Flowers.
Use the Eject button on Sony Bridge for Mac and disconnect your phone from your computer.
Start Gallery on your phone to see the new album.
Pictures problems
JPG pictures with 4 megabytes of size are too large: it can take about a minute to see the precise version of an image.
Do not use the SD card location /mnt/ext_card/DCIM/100ANDRO/ for images, because it seems to cause problems. Maybe because the internal image location /mnt/sdcard/dcim/100andro/ is very similar and there is an infinite software loop or something. Use the bluetooth directory or Google Plus images in the Gallery app and make them available offline on the phone.
More storage space
Problem: Tipo may report about insufficient internal storage space (SD card is probably larger depending which SD card you are using).
Solution: Settings: Apps: Internal: select an app and then "Move to internal storage".
Release memory
It might help to remove apps from the cache: Settings, Apps, Running, Show cached processes.
Takes too much storage space on this phone
ZShaolin (about 200 MB).
Image/picture locations on SD card when browsing with a computer
/bluetooth
Comment: if you have folders inside /bluetooth folder, those folders should appear on Gallery app on phone. It can take minutes before you can see the best possible quality of those images.
/DCIM/100ANDRO
SD card and Ext card locations
/mnt/ext_card/ (for example bluetooth downloads directory and music directory here)
/mnt/sdcard/ (for example DCIM directory for photographs taken with phone here)
Browser downloads location on SD card
Download directory (according to computer, but not according to File Manager Pro app)
Browser saves downloads to SD card even if I choose "Internal storage"
Bluetooth downloads location
/mnt/ext_card/bluetooth/
Music location
Comment: music transferred from PC to phone using Sony Bridge for Mac here
/mnt/ext_card/music/
Photographs location (photos taken with this phone)
/mnt/sdcard/dcim/100andro/
Photographs location (photos saved to an SD card using a computer)
/mnt/ext_card/DCIM/100ANDRO/
Using as an alarm device
Use the Clock 2.0.3 widget (came with the phone) instead of the Google Calendar app, because you have recurring events with Google Calendar and the phone would remind you every day from one week to another.
Home and Icon Screens
Home Screen
Clock 2.0.3 widget or Digi Clock 1.0.A.0.13 widget (shown as "Clocks" in the Apps list and Widgets list)
Icon Screens: General Notes (new)
Put as many apps as possible to the first two icon screens for faster access of most used apps.
Icon Screens: General Notes (old)
I'm not using the last horizontal line for icons, because I can use it to transfer icons from one screen to another. So the maximum number of icons per screen is 12 icons.
Theoretical maximum: 16 icons per screen. 4 (horizontal) x 4 (vertical).
Practical maximum: 12 icons per screen. 4 (horizontal) x 3 (vertical).
Icon Screen 1
Camera
Gallery
Contacts
Calendar
Swarm (Foursquare)
Weather (FMI Weather or Sää)
Frequently Used Pages (my bookmark)
Gmail
Browser
Search (Google Search app)
File Manager Pro (Rhythm Software)
Adobe Reader (Adobe Systems)
Google Plus
Ping (ilMobile Apps)
Speed Test (Speedtest.net / Ookla)
Stopwatch & Timer+ (sportstracklive.com)
Google Drive (too slow to use)
Facebook (can cause problems)
Twitter (can cause problems)
Icon Screen 2
Maps
Translate
QR Code Reader (Scan, Inc.)
Calculator
(TrackID) (uses Facebook)
QuickOffice (Google) (no longer available to my phone after a factory reset)
Google Hangouts (can cause problems) (previously Google Talk, which you should leave unupdated)
News & Weather (Google Now needed or something)
YouTube(rarely used)
System bar (bottom bar)
Phone
Google Play Store
Middle button with 4 squares
Settings
Messages
Settings
Wi-Fi
Comment: use "Add Network" instead of just connecting to your WLAN, because I use the "Hide SSID" setting. Otherwise Tipo can't connect automatically to my WLAN.
Add Network
Network SSID: -
Security: -
Password: -
Advanced
[ ] Network notification
Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep
(*) Always
[ ] Auto IP support
MAC address: -
IP address: -
Bluetooth
Visibility timeout: (*) 2 minutes
Data usage
[x] Mobile data (disabling this option disables data access, so don't disable)
[ ] Set mobile data limit
SMS counter
[ ] SMS counter
More...
[ ] Airplane mode
VPN
Tethering & portable hotspot
[ ] USB tethering
[x] Portable Wi-Fi hotspot
Note: turning on/off GPS and/or account syncing (Google+, etc) doesn't seem to be the culprit for easily losing the PWFH connection from computer to Tipo.
Mobile networks
[x] Data enabled
[x] Data roaming
Network mode
WCDMA (preferred)/GSM
Access Point Names
Comment: after phone reset go to "Service providers" (below) first and select Saunalahti 3G and then come back to this "Access Point Names" section (4/2014).
Name: saunalahti internet
APN: internet.saunalahti
Proxy: <Not set>
Port: <Not set>
Username: <Not set>
Password: <Not set>
Server: <Not set>
MMSC: <Not set>
MMS proxy: <Not set>
MMS port: <Not set>
MCC: 244
MNC: 05 (if you change this setting to 12 as with XPERIA X10, this whole APN setting page disappears! 4/2014)
Authentication type: <Not set>
APN type: <Not set>
Service providers
Comment: after phone reset set this "Service providers" section first before making settings on the "Access Point Names" section. Here, select "Saunalahti 3G" - you may need to go to the center of the city before you can see "Saunalahti 3G" on the list (4/2014).
(*) Saunalahti 3G (not Kolumbus or Elisa, 4/2014).
Call settings
Fixed dialing numbers
Reject call with message
Voicemail service
Voicemail settings
Call forwarding
Call blocking
Additional settings
Caller ID: Number displayed in outgoing calls
[ ] Call waiting
Accounts
Use Internet calling: Only for Internet calls
Sound
[x] xLOUD
Volumes
Music, video, games, & other media: 2/7 (I can hear Gmail and Calendar alerts when the phone is not in mute mode)
Ringtone & notifications: 7/7
Alarms: 7/7
Silent mode: Vibrate
Phone ringtone (use "Sound picker" to select the music file, go to the end of the music list, select "Music library")
Bully Theme (Running Theme) (by Shawn Lee)
Default notification (from "Volumes" – see above – turn on "Music, video, games, & other media")
Aldebaran (pdx): no, small bird like
Allegro (Xperia): no
Altair (pdx): short and pretty quiet, ****
Antares: bird-like
Antimony: clear, classic
Arcturus (pdx): hard to hear
Argon: 80s computer game like
Ascensions (Xperia): easy to hear, *****
Beat Box Android: robot-like
Beryllium: phone ring like
Betelgeuse: bad
Biosphere: no
Caffeinated Rattlesnake (Dr. MAD): no
Canopus: short
Capella (pdx): short
Captain's Log: no
Castor (pdx): short
Ceti Alpha: interesting
Chimes (Xperia): xylophone-like
Climb (Xperia): not too bad
Cobalt: quiet
Colour (Xperia): reminds me of a rainbow
Concerto (Xperia): no
Cricket (Dave Sparks): short, no
Darbuka (Xperia): timpani drum like
Dear Deer (Dr. MAD): no
Deneb (pdx): no
Dimension (Xperia): news program intro like
Doink (Dave Spark): no
Don't Panic (Dr. MAD): no
Drip (Dave Sparks): no
Electra (pdx): no
Facebook Pop: very quiet, can be used in some situations like in library, ***
Fluorine: reminds me of dentist office
Fomalhault (pdx): terrible
Gallium: very short, low tone
Goldie (Xperia): no
Happy (Xperia): guitar-like
Heaven: no
Helium: very short, irritating
Highwire (Dr. MAD): no
Iridium: no
Krypton: sounds like an error message in Microsoft Windows
Kzurb Sonar (Dr. MAD): no
Look At Me: no, hard to hear
Mafive (Xperia): Skype call sound like
Merope: no
Message alert (Xperia): no
Missed It: no
Moonbeam: no
Next (Xperia): long, repeats five times, for important meetings and events, *****
Notification (Xperia): no
On The Hunt (Dr. MAD): no
Orbit (Xperia): no, space-like
Orient (Xperia): China-like
Palladium: no
Ping pong (Xperia): longish
Pixie Dust: short
Pizzicato: no
Plastic Pipe: no
Polaris (pdx): no
Pollux (pdx): no
Procyon (pdx): maybe, ***
Radon: no, hard to hear
Ray (Xperia): maybe, ***
Reed (Xperia): jazz/oboe like
Regulus (pdx): maybe, longish, ***
Reminder (Xperia): no
Reveille (Xperia): tuba-like
Roboto (Xperia): maybe, a bit annoying, ***
Rubidium: no
Selenium: no, almost silent
Signature (Xperia): Skype-like
Sinus (Xperia): I guess I can hear this, ****
Sirius (pdx): no
Sirrah: no
Soft bell (Xperia): short, easy to hear, I think, *****
Sonata (Xperia): Windows error sound like
Space Seed (Dave Sparks): robot-like
Strontium: no
Stutter (Xperia): crazy
Ta Da: no
Tablas (Xperia): djembes drum like
Thallium: no
Tinkerbell: no
Tinkle (Xperia): reminds me of winter
Tweeters: reminds me of Twitter
Vega (pdx): scary movie like
Voila (Dr. MAD): violin-like
Wahwah (Xperia): no
Waterfall (Xperia): not too bad, ***
Whisper (Xperia): no
Xenon: no
Zirconium: no, short
eXcitement (Xperia): no
eXemplify (Xperia): no, short
luXury (Xperia): no
Join Hangout: no
[x] Vibrate on ring
[ ] Dial pad touch tones
[ ] Touch sounds
[ ] Screen lock sound
[ ] Vibrate on touch
Display
Brightness: about 10/10
Wallpaper: Black (my own image)
[ ] Auto-rotate screen
Sleep: After 10 minutes of inactivity
Font size: Normal
Theme: Silk (white on black)
Storage
Unmount SD card
Erase SD card
Battery
Screen 34%
Android OS 22%
Google Play services 22%
Cell standby 12%
Phone idle 4%
Android System 4%
File Manager 2%
Apps
Comment: apps in alphabetical order per section.
Running
Google Play Services
19 MB
Google Play services
15 MB
LiveWare manager (disabled since 2/2015)
3.7 MB
Media
16 MB
Power Saver
0 B
SecureClockService
2.6 MB
Settings
16 MB
Smart Keyboard Pro
12 MB
RAM
206MB used / 199MB free
Running - Cached
Android Core Apps
6.8 MB
Contacts
7.7 MB
Foursquare
15 MB
Gmail
11 MB
Google Account Manager
4.1 MB
Lock screen notifications
2.8 MB
Messaging
4.6 MB
Swarm
13 MB
Top contacts (disabled since 2/2015)
3 MB
Update Center (do not update Smart Connect)
3 MB
Zeam Launcher (when used instead of Xperia's launcher)
16 MB
Xperia
Connectivity
Facebook inside Xperia
[ ] Facebook integration
Internet settings
Accounts & Sync
[ ] Top Contacts
[x] Google
Location services
[x] Google's location service
[ ] GPS satellites
[ ] Location & Google Search
Security
Screen lock
(*) Pattern
[x] Make pattern visible
Automatically lock
[x] Power button instantly locks screen
[ ] Vibrate on touch
Owner info: tomi.hasa@gmail.com
Set up SIM card lock
[x] Make passwords visible
Device administrators
[ ] Unknown sources
Trusted credentials
Install from internal storage
Clear credentials
Language & input
Language: English (United States)
[ ] Spelling Correction
Keyboard & input methods
Default: Smart Keyboard Pro (easier to use with a slow phone with a small screen)
[x] Smart Keyboard Pro
Settings info: Android App Settings
[x] Xperia Chinese keyboard
[x] Xperia keyboard
Writing languages
[x] Finnish
Keyboard layout
(*) Full keyboard
Text input settings
[ ] Learn words
[ ] Quick fixes
[ ] Word suggestions
[ ] Gesture input
[ ] Space between gestures
[ ] Correct spelling
[x] Reopen word suggest
[ ] Voice input fr. keyboard
[ ] Vibration on keypress (haptic feedback)
Speech
Voice Search
Text-to-speech output
Mouse/trackpad
Pointer speed
Backup & reset
[ ] Back up my data
Backup account
[x] Automatic restore
Factory data reset
Settings reset
Date & time
[x] Automatic date & time
[x] Automatic time zone
Set date
Set time
[x] Use 24-hour format
Accessibility
TalkBack: Off
[ ] Large text
[ ] Power button ends call
[ ] Auto-rotate screen
[ ] Speak passwords
Touch & hold delay: Short
Install web scripts: Not allowed
Developer options
[ ] USB debugging
Development device ID: -
[ ] Stay awake
[ ] Allow mock locations
Desktop backup password
[ ] Strict mode enabled
[ ] Pointer location
[ ] Show touches
[ ] Show screen updates
[ ] Show CPU usage
[ ] Force GPU rendering: Use 2D hadrware acceleration in applications
Window animation scale: Off
Transition animation scale: Off
[ ] Don't keep activities
Background process limit: Standard limit
[ ] Show all ANRs
About phone
Software update
Status
Legal information
Model number: ST21i
Android version: 4.0.4 (2013)
Baseband version: 7x25A_M:2045.40.00.77.001.003_A: 2045.40.00.77.002.027 (2013)
Kernel version: 3.0.8-perf user@PC2-desktop #1
Build number: 11.0.A.4.22
Last modified: February 17th, 2015
Author: Tomi Häsä (tomi.hasa@gmail.com)
URL: http://sites.google.com/site/tomihasa/xperia-tipo-settings