Hi all,
I'm quite new to the sony and android scene. My iphone 3GS broke down a while ago (actually I dropped it ) and I had it replaced by a Mini Pro.
I'm on the stock 2.3.4 rom and would like to test the miui version on this forum.
So, my question is simple: I need to unlock the bootloader to install a custom rom.
Can I revert to a stock rom (or upgrade to the new upcoming ics stock version) without loosing DRM etc?
And what's the procedure to do so?
you will have to follow this guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1285285 that is the only way to unlock it without losing drm and the ability to officially update.
Looks quite scary stuff to me. Coming from a jailbroken iphone, it looks like this is a bit trickier. Thank you for the reply though
Another small question then: can I still upgrade to a stock rom version if I have unlocked the bootloader? (via an unofficial way that is)
yes you can, but if you unlock your bootloader the official way you are not going to be able to update using sony software.
and yeah it looks scary but it is easier than it looks.
Great, thanks for the info. I'll search around the forum for the unofficial unlock mechanisms and will have a try with them!
jvdv360 said:
Great, thanks for the info. I'll search around the forum for the unofficial unlock mechanisms and will have a try with them!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well the only unofficial way is by test point (the link i posted before) but it's good to hear you want to search anything else let me know!
Hi everybody! I've tried clicking the search button but it's not working for me
How do I root my 0.62 firmware Mini Pro, and will I still be able to get the official ICS release from Sony?
You need to downgrade to .58 firmware, root and then update via OTA so that way youll get a .62 rooted fw, and yes, you'll be able to get ICS update as long as you dont have unlocked bootloader
you are probably new here or havent noticed that, there are now way of rooting .62 yet. the solution is go back to previous or older firmware such as .42, .58 then root will work.
if your phone is rooted, yes you can still update it to ics without unrooting it but the root will probably gone after you update to ics. but no worry about that there already a thread somewhere of how to root ics xperia
Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it. I think I'll wait for ICS and then root it. No point going through all that hassle only to have it un-root.
Also, I'm very security conscious and Flashtool seems to contain a virus. I know everybody says it's a false-positive and that the exploit is just needed to get root control over the phone. I can understand that. But what's to stop the developer introducing malicious code for bragging rights or whatever?
I'm not saying they did, I'm just saying that I wouldn't know if they did...
Hello,
I have a Sony Xperia S model running currently on Gingerbread version and the ICS update is now available in my country (India) too. After reading all the pros and cons with it Ive decided to go ahead with upgrading.
But,i also came across a suggestion which asked me to 'wipe' the phone completely and 'flash' it before updating.These terms are new for me and i would very much appreciate it if someone could tell me what exactly does this mean and how do i go about doing it.Thanks in advance.
P.S - I do NOT want to root my phone or do anything that devoids the default warranty period however.Just saying.
Edit : Ok,iam seriously confused now.Just read somewhere a 'full wipe' means erasing everything from your phone,except for the Clockwork mod and download mod.Does this mean i wont be able to upgrate to ICS after the full wipe ?! :S Help needed and ASAP please.
you can upgrade it officially thru Sony pc companion, Sony website, or over the air that's provided by your carrier. the terms flashing or clockwork are options for users who have rooted their phone as they cannot update officially anymore without going back to a locked bootloader. so since the update is available in your country, you can do it officially thru the methods mentioned above. you don't have to root.
Hello!
Im stuck! have been using this phone for a while, when , official ICS update showed up. Ofcourse i instaled it, and few more official updates.
But phone feels kinda lagy, so i wanted downgrade back to GB, but i cant install eny rom, have tried difrent official Gb roms, ICS roms, but nothing!
And since my FW version is B928 i cant root it, via changing the recovery img...
Any suggestions? realy wana go back to GB
Thanks!
Sorry for bad english!
I cannot downgrade to GB either. It sais update unsuccesful.. However you could probably do it though, by first bricking your phone and then installing GB doing a force update (actually downgrade ). That's what once worked for me. found it out randomly.. But it's tricky: To do this, you must try to update your phone to another firmware; let's say another version of ICS, found on the Huawei site. And at the end of the update you're phone will try to reboot. While this is happening, the screen of ur phone will show the huawei logo as well as the android logo, one by one. When you see this, quickly take out the battery of your huawei. And then, when you put it back in, you'll see that ur huawei is bricked. Now, perform your force update with GB, found on the huawei site. This time it shouldn't fail!
Sent from my U8860
streamX said:
Hello!
Im stuck! have been using this phone for a while, when , official ICS update showed up. Ofcourse i instaled it, and few more official updates.
But phone feels kinda lagy, so i wanted downgrade back to GB, but i cant install eny rom, have tried difrent official Gb roms, ICS roms, but nothing!
And since my FW version is B928 i cant root it, via changing the recovery img...
Any suggestions? realy wana go back to GB
Thanks!
Sorry for bad english!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For lag issue.. i suggest u shud try out newer JB roms .. they working fine..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=45164331&postcount=3056
streamX said:
Hello!
Im stuck! have been using this phone for a while, when , official ICS update showed up. Ofcourse i instaled it, and few more official updates.
But phone feels kinda lagy, so i wanted downgrade back to GB, but i cant install eny rom, have tried difrent official Gb roms, ICS roms, but nothing!
And since my FW version is B928 i cant root it, via changing the recovery img...
Any suggestions? realy wana go back to GB
Thanks!
Sorry for bad english!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root your u8860 and edit the recovery.img. Your device will not be able to boot up. Put the gingerbread rom into your sdcard and then flash it with the three button trick
It is very risky and i dont recommend you to try it
Although i did it accidentally for my device
Hey guys,
Thanks in advance for any help you can give on the subject.
I just bought a Sony Xperia Z Ultra from eBay, arrived a couple of days ago, in great working condition. The firmware installed is 4.2.2, and I can't upgrade past there.
I contacted Sony and they told me it's because the IMEI number puts it's origin in Hong Kong which is why I can't update it. The only thing I can do is contact Sony Hong Kong, and I'm having a difficult time doing so.
Does anyone have a fix or workaround for this situation?
I was thinking I could root it and put an upgraded version of android on there, but as I'm not sure how rooting works, I thought I'd ask if there were any alternative options.
At this point, I'm thinking I'm just going to have to send it back, reason being when I chose this phone, one of the main points was because of the soon to be released 5.0 update.
Thanks,
Proxish said:
Hey guys,
Thanks in advance for any help you can give on the subject.
I just bought a Sony Xperia Z Ultra from eBay, arrived a couple of days ago, in great working condition. The firmware installed is 4.2.2, and I can't upgrade past there.
I contacted Sony and they told me it's because the IMEI number puts it's origin in Hong Kong which is why I can't update it. The only thing I can do is contact Sony Hong Kong, and I'm having a difficult time doing so.
Does anyone have a fix or workaround for this situation?
I was thinking I could root it and put an upgraded version of android on there, but as I'm not sure how rooting works, I thought I'd ask if there were any alternative options.
At this point, I'm thinking I'm just going to have to send it back, reason being when I chose this phone, one of the main points was because of the soon to be released 5.0 update.
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know you should be able to use flashtool and flash a stock ftf for your region, or wait for 5.0 to be released and then flash it.
adfurgerson said:
As far as I know you should be able to use flashtool and flash a stock ftf for your region, or wait for 5.0 to be released and then flash it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for getting back to me.
I may wait for 5.0. I'll need to learn how to use a flashtool with android first.
Quick couple of questions. Would using a flashtool to flash a stock ftf require the phone to be rooted?
Also, do you know if there is anyway I could use the Google Play firmware on my non-Google play edition?
Proxish said:
Thank you for getting back to me.
I may wait for 5.0. I'll need to learn how to use a flashtool with android first.
Quick couple of questions. Would using a flashtool to flash a stock ftf require the phone to be rooted?
Also, do you know if there is anyway I could use the Google Play firmware on my non-Google play edition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashtool does not require root. The GPe firmware has to be "ported" to run on Sony Z Ultra due to different partition sizes. For 4.4 there is the option to use it with locked or unlocked bootloader. For 5.0 it is only for unlocked bootloader.
adfurgerson said:
Flashtool does not require root. The GPe firmware has to be "ported" to run on Sony Z Ultra due to different partition sizes. For 4.4 there is the option to use it with locked or unlocked bootloader. For 5.0 it is only for unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you again for getting back to me.
Do you know if there is a tutorial for both porting the GPe firmware and for installing 4.4 using a bootloader? As I'm not even sure where to start with this, I'm not even sure what the difference between a locked and unlocked bootloader is. But I don't want to use up all your time, so if you can point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks again,
Proxish said:
Thank you again for getting back to me.
Do you know if there is a tutorial for both porting the GPe firmware and for installing 4.4 using a bootloader? As I'm not even sure where to start with this, I'm not even sure what the difference between a locked and unlocked bootloader is. But I don't want to use up all your time, so if you can point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks again,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has already been ported here in this thread linked below, UB and LB are short for unlocked bootloader and locked bootloader. The second post has instructions for locked install, and a simple explanation of bootloader is a set of instructions for loading the kernel so locked will only load stock. The kernel is the interface between software and hardware as I understand it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2800414
This thread is up to date if you wish to read up on rooting and unlocking methods. Please don't hesitate to ask questions as it would be better than stumbling into a mess that could be avoided.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z-ultra/general/guide-everything-root-4-4-4-t2938098
adfurgerson said:
It has already been ported here in this thread linked below, UB and LB are short for unlocked bootloader and locked bootloader. The second post has instructions for locked install, and a simple explanation of bootloader is a set of instructions for loading the kernel so locked will only load stock. The kernel is the interface between software and hardware as I understand it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2800414
This thread is up to date if you wish to read up on rooting and unlocking methods. Please don't hesitate to ask questions as it would be better than stumbling into a mess that could be avoided.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z-ultra/general/guide-everything-root-4-4-4-t2938098
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for all the information.
I've done a bit of research, and read through most of what you linked.
I'm slightly confused. As far as I understand it right now, if my bootloader is locked, I can only flash official ROMs. If my bootloader is unlocked, then I can flash any ROM I want, as long as it's compatible with my phone, but I will lose the Sony Bravia engine if I do so, is that correct? I'm not too bothered about this, just curious if this is true.
Where I am really confused, is the part where in the requirements of LB Rom Port, it said
"Be on 4.4.4 firmware (only .108)"
I'm currently stuck on 4.2, and can't get my phone to 4.4.4 with either the built in software or Sony Pc Companion. Is there a guide somewhere on how I can upgrade to 4.4.4 without using the two methods just mentioned?
I've also had a search and not been able to find a 5.0 GPe ROM Port either, guessing no one has bothered with it?
Thanks again,
Proxish said:
Thank you for all the information.
I've done a bit of research, and read through most of what you linked.
I'm slightly confused. As far as I understand it right now, if my bootloader is locked, I can only flash official ROMs. If my bootloader is unlocked, then I can flash any ROM I want, as long as it's compatible with my phone, but I will lose the Sony Bravia engine if I do so, is that correct? I'm not too bothered about this, just curious if this is true.
Where I am really confused, is the part where in the requirements of LB Rom Port, it said
"Be on 4.4.4 firmware (only .108)"
I'm currently stuck on 4.2, and can't get my phone to 4.4.4 with either the built in software or Sony Pc Companion. Is there a guide somewhere on how I can upgrade to 4.4.4 without using the two methods just mentioned?
I've also had a search and not been able to find a 5.0 GPe ROM Port either, guessing no one has bothered with it?
Thanks again,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I seem to have also lost the miracast screen mirroring after unlocking bootloader, if you root then back up the TA first it can be restored. I don't have any experience with pc companion, usually when it is mentioned it is because someone couldn't get it to work. In those instances flashtool is recommended to use. Here is a guide for flashtool. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2428319
And link for 5.0 GPe port.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z-ultra/development/scrubber-t2961315
adfurgerson said:
I seem to have also lost the miracast screen mirroring after unlocking bootloader, if you root then back up the TA first it can be restored. I don't have any experience with pc companion, usually when it is mentioned it is because someone couldn't get it to work. In those instances flashtool is recommended to use. Here is a guide for flashtool. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2428319
And link for 5.0 GPe port.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z-ultra/development/scrubber-t2961315
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the links, again, much appreciated.
I was able to find an official thread for Sony Roms, and think I've found the ROM I need to upgrade to 4.4.4.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2453921
STOCK ROM] [FTF] Xperia Z Ultra (C6833) 14.4.A.0.108 "US RETAIL"
I assume this one will be ok, though I'm unsure. My phones model number is C6833, and this was the only 14.4.A.0.108 ROM I could find, and as far as I've seen, that's the recommended one for 4.4.4, assuming I haven't done anything wrong.
And just double checking, do I Need to root the phone to put the 5.0 GPE port on?
Thanks,
adfurgerson said:
I seem to have also lost the miracast screen mirroring after unlocking bootloader, if you root then back up the TA first it can be restored. I don't have any experience with pc companion, usually when it is mentioned it is because someone couldn't get it to work. In those instances flashtool is recommended to use. Here is a guide for flashtool. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2428319
And link for 5.0 GPe port.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z-ultra/development/scrubber-t2961315
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to use FlashTool to update the phone to the official 4.4.4 ROM, so that you very much for all your help.
I think I may just end up sticking with the Xperia ROM, in favor of rooting and installing a port. I'm actually really liking the 4.4.4 Xperia version.
Thank you very much for all your help, I really appreciate it, wouldn't of been able to do this without your help.
Proxish said:
I was able to use FlashTool to update the phone to the official 4.4.4 ROM, so that you very much for all your help.
I think I may just end up sticking with the Xperia ROM, in favor of rooting and installing a port. I'm actually really liking the 4.4.4 Xperia version.
Thank you very much for all your help, I really appreciate it, wouldn't of been able to do this without your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good that you got updated. If you decide later to try custom ROMs or the ports be sure to root, then backup the TA partition before unlocking the bootloader. If you wanted to stay on stock but add some customizations you could root and install xsposed framework modules.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/index-xposed-modules-collection-post-t2327541