Root and recovery on Lollipop - Xperia Tablet Z Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Managed to get my hands on a cheap second hand TabZ in good condition. And although Sony's Lollipop firmware looks and feels nice I really want to go the custom Rom road as it allows me to tinker more with it.
Now is when the situation gets complicated as it seems there is a plethora of versions, some more complicated then others, to root the device and install a recovery on it. My questions to you, anybody willing to clear these things out, are:
1. Does the bootloader need to be unlocked in order to obtain root for a tablet already running Lollipop? (I read in one thread that starting with Lollipop this might not be required anymore)
2. What is the best way of getting root?
3. How do you install recovery? I understand the XZDualRecovery to be really popular but some of the instructions can be mind boggling (the use of Kernel Builder to repack the kernel in order to replace the built in recovery with XZDualRecovery). Is this the same as flashing a recovery every time I install a new ROM before rebooting if I want to still have one (basically there is no permanent one, but changes with the rom you are flashing?! )
Any help would be much appreciated as I am stuck as I have never been with rooting and installing recovery on a device. Thanks!

1&2. Bootloader is not directly connected with Root. Unlocked bootloader allows you to install custom ROMs like FXP, cDroid, CyanogenMod and others.
For rooting stock Sony Rom rooting doesn't usually need bootloader unlock.
For example for 4.4.4 and 5.0.2 firmwares KingRoot will help you to root device. For other firmware, other tools exist.
3. For installing Custom Roms like FXP, CyanogenMod and others you need unlocked bootloader.
XZDualRecovery is mainly used for stock Sony Rom and based on stock roms.
For custom roms you can flash TWRP recovery to FOTA partition which will be permanent and will allow you to install any custom rom.
Also before bootloader unlock, get root and Backup TA partition of your device.

Related

[Q] General questions before going from stock to custom

So, never had a Sony-Device, the guides and instructions here are a bit unclear to me.
As far as i understood before going custom:
Downgrade to .532 with flashtool -> run BackupTA -> upgrade to latest again (rly neccessary?) -> then unlock Bootloader
Pretty straight forward up until here.
From there on i can use [NUTS]s XZDualRecovery if i want to stay on stock-kernel and flash custom roms frem there without any problem as far as i understood.
Is this correct?
But what if i want to use a custom kernel at some point?
DooMKernel for example is flahsed via Fastboot, but only compatible with Stock-Sony-Roms
PimpedKernel for example on the other hand is CM-based only and only uses a recovery flashable zip
I'm a little bit confused because of that.
Is a Kernel and / or recovery included in every ROM? (Edit: Yep Kernel is..)
Can i just use [NUTS] recovery and then flash any ROM / Kernel trough it? And afterwards a custom Kernel if the one included in ROM (if any?) lacks any features i want?
competent devs who maintain roms for this phone would include a recovery in their package
slimrom does this and i don't have to worry about losing trwp recovery
alia5 said:
So, never had a Sony-Device, the guides and instructions here are a bit unclear to me.
As far as i understood before going custom:
Downgrade to .532 with flashtool -> run BackupTA -> upgrade to latest again (rly neccessary?) -> then unlock Bootloader
Pretty straight forward up until here.
From there on i can use [NUTS]s XZDualRecovery if i want to stay on stock-kernel and flash custom roms frem there without any problem as far as i understood.
Is this correct?
But what if i want to use a custom kernel at some point?
DooMKernel for example is flahsed via Fastboot, but only compatible with Stock-Sony-Roms
PimpedKernel for example on the other hand is CM-based only and only uses a recovery flashable zip
I'm a little bit confused because of that.
Is a Kernel and / or recovery included in every ROM? (Edit: Yep Kernel is..)
Can i just use [NUTS] recovery and then flash any ROM / Kernel trough it? And afterwards a custom Kernel if the one included in ROM (if any?) lacks any features i want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The downgrading is no longer necessary, use the easyroot tool. Or use the dualrecovery installer for locked bootloaders then flash superuser zip from recovery. Once you have it rooted then back up TA and unlock bootloader. You should be able to flash boot.img from flashtool, if you wanted to download a rom and pull it from zip. I mention that because most roms only have one recovery, so if you flash the img from the rom you want to install first with flashtool you could make a backup that could be restored with new recovery. One other thing that I learned the hard way is a backup made before unlocking bootloader will relock it if restored.
No downgrading, just root and back up TA, great
So i need to flash boot.img from the ROM every time i want to install a new ROM? Or just the first time going from stock to custom? Or just if i have twrp n current rom and the rom i wanna flash is only compatible with CWM?
alia5 said:
No downgrading, just root and back up TA, great
So i need to flash boot.img from the ROM every time i want to install a new ROM? Or just the first time going from stock to custom? Or just if i have twrp n current rom and the rom i wanna flash is only compatible with CWM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a brand spanking new guide to check out that is up to date.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z-ultra/general/guide-everything-root-4-4-4-t2938098
I will try to put forth an example to try and demonstrate what I trying to convey in regards to flashing boot.img.
Example.... You are on a rom that contains CWM and you are going to flash a rom that contains TWRP and you wish to have a backup of first rom that could be restored you would flash the img. with TWRP then make backup. Another option would be to just go ahead and use CWM to make backup but you would need to flash that img. in order to be able to restore. I think most roms can be flashed from either recovery at the moment, the concern is your backup being compatible with whichever one is in your current rom.
So, in the boot.img is Kernel+Recovery, alright, and i only need to worry about flashing boot.img für backup reasons.
Pretty much answers what i was wondering, thanks guys

[Q] updating to LP on unlocked bootloader

With all the hype on the lp launch, I just realized I have no idea what to do : I got the rom through xpirifirm, and I'm just sitting there like "now what?"
Originally when I got the phone, I created a KK pre-rooted rom and used that on my phone, later on down the line I unlocked the boot loader to use a custom kernel and try different roms, but the pre-rooted rom how-to says it's for "locked" bootloader only, for now I figure I should be fine making the rom following the same process and then flashing the resulting zip to my phone, but I have a few questions :
is this the proper way to do it on UB ? to create a prerooted rom and use the zip file to flash the LP update ?
will I keep my root if I do this ? (I'll use the latest SU binary)
will I have recovery ? (I'll use the latest dual recovery)

Rooting Orange Z2 with locked bootloader

Hello, I recently bought an xperia Z2 from someone that had it from the french operator Orange.
Running on a heavily bloated lollipop 5.0.2 with a build number of 23.1.A.1.28 D6503 with a locked unlockable bootloader
Being a samsung user all my life, this seems a new territory to me, I first wanted to clean everything up and have it running on CM12, that seems impossible because of the bootloader lock.
Then I failed rooting it and got really confused. the device also doesnt boot into recovery AT ALL
Can you please help me root the hell out of it and clean all the crap that Orange put in it? and also would you please suggest a debloated clean stock rom(kitkat is preferred)
Thank you so much for your time, I'm looking forward for you replies
Use KingRoot for rooting,install BusyBox, then install custom dual recovery with XZRecovery finally flash SuperSU zip with recovery , here's a link for all the files needed http://www.mediafire.com/download/894tuibsb2a75bm/wts.zip
Well, my dear friend, I failed twice doing that, now im running a clean factory reset and going to try again, will let you know
Flash android version 4.4.2, root this version and then flash the firmware of your choice via recovery (make sure it is a prerooted one, that comes in a Flashable Zip form)
As I know, Sony devices doesn't have accessible stock recovery
You can boot into recovery only after installing custom recovery like :
TWRP - CWM - Philiz Touch
If I Helped, Leave A Thanks ?

Help - Understanding the Custom Rom Installation Process

Hi
I want to install a custom rom to my alcatel one touch p310x 2GB :
I have rooted the tablet and made a backup using MtkdroidTool
After reading some articles about how to install custom rooms I have some trouble to understand the process :
1- What's the difference between rooting and unlocking the bootloader ?
2- Did my device need to be rooted and the bootloader unlocked to install a custom recovery ?
3-Do I need to install a specific custom recovery for my device or only to use the latest version from any custom recovery?
4- Do I need to install a specific custom Rom version or only to use the latest version from any custom room ?
Rooting is gaining the admin status of the /system partition which allows you to have the ability of greater control of your phone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooting_(Android_OS)
Unlocking the bootloader is removing a security restriction built in that disables the ability to install custom recoveries and kernels. http://www.kingoapp.com/help/bootloader.htm
You must use roms and recoveries built specifically for your phone unless otherwise specificed by a developer for some phones that are basically the same version as another with minor differences. If a developer does not have your phone listed as supported, do not attempt to load, ever. Using a recovery or rom that is not made to boot on your device will almost always result in leaving the phone unable to boot, or even worse, unable to even power on depending on the phone and update attempted.
thank you

Help needed for beginner.

Hi. I'm a beginner to Android development (especially Sony devices) and I have a few questions before I do something catastrophic. I have Sony Xperia Z2 D6502 with Android MM (.575), unlocked bootloader and TWRP recovery. Also, I don't have root. At least not properly.
1.Will I be able to install custom ROMS without root?
2.Flashing SuperSu zip from TWRP does not root it properly. Is there any way around??
3.Will Xposed work without root? I flashed it successfully.
4.When building a custom ROM, how do you change that easter egg when you tap the Android version a few times and you get a game??
Thanks
1. Not without root, since your bootloader is unlocked you can easily root it.
2. Yes it does ( I do flash supersu.zip after I install recovery)
3. Xposed requires root as far as I know

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