Saturday, May 3

How to root your Sony Xperia Z1 with C6903 14.3.A.0.757 Firmware

I have been a little late to flash my phone to the latest firmware but hey, just moved and the internet was not connected for a whole month!!!

Once again, Sony has been very quick in releasing the latest but hopefully not the last update to the Sony Xperia Z1. This post will show you how to root you Sony Xperia Z1 with C6903 14.3.A.0.757 Android 4.4 KitKat Firmware in 2 Easy Steps.



Step 1: Upgrade to the new firmware version
Download the firmware FTF from your region here , courtesy of the cool guys at XDA Developers. I downloaded the C6903 14.3.A.0.757 Generic SG 1276-7937_R3C firmware for Singapore, though I am using the phone in Australia as this version has chinese and japanese input support. If you already have this latest version on your phone you can skip this entire Step 1. However you will still need the Flashtool downloaded as that is also used for step 2.

Using FLASHTOOL (download here), make sure you have the latest 0.9.16.0 version and flash the C6903 14.3.A.0.757 Generic SG 1276-7937_R3C FTF into your phone. To flash, turn off your phone then put into Flashmode mode by connecting usb cable with down volume button depressed to pc. Then click the lightning icon in flashtool and select flashmode. You will get option to select the firmware FTF you want to flash.(make sure the firmware file is in the firmware folder of flashtool)



Step 2:
You will need Doomlord’s Advanced Stock Kernel with CWM Recovery . Once again launch FLASHTOOL, turn off phone and put into fastboot mode by connecting usb cable with up volume button depressed. Click the lightning icon and select fastboot mode then click on the right side select kernel to flash, select the unzipped boot.img file which you had just downloaded from above. Reboot and install SuperSU on your phone from the google play store for free and you will then have root with SuperSU.



NOTE :: This process requires an unlocked Bootloader. If you have a locked bootloader check out my other post here for info on how to unlock it. or you can try to use flashtool the BLU icon to unlock your bootloader. Either way you will need the code from Sony.

Addit :: In case installing SuperSU does not give you root access, you will have to download the SuperSU zip file from this link , copy it into your phone/sdcard and install it with the CWM Recovery. To use CWM Recovery just press up volume when you see the purple light after rebooting (purple light will come on every time you reboot phone if you done Step 2 correctly).



In total it took me less than 15 minutes to flash and root. So good luck with the flashing and feel free to comment as below. Also enjoy the new Android Kit Kat 4.4.2 Easter egg! Hint : tap and hold the screen after you get the red Android KitKat screen :D
  1. got stock on step 2

    when i choose boot.img

    i get this msg on flashtool log :

    09/047/2014 02:47:49 - INFO - OKAY [ 0.900s]
    09/047/2014 02:47:49 - INFO - finished. total time: 1.398s
    09/047/2014 02:47:49 - INFO - FASTBOOT Output:
    sending 'boot' (13306 KB)...
    OKAY [ 0.498s]
    writing 'boot'...
    OKAY [ 0.900s]
    finished. total time: 1.398s

    09/047/2014 02:47:49 - INFO - Please check the log before rebooting into system

    i installed root checker , still not rooted

    have i missed something ??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. install supersu and reboot youshould have root

      Delete
  2. If i'm not rooted yet, but i've already updated to the latest firmware via the Sony PC Companion, do i still need to flash this file C6903 14.3.A.0.757 Generic SG 1276-7937_R3C?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i had the same problem as well.. after i downloaded SuperSu, it says
      "There is no SU binary installed, and SuperSu cannot install it. This is a problem! If you upgraded to 4;3, you need to manually reroot consult the relevant forums for your device!"

      HELP ME PLEASE!

      Delete
    2. ashley : you can also try installing a zipped version of the SuperSU using the CWM recovery flashed in Step 2. Just copy the zip file for SuperSU into a folder in the phone first then flash it from CWM REcovery. To get into CWM Recovery, just restart the phone and press up volume key after you see the sony logo and the notification light blinks purple. Select install zip -> choose zip from /sdcard -> 0 -> whichever folder you put the SuperSU zip file in.

      Troy you don't have to reflash your phone, just flash the stock kernel with CWM Recovery into your phone, reboot and flash SuperSU as above.

      Delete
    3. awesome !!!! thank you....

      Delete
  3. Will the camera still work?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. christer the camera still works fine. There was only one firmware i think last year that unlocking caused camera to stop working but sony has fixed that already in all the new firmwares since then.

      Delete
  4. Firstly thanks a lot for your rooting description.
    I want to root my sony as well, because I upset with new adroid security policy as many other users. But I still have a warranty and I don't want to loose it. So as I understand from a lot of forums I have to backup TA record before the first unlocking bootloader. And recursively I need to have a root access to do it. So am I right that I have to rollback to some ealier version of OS, get a root there by smth like vroot (as I understood in this case I don't have to unlock bootloader) and then upgrade again to the latest one and follow the instruction step 2?
    Doing it for the first time. Afraid to brick the device. Please advise! Thanks in advance!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If so, could you please advise which version would be the best for this and how to do downgrade? Thank you!

      Delete
    2. You can downgrade to 14.1.G.2.257 firmware and use vroot to get root then backup your TA. After that feel free to unlock bootloader and upgrade to latest firmware and root. You can find instructions on my previous posts.

      Delete
    3. I cant seem to get Vroot to root my 14.1.G.257. Is it weird that it says 4.2.2 Jelly Bean in the Version??? Maybe I have the wrong build number.

      Delete
    4. Hi Jan, you might need to downgrade to version .534 for Vroot to work. you can find the link for another rooting software kingo root in my previous .534 flashing/rooting post.

      Delete
  5. hi can i root my xperia z1 without unlocking the bootloader? firmware 14.3.A.0.757 android 4.4.2

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, you will need to unlock the bootloader if you plan on rooting it on 4.2.2. You can do that by going back to 14.1.G.2.257 with vroot, root it with the bootloader locked, then make a Backup using Backup TA, then unlock the bootloader, and update to 4.2.2 again.

      Delete
  6. What is the procedure to unlock Sony xperia Z1 as well I want to buy unlock code. Any recommendations from where to buy the code? someone buy code from safeunlockcode.com? Or another better code provider? Waiting for your kind replies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unlocking bootloader is free from sony, to learn how check out my previous post here http://thebluewater.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/how-to-root-your-sony-xperia-z1-with.html

      Delete
  7. hello, any idea how to check if the bootloader is locked or not?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In your device, open the dialler and enter *#*#7378423#*#* to access the service menu.
      Tap Service info > Configuration, you should see if your bootloader unlocked or not under the last 2 lines rooting status:...

      Delete
  8. Hi, i would like to request for some assistance in rooting my Sony Xperia Z1 C6903 14.3.A.0.757.

    I have skip step 1 since i already have 14.3.A.0.757 installed in my phone.

    I followed step 2 closely and i got the following "Failed" log after flashing boot.img file.

    22/034/2014 16:34:02 - INFO - Selected kernel (boot.img or kernel.sin): C:\boot.img
    22/034/2014 16:34:02 - INFO - Flashing selected kernel
    22/034/2014 16:34:02 - INFO - sending 'boot' (13306 KB)...
    22/034/2014 16:34:02 - INFO - OKAY [ 0.438s]
    22/034/2014 16:34:02 - INFO - writing 'boot'...
    22/034/2014 16:34:02 - INFO - FAILED (remote: Command not allowed)
    22/034/2014 16:34:02 - INFO - finished. total time: 0.438s
    22/034/2014 16:34:02 - INFO - FASTBOOT Output:
    sending 'boot' (13306 KB)...
    OKAY [ 0.438s]
    writing 'boot'...
    FAILED (remote: Command not allowed)
    finished. total time: 0.438s

    22/034/2014 16:34:02 - INFO - Please check the log before rebooting into system


    Jason

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jason,

      I'm having the same problems as you, with the same log outputs. Do you mind sharing how you solved this? Thanks in advance.

      Delete
    2. Did unlock your bootloader?

      Delete
  9. After spending hours, i finally managed to fix the issue and rooted my phone successfully.

    Thanks for your detailed guide!

    Jason.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sorry couldn't help you quickly enough but good experience for you to learn rooting! :D Have fun...

      Delete
  10. Thanks ! worked for me . Although I did not flash to 14.3.A.0.757 . Mine was already 14.3.A.0.681.

    ReplyDelete

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