After searching on the net for a bit, I finally found out how to turn off the backlight on my wife's Ipod nano 3rd generation.
SIMPLE SOLUTION - Eject the Ipod after plugging it into the PC. Whether you do it in itunes or by using the option in windows folder (right click your device and choose eject) it works either way.
Apparently if you just disconnect manually by removing the USB cable without first
ejecting, the Ipod Nano will be left in the partially PC connected mode
and the backlight won't ever switch off. Also it won't start charging when you use a wall charger.
Wednesday, May 7
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
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
Monday, March 24
How to root Sony Xperia Z1 C6903 with 14.3.A.0.681 Firmware Android KitKat 4.4.2
Please check out my latest post on updating and rooting the new 14.3.A.0.757 firmware
Hi all,
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 C6903 with 14.3.A.0.681 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 which I sometimes need to use.
Using FLASHTOOL, make sure you have the latest 0.9.15.0 version and flash the C6903 14.3.A.0.757 Generic SG 1276-7937_R3C FTF into your phone.
Step 2:
You will need Doomlord’s CWM-Based Recovery 6.0.4.7 + ROOT for Xperia Z1 . Once again using FLASHTOOL put the device into fastboot mode by connecting usb cable with up volume button depressed. Then select the img file and you will get CWM Recovery and root on your device!
N.B. This process requires unlocked Bootloader.
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
Monday, February 3
How to root your Sony Xperia Z1 C6903 with 14.2.A.1.136 firmware
UPDATE : Please check out my latest post on updating and rooting the new 14.3.A.0.757 firmware
This is how I put root on my Sony Xperia Z1 with the latest firmware C6903_14.2.A.1.136_SingTel SG 1276-7941_R4B which Sony is currently rolling out in February. This is still a Android 4.3 JellyBean based version with some minor upgrades from the previous firmware. Mainly a white balance function for those who were unlucky enough to get a yellow screen and didn't manage to get it replaced. As mentioned before my screen was the renasys one which was pretty good but the brightness was too much.
Oh before I forget, Happy Chinese New Year to all. What a great year of the horse this is going to be!
PHASE 1 : Download all the needed software
My .290 firmware was only partially rooted as I had decided previously I wanted to keep the bootloader locked for warranty reasons. But my phone has been washed and dropped a couple times without any problems, so should not be needing any RMA soon. Also I read a post about a user flashing and bricking the phone and Sony still warrantied it anyways. In addition, yummy Android KitKat 4.4 will be out soon and I dun wanna have to be waiting for some way to root without unlocking the bootloader whilst everyone else is having fun with their rooted phones...
So the first thing is to unlock the bootloader on the phone. Well like anyother flashing operation, some preparation work is needed. Below is a list of stuff you should download first.
1) If you do not have PC companion installed, you may have to get the SONY XPERIA Z1 USB Drivers at developer.sonymobile.com installed.
2) Also needed are the unlock bootloader code (follow the instructions from Sony, you will need a working email for this) and
3) Fastboot software (for unlocking bootloader)
4) Now I am downloading a very very BIG FTF Firmware file from MEGA, the new megaupload (900MB++) You can grab the version you fancy from here.
5) Backup TA from here this is for backing up your DRM keys. (You will have to be running a rooted phone to do this. You can find out how to root the phone using .534 firmware from one of my earlier posts.)
Ok off to cook dinner whilst the files get downloaded.........
..........Just finished a nice papaya fish soup and mushroom fried egg dinner, back to tinkering.
PHASE 2 : REMEMBER TO BACKUP TA PARTITION.
Lucky I remembered, apparently contains some DRM Keys from Sony which are specific to my phone and essential for the X-Reality/Bravia engine thingy in it to run properly. Should get something like what I got below using a program called Backup TA v9.10
Just press Y and it will backup for you.
Phase 3 : UNLOCK THE FREAKING BOOTLOADER ALREADY
Ok now that my TA is backed up, next I can start unlocking my bootloader. Ohhhh exciting, first time I am unlocking any bootloader of any kind. Off the phone and put it in Fastboot Mode by pressing the up volume rocker as you connect the USB cable to the PC.
In the cmd windows type in fastboot.exe -i 0x0fce getvar version
If a value is returned (it will return 0.5), it means the phone is correctly connected.
Type in fastboot.exe -i 0x0fce oem unlock 0xKEY and replace KEY with the key which u received earlier. Disconnect after reboot, green android comes out on first reboot then phone turns off and reboot again like a normal reset. All my data gone as warned...
You can double check that the bootloader is unlocked via this secret code *#*#7378423#*#* on the keypad. This brings up a hidden service menu. Select the Service info then Configuration. You should see something like the pic above.
PHASE 4 : Flashing the C6903 14.2.A.1.136 firmware with flashtool.
Nothing special here, just the usual ftf firmware flash with flashtool-0.9.11.0. I actually spent freaking 2 hours trying to flash my phone with version 0.9.13.0 until I downloaded the 9.11 version. the 0.9.13.0 newer version seems to be screwed on my laptop and installs the wrong S1 device driver to interface with the phone. The 9.11 version installs detects and installs the phone as SEMC device when in flashmode and the firmware flashes fine. If your flashtool is working fine with the .290 firmware flashing then just leave it alone, no need to update.
PHASE 5 :
Root with the awesome CWM-Based Recovery 6.0.4.6 Touch Recovery for Xperia Z1
(Includes the stock kernel and CWM recovery which is used to root.) Detailed instructions are in the link. I flashed mine with flashtool though which has a fastboot mode.
NOTE :
RELOCKING BOOTLOADER is possible and I did it by restoring the TA Backup with the TA Backup Program which I had used before. Unfortunately it had the effect of softbricking my Xperia Z1. Luckily I just had to reflash the stock firmware again to boot and repeat the process of unlocking my bootloader again to install the kernel to root.
So now I have full root for the 14.2.A.1.136 firmware on my phone. My bootloader is still unlocked but I think Sony will happily warranty my phone as the only things I am running are stock firmware and stock kernel, with only difference is root and CWM recovery added which definitely won't affect the phone adversely.
So far .136 looks to be very stable and fast and energy efficient and I haven't had any problems with it yet so once again, looking forward to KitKat 4.4!!!
Hope you manage to root your phone and please follow or add my blog to your RSS! I will definitely be rooting KitKat 4.4 when it becomes available for this fantastic phone :D
Please check out my latest post on updating and rooting the new 14.3.A.0.757 firmware
This is how I put root on my Sony Xperia Z1 with the latest firmware C6903_14.2.A.1.136_SingTel SG 1276-7941_R4B which Sony is currently rolling out in February. This is still a Android 4.3 JellyBean based version with some minor upgrades from the previous firmware. Mainly a white balance function for those who were unlucky enough to get a yellow screen and didn't manage to get it replaced. As mentioned before my screen was the renasys one which was pretty good but the brightness was too much.
Oh before I forget, Happy Chinese New Year to all. What a great year of the horse this is going to be!
PHASE 1 : Download all the needed software
My .290 firmware was only partially rooted as I had decided previously I wanted to keep the bootloader locked for warranty reasons. But my phone has been washed and dropped a couple times without any problems, so should not be needing any RMA soon. Also I read a post about a user flashing and bricking the phone and Sony still warrantied it anyways. In addition, yummy Android KitKat 4.4 will be out soon and I dun wanna have to be waiting for some way to root without unlocking the bootloader whilst everyone else is having fun with their rooted phones...
So the first thing is to unlock the bootloader on the phone. Well like anyother flashing operation, some preparation work is needed. Below is a list of stuff you should download first.
1) If you do not have PC companion installed, you may have to get the SONY XPERIA Z1 USB Drivers at developer.sonymobile.com installed.
2) Also needed are the unlock bootloader code (follow the instructions from Sony, you will need a working email for this) and
3) Fastboot software (for unlocking bootloader)
4) Now I am downloading a very very BIG FTF Firmware file from MEGA, the new megaupload (900MB++) You can grab the version you fancy from here.
5) Backup TA from here this is for backing up your DRM keys. (You will have to be running a rooted phone to do this. You can find out how to root the phone using .534 firmware from one of my earlier posts.)
Ok off to cook dinner whilst the files get downloaded.........
..........Just finished a nice papaya fish soup and mushroom fried egg dinner, back to tinkering.
PHASE 2 : REMEMBER TO BACKUP TA PARTITION.
Lucky I remembered, apparently contains some DRM Keys from Sony which are specific to my phone and essential for the X-Reality/Bravia engine thingy in it to run properly. Should get something like what I got below using a program called Backup TA v9.10
Phase 3 : UNLOCK THE FREAKING BOOTLOADER ALREADY
Ok now that my TA is backed up, next I can start unlocking my bootloader. Ohhhh exciting, first time I am unlocking any bootloader of any kind. Off the phone and put it in Fastboot Mode by pressing the up volume rocker as you connect the USB cable to the PC.
In the cmd windows type in fastboot.exe -i 0x0fce getvar version
If a value is returned (it will return 0.5), it means the phone is correctly connected.
Type in fastboot.exe -i 0x0fce oem unlock 0xKEY and replace KEY with the key which u received earlier. Disconnect after reboot, green android comes out on first reboot then phone turns off and reboot again like a normal reset. All my data gone as warned...
 |
| Sony Xperia Z1 with Bootloader Unlocked |
PHASE 4 : Flashing the C6903 14.2.A.1.136 firmware with flashtool.
Nothing special here, just the usual ftf firmware flash with flashtool-0.9.11.0. I actually spent freaking 2 hours trying to flash my phone with version 0.9.13.0 until I downloaded the 9.11 version. the 0.9.13.0 newer version seems to be screwed on my laptop and installs the wrong S1 device driver to interface with the phone. The 9.11 version installs detects and installs the phone as SEMC device when in flashmode and the firmware flashes fine. If your flashtool is working fine with the .290 firmware flashing then just leave it alone, no need to update.
PHASE 5 :
Root with the awesome CWM-Based Recovery 6.0.4.6 Touch Recovery for Xperia Z1
(Includes the stock kernel and CWM recovery which is used to root.) Detailed instructions are in the link. I flashed mine with flashtool though which has a fastboot mode.
 |
| Sony Xperia Z1 with root and 14.2.A.1.136 installed |
NOTE :
RELOCKING BOOTLOADER is possible and I did it by restoring the TA Backup with the TA Backup Program which I had used before. Unfortunately it had the effect of softbricking my Xperia Z1. Luckily I just had to reflash the stock firmware again to boot and repeat the process of unlocking my bootloader again to install the kernel to root.
So now I have full root for the 14.2.A.1.136 firmware on my phone. My bootloader is still unlocked but I think Sony will happily warranty my phone as the only things I am running are stock firmware and stock kernel, with only difference is root and CWM recovery added which definitely won't affect the phone adversely.
So far .136 looks to be very stable and fast and energy efficient and I haven't had any problems with it yet so once again, looking forward to KitKat 4.4!!!
Hope you manage to root your phone and please follow or add my blog to your RSS! I will definitely be rooting KitKat 4.4 when it becomes available for this fantastic phone :D
Please check out my latest post on updating and rooting the new 14.3.A.0.757 firmware
Tuesday, December 31
How to root your C6903 Sony Xperia Z1 with 14.2.A.0.290 firmware
UPDATE : Please check out my latest post on updating and rooting the new 14.3.A.0.757 firmware
How to root your Sony Xperia Z1 with C6903 14.3.A.0.757 firmware
Hi all,
thanks for dropping by. This will be a really short post as the instructions to do this are pretty much same as the previous update. In fact please refer to my previous post for a more detailed process.
Basically all you have to do is flash the previous .534 version firmware. Root it with Kingo Root or whatever root software that works, then upgrade via OTA with the survival mode in SuperSU ticked to "preserve root". Do make sure you factory reset the phone before doing the OTA, otherwise there is a chance that like my phone, the OTA update failed.
That aside if you do get the OTA installed successully over the rooted .534, then you end up with a partial root. You can access root priviledges for certain things, but like for example if you want to edit system files like build.prop then it doesn't work.
Of course to obtain absolute root is still possible. You just gotta get your bootloader unlocked which in version .290 the camera still works. Unfortunately unlocking bootloader risks voiding your warranty with Sony..
So my advice is if you have .257 still rooted and working, then forget about upgrading to .290 as there is not much improvement with a loss of the root. 4.3 is pretty much same as 4.2.2. The default sony camera app still sucks ass as much, so you still have to install a third party app like Camera Zoom FX or alternative camera app from samsung or LG.
Will post up a pic of my upgraded OS and how to root to .290 without unlocking bootloader if that happens.
==== UPDATE 19/1/2014 ====
Root with .290 is now possible without unlocking the bootloader, unfortunately so far only one version of FTF has been released for rooting which means I will be skipping this for now.
However in a couple days time I will be downloading the .290 FTF(firmware file) for Singapore and unlocking my bootloader to get root the more normal way. This method needs an extra step of backup of the TA partition before unlocking bootloader so as to be able to relock the bootloader after rooting, in case of future warranty issues.
How to root your Sony Xperia Z1 with C6903 14.3.A.0.757 firmware
Hi all,
thanks for dropping by. This will be a really short post as the instructions to do this are pretty much same as the previous update. In fact please refer to my previous post for a more detailed process.
Basically all you have to do is flash the previous .534 version firmware. Root it with Kingo Root or whatever root software that works, then upgrade via OTA with the survival mode in SuperSU ticked to "preserve root". Do make sure you factory reset the phone before doing the OTA, otherwise there is a chance that like my phone, the OTA update failed.
That aside if you do get the OTA installed successully over the rooted .534, then you end up with a partial root. You can access root priviledges for certain things, but like for example if you want to edit system files like build.prop then it doesn't work.
Of course to obtain absolute root is still possible. You just gotta get your bootloader unlocked which in version .290 the camera still works. Unfortunately unlocking bootloader risks voiding your warranty with Sony..
So my advice is if you have .257 still rooted and working, then forget about upgrading to .290 as there is not much improvement with a loss of the root. 4.3 is pretty much same as 4.2.2. The default sony camera app still sucks ass as much, so you still have to install a third party app like Camera Zoom FX or alternative camera app from samsung or LG.
Will post up a pic of my upgraded OS and how to root to .290 without unlocking bootloader if that happens.
==== UPDATE 19/1/2014 ====
Root with .290 is now possible without unlocking the bootloader, unfortunately so far only one version of FTF has been released for rooting which means I will be skipping this for now.
However in a couple days time I will be downloading the .290 FTF(firmware file) for Singapore and unlocking my bootloader to get root the more normal way. This method needs an extra step of backup of the TA partition before unlocking bootloader so as to be able to relock the bootloader after rooting, in case of future warranty issues.