Root Your Xperia Phone Without Voiding Warranty

**Update**

If you have already updated to ICS, read my other article on rooting Xperia ICS. Keep in mind that you still have to downgrade to GB first before rooting ICS.

** Update **

Wotan is no more free for flashing Xperia phones. I have updated this tutorial with Flashtool, which is a free tool to flash xperia phones. You need not unlock the bootloader in order to use Flashtool. So your Warranty is still there. But you need to find your firmware.

Disclaimer: By following this method, you are NOT permanently modifying your phone and Sony Ericsson won’t have a “clue” that you are rooting your phone. You can perform a repair using SEUS to claim warranty at any time. I’m posting this for informational purposes only. Secondly, I won’t be responsible if you brick your phone, which is almost impossible.

If you have an Android device, or any smart phone for that matter, you can do almost anything that you can with a PC. As Android is an open source mobile operating system, it can be tinkered with in different ways. While Android, by default, doesn’t allow that, you can get root access to the OS and enjoy the full potential of your phone. In most of the Android phones, you need to unlock the bootloader in order to root it. But Sony Ericsson Xperia phones can also be rooted without unlocking the bootloader, thus preserving the manufacturer warranty.

This tutorial is based on this thread on XDA Forums. The tool we are going to use here is called DooMLoRD’s Easy Rooting Toolkit. The tool works very well until the firmware number 4.0.2.A.0.58. Sony Ericsson has patched the later ROM versions and hence this method doesn’t work if you have already installed the latest update. You need to unlock the bootloader for rooting if the you have that 62 firmware. Though other methods do exist to root the 62 firmware, they are not for those who are new to rooting as the methods are risky. DooMLoRD’s Easy Rooting Toolkit can also root devices from other manufacturers. Have a look at here for supported devices. If you want to claim warranty, you can always flash your phone using the official tool with the latest firmware.

I’m going to explain how you can root your Xperia phone even if you are already on the latest firmware (4.0.2.A.0.61 or 62 and up). You are going to downgrade your firmware in order to root your phone.

What you need to root your Xperia mobile:

• An Xperia phone of course and the data cable
• PC Companion
• Doomlord’s Easy Rooting Toolkit
• Flashtool
• Your Firmware (This is not a full list). Another list of Firmware, see under Downloads.

If you can’t find your firmware:

• Wotan client (register for a free account) and its driver (if you are willing to pay)

Downgrading your Firmware:

Flashtool requires that you download your firmware separately. Use the link I have given. If you can’t find the exact firmware in ftf format, use Global firmware. (I found Application Installer missing in the firmware I installed. I rooted my phone and installed it using Flashtool.)

Let’s get started.

Before downgrading the firmware, you need to install the ADB driver for your phone. On your phone, go to Settings>Applications>Development and enable USB debugging. Connect your phone to PC and wait for the ADB driver to install. Go to Device Manager on your PC and look for something like Sony Ericsson ##### ADB Interface Driver. If it’s not properly installed right-click the improperly installed device and install through Windows Update. The ADB driver should be installed now.

1. Download and install Flashtool.

2. Install the necessary drivers for your device. The drivers can be found under C:\Flashtool\drivers. Skip this step if you already have the ADB drivers installed.

3.  Place the firmware you downloaded in C:\Flashtool\firmwares.

4. Connect phone to PC and open Flashtool. Allow it to detect your phone.

5. Select the flash symbol and select Flashmode then click OK.

6. In the next window, select the firmware if you have more than one and click OK.

7. In a few seconds, Flashtool prompts you to switch off the phone, press and hold the service button (which differs from phone to phone. For Mini Pro, it  is Volume down) while connecting your phone to PC. Flashtool will automatically start flashing.

Now that you have downgraded your firmware.

Rooting your Xperia phone:

Extract DooMLoRD’s Easy Rooting Toolkit zip file to somewhere. ( The folder contains a folder and runme.bat.)

1. Click runme.bat. Ensure that you do what the window asks you to do.

2. Press any key on your keyboard.

In a moment, your phone will be rooted and rebooted. This method will automatically install Super User.

You can check for root status by installing Root Check Basic from the market.

Congratulations! Now you have a rooted Xperia phone. Enjoy the full potential of your Android phone.

Note: While Wotan client provides the firmware flashing service for free, it looks like it is a limited period offer. So use it until the offer lasts which I think should be for the entire year (2012).  It is also possible to flash an Xperia phone with the .ftf file using Flashtool (that shouldn’t void warranty for all practical purposes.). I don’t currently have a proper source the ftf files for the different models. If you can find (or make) a credible source of ftf files for all Xperia phones (with country specific customizations), please post the links in comments. That would help thousands of people. Thanks.

**Update 2**

If you are feeling lazy to follow all these steps, simply install the ftf file from this thread using Flashtool. While this is probably a different ROM than you already have, you need NOT unlock the bootloader to flash it. The ROM is pre-rooted. If you install this this, you will lose all data in phone (SD can not affected). Take a backup of all important data. I use APN Backup & Restore, Call Log Backup & Restore, SMS Backup & Restore for backing up data.

Old Method

** This option is no more free **

Since Wotan no longer provides free flashing service, I have updated this article with flashing with using Flashtool. If you are not able to use Flashtool for any reason, you can buy credits from Wotan. It’s actually cheap.

1. Download Wotan client to somewhere on your PC.

2. Install USBFlashDriver.exe

3. Open WotanClient.exe and wait for it to finish updating its database.

4. Follow exactly what appears in the next window. There are 8 pointers for you to follow. For many of the Xperia phones, the service button is Volume Down.

5. In the next window, check Enable advanced settings.

6. Your model will be automatically selected. Select 4.0.2.A.0.58 firmware or lower.

7. In the CDA drop-down box select your region.

8. Enter your user ID and password and click Update. You will get one credit.

9. Click Next.

Wotan client will download the necessary files and flash your phone. On successful flash, Wotan client will ask you to disconnect the phone from PC and reboot. Now you have downgraded your firmware and you can root your phone without unlocking the bootloader.