yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hamdogg:
Make sure you have all the sony drivers installed. (there are 6 i think. 4 by default from windows update.. and two from Sony)

go here: LINK

Obviously a reboot, and then just fastboot the kernel, then it should connect fine.

---------- Post added at 06:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:46 AM ----------

what did you follow?? did you flash something? check to see if it was the right FTF or ROM...
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] cyi1:
i was at .510 so i flashed your .532 ftf link on your guide
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hamdogg:
there will be three variants..

C6802

C6833

C6806

Make sure its the correct one... or at least not the C6802.. cause thats only a 3G ROM
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] cyi1:
crap i flashed 6802........... :(

---------- Post added at 06:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:55 AM ----------

i need to flash

Release: September 2013

[STOCK ROM] [FTF] Xperia Z Ultra (C6833) 14.1.B.1.532 "Generic EU" (unbranded, United Kingdom)

Google Doc's Click here for LINK

correct?
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hamdogg:
haha... thought so. Just flash the right one and you'll be fine. Nothing bad has happened... all fixable.

EDIT: Yep... thats the right one
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] cyi1:
If i flashed paranoid android rom already, can i use flashtool and flash that ftf file on top and go back to stock with the right c6833 ftf?
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hamdogg:
yes. an FTF is purestock and includes a kernel. so can go overtop of anything.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] cyi1:
thank u! :good::fingers-crossed:
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] KLLSWITCH:
ok so i got the kernel to flash finally but the phone doesnt reboot or anything just sits there.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] cyi1:
Everything worked perfectly! thanks!
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hamdogg:
and you're running stock GPe firmware?

sounds like the kernel isn't compatible with GPe... I haven't been keeping in touch.. is it supposed to be?...

try flashing OMNI rom. it's 4.4.. so should really be the same... well mostly.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2548107

Then you'll know if its base related
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] KLLSWITCH:
well the problem is i dont have root or a recovery yet just a boot loader unlock

edit and yes its a stock gpe
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hamdogg:
oh... and you can't restore the kernel... arse!

has anyone extracted the kernel yet?? then you can flash tool the kernel...

umm.... as far as I know thats all you can do... not booting seems to be a kernel/base issue...

I guess you could flash Krabapples kernel, which would give you recovery... then flash what every you wanted.

namely a different kernel... or

flash a Sony FTF base... then at least it would boot and your device would be going again.

has anyone extracted a FTF off the GPe? like i said i've not keeped up, my device is on its way back to me... in my hands friday,
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] Shadow of Chaos:
Ok, I've been fighting with this for the past several hours, and I can't for the life of me flash the right FTF image.

How the hell do I tell what country my phone is from? I know it's version, but it seems to just not like to do anything else. I'd post in the actual topic, but for some brilliant reason XDA thinks only people who post here frequently might have some questions about development related things.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Doesn't matter what country it's from.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] Shadow of Chaos:
You sure? I couldn't get the thing to recognize my SIM card in anything but what Sony tosses on with their tools.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] blueether:
I've had 3 different ftfs on mine: came with a CN firmware from china, have flashed a Chile and a HK (and what ever OTA version I got from Sony) - all with a NZ sim
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] Shadow of Chaos:
Hrm... strange. I'll have to try it again tomorrow; It's charge has gotten too far down to retry tonight, I'm afraid.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hamdogg:
Generic - will always work

Unbranded - will not have any preloaded apps from carriers.

Specific - Can often be country specific, but also some are not... so thats a bit hit and miss...
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
I've read through all the pages and can't find a definitive answer to my question:

If I don't wish to flash a custom rom of any kind and am okay with continuing to receive stock updates as my provider releases them - can I just root my phone despite the fact that the rooting status says the bootloader cannot be unlocked?

I have a Bell Xperia Ultra (Canada).

Thanks a lot.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] D_one:
I am not an expert, but I am pretty sure that the bootloader and root are separate. Yes, you should be able to use "root keeper" to do so.

---------- Post added at 11:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:55 PM ----------

I am wondering, did Bell lock all the bootloaders and not allow?

I really hope not.

I also have a canadian bell z ultra and just got the the stage of checking the unlock allowed and got:

bootloader unlock allowed: no

Should I try anyway? It seems that some other xperia forums have found that using this unlock method actually CAUSES the bootloader unlock state to change. Is that a possibility here? Have any bell owners unlocked the bootloader yet? Is there any risk to try?

---------- Post added at 11:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 PM ----------

Update: No luck, the bootloader seems to be lock, Flashtool returns an error. Crap, that means I might have to sell this....sigh....
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
So you tried unlocking the bootloader?

Did you just try rooting the device prior to attempting the unlock?

Wondering if the root was successful.

I don't care about adding custom roms - I just want to be able to install apps like LBE and Titanium Backup with Root.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] stopa10:
It's difficult to answer, since we don't even know what firmware version are you on. Anyway, there is a chance that the new version of Kingo root may be able to root 4.3. We don't know since nobody has tried yet...
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
That was extremely noobish of me!

I am on .532.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] stopa10:
If you are on .532 then you are right: you can root without unlocking. Just use the root tool in the OP.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] Kyoshimadoshi:
If I use this method to root can I keep root with 4.3 update?
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
Is that 100% confirmed?

No offence - but could someone who has been around on the forum a little longer confirm this as well please?
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Yes, you can root .532 and earlier without unlocking the bootloader :)
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
Awesome!

Thank you so much.

So excited I'll actually have LBE back up and running!

Just out of curiosity - normal mode, special mode or new mode?

And if all I'm doing is rooting, do I need to worry about this drm key stuff I've been reading about? I don't want to risk losing the x-reality or Bravia engine?

Thanks so much again.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
What normal, special and new mode? And no, you don't really need to backup the TA folder, but it takes you 30 seconds to do it, and it'll save you down the road if/when you choose to unlock the bootloader and want X-Reality to work when you re-lock it again. You don't need to do it though, and you won't lose it by only rooting.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
It says this in the OP of the rooting thread linked in the OP of this thread:

Notice:

Normal Mode will not wipe any other data, dont worry! (only maybe your backgroud vanishes )

Special Mode CAN wipe your data, Rollback SHOULD restore, but to be sure backup you data somehow!

New Mode SHOULD be able to root all new Sony Firmwares like 2.55 and higher where Normal mode was failing
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Oh, just try Normal Mode, and if that doesn't work, try New Mode.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
Out of curiosity - I know that I cannot flash a non stock ROM without an unlocked bootloader - but once I've successfully rooted version 532 - can I get the latest stock firmware on my phone despite it being Bell and carrier-locked?

Basically - my phone is not carrier-unlocked - and the bootloader says it cannot be unlocked - but is there anything stopping me from upgrading to the latest firmware - or should I wait until Bell decides to finally release the update for us?
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
You can flash stock ROMs as often as you like. Just use Flashtool. So yes, you can manually download 4.3 and flash it.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
But you mentioned in the OP that if you use flash tool for anything newer than 532 you'd lose root?

The only issue I can see with the CDA stuff you've mentioned is I have a 6806, but you've changed values for a 6833.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Oh, i was half asleep when i read your post :p Yeah, you'll lose root if you update through Flashtool, so you'll have to wait for the 257 OTA update, or you can manually flash 290 (the latest 4.3 update) and root it by following these steps.

EDIT: No, i'm wrong. You'll have to unlock the bootloader if you want to root 290. Jeez.. So back to 257. Change the CDA to a country that has the OTA and update. The german CDA in the guide should have the OTA.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
Looks like that method requires an unlocked boot loader - it mentions cwm/recovery.

So with regards to OTA, are you saying I have to wait until Bell releases new firmware? Nothing I can do to force an OTA update for the 6806?
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Yeah, i updated my post 5 seconds after i posted it :p You should be able to change the CDA to german or something and force the OTA. I just updated the OP btw, and god it's a mess now :p Sooo many details, lol.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
The process you've mentioned is for a 6833 - do you think that forcing the cda and upgrading 6833 firmware onto a 6806 might result in problems?

Do you think you can add different values under the CDA process for the 6806?
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Ooh, i see. I should go to bed again :p I'm not 100% sure. I should know this; but i don't, so i'll summon [MENTION=4642591]hamdogg[/MENTION] and see if he knows what's up. He's sick though, so it could take a while.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
Thanks a lot for all the assistance - really appreciate it. :)

I'll wait until you have more information before I try upgrading from 532 - don't want to lose lte or something in the process.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Well, 6833 is an LTE device, so it should in theory(?) work fine, but again, i'm not sure, so just wait until we're 100% sure.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] SpyderTracks:
[MENTION=655433]LordManhattan[/MENTION] Really great guide, nice and easy. Finally rooted! Thanks, mate
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hamdogg:
So I understand the questions being a carrier locked and bootloader locked device correct? So that means you:

#1 can't use modified kernels, even stock kernels that are not signed.

- so you can't flash the latest firmware. (unless you don't care about root access)

Locked carrier means you can still flash any ftf's, just not use any other sim or carrier

But i'd do a back up just in case. "PC companion", just incase you need to return to your current ftf's.

If you have the 6833 then flash that

If you have the 6806 then flash that. Even though the two are both lte, they are running different lte bands. So are not compatible

(there are some overlapping issues, but let's not worry about that. At the moment)
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
Can I not change anything with regards to CDA to strings that are for the 6806 - not the 6833 - and then force an OTA update for 257 that way - and keep root?
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hamdogg:
If you changed the CDA and kept the device the same yes that will work. But to do that you'll need root or your device won't boot. Modifying the build.prop won't stick unless you are rooted, and in most cases I've tried it won't even boot
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hassanmahmood:
I am rooted - but the bootloader is locked.

My issue is that the strings that have been mentioned in the OP are 6833 specific - not 6806 - not sure what I should be changing the strings to in order to force a firmware update OTA for the 6806 - don't want to inadvertently flash 6833 on the phone.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] hamdogg:
It won't matter. Leave the device key alone and only change the country key. Although make a backup in PCC first.. ;)
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] thepatman:
So close...

Downgraded locked stock 290 (6806, ATT) to 532, rooted, backed up TA.

Flashed 290. Unlocked using Flashtool, rooted using Jackie099's method, dual recovery installed, PACrom boot.img installed, all good.

Apply PA 3.99 RC2 and associated GApps. Wipe cache, dalvik, factory reset.

No radio on reboot. Wifi works, everything running OK, but no radio. No APN settings at all. Try to set them, save, and then go back to check, nothing saved.

SuperSU doesn't seem to be "sticking" either, had to say "fix it" on a number of recovery reboots - but TB seems to get root priv when it asks <sigh>

Gonna start from scratch tomorrow, flash 290 stock FTF and make sure that radio still works, then take it from there, but any input on where I went wrong would be greatly appreciated!

EDIT: Seems to be a PA thing, I can reflash 290 and have LTE data no problem. I will look elsewhere for a solution, everything here works very well!

EDIT 2: It's the zero'd IMEI thing, seems to be lots of options here: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2575359 - still haven't figured it out, but I'll get there. Might be something to put in the OP, for idiots like me looking for shortcuts? Just a thought :)
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] thejackle123:
Flash eclude

Is there anything I should do in the flash settings window like excluding something?

This is when using flashtool to downgrade.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
You can exclude wiping and stuff like that if you feel like it, but don't touch anything else.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] thejackle123:
adb out of date

Successfully flashed it. Now to rooting program keeps giving me "adb out of date" and "device not found" now what am I doing wrong.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Open CMD from your ADB folder and type "adb devices" and see if it lists anything.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] thejackle123:
continue

Just did that, at first it didn't list any device but I then pulled out and put back in my USB cable. Now when I got here it hasn't done anything for a few minuets:

After restore is confirmed please look on your device and choose "Service Tests

-> Display" in Service menu and WAIT THERE!"

adb server is out of date. killing...

ADB server didn't ACK

* failed to start daemon *

error:

/data/local/tmp/onload.sh ...

adb server is out of date. killing...

* daemon started successfully *

The restore on my phone, in the grey box thing, goes "restore starting..." and then immediately "restore ended" This was with method 2. Tried 0, it worked.

Successfully rooted my phone, didn't need to change the CDA as the update worked fine without it.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] dominickmarcil:
Sony Xperia Z Ultra Honami !?

Hello I have encountered a quite unusual situation after rooting ( my bootloader is unlocked ) and trying to flash a rom ( any rom ) the log says [ the package is for Togari this device is a Honami ] Installation aborted.

I have a C6802 HK factory unlocked running 4.3 (14.2.A.0.290)

I would appreciate any help on that one.

Please see log attached
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Flash boot.img

Sent from my Z Ultra
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] ps000000:
This thread is very comprehensive

Make me understand Sony (style) in 24hours

(bit different from many Samsung Phone when playing custom ROMs):good:
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] neverborn:
290 ota fails

@op, great post, very informative.

Recently gotten the xzu c6833, after a long line of Samsung devices.

Phone was originally at 532, so i was able to root right away.

Installed ota root keeper, then updated to 257. Root is ok.

Question is, is there a reason updating to 290 via ota wouldn't work? I've tried at least 3 times in the last hour, no joy. I've even cleared data for update center, restarted, and re downloaded the update but that hasn't worked either.

Just wondering whether this is an expected scenario, as the op days to update to 290 via pc.

Many thanks!
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Yeah, losing root when updating to 290 is expected and i personally don't know why that is, but i'm sure someone else can give you the answer. Rooting 290 is fairly straight forwards though, and it only takes a couple of minutes (if you have everything set up) so it's not really an issue.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] ctexy:
Fantastic guide! Great having everything on one page - all devices should have a thread like this!

My only issue (if you can call it that) is I did one of the steps out of order. I am on a C6883 and ive followed all the steps and I'm now rooted on .532. I I even have custom recovery from the OP. The mistake I made is that I flashed custom recovery BEFORE unlocking the bootloader. Is that a problem?

I've tried unlocking the bootloader using flashtool (as mentioned in the op) but flashtool tells me the drivers arent installed for this device (which is strange because it worked fine when I flashed .532 to the device. I assumed it was a problem with fastboot, so I tried installing the fastboot drivers in the flashtool drivers folder. The drivers seem to install fine, but one driver (Google inc WINusb) fails. I'm using windows 8 and already followed the instructions to install flashtool on win 8.

I hope the above makes sense - and any advice much appreciated.

Thanks again for the thread!
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Doesn't really matter. You have Recovery installed now, but since your bootloader is still unlocked, you can't flash any custom ROMs. You can make backups though, so that's at least something :p

I don't use Windows 8, so I don't know what the problem might be, but all you need to do is to unlock the bootloader and maybe reinstall Recovery.

Have you tried to Google the driver and install it manually?

Sent from my Z Ultra
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] stopa10:
Yes, installing the .290 OTA update does not seem to be possible on rooted devices. Several of us tried that in Italy, but no way. The problem is not with losing root, it's the update that fails in the first place.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] neverborn:
Err, no it's not a matter of losing root at 290. I'm not even able to update to 290 via ota..

I hope the update goes OK with the pc companion. I'll try it out when i get back home. I'm out of town with no access to a pc, so i thought I'd give ota a try (or several)

---------- Post added at 03:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:32 AM ----------

Yup, that's exactly what I'm seeing too. Have you tried updating via pc?
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] stopa10:
Yes, updating via pc companion works like a charm :)
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] ctexy:
Interesting that you are all having issues updating OTA on rooted devices. It sounds like you are trying to go from. 257 to. 290. I can't even update from rooted. 532 to. 257 OTA!

I have set ever root using the app mentioned in the op. I wonder if that's the problem. Since you mention it worked in pc companion, did you lose root? The guide suggests you will.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] stopa10:
Yes, you lose root and you need to follow the procedure in this forum (see post about rooting .290) to get it back.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] kanej2006:
What is the point of the app keep root if it doesn't keep root and you lose it? Sounds like a $hit app to me that doesn't work...
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
The app is only useful on pre-290 builds. I'm afraid it doesn't support 4.3.

Sent from my Z Ultra
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] neverborn:
Finally updated via pc companion. Yay!

The way my phone just breezes through everything now , i can stand not having root access for a while. 4.2.2 was already very quick, but 4.3 somehow makes things even smoother!

Thanks again to the TS for a wonderful guide.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
But there is root for 4.3 :p It only takes you a couple of minutes if you have everything set up.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] neverborn:
Yep, I've backed up my ta partition just in case. But this phone is new enough that i don't know whether it's worth losing xreality by rooting.

It's also a pleasant surprise that i don't have too many apps(samsung phones have tons of bloatware!) that i need to freeze with titanium backup, which is usually the reason i root my phone . :)
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] kramnod:
does the recovery posted in this guide work with an unlocked bootloader or should I follow a different guide?
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
You've backed up the TA partition. You're safe. Store it on your Dropbox or whatever you feel like. You'll get X-Reality back when you flash it back to stock.

If you want to flash a custom rom, follow the orange and pink instructions. It's new year, so I'm not that capable to learn away things now. Dictionary for life yo. I'll get you tomorrow. But seriously, do whatever I said, or listen to the dude before me.. or what.. I'm sorry people. I just checked in while I'm at a party. Bad idea.

Sent from my Z Ultra
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] coman4:
So it seems that it's not a good idea to root GPe yet since we'll lose the TA partition without being able to back it up, and here I thought GPe would mean a more dev friendly device :\
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] blueether:
there is nothing not dev friendly in this, it is how it is meant to be...

you are just too used to having security holes on the os/apps to gain root
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] LordManhattan:
Alright, i'm back. Yes, Recovery works with both locked and unlocked bootloader. You'll only be able to make NAND backups with a locked bootloader though (make backup of your current ROM), but you'll be able to root whatever you feel like with an unlocked bootloader (CM, PAC, Omni etc,). Be sure to make a backup of your TA partition before you unlock the bootloader. If you're on 290 and want to root but want a backup of the TA partition, downgrade to 532 and do so (and update again to 290). If you've already backed up, follow the guide in the OP.

And yes, you have to be unlocked to root 290 (Android 4.3) to root.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] ZeroXXoreZ:
Help?

I've followed the guide and have managed to get cyanogenmod installed on my C6883 but I lose my IMEI and all mobile access. I've been reading about EFS etc but seems to be mainly related to Samsung devices... Everything up to installing cyanogenmod 10.2 is fine - root, recovery, unlocked bootloader etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] Kyoshimadoshi:
You have to flash boot img first when going from stock to cm. Otherwise lose imei.. Flash ftf and you'll get your imei back.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] williemeiser:
Can u please elaborate more? Im now on 4.3 official,rooted. but whenever i flash any rom i lose my imei,turned to 00000 and i lose all mobile data. Really want to try cm roms. :(
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] blueether:
There is a whole thread about this, and it is mentioned in most of the room threads as well.

You have to downgrade from 4.3 to say .532 and exclude baseband, then flash the room of choice.

But read the thread 4.3 locks you in http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2575359
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] Kyoshimadoshi:
I think its because of the difference of the kernels. That's why whenever flashing any custom rom you should not flash it directly from your recovery. Download a boot img, connect to a PC, use flashtool to flash the boot img and then get in to recovery and flash your custom rom. This is in the instructions of most roms.

---------- Post added at 06:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:14 AM ----------

So it seems that boot.img doesn't solve the issue. Must downgrade from 4.3.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] blueether:
as I said...

Here is a guide that I've just written: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2593918