yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] ms2398:
The driver is so that the flashing tool (newflasher) can talk to the phone and perform the flash of the rom. We are unsure if OTA will arrive as usual with the modified rom. If it does still come, it will for certain remove the finger print mod, which will mean that we must download the new firmware and replace the Oem file again and flash again using newflasher.

---------- Post added at 09:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:54 PM ----------

If you use Sony's Xperia Companion, it will always flash stock roms. That tool cannot be used to flash a customized rom.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] TX-Brad:
Totally worked!!

VoLTE, Band 12, WiFi Calling all with finger print sensor working!!
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] Frontier3:
I don't suppose someone has just uploaded the flashable file somewhere?

Also, anyone yet who can verify that VoLTE is working on AT&T?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] will.m:
There's no need to upload anything. You can get it straight from Sony through xperifirm. The only time anyone would need to upload anything is if this gets patched in an update.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] 1230m:
Okay, thanks!

That brings me to another question, though... So, I have a top folder, then inside that a folder with the firmware contents inside (UK rom with US OEM) and the newflasher application file (first and second pictures). I have downloaded the drivers from the sony developer site, but have not done anything with them. What you're saying is, I need to add the driver folder (third picture), or the driver folder's contents (fourth picture), in my top folder, alongside the overall firmware folder and newflasher?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] ms2398:
Actually what you need to do is place newflasher directly inside the rom directory (the directory with the sin files in it). When you run that application, it is looking in the directory it is currently in for the files to flash, so if it is above or below that directory, it will not work.

Also, you do not need the driver files inside any of the flash directories. All you need to do is install the driver on the pc before running newflasher. To do so, simply right click on the single driver file that has the gear icon ⛮, and in the pop-up menu will be an option that says Install. You should probably get a pop up window confirming the driver was installed successfully.

Once you have done those two steps you will be ready to flash.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] 1230m:
Oh ok. Cool! Thanks for the clarification! I am guessing "86" and "64" are for 32 bit vs 64 bit OS? I have a 64 OS PC, so I'd do x64? Or is it based off the phone's OS?

Edit 2: per the new flasher thread and the creator himself (mujeni) if the "boot" folder Is there then the partition folder contents need to be moved into a non-zipped folder titled "partition". I have made this change from my pictures above (in addition to your advice). My understanding is that the boot and partition folders are related, so if you're loading one you need to load both (although, leave them in the non-zipped folders, because of how newflasher and it all works or something)
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] ms2398:
Yes the 64 bit version is what you want then. The driver version you need is based on your operating system version.

I personally did not move the partition data like you are describing and my install worked fine so I'm not sure if it's completely necessary for our rom.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] 1230m:
Okay, thank you!

You did leave the boot folder though, as well?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] ms2398:
Yes I left it exactly as it was when it was downloaded from xperifirm.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] genorok:
Thanks guys. I did the trick with the OEM swap on the US model. Works perfectly.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] ms2398:
Awesome. Glad to hear it. Really loving the premium specs and compact form factor of this phone especially with the Tmobile carrier features and fingerprint. The side placement of the fingerprint reader is the best spot for the reader IMHO.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] rfetech:
The main purpose of this post is to extend my gratitude to all of you that have shared your knowledge and experience. Or should I say "Xperia" sense? :o

This is my story...

On Thursday, I received my XZ1c from eGlobal Central. I booted up without a SIM just to get a feel for my new phone and Oreo. It came with the HK .281 ROM which I later updated to HK .324 OTA. After testing and playing around for a few hours, I flashed the customized UK .324. I then installed the SIM from my Z3c, Cricket Wireless, and did more testing, etc. Everything worked great but no LTE, of course. I then did another flash with the US .281 OEM .sin added and now I have everything I could ask for and working super good. Fingerprint scanner and LTE data. The XZ1c has much better receive sensitivity than my Z3c. I don't know it that is normal or just my particular Z3c. Either way, I am very pleased with my purchase. At least for now... ;)

For your reference, each flash that I performed was with the "complete" ROM folder, as downloaded with XperiaFirm. I only added the newflasher.exe file to the folder. I didn't unzip the "partition" file as I had no need to recreate the partitions. Of course, with the second flash, I removed the UK .324 OEM file and replaced it with the US .281 OEM file.

Thanks to you all, it was a very simple and painless process!

Cheers!
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] 1230m:
Thanks to everyone, as well! I did the same and ended up leaving the partition (nonzip) and boot folders in (so, not sure this makes a difference either way, but both ways appear to achieve the same main results desired from the purpose of this entire thread based on both of our experiences then, ms2398). VoLTE/VoHD/VoWiFi all appear to be working on t-mobile, along with the sensor. Thanks again!
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] Tron510:
Quick question:

What does this little workaround mean for future otas? Will we have to do this everytime manually? or will a uk (or whatever rom) ota ignore the us oem file?

thanks
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] baldursgate:
Hey guys, I see three versions of the UK 324 ROM (Customized, EE, and Vodafone) - if I'm trying to get a US-based phone working, it doesn't really matter which one I pick right? The key is to move the OEM sin file from the US ROM?

Also, I started seeing a version 374 for some countries on XperiFirm. Anyone on that version yet?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] ah_hin:
Phone can connect to my car, but no audio could be streamed through Bluetooth. It used to work with X compact though...

maybe the new Bluetooth standard is too "new"?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] will.m:
Anyone try flashing with 374 yet?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] ms2398:
I also had some Bluetooth problems when I was using the 281 rom as my base rom. When I switched to using 324 as a base, my Bluetooth issues were resolved. It's worth noting that I did a clean install of my modified 324 rom.

---------- Post added at 02:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:49 PM ----------

I have not, but I will probably try this tonight and will post results. I'm hoping I can dirty flash so to speak, and retain all user data.

---------- Post added at 02:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:50 PM ----------

Actually, I will be waiting until the Customized UK is updated to 374.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] Tron510:
I just tried with 374 CE1. seems to be working fine, but it starts w/ google default sms instead of a sony app?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] kingwaffle:
I think that's normal...? I got my phone today (eBay purchase shipped from Taiwan, so I'm assuming it has the Taiwan firmware) and it also is using the stock Google Messenger app.

I am downloading the South Korean firmware (also 374) and will attempt to mix-and-match that one with the USA oem file.

I don't know what I aim to achieve by doing this, as I have no need for VoLTE and the Fingerprint sensor already works since it's a non-US firmware.

But to hell with it. It must be done. I will post my findings.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] kingwaffle:
South Korea flashed with no issues... Wifi calling is on, indicator turned from 4G to LTE.

Worth mentioning -- the Xperia driver posted earlier in this thread isn't necessary. Holding volume-down and plugging in the device will install a generic "Android" item in your device manager. If you force the previously mentioned driver on top of it, it will install, but newflasher won't work.

I had to use the GordonGate driver included with newflasher otherwise it would error out.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] will.m:
Sony no longer uses their own messaging app; they use google messages instead.

Just to be clear, you have VoLTE and the fingerprint sensor working on CE 374?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] Tron510:
Ye, fingerprint scanner works and I believe volte works. Speed tests are pretty fast
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] kingwaffle:
I don't know if it's related to 374 at all, but my phone absolutely refuses to connect to the Bluetooth in my car.

However, it works just fine pairing to another phone.

Kind of disappointing...

I have no other issues to report at this time.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] ms2398:
I am going to test 374 customized UK with the 281 customized US oem file today. I'll report back my experience with bluetooth in my car.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] mikelaca:
I'm a HUGE novice when it comes to understanding the jargon used by others on this thread, however I think I may not be alone in saying I'm a regular Joe that just needs simple instructions on what is the easiest way to get Band12, Fingerprint, and Wifi Calling on Tmobile. If anyone is able to summarize how to do it for someone who has never done this before, that would be fantastic. If not, perhaps answer a few basic questions below so I can keep trying to make sense of this.

1. Is it easier to buy a UK phone or a USA phone?

2. What application(s) do I install on my computer to "flash" this phone? Does the app work on Mac or just Windows?

3. Whats needed for the phone to be recognized by my computer? I've read I need to install drivers but then someone else said you can use a key combination on the phone to have it generically recognized. What's the simplest way to get it recognized?

4. Should the modifications be done as soon as the phone is pulled out of the box or after a basic setup of gmail account and OTA updates are done?

5. After the phone is made to work with all features should OTA updates in the future be avoided?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] Tron510:
As a user in the US, am I missing out on anything because I flashed CE1 374 (available first) instead of customized UK?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] kingwaffle:
I don't think so.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] ms2398:
FYI customized UK 374 with customized US 281 oem file works well. I also do not have any issues with bluetooth on the 374 build. It is worth noting that I did do a completely clean install of UK 374 with the US 281 oem file, so I don't know if that has anything to do with you having Bluetooth issues.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] kingwaffle:
I'm going to wait until the next release before I flash it again. I strongly doubt my Bluetooth issues are related to different region firmware (UK vs South Korea).

For whatever it's worth, my Bluetooth headphones work fine . my car gets stuck indefinitely pairing.

Edit: I GOT IT TO WORK! Some combination of me pairing, unpairing, deleting device from headunit got it to work.

I think my headunit was passing BT capabilities to the phone incorrectly, because my phone would "see" the radio, but would only offer contact sharing and not audio.

I'll just never change phones again so it stays working.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] Jooosty:
Getting my XZ1C this Wednesday, this will be the first thing I do!
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] Jooosty:
Getting this code after installing driver. Windows 7 Enterprise.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] pbarrette:
To put the phone in flash mode, you need to:

1] Power the phone off.

2] Press and hold the Volume Down Button.

3] While doing #2, plug the phone into your computer.

Device Manager should show an Unknown or Other device. Quite possibly the one above what you think is the right one.

It will have a device descriptor like this

USB\VID_0FCE&PID_B00B

in the "Details" tab.

Run newflasher and answer Y to the GordonGate driver.

It will exit after having dumped a zip file into the newflasher directory.

Unzip and install that driver for the device described above.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] Jooosty:
Lol, Im such a noob. I got stuck at driver install. But this totally worked! Thanks! after I installed the gordon gate to the Xperia, newflasher read the device.

This is my first time flashing anything Sony since the Xperia X10

Thanks a ton. Flashing in progress as I type. :good:
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] 1230m:
I flashed 281 and 324 a bit ago. Seemed to worked great. All stuff working on tmobile and fingerlrint sensor working. However, over the last week or two I've noticed several features missing?

It is worth noting I am coming from four or so years of iOS. I do have some android fan friends and have been asking them little things here and there, about app settings, general settings, and so on. What we've found is that several features are straight up missing and/or grayed out. And, not just regional things, at least I wouldnt think? But more major settings/features.

Is this just Oreo or Sony? My buddies have nougat phones atm.

I have some options that are completely grayed out and I can't change anything (I have this issue in several places). The settings seem to be inconsistent from app to app (some apps have options in the android settings, some have none and I change things in the app, it's like there's no rhyme or reason to anything). Another example, is I get these pop up windows when I try to click a link in an app or share something of another app within a different one (if that makes sense) instead of actually opening up the other app.

I think this may be coincidence, but my phone also got dropped from tmobile entirely once and I got put to "emergency calls only". I actually even had to use my friends phone to call 611. Tmobile said it should work and had me restart my phone (derby me didn't do this before), but what seemed to fix it was them resetting the connection on their end. I've had service since, but I was traveling when this happened and if I wasn't with someone could have essentially been without a phone for several days and/or until I could've found a payphone. I think this may have been coincidence (perhaps cause I was traveling and switching from tmobile networks to partner networks and back and forth and maybe one time it just messed up?).

Right now, I can't push my keyboard down and away. I often can't select AND copy text in my browser, but only select (in Gmail via Chrome and this site now, maybe the sites?).

Edit: Here is a picture where I can't change the way Chrome opens links. .... Nevermind, you can't copy (and paste) images in Android?

Thanks in advance for any assistance!
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] sidewinder_x5:
attempted to do this using customized UK .374 FW, using the .281 US OEM file. flash directory looks as pic related. (removed all *.ta and userdata files in order to keep everything.)

currently on the bootscreen forever (>5min)

any idea why?

disregard above. i forgot i wasnt on .374 already and i think that messed it up. flashed full .374 and flashed US .281 OEM file and all is good.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] baldursgate:
Got mine this week, I'm very happy with the phone and the steps for getting the fingerpring sensor working were perfect. Thank you everyone for contributing!
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] pjay@nyex.org:
anyone try flashing this onto a G8342 ? i don't mind if i lose the 2nd sim tray
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] ms2398:
As far as I've heard, this has not been tested by anyone yet.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] maidguitar:
When UK or CE1 or whatever else updates in a few weeks (hopefully with the camera fix), how will we update our rom without wiping userdata? I assume we'll download the new international version, download whatever latest US version there is, put the oem file in, and then we'll have to remove whatever else in the international version that will wipe user data, and then flash...correct? And that should act similar to an OTA update?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] Nmc_alves®:
My phone is a g8142, xz premium dual and i ve flashed ch firmware for g8141 and now i have a G8141... Full working but no dual sim now...
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] christogold:
Has anyone been able to check and see if you can still connect to Band 12 LTE for data on T-Mobile with unmodified UK firmware? I could care less about VoLTE and VoWi-Fi as I rarely ever talk on the phone, but Band 12 is used iin some places where I live (you can see with LTE discovery what LTE band you are connected to).
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] andTab:
T-Mobile kicks you off without VoLTE.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] rouyal:
I'm getting my US model in the mail in a few days. I think I've got a good idea of how to get fp working while using the us oem sin file (even though I'm not TMobile). What I'm wondering is will doing this affect availability or usability of Android Pay, using the UK firmware? I don't know if it's a regional thing or not.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] pbarrette:
If you're not on T-Mobile, then just flash an international version, like UK.

The only reason that people are using the US firmware's OEM with other region firmware is to get both the fingerprint reader and VoLTE on T-Mobile.

If you mix the US's OEM sin file into a different firmware, you won't get OTA updates, which makes updating much more difficult.

Since you're not on T-Mobile, you won't get VoLTE or VoWiFi with the US's OEM file anyway, so you gain nothing by mixing firmware bits.

You're better off just sticking with a full international firmware, like UK, unchanged.

None of the firmwares come with the Google Wallet app pre-installed, so far as I know.

Android pay availability is, to my knowledge, based on the bank you associate and not the phone's firmware region.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] rouyal:
[MENTION=4782500]pbarrette[/MENTION]

Is there more localization in the US oem than just support for TMobile? That can't be all it's used for? I think I read a post here where someone didn't get lte until they flashed the OEM file. Thanks for the reply, I'm trying to understand this whole international thing. I'm trying to make sure all bands/frequencies work because I live in a rural area.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] rouyal:
Hi, I'm downloading all the files, getting ready. Using xperifirm, I noticed that the Customized US is version "324" and not the "281" that everyone used. Is this fine to mix with the UK?
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] pbarrette:
Not really.

The OEM partition is used primarily to perform carrier specific setup. If your carrier isn't in a specific list that has been coded into the firmware, then the regional firmware has no difference.

The differences between the UK and US oem partitions are these:

1] Apps:

- UK includes the Kobo Books app.

- US includes the CellBroadcastReceiver app (receives Amber Alerts and such).

2] Swiftkey Dictionary:

- UK has en_GB

- US has en_US

3] Config.prop entries:

- UK has some different emergency numbers from the US (both have 911 and 112 listed though)

- UK has "persist.radio.prefer_spn=1"

- UK has "ro.telephony.no_emg_calls_only=true"

- UK has "persist.ro.ril.sms_sync_sending=1"

- UK has "ro.sys.stamina.active_level=0"

4] Default overlay apps set different defaults:

- US has a number of T-Mobile APNs by default

- The SMS/MMS default settings are slightly different.

- The UK defaults to 24hr time, while the US defaults to 12hr.

5] Provider specific modems and overlays are different.

- The US firmware provides T-Mobile US specific VoLTE and VoWiFi modem and settings if you have a T-Mobile SIM.

- The UK firmware has Three and T-Mo UK specific settings.

If you don't have a SIM which matches the provider specific MCC/MNC in the OEM SIN file, you get a generic modem and the generic defaults.

So there's zero possible chance that you'll have a different modem or different bands available by using the US or UK or any other firmware's OEM SIN file.

Anyone who says different needs to prove it.

If you're really planning to go down this route, then it should be fine to use the US .324's OEM sin file.

Literally the only thing that changed is the firmware version number in "cust.prop" and a licensing notice change for the "retaildemo" app.

EDIT:

I would note that if you're in a rural area and actually need to make a call (like for an emergency), then you may not be able to even if you have signal and data. This is because, in the US, only T-Mobile has VoLTE enabled on this phone. T-Mo uses band 12 only for LTE and it has a lower frequency and further reach than its other bands. So B12 gets used more in rural areas on T-Mo.

This is precisely why these low-frequency, far-reach bands are sometimes disabled at the carrier end (ATT/T-Mo/etc) for users who can do data, but not VoLTE. You have signal, so you think you're fine. But then you need to call 911 and suddenly have no signal because the tower doesn't support older, 3G voice calls.

It's a legal liability for carriers, so they will sometimes disable the band for you on their end if they determine that the phone doesn't support VoLTE.

That's different from the phone itself not supporting the band for data, and possibly what some people are seeing, then misinterpreting.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] rouyal:
[MENTION=4782500]pbarrette[/MENTION]

Thank you for the detailed response, and breaking down the differences. I guess I will have to do some thinking to see which route to take. Of course neither would be permanent. I will also need to see how my signal would be at this new job I got. I may need T-Mobile just for the wifi calling. Thanks again.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] pbarrette:
One thing you could do is put your SIM in and check your signal with the full US firmware.

Then do a full flash of the UK firmware and do the same.

The full flash (no files removed from the FW download) will also do a full reset on the phone.

Since it's brand new, you don't have any data to lose and the flash takes less than 10 minutes, so it should be pretty easy to test.
[Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers] ms2398:
To your knowledge, is carrier aggregation only present on the US firmware? The reason I ask is because I noticed on my previous phone (XZ) I only saw LTE+ when using the US modem file. While at the same location and using the same sim card, I would not see the + symbol on say the UK firmware. When I replaced the UK's modem file with the US one, I started seeing 4G+.