[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] bigrammy:
Flashing Rooting Tool's etc.

Ok so where do I start :eek:​

Tools:

Most of these tools following are specific to Sony but not all.

Most are for Linux and or Windows. I work with Linux only nowadays so others may need to help out with the Windows specifics.

If I refer to something you don't understand like .sin for example check the Sony specifics in Posts below.

GUI stands for General User Interface you know point click drag drop enter sort of stuff.

cmd stands for a command line tool run in a terminal or cmd prompt.

Androxyde FlashTool (Sony Specific, GUI, Linux (Needs Mono installed) Windows)

Androxyde FlashTool is a Sony Specific tool to download and flash Sony firmware packages and more. It use Sony's S1 Protocols when flashing Most of the MediaTek devices that Sony produce but the newer L3 L4 models may use the new protocol. Thread here https://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=920746 website is here http://www.flashtool.net/index.php Note: the Warning to C4/C5 users in the Downloads section M5 users should also be included. To use that version you need a custom FSC if one exists if not then there is a older version which is safe to use but it does have some limitation but more on this later)

XperiFirm (Sony specific, GUI, Linux (Needs Mono installed) Windows)

XperiFirm is a Standalone version of the same tool built into Androxyde FlashTool. this tools allows you to get the official Sony firmware for your device. It taps into the Sony repository I assume Sony's official Xperia Companion Tool uses. It will download the firmware and unpack it for you.

Main Thread is HERE

UnSIN (Sony specific, GUI, Linux (Needs Mono installed) Windows)

UnSIN is a standalone version of the same tool built into Androxyde FlashTool/XperiFirm it extracts the .elf and ext4 image files from the Sony firmware .sin's

Main Thread HERE

NOTE: munjeni's "Unpack any Sony firmware" see below does the same thing.

MTK-SU (MediaTek Specific, cmd, device binary Linux & Windows)

Thanks to dev [MENTION=8132642]diplomatic[/MENTION] All Sony Mediatek devices should now be able to obtain a /ta partition backup before unlocking their bootloader. (Yes I know see Sony specifics below for /ta explanations.)

It works by getting temporary "root" with a easy to use method which will then allow you to grab a /ta backup via the dd cmd

I did some testing for diplomatic and I can confirm this works for Sony MediaTek devices XA, XA1 C4, C5, M5, L1, L2 and L3 and all their variants. diplomatic's Thread is HERE for instructions and details also remember to Hit his Thanks Button or the Thumbs Up Button if your using a phone app.

AIK (Android universal, cmd, device binary also Linux & Windows)

This tool should be familiar to almost all dev's but where it stands out from the crowd is it's support for Sony's .elf format boot and recovery. (Yes I know see Sony specifics below for .elf explanations.) This tool takes the .elf unpacks it and repacks it in the more familiar AOSP .img format (It's not just a renaming exercise) which make life so much easier so big thanks to osm0sis for this.

AIK (meaning Android Image Kitchen by [MENTION=4544860]osm0sis[/MENTION] this tool will unpack the .elf's and repack them as AOSP .img's by default :good: I Main Thread HERE

munjeni's Sony Tools collection (Sony specific, cmd, device binary also Linux & Windows)

Sony dev [MENTION=4120742]munjeni[/MENTION] has produced a host of standalone open sourced dev tools. :good:

Unpack any Sony firmware does what it says really. It will extract the .img from the .sin's in the firmware packages. (Yes I know see Sony specifics below for .sin explanations.) Main Thread Here

Xflasher This tool is a standalone cmdline tool and can flash devices using the S1 protocol in download mode. I tested this on the L1 with noloader XA and XA1 with loader and it worked fine flashing boot.sin system userdata etc etc but flashing the boot area (preloader lk etc) is not fully tested as yet. The C4 failed as did the M5 so I suspect these older devices are not supported. Main Thread HERE

Sony Backup Tool/Script by bigrammy (Sony specific, cmd, Linux & Windows)

This is a little helper script to backup Sony Mediatek devices and is used in conjunction with MTK-SU prior to unlocking your boot loader.

It will backup your /ta /nvram and some other partitions. It also creates a dd-backup.txt which lists all the partitions on your device in dd backup format.

Sony Backup Script

Other cool things too so be sure to keep checking his threads :good: