Simplest way to upgrade from .532 firmware to 14.1.B.2.257 whilst maintaining root? - Sony Xperia Z Ultra

As the title says, I'm currently rooted and using the original .532 firmware.
What is the simplest way of upgrading to the latest update keeping root intact?
I'm able to update via wi-fi or over the air.
I read somewhere about rootkeeper?
Please could someone advise me on how to do this without wiping data and root.
Thanks xda members.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2502185

natispain said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2502185
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link. However, is there not an alternative & quicker method?
A user claims to have updated ota without losing root only by using rootkeeper.

I donĀ“t know, but that method is quick and easy.
You must have the bootloader unlocked, do not have recovery installed, only change the build.prop with rooy explorer (you can try without changing it), keep the root with rootkeeper and update with sony update center.
You can try it with your original 532, I think.

rooted and on original software (condensed from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2502185). You do not need unlocked bootloader for this.
1. OTA Rootkeeper - install and protect root
2. Perform OTA to 257
3. Enjoy
If OTA fails
1. TiBu - make full backup of your apps & necessary system apps (wifi locations, SMS, etc)
2. FlashTool - Reinstall 532 FTF
3. Root (vRoot is suspect, but go ahead if you like living dangerously, we all do)
4. OTA Rootkeeper - install and protect root
5. Perform OTA to 257
6. Restore Apps via TiBu
7. Enjoy
* Of course, if you're doing it via OTA failure method, you should make sure all your app config files are exported out and saved (Nova, LightFlow, etc)

hey dude do nothing. do not unlock bootloader or anything else. if you have root just ota thats it no need for a rootkeeper or anything else.
can it be any simple than that???

the duderino said:
hey dude do nothing. do not unlock bootloader or anything else. if you have root just ota thats it no need for a rootkeeper or anything else.
can it be any simple than that???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I did last time but root was lost.
I may skip the update and wait for Kitkat 4.4 and root.
I noticed no difference or improvement whatsoever when I had 257.

kanej2006 said:
That's what I did last time but root was lost.
I may skip the update and wait for Kitkat 4.4 and root.
I noticed no difference or improvement whatsoever when I had 257.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmmm it worked for me tough.

Related

[Q] Uninstall stock apps?

Hi everyone.....so does anyone know a way to remove those stupid stock apps that come with the prime?? and btw I'm NOT rooted.
Thanks
You can 'disable' many of the stock apps with standard apps tool under ICS. To remove system apps you can't disable you need to be rooted.
Stefan662 said:
You can 'disable' many of the stock apps with standard apps tool under ICS. To remove system apps you can't disable you need to be rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thanks ill check it out....and do u kno a good and safe way to root?? also is there a way to unroot?
If you are on .21 firmware it is not so easy to root.
1. you have to downgrade to .15 (see here). Beware this is not without risk please read the instructions very carefully.
2. root (see here) and protect the root status with 'OTA rootkeeper'.
3. update via OTA to .21 and restore root with OTA Rootkeeper.
Stefan662 said:
If you are on .21 firmware it is not so easy to root.
1. you have to downgrade to .15 (see here). Beware this is not without risk please read the instructions very carefully.
2. root (see here) and protect the root status with 'OTA rootkeeper'.
3. update via OTA to .21 and restore root with OTA Rootkeeper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the answer but i disabled the apps from the settings like you said and everything is fine, thanks anyway.
nabil alami said:
Hi everyone.....so does anyone know a way to remove those stupid stock apps that come with the prime?? and btw I'm NOT rooted.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be aware if you uninstall stock application you may not be able to receive OTA updates!!
As in software updates???

[Q] Keeping root from 4.1.2 to 4.3(109) with Supersu Pro

I'm still on a rooted 4.1.2 and have the second OTA update to 4.3 (.109) in my notifications. Rather than go through the whole flashing process, I wondered if anyone had successfully used the Survival mode in SuperSU to retain root from this point to .109?
Chimpdaddy said:
I'm still on a rooted 4.1.2 and have the second OTA update to 4.3 (.109) in my notifications. Rather than go through the whole flashing process, I wondered if anyone had successfully used the Survival mode in SuperSU to retain root from this point to .109?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can try ot yourself,.but i reckon it will give you error while applying update.
Rootk1t said:
you can try ot yourself,.but i reckon it will give you error while applying update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, I'd read similar. I was more concerned that it would update but I'd lose root, so have to then do the full process.
Chimpdaddy said:
Yup, I'd read similar. I was more concerned that it would update but I'd lose root, so have to then do the full process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a rooted 422 with su pro, The update process aborts mid way and the OS is left untouched, leaving all as it was. I am just too lazy to do the flashtool thing and all, so I left it alone.
I was able to go from 412 to 422 with the OTA and keep root.
bjrmd said:
I have a rooted 422 with su pro, The update process aborts mid way and the OS is left untouched, leaving all as it was. I am just too lazy to do the flashtool thing and all, so I left it alone.
I was able to go from 412 to 422 with the OTA and keep root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, so lazy, if I wait long enough 4.4 will come around and that might keep root!
Nobody's read a successful account of this working then? I may as well just try it and see...
Possibly
If you have bought Supersu pro then you could try survival mode, provided that your phone is only root and doesn't have a custom recovery installed.
I personally haven't tried it on my tablet but on other phones like G2, OTA update retains root.
If you have CWM or TWRP installed then it won't let you update.
adielee said:
If you have bought Supersu pro then you could try survival mode, provided that your phone is only root and doesn't have a custom recovery installed. I personally haven't tried it on my tablet but on other phones like G2, OTA update retains root. If you have CWM or TWRP installed then it won't let you update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Judging by all the posts I have read here so far, attempting to update to 4.3 via OTA will fail if your tablet's current firmware has been modified to have root access. Having SuperSU Pro installed with Install SuperSU into /system and/or Survival mode enabled does not help. I have attempted an OTA update with 10.4.B.0.577 and 10.4.1.B.0.109, and the update failed in both attempts. It's okay with me though. After reading about 4.3's bugs and seeing its UI, I don't really want to update to 4.3 anymore.
Cat McGowan said:
Judging by all the posts I have read here so far, attempting to update to 4.3 via OTA will fail if your tablet's current firmware has been modified to have root access. Having SuperSU Pro installed with Install SuperSU into /system and/or Survival mode enabled does not help. I have attempted an OTA update with 10.4.B.0.577 and 10.4.1.B.0.109, and the update failed in both attempts. It's okay with me though. After reading about 4.3's bugs and seeing its UI, I don't really want to update to 4.3 anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're right, but besides bugs introduced as every firmware does, some very positive tweaks were done "under the bonnet" like TRIM enabled to make less wearing of flash modules, and some performance tweaks noticeable not only in launcher, but mostly in games too.
So if you have root and recovery installed you can backup your data and install .109 prerooted firmware to evaluate it yourself.
Rootk1t said:
you're right, but besides bugs introduced as every firmware does, some very positive tweaks were done "under the bonnet" like TRIM enabled to make less wearing of flash modules, and some performance tweaks noticeable not only in launcher, but mostly in games too.
So if you have root and recovery installed you can backup your data and install .109 prerooted firmware to evaluate it yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would also recommend to flash a pre-rooted 4.3 from scratch for performance and less issues, but if you have a lot of apps installed and everything set up the way you want it can be a pain in the a$#.
Also the OP doesn't want to flash. But if he can it means that the OTA won't install because he has a custom recovery.
I don't see why Supersu pro with survival mode won't work for an OTA to keep root. This is provided that a you do not have a custom recovery installed. It's kind of the purpose for survival mode and if you do a search it works with most other updates with other devices (even for 4.4.2)
It may be possible that other mods may affect the OTA especially ones which were flashed or possibly xposed.
adielee said:
I don't see why Supersu pro with survival mode won't work for an OTA to keep root. This is provided that a you do not have a custom recovery installed. It's kind of the purpose for survival mode and if you do a search it works with most other updates with other devices (even for 4.4.2) It may be possible that other mods may affect the OTA especially ones which were flashed or possibly xposed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not have (nor do I want) a custom recovery or custom ROM installed on my XTZ. I only have root access, which I achieved by using DooMLoRD's Easy Rooting Toolkit when I first received my XTZ back in May 2013. Since then, thanks to SuperSU Pro, I have updated my XTZ's firmware via OTA twice without losing root access. It is only with the last two XTZ firmware releases, 10.4.B.0.577 and 10.4.1.B.0.109, that the OTA updates fail. I suspect Sony's latest firmware releases include detection of root access, etc., which causes the update's failure to install.
Nope
Cat McGowan said:
I do not have (nor do I want) a custom recovery or custom ROM installed on my XTZ. I only have root access, which I achieved by using DooMLoRD's Easy Rooting Toolkit when I first received my XTZ back in May 2013. Since then, thanks to SuperSU Pro, I have updated my XTZ's firmware via OTA twice without losing root access. It is only with the last two XTZ firmware releases, 10.4.B.0.577 and 10.4.1.B.0.109, that the OTA updates fail. I suspect Sony's latest firmware releases include detection of root access, etc., which causes the update's failure to install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I tried it, thinking the worse that could happen is that it would abandon the install, but unfortunately it went right through and upgraded to 4.3 and I lost root
I'd put it into OTA survival mode but not into system/apps. I had no xposed or recovery anything, just root.
So there we go. Thanks for the discussion guys, hope this is useful to someone else.
How do I root it in 4.3? Any ideas?
Try this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2703774
Sent from my SGP311 using xda app-developers app

[Q] Z2 Root and OTA

It may have been put clearly somewhere else but I can't seem to locate it. Apologies if I am asking an answered question.
If I root this phone (don't intend to unlock bootloader), however:
Will OTA stop working? (because of modification)
Will doing an OTA update on rooted phone remove root?
If so, is it possible to preserve root while doing an OTA?
Will removing all traces of root be as easy as SU uninstall?
With some phones, the OTA will be broken after rooting and some it will not. This is my first Sony and I wanted to confirm if this was also the case.
jcspecs said:
It may have been put clearly somewhere else but I can't seem to locate it. Apologies if I am asking an answered question.
If I root this phone (don't intend to unlock bootloader), however:
Will OTA stop working? (because of modification)
Will doing an OTA update on rooted phone remove root?
If so, is it possible to preserve root while doing an OTA?
Will removing all traces of root be as easy as SU uninstall?
With some phones, the OTA will be broken after rooting and some it will not. This is my first Sony and I wanted to confirm if this was also the case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will OTA stop working? (because of modification) No, it would not stop working if you just root
Will doing an OTA update on rooted phone remove root? It may or may not. Nobody has tried it yet. But normally we dont recommend doing OTA after rooting
If so, is it possible to preserve root while doing an OTA? No way till now.
Will removing all traces of root be as easy as SU uninstall? Yes, there is an option in SU to unroot the phone.
manu44 said:
Will OTA stop working? (because of modification) No, it would not stop working if you just root
Will doing an OTA update on rooted phone remove root? It may or may not. Nobody has tried it yet. But normally we dont recommend doing OTA after rooting
If so, is it possible to preserve root while doing an OTA? No way till now.
Will removing all traces of root be as easy as SU uninstall? Yes, there is an option in SU to unroot the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
Thanks so much for your clear and concise responses. Previously I've never been concerned about the unrooting of a phone or access to OTA. I just got so comfortable working with Samsung that I feel a bit out of my depth at the moment with the Z2.
jcspecs said:
It may have been put clearly somewhere else but I can't seem to locate it. Apologies if I am asking an answered question.
If I root this phone (don't intend to unlock bootloader), however:
Will OTA stop working? (because of modification)
Will doing an OTA update on rooted phone remove root?
If so, is it possible to preserve root while doing an OTA?
Will removing all traces of root be as easy as SU uninstall?
With some phones, the OTA will be broken after rooting and some it will not. This is my first Sony and I wanted to confirm if this was also the case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my phone OTA won't work on rooted device. Firmware downloads fine but it fails verification when trying to install.
jcspecs said:
Hello,
Thanks so much for your clear and concise responses. Previously I've never been concerned about the unrooting of a phone or access to OTA. I just got so comfortable working with Samsung that I feel a bit out of my depth at the moment with the Z2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can understand, I am also coming from SamsungS4. this is my first sony phone.But trust me sony has lot less hassles compared to Samsung Knox Bull****
kamalaggi said:
On my phone OTA won't work on rooted device. Firmware downloads fine but it fails verification when trying to install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. Could it be something that varies across providers?
manu44 said:
I can understand, I am also coming from SamsungS4. this is my first sony phone.But trust me sony has lot less hassles compared to Samsung Knox Bull****
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Happy to have avoided Knox.
manu44 said:
Will OTA stop working? (because of modification) No, it would not stop working if you just root
Will doing an OTA update on rooted phone remove root? It may or may not. Nobody has tried it yet. But normally we dont recommend doing OTA after rooting
If so, is it possible to preserve root while doing an OTA? No way till now.
Will removing all traces of root be as easy as SU uninstall? Yes, there is an option in SU to unroot the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, we can just click unroot in supersu, not have to flash FTF using FlashTool ? After this method of unroot can we safely do ota ?

[Q] If I update to 314 firmware, do I lose root?

Hi,
I have a UK unbranded xperia z2 and just received notification that there is new firmware.
It says I can download it via wifi without connecting to a PC.
I have previously rooted the device without unlocking the bootloader. I am wondering - if I update the firmware over wifi will I lose root?
If so is rooting it again as easy as it was the first time? I think the first time I used easy rooter app
Thanks
xiphrex said:
Hi,
I have a UK unbranded xperia z2 and just received notification that there is new firmware.
It says I can download it via wifi without connecting to a PC.
I have previously rooted the device without unlocking the bootloader. I am wondering - if I update the firmware over wifi will I lose root?
If so is rooting it again as easy as it was the first time? I think the first time I used easy rooter app
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and Yes, you will loose root but rooting with your favourite root exploit should be identical procedure.
ghostofcain said:
Yes and Yes, you will loose root but rooting with your favourite root exploit should be identical procedure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
I just tried OTA update and it said it "could not verify" - after some research seems I have to remove root. But I dont want to have to wipe my phones data.
Is there a way to remove root without wiping data? In superSU, there is a "Full Unroot" option but will this actually remove root so I can update?
Flash the unbranded ftf for 314 UK, via flashtool, specifying no wipe for data and you should be OK although you'll have to reroot afterwards.
xiphrex said:
Thanks.
I just tried OTA update and it said it "could not verify" - after some research seems I have to remove root. But I dont want to have to wipe my phones data.
Is there a way to remove root without wiping data? In superSU, there is a "Full Unroot" option but will this actually remove root so I can update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTA update generally removes root. But you should be able to root again with the same procedure. The full unroot option in SuperSU does actually what it says and will fully unroot your device allowing you to update the firmware.
Just give it a try.
Hit thanks if it helped

[Q] Removing Root to do OTA Lolipop?

As per the title, I read something somewhere to the effect that from here on out, OTA updates will fail on most phones if they have been rooted, and this seems to be true for the Z Ultra GPE. So, what changed when I rooted my phone, and how do I undo it so that I can do the OTA update? I have looked through the forum, but nobody seems to answer it. I am rooted with Supersu using the Towelroot method. I am hoping to not have to unlock the bootloader or anything, just want to do this the official way. (I did backup my TA partition though).
jeraldjunkmail said:
As per the title, I read something somewhere to the effect that from here on out, OTA updates will fail on most phones if they have been rooted, and this seems to be true for the Z Ultra GPE. So, what changed when I rooted my phone, and how do I undo it so that I can do the OTA update? I have looked through the forum, but nobody seems to answer it. I am rooted with Supersu using the Towelroot method. I am hoping to not have to unlock the bootloader or anything, just want to do this the official way. (I did backup my TA partition though).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your GPe is rooted only, the OTA should install just fine. If you made any system changes, you'll need to revert those though. I ran the OTA while I was rooted and didn't have any problems.
Visa Declined said:
If your GPe is rooted only, the OTA should install just fine. If you made any system changes, you'll need to revert those though. I ran the OTA while I was rooted and didn't have any problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not so. See:
http://bgr.com/2014/11/14/android-5-0-lollipop-updates-and-root/
As mine is rooted, no dice, the OTA fails. So, how to unroot it so that the update takes?
jeraldjunkmail said:
Not so. See:
http://bgr.com/2014/11/14/android-5-0-lollipop-updates-and-root/
As mine is rooted, no dice, the OTA fails. So, how to unroot it so that the update takes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well at the moment that doesn't effect the GPe, and may never. There will have to be a system image flashed to put the block device in a known state before the new way could ever be used, and if there is a system.img we can always flash that to get the OTA to work... no big deal I don't think.
jeraldjunkmail said:
Not so. See:
http://bgr.com/2014/11/14/android-5-0-lollipop-updates-and-root/
As mine is rooted, no dice, the OTA fails. So, how to unroot it so that the update takes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, BGR is a garbage site, and I wouldn't believe anything they say, ever. Second, that article is talking about avoiding root AFTER Lollipop is installed.
Having root will not cause the OTA to fail. If your OTA is failing, it's because you made a system change on your device.
*edit
If you were using Xposed, then that is more than likely why your OTA is failing.
What is Xposed? How would I check to see if it has affected my device? Only thing I did was Towelroot and running SuperSU. I may have done something to allow writing to the external SD card, but forget how I did that. I was intentionally trying to keep this phone basically stock so that it would easily update to Lolipop. I did a Titanium backup to the externalSD card and reset it to factory and the OTA update still fails though. I assume this was due to the fact that I rooted it. The bootloader is still unmodified, secureboot is still green - yes, lock state is locked. Only other thing I can think of is I installed an app that allowed me to set permissions by app (turn off location settings by app, etc) Sorry I can't give any more details than that...
jeraldjunkmail said:
I may have done something to allow writing to the external SD card, but forget how I did that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jeraldjunkmail said:
Only other thing I can think of is I installed an app that allowed me to set permissions by app (turn off location settings by app, etc) Sorry I can't give any more details than that...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can't figure out what system change you made to your phone, just factory reset it, and run the OTA again. There was multiple people(me included) that took the OTA successfully, our phones were rooted and SuperSU was installed.
Visa Declined said:
If you can't figure out what system change you made to your phone, just factory reset it, and run the OTA again. There was multiple people(me included) that took the OTA successfully, our phones were rooted and SuperSU was installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned before, I factory reset this and wiped the cache from the stock recovery mode. Update won't take, stops shortly after it fails with "system update error". Since my last reset (been done a few times) it won't prompt me to get the OTA update, after my last reset last night. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
{Damn thing won't work... (*&^&%^$$#}
jeraldjunkmail said:
As mentioned before, I factory reset this and wiped the cache from the stock recovery mode. Update won't take, stops shortly after it fails with "system update error". Since my last reset (been done a few times) it won't prompt me to get the OTA update, after my last reset last night. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
{Damn thing won't work... (*&^&%^$$#}
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only fail-safe way I can see is to:
root
back up TA
unlock BL
hotboot custom kernel with recovery
flash 4.4.2
OTA to 4.4.3
OTA to 4.4.4
root and restore TA if you want a working camera
OTA to 5.0
blueether said:
The only fail-safe way I can see is to:
root
back up TA
unlock BL
hotboot custom kernel with recovery
flash 4.4.2
OTA to 4.4.3
OTA to 4.4.4
root and restore TA if you want a working camera
OTA to 5.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As often happens, I sometimes see a solution I don't care to implement and begin to procrastinate. So, haven't looked at this problem for a while. I may have found the solution to my problems, but want to know if anyone has experience with it before proceeding. I re-installed superSU and went through the options. Buried in the options list is a box that offers "Full unroot, Cleanup for permanent unroot". What happens when I do this? does it just remove superSU or does it restore the phone back to factory status, before it was rooted? Thanks!
PS: @ blueether the solution is fine and I am sure it would work (I was going to go ahead with it until I saw that option in superSU), but have been hesitant to unlock the bootloader, etc, due to my unfamiliarity with hacking Sony products, and only want to do it as a last, final, no other option solution. Thanks for your help!
jeraldjunkmail said:
As often happens, I sometimes see a solution I don't care to implement and begin to procrastinate. So, haven't looked at this problem for a while. I may have found the solution to my problems, but want to know if anyone has experience with it before proceeding. I re-installed superSU and went through the options. Buried in the options list is a box that offers "Full unroot, Cleanup for permanent unroot". What happens when I do this? does it just remove superSU or does it restore the phone back to factory status, before it was rooted? Thanks!
PS: @ blueether the solution is fine and I am sure it would work (I was going to go ahead with it until I saw that option in superSU), but have been hesitant to unlock the bootloader, etc, due to my unfamiliarity with hacking Sony products, and only want to do it as a last, final, no other option solution. Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's fine and I take no offence at you not wanting to unlock the BL.
I haven't tried the full unroot option in supersu so I'm not sure what the outcome is. One of the other GPe users care to comment?
Well, turns out that the solution to unrooting the phone is to install superSU and than look inthe settings. It will offer you an option to completely uninstall root. It did what it says, and than you can check it with a check root app from the market. It reports that the phone is not rooted. Now the question is, will it pick up the OTA update... No luck with that after a clean factory reset, so not sure what to do next.
2 questions: If I unrooted my phone, and it says it is unrooted, is this true, in the fullest extent? Does towelroot do anything more than adding some permissions ans the superuser file?
If the phone won't pick up the OTA update, why? What went wrong?
Thanks!
jeraldjunkmail said:
Well, turns out that the solution to unrooting the phone is to install superSU and than look inthe settings. It will offer you an option to completely uninstall root. It did what it says, and than you can check it with a check root app from the market. It reports that the phone is not rooted. Now the question is, will it pick up the OTA update... No luck with that after a clean factory reset, so not sure what to do next.
2 questions: If I unrooted my phone, and it says it is unrooted, is this true, in the fullest extent? Does towelroot do anything more than adding some permissions ans the superuser file?
If the phone won't pick up the OTA update, why? What went wrong?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like the OTA is not being pushed at the moment/anymore. You could copy it to there the recovery can see it and manually install it
blueether said:
It sounds like the OTA is not being pushed at the moment/anymore. You could copy it to there the recovery can see it and manually install it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you point me inthe right direction for instructions on this process? Thanks!
Visa Declined said:
First of all, BGR is a garbage site, and I wouldn't believe anything they say, ever. Second, that article is talking about avoiding root AFTER Lollipop is installed.
Having root will not cause the OTA to fail. If your OTA is failing, it's because you made a system change on your device.
*edit
If you were using Xposed, then that is more than likely why your OTA is failing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your post is two years ago but i think you can help me,there is a new update for my phone and i am rooted i also have xposed installed so this mean i cannot update my sytem? Do i need to uninstall xposed? Im on stock rom and with TWRP recovery it would be a big help if you reply thanks.

Categories

Resources