[Q] General questions before going from stock to custom - Sony Xperia Z Ultra

So, never had a Sony-Device, the guides and instructions here are a bit unclear to me.
As far as i understood before going custom:
Downgrade to .532 with flashtool -> run BackupTA -> upgrade to latest again (rly neccessary?) -> then unlock Bootloader
Pretty straight forward up until here.
From there on i can use [NUTS]s XZDualRecovery if i want to stay on stock-kernel and flash custom roms frem there without any problem as far as i understood.
Is this correct?
But what if i want to use a custom kernel at some point?
DooMKernel for example is flahsed via Fastboot, but only compatible with Stock-Sony-Roms
PimpedKernel for example on the other hand is CM-based only and only uses a recovery flashable zip
I'm a little bit confused because of that.
Is a Kernel and / or recovery included in every ROM? (Edit: Yep Kernel is..)
Can i just use [NUTS] recovery and then flash any ROM / Kernel trough it? And afterwards a custom Kernel if the one included in ROM (if any?) lacks any features i want?

competent devs who maintain roms for this phone would include a recovery in their package
slimrom does this and i don't have to worry about losing trwp recovery

alia5 said:
So, never had a Sony-Device, the guides and instructions here are a bit unclear to me.
As far as i understood before going custom:
Downgrade to .532 with flashtool -> run BackupTA -> upgrade to latest again (rly neccessary?) -> then unlock Bootloader
Pretty straight forward up until here.
From there on i can use [NUTS]s XZDualRecovery if i want to stay on stock-kernel and flash custom roms frem there without any problem as far as i understood.
Is this correct?
But what if i want to use a custom kernel at some point?
DooMKernel for example is flahsed via Fastboot, but only compatible with Stock-Sony-Roms
PimpedKernel for example on the other hand is CM-based only and only uses a recovery flashable zip
I'm a little bit confused because of that.
Is a Kernel and / or recovery included in every ROM? (Edit: Yep Kernel is..)
Can i just use [NUTS] recovery and then flash any ROM / Kernel trough it? And afterwards a custom Kernel if the one included in ROM (if any?) lacks any features i want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The downgrading is no longer necessary, use the easyroot tool. Or use the dualrecovery installer for locked bootloaders then flash superuser zip from recovery. Once you have it rooted then back up TA and unlock bootloader. You should be able to flash boot.img from flashtool, if you wanted to download a rom and pull it from zip. I mention that because most roms only have one recovery, so if you flash the img from the rom you want to install first with flashtool you could make a backup that could be restored with new recovery. One other thing that I learned the hard way is a backup made before unlocking bootloader will relock it if restored.

No downgrading, just root and back up TA, great
So i need to flash boot.img from the ROM every time i want to install a new ROM? Or just the first time going from stock to custom? Or just if i have twrp n current rom and the rom i wanna flash is only compatible with CWM?

alia5 said:
No downgrading, just root and back up TA, great
So i need to flash boot.img from the ROM every time i want to install a new ROM? Or just the first time going from stock to custom? Or just if i have twrp n current rom and the rom i wanna flash is only compatible with CWM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a brand spanking new guide to check out that is up to date.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z-ultra/general/guide-everything-root-4-4-4-t2938098
I will try to put forth an example to try and demonstrate what I trying to convey in regards to flashing boot.img.
Example.... You are on a rom that contains CWM and you are going to flash a rom that contains TWRP and you wish to have a backup of first rom that could be restored you would flash the img. with TWRP then make backup. Another option would be to just go ahead and use CWM to make backup but you would need to flash that img. in order to be able to restore. I think most roms can be flashed from either recovery at the moment, the concern is your backup being compatible with whichever one is in your current rom.

So, in the boot.img is Kernel+Recovery, alright, and i only need to worry about flashing boot.img für backup reasons.
Pretty much answers what i was wondering, thanks guys

Related

Reverting to Stock from Custom ROM

Guys , some people are reporting that they are unable to revert to stock rom after flashing custom rom.
If you want to save your phone , then i highly recommend you to make a complete backup before flshing stock rom
go to cwm recovery and select backup/restore then backup (it will make your stock rom backup)
whenever you want to revert , go again to clockworkmod recovery and select restore under, backup/restore option
now last and most important thing to run stock rom ---> flash stock kernel using fastboot method
first grab stock kernel to do that , download your phones stock firmware from here = http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=10885406#post10885406
using 7zip extract kernel.sin file from .ftf firmware file
connect your phone in fastboot mode and run this command
fastboot flash boot kernel.sin
I'm doing it again and again without any problem.. just be sure to flash stock kernel before flashing stock rom.
thanks, i will try this method too
first flash stock kernel , then using flashtool flash firmware , am i right ?
Stock kernel (kernel.sin) is included in the package (of official stock firmware). So everytime you flash an official stock firmware, kernel.sin is also flashed. No need to flash kernel.sin before flashing stock firmware. Correct me if im wrong.
I also think same , i tried that method by noooooob and it worked too
hello, can someone give me a link to a tutorial on how to install CWM Recovery on our x-ray? do i have to unlock bootloader first before installing CWM? thanks
lets try the Cynaogen
kizsleg said:
hello, can someone give me a link to a tutorial on how to install CWM Recovery on our x-ray? do i have to unlock bootloader first before installing CWM? thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you have to unlock boot-loaders first
i recommend to unlock by this method = http://androidflip.com/unlock-xperia-phones-bootloader-without-losing-drm-data-track-id-working/
if you want to install clockwork mod recovery then follow this = http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1384200
Install CWM without unlocking bootloader
You don't need to unlock the boot loader to install CWM.
Follow instructions here to root First
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1320350
Install CWM using this tool
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1346190
This is how I did it on my Ray
I always considered flashing with Wotanserver to be the best way to go back to stock. It basically takes care of everything. Sure, you'll have to root again afterwards, but that's not exactly very hard.
wotan server is also a good choice
How can i revert back to stock rom from custom rom if i havent made any backups of stock rom??
elf.rb said:
How can i revert back to stock rom from custom rom if i havent made any backups of stock rom??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
download firmware which you have before installing custom rom, then flash it using flashtool.

Doubts for Moving to AOSP/CM

Hello All
i recently rooted my Z2 by downgrade method, thinking about moving to CM12 or PA as soon a stable build is released but have some doubts in that area.
1- if i make a nadroid backup through the dual recovery i have now and later after unlocking the bootloader and flashing a differnet recovery and ROM if i restore the old backup will my bootloader be locked automatically?
2- can i use my dual recovery to install a CM ROM( after a clean wipe of current system of course)?
3- i have read about people having problems after installing recovery after flashing a CM ROM, and i havnt really found a coherent answer for that in all the forums that i follow. can anyone give a proper method of how to flash a recovery after the ROM so that i can restore my backup just in case?
4- if my nandroid backup does not relock my bootloader than does restoring my TA backup relocks it?
5- if after flashing a CM or AOSP Rom i try flashing a stock based ROM like existenz or MoonWalker can i restore my TA Backup on dat? will that in anyway affect the root capability of my device? will this relock the bootloader?
Sorry for a list of questions. have only worked with locked bootloader till now and not really handy with sony devices. have only been few months since i got it.
Anybody?
kunaltyagii said:
Anybody?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your questions are vague and can really depend on what rom you flash and what you do . General answers are below:
1 - No.
2- Yes.
3- commands are
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
Or
fastboot flash boot boot.img
Really depends on what recovery and if it's included in the boot.img.
4- Yes
5- yes. You can relock an any stock based ROM.
It shouldn't. Bootloader and root aren't related at all.
Yes

[Q] updating to LP on unlocked bootloader

With all the hype on the lp launch, I just realized I have no idea what to do : I got the rom through xpirifirm, and I'm just sitting there like "now what?"
Originally when I got the phone, I created a KK pre-rooted rom and used that on my phone, later on down the line I unlocked the boot loader to use a custom kernel and try different roms, but the pre-rooted rom how-to says it's for "locked" bootloader only, for now I figure I should be fine making the rom following the same process and then flashing the resulting zip to my phone, but I have a few questions :
is this the proper way to do it on UB ? to create a prerooted rom and use the zip file to flash the LP update ?
will I keep my root if I do this ? (I'll use the latest SU binary)
will I have recovery ? (I'll use the latest dual recovery)

Root and recovery on Lollipop

Managed to get my hands on a cheap second hand TabZ in good condition. And although Sony's Lollipop firmware looks and feels nice I really want to go the custom Rom road as it allows me to tinker more with it.
Now is when the situation gets complicated as it seems there is a plethora of versions, some more complicated then others, to root the device and install a recovery on it. My questions to you, anybody willing to clear these things out, are:
1. Does the bootloader need to be unlocked in order to obtain root for a tablet already running Lollipop? (I read in one thread that starting with Lollipop this might not be required anymore)
2. What is the best way of getting root?
3. How do you install recovery? I understand the XZDualRecovery to be really popular but some of the instructions can be mind boggling (the use of Kernel Builder to repack the kernel in order to replace the built in recovery with XZDualRecovery). Is this the same as flashing a recovery every time I install a new ROM before rebooting if I want to still have one (basically there is no permanent one, but changes with the rom you are flashing?! )
Any help would be much appreciated as I am stuck as I have never been with rooting and installing recovery on a device. Thanks!
1&2. Bootloader is not directly connected with Root. Unlocked bootloader allows you to install custom ROMs like FXP, cDroid, CyanogenMod and others.
For rooting stock Sony Rom rooting doesn't usually need bootloader unlock.
For example for 4.4.4 and 5.0.2 firmwares KingRoot will help you to root device. For other firmware, other tools exist.
3. For installing Custom Roms like FXP, CyanogenMod and others you need unlocked bootloader.
XZDualRecovery is mainly used for stock Sony Rom and based on stock roms.
For custom roms you can flash TWRP recovery to FOTA partition which will be permanent and will allow you to install any custom rom.
Also before bootloader unlock, get root and Backup TA partition of your device.

Plszz help need to solve my confusionss.

My little beast is just 20 days old i was sony user back then.. in sony there when i want to root i use kingroot and its do my work without bootloops and anything like that... And when i want to unlock bootloader it just i want to backup my drm keys and restore then and relock bootloader when i want to my warranty..
Now i have redmi
I'm soo confused
What i need
1. I need root to delete blots that i don't use...
2.i want to try custom roms
3.i don't want to void my warranty.
4.i want to update to marshmallow miui how i can do
I hope your guys will help me
Grajatyadav said:
My little beast is just 20 days old i was sony user back then.. in sony there when i want to root i use kingroot and its do my work without bootloops and anything like that... And when i want to unlock bootloader it just i want to backup my drm keys and restore then and relock bootloader when i want to my warranty..
Now i have redmi
I'm soo confused
What i need
1. I need root to delete blots that i don't use...
2.i want to try custom roms
3.i don't want to void my warranty.
4.i want to update to marshmallow miui how i can do
I hope your guys will help me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In Xiaomi you there isn't any TA partition so you don't have to worry about DRM keys. You can simply unlock bootloader and fastboot flash TWRP recovery and SuperSU binary via recovery to get root access.
I recommend you to unlock bootloader and flash zcx recovery and create a full nandroid backup before mounting system partition. This way you have a complete backup of the current state and you can return to it at any time.
You can install any custom ROM via recovery.
Unlocking bootloader won't void the warranty.
If you want to use marshmallow you can either flash beta MIUI ROM with/without unlocking bootloader or unlock the bootloader and flash a MM based ROM via recovery.
You can return to factory state at any time by either flashing MIUI fastboot ROM via EDL mode on locked/unlocked bootloader or by flashing fastboot ROM via fastboot mode on unlocked bootloader.
BlueJeans said:
In Xiaomi you there isn't any TA partition so you don't have to worry about DRM keys. You can simply unlock bootloader and fastboot flash TWRP recovery and SuperSU binary via recovery to get root access.
I recommend you to unlock bootloader and flash zcx recovery and create a full nandroid backup before mounting system partition. This way you have a complete backup of the current state and you can return to it at any time.
You can install any custom ROM via recovery.
Unlocking bootloader won't void the warranty.
If you want to use marshmallow you can either flash beta MIUI ROM with/without unlocking bootloader or unlock the bootloader and flash a MM based ROM via recovery.
You can return to factory state at any time by either flashing MIUI fastboot ROM via EDL mode on locked/unlocked bootloader or by flashing fastboot ROM via fastboot mode on unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.. for replying.. now some confusion are sortedout...
One thing more.. i juts want to delete some bloatware can i just root my phone with kingroot and delete them from system and enjoy miui stble latest version as I'm new i want to use miui more and Don't need recovery and all as of now. I hope help..
I just need to root for blot remove and usibg greenyfy and some more apps and i just need do simple step
Grajatyadav said:
Thanks.. for replying.. now some confusion are sortedout...
One thing more.. i juts want to delete some bloatware can i just root my phone with kingroot and delete them from system and enjoy miui stble latest version as I'm new i want to use miui more and Don't need recovery and all as of now. I hope help..
I just need to root for blot remove and usibg greenyfy and some more apps and i just need do simple step
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I won't recommend you to use kingroot to root the device due to following reasons:
1) I don't trust these shady chinese closed source apps that relies on software vulnerability.
2) If you've rooted by any method without unlocking bootloader you won't be able to flash "incremental" OTA updates as it verifies system partition before flashing. However, you should be able to flash MIUI full recovery ROM that'll overwrite the whole image without verifying for the changes. Unlike OTA it's usually about 1.2GB in size. There's another method to flash OTA without system image verification which involves removal of a few lines from updater-script but I haven't tested it yet on stock recovery.
BlueJeans said:
I won't recommend you to use kingroot to root the device due to following reasons:
1) I don't trust these shady chinese closed source apps that relies on software vulnerability.
2) If you've rooted by any method without unlocking bootloader you won't be able to flash "incremental" OTA updates as it verifies system partition before flashing. However, you should be able to flash MIUI full recovery ROM that'll overwrite the whole image without verifying for the changes. Unlike OTA it's usually about 1.2GB in size. There's another method to flash OTA without system image verification which involves removal of a few lines from updater-script but I haven't tested it yet on stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So now i will first officialy unlock bootloader then twrp and super su then i will make a full backup now more questions
If i flash CyanogenMod and in case i want to back to miui then how i will do that and also how i can install miui marshmallow beta and will you suggest me???
Thank you soo much budy u are helping me soo much
Grajatyadav said:
So now i will first officialy unlock bootloader then twrp and super su then i will make a full backup now more questions
If i flash CyanogenMod and in case i want to back to miui then how i will do that and also how i can install miui marshmallow beta and will you suggest me???
Thank you soo much budy u are helping me soo much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) If you want to revert back to MIUI from CyanogenMod, restore nandroid backup. But make sure to backup every partition in TWRP recovery first before any modification. And don't allow system modification on the first boot to recovery. Firstly, create a full backup and then you can flash whatever ROM you like. In case you want to switch back, restore the full backup except "firmware" partition. I suggest you to use zcx recovery. You can find more about it in the xda thread.
2) If you don't have a TWRP backup, you can revert to stock ROM by flashing MIUI fastboot ROM via pc in fastboot mode. You can do the same in EDL mode but it'll wipe everything including internal storage.
3) If you want to install MIUI beta ROM based on MM, you can do that both on a locked and unlocked bootloader. Go to en.miui.com and download the latest beta ROM, put it on your internal storage and use the updater app to install it.
4) If you do the step (3) and want to revert back to MIUI stable based on LP, then you'll face sim detection issue which can be fixed by flashing modem (NON-HLOS.bin) of the same stable ROM via fastboot on unlocked bootloader. This is a bug from Xiaomi side.
5) You can use MIUI beta ROM, actually it's more stable than MIUI stable ROM and most people prefer it over stable.
Hope that helps
BlueJeans said:
1) If you want to revert back to MIUI from CyanogenMod, restore nandroid backup. But make sure to backup every partition in TWRP recovery first before any modification. And don't allow system modification on the first boot to recovery. Firstly, create a full backup and then you can flash whatever ROM you like. In case you want to switch back, restore the full backup except "firmware" partition. I suggest you to use zcx recovery. You can find more about it in the xda thread.
2) If you don't have a TWRP backup, you can revert to stock ROM by flashing MIUI fastboot ROM via pc in fastboot mode. You can do the same in EDL mode but it'll wipe everything including internal storage.
3) If you want to install MIUI beta ROM based on MM, you can do that both on a locked and unlocked bootloader. Go to en.miui.com and download the latest beta ROM, put it on your internal storage and use the updater app to install it.
4) If you do the step (3) and want to revert back to MIUI stable based on LP, then you'll face sim detection issue which can be fixed by flashing modem (NON-HLOS.bin) of the same stable ROM via fastboot on unlocked bootloader. This is a bug from Xiaomi side.
5) You can use MIUI beta ROM, actually it's more stable than MIUI stable ROM and most people prefer it over stable.
Hope that helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thnk you soo much bro

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