[Q] Questions on rooting my Z1

Hey guys! Just bought brand new Xperia Z1 10 days ago! I LOVE my new phone but I really need to root it to have access to my game files and bypass the restriction on apps on SD card. Still a noob about rooting so I've read several guides in here, all are very useful and answered many of my questions/confusions.

Btw, my Z1 is C903 model, running 4.4.2 KitKat, on firmware 14.3.A.0.757. I've checked and it's not rooted (obviously) and its bootloader is locked but unlocking is allowed. Now the questions:

1. I just want to root my Z1 for now. Is it possible to root it WITHOUT downgrading my firmware OR unlocking the bootloader? That is I don't want to downgrade nor unlock the bootloader, IF possible.

2. If the above is not possible and I need to downgrade it first no matter what, is it totally safe to root it without risk of bricking it and no further issue will arise (camera not working, etc)? Just assume everything is done correctly using krabappel2548's guide. Would be nice if anyone with same phone spec can confirm on this.

The idea is to root my Z1 first so that I can backup my TA partition. After that, I won't mind unlocking the bootloader and willing to try some custom ROMs later. Thanks in advance for any help regarding this!

gregbradley said:

Not possible

Just follow the link in my signature
3 simple steps and do not follow the outdated guide by krabappel. Also, DO NOT USE VROOT to root it. It send your IMEI number to an IP address in china

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eclyptos said:

No.

Use latest Flashtool and Downgrade to .534, provided by NUT, Install DualRecovery, Upgrade to pre-Rooted .757. Done.

Easy and safe, just follow the instructions. Now you can Backup TA and Unlock Your Bootloader.

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Got it. Thanks for the fast replies guys! Seem those are the best way to proceed. And thanks for the heads up about VRoot! :good:

Will try to root my Z1 tomorrow. I'll update on the result.

Hey guys! I'm ready to do this. Just done downloading all the required files today. Made backups of my data, saved in SD card. Installed flashtool 0.9.16.0 and its drivers. Device connected and recognized.

Now to flash the .534 firmware. Just done downloading it from here but just noticed that the file is of *.zip extension instead of FTF (prolly because I used direct download instead of torrent).

So how do I proceed with this? Flash it like flashing FTF file as well?

I did it guys! :victory: Successfully downgraded to 14.1.G.1.534 [NUT], installed XZDualRecovery v2.7.123 BETA and then upgraded to pre-rooted 14.3.A.0.757 [NUT]! Stuck a bit at the middle but I did it! Now I have root access and my Z1 bootloader is still intact! It took me ~2 hours to complete everything last night.. :laugh:

I'll post a detailed logs of what I did later, just for future reference and for others with same phone spec. And thanks again gregbradley and eclyptos for the help!

As promised, the detailed logs. Just for reference for others like me that are still noob about all this.

My phone spec: Xperia Z1 C6903, running 4.4.2 KitKat, on firmware 14.3.A.0.757 (no root, locked bootloader).

Guides used:
-Root, Backup TA, Unlock bootloader and more! The ultimate Xperia Z1 guide
-[25NOV][FLASHTOOL GUIDE] HOW TO for n00bies - G-FACE GUIDE
-[STOCK][C69XX][4.4] Update to 14.3.A.0.757 [Root & XZDR][DE-/ODEX]
-[DEVDB][TWRP][PhilZ Touch][CWM] XZDualRecovery 2.7.1XX RC

Preparation:
-Installed adb and USB driver (from Android SDK), Flashtool 0.9.16.0
-Phone charged to 90%+, enabled USB debugging, stay awake while charging
-Downloaded all required files (C6903_14.1.G.1.534_NUT.zip, C6903_14.3.A.0.757.flashable.zip, C6903_14.3.A.0.757_Stripped.zip, Z1-lockeddualrecovery2.7.123-BETA.installer.zip)
-Made backup for all my data including apps using Backup & Restore, saved into SD card

And here's the step-by-step of what I did:

1. Preparing 14.1.G.1.534 firmware
-copied C6903_14.1.G.1.534_NUT.zip into "C:\Flashtool\firmwares\"
-changed the extension from *.zip to *.ftf (C6903_14.1.G.1.534_NUT.zip --> C6903_14.1.G.1.534_NUT.ftf) for it to be recognized by Flashtool
-already flashed this firmware when I read eclyptos' suggestion to change the extension, so I hereby confirm that it's working!

***NOTE: Downgrading to .534 wiped out my data on internal storage (not SD card content though). Didn't know that, thought only unlocking bootloader does - good thing I've made backup of all my data beforehand.***

2. Flashing C6903_14.1.G.1.534_NUT.ftf using Flashtool
-just followed instructions on Flashtool, turned off my phone, unplugged from USB, then connected again in flashmode (using instruction in guide)
-flashing started automatically once it's connected in flashmode
-flashing done, phone turned off automatically, unplugged from USB, turned it on
-phone now on JB 4.2.2 with .543 firmware but no root access (verified with Root Checker)

3. Installing XZDualRecovery and root access
-extracted Z1-lockeddualrecovery2.7.123-BETA.installer.zip, ran install.bat, chose option 3 (installation on unrooted ROM)
-once done, phone rebooted automatically into default recovery (PhilZ Touch), chose "Reboot Now" with 2nd option to install root access (SuperSU)
-rebooted, phone now has root access (verified with Root Checker), with BusyBox v1.20.2-jb "static (2012-11-25 17:47 +0100) multi-call binary" (wasn't sure if required to have root before upgrading but tried it anyway)

4. Preparing to upgrade to 14.3.A.0.757
-copied C6903_14.3.A.0.757.flashable.zip into SD card, C6903_14.3.A.0.757_Stripped.zip into "C:\Flashtool\firmwares\"
-changed primary recovery to TWRP using NDR Utils app (pre-installed in .543), tried to reboot into recovery but reboot not working (nothing happens)
-rebooted into recovery again using adb command line ("adb reboot recovery") - Google FTW!
-rebooted into TWRP recovery

5. Flashing C6903_14.3.A.0.757.flashable.zip using TWRP
-on TWRP, chose Install, navigate and chose the file
-tried with zip file signature verification, failed
-tried again, without signature verification (MD5 check), successful
-firmware update started, took a while and done successfully!
-DID NOT REBOOT (as per instruction in guide), back to Home->Reboot->Power off, unplugged phone from USB, turned on phone

6. Flashing C6903_14.3.A.0.757_Stripped.ftf using Flashtool
-connected to USB, renamed C6903_14.3.A.0.757_Stripped.zip to C6903_14.3.A.0.757_Stripped.ftf, started Flashtool
-flashed everything in the FTF just like in step 2, phone turned off automatically once done, unplugged from USB

7. Verifying upgrade
-Phone turned on, Android is upgrading, optimized apps, etc
-Phone now back to 14.3.A.0.757 firmware but has ROOT access using SuperSU (verified with Root Checker), with bootloader still locked!

Will backup my TA partition later, but I'll just leave the bootloader locked for now. Restored my backup, checked and re-configured certain apps settings, no weird behavior so far, camera and wireless also working fine!

That's about it. Hope this log will help others to have root on their Z1 of same spec. Good luck!