Thanks both Someguyfromhell and Feanor88 for replying so very quickly!
I should have mentioned - the OTA update icon appeared last evening (inspite of having CWM)
I read somewhere in this thread that if your bootloader is unlocked and you accept an OTA update it will brick the device. I applied to Sony to get the bootloader unlock code but never actually got round to unlocking it (pretty dumb, I know, but I was all gung ho about doing it and got distracted)
Any guesses if I'd run any risk of bricking if I accepted the update (simply because my device has been issued an unlock code?)
Also Someguyfromhell, how confident are you that Root access will remain intact? Obv if I lose it I can go rooting again, but it would just be a bit of a PITA
Thanks again to both for your very helpful replies
Edit
Just noticed the post by DragonClawsAreSharp from this morning advising against using OTA updates on rooted devices for fear of brickage. Not really sure which way to go...
4.1.B.0.431 should be available as OTA update for Ray, Arc S and Neo V. And if I am not mistaken, OTA keeps the root there.
Other thing - USB debugging needs to be enabled.
OTA on a rooted phone makes the phone brick. That's what is said. In some cases it need not brick, as it did not for .58 to .62.
Check some Arc S/ Neo V or Ray forum and see what users there have to say. I never heard anyone mentioning to update from 4.0.3 to 4.0.4 over the air, for keeping root, but you can check.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Feanor88
But maybe OTA is not possible with CWM installed.
That's correct. OTA will not be possible with the modified files.
Here are what you can do. You can try to change the connectivity mode of your phone, and your phone will be detected as a rooted phone then. You can try to install the latest vresion of PC Companion, and also install the .exe at /drivers folder of flashtool, ensuring installation of drivers.
If none of this works, you will downgrade to Ginger Bread and then update to 4.0.4, following from step I of this tutorial.
Thanks both Someguyfromhell and Feanor88 for replying so very quickly!
I should have mentioned - the OTA update icon appeared last evening (inspite of having CWM)
I read somewhere in this thread that if your bootloader is unlocked and you accept an OTA update it will brick the device. I applied to Sony to get the bootloader unlock code but never actually got round to unlocking it (pretty dumb, I know, but I was all gung ho about doing it and got distracted)
Any guesses if I'd run any risk of bricking if I accepted the update (simply because my device has been issued an unlock code?)
Also Someguyfromhell, how confident are you that Root access will remain intact? Obv if I lose it I can go rooting again, but it would just be a bit of a PITA
Thanks again to both for your very helpful replies
Edit
Just noticed the post by DragonClawsAreSharp from this morning advising against using OTA updates on rooted devices for fear of brickage. Not really sure which way to go...
Rooting doesn't affect OTA update.
When we still used Gingerbread, while having rooted .58, you could make OTA update to .62 and you kept the root. I am not sure, but it might be the same on ICS. It hasn't been tested, I haven't checked in Arc S/Ray forums much, so I am not sure about it.
Rooting doesn't brick your phone. It is the unlocked bootloader that does.
If you unlock the bootloader with official way, then your phone will get bricked during OTA update. In that case, you can still unbrick it(check my tutorial for it) or relock the bootloader before the update.
My PM is NOT Q&A section! If you have problem with your device, SEARCH!
Use the SEARCH before you create a new topic! Why? Because you get the answer within few minutes! A topic can take days before you get an answer!
Rooting doesn't affect OTA update.
When we still used Gingerbread, while having rooted .58, you could make OTA update to .62 and you kept the root. I am not sure, but it might be the same on ICS. It hasn't been tested, I haven't checked in Arc S/Ray forums much, so I am not sure about it.
Rooting doesn't brick your phone. It is the unlocked bootloader that does.
If you unlock the bootloader with official way, then your phone will get bricked during OTA update. In that case, you can still unbrick it(check my tutorial for it) or relock the bootloader before the update.
Thanks for clearing it (cannot hit Thanks. 8 thanks per day over).
The ability to accept OTA updates (well, you can but you would lose root, so its been made so they get denied).
The sense that someone else controls your phone.
The need to sit in an Android chat channel asking how to get root.
The need for a stupid useless "File Manager" that lets you see filenames but almost nothing else.
(This is the website I refer to friends when they ask what are the disadvantages of rooting. :P)
Anyways. OTA are not allowed in most cases on modified software. That's why you can not update over the air while on stock SONY ROM and CWM installed at /system.
Similar restrictions are supposed to be there even if your phone is rooted. That's why we have something called OTA Survival Mode is SuperSu by CF.
The Pro version additionally offers:
- OTA survival mode (no guarantees)
- Full color-coded command content logging (input/output/error)
- Per-app logging configuration
- Per-app user override
- PIN protection
As someguyfromhell said, you might not brick your device. You simply will not be able to update. So there's no harm in trying.
On Sony Ericsson 2011 Xperia phones, Gingerbread OTA update kept the root. I don't know about CWM, if it affects or not.
I have personally many times done OTA update to .62 firmware in order to keep root and never had problems. As long as your bootloader is locked, you won't get any bricks. Superuser stayed also there.
My PM is NOT Q&A section! If you have problem with your device, SEARCH!
Use the SEARCH before you create a new topic! Why? Because you get the answer within few minutes! A topic can take days before you get an answer!
Again, thanks all for sharing your wisdom. Emboldened, I grew a pair and tried to install the OTA update on my Ray
Alas it failed. It went through the motions, resetting a couple or three times then just rebooted into the old Rom, all data etc intact
Looks like I'll have to follow the tutorial and upgrade by way of gingerbread...
Presumably clockwork was the spanner in the works
Thanks again!
nuts - just set about downgrading to gingerbread and noticed this from page one
On Sony Ericsson 2011 Xperia phones, Gingerbread OTA update kept the root. I don't know about CWM, if it affects or not.
I have personally many times done OTA update to .62 firmware in order to keep root and never had problems. As long as your bootloader is locked, you won't get any bricks. Superuser stayed also there.
I have some theory how OTA update that preserve user data(mostly it will) works
The basic : OTA run directly on the device, so no need PC or Laptop to do it. Just the device and working internet connection.
So how OTA update was installed?
Here my theory :
1. Full flash over system partition
2. Extract update to system partition(all)
3. Extract update to system partition(partial)
All data was preserved, maybe it will do some cleanup like formatting cache partition or clearing dalvik-cache
OTA update on gingerbread fw<62 to fw>=62 that preserve root files --> theories no 2 and 3 applies
As we know su binary and superuser.apk was not part of the system it will not overwritten.
For CWM Recovery to survive after OTA update,i think the chance is zero.
chargemon binary was hijacked for working CWM Recovery on xperia device.
chargemon was part of system files and will be overwritten if theory 2 applies.
chargemon will still intact if theory no 3 applies.
Maybe theory no 3 only applies if we do OTA update from GB to GB(like fw.42 to fw.62)
I don't think theory no 3 will applies on OTA update from GB to ICS. The system change was a lot compared GB to GB update.
OTA updates only replace the files, that were edited. Else it would have to download the whole ROM again.
Exactly what I had said to Till when he had opened a thread asking why OTA was not possible on his phone. During OTA, as Puppet said, files that needs to be edited have dependancies on the files replaced during installing CWM. All the depandant files are verified before the process starts to prevent failure of the update. This verification fails and the OTA update fails at the very first step.
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[Tutorial]Root.Xperia 4.0.4 ROM [all h/m(dpi)] | 4.1.B.0.431 [23st June]
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