[FULFILLED BOUNTY] Z3 lineup - Root with LB method *ROOT ACHIEVED, BOUNTY FULFILLED*

Sony XPERIA Z3 Lineup: Z3 (D6603, D6633, D6643, D6653, and D6616), Z3 Compact (D5803 and D5833) and Z3 Tablet Compact (SGP611, SGP612, SGP621 and SGP641)


THE Z3 AND Z3COMPACT BOUNTY HAS BEEN FULFILLED BY USER zxz0O0. ALL PLEDGERS ARE THEREFORE INVITED TO DONATE.
Introduction
Prior to everything, I'd like to thank users open1your1eyes0 and Demiurge7, whose bounty threads I took as model and inspiration in creating this.
This thread, initially created in regards of the needs of Z3 Compact owners, just like myself, is now for the owners of any Z3 device, i.e. Z3, Z3 Compact and Z3 Tablet Compact (and possibly any device of the entire XPERIA Z lineup, with latest updates), who would like to have his device rooted but isn't willing to lose all the Sony proprietary technologies like miracast, noise cancelling audio and, especially, low-light photo enhancing quality algorithms.

What this is all about
The bounty's fulfillment requires obtaining root access in order to be able to backup the TA partition, where the DRM keys for the aforementioned technologies are stored. Once we have a backup for our TA partition, we can unlock the bootloader with the official Sony tool and then restore the DRM keys. In the event of hardware failure, we will be able to restore to stock the phone and to have no warranty issue.

Claiming requirements
In order to claim this bounty, you will need to fulfill each and every one of this points:
1. Be the first person to create or find a method to obtain root access in the latest available software release on the aforementioned devices, without neither unlocking the bootloader nor compromising (or affecting) the TA partition in any way that could prevent a correct and successful backup of it;
2. Give proof of point #1 by posting an adequate quantity of screenshots to illustrate it, together with step by step instructions, in a fashion such that everyone can follow them and reproduce the exploit;
3. Wait for at least 10% of pledgers (fastest quorum achieved between per capita and per pecunia criteria*) to give confirmation about the method functionality;
4. Claim your bounty via PM from pledgers.

*i.e. the fastest between 10% of the number of people and 10% of the amount of money pledged as bounty.

Payment will be processed between each member and the bounty collector via PM on an individual basis.

List of pledges:
1. Pyres - $ 5,00
2. jug6ernaut $ 50,00
3. Jliax $ 10,00
4. lcohen999 $ 15,00
5. adamk7 $ 20,00 (0,05 BTC, exchange rates may vary)
6. Kev1000000 $ 50,00
7. SsezZ $ 20,00
8. aegixnova $50,00
9. Dsteppa $ 10,00 (+$ 20,00 if fulfilled by Dec 10 2014, otherwise void pledge)
10. sansart $ 20,00
11. ang3lical $ 10,00
12. wooki $ 30,00 (extra $20,00 if fulfilled by Nov. 30 2014)
13. someone755 $ 6,00 (5,00 €, exchange rates may vary)
14. sxtester $ 25,00
15. gamingforfact $ 50,00
16. kertong $ 50,00
17. arr13 $ 40,00 (0,1 BTC, exchange rates may vary)
18. DarK_MischieF $ 50,00
19. XanSama $ 30,00
20. charlie460 $100,00
21. dillalade $ 100,00
22. tomwas54 $ 25,00
23. Dancube $ 20,00
24. geronimoid $ 30,00
25. TheFrozen4 $ 10,00
26. Alex2x3 $ 20,00
27. curiousgeorge $ 20,00
28. armis $ 50,00
29. jbrechtel $ 40,00 (0,1 BTC, exchange rates may vary) (TMO Z3 D6616)
30. SONiX-GERMANY $ 25,00 (€ 20,00, exchange rates may vary)
31. Kr1tikalMas $ 10,00 (exchange rates may vary)
32. Maroon Mushroom $ 10,00
33. ThiasDE $ 30,00
34. XQC $ 20,00
35. MinimalistChris $ 20,00 (Sony XPERIA Z3 D6603)
36. clouds5 $ 20,00
37. adamreid $ 25,00
38. Kakashi2k4 $ 20,00 (Sony XPERIA Z3 D6603)
39. hedgie123 $ 20,00
40. Michealtbh $ 10,00
41. Polso $ 20,00
42. JTdevAndroid $ 25,00 (€ 20,00, exchange rates may vary)
43. newk9 $ 25,00 (€ 20,00, exchange rates may vary)
44. Fruktsallad $ 20,00
45. londahl $ 15,00
46. metalmilo12 $ 15,00 (TMO Z3 D6616)
47. quim135 $ 19,00 (€ 15,00, exchange rates may vary)
48. M1P $ 10,00
49. JamesK852 $ 22,00 (AUD 25,00, exchange rates may vary)
50. bullghost $ 100,00 (Z3)
51. the fez $ 19,00 (€ 15,00, exchange rates may vary)
52. Klaus N. $ 37,50 (€ 30,00, exchange rates may vary)
53. cajunflavoredbob $ 30,00 (Z3 D6603)
54. tgwhth $ 25,00 (€ 20,00, exchange rates may vary)
55. Leetosc $ 15,00
56. rndinit0 $ 30,00 (Z3 Compact D5803)
57. msnxda $ 19,00 (€ 15,00, exchange rates may vary)
58. nosklo $ 10,00
59. hrsa $ 25,00 (€ 20,00, exchange rates may vary)
60. a43 $ 10,00
61. juppi $ 12,50 (€ 10,00, exchange rates may vary)
62. Shuthefrontdoor $ 50,00
63. CAL7 $ 10,00
64. woebetide $ 25,00 (€ 20,00, exchange rates may vary)
65. mociulski $ 25,00 (€ 20,00, exchange rates may vary)
66. hawkiz $ 20,00
67. Huey85 $ 17,00 (AUD 20,00, exchange rates may vary)
68. Gobiastard $ 25,00 (€ 20,00, exchange rates may vary)
69. biggrz $ 20,00
70. spyvsspy $ 20,00 (Z3 Compact D5833)
71. khalisz $ 10,00 (Z3 Compact D5803)
72. vittogn $ 20,00 (Z3 D6603)
73. lordzurp $ 10,00
74. Swordsman_NL $ 50,00
75. andyneouk $ 15,00 (GBP 10,00, exchange rates may vary)
76. Aldo6 $ 5,00
77. jjpro45 $ 12,50 (€ 10,00, exchange rates may vary)
78. FSRBIKER $ 20,00
79. Thenetstriker $ 50,00
80. unclecaveman $ 50,00
81. shauncore $ 100,00
82. greatbooga $ 10,00 (Z3 Compact D5803)
83. rennelaus $ 25,00 (€ 20,00, exchange rates may vary)
84. PhillySaxon $ 40,00 (GBP 25,00, exchange rates may vary)
85. egzeros $ 20,00 (Z3 Compact D5803)
86. RainbowSwag $ 12,50 (€ 10,00, exchange rates may vary)
87. eskamhl $ 6,00 (€ 5,00, exchange rates may vary) (Z3 D6603)
88. izzner $ 16,00 (INR ₹1000, exchange rates may vary)
89. maxp84z $ 15,00
90. fknpwned $ 75,00 (€ 60,00, exchange rates may vary)
91. Nathan-NL $ 10,00 (Z3 Compact D5803)
92. Dijk $ 20,00 (€ 15,00, exchange rates may vary) (Z3 Compact D5803) (€ 10,00 if working on another Z3 device only)
93. guidojusto $ 30,00
94. easyfly $ 12,50 (€ 10,00, exchange rates may vary)
95. boxy240 $ 15,00 (GBP 10,00, exchange rates may vary)
96. tearexairz $ 50,00
97. rideoutthetide $ 50,00
98. theskig $ 10,00
99. wazzle638 $ 20,00 (BTC 0,05, exchange rates may vary)
100. wiwcomm $ 10,00 (Z3 Compact D5803)
101. czrealov $ 10,00
102. elyenm $ 15,00 (Z3 Compact D5803)
103. sidvizioso $ 19,00 (€ 15,00, exchange rates may vary)
104. Luhccas-X10 $ 10,00
105. Nickcer $ 50,00
106. LastSilmaril $ 25,00
107. dsmero $ 20,00
108. tomcatoggo $ 19,00 (€ 15,00, exchange rates may vary)
109. spychodelics $ 12,50 (€ 10,00, exchange rates may vary)
110. padde0711 $ 30,00
111. omnikai $ 30,00
112. AdiSimpson $ 20,00
113. ChristianLetti $ 30,00

Total pledge: $ 3017,00
Last updated: Nov 29 2014, 12:43 GMT+1


Rules of this bounty thread
- Please note before making a post in the thread please refer to the below list to see if your post will be acceptable. If it is not part of this list, your post will be reported and you may risk getting an infraction as per forum moderators.
- Please note you may not make any specific restrictions or requirements that aren't listed in the OP. By making a post with your contribution price you are agreeing to paying out based on all terms listed in OP only and nowhere else.
- Please be advised that if Sony is to release an official method of rooting without unlocking the bootloader or restoring TA partitions lost by officially unlocking the bootloader (extremely unlikely but must be accounted for) prior to any member of XDA's submission, this bounty automatically becomes invalidated.
- Please do not PM a pledge, for it will not be counted.

List of Acceptable Posts:
- New bounty submission or increase of current bounty;
- Questions or assistance in development of a root, recovery, or bootloader unlock method;
- Questions and answers regarding bootloaders on this device;
- Questions and answers regarding the nature of lockdown on this device;
- Questions and answers regarding kernel and bootloader-related exploits;
- Any kind of updates about unfinished or still work-in-progress methods that would at the moment of posting be unfit for fulfilling the bounty;
- Bounty's fulfillment.

Just bought my black Z3C today, with the money I didn't have (believe me), and as soon as it arrives I will stop all my modules development and I will start work on root for locked BL.
I don't know much about kernel and related stuff as I'd like to know, but sometimes I write up some java code , and doing that for several years (since X10 Mini glory days), I saw android's bowels closely! But I can't promise anything more than... I will try it!
I am also in the running... Good luck folks!!

Friend needed the complete how-to root, recovery, backup drm keys, etc from scratch as following threads can be daunting.. here's a copy of what i sent him (tested, works) in case this helps anyone. All 44 steps of it

0) Ensure you backed up everything you need (files/apps/pictures/etc) first, these will be lost!
-- FW DOWNGRADE AND INSTALL WITH FLASHTOOL --
1) Downgrade fw to 23.0.A.2.93 (Device D5803) or anything prior to 23.0.1.A.5.77 (december fw)
Global: https://mega.co.nz/#!1RUA0IbT!HhWALw7wTJI7sNg9z6aXq-ilZCZgLtjpRzbrjYSH40M (or see http://xdaforums.com/z3-compact/general/list-stock-firmwares-d5803-d5833-t2906706 for more links)
2) Get and install Flashtool at http://www.flashtool.net/index.php
3) Move the fw into the C:/Flashtool/firmwares directory
4) Open Flashtool, click on the lightning symbol ("flash device"), select "Flashmode" and click on "OK"
5) Just select the name of the fw you downloaded and click on "Flash"
6) Wait for a window to pop up (it may take a few minutes, be patient)
7) Now everything is ready: turn off your phone
8) Push the volume DOWN button, connect the USB cable to your PC while still pushing the volume DOWN button
9) Once the flashing process has started, release the volume button
10) Do not disconnect the USB cable, wait until flash completes (flashtool will indicate when you can unplug).
-- ROOTING W/ EXPLOIT --
11) Enable USB debugging on the phone (Settings => About phone => Click 7 times on Android Build to unlock developer options)
12) Allow mock locations (Settings => Developer Settings)
13) Ensure you have adb drivers installed (http://support.sonymobile.com/gb/tools/pc-companion/ don't use it to update
14) Download rooting tool (http://xdaforums.com/devdb/project/dl/?id=10766&task=get) or latest from http://xdaforums.com/crossdevice-dev/sony/giefroot-rooting-tool-cve-2014-4322-t3011598
15) Unzip the rooting tool
16) Connect phone to your computer
17) Put phone in airplane mode
18) Run install.bat from the rooting tool (allow USB debugging when asked on the phone every time, also allow root prompt) and follow instructions from the tool
19) You should be rooted now, if you get an error "Device not rooted" trying running the tool once more
-- Backup DRM keys/TA Partition --
20) Get backup ta tool from https://github.com/DevShaft/Backup-TA/releases
21) unzip it!
22) Ensure phone is still connected (or reconnect it)
23) Run Backup-TA.bat
24) Read the information and follow the instructions given by the tool.
-- Install latest firwmare with root, DRM keys, recovery --
25) get PRFC from http://xdaforums.com/crossdevice-dev/sony/tool-prfcreator-easily-create-pre-t2859904
26) Get latest fw (https://mega.co.nz/#!AUEg1ayC!UsKs6yR6_ZaYqrsddexZHj_Y17EkXg8zMdkBCFi-X9Q)
27) Get latest SuperSU zip http://download.chainfire.eu/supersu
28) Get DualRecovery zip (the non-installer one) http://nut.xperia-files.com/?dlid=W...vdmVyeTIuOC4wLVJFTEVBU0UuZmxhc2hhYmxlLnppcA==
29) Start PRFC and add the 3 zip (FTF file is the fw, SuperSU and Recovery)
30) Click "create" - this will take a while
31) Copy resulting "pre-rooted" fw to /sdcard0 on your phone (it means copy flashable.zip from the PRFC directory to the "internal storage" directory of the phone)
32) Get Dual Recovery http://nut.xperia-files.com/downloa...vdmVyeTIuOC4wLVJFTEVBU0UuaW5zdGFsbGVyLnppcA== (or from http://nut.xperia-files.com/ you want
Z3C-lockeddualrecoveryX.Y.Z-RELEASE.installer.zip notice how thats 'installer' this time, not the same file as in 28!)
33) unzip it
34) Unfortunately the script is a bit buggy here, so first go in the "files" directory then go to File menu of the windows explorer and select "open command prompt..."
35) in the command prompt type "adb shell" then "su" (allow root on the phone if needed) then "mount -orw /system". That's it, close the prompt window.
36) start install.bat and follow instructions (hit 1 (allow adb/root on the phone as needed)
37) You should be in recovery automatically now. (if not, reboot and when the LED change colors push volume UP repeatedly)
38) Flash the pre-rooted fw (flashable.zip) from the recovery (touch "install") on the phone, then power off the phone (DO NOT REBOOT)
39) To power off, go in the reboot menu (yeah it feels backwards) then you can hit "shutdown". wait for it to shutdown.
40) unplug USB
41) Open Flashtool and select the non-pre-rooted fw, but DESELECT system: in "EXCLUDE" make sure you check the checkbox next to "SYSTEM"
42) press volume DOWN and plug USB cable while keeping volume DOWN pressed, when flashing starts, stop pressing the volume button
43) After flash is done and when flashtool tells you to, remove USB cable and start the phone
-- Optional, if you need to restore DRM keys (for ex. if you unlocked the bootloader - note that this WILL relock the bootloader)
44) plug USB back in
45) re-enable usb debugging on the phone (Settings => About phone => Click 7 times on Android Build to unlock developer options)
44) Start backup TA again but this time hit restore
45) Congrats and enjoy, you made it to the end! you now have latest + recovery + root and backups of your DRM keys! (and of course all DRM functions enabled)

People who did the hard work/references thanks to them:
@istux (fw list, flashtool how to http://xdaforums.com/z3-compact/general/list-stock-firmwares-d5803-d5833-t2906706)
@xzx0O0 (root exploit: http://xdaforums.com/crossdevice-dev/sony/giefroot-rooting-tool-cve-2014-4322-t3011598)
@DevShaft (backup ta http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2292598)
@serajr (install .77 fw http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=58395100&postcount=71)

After helping zxz0O0 do some testing I can confirm it works on the D5803. I have backed up my TA partition.
I wanted to test restoring so I flashed back to .77 unlocked the bootloader rooted and then restored the TA, then I installed dual recovery