[ROM][OFFICIAL] LineageOS 18.1 for castor/castor_windy

[qsnc]

We've gone official with both devices now, see updated first post.

 

[kielwasser]

Thank you very much for keeping this tablet alive.
I installed the official version. I am using it for internet browsing - it is perfect.
So far, I don't have any problems. Tablet runs as expected.

 

[emartino]

So cool that this great tablet still is being maintained - a big thanks!!!
I am still on the official lineage 17 release and want to update to 18.1. But somehow I am strugling with the recovery. I can upload it with fastboot, but when trying to boot into it via Power+Volume (any..) the device just reboots... Recovery from 17 is working fine. I tried both official weeklies. Any hint what I could do?
Flashing the 18.1 ROM via the 17 recovery will not work I assume - so I didn't try...
Thanks a lot again!

 

[kielwasser]

Hi emartino,
I had the same problem. I solved it by flashing first the original firmware via XPeriFirm( see instructions on first page of this thread).
In section "Installing a custom recovery using fastboot" I changed the order after Step 5 "fastboot flash recovery <recovery_filename>.img.:
I extracted the Boot.img from the official weekly and flashed it with
fastboot flash boot boot.img
After that I continued with step 6 reboot hold Volume Down + Power ...
and all worked fine.

 

[Aqq123]

I extracted the Boot.img for the official weekly and flashed it with
fastboot flash boot boot.img

Exactly, just flash the LOS 18.1 boot image while in bootloader mode, then the following should work to enter recovery (at least it does on my castor_windy):

• Make sure the USB cable is disconnected
• Make sure the device is powered off
  • You can hold Vol+ and Power for 3 seconds to force power off (confirmed by 3 vibrations)
• Turn the device on normally, pressing the Power button
• As soon as the LED turns green, briefly press Vol+ once: the LED will turn blue
• You should see the recovery splash screen instead of the standard boot animation within seconds

 

[emartino]

Wow, you are magicians .
Directly inside 17.1 I went into bootloader, there I uploaded 18.1 recovery and boot.img. Then reboot -> it worked, I arrived in the 18.1 recovery.
From here (internal storage) I flashed the 18.1 OS plus (via adb sideload because I had forgotten...) the GApps -> everything is now running smoothly. I clicked around for 5 min, and Chrome, YouTube, WLAN, ... all worked fine.
Wonderful!!!
A big thanks!!!

 

[Aqq123]

Finally switched to the official build now (20221012). So far so good.

I used the migration.sh script to update keys so that I can keep my user data. Details if anyone's interested: https://wiki.lineageos.org/signing_builds

@qsnc I've noticed ro.qti.sensors.smd changed from true to false in /system/build.prop. Just a heads-up to make sure it's intentional.

 

[qsnc]

yes that was intentional

 

[PrivacyDefector]

• Open Flashtool
• Click the symbol to download and open XperiFirm (round button on the right) to download the latest firmware for your device

Anybody successfully made the upgrade to LineageOS 18.1 from stock? Just got a castor_windy in pristine condition, and don't wanna risk ruining it. Flashtool won't download XperiFirm, apparently it's a known bug. Wondering how the official LineageOS installation instructions for the device haven't been updated accordingly. When I click the round button on the right, a pop-up flashes for a split-second, and nothing else happens.

 

[Aqq123]

Anybody successfully made the upgrade to LineageOS 18.1 from stock?

We all did, at some point.

Briefly, as far as I recall, it goes like this:

• Download the latest stock firmware (23.5.A.1.291) with XperiFirm
• Flash the stock firmware with FlashTool
• Boot into system
• Get the bootloader unlock code from Sony's developer website
• Reboot into bootloader
• Unlock the bootloader: fastboot oem unlock 0x<Code from Sony>
• Flash the recovery: fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
• Boot into recovery: fastboot boot recovery.img
• Flash LOS from recovery
• Boot into system

Flashtool won't download XperiFirm, apparently it's a known bug. [...] When I click the round button on the right, a pop-up flashes for a split-second, and nothing else happens.

Just run the latest version of XperiFirm separately. Make sure you choose the correct variant: castor_windy (Wi-Fi only) can be SGP511 (16 GB) or SGP512 (32 GB). Might need to uncheck Unpack firmware automatically in the settings, I think FlashTool expects an .ftf file.

Maybe this guide helps, it has more details how to deal with potential driver issues:

[GUIDE/TUTORIAL/HOWTO] Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet Stock to Android 11

[GUIDE/TUTORIAL/HOWTO] Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet Stock to Android 11 [GUIDE/TUTORIAL/HOWTO] Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet (LTE/castor or Wi-Fi/castor_windy) Stock to Android 11 R / LineageOS 18.1 This detailed step-by-step guide helps you transform your...

forum.xda-developers.com

 

[PrivacyDefector]

@Aqq123 Thanks a lot for getting back. The guide is most helpful indeed. I believe it confirms what I suspected regarding the firmware:

4) FIRMWARE NUMBER AND USB DEBUGGING

On tablet, go to Menu > Settings > About tablet > Build number
Make sure it is 23.5.A.1.291 and tap 7 times on it to unlock Developer options.
If not 23.5.A.1.291, go to Menu > Settings > About tablet > Software update > System updates tab

So flashing with XperiFirm is basically the same as an OTA software update? Since I'm already on that firmware version, I assume I can flash right away after unlocking the bootloader?

 

[Neppomuk_]

Just to make sure you know another consequences of unlocking the bootloader: You gonna lose the TA keys, so you can not gain Widevine L1 again. Sony does format the TA partition with the unlocking procedure, so Streaming will not possible in HD anymore.

 

[Aqq123]

So flashing with XperiFirm is basically the same as an OTA software update? Since I'm already on that firmware version, I assume I can flash right away after unlocking the bootloader?

XperiFirm is for downloading. Flashing is generally done with Newflasher these days but that's for newer devices. This is an older one, so FlashTool has to be used.

It's not exactly equivalent to an OTA because it flashes everything: all partitions. It should be equivalent to flashing with Emma: https://developer.sony.com/develop/open-devices/get-started/flash-tool/download-flash-tool/ (Sony's official tool) - if it works with this device, I haven't checked. But the unofficial tools also let you change the region and downgrade.

If you're already on the latest version, you can likely skip this step. I'd still flash the latest stock firmware once more over it though, as this way if I ran into issues running custom firmware later, I could be sure it wasn't for this reason and I'm on the same page as everyone else. It shouldn't be necessary though, assuming all the previous updates were applied correctly and you don't want to change the region (which probably doesn't matter on this device).

Just to make sure you know another consequences of unlocking the bootloader: You gonna lose the TA keys, so you can not gain Widevine L1 again. Sony does format the TA partition with the unlocking procedure, so Streaming will not possible in HD anymore.

Good point. The latest firmware is exploitable with Dirty Cow, so the keys can be backed up easily before unlocking the bootloader: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/universal-dirtycow-based-ta-backup-v2.3514236/ Not sure if it makes much difference in practice though. Unless I'm not up to date, restoring the TA partition on this device relocks the bootloader, so the backup would only be useful if you wanted to go back to stock firmware.

 

[bacon612]

Hello, everyone. Long time Castor Windy user and rom flasher. I just used the Sony Emma tool to flash stock. Im running build 23.5.A.0.570. Do I still have to use flashtool to flash 23.5.A.1.291?

 

[Actrapit]

Hi,
maybe you like to read the first Post!?
Also follow the Links in the first Post for more detaild instructions how to do.

 

[qsnc]

just to be clear for the future: yes, you absolutely HAVE to have been on the latest official firmware version before flashing ANY other relatively new custom OS. i also do not quite understand why you would want to be on an older version in the first place, the z2 tablets are not exactly spring chickens anymore

 

[LittleSlimBoy]

pls help, anybody have bug, after install lineage-18.1-20221111-nightly-castor_windy-signed.zip and BiTGApps-arm-11.0.0-v1.8_signed.zip all be ok i go reboot and have first start all be faster and good but i see 1 percent battery, but in trwp i can see 94 percent and all be ok. On stock fw i not see bugs and low percents on battery all be works good now i charge it and first 2-5 percent have up to 20 min, but after it very fast 5 min for 18 percents who know how i can fix it? thx and now it stay on 15 percents and looks charging time 1 hour 46 min and not changing

 

[Neppomuk_]

Oh, is it possible that your battery calibration data got corrupted? I've never heard such a case.
You can try to delete the battery stats.
Best follow this post: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/how-to-reset-my-battery-stats.1699687/

 

[Egon77]

Since I have flashed several Xperia XA2s for Lineage, this went pretty quickly with the Xperia Z2 Tablet LTE. But then in Lineage the WLAN could not be activated with any trick. Since I assumed that an error occurred during flashing, I deleted everything with EMMA and flashed the original stock. Emma provides for the SGP521 as the latest version only the 23.5.A.0.570. Then the WLAN problem could be solved after trying with WPS, Lineage flashed again and everything runs very well.

My question now, what is the difference of the version 23.5.A.0.570 to 23.5.A.1.291? Is this not a Sony original version because Emma does not offer it?

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

[_Linar_]

Tell me, please, how to get root on the firmware from January 15?