Unlock Sony Bootloader in Smartphones
Sony devices along with previous Sony Ericsson, released their mobiles with locked bootloaders. Rooting these devices without unlocking resulted in failure. So it is essential to unlock sony bootloader of these devices to root and install custom ROM’s.
Older devices may get bricked if you update your device via OTA after unlocking the bootloader. Unlocking the bootloader will delete TA partition and DRM keys. This will make the default Sony apps such as Walkman, Bravia Engine, Xperia Gallery to crash or they don’t work at all. Relocking the bootloader will not be useful either. All you need to do is backup the TA and DRM keys and restore them after unlocking the bootloader. Check this THREAD about how to backup and restore TA partition and DRM keys.
Unlocking the sony bootloader will wipe user data both on your phone and sd card. Please backup before proceeding. It may also break warranty of your device. We are not responsible for any damages. Proceed at your own risk.
Before proceeding with the process, check whether your device bootloader unlocking is allowed or not. Open dial pad on your device and enter *#*#7378423#*#* This will open the service menu of your device. Open Rooting status in configuration option and check bootloader unlock status. If it says allowed, then you are good to go. If it says NO or that part is missing refrain yourself from unlocking the bootloader. It isn’t allowed.
Instruction:
Note that unlocking bootloader is for advanced users who have technical knowledge and are familiar with the terms used in the exploits. If you are not aware of these terms and procedures, kindly refrain yourself from proceeding further.
- Backup your device and sd card to PC.
- Download and install ADB and Fastboot drivers on your PC.
- Enable USB debugging in developer options on your device settings. If you cant see developer options navigate to settings – about phone – build number and tap on build number for 7 times and you will see a message ‘you are now a developer’.
- Write down the IMEI number of your device which can be obtained by dialing *#06# on your device.
Once you have all these files, you need to get the unique OEM key for unlocking bootloader of your device. In order to get that go to Sony Developer Site, read all the instructions carefully and select your device and click on proceed. You will be asked to enter email address for verification. Enter a valid email address and submit. You will get a confirmation link to your email and clicking on that link will give you the unique key for unlocking the bootloader. Note it down carefully.
- Open the command prompt on your PC where you have installed ADB and Fastboot drivers (Open the installed folder, right click in empty space and select open command here).
- Power off your mobile, press volume up button and connect it to PC via USB. Let the PC install drivers automatically in this mode. You are now in fastboot mode.
- In the command prompt type ‘exe -i 0x0fce oem unlock 0xKEY’ replace the KEY with the unique key you got from Sony Developer site and hit enter. You are done. Your device bootloader is unlocked.
- Type command ‘fastboot reboot’ to reboot your device normally. It will take sometime to reboot.
To check the bootloader locked/unlocked status after the above steps you can type *#*#7388423#*#* and see it in service menu.
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