It’s not released worldwide yet, but the latest offering from Android, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Z1 is getting quite a name among smartphone fans. Of course, since this phone uses Android, you can go ahead and update it with a custom ROM and make other changes. Before doing all that though, you’ll need to know how to root Sony Ericsson Xperia Z1. Gaining access to the root is the only way to get your hands on the Xperia Z1’s internal system.

What You Need To Know About Rooting A Smartphone

If you’re not familiar with this process, here’s what you need to know. All smartphones arrive with a locked OS and factory setting restrictions. You’ll need to obtain root access if you want to:

  • Remove inbuilt programs
  • Access the internal system
  • Install a custom recovery image or kernel
  • Unlock the bootloder
  • Use applications that require root access

Remember, you need to be an experienced Xperia user to gain root access. Here’s how you crack the root and make the phone your own! Also, gaining root access can be a messy experience; if anything goes wrong, you cannot go running to Sony or Google. You’ll lose your smartphone’s warranty, which can be restored only if you apply to Sony for a ‘un-root’ procedure.

What To Do Before Rooting Your Xperia Z1

  1. Charge your phone – the battery should have 50% or more power for this operation
  2. Take a backup of the data you want to preserve. Your data won’t get erased while using one-click root solutions, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
  3. Deactivate your computer’s antivirus, firewall and antimalware programs
  4. On your phone, go to the Settings -> Applications -> Development ->USB Debugging option and enable your computer’s USB for debugging
  5. Connect your phone’s USB to your computer
  6. Download the vroot root application from the Sony Xperia site and run it on your computer
  7. If your smartphone has been successfully rooted, you’ll see a success message (in Chinese). If not, you’ll see a message in red on the top left corner indicating the rooting is not complete.
  8. If you see the message in red, look for a green button at the bottom-right corner and tap it.
  9. The rooting process will take place now; don’t interrupt it
  10. You will see the success message in Chinese when you’ve successfully obtained root access to your Xperia
  11. Tap the green button again to obtain root permission. You will see a success message displayed in blue font.

What Next?

  • Once you’ve gained access to the root, you can unlock the boot loader. Be sure to update your Xperia to the latest OS build before you unlock the boot loader. If you don’t do this, your phone’s camera functionality will be hampered. You can also flash custom ROM, change default factory settings and much more. Remember to stay away from over-the-air upgrades once you have unlocked the boot loader, as these might hamper your phone’s operation.