Last Updated on July 19, 2022 by Mathew Diekhake

Rooting your Sony Xperia Z running Android 5.1.1 is super easy as long as a custom recovery is up and running on your phone. The root method described below takes help of the custom recovery to flash SuperSU, which in turn uses an exploit to gain root access on the phone. And tada, your Xperia Z is rooted!

Here’s how you can go about doing that:

Sony Xperia Z

Files You Need

  1. You must have a custom recovery installed on your phone before doing this tutorial. If you have not installed a custom recovery on your phone yet, do so now using our how to install a custom recovery on the Sony Xperia Z running Android 5.1.1 tutorial. Once that is done, come back here and continue.
  2. This should flash SuperSU on your phone to achieve access to the root.
  3. Download SuperSU to your computer. It will then be transferred to your phone for it to be installed.

Rooting the Sony Xperia Z running Android 5.1.1

  1. Make sure you have not extracted the SuperSU archive. It must be in .zip format for it to be flashed through a recovery on your phone.
  2. Connect your Xperia Z to your computer using a compatible USB cable. Ensure that your phone can receive files from your computer.
  3. Copy SuperSU .zip from your computer over to the internal SD card storage on your phone. Place it on the top so it can be easily found at a later time.
  4. When SuperSU is copied, unplug your phone from your computer.
  5. Turn off your phone.
  6. Turn your phone back on in the TWRP Recovery mode. To do that, you need to hold down Volume DOWN and Power buttons at the same time on your phone.
  7. It should get your phone into the custom recovery mode.
  8. Once in the recovery mode, select the option that says Install. What this option does is let you install a custom file on your phone.
  9. You should now be prompted to choose a file to be installed on your phone. Navigate to the internal SD card storage, select the SuperSU .zip file, and proceed with the installation process.
  10. Confirm the installation prompt by tapping Swipe to Confirm Flash.
  11. Wait for TWRP to install SuperSU on your phone. It should not take too long as you are only flashing a small zip file and not an entire firmware on your phone.
  12. When TWRP is done flashing SuperSU, reboot your phone. You can reboot your phone directly from the recovery menu by selecting the option that says Reboot followed by System.
  13. Your phone should now reboot.
  14. You should now be rooted!

Hurray! Your Sony Xperia Z running Android 5.1.1 is now rooted, all thanks to TWRP and SuperSU for making it super easy.

Now that root access has been achieved on your phone and you also have a custom recovery, it is time that you go ahead and get the most out of your phone by running root-requiring apps on it, flashing a custom ROM, giving a try to a custom kernel, and doing literally everything that comes in your mind. However, be careful while doing so as overdoing things may cause trouble to your phone.

Have fun and play safe with your rooted and custom recovery equipped Sony Xperia Z.

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