Last Updated on July 20, 2022 by Mathew Diekhake

The Sony Xperia Z2 and the Z3 smartphones together and finding a brand new over the air software update to the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop. You can read up on everything inside the 23.1.A.0.690 build number from this post. Those of you who have already found the OTA update and updated to the Lollipop might be looking to gain root access. That way you can begin installing root-requiring applications, custom ROMs, custom firmware and even increase the device performance by removing bloatware and more.

Before starting the guide after the jump for the Xperia devices, you should read our list of essentials that you should do before starting.

Android 5.0 Lollipop

The first thing you should know is that this guide only works for people with an unlocked bootloader. You cannot flash the files below if your bootloader is locked. There are some rooting guides out there for different firmware versions that will work with a locked bootloader, which would have sounded next to impossible a few years ago. Nonetheless, you must unlock the same before coming here.

Details of Note

  • The next thing you want to do is back up the Xperia data using a third-party application from the Google Play Store such as Helium for Android, or any other app. others will prefer using the built-in backup options that comes with the phone. It doesn’t matter how you do it, just take the data away from the internal storage or else it might get wiped if you take a factory reset.
  • Moreover, you want to enable the USB Debugging Mode which is done from the Developer Options menu. If you cannot see the Developer Options menu you must unlock the options by tapping the build number seven times.
  • You should have the up to date USB Drivers by Sony before starting so that yo are successfully connecting to the computer.
  • Only applying the following Xperia guide if you are an advanced Android user. That way you can get out of trouble and avoid bricking your device.
  • Rooting with the guide below does void any warranty you might have left on the Z smartphone.

How to root the Sony Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z2 running Android 5.0.2 23.1.A.0.690 software update

1. Flash the 5.0.2 ftf.

2. Flash the DoomLorD boot.img with recovery inside.
– you can also use fastboot:

fastboot flash boot boot.img

3. Flash the SuperSU from recovery.
– find the “install from SD card” option from the recovery menu.

4. Reboot the Xperia Z2 or Z3 in Flash mode.

5. Flash everything but the kernel using the flashtool.

That’s what the original poster from XDA says. However, you can follow the thread here and see more people are using different ways.

The method is created by XDA Developers member ‘Lonely25K” who goes on to say that his device did boot fine after applying the steps above. You can check everything is working by installing the root checker application from the Google Play Store.