Last Updated on April 1, 2017 by Mathew Diekhake
As I’m sure some of you Sony Xperia fans already know, there’s now a fresh Android 5.0.2 Lollipop update rolling out for the original Sony Xperia Z2 and it’s older brother Xperia Z3 smartphone. The new software update comes with the build number 23.1.A.28 and I’ll show you how to open the system internal up with root access easily after the jump.
The method we are using today includes BusyBox, SuperSU, the custom recovery and is a real working root method for Lollipop. It’s not one of those guides that’s just telling you how you can downgrade and root KitKat again — those are useless!
Those of you who were running with root access before updating to the latest Lollipop, sadly have lost the root aces now. Installing official OTA updates known as over the air updates causes the exploit to be patched and breaks away from the unchained system we had. That’s why we need to find a new guide all the time and luckily we have many third-party developers providing us with options sometimes. Today is one of those lucky days.
Although we love the guide using SuperSU and most of them are always easy, you should still take all the necessary precautions before starting the guide. You want to hit up the Google Play Store and get your hands on the Helium app for Android to make copies of those apps. Helium is great for backing up data, but it doesn’t get all data. You can use the other built-in backup options from within your OS or you can continue installing more apps — just be careful not to over-bloat your OS. You might also want to sync the contacts easily using Google services.
Once you are happy that you’v we backup up the data it will be your last time for a while because you can easily start taking a NANDroid backup after you complete the guide. We are issuing you the custom recovery you need during the guide to go along with the root access.
Some of you might need to unlock the hidden Developer Options menu. You can do that in the same manner you would always do it: hit the About Device menu and tap over the build number seven times. It will count you down until it is finally unlocked and ready to use. Now that you have unlocked the hidden menu, go back out of the About Device menu and tap the Developer Options available from the Settings menu. Inside the Settings is where you’ll find the USB Debugging Mode. Tap over the check-box to turn on the USB Debugging. Now you are ready to connect it to the computer.
The guide works just the same for the Z2 and the Z3. You don’t need a unique set of steps. The major Lollipop update is rolling out for both handsets and as such as we can use the same exploit.
Rooting your Xperia smartphone will void the warranty this time just like it does every other time. We still don’t have any way to not void the warranty. Now that you know all that, it’s time to root the new software update.
How to root the Sony Xperia Z2 and Z3 running Android 5.0.2 Lollipop 23.1.A.28 firmware
- Download the Sony rooting file you need from here to the desktop of the Windows PC.
- Extract the file to the desktop so you can easily use the extractable file inside. You might need to download software to unzip the file.
- Connect the Xperia handset of your choice to the same computer where you have the four files.
- Copy and paste each of the four files over to the root of the SD card, meaning not inside any file. Furthermore, we are referring to the internal storage when we say SD card.
- Launch the Root APK file on the Xperia handset.
- The rooting tool will now take over and do the rest.
- Once you have finished gaining the root access, load the custom recovery file just like you did the rooting file.
- Unplug it from the computer now and completely power off the device by holding down Power for 10 seconds.
- Reboot the handset in recovery mode.
- Upload the SuperSU file from inside the custom recovery.
- Confirm you want to install the SuperSU file.
- Once complete, go back to the main recovery menu and choose the reboot system option.
- Now you are ready to regain control of your Google account.
The next things to do is confirm it all went smoothly from downloading the root checker app (optional). From there you can do some extra reading about what awesome things you can do with a rooted Android by checking out this post.