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[Q] Any reason not to flash CM?

Hi there,
I just got my Sony Xperia Z and I have a few questions. I went to the FreeXperia website and looked up if there was anything missing from CM. Under Fusion I found that there is nothing listed under "Not working".
So is the Xperia Z hardware 100% supported?
Is there any reason to wait on flashing CM?
Do I lose any specific functionality? Things that come to mind here are the NFC tags or the stuff that you can find in the "Xperia" settings, like Mirrorlink. What's Mirrorlink anyway?
I have seen that there is something called Bravia Engine. Do I need it?
Beside that I am wondering if I should unlock the bootloader. The CM wiki describes an installation method which includes unlocking the bootloader. I have found another method though, which doesn't require to unlock the bootloader.
So is there any gain from unlocking the bootloader apart from notifying Sony that you have void your warranty? :silly:
Thank you in advance.

xelra said:
Hi there,
I just got my Sony Xperia Z and I have a few questions. I went to the FreeXperia website and looked up if there was anything missing from CM. Under Fusion I found that there is nothing listed under "Not working".
So is the Xperia Z hardware 100% supported?
Is there any reason to wait on flashing CM?
Do I lose any specific functionality? Things that come to mind here are the NFC tags or the stuff that you can find in the "Xperia" settings, like Mirrorlink. What's Mirrorlink anyway?
I have seen that there is something called Bravia Engine. Do I need it?
Beside that I am wondering if I should unlock the bootloader. The CM wiki describes an installation method which includes unlocking the bootloader. I have found another method though, which doesn't require to unlock the bootloader.
So is there any gain from unlocking the bootloader apart from notifying Sony that you have void your warranty? :silly:
Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think all CM installs require unlocked BL as they use different kernel. I recall reading somewhere that camera and speaker phone (in call) are not working. The BE is used only in albums and movie play. It is responsible for improving picture quality. I think some ROMs support BE as well.
I think there are ways to re-lock your BL before heading to Sony repair desk. Try looking in dev section.

swrajjoshi said:
I think all CM installs require unlocked BL as they use different kernel. I recall reading somewhere that camera and speaker phone (in call) are not working. The BE is used only in albums and movie play. It is responsible for improving picture quality. I think some ROMs support BE as well.
I think there are ways to re-lock your BL before heading to Sony repair desk. Try looking in dev section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I see. Then the method I read about for getting CWM on the phone can only be used for stock-type ROMs, I suppose. So AOSP-type ROMs require an unlocked bootloader. Tha clarifies things.
What good would it do me to relock the phone? Using the official way to unlock the bootloader requires me to go to a SONY website and notify them of me unlocking it. I even have to leave my e-mail address.
So CM still has some bugs that severe? It's strange that they even released an RC version then.
I read somewhere that CM does have terrible battery life for usage, because screen-on does suck the battery dry like vaccum pump. Maybe that's because the display isn't properly supported?
Thank you for clarifying about the Bravia Engine. Would be interesting to know how exactly it's able to improve picture and video rendering.

xelra said:
Thanks. I see. Then the method I read about for getting CWM on the phone can only be used for stock-type ROMs, I suppose. So AOSP-type ROMs require an unlocked bootloader. Tha clarifies things.
What good would it do me to relock the phone? Using the official way to unlock the bootloader requires me to go to a SONY website and notify them of me unlocking it. I even have to leave my e-mail address.
So CM still has some bugs that severe? It's strange that they even released an RC version then.
I read somewhere that CM does have terrible battery life for usage, because screen-on does suck the battery dry like vaccum pump. Maybe that's because the display isn't properly supported?
Thank you for clarifying about the Bravia Engine. Would be interesting to know how exactly it's able to improve picture and video rendering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The CM 10 problem is with camera is because Sony hasn't release driver codes for working with camera. I don't know the story behind speaker phone issue. The biggest benefit of CM 10 is that you get the latest 4.2.2 with lots of extra goodies like pie control, additional boot options and numerous MODs and special configuration options.

How to root Xperia XZ1 Compact ?

Hello everyone I open this discussion to discuss together on a possible way to root the device.
Since I'm new to Sony I've heard a lot of different things about the root method, so that's why I prefer to gather here to avoid believing anything and everything on the internet.
Thanks you

Is root a taboo on this phone ?
I can't seem to find any clear information on wether it's rootable or not.
I don't care about DRM or stuff, I just want my stock ROM rooted, would KingRoot do the job ?

JackyJacks said:
Is root a taboo on this phone ?
I can't seem to find any clear information on wether it's rootable or not.
I don't care about DRM or stuff, I just want my stock ROM rooted, would KingRoot do the job ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a hack under development by sToRm// for our XZ1 compacts. It's working for XZP's.
You don't want to use kingroot, your IMEI number will be cloned as well as malware being installed in your phone.
The DRM stuff, no camera is not an option for most phone users, so I would urge you to care about it a little.
There is the AOSP project launched by Sony, but it does require some development skills to get it set up and it's not bug free.
I think there will be a root process within the next few weeks, keep looking here on the forum.

JackyJacks said:
Is root a taboo on this phone ?
I can't seem to find any clear information on wether it's rootable or not.
I don't care about DRM or stuff, I just want my stock ROM rooted, would KingRoot do the job ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a taboo subject, it just isn't possible, at the moment, to "just get root".
In order to get root, you must also have an unlocked bootloader.
Sony has a developer's program, under which, you can submit your IMEI and they will email you a code you can use to unlock your bootloader.
Once you do that, the following things will happen:
- Your camera will stop working.
- Other Sony "DRM" enabled functions will stop working.
- Your warranty will be void.
- You can never "re-lock" the bootloader and go back to an un-modified state.
- You can install whatever boot and system modifications you like, including root (so long as you disable RIC and dm-verity).
I blame Sony for confusion regarding the term "root" among those who own Sony phones.
Sometimes they use it to refer to super-user permissions, and sometimes they use it to refer to the bootloader lock state.
That has led most people here in the Sony forums to use the term ambiguously and interchangeably as well.
So if you only want super-user level permissions, then there is no way to do that.
If you want to unlock your bootloader, then there's no secret at all. Just go to Sony's open devices site.

JackyJacks said:
Is root a taboo on this phone ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's more a matter of the "consequences" of rooting Xperias.
Sony lets you unlock the bootloader (unless you got your phone from a locked down source), so in theory you can flash any ROM you like with whatever root solution you prefer.
So what's stopping people from just unlocking the bootloader? See, Sony decided that it was a brilliant idea to bind some of their assets to DRM keys.
The kicker is, unlocking the bootloader wipes those precious DRM keys, which means you lose certain functionalities.
Unfortunately, there's no way to unlock without permanently losing those keys. Furthermore, those keys are unique to each device, so you can't just use someone else's without bricking your phone.
Now, it wasn't as big of a deal for pre-2017 Xperias, because the features you lose are relatively non-essential.
For example, X-Reality, which supposedly enhances the image in specific Sony apps, is nice to have but does not affect functionality, so not that important relatively speaking.
The biggest loss is Sony's advanced low light noise reduction algorithms for the camera, it makes a very noticeable difference in picture quality. But you'd still be able to use the camera normally otherwise.
For many people, the trade-off is worth it; the benefits of having root far outweighs the ability to take less ****ty pictures in places with ****ty lighting or enhancing the pores on your selfie.
It also helps that people eventually found exploits in earlier Android versions that makes it possible to backup those DRM keys and restore them.
However, for most of the phones released this year (models starting with designation G), Sony figured it has had enough of its customers enjoying their phones.
In a display of the traditional roots of Sony-style hyper obsession with DRMing and locking down the hell out of their stuff, now when you unlock the bootloader, the camera simply stops working.
Well, not entirely - the camera app launches as usual, and you can still see the live view on screen, tap to focus and change settings and all that.
But no matter what you do, it will only take one type of photo, a canvas of pure, solid green. It's effectively broken.
Obviously, that **** move causes hesitation with people interested in rooting their phones. They'd want their cameras to at least be able to take pictures.
Currently, aside from building and flashing Sony's AOSP ROM yourself, or a handful of third-party camera apps, or developing your own solution, there's simply no way of restoring the camera function after the bootloader has been unlocked.
Lots of people just want root on top of the stock firmware, but it's not possible without breaking the camera.
So in conclusion, no, it's not a taboo, rooting is just ridiculously undesirable for now given the conditions.

This is total BS. I might cancel my Amazon order and go with a non-Sony phone now. Maybe the Galaxy S8. I was very excited about the XZ1c.

Didgesteve said:
There is a hack under development by sToRm// for our XZ1 compacts. It's working for XZP's.
You don't want to use kingroot, your IMEI number will be cloned as well as malware being installed in your phone.
The DRM stuff, no camera is not an option for most phone users, so I would urge you to care about it a little.
There is the AOSP project launched by Sony, but it does require some development skills to get it set up and it's not bug free.
I think there will be a root process within the next few weeks, keep looking here on the forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the details.
I did not know camera was impacted by DRM, I thought this was only streaming apps like spotify or netflix...
I'll wait patiently then

JackyJacks said:
I did not know camera was impacted by DRM, I thought this was only streaming apps like spotify or netflix...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that kind of DRM. Ironically, those will work with an unlocked bootloader assuming you're using them as intended.

Worth buying the Xperia XZ2 in the late 2019?

I am interested in a buying a 2nd all-arounder phone that mostly ticks all key boxes and found out that the XZ2 is almost there.
As it will be my first Sony I need your experience with the device to decide to buying it or get a different one:
1) are there any serious issues that affect the device, maybe design issues or bad experiences with the device? Maybe display, speakers, or other hardware stuff to concern me?
2) I am interested in root-ability o this phone. Is I saw that there is some development. for this phone and since I am sort of experienced in Custom ROM stuff, I want to know if there are specific rooting issues? Are the valid options for un-bricking it, just in case. Is there a big amount of bricked phones?
3) how's sony with the updates for this device for official firmware updates?
4) is Google Camera functional after rooting?
5) is the phone performance still holding good in late 2019?
I appreciate your responses in any form or shape!

catalindobre said:
I am interested in a buying a 2nd all-arounder phone that mostly ticks all key boxes and found out that the XZ2 is almost there.
As it will be my first Sony I need your experience with the device to decide to buying it or get a different one:
1) are there any serious issues that affect the device, maybe design issues or bad experiences with the device? Maybe display, speakers, or other hardware stuff to concern me?
2) I am interested in root-ability o this phone. Is I saw that there is some development. for this phone and since I am sort of experienced in Custom ROM stuff, I want to know if there are specific rooting issues? Are the valid options for un-bricking it, just in case. Is there a big amount of bricked phones?
3) how's sony with the updates for this device for official firmware updates?
4) is Google Camera functional after rooting?
5) is the phone performance still holding good in late 2019?
I appreciate your responses in any form or shape!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like my still fast XZ2 with OmniROM 9.0

catalindobre said:
I am interested in a buying a 2nd all-arounder phone that mostly ticks all key boxes and found out that the XZ2 is almost there.
As it will be my first Sony I need your experience with the device to decide to buying it or get a different one:
1) are there any serious issues that affect the device, maybe design issues or bad experiences with the device? Maybe display, speakers, or other hardware stuff to concern me?
2) I am interested in root-ability o this phone. Is I saw that there is some development. for this phone and since I am sort of experienced in Custom ROM stuff, I want to know if there are specific rooting issues? Are the valid options for un-bricking it, just in case. Is there a big amount of bricked phones?
3) how's sony with the updates for this device for official firmware updates?
4) is Google Camera functional after rooting?
5) is the phone performance still holding good in late 2019?
I appreciate your responses in any form or shape!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1-some devices are affected from bad production including mine, ghosting on LCD below room temperature, horizontal static electric lines appearing after rubbing the screen, speakers may get temporary damage for no reason (can be fixed by opening the sim tray and pulling that paper in there and waiting a little) or can get permanently damaged if you overdrive them with something like xLoud easily, if you dont want a super slippery 200g heavy 1.1cm thick glass brick look somewhere else (buttons are jiggly too)
2-custom roms have problems with audio and camera and it'll take some time to get fixed and at the end there's the possibility of it not being better than stock camera (also typical sony drm stuff will be lost after unlocking the bootloader)
3-device getting regular security patches and will be updated to android 10 in early 2020 (keep your bootloader locked if you want OTA)
4-no, gcam requires full camera2api and raw support which isnt there on stock
5-performance is good probably due to having close to stock android
this is my first xperia and I'd not recommend this phone to anybody unless you are crazy about what is sony doing with their sony open devices project like the guy above martin

Faruk.ErdaL said:
1-some devices are affected from bad production including mine, ghosting on LCD below room temperature, horizontal static electric lines appearing after rubbing the screen, speakers may get temporary damage for no reason (can be fixed by opening the sim tray and pulling that paper in there and waiting a little) or can get permanently damaged if you overdrive them with something like xLoud easily, if you dont want a super slippery 200g heavy 1.1cm thick glass brick look somewhere else (buttons are jiggly too)
2-custom roms have problems with audio and camera and it'll take some time to get fixed and at the end there's the possibility of it not being better than stock camera (also typical sony drm stuff will be lost after unlocking the bootloader)
3-device getting regular security patches and will be updated to android 10 in early 2020 (keep your bootloader locked if you want OTA)
4-no, gcam requires full camera2api and raw support which isnt there on stock
5-performance is good probably due to having close to stock android
this is my first xperia and I'd not recommend this phone to anybody unless you are crazy about what is sony doing with their sony open devices project like the guy above martin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry to hear that you got a faulty unit.
Did you try to RMA it?
Because I never had such issues, except touch issues in Android 8, which got 90% fixed now (Sometimes while I super fast do swipes on the keyboard it may not recognize only a single swipe at the beginning of the writing).
Camera and Audio are work in progress on the custom roms based on sony open devices project.
SODP is an isolated sony employee team in the sony company + volunteers which need to implement everything by themselves without access to the stock source code (but with access to the closed source Qualcomm source code and documentations).
The camera doesn't degrade on unlock on your stock firmware, so you can freely continue using the stock firmware until the SODP camera reaches a equal or better quality.
(Since SODP supports the entire Camera2API with RAW and GCAM support to raise the quality it may become better than stock.)
And the performance is like stock on SODP.
My benchmark shows the same values like stock, too and you don't have bloat/stock apps preinstalled without the possibility to remove them without root.
PS: The SODP based custom roms are not affected by DRM, since they are a reimplementation of the hardware drivers, there isn't any usecase for DRM keys.

Wanting to switch from OP7P to Pixel 5 - some questions

Hello people,
the last OnePlus OS update disaster was the cherry on the s***cake I call OxygenOS. After years of microphone, display and sensor issues I want to go back to the only brand where I had almost 0 issues: Pixel.
Since I am still very wary I have a few questions for people who had the possibility to use the phone for a while.
1. Are there working TWRP and root methods out there? How about the backup and restore of nandroid in TWRP? Does it work flawlessly?
2. How fast ist the camera? I remember on my Pixel 2 that you could take the phone out, take a shot and put it away. The image will be sharp and clear in 95% of the cases. In other phones I had to stay still for about 1-2 seconds out of fear the image will be blurry or smeared.
3. Does Google still provide OTA .zips and tools to flash, unlock and recover custom roms and images?
4. Is the adaptive brightness on point? OP7 always needs an ever so slightly readjustmet which makes it kind of pointless.
5. Does the microphone in whatsapp voice messages work flawless?
6. Would it be possible to migrate my data partition from OP7P to Pixel 5 without issues? I have 2 authenticator apps that I have a backup for but can't restore on my OP7P without bootloop... (see intro text).
Thank you!

1. I think TWRP was just released but I don't think it's very functional. you can go to that thread to get more information since I don't use it myself.
2. This could be just me but the camera viewfinder will definitely freeze for a few seconds before I can start taking a picture. And because of the mid-range processor, it does take a few seconds for the image to process. However I think this is done after the picture is taken so you should be okay taking a picture and then turning the screen off - since it seems to process the image in the background afterwards.
3. If you do a Google search for Google factory images you'll see there are zips you can download, both full fastboot zips and OTA zips. I normally Flash the OTA zip through stock recovery via adb sideload.
4. The adaptive brightness definitely does favour going dim more than it needs to. I'm guessing this could be fixed in a potential future software update though.
5. I don't use WhatsApp so not too sure about this one
6. Not too sure what you mean exactly by migrating but I personally use the app called Swift Backup to backup and restore my apps. And then I just manually drag and drop my internal storage to my computer as a backup.

anphex said:
Hello people,
the last OnePlus OS update disaster was the cherry on the s***cake I call OxygenOS. After years of microphone, display and sensor issues I want to go back to the only brand where I had almost 0 issues: Pixel.
Since I am still very wary I have a few questions for people who had the possibility to use the phone for a while.
1. Are there working TWRP and root methods out there? How about the backup and restore of nandroid in TWRP? Does it work flawlessly?
2. How fast ist the camera? I remember on my Pixel 2 that you could take the phone out, take a shot and put it away. The image will be sharp and clear in 95% of the cases. In other phones I had to stay still for about 1-2 seconds out of fear the image will be blurry or smeared.
3. Does Google still provide OTA .zips and tools to flash, unlock and recover custom roms and images?
4. Is the adaptive brightness on point? OP7 always needs an ever so slightly readjustmet which makes it kind of pointless.
5. Does the microphone in whatsapp voice messages work flawless?
6. Would it be possible to migrate my data partition from OP7P to Pixel 5 without issues? I have 2 authenticator apps that I have a backup for but can't restore on my OP7P without bootloop... (see intro text).
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently root works fine. There is no function TWRP yet, at least last I looked, but things are fine without it. But more volatile but once things are set up right you're golden. I moved from a OP7P to a P5, as well, so I'll give you the run down.
Biggest, biggest gripe: vibration motor. It's pretty ****ty. Not like, oh god, get this out of my hand ****ty, but the OP7P's vibrator was much, much better. Phone speaker quality is much worse, as well, but for how small the p5 is, and the fact that it has no earpiece speaker, it makes quite a decent effort. Snappines; the op7p was so fast that double pressing the power button from screen off to pull up the camera will actually unlock and relock your screen before it even registers you double clicked the power button, and apps would launch instantly. The P5 isn't quite *that* fast, but it IS nimble. Lower your expectations for snappines, though I do feel that, with the proper modifications to animations, to the kernel, to the os, it could be comparable. That's definitely something OP mastered, that snappines and responsiveness. I think what would really make a big difference in that snappines is just animation tuning. For example, I wish screen on and screen off animations just didn't exist, and instead it was instant. As it is now, currently, it's a quick fade. Small gripes though. Gravity box can solve a lot of complaints, too lol
But, the question remains, what do you gain?
You gain updates. You're now at the forefront of features. You don't know what you're missing until you have a Pixel. Battery Life? It's.. well, let's just say that the op7p sucks compared to the p5. I can easily get 9+ hours screen on time even with heavy, heavy usage, bluetooth on, location, nfc, tons of apps in the background. This phone WILL get you through the day, 100% guaranteed. You get wireless charging, too, which is awesome. Charging is nimble but not dash-charge fast. You get a phone that you can use in one hand.
Overall, will it be for everyone? No. But, I can say with confidence, I'm not looking back. I have my complaints, one of the biggest being that Google Assistant just isn't reliable for me on my p5 compared to how it was on my oneplus, and also that the ding it makes when I use the hotword is just kinda gone for some reason and I have no idea how to fix it.
But yeah, ramble over, there ya go.

Thank you for sharing your point of view!
The thing is, I got the OP7P as a gift when it released and I never got warm with its huge size. I never wanted a huge phone like this but coped with it because it was/is top of the line. But over the time those already stated minor issues started to arise and accumulate.
So basically I don't want to gain anything, I want to get rid of the surplus.
As long as doesn't have issues that bothes me every day or at least less than the OP7P, everything is fine.

anphex said:
Thank you for sharing your point of view!
The thing is, I got the OP7P as a gift when it released and I never got warm with its huge size. I never wanted a huge phone like this but coped with it because it was/is top of the line. But over the time those already stated minor issues started to arise and accumulate.
So basically I don't want to gain anything, I want to get rid of the surplus.
As long as doesn't have issues that bothes me every day or at least less than the OP7P, everything is fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll find it doesn't feel as premium in the hand, as well. The majority of the body is plastic, though it's a very high quality, biodegradable plastic called bio resin. It also can heat up during normal usage, but not to an uncomfortable level. Outside of usual android gripes here and there, there's really not much to complain about. It gets the job done, as a phone, really well. Camera is fantastic, and I tried to see just how quickly you can take a pic from it earlier and you likely won't be disappointed. You can snap a picture before the viewfinder even loads, so it's unlikely you'll run into any issue. It automatically enables night mode depending on the light, but you can disable that auto night mode from a button near the view finder, so that pics are taken instantly. Everything about the phone is like that - very intentional and miticulous design, while still remaining stock android. Not quite custom rom levels of customization, though. No custom OS colors, things like that. OP wins in customization, for sure, but again, you probably won't be disappointed.

Quick question regarding root on XZ2(C)

Is it possible to root the stock rom without losing functionality on the latest firmware?
If so, can you point me to a guide?
I don't care about custom roms, weird mods or unlocking the bl or doing anything too crazy. Just plain old root to debloat and use adblocker + firewall.
I'm going to buy either the XZ2 or the Compact version soon. I assume the procedure is the same.

Sooo, this is what I was able to find out by googling and lurking XDA extensively.
The phone can be unlocked but you lose all kinds of sh*t by doing so, because on this one unlike the XZ1 you can't backup the DRM keys. It is still a mistery to me as to what gets lost. I heard camera quality, camera filtering, video effects including slow motoion, and audio enhancements. Rumor has it that you may lose the camera altogether if you unlock.
There also doesn't seem to be a way to trick the device into thinking it's unrooted or to bypass the DRM keys like on the XZ1 (drmfix). So once you lose these keys there's no turning back (cue dramatic music)
So, unlocking the device if you want to keep the stock camera working should not be done
Using temp root exploits is doable on some old firmware, but if you modify the system partitions the device will lose DRM keys forever anyway (so what's even the point?)
Also
The phone cannot be relocked once unlocked, just like the XZ1
Camera will work again on LineageOS
But camera quality is dogsh*t on LOS and lacks all the fancy slow motion effects
And you cannot get any of that back
IS THIS LIST CORRECT?