Xperia Z Tablet Unlock bootloader | Install TWRP | Install Custom Rom | Firmware

How to update you xperia tab which is little older in 2024 you can still use it after unlock bootloader, install custom recovery and update old frimware with customer rom firmware.

Xperia tablet z Sgp311 boorloader unlock, custom trwp, custom rom
Xperia tablet z Sgp311 boorloader unlock, custom trwp, custom rom

Install requirements (adb and fastboot) on your computer

adb and fastboot are programs used on the command line to access and manipulate an Android phone/device. They exist on multiple OS. I personally use Linux Mint on my desktop computer and both programs can simply be installed using apt:

ckadm@mintp ~ $ sudo apt-cache search ^adb
adb - Android Debug Bridge
ckadm@mintp ~ $ sudo apt-cache search ^fastboot
fastboot - Android fastboot tool

ckadm@mintp ~ $ sudo apt-get install adb fastboot

Enable USB debugging on the tablet

Make sure the "USB debugging" is enabled. Check Settings -> Developer tools -> Enable USB Debugging.

xperia z tablet unlock bootloader
xperia z tablet unlock bootloader
Android Settings USB Debugging
xperia z tablet unlock bootloader


In case "Developer options" is not shown in the Settings, open Settings -> About tablet. Tap several times on the "Build number" to enable the developer mode. The "Developer options" should now show up in the settings.

Preparations to unlock the bootloader

Open the Contacts app and open the app's Settings.

Contact app, Settings
xperia z tablet unlock bootloader


With your finger tap and hold for about 5 seconds just above the navigation menu (at the bottom):

Contact app, hidden input in settings
xperia z tablet unlock bootloader


When you release your finger, a field with "Enter service code" should appear:

Contact app, enter service code
xperia z tablet unlock bootloader


By tapping on this "Enter service code" field, a dialer (num pad) will show up:

Contact app, service dialer pad
xperia z tablet unlock bootloader


Enter the following code: *#*#7378423#*#* . A service menu will appear. 

In this service menu open Service info -> Configuration and check the "Rooting status".

Sony Xperia Tablet Z IMEI device info
xperia z tablet unlock bootloader


The value of "Bootloader unlock allowed" should be set to Yes. If this is set to no, you cannot proceed. While you're here, take a picture of this screen or note down the IMEI number - you will need this later to unlock the bootloader.

Now connect the tablet to your computer using a microUSB cable. 

The tablet should now be seen using the adb command. Make sure adb is able to detect your tablet:

ckadm@mintp ~ $ adb devices -l
List of devices attached
CB5A1TMNH8             device usb:1-1.6 product:SGP321 model:SGP321 device:SGP321

Note: It may be necessary to disable the "USB Debugging" in Settings -> Developer options and then re-enable them again. I had to do this on my tablet, otherwise adb was not able to detect any device.

Now that adb is able to see the tablet, launch adb reboot bootloader to reboot the tablet and to boot directly into the bootloader:

ckadm@mintp ~ $ adb reboot bootloader

Looking at the tablet, there is no hint that it has booted into the bootloader. The screen is just plain dark. Only the blue LED next to the power button indicates the tablet is running. To verify if the bootloader is correctly loaded, use fastboot to find the device:

ckadm@mintp ~ $ sudo fastboot devices
CB5A1TMNH8    fastboot

Unlock the bootloader

With the tablet still connected to the computer and detectable with fastboot, go to the Unlock Bootloader page on the Sony developer website. At the bottom of the page, select your device (Xperia Z Tablet) and then enter your IMEI code.

Sonly unlock bootloader - enter imei
xperia z tablet unlock bootloader

Accept the acknowledgements and submit. You will receive an unlock code:

Sony bootloader unlock code
xperia z tablet unlock bootloader


This unlock code can now be used with fastboot:

ckadm@mintp ~ $ sudo fastboot oem unlock 0x
...
OKAY [ 24.205s]
finished. total time: 24.205s

Obviously replace with the code you received on the Sony website.

Install a custom recovery (TWRP)

To install a custom recovery, TWRP is recommended. You can download the image from "TWRP for pollux" or "TWRP for pollux_windy" (again: Chose the correct version for your device or it won't boot anymore if you install the wrong version!).

Note: Download the img file in the browser, do not use a command line tool like wget. I did that and only got a ~7KB file, resulting in an invalid file.

Once downloaded, use fastboot to flash the "boot" partition and overwrite it with the just downloaded TWRP image:

ckadm@mintp ~/Downloads/Android $ sudo fastboot flash boot twrp-3.3.1-0-pollux.img
sending 'boot' (11802 KB)...
OKAY [  0.376s]
writing 'boot'...
OKAY [  0.576s]
finished. total time: 0.952s

Now reboot the device using fastboot. The tablet should now reboot and launch TWRP:

ckadm@mintp ~/Downloads/Android $ sudo fastboot reboot
rebooting...

finished. total time: 0.101s

Sony tablet booted into TWRP recovery
xperia z tablet unlock bootloader


Now booted in TWRP and still connected to the computer, adb should see the device:

ckadm@mintp ~ $ adb devices -l
List of devices attached
CB5A1TMNH8             recovery usb:1-1.6 product:SGP321 model:Xperia_Tablet_Z_LTE device:pollux

Push the recovery image to the tablet's memory:

ckadm@mintp ~ $ adb push Downloads/Android/twrp-3.3.1-0-pollux.img /sdcard
2749 KB/s (12085248 bytes in 4.292s)

Use dd to overwrite the tablet's own internal recovery:

ckadm@mintp ~ $ adb shell
~ # dd if=/sdcard/twrp-3.3.1-0-pollux.img of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/FOTAKernel
23604+0 records in
23604+0 records out
12085248 bytes (11.5MB) copied, 2.075409 seconds, 5.6MB/s
~ # exit

Download and copy LineageOS using TWRP recovery

The tablet is still booted in the TWRP recovery and still connected to the computer at this point. Now it's time to download the LineageOS for your Sony Xperia Tablet Z!

LineageOS Sony Xperia Tablet Z (Pollux) Download
xperia z tablet custom rom


As of this writing I downloaded LineageOS 15.1 (= Android 8.1), nightly build from 2019-12-09. It's also a wise idea to download all the Google Apps which include important packages such as Google Play. The bundle can be downloaded in several variants using OpenGapps.

Open GApps Download
xperia z tablet custom rom


I selected the ARM platform (important for this tablet device!), Android 8.1 and the mini variant.

Once downloaded, there should be two zip files:

ckadm@mintp ~ $ ls Downloads/Android/*zip
Downloads/Android/lineage-15.1-20191209-nightly-pollux-signed.zip
Downloads/Android/open_gapps-arm-8.1-mini-20191208.zip

These files can now be copied to your tablet's SD card (which should appear in your file explorer):

Copy zip files to Android SD Card
xperia z tablet custom rom


In TWRP make sure you are able to see the now copied zip files. Use Advanced -> File Manager and select "external_sd" from the list. The zip files should be shown:

TWRP File Manager on Sony Xperia Tablet Z
xperia z tablet custom rom

Data wiping and formatting in TWRP

Back in the main menu of TWRP, select Wipe -> Format Data. This will erase the internal memory including the stock Android version from Sony. Type "yes" to confirm data wiping:

Android format wipe in TWRP
xperia z tablet custom rom
TWRP wipe data format completed
xperia z tablet custom rom


Once completed, use "Back" and use the navigation "back" key to return to the "Wipe" menu. This time tap on "Advanced Wipe". Select "Cache" and "System" partitions and then use your finger to swipe the bar "Swipe to Wipe" to the right.

TWRP advanced wipe
xperia z tablet custom rom
TWRP advanced wipe completed
xperia z tablet custom rom


Once completed, return to the main menu of TWRP.

Installation of LineageOS and GApps in TWRP

Back in the main menu of TWRP, tap on "Install". To select the external SD card, tap on "Select Storage" and choose the microSD card.

TWRP select storage
xperia z tablet custom rom
TWRP select micro sd card
xperia z tablet custom rom


The two zip files (LineageOS and GApps) should now be shown:

TWRP Install ZIP
xperia z tablet custom rom

Tap on the linage zip file, TWRP will ask if you want to install this file. Swipe the bar to the right to confirm:

TWRP Install lineage ZIP
xperia z tablet custom rom
TWRP Installing lineageos
xperia z tablet custom rom
TWRP Lineageos installed
xperia z tablet custom rom


After the installation, tap on "Wipe Cache/Dalvik" and confirm. Afterwards use the back button in the navigation menu at the bottom to go back to the file explorer (Install Zip) and this time select the open_gapps zip file. As with the previous zip file, swipe to confirm the installation.

TWRP install Gapps zip
xperia z tablet custom rom
TWRP install Gapps zip
xperia z tablet custom rom
TWRP install Gapps zip
xperia z tablet custom rom


When the installation completes, tap on "Reboot System". TWRP asks if it should be installed as an official app. Swipe to the right to do so.

Install TWRP app
xperia z tablet custom rom


The tablet should now reboot and LineageOS should start.

Lineageos Sony Xperia Tablet Z booting
xperia z tablet custom rom


The first start did not boot LineageOS successfully. The loading animation kept on going for over 30 minutes. I forced a restart of the tablet (see How to force a hard reboot your Sony Xperia tablet or phone) to then start the device again. This time the LineageOS startup worked.

Lineageos on Sony Xperia Tablet Z
xperia z tablet custom rom

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