Whether you just got your Sony Ericsson Xperia Play fresh from the store or you woke up and decided today is the day you’re going to set it free, you’ll be hunting through the XDA Developers forums, looking for an answer to the question: How do I root my Xperia Play?

The good news is that senior member CrimsonKnight13 has managed to put together for us some of the best rooting methods for the device. What sweetens this deal is that these methods are easy; even noobs can root their Xperia Play using CLShortFuse’s SuperOneClick Tool and DooMLoRD’s Easy Rooting Toolkit.

The downside to these rooting methods, however, is that they don’t work for any version higher than Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread or firmware updates after November, 2011. The exploit had been patched in that update, thus the developers will no longer be giving exploit updates. For users who are running versions higher than Android 2.3.3, you may try downgrading to root your phone.

Warnings

• The instructions in this guide are intended for use with the Sony Xperia PLAY (Verizon), model number R800x. Applying these instructions on another device or model may produce undesired outcomes.
• The information in this guide is provided for instructional and educational purposes only.  There is no guarantee that these instructions will work under your specific and unique circumstances.
• Use these instructions at your own risk. We shall not hold any responsibility or liability for whatever happens to you or your device arising from your use of the info in this guide.
• Read and understand the whole guide first before actually performing the instructions.

Requirements

• Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY R800x running Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread
• Backup all personal data on your phone to make sure you have a copy of your personal data (e.g., contacts, SMS, MMS, Internet settings, Wi-Fi passwords, and the like) in case the procedure in this guide erases such data.
  • For backup tips, check our guides on how to sync your data to the cloud and how to create local backups of your mobile data.
• Android SDK installed on your computer
• A Windows computer with your phone’s USB drivers (Xperia_PLAY_neo_arc_acroIS11s_acroSO-02C_USB_drivers.zip, 6.1 MB) installed
• Make sure that you have USB Debugging enabled on your Xperia PLAY. You can do this by heading to Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging. Make sure that there is a check mark beside that option.
• Make sure that you have also enabled Unknown Sources. You can do this by heading to Settings > Security > Unknown Sources. Make sure that there is a check mark beside that option.
• Disable any antivirus or firewall programs you might have installed on your computer as these may interrupt the rooting process.

Instructions

Using SuperOneClick

1. Do not mount your SD card.
2. Download SuperOneClick (SuperOneClickv2.3.3-ShortFuse.zip, 10.14 MB) to your computer.
3. Extract it using WinZIP, 7-Zip, or other similar file extracting programs.
4. Double-click on the extracted folder to enter it.
5. Double-click on the SuperOneClick executable file to launch it.
6. Connect your phone to your computer via the USB cable.
7. Click Root and SuperOneClick will do everything for you.

Using DooMLoRD’s Easy Rooting Toolkit

1. Download DooMLoRD’s Easy Rooting Toolkit (DooMLoRD_v4_ROOT-zergRush-busybox-su.zip) to your computer.
2. Extract it using WinZIP, 7-Zip, or other similar file extracting programs.
3. Double-click on the extracted folder to enter it.
4. Execute runme.bat to launch DooMLoRD’s Easy Rooting Toolkit.
5. You’ll see a set of instructions on the screen. Make sure to follow them because failure to do so may affect the rooting process.
6. Once you’re ready, connect your phone to your computer via the USB cable to begin.

Congratulations! You’ve now rooted your Sony Ericsson Xperia Play running Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread. Enjoy!