The Sony Xperia S LT26i is gaining a considerable amount of attention from developers lately, and it won’t be long before custom ROMs for this device will pop up like mushrooms. Rooting the Xperia S requires unlocking the bootloader of the device, but we have already covered that in another article.
Unlocking the customizability and potential of your phone may require rooting your phone (and consequently void your warranty and potentially damage your phone), but the pros outweigh the cons. If your phone happens to be running Gingerbread, then we have got the right instructions for you. Read on to see our guide rooting the Xperia S with ease.
XDA Developers member Bin4ry has already uploaded pre-rooted firmware versions 63 and 67 for the Xperia S. To root the device, you’ll need to install the pre-rooted firmware to the phone. This is the only rooting method available for the moment. It’s a bit tricky because you have to flash the firmware through Fastboot, but the important thing is that this method works. Give the development community some time, and it won’t be long before you have much easier one-click rooting methods.
Requirements
- A Sony Xperia S with an unlocked bootloader and running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. (See our guide on unlocking the bootloader of the Sony Xperia S.)
- A Windows PC
- WinRAR or a similar RAR archive extraction program
- 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.
- Make sure that your battery has at least 50% charge to avoid interruption due to power loss.
- Download the Fastboot package with USB drivers (fastboot_with_Android_USB_file.rar, 6.2 MB) to your computer.
- Download the appropriate pre-rooted firmware image according to your phone’s firmware version:
Disclaimer
- The instructions in this guide are intended for use with the Sony Xperia S, model number LT26i. 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.
Instructions
- Extract the Fastboot package and USB drivers to a folder on your computer. You may put it on your Desktop for convenience.
- Turn off your phone.
- Connect one end of the USB cable to the computer.
- Reboot your phone in Fastboot Mode by holding down the Volume Up button as you connect the other end of the USB cable to your phone.
- Windows will automatically start the installation of drivers. If Windows asks for the location of the drivers, just direct it to the usb_driver folder where you extracted the Fastboot package to.
- Unplug the USB cable once the installation is done.
- Copy the firmware image into the fastboot folder (where Fastboot.exe is located).
- Place your phone in Fastboot Mode (as in steps 2 to 4).
- Open a Command Prompt window and navigate to the folder where you copied the firmware image (i.e., in the fastboot folder).
- Enter the following command at the command prompt (replace
FILENAME with the file name of the firmware image that you copied into the fastbootfolder):
fastboot flash system FILENAME
- Reboot your device. You should now have root access.
Your Sony Xperia S LT26i is now ready for custom ROMs, kernels, and whatever other mods and hacks you’d like to install on your phone to maximize its performance.
