How to flash Xperia Z2/Z3 Lollipop 23.1.A.0.690 ftf using Flashtool Manually ?

Sony rolled Android 5.0.2 Lollipop update on Xperia Z2 and Xperia Z2 Tablet globally yesterday and many users from different regions around the world are now confirming it. So far only Xperia Z3 series and Xperia Z2 series have got Lollipop update.

Yesterday we explained how to download Lollipop firmware using XperiFirm tool, if you haven’t got it yet and today we will let you know how to flash manually Lollipop firmware ftf on your Xperia device.

How to flash Xperia Z2 Lollipop 23.1.A.0.690 ftf?

XperiFirm Tool is used to download Lollipop (or any ordinary firmware) firmware bundle and then creating “firmware ftf” using Flashtool (steps mentioned in this tutorial, use XperiFirm tool if you haven’t got firmware update yet via PC Companion or OTA or you just need ftf file).

How to download Lollipop firmware via XperiFirm Tool and creating ftf using Flashtool?

Now we will use Flashtool to flash manually firmware ftf.

Facts to know:

Flashing firmware ftf file on your Xperia device doesn’t void warranty.
Flashing ftf file doesn’t require unlocking bootloader of your Xperia device.
No root needed.

Pre-requisites:

Xperia device.
USB cable.
PC.
Firmware ftf file.

You should do?

Take a backup of all your data via PC Companion.

NOTE: We will explain the tutorial taking Xperia Z2 and flashing 23.1.A.0.690 ftf on it. Steps are similar for every Xperia handset on any firmware.

Step 1 – Download Flashtool

Download Flashtool version 0.9.18.5 (or the latest available) from here.

After downloading above Flashtool, install it.

On opening it, it may ask you to move files stored in F:\Flashtool\firmwares to F:\Users\PC NAME\.flashTool\firmware (Do move the ftf stored if asked to do so).

Wait then till it syncs the devices list (if it don’t syncs because you are not connected to internet, then leave it. It is not mandatory to do sync).

Step 2 – Download Firmware Ftf file

For D6502 INDIA region

Download D6502_23.1.A.0.690_INDIA_GIZMOBOLT.ftf

Step 3 – Put your above download firmware ftf in “F:\Users\PC NAME\.flashTool\firmware” folder

Additional Step :- Install Drivers

Install Drivers from the folder named “Flashtool Drivers” in the location where Flashtool is installed OR just install PC Companion on your PC and connect your device with it and then remove it.

Step 4 – Open FlashTool

Now Open Flashtool. See the “Black Lightning Thunder icon” at the top left corner. Click on it.

Step 5 – Choose Flashmode from Bootmode chooser

Now choose flashmode from given two options.

Step 6 – You will now automatically see your download firmware ftf file in the “firmware” section (left hand side) of Flashtool window. Select your firmware.

Step 7 – Wipe data if you wish

See the right hand side of window under the “Wipe” tag, all three options are checked if, will delete all user data.

So if you don’t want to delete all user user data and don’t want a factory reset then you should uncheck them.

Wiping full data is recommended, though (if you have backup).

Do it: Click on “Flash” button.

Step 8 – Preparing files for flashing

After clicking on “Flash” Button in above step, now FlashTool will prepare firmware ftf selected for flashing.

Step 9 – Connecting phone in FlashMode.

Important: Now enable USB Debugging on your phone and enable unknown sources option in your Xperia device and switch it off.

When prompted the notification of connecting your phone, connect it in flashmode (as chosen above)

How to do ? Press Volume down button and then insert usb in phone, you will see red and green light blink once, it means phone is connected in flashmode now.

As soon as phone is detected by Flashtool, flashing beings and wait till it is finished.

WARNING: Do not cancel the process in between once flashing has started or it will result in boot loop or device not booting up at all.

Disconnect phone as soon as flashing is finished.

Step – 10 Disconnect phone

Now reboot your phone. First reboot after the update will take some time.

You must have Android 5.0.2 Lollipop 23.1.A.0.690 firmware installed on your Xperia Z2 now.

Try the above mentioned steps carefully, let us know if you are stuck anywhere. Drop your comments below.

How to download Lollipop firmware via XperiFirm Tool?

Sony rolls its firmware update either via Update Center app or via PC Companion, from PC Companion you can extract the download firmware file and it can be converted into ftf file which is used for manual flashing. XperiFirm is a tool which allows you to download firmware directly as soon as it is released from Sony servers. By using XperiFirm you can also find out which firmware is available in which region.

All those users who either have not got any update yet or want to download it for their device as soon as it released (before reaching their region), we have made a tutorial on how to download Lollipop firmware via XperiFirm Tool and flash it using flashtool.

How to download Lollipop firmware via XperiFirm Tool?

In the below tutorial we will download Xperia Z2 D6502 Android 5.0.2 Lollipop 23.1.A.0.690 firmware for India region.

[ UPDATE ] How to flash Xperia Z2/Z3 23.1.A.0.690 ftf using Flashtool Manually ?

AIM: To download the latest available Firmware (LOLLIPOP) for our device using XperiFirm tool and get its firmware ftf for manual flashing using Flashtool.

Step1: Download the XperiFirm Tool from here. Install it on your PC. Open it now.

Step2: After opening XperiFirm, from the left side where device list is displayed; select your device > double click on it to display the regions associated with that model number. Click on “Check All”.

Step3: Select your concerned region from the displayed list. On the extreme right side column, all available firmwares list will be displayed. Click on the firmware you want to download (in our case Xperia Z2 Lollipop 23.1.A.0.690 firmware).

Step4: Click Download in the new window opened. It will ask you to choose the folder where the downloaded firmware will be stored so create a folder in your PC for that and wait till it is finished. Do check the box saying “Unpack automatically“.

Step5: Once firmware is downloaded, it will say “the firmware has been downloaded and/or unpacked successfully.

Open the folder where it is downloaded, you will see the firmware unpacked as shown below:

Above downloaded file is not in “ftf” format so we need Xperia Flashtool to bundle it into a firmware ftf file.

Step6: Download Xperia Flashtool from here. Install it.

On opening it, it may ask you to move files stored in F:\Flashtool\firmwares to F:\Users\PC NAME\.flashTool\firmware (Do move the ftf stored if asked to do so).

Wait then till it syncs the devices list.

Step7: In Flashtool window, click Tools > Bundles > Create.

Step8: Select source folder (This is the folder where the downloaded firmware from XperiFirm tool is stored) and select the main file inside the folder.

Step9: In the “Folder List” section of Flashtool window you will see all files listed of that chosen folder.

Step10: Now we will name our firmware. Double tap the area where “Device” is written. It will ask you to choose your device variant and then the exact model number. Choose it and then it will be displayed in “Device section“.

Step11: Under “Branding” section, write the region name.

Step12: Under “version” section, type the firmware number.

Step13: Now Select all files from “folder list” section and then click on this icon “->” and you will see all files getting listed on the right side column “firmware content“.