How to Root the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V (MT11i) running Android 4.0.4 with a locked bootloader
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo recently got updated to Android 4.0 and while that is great news, it broke root access for many users. This guide will show you how to fix that and regain root – read on to know how.
I. Before You Begin
1. This procedure works on the Xperia Neo V with a locked bootloader running Android 4.0.4. If you have an unlocked bootloader, look to our post on the same to know how to root it.
2. Remember to back up your data before you proceed any further!
3. Make sure you have set up ADB before you proceed with this guide. If you haven’t, read up on our post on how to do this.
II. Necessary Downloads
1. .431 Firmware (download the .431 ftf firmware for your device and save it to your computer)
3. .562 Kernel tft (download the .562 ftf firmware for your device and save it to your computer)
3. Root zip (download the .zip file under downloads)
III. Flashing the .431 Firmware
1. Double-click on flashtool .exe you downloaded above and follow the on-screen instructions to install it.
2. Copy both .ftf files you downloaded above to C:\Flashtool\firmwares on your harddrive.
3. Open the Flashtool application after installation and click on the Flash icon (the one with the thunder symbol).
4. You should be presented with two options: Flashmode and Fastboot Mode. Select Flashmode.
5. Choose the kernel with the version number .431 in it and click on OK. Follow the on-screen instructions on how to boot your device into fasboot mode and connect your device. Also, make sure”No Final Verification” is marked
6. Reboot device.
This will have flashed your kernel back to .431 which is rootable.
IV. Flashing the MT11i_4.1.A.0.562 Kernel
1. Follow the same steps as described in Section III above until Step 5.
2. On Step 5, select MT11i_4.1.A.0.562 instead of MT11i_4.1.B.0.431.
3. Continue with the rest of the steps as in Section III.
You should now have an Xperia Neo running the .431 firmware but running a .562 kernel.
V. Rooting the Xperia Neo V
1. Enable USB Debugging on your device. You can do this by heading to Settings > Applications > USB Debugging and checking the tickbox next to it.
2. Enable installation of non-Market applications. To do this, go to Settings > Applications and check the Unknown Sources tickbox.
3. Connect your device to your Windows PC.
4. Extract the DooMLoRD_v1_Xperia-2011-ICS-ROOT-emu-busybox-su.zip that you downloaded above to a folder on your desktop.
5. From the extracted folder, double-click on runme.bat to run the DooMLoRD tool.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions and wait for the process to be complete (your device will reboot several times during the procedure).
All credit goes to Madfysh on XDA for providing us the stock kernels and to DooMLoRD for working on the root tool! Donate or thank them if you liked their work!!
VI. Flash a Custom Recovery (Optional)
1. To flash a custom recovery, head to our recovery procedure here.
Do the procedures of rooting for SE neo the same as SE neo V ?
8===D
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Which is the latest MT11i_4.1.A.0.562 and MT11i_4.1.B.0.431 because after I upgraded to ICS 4.0.4 from sony it show MT11i_4.1.B.0.431?
MT11i_4.1.A.0.562 is the latest , unfortunately i am having the same issue… my phone is rooted and is not getting flashed to the latest kernel even thought he flash tool says its done , on the phone settings it still shows MT11i_4.1.B.0.431
I have MT11i_4.1.B.0.431 installed, but when I run DoomLord script it says it cannot copy needed files and change permissions. Any idea why?
Ok, I restarted Windows and I managed to root my phone, but still cannot flash MT11i_4.1.A.0.562 in the 5th step.
My xperia neo v flashed with MT11i_4.1.A.0.562…but doomlord not copying the file and my device is not rooted …what i do?..sorry for bad english…plz do some thing anybody
how do you backup your phone?
MT11i_4.1.B.0.431 is v4.0.4 and MT11i_4.1.A.0.562 is v4.0.3
This is wat i got wen i used the rooting kit my phone is not able to gain root acces.
—————————————————————
Xperia 2011 ICS Easy Rooting toolkit (v1.0)
created by DooMLoRD
“andorid emulator” trick
Credits go to all those involved in making this possible!
—————————————————————
[*] This script will:
(1) root ur device using “andorid emulator” trick
(2) install Busybox (1.18.4)
(3) install SU files (ICS specific)
(4) do some checks for free space, tmp directory
(will remove Google Maps if required)
[*] Before u begin:
(1) make sure u have installed adb drivers for ur device
(2) enable “USB DEBUGGING”
from (Menu\Settings\Developer Options\Development)
(3) enable “UNKNOWN SOURCES”
from (Menu\Settings\Security)
(4) [OPTIONAL] increase screen timeout to 10 minutes
(5) connect USB cable to PHONE and then connect to PC
(6) skip “PC Companion Software” prompt on device
—————————————————————
CONFIRM ALL THE ABOVE THEN
Press any key to continue . . .
— STARTING —-
— WAITING FOR DEVICE
* daemon not running. starting it now *
* daemon started successfully *
— creating temporary directory
mkdir failed for tmp, File exists
— cleaning
— symlinking tmp directory
failed on ‘/data/local/tmp’ – Permission denied
link failed File exists
— Rebooting
— WAITING FOR DEVICE TO RECONNECT
— PLEASE WAIT, THIS MAY TAKE A WHILE
if it gets stuck over here for a long time then try:
disconnect usb cable and reconnect it
toggle “USB DEBUGGING” (first disable it then enable it)
— DEVICE FOUND
— enabling emulator hack
/system/bin/sh: cannot create /data/local.prop: Permission denied
— Rebooting
— WAITING FOR DEVICE TO RECONNECT
— PLEASE WAIT, THIS MAY TAKE A WHILE
if it gets stuck over here for a long time then try:
disconnect usb cable and reconnect it
toggle “USB DEBUGGING” (first disable it then enable it)
— DEVICE FOUND
— pushing busybox
3669 KB/s (1075144 bytes in 0.286s)
— correcting permissions
— remounting /system
mount: permission denied (are you root?)
— checking free space on /system
73 KB/s (439 bytes in 0.005s)
— Free space on /system : 66392 bytes
— no cleanup required
— copying busybox to /system/xbin/
/system/xbin/busybox: cannot open for write: Read-only file system
— correcting ownership
Unable to chmod /system/xbin/busybox: No such file or directory
— correcting permissions
Unable to chmod /system/xbin/busybox: No such file or directory
— installing busybox
/system/bin/sh: /system/xbin/busybox: not found
— pushing SU binary
failed to copy ‘files\su’ to ‘/system/bin/su’: Read-only file system
— correcting ownership
Unable to chmod /system/bin/su: Read-only file system
— correcting permissions
Unable to chmod /system/bin/su: Read-only file system
— correcting symlinks
rm failed for /system/xbin/su, Read-only file system
link failed File exists
— pushing Superuser app
failed to copy ‘files\Superuser.apk’ to ‘/system/app/./Superuser.apk’: Read-only
file system
— cleaning
rm failed for /data/local.prop, No such file or directory
rm failed for /data/local/tmp, Permission denied
failed on ‘/data/local/tmp.bak’ – No such file or directory
— rebooting
ALL DONE!!!
Press any key to continue . . .
Can anyone answer the above post? That happened also to me after following the steps. I’ve downloaded Root Checker Pro and confirmed that SuperUser and busy box was installed but the problems is that SU binary not found or not operating properly. Please do answer. Thanks a lot if someone responded.
This is Exactly wat i Got 🙁 I never rooted my phone before !! Anyone Help !!
Duuuuude!! You mixed up the firmwares in the tutorials!!
Use this!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1678690
and
for the locked bootloaders
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=26798415&postcount=141
And the Rooting kit
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1601038
I fixed the links and procedure for the writer who originally wrote it. Can you confirm it’s all set now? Thanks for letting me know!
sony mt11i pattern locked any solution
while updating my phone the power was suddenly off now what i have to do it not working and showing an empty symbol
hey
i root my xperia neo v thanks
Thanks for letting us know it worked for you!
how can i root my device
thank you man!……you should specify to install flashtool drivers…..and also only 562 version supports doomlord
Hello Sir,
Can you please suggest me that how may i suppose to reboot my Neo V as it is not working. it got hanged and now i am not able to unlock the screen even. i opened the battery ,sim ,memory card but its not reacting but on other side i am able to recieve calls on it but couldnot answer it so what should i do now?
are you saying all this happened after you followed the procedure above or is this an entirely different problem? as far as I know, rooting your device should not cause the problems you are facing.
Hello i followed the procedure several times the problem is my kernel is flashed but in the flashtool it says phone will reboot and it doesn then it again says for flashtool unknown sources and debugging must be checked in and phone connected in flash mode ive checked both the setting of debuggin and unknown sources still cannot flash the kernel ive officially updated to 4.0.4 .431 firmware plz help
Do you have locked bootloaders? The process works for the device having locked bootloaders.
I FLASHED THE FIRMWARE AS WELL AS THE KERNEL BUT WHEN I USED THE ROOTING TOOLKIT ITS SHOWING
adb server is out of date. killing…* daemon started successfully */system/xbin/busybox: cannot open for write: Read-only file system— correcting ownershipadb server is out of date. killing…* daemon started successfully *Unable to chmod /system/xbin/busybox: No such file or directory— correcting permissionsadb server is out of date. killing…* daemon started successfully *Unable to chmod /system/xbin/busybox: No such file or directory— installing busyboxadb server is out of date. killing…* daemon started successfully */system/bin/sh: /system/xbin/busybox: not foundadb server is out of date. killing…* daemon started successfully *— pushing SU binaryadb server is out of date. killing…* daemon started successfully *failed to copy ‘filessu’ to ‘/system/bin/su’: Read-only file system— correcting ownershipadb server is out of date. killing…* daemon started successfully *Unable to chmod /system/bin/su: No such file or directory— correcting permissionsadb server is out of date. killing…* daemon started successfully *Unable to chmod /system/bin/su: No such file or directory— correcting symlinksadb server is out of date. killing…* daemon started successfully *rm failed for /system/xbin/su, Read-only file systemadb server is out of date. killing…
AT THE END NOTHING HAPPENS AND MY PHONE IS STILL UNROOTED….WHAT SHOULD I DO???..PLS HELP
Make sure that you’ve setup ADB properly and everything’s working fine. Then, try rooting your phone again.
Hw can I check if my adb is working properly…i installed adb dummies.exe from xda n an adb kit came with flashtool
Follow our guide on how to set up ADB – https://theunlockr.com/2009/10/06/how-to-set-up-adb-usb-drivers-for-android-devices/
This processe work for MT11a?
It works for MT11i only. Doesn’t work with MT11a. So, please do not try it on your device.
can I use this method? I have a unlocked bootloader.
follow the DoomLorD link in the post above for the updated procedure, which works on both locked and unlocked bootloaders, gody!
Thanks!!!! 🙂
where is the link?
The link’s given in the above procedure.
i cant find it..please post the link in the comment..
Here you go: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1601038
m not able to root..can any1 give me a easy procedure??please
Where is the link to procedure for unlocked/locked procedure? i cant find it.
I am having the same problem as sachin, getting the same error. I checked and verfied that adb drivers are properly installed. still its not working, I rooted my GB within 5 mins using Doomlord’s kit, but now for this ICS Shit, its just not working.
Please suggest
Works Perfect!!!
Thanks for your comment themis !
@130a43b57f4cd25dd0bc0d039d1e304d:disqus
dude can u explain me clearly am struggling…. ping me @ himeshmalar@gmail.com
How long does the process take? when i try flashing .562 kernel it gets stuck at 15% for more than 5-10mins.
it shouldn’t be taking that much time Reika!
Hey administrator pls tell me evry step to install jelly bean rom on xperia neo v(mt11i)
Pls reply soon (Rajan)
Hello Rajan,
You can check out our “How to Load a Custom ROM on your Android Device” procedure to see the steps to install the Jelly Bean ROM on your Xperia Neo V device. Here’s the link – https://theunlockr.com/2012/08/29/how-to-load-a-custom-rom-on-an-android-device/
Thanks !
I followed the instructions to a tee but now my xperia neo only shows the Sony and Xperia logos with a black background and it wont turn on…..HELP!!!
did this happen after you completed everything or somewhere during the procedure? at exactly what step did this happen Rachel?
After flashing the .431 firmwear the phone didnt reboot just went between Sony and Xperia logos and continues to do so.
put your device into flashboot mode and try flashing .431 again, make sure that No Final Verifciation is unchecked!
Once it is flashed, do I turn the phone on or should it re boot itself?
Do you think I can fix it???
thaknz a lot dude its awesome !!! 🙂
glad we could help Abhi!
cant get to flash the kernel….the kernal remains the same…and there is no runme.bat in the doom lord kit also…what to do?
kernal doesnt get flashed
Xperia Neo v succesfully Rooted………
Thanks Dude………
You’re most welcome Nanddha !
Keep coming back for more goodies for your smartphone.
Can i update Again to .431.??????????
you will have already flashed .431 after Section III!
Hello Sir,I wanna root my xperia neo V,
I wanna know whats a BOOTLOADER??
and after i root my phone can i get it unrooted again??
i know its kinda stupid but i cant help it 🙂
Ankush, have you looked at our Glossary section? That should get you started on the basics of rooting, bootloader, etc!
https://theunlockr.com/glossary/
help me. this is what happened to me when i did the DoomLorD
————————————————————— Xperia 2011 ICS Easy Rooting toolkit (v1.0) created by DooMLoRD “andorid emulator” trick Credits go to all those involved in making this possible!————————————————————— [*] This script will: (1) root ur device using “andorid emulator” trick (2) install Busybox (1.18.4) (3) install SU files (ICS specific) (4) do some checks for free space, tmp directory (will remove Google Maps if required) [*] Before u begin: (1) make sure u have installed adb drivers for ur device (2) enable “USB DEBUGGING” from (MenuSettingsDeveloper OptionsDevelopment) (3) enable “UNKNOWN SOURCES” from (MenuSettingsSecurity) (4) [OPTIONAL] increase screen timeout to 10 minutes (5) connect USB cable to PHONE and then connect to PC (6) skip “PC Companion Software” prompt on device————————————————————— CONFIRM ALL THE ABOVE THENPress any key to continue . . .— STARTING ——- WAITING FOR DEVICEThe system cannot find the path specified.— creating temporary directoryThe system cannot find the path specified.— cleaningThe system cannot find the path specified.— symlinking tmp directoryThe system cannot find the path specified.The system cannot find the path specified.— RebootingThe system cannot find the path specified.— WAITING FOR DEVICE TO RECONNECT— PLEASE WAIT, THIS MAY TAKE A WHILEif it gets stuck over here for a long time then try: disconnect usb cable and reconnect it toggle “USB DEBUGGING” (first disable it then enable it)The system cannot find the path specified.— DEVICE FOUND— enabling emulator hackThe system cannot find the path specified.The system cannot find the path specified.— RebootingThe system cannot find the path specified.— WAITING FOR DEVICE TO RECONNECT— PLEASE WAIT, THIS MAY TAKE A WHILEif it gets stuck over here for a long time then try: disconnect usb cable and reconnect it toggle “USB DEBUGGING” (first disable it then enable it)The system cannot find the path specified.— DEVICE FOUND— pushing busyboxThe system cannot find the path specified.— correcting permissionsThe system cannot find the path specified.— remounting /systemThe system cannot find the path specified.— checking free space on /systemThe system cannot find the path specified.The system cannot find the path specified.The system cannot find the path specified.— copying busybox to /system/xbin/The system cannot find the path specified.— correcting ownershipThe system cannot find the path specified.— correcting permissionsThe system cannot find the path specified.— installing busyboxThe system cannot find the path specified.The system cannot find the path specified.— pushing SU binaryThe system cannot find the path specified.— correcting ownershipThe system cannot find the path specified.— correcting permissionsThe system cannot find the path specified.— correcting symlinksThe system cannot find the path specified.The system cannot find the path specified.— pushing Superuser appThe system cannot find the path specified.— cleaningThe system cannot find the path specified.The system cannot find the path specified.The system cannot find the path specified.— rebootingThe system cannot find the path specified.ALL DONE!!!Press any key to continue . . .
What does this mean? i am sure i flashed my neo v correctly but this happened
Have you enabled USB debugging Ramadan?
Yes
Hey, can i Unroot my MT11i after i follow this procedure? Also, is .562 android 4.0.3 or 4.0.4?
Please help i’m a complete beginner.
after rooting if i flash the firmware of 4.0.4,then will the root be there???
yes, there will be root access after you do that!
hello sir,i already have 4.0.4…should i flash the .431????
Can you help me pls? When I run runme.bat it gets stuck at *daemon tools started successfully*
do help
i have got a new xperia neo v..what should i do to root it??..guys help
Follow the procedure given above, it should help you root your device.
Thanks!
i dont know whether my xperia is locked boot loader or not??..how can i know it?
Hello administrator, is this method take a long time with a device with an 8 gb external memory inside and has a lot of data inside?
no it should not
so my SI number doesnt match any of those einai the list can i still do it or not?
thanks in advance
Thank you soooo much for this tutorial! I unlocked successfully my neo V.
One question. My phone displays a notification from Sony Ericsson that there is the 587 upgrade available. If I do this upgrade through PC Companion will my phone return to locked state? Thank you in advance!
Now I’m done doing this all! And I think it works fine, but I got instantly a message: New system update available!
4.1.B.0587 Would this b a smart thing to do, to update?
Would you please answer this question…?
I’m sorry, but not able to answer my own question!!
Would ” Dax Krishna ” maybe know?!
Can we root the fone after we’ve officially upgraded it to ICS 4.0.4
Hey! I can’t thank you enough for this How-To. Finally found a clear rooting guide for the Neo V. I’m gonna root my phone in just a bit, but I just wanna know if during the process of rooting, the bootloader gets unlocked too? Because from whatever I’ve read, the bootloader needs to be unlocked if I want to flash custom recoveries and ROMs.
The root procedure doesn’t unlock the bootloader and you don’t require unlocked bootloader to root the device.
But if you’re planning to get a custom recovery, you’ll require the bootloader to be unlocked.
Hope it helps!
Copy both .ftf files you downloaded above to C:Flashtoolfirmwares on your harddrive.
Read more at https://theunlockr.com/2012/06/18/how-to-root-the-sony-ericsson-xperia-neo-v-mt11i-running-android-4-0-4-with-a-locked-bootloader/#cgpB4earCx1XjLFl.99
I dont know how to do this step. Can anybody help me?
i have a sony ericsson xperia neo v running a 2.3 android and with unlocked bootloader , and ia want to know how to root it
David, you could try updating to Android 4.0.4 and then trying the procedure above.
tried all the above steps successfully
but it is not getting rooted even after seeing super user installed ;-(
Done everything and succeeded. But couldnt get the super user request. The app is there but I can’t even update it. Always with the “Instalation failed” memo. Rebooted. Still nothing. Help please. I feel like I’m almost there.
i want to loop for my sony ericson mt11i.. so how i can it?
WTF? I need Microsoft Losedows malware?