How to Root the Sony Xperia SP (C5302/C5303) running 12.0.A.2.245 firmware
The Sony Xperia SP recently got updated to Android 4.1.2, which while is good news to many owners, the more curious types who have rooted would have been saddened to see that they no longer have root access. The guide below is just for those people and they should have their root privileges back in no time.
I. Before You Begin
1. This procedure only works on the Sony Xperia SP (C5302 and C5303 variants) running 12.0.A.2.245 firmware only; do not try this if you have anything older on your device.
2. As always, back up everything you care about and charge your device to 75% or more before you start.
II. Necessary Downloads
1. flashtool-0.9.11.0-windows.exe
2. XperiaSP_C530X_12.0.A.1.257_KernelOnly.ftf (Link available in this post)
3. DooMLoRD_Easy-Rooting-Toolkit_v18_perf-event-exploit.zip (Link available in this post)
4. XperiaSP_C530X_12.0.A.2.245_KernelOnly.ftf (Link available in this post)
III. Flashing the Rootable Older Kernel
1. Double-click on flashtool-0.9.11.0-windows.exe you downloaded above and follow the on-screen instructions to install it.
2. Copy XperiaSP_C530X_12.0.A.1.257_KernelOnly.ftf file 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 XperiaSP_C530X_12.0.A.1.257_KernelOnly and click on OK. Follow the on-screen instructions on how to boot your device into fastboot mode and connect your device. Also, make sure “No Final Verification” is marked.
6. Reboot device.
IV. Rooting the Xperia SP
1. Enable USB Debugging on your device. You can do this by heading to Settings > Development Options > USB Debugging and checking the tickbox next to it.
2. Enable installation of non-Market applications. To do this, go to Settings > Security and check the Unknown Sources tickbox.
3. Connect your device to your Windows PC. At this point, ensure that the Flashtool is not running; if it is running, exit it and check the task manager for any other instances of it running and end them.
5. Extract the DooMLoRD_Easy-Rooting-Toolkit_v18_perf-event-exploit.zip that you downloaded above to a folder on your desktop.
6. From the extracted folder, double-click on runme_win.bat to run the DooMLoRD tool.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions and wait for the process to be complete.
Reboot your device and check that the SuperSU app is installed on your device. If it is, you are now rooted!
V. Flashing the Original Kernel
Follow the same steps listed in section III of this post but choose XperiaSP_C530X_12.0.A.2.245_KernelOnly.ftf this time.
If this procedure helped you please thank/donate to the original developers here.
Xperia SP Rooted 😀 TK
Glad we could help you!
but there is a bug bro.. i tried it.. my device build number is 12.0.a.2.2.54…. i m done with rooting… but here is the problem wen i switch off my device it dsnt charge insted it reboot then it takes charging… so offline charging is not accaptable in ds root… wen my battery is 0% and set switched off..it will not charge… what m i supposed to do bro..help plz
It says…drivers missing.
where exactly, Elijah?
thanx a lot!! it worked
It rooted my phone successfully but after this , my phone keeps powering on when I plug it in while the power is off. This is preventing me to unlock my bootloader. Pls help
same problem here… this is a major issue…. wen ur battery is 0% in that case what should u do bro? u cant even give any charge bcoz this will only charge wen d device is on…
will it void my phone warranty?
Vishal, yes it will but you can always unroot using the same DoomLord tool and get it back to stock
how to unroot please tell it’s procedure also!
Run the same Doomlord tool and you see usually should see the option to Unroot also, check and tell me if this is not the case Vishal!
my firmware version is :-12.0.A.2.254 will it also root this firmware
Vishal, you could try but we would always advise against trying out procedures that are not specifically meant for the firmwares/devices other than the ones we say they are for.
After step III.5 I get:
23/018/2013 23:18:00 – ERROR – Drivers need to be installed for connected device.
23/018/2013 23:18:00 – ERROR – You can find them in the drivers folder of Flashtool.
There are a lot of drivers in that app, but none for Xperia SP C5303 ?
What can I do ? Or did I miss something ?
same with me
http://adbdriver.com/downloads/
Could both of you try this ADB driver and report back with the results?
Arey.! Necessary can’t download
Help me
how do i unroot?
it says usb device not recognised m ushing windows 8.1 x64