How to Root the Sony Xperia Mini Pro

The Mini Pro was one of the successful phones from the Xperia lineup of smartphones by Sony. One of the big features the phone offered back when it was released was a QWERTY keypad for those of us who still preferred to text using the actual physical buttons rather than tapping the screen.

In addition to the keyboard, it had pretty decent specs when it was released and plenty of features to get you through your daily tasks. But, it can still be further improved, and even made to run on the latest versions of Android (that it will never receive from Sony themselves) by rooting it. There are plenty of root-required apps that let you further customize your phone and help you take it to the next level and even a custom recovery should you want to flash an entirely new version of Android on the device.

Rooting the Sony Xperia Mini Pro isn’t a daunting task; all you need to do is use a tool to flash a root-able kernel and then root the device. Once that’s done, get back to the stock kernel and you’re all set. Here’s how we do it:

Before You Begin

1. This could void the warranty of your device. We won’t be held responsible for anything that happens from doing this tutorial so please proceed at your own risk.
2. You must have a Windows based PC to do this procedure as the tool that you’re going to use is Windows only.
3. You should have ADB USB drivers installed on your PC. Install them if they aren’t already.
4. Your device must be running on Stock ICS firmware 4.1.B.0.431. If yours doesn’t run this, you shouldn’t follow this procedure.
5. This procedure only works for the SK17i variant of the device. You must not do this procedure on any other variant or device.

How to Root the Sony Xperia Mini Pro

To root the device, you’ll first flash a kernel, use a root method to root the device, and then flash back the stock kernel as rooting’s finished. Here’s how it’s all done:

Downloading Required Files

1. Download Flashtool and save it to your desktop.
   Flashtool
2. Download Neo V FTF file and save it to your desktop.
   Neo V FTF File (Download link’s given in the first post)
3. Download Stock Firmware and save it to your desktop.
   Stock Firmware (Download link’s given in the third post)
4. Download DoomLord toolkit and save it to your desktop.
   DoomLord Toolkit (Download link’s available in the first post)

Flashing the Neo V Kernel on the Sony Xperia Mini Pro

1. Double-click on Flashtool executable and install the tool on your PC.
2. Copy Neo V FTF firmware from your desktop over to the firmwares folder located inside the Flashtool installation directory. Usually, it’s in C:\Flashtool\firmwares.
3. Double-click on Flashtool and the tool should launch.
4. Click on the Thunder icon in the tool and select Flashmode.
5. On the following screen, click on the Neo V FTF firmware to select it to be flashed on your device.
6. In the firmware content section, make sure only kernel.sin is selected as you only need to flash the kernel and not the entire firmware.
7. Checkmark all of the options in the Exclude section except for Exclude kernel. It’ll allow the kernel to be flashed on your device.
8. Make sure you haven’t selected any of the wipe options so as to ensure nothing gets deleted on your device.
9. Turn off your device.
10. Hold down Volume DOWN and plug in your device to your PC using a USB cable.
11. The tool should automatically start flashing the custom kernel on your device.
12. When the kernel’s flashed, reboot your device.

An Xperia Neo V based kernel was successfully flashed on your device. Let us root the device now and then we’ll flash back the stock kernel on it:

Rooting the Sony Xperia Mini Pro

1. Head to Menu > Settings > Developer options on your device and turn on USB debugging.
2. Turn on Unknown sources on your device by heading to Menu > Settings > Security.
3. Plug in your device to your PC using a USB cable.
4. Extract files from DoomLord Toolkit over to your desktop by right-clicking on it and selecting Extract here.
5. Double-click on runme.bat that you just extracted from the archive and it’ll launch.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions for rooting your device.
7. Reboot your device once it’s rooted.

Congrats, your Sony Xperia Mini Pro is now rooted and has everything installed to let you get started with the custom Android world. But before you go ahead and customize your device, you must first flash back the stock kernel. Here’s how:

Flashing the Stock Kernel on the Sony Xperia Mini Pro

1. Copy Stock Firmware FTF from your desktop over to the firmwares folder located inside the Flashtool directory which usually is C:\Flashtool\firmwares.
2. Double-click on Flashtool and it’ll launch.
3. Click on the Thunder icon and select Flashmode.
4. Select your firmware on the following screen in the tool.
5. Make sure only kernel.sin is selected in the firmware content section.
6. Make sure only Exclude kernel is not checkmarked in the Exclude section.
7. Leave all of the wipe options unchecked.
8. Turn off your device.
9. Hold down Volume DOWN and plug in your device to your PC using a USB cable.
10. Flashtool will automatically start flashing the stock kernel on your device.
11. When the kernel’s flashed, reboot your device.

And there you go.

Your Sony Xperia Mini Pro is now rooted and is back to the stock kernel.

Flashing a Custom Recovery on the Sony Xperia Mini Pro

1. Head over to our how to flash a custom recovery on the Sony Xperia Mini Pro procedure to learn how to flash a custom recovery on your device.

Let us know how the procedure worked for you in the comments below!