How to Root the Sony Xperia M2 Dual

Rooting is the process of gaining administrative rights on your Android device.  Once we root our Android device, we can then make changes to it to customize it well beyond what it normally can do.

Once you root the Sony Xperia M2 Dual, you’ll be able to:

• Remove apps that were preinstalled by your carrier/manufacturer from your device.
• Free up storage space (because of the above benefit).
• Increase battery life (apps that might have been running constantly can be removed).
• Increase performance (after removing apps that are always running, the device will be less bogged down and run smoother).
• Update to a new version of Android (by flashing a custom recovery/ROM, see the end of this procedure for more info on that).
• Tons of other customizations when you use your new found administrative rights to flash a custom ROM (again, see the end of this procedure for more info on that).

Interested? Here’s how to root your  Sony Xperia M2 Dual:

I. 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 in order to do this procedure.

3. Ensure that the ADB drivers are installed on your PC.

4. This should erase all the data stored on your device. So, please backup anything that you feel is important for you before proceeding further.

5. This should work for the D2303 model of the device.

How to Root the Sony Xperia M2 Dual

To root the device, you’ll first unlock the bootloader, flash a custom kernel that brings with it a custom recovery, and then flash SuperSU package using the recovery to obtain root-access on the device. Here’s how to do that all:

II. Downloading Required Files

1. Download Fastboot and save it to your desktop.

Fastboot

2. Download Rooted Kernel and save it to your desktop.

Rooted Kernel (download the one for D2303 and for your specific Android version)

3. Download SuperSU and save it to your desktop.

SuperSU

III. Unlocking the Bootloader on the Sony Xperia M2 Dual

1. Head over to the Sony Bootloader Unlock website and place a request for an unlock key for your device.

2. You should receive the unlock key on your email address. When you do, copy it to your clipboard.

3. Extract files from Fastboot over to your desktop by right-clicking on it and selecting Extract here.

4. Power off your device.

5. Power on your device in fastboot mode. To do that, hold down Volume UP and plug in your device to your PC.

6. Your device should now be in fastboot mode.

7. Launch a Command Prompt Window on your desktop by holding down Shift and right-clicking on the screen and selecting Open command window here.

8. Type in the following command into the Command Prompt Window and hit Enter. You need to replace KEY with the actual unlock key that you got from Sony.

fastboot oem unlock KEY

9. Wait for fastboot to unlock the bootloader on your device.

10. When fastboot’s done unlocking the bootloader, reboot your device by issuing the following command:

fastboot reboot

11. Your device should reboot.

Congrats! The bootloader on your Sony Xperia M2 Dual is now unlocked, and here’s how you can go about flashing a custom kernel on your device:

IV. Flashing a Custom Kernel on the Sony Xperia M2 Dual

1. Turn off your device.

2. Reboot your device into fastboot mode by holding down Volume UP and plugging in your device to your PC.

3. Your device should now be in fastboot mode.

4. Open a Command Prompt Window on your desktop by holding down Shift and right-clicking anywhere on the screen and selecting Open command window here.

5. Type in the following command into the Command Prompt Window and hit Enter. Replace boot.img with the actual custom kernel name that you have saved on your desktop.

fastboot flash boot boot.img

6. Wait for fastboot to flash the custom kernel on your device.

7. When fastboot’s done flashing the kernel, reboot your device using the following command:

fastboot reboot

8. Your device should reboot.

The custom kernel was successfully flashed on your Sony Xperia M2 Dual, and you now also have a custom recovery on your device. Here’s how you can use it to root your device:

V. Rooting the Sony Xperia M2 Dual

1. Connect your device to your PC using a USB cable.

2. Copy SuperSU .zip from your desktop over to the internal SD card storage on your device.

3. When SuperSU is copied, disconnect your device from your PC.

4. Turn off your device.

5. Turn your device back on in recovery mode. To do so, hold down Volume DOWN and Power buttons together for a few seconds.

6. Your device should reboot into recovery mode.

7. Select install zip from sdcard.

8. Select choose zip from sdcard.

9. Choose SuperSU .zip to be flashed on your device.

10. Select Yes to confirm the action.

11. Wait for recovery to flash SuperSU on your device.

12. When recovery’s done flashing SuperSU, reboot your device by selecting reboot system now from the recovery menu.

13. Your device should reboot.

All set! Now, you can head to my how to flash a custom ROM tutorial for how to flash custom ROMs from my ROM repository onto the phone to open up a whole new world of customizations for your Sony Xperia M2 Dual!

By the way, if you ever need to undo this, you can always put your device back to stock by heading to my Rooting How To’s section, finding your device, and doing the How to Unroot listed for it there.

Let me know if this worked for you in the comments below!