How to Root the Sony Xperia SP (12.1.A.0.266)

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 have root access on your Sony Xperia SP, 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 Xperia SP:

I.  Before You Begin

1.  Charge your device to 75% or more to prevent unwanted shutdowns.

2.  You’ll need to have a custom recovery installed for this procedure to work.  Use our guide if don’t already have a custom recovery.

II.  Necessary Downloads

UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.93.zip [or the latest version available on the webpage]

III.  Rooting the Xperia Z1 Compact

1.  Connect your device to your PC and copy UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.93.zip to your device’s SD card.

2.  Turn off your device and put it into recovery mode.  To do this, power on your device as normal and when you see the notification light turn green, blue or red, keep pressing the Volume Up key until your device boots into recovery mode.

3.  Choose Install zip from sdcard and then choose zip from sdcard.  Now navigate to the location of UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.93.zip and flash it.

5.  Go back to the main menu again and select reboot system now.  You should find the Superuser app installed in your app drawer, which means you are now rooted.

All set! Now, you can head to our How to Flash a Custom ROM procedure for the Xperia SP to open up a whole new world of customizations for your Android device!

By the way, don’t be scared, you can always put your device back to stock by heading to our Rooting How To’s section, finding your device, and doing the How to Unroot listed for it there.