Rooting the Xperia Neo V

The Xperia Neo is more than a year old now and came with features like 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM and a 3.7-inch touchscreen – features that have now become the staple of mid-range Android devices.  The device was recently updated to Android 4.0.4 but with Jelly Bean already out for other devices, Neo owners should be aching to try the newest flavour of Android.  While this is not possible officially, we have the robust dev community to thank for custom ROMs (some of them built on Jelly Bean) but before you get to that point, you’ll have to root your device.  This guide below will help you do just that – root your Xperia Neo.

I.  Before You Begin

1.  Make sure that your device is at least 75% charged.

2.  The guide below is designed to work on Windows PCs (preferably Windows 7); sorry Mac/Linux users!

3.  Back up everything you feel is important before you begin.

4.  This procedure is designed to work on Xperia Neo devices running 4.0.4 (4.1.B.0.587 or 4.1.B.0.431).  So make sure this is the firmware versions you are running before you proceed.

II.  Necessary Downloads

1.  Flashtool v0.8.6.0.

2. MT11i_4.1.A.0.562_kernel.ftf

3. DooMLoRD_v1_Xperia-2011-ICS-ROOT-emu-busybox-su.zip 

III.  Flashing the .562 Kernel

1.  Double-click on flashtool.exe you downloaded above and follow the on-screen instructions to install it.

2.  Copy MT11i_4.1.A.0.562_kernel.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 MT11i_4.1.A.0.562 and click on OK.  Follow the on-screen instructions on how to boot your device intofastboot mode and connect your device.  Also, make sure”No Final Verification” is marked.

6.  Reboot device.

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).