Root/Unroot Xperia Ray ST18i running ICS 4.0.4 (4.1.B.0.587 & 4.1.B.0.431)

The problem when you upgrade your mobile to ICS from GB is that, with the Rooting toolkit (which is the best way to root your device) you won’t be able to root as you did for GB devices. In order to root we are doing something different here.

Prerequisites:

1. Flashtool
2. Kernel
3. Rooting Toolkit
4. Go to settings > Security > Mark ”Unknown sources”
5. Settings > Developer options > Mark USB debugging
6. Kernal

So what we are doing here is

1. We are trying to flash the Kernel(4.1.A.0.562) with the help of Flashtool, download and install the software. Copy the FTF file and go to the Flashtool folder you extracted. Paste it inside the ‘firmware’ folder
2. Launch the software and click the ‘Flash’ button (the button with the lightning icon.). Select the ‘Flashmode’ option and click OK.

1. Once you are done with installing new kernel, restart your device. Rooting toolkit will let you root your device (make sure you are done with prerequisites 4 and 5).
2. Rooting your mobile via Rooting toolkit is very simple. Click on the .bat file and follow the on-screen instructions. Your mobile may restart more than twice, never mind it. Once you see “You are done” in the command mode, disconnect your device and make sure you see Superuser icon in menu.
3. Step 6 in prerequisites is purely optional and if you want to update your kernel after rooting you can repeat step 1 with 4.1.B.0.587 Kernel.

Summary of what we did so far.

As there is no direct way to root your ICS built Smartphone (xperia ray) we are taking a different approach in which we are flashing a kernel which enables us to root mobile in a single shot. That is we flash 4.1.A.0.562 kernel, do necessary steps in rooting and then revert it to latest kernel by flashing 4.1.B.0.587.At the end of the day we will have an ICS built Ray with latest kernel inside with SU permission.

Unroot

If you want to unroot your mobile, then after flashing kernel with 4.1.A.0.562 download this and run the .bat file after extracting it to some location. This script will remove the SU files and make it unrooted so that you could bring back the guarantee thing.

Personal Opinion

The ICS update that Sony provides us is no good and for people like me who are always into modifying ROMs and Kernels, ICS provided by Sony is nothing but a bunch of waste. So as of now you will be able to install Software’s like Root Uninstaller and remove all the crappy software’s that Xperia have pre-built. That itself would gain you more speed and performance. Other must haves are Titanium backup, SetCPU which can really enhance your smart phone performance.
In case some weird things happen or your device enters bootloop, Follow this!!!
Now what if you did something careless and your mobile is not switching ‘ON’. May be a bootloop might be an outcome for your mobile. There is an awesome software which Sony has developed named SUS (Sony Update Service). Just connect in your mobile pressing volume down button and connect the usb cable to your mobile simultaneously and connect to pc and SUS would discover your mobile and do a fresh update(ICS) and would restore your mobile. For me, switching on Bluetooth while doing multitasking take my ICS Ray to boot loop and every time I would use SUS to make it right.

 

PS:Only problem while upgrading in SUS is we wont get root access!