As I mentioned before, rooting is insanely simple. How simple? Well, is the click of one button simple enough? If the only decision being maid by me is the sole click of a button, then someone else is making the decisions for my precious phone. I'm poor, if this thing breaks, or is stolen, I'm out. I had to actually pass up on some photography equipment in place of this phone. So, yeah, precious.
'The Process' Update:
I rooted the Z1, and then, later flashed a stock ROM back over that. [essentially unrooting the device] The stock ROM was not my exact same firmware, but very, very close. I wanted to complete an unroot procedure before I moved on to unlocking the bootloader.
The Nand Conundrum:
After much study, I realize that I should have made a Nand backup of my original firmware [after rooting]. But I didn't. I flashed a stock ROM to unroot the device, to remove all traces of the root. The root program was in chinese, and now the device takes 2 whole minutes to boot.
No where, that I read, did it mention to do a nand backup of the system before flashing a stock ROM. The only backup warning I was finding were backups to protect any data you might lose. There was nothing on my phone I needed to save. So, yeah. So I rooted, then flashed a stock ROM, that's it. Theoretically, my bootloader should have never been unlocked, and it's almost definite that my new stock firmware will have no negative effect, or even noticeable difference. But it does seem important, now, that preservation of the original system is optimum. But, we move on.
Unlocking Confusion:
Unfortunately, I don't know [or trust] what this rooting hack had done. It's clearly more than just root, because the phone is slower, and has other various behavior quirks.
There is no expert on the web that can answer one simple question: How can you test the presence of DRM keys. If DRM keys exist, the TA partition is intact, and so is the warranty. It's been asked countless times. It's been answered just as many times. However, the answers are NEVER direct, often rude, and usually reveal that NO ONE actually knows. Yes, they will tell you "If you unlocked your bootloader, your DRM keys are lost forever". Genius. Repetitious, redundant genius... but not an answer to the question.
Moving On, But Not Really:
I could just push all this aside, and just move on to unlocking and installing CFW's. But, because the DRM keys may still be intact, I want to preserve my warranty, if I can. So, I've put aside my anticipation to customize my phone, for now. Hopefully patience will pay off.
What I've Found9:
Some of the previous post is coming to pass, already... especially the parts about conflicting "facts", misinformation, and strangely conspicuously missing information. The "strangely conspicuously missing information" means...If you represent yourself as knowledgeable & experienced, and portray yourself as such, why would pertinent, vital facts and warnings be missing from your advice? I know it's not on purpose, but how a person represents themselves is how they will be perceived. A doctor who never went to med school will eventually make a novice mistake, and someone else will pay more dearly than he.
More Xperia Background:
It turns out that Sony Xperias have a partition called the TA partition. This partition contains the DRM keys. That the same DRM used by the media industry to control copyright infringement.
In this case, the DRM keys allow all of Sony's specific apps on the phone to work. [like Bravia, Walkman, TrackID etc...] The bootloader MUST be unlocked before custom firmware [CFW] can be flashed. However, if the device bootloader is unlocked, the TA partition is either altered or deleted, the experts are not clear on which, and the DRM keys are lost forever. So along with the loss of your Sony Walkman app, you are also blessed with a voided warranty. The DRM keys are unique to each device, so you can't get them from another device or off the web. Sony can't even provide them, they are that unique. You would actually have to replace the board inside the phone to have those keys...ridiculous, of course, it means they're gone.
Warranty Loss...
All of that is not so bad. I don't really care much for Sony's apps, I don't use any of them. And if I never need my warranty, I'll never feel that pinch either. But if the warranty IS voided, that secure feeling that accompanies the warranty is also voided. Yes, most likely, none of this will affect me, but I'd like to make that decision for myself...I'd rather not have to spend weeks pouring over these antisocial Android websites, never really attaining understanding of such a mishap, nor even a definite answer, or reasonable solution.
How Long:
Though I've spent many hours trying to get the answers I need, to make informed decisions, I've actually spent a very small amount of time on actual phone hacks. The root took less than a minute. The backups took less than 10 minutes. The stock ROM was flashed in less than 10 minutes. That's it.
More Specifics:
I didn't unlock the bootloader, yet. If it is indeed unlocked, it would be due to the use of the root program [vroot]. I'm no saying that is even possible, unless my bootloader is unlocked. However, I can't understate how proper warnings are missing on many of the pages I read. It was on some, but not on many others. In some cases, it's there, but not clear, or it's buried in other tech jargon.
I Move To The Beat of My Own Dead Horse:
What if someone was to only read the pages with the missing information? They'd never even be aware of the damage they would be doing. And it's not a theory, hundreds of people are crying on these forums for their 'now' useless, worthless devices. Crying on the same boards that led them to phonelessness. Hey, I just invented that... that word is mine, you MUST provide credit to me if you use my word, even in mid-conversation. By the way, that's the attitude you can expect from the folks on the Android forums. Set your watch to it. Hyperbole? Yes. Accurate? YES.
I can't spend as much time on this as I'd like, but again, I'll be patient, the answers ARE out there.
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