Sony Ericsson posts Android bootloader unlock code
Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 5:45 pm
The Reg
Consider me impressed, especially since they really have never been that open with anything.Sony Ericsson has made good on its pledge to publish details showing "advanced developers" how they can legitimately unlock the bootloader code incorporated into certain SE Android smartphones.
The unlock applies only to 2011 phones running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and to handsets that haven't been tied to a network operator, at that.
Basically, we're taking the Xperia Arc, Play, Neo and Pro.
The will-violate-the-warranty caveat remains, as does the warning that some or all of DRM-protected content on the handset may become unplayable - the security keys and the phone's secure user data partition are wiped during the unlock process.
To perform the unlock, you'll need a copy of your phone's IMEI code, the Android SDK's Fastboot tool, and a tweaked android_winusb.inf file, which you can download from Sony Ericsson's smartphone unlock site, which also provides a walkthrough. ®