How to Update Sony Xperia Z1 C6943 to Latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean 14.2.A.0.290 Firmware

Sony’s Xperia Honami, modeled as Xperia Z1 is branded under different variants, and one of the variants is C6943. Recently, Sony has pulled out the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for some of its devices and Xperia Z1 is one of those lucky devices. Latest firmware based on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with the build number 14.2.A.0.290 is available for Xperia Z1 C6943 and can be installed via OTA update or by flashing manually. The new update comes with a lot of bug fixes, performance enhancements, new themes, the camera bug upon unlocking the bootloader is also fixed in this update.

In the following post, we’re going to have a look on how to install the latest firmware Android 4.3 Jelly Bean on your Xperia Z1 C6943 manually using the Flashtool. In case you  have not received the OTA update yet, and its getting hard for you to wait, then this guide is surely for you as you can easily install the latest and greatest version of Android on your Z1 without wasting any time.. Let’s move forward to the process.

Here are some pre-requisites for flashing the firmware:

Pre Requisites:

1. As mentioned, this firmware is only for Xperia Z1 C6943. Do not try this on any other phone, that may result in bricking your device. Check your device’s model number in Settings > About device.
2. You must have installed Sony Flashtool. Find the full guide here.
3. After installing Sony Flashtool, open the Flashtool folder from the drive where you installed it.
4. Now open Flashtool>Drivers>Flashtool-drivers.exe and install the Flashtool, Fastboot & Xperia Z1 drivers from the list. [Important]
5. Your phone must be charged at least over 60%. This is highly recommended in order to prevent any power issues during the flashing process.
6. Enable USB debugging mode on your device. To do so, tap settings>developer options>USB debugging. If you can’t find developer options in settings, then tap settings > about device and tap “Build Number” for 7 times and you’ll get em’ activated under settings.
7. Make sure that you back up all your important media content,  contacts, call logs and text messages. This is highly recommended and important in case something goes wrong during the flashing process or in case you select the data wipe option before flashing. You can easily restore whenever you need.
8. To flash this firmware, you do not need to root your device, you do not need to unlock the bootloader. All you need is, your device must be the one mentioned and must be running on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
9. Download the firmware file properly.
10. Use the OEM data cable to connect your phone to your PC. Using any other data cable might cause connection problems.
11. Alright! Follow this guide to the letter in order to prevent any mishap.

For other Xperia Z1 variants, Check out:

• Install Android 4.3 Jelly Bean 14.2.A.0.290 Firmware on Sony Xperia Z1 C6903
• Update Sony Xperia Z1 C6902 to Latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean 14.2.A.0.290 Firmware
• Update Sony Xperia Z1 C6906 to Latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean 14.2.A.0.290 Firmware

How to Install Android 4.3 Jelly Bean 14.2.A.0.290 on Xperia Z1 C6943:

1. Before moving forward, please make sure that you’ve read the pre requisites and ensure that you are set to go ahead.
2. Download the latest firmware Android 4.3 Jelly Bean 14.2.A.0.290 FTF file.
3. Copy the file and paste in Flashtool>Firmwares folder.
4. Open Flashtool.exe now.
5. Hit the small lightening button on the top left corner and select Flashmode.
6. Select the FTF firmware file that you placed in the Firmware folder. 
7. From the right side, select what do you want to wipe. Data, cache and apps log, all wipes are recommended, perhaps you may select if you don’t want.
8. Click on OK, and it will start preparing the firmware for flashing. This may take a little while to load.
9. As soon as the firmware is loaded, it will prompt you to attach the phone by turning it off and keeping the back key press.
10. For Xperia Z1, Volume Down key will do the job of back key, just turn off your phone, keep the Volume Down key pressedand plug in the data cable.
11. As soon as the phone is detected in Flashmode, the firmware will start flashing, Do not leave the Volume Down key until the process is complete.
12. As soon as you see “Flashing ended or Finished Flashing” leave the Volume Down key, plug the cable out and reboot.
13. That’s All! Congrats! You’ve installed latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean on your Xperia Z1 C6943. Enjoy
14. 

That’s all for now, in case you got any queries, suggestions or face any difficulties regarding this post, please feel free to stop by the comment box below. We will try our best to sort it out for you.