Xperia Z2 Tablet has joined the lucky squad of Android 5.0.2 Lollipop devices. The update started rolling out for this device 2 days ago alongside the D6602 variant of the Xperia Z2. This update carries some major changes, the very first and the most prominent change is in the graphics department. Sony has made the UI according to the Material Design while keeping the changes very minimal. Notifications on the lockscreen have been added, Sony has also added the “Close All” button in the recent apps menu that it forgot in the earlier builds of Android 5.0.2 Lollipop for Xperia Z3 & Xperia Z3 Compact.
Before we head towards the installation guide let’s have a recap on the Xperia Z2 Tablet. It came up 2014 as a sibling of the Xperia Z2. On the front we have a 10.1 inches screen with 224 ppi. Under the hood there’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU clocked at 2.4 GHz, a RAM of 3 GB is placed inside. Xperia Z2 Tablet has a massive battery of 6000 mAh. Xperia Z2 tablet ran on Android 4.4.2 KitKat out of the box initially, but the device is receiving Android 5.0.2 Lollipop update at the moment.
Since the update is rolling out through Sony PC companion or through OTA, it’s going to take some time to hit all the regions. In case you haven’t got it yet and you’re getting eager to update your Z2 tablet to this latest and greatest Android version, you may want to use a different method to achieve the firmware update. We’ve come up one such method and as you move forward in the following post, you will come across a comprehensive guide to update your Xperia Z2 TAblet SGP 511, 512 and SGP 521 to Android 5.0.2 Lollipop using Sony Flashtool. Let’s head towards the early preparations now.
Early Preparations:
1. This is only for Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet SGP 511/521
This ROM is only for the device mentioned above. Make sure that your model number matches the one listed above. To do so, go to Settings > About Device on your device and see your model number. Flashing this firmware on any other device will result in bricking it so make sure that you meet this requirement first of all.
2. Battery should be charged at least over 60%.
Make sure that your battery is charged enough to complete the flashing process. In case your battery is low and your device goes dead during the flashing process, you may end up soft bricking your device as it won’t complete the flashing process.
3. Backup everything!
Just to be on the safe side, you may consider backing up each and everything from your Android device. This is highly recommended so that in case anything goes wrong, you still have the access to all of your data and you can restore it immediately. You may backup everything as listed below.
- Backup SMS Messages
- Backup Call Logs
- Backup Contacts
- Backup Media – Copy your files manually to your PC or Laptop.
- Titanium Backup – If already rooted, use Titanium Backup to backup all of your apps, system data and other important content. If you haven’t rooted your device previously, skip this step.
- Backup Nandroid – If CWM or TWRP installed previously, otherwise skip this step and perform this at the end of flashing.
4. Enable USB Debugging Mode on your device.
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.
5. Install and setup Sony Flashtool.
You must have installed Sony Flashtool. Find the full guide here.
After installing Sony Flashtool, open the Flashtool folder from the drive where you installed it. Now open Flashtool>Drivers>Flashtool-drivers.exe and install the Flashtool, Fastboot & Xperia Z2 Tablet drivers from the list. [Important]
6. Use OEM data cable to establish connection.
Make sure that you use the phone’s original data cable to establish connection between your phone and the PC. Using a different data cable might result in interrupting the firmware installation.
How To Update Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet To Official Android 5.0.2 Lollipop 23.1.A.0.690 Firmware
Before moving forward, please make sure that you’ve read the pre requisites and ensure that you are set to go ahead.
- Download the latest firmware Android 5.0.2 Lollipop 23.1.A.0.690 FTF file.
- For Xperia Z2 Tablet SGP 511 [WiFi, 16 GB][Generic/Unbranded] Link 1 | You can also create your own FTF using this guide.
- For Xperia Z2 Tablet SGP 512 [WiFi, 32 GB][Generic/Unbranded] Link 1 | You can also create your own FTF using this guide.
- For Xperia Z2 Tablet SGP 521 [LTE 16 GB][Generic/Unbranded] Link 1 | You can also create your own FTF using this guide.
- Copy the file and paste in Flashtool>Firmwares folder.
- Open Flashtool.exe now.
- Hit the small lightening button on the top left corner and select Flashmode.
- Select the FTF firmware file that you placed in the Firmware folder.
- 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.
- Click on OK, and it will start preparing the firmware for flashing. This may take a little while to load.
- 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.
- For Xperia Z2 Tablet Volume Down key will do the job of back key, just turn off your phone, keep the Volume Down key pressed and plug in the data cable.
- 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.
- As soon as you see “Flashing ended or Finished Flashing” leave the Volume Down key, plug the cable out and reboot.
- That’s All! Congrats! You’ve installed latest Android 5.0.2 Lollipop on your Xperia Z2 Tablet. Enjoy
In case you got any queries or face any problems regarding this guide, please feel free to stop by the comment box below and let us know. We will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks all!
Thank you for posting this helpful content. I just wanted to point out that you seem to have crossed the model numbers and descriptions for sgp 512 and sgp 521. sgp 512 is the 32GB wifi version, sgp 521 is the LTE 16 gb version.
@tjjewett:disqus thank you for informing us. The mistake has been corrected.
Awesome. Thanks again for the great content.
I tried the FTF for SGP 512, But sadly Im told by SuperSU that the binary isnt properly installed. Any advice?
@Bingoking:disqus what method did you exactly follow? If you’re flashing stock FTF, it will simply wipe SuperSu and this error shouldn’t come up while installing stock FTF.
Kindly explain what you were doing.
I did flash the ftf for sgp512 listed above here .Anyway it was solved using the kingroot tool. I have root and dual recovery now .
I installed the FTF listed above in this post. Funny enough SuperSU was available, but no SU binary. Anyways, I solved it easily using Kingroot https://techbeasts.com/2015/05/25/root-any-android-device-with-one-click-kingroot-tool/