So you have a rooted Xperia (Arc in my case) and there is a new software update for your phone (in my case 4.0.2.A.0.62) but you don’t want to loose your root access for the phone. If you are doing the update via the PC software (either SEUS or PC Companion) for sure you will loose the root access. The trick is very simple: wait for OTA update (OTA = over the air). I found out that OTA update is not available in the same time with the PC update: 2 weeks ago my PC Companion software announced me that 0.62 update is available but OTA was available only today.
Although I am an early adopter, wanting to test and install always the latest software versions, I didn’t wanted to loose the root so I decided to wait for OTA. I was a bit concerned because I read on the XDA forum that if you remove the bloat ware that is coming with the phone and loads the phone memory, the update will not be installed. They were actually right, since I had changed a lot my phone (including removing the bloat ware) and first attempt of OTA update was not working. To make it work, I copied back all the removed files (from /system/app folder) and I run again the system update. Root is still there and I have the latest software!
Hints:
- If you permanently deleted the bloat ware from the phone and you didn’t save the files (like I did) you can find a copy of all system apps in XDA Developer forum
- 4.0.2.A.0.62 is a minor software update and includes Launcher Redraw issue, Icon disorder in app drawer, Minor Battery improvements, Better multitasking than the previous firmware versions and some more performance improvement.
Some screenshots for those interested:
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