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Install LineageOS on
Sony Xperia 5 II

pdx206

Warning: The provided instructions are for LineageOS 21. These will only work if you follow every section and step precisely.
Do not continue after something fails!

Basic requirements

Read through the instructions at least once before actually following them, so as to avoid any problems due to any missed steps!
Make sure your computer has adb and fastboot. Setup instructions can be found here.
Enable USB debugging on your device.
Make sure that your model is actually listed in the “Supported models” section here (exact match required!)
Boot your device with the stock OS at least once and check every functionality.
Warning: Make sure that you can send and receive SMS and place and receive calls (also via WiFi and LTE, if available), otherwise it won’t work on LineageOS either! Additionally, some devices require that VoLTE/VoWiFi be utilized once on stock to provision IMS.
LineageOS is provided as-is with no warranty. While we attempt to verify everything works you are installing this at your own risk!

Warning: Before following these instructions please ensure that the device is currently using Android 12 firmware.
If the vendor provided multiple updates for that version, e.g. security updates, make sure you are on the latest!
If your current installation is newer or older than Android 12, please upgrade or downgrade to the required version before proceeding (guides can be found on the internet!).

Checking the correct firmware

Installation on your device requires a specific firmware version to be installed before you continue.

Firmware refers to a device-specific set of images that are included in, and updated by the stock OS
LineageOS builds for this device require an Android 12 version of the stock OS to be installed prior to following the installation guide
Please ensure that you are checking the Android version, and not the vendor OS version
Being on another custom ROM, including unofficial builds of the same version of LineageOS, does not ensure that this requirement has been fulfilled
Please re-read this section as many times as necessary to fully understand the requirements

Note: If you are unsure what firmware version you are currently on, we strongly recommend returning to the corresponding stock OS before following the installation guide!

Failing to install the correct firmware version prior to installation may result in failure to install LineageOS, unexpected crashes post-installation, or permanent damage to your device!

Unlocking the bootloader

Note: The steps below only need to be run once per device.

Warning: Unlocking the bootloader will erase all data on your device! This also includes your DRM keys, which are stored in the Trim Area partition (also called TA). Before proceeding, ensure the data you would like to retain is backed up to your PC and/or your Google account, or equivalent. Please note that OEM backup solutions like Samsung and Motorola backup may not be accessible from LineageOS once installed. If you wish to backup the TA partition first, you can find tutorials related to your device on the internet.

On the device, dial *#*#7378423#*#* (*#*#SERVICE#*#*) to launch the service menu.
Go to service info > configuration and check rooting status - you can only continue if it says Bootloader unlock allowed: Yes.
Go to System Settings > About Phone and record the first IMEI number, which is necessary to get an unlock code from Sony in a later step.
Enable OEM unlock in the Developer options under device Settings, if present.
Connect the device to your PC via USB.
On the computer, open a command prompt (on Windows) or terminal (on Linux or macOS) window, and type:
```
adb -d reboot bootloader
```
You can also boot into fastboot mode via a key combination:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Up and connect the USB cable. The notification light should turn blue.
Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
```
fastboot devices
```
Tip: If you see no permissions fastboot while on Linux or macOS, try running fastboot as root.
Follow the instructions on Sony’s official unlocking website to generate an unlock code for your bootloader.
Use your code to unlock the bootloader of your device:
```
fastboot oem unlock <your_unlock_code>
```
Since the device resets completely, you will need to re-enable USB debugging to continue.

Flashing additional partitions

Warning: This platform requires additional partitions to be flashed for recovery to work properly, the process to do so is described below.

Download the following files from here.
- dtbo.img
- vbmeta.img
Power off the device, and boot it into bootloader mode:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Up and connect the USB cable. The notification light should turn blue.

Flash the downloaded image files to your device by typing:

fastboot flash dtbo dtbo.img
fastboot flash vbmeta vbmeta.img

Installing Lineage Recovery using `fastboot`

Download Lineage Recovery. Simply download the latest recovery file, named recovery.img.
Important: Other recoveries may not work for installation or updates. We strongly recommend to use the one linked above!
Flash recovery onto your device:
```
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
```
Now reboot into recovery to verify the installation. Do not reboot into the existing OS, since it will overwrite the recovery you just installed!
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Power.
  
  Note: If you can’t power down the device, try long-pressing the key-combination (if any was used in the instructions above) until the device reboots and follow the instructions above
Note: If your recovery does not show the LineageOS logo , you accidentally booted into the wrong recovery. Please start at the top of this section!

Ensuring all firmware partitions are consistent

Note: The steps below only need to be run once per device.

In some cases, the inactive slot can be unpopulated or contain much older firmware than the active slot, leading to various issues including a potential hard-brick. We can ensure none of that will happen by copying the contents of the active slot to the inactive slot.

To do this, sideload the copy-partitions-20220613-signed.zip package by doing the following:

Download the copy-partitions-20220613-signed.zip file from here.
Sideload the copy-partitions-20220613-signed.zip package:
- On the device, select “Apply Update”, then “Apply from ADB” to begin sideload.
- On the host machine, sideload the package using: adb -d sideload copy-partitions-20220613-signed.zip
Note: The copy-partitions script was created by LineageOS developer erfanoabdi and filipepferraz
Now reboot to recovery by tapping “Advanced”, then “Reboot to recovery”.

Installing LineageOS from recovery

Download the LineageOS zip file that you would like to install or build the package yourself.
If you are not in recovery, reboot into recovery:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Power.
Now tap Factory Reset, then Format data / factory reset and continue with the formatting process. This will remove encryption and delete all files stored in the internal storage, as well as format your cache partition (if you have one).
Return to the main menu.
Sideload the LineageOS .zip package but do not reboot before you read/followed the rest of the instructions!
- On the device, select “Apply Update”, then “Apply from ADB” to begin sideload.
- On the host machine, sideload the package using: adb -d sideload filename.zip.
  Tip: After the package is installed, recovery will inform you that reboot to recovery is required to install add-ons. In case you want to do that, please select “Yes,” otherwise “No”.
  
  Tip: Normally, adb will report Total xfer: 1.00x, but in some cases, even if the process succeeds the output will stop at 47% and report adb: failed to read command: Success. In some cases it will report adb: failed to read command: No error or adb: failed to read command: Undefined error: 0 which is also fine.

Installing Add-Ons

Note: If you don’t want to install any add-on (such as Google Apps), you can skip this whole section!

Warning: If you want to install Google Apps add-on package (use the arm64 architecture), you can download it from here. This add-on needs to be installed before booting into LineageOS for the first time!

Click Apply Update, then Apply from ADB, then adb -d sideload filename.zip for all desired packages in sequence.
When presented with a screen that says Signature verification failed, click Yes. It is expected as add-ons aren’t signed with LineageOS’s official key!

All set!

Once you have installed everything successfully, you can now reboot your device into the OS for the first time!

Click the back arrow in the top left of the screen, then “Reboot system now”.

Note: The first boot usually takes no longer than 15 minutes, depending on the device. If it takes longer, you may have missed a step, otherwise feel free to get assistance.

Get assistance

After you’ve double checked that you followed the steps precisely, didn’t skip any and still have questions or got stuck, feel free to ask on our subreddit or in #LineageOS on Libera.Chat.

Install LineageOS on Sony Xperia 5 II