How To: Use AOSP Android 6.0 Marshmallow Custom ROM

Sony made the announcement a few days ago that many of their devices would be getting an update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Unfortunately, the Xperia Z1 is not one of those devices.

It looks like the Xperia Z1 will be stuck with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, the last official update released for it.

While there doesn’t seem to be any further updates for the Xperia Z1 from Sony, that doesn’t mean you can’t update your Xperia Z1. We have found a good custom ROM you can use to update your Xperia Z1 to Android Marshmallow.

AOSP Android 6.0 Marshmallow for the Xperia Z1 is in its early stages but it is already a good ROM to play around with. Keep in mind though, that this build isn’t meant for everyday use nor should it be a daily driver. You should only flash it if you have a good idea about how to deal with Android custom ROMs.

Prepare your phone:

This guide is only for use with Sony Xperia Z1 C6902, C6903 & C6906.
Charge your battery to up to 50 percent to avoid losing power while flashing.
Download and install Minimal ADB and Fastboot drivers on a computer.
Unlock your devices bootloader.
Install either CWM or TWRP recovery on your device. Use it to create an Nandroid backup.
Enable USB debugging mode.

Download:

Android 6.0 Marshmallow AOSP files for Xperia Z1
Google GApps.zip file for Android 6.0 Marshmallow (For Xperia Z1 only)
SuperSu.zip file

Install

Go to your Windows drive>Program files> Minimal ADB and Fastboot Folder
Copy all ROM files to minimal ADB and Fastboot folder.
Connect your phone and your PC while in fastboot mode. Turn off your Xperia Z1 then press and hold the volume up button while plugging the data cable in.
Open Minimal ADB and Fastboot folder then find and open “Py_cmd.exe” file.
In the command window, issue these commands in this order:

fastboot devices

(to verify connection of device in fastboot mode)

fastboot flash boot boot.img

(to flash the boot into your device to make the Marshmallow firmware boot up)

fastboot flash cache cache.img

(to flash cache partition on device)

fastboot flash system system.img

(to flash AOSP Android Marshmallow system)

fastboot flash userdata userdata.img

(to flash the user data of target ROM)

Reboot the phone

Install Google GApps

Copy the Gapps file you downloaded onto your phone
Boot into recovery by first turning the phone off and turning it on. When you see the boot screen press the volume up or down button to boot into recovery.
Select the install zip option and find the GApps file.
Flash the file and then reboot your device.

Root AOSP Android Marshmallow

Copy the SuperSu file you downloaded to your phone
Boot into recovery by first turning the phone off and turning it on. When you see the boot screen press the volume up or down button to boot into recovery.
Select the install zip option and find the SuperSu
Flash the file and then reboot your device.

Have you used this ROM on your Xperia Z1?

Share your experience in the comments box below.