How to remove Cyanogenmod from Sony Xperia Z?

Question

I've got an old Sony Xperia Z running Cyanogenmod which is pretty unstable.



I'd like to remove Cyanogenmod & do a factory reset to the default Sony Xperia Z ROM. It doesn't need to do much - just run Spotify & Google Maps in our car.



However flashing a Sony Phone with a factory ROM requires a special tool (FlashTool) & a special file format (FTF).



Running FlashTool on Ubuntu 16.04 my phone connects in flash mode, but then reboots into Cyanogenmod after the "Preparing the files for flashing" step. I had assumed this was something to do with Cyanogenmod.



INFO  - Device connected in flash mode

INFO  - Selected Bundle for Sony Xperia Z(C6603). FW release : 10.5.A.0.230. Customization : C6603_1270-4066

INFO  - Preparing files for flashing

INFO  - Device disconnected


How do remove Cyanogenmod from a Sony Xperia Z & restore it to it's factory ROM?



If that isn't possible what can I replace Cyanogenmod with?


— BaronGrivet | Sources

Answer

There's no such thing as "CM bootloader" - a CM installation only writes a new /boot (kernel) and /system.



Since you are explicitly looking to return to stock, FlashTool is still your best bet. Find the latest stock ROM for your variant and region using XperiFirm, generate a .ftf format file with what you downloaded using Flashtool with the guide here, then flash away.


— Andy Yan | Sources

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