How to Downgrade Xperia XZ to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Official Firmware


This is a tutorial on how to downgrade your Sony Xperia XZ to official Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow firmware, if you are running Android 7.0. Nougat. Xperia XZ is a stellar phone and meets almost every users requirements easily. The most prominent is the 23 megapixels camera that crams even more tech than ever. This was the first Sony phone that got updated to Android 7.0 Nougat, much before other OEMs did.

Where Android 7.0 Nougat brings some great features for standard users and most of the users must be happy with this update, it also brings some restrictions for modders and people who like to flash custom firmware and play with Android OS. Yes, with Sony’s Android 7.0 Nougat firmware you won’t be able to unlock bootloader of your Sony Xperia XZ. But don’t worry, we’re here to get your problems sorted out because there is still a way to get that bootloader unlocked of your device. Our method is by downgrading the phone firmware to Marshmallow from Nougat.

Downgrade Sony Xperia XZ

Disclaimer: All the custom ROMs and firmwares, official software updates, tools, mods or anything mentioned in the tutorial belong to their respective owners/developers. We (TeamAndroid.com) or the developers are not to be held responsible if you damage or brick your device. We don’t have you on gun point to try out this tutorial 😉

In this tutorial we’ll be talking about how to downgrade your Xperia XZ to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow but before we jump the gun, there are some prerequisites / requirements that we should follow before doing anything to our device.

Prerequisites:

  1. Download Xperia Companion for Windows. (This is used to install USB drivers for all Xperia devices)
  2. Download Xperia Flashtool. (Install it in C:// drive of your system)
  3. Xperia XZ Marshmallow firmware FTF – Download from here. (Copy the downloaded FTF file to C:\Users\USERNAME\.flashTool\firmwares)
  4. An Xperia XZ smartphone running official Android 7.0 Nougat.
  5. Backup all of your data before downgrading, as it’ll wipe all your personal data including contacts, messages, photos, music and video files.

NOTE: Before starting anything, make sure that Sony Xperia Companion is installed and updated to the latest version. After updating Xperia Companion to latest version, quit the app completely. Make sure it is not running in the background.

Downgrade Xperia XZ to Androdi 6.0.1 – Instructions:

With everything set in its place, you are now ready to downgrade your Xperia XZ to official Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. However, there is one final and most important point. Make sure that your Xperia XZ is charged to atleast 50%. Recommended is 80% charging level.

Step 1:

Open up Flashtool.exe or FlasTool64.exe depending on what operating system you are using. You’ll be welcomed by the screen as shown in the following screenshot.

Sony Xperia Flashtool

Step 2:

Now click on the lightening icon as shown in the screenshot and then “Flashmode” and click “Ok”.

How to Downgrade Xperia XZ to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Official Firmware 2

Step 3:

From the next screen simply select Xperia XZ firmware and click “Flash”.

Step 4:

Now turn off your Xperia XZ, press and hold “volume down” button and insert USB Type-C and connect it to your computer. The flashing will begin.

Step 5:

After flashing is done, simply disconnect your Xperia XZ and turn it on. The first boot may take upto 5 – 10 minutes so stay patient. When the phone will boot into the OS, you’ll be on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

That’s it. Your Sony Xperia XZ has now been downgraded to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow stock firmware. For those who want to root your phone or install anything else, it is now possible as you will be able to unlock your bootloader now.

Saad Khan
Saad Khan

A geek that has converted into a Software Engineer. An audiophile who love to read and write reviews/tutorials about gadgets and new tech stuff.

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7 Comments

  1. Hello, my XZ is at 7.1.1 now, can I use this tutorial to downgrade to 6.0.1 ?
    And should I factory reset the phone before this process?
    Also I wonder that, while upgrading to Nougat, phone made various system upgrades. Would this process cause an incompability in terms of other software upgrades?
    Thanks

    • Hi Saad, my too owned a XZ running on 7.1.1 and I have the same question as kylii mentioned. Please help to let me understand if I can follow your above procedures. I did download the requirement files on my PC now.
      Thanks a lot!

      • I did it. I recommend you Factory Reset your phone before starting the flash. Also, I have the Xperia – XZ Dual (F8832) – make sure you download the correct file. All is fine so far. Nougat is trash on this Xperia

        • Dear Anan,

          Thanks for your prompt reply. I owned a dual Sim XZ and where is the correct file for the 6.0.1 stock rom. BTW, did you have a great battery performance after backed to 6.0.1. ? Cos my XZ came with the 7.0 as new purchase and now it is running 7.1.1 with a poor battery performance.

          Regards,

          Jacky

  2. Hi, I have a Sony Xperia Z5 Compact and as you can see in this picture, I am not able to flash it back to Android 6.0.1: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2be90cd4d415bbede38827b1d91037746043ddccde1fffc98c2d8e28ba4d2862.jpg
    It’s currently working on 7.1.1, which is causing lots of issues, amongst battery drain also with the camera (lots of people reported this on other forums too).
    Can anyone advise what should I do, or is it something that I’m doing wrong since I’m not able to flash it back to the previous OS version?
    Thanks in advance.
    Tudor

  3. I have an Xperia XZ with Singapore region. Unfortunately it seems that there is no 6.0 FTF for my region. Will I be able to download the India region one to downgrade with? Thanks.

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