This guide is for educational and informational purposes only. The author is not responsible for any damage caused to your device by following these steps. Proceed at your own risk.
Flashing firmware, while powerful, comes with inherent risks.
Here is the catch: Stock au SOV33 has a locked bootloader. Most "lock remove FTF" methods rely on either: sony sov33 lock remove ftf better
Common steps for FTF firmware flashing approach (advanced users):
Flashtool database lacks SO-33J signatures. Fix: Manually edit C:\Flashtool\devices\G8XXX.properties . Add line: G8141 = SO-33J . Restart Flashtool. This guide is for educational and informational purposes
using XperiFirm inside Flashtool. Select SOV33 (au KDDI) and download the latest Android 9 firmware (47.2.A.11.xx). Do not close XperiFirm – it automatically creates the FTF.
To remove the network lock on an SOV33:
If a Google account was active on the device, you will encounter a lock after flashing. You must sign in with the original Google credentials to finish the setup. If you cannot access that account, you may need a separate FRP bypass method .
Because Sony removed DRM keys, you cannot unlock the bootloader officially on SOV33 without losing camera quality. Therefore, the "better" method involves staying on Android 8 (Oreo) or using a patched kernel. Flashing firmware, while powerful, comes with inherent risks