Users who have owned Sony devices and done any sort of software tinkering with them would have obviously heard of XDA Recognized Developer Androxyde's Flashtool. For the uninitiated, Flashtool offers Sony device owners the freedom to move around on stock packages for both upgrades and downgrades, and was once used as a means of flashing modified "custom" ROMs as well (before recoveries gained their popularity).

Flashtool's popularity stems from its use cases as well as the sheer number of device it supports. The PC-based software works across all Sony phones, ranging from the Xperia X10 that was released in 2009 all the way to the Xperia Z Ultra and newer. Now, the use case for Flashtool has added another milestone in the form of support for Nougat FTF flashing.

Changelog for the Flashtool v0.9.23.0 update is as follows:

  • Fix for Nougat sin files parsing. FT should now be able to flash Nougat FTF
  • TA raw backup for all devices exposed to dirtycow exploit. TA backup using dirtycow by rayman
  • More accurate USB log parser for creating fsc scripts
  • In advanced mode, some new TA features: Viewer and custom TA file generator or flashing
  • Added a new device property to tell if fsc is mandatory or not. Check of this property is done before flashing

In addition to all of its flashing use case, Flashtool also aids in TA backups. TA backups are usually done to protect the DRM keys on Sony devices, which are otherwise lost irretrievably if a user decides to unlock the bootloader. The update uses the recent DirtyCow exploit to allow for TA partition backups.

To download the most recent Flashtool, head on over to its website homepage. Additionally, you can also visit the forum thread. Since the software is open source, you can aso check out its sources over on Github.

Have you used Flashtool before? What has your experience been with the software? Let us know in the comments below!