Cloning or changing an IMEI to bypass blacklists or hide a stolen phone is a federal crime in most countries (including the US, UK, EU, and India). This guide assumes you own the device and are restoring its original IMEI .
Do you have a success story or a different method? Share it in the comments below. If you need further help, visit the XDA Developers forum for the Sony Xperia XZ1 section.
Tools like Chimera Tool, Octopus Box, or SigmaKey are the industry standard. They provide dedicated modules for Sony Xperia "Write IMEI" functions. sony xperia xz1 imei repair
Reboot the phone.
Free tools rarely work on XZ1 due to Sony’s security. Known working paid solutions include: Cloning or changing an IMEI to bypass blacklists
: A specialized hardware and software suite often used for low-level Sony repairs, including baseband and IMEI restoration. QFIL (Qualcomm Flash Image Loader)
If your screen or battery is also failing, consider retiring the XZ1. However, if the phone is in mint condition, a professional is absolutely worth it. The Snapdragon 835 still handles daily tasks smoothly, and with a fresh IMEI, your XZ1 will roar back to life, connecting to LTE bands like it did on day one. Share it in the comments below
Does your phone show under Baseband version in settings? Are you using a single SIM or dual SIM model?
If your device displays an "Invalid IMEI" or "Null" status, follow these steps to attempt a restoration: Verify the Original IMEI
Disclaimer: This post is for educational purposes. Restoring a different IMEI than the one originally assigned to your device is illegal. The author is not responsible for misuse.
Write the new IMEI to the modem partition: