Sony confirms Xperia Z3 camera functionality affected by unlocking bootloader

Sony Mobile has confirmed some bad news for Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact owners who are looking to unlock their bootloader. In doing so, Sony says that you will lose some “advanced camera functionality” from your camera.

The reason behind this is that Sony’s latest devices have some camera algorithms that are protected by DRM. Of course, when you unlock the bootloader this will wipe the DRM keys. In particular, unlocking the bootloader will remove camera noise reduction algorithms as well as affecting the camera performance in low-light conditions.



The camera is one of the key selling points of the Xperia Z3 series, so you should think long and hard before unlocking your bootloader – at least until there is some way to back up these DRM keys.

Addition to ‘Risks’ section on Sony’s Bootloader Unlocking site

“For high-end devices running recent software versions, for instance Xperia Z3, the removal of DRM security keys may affect advanced camera functionality. For example, noise reduction algorithms might be removed, and performance when taking photos in low-light conditions might be affected.”

Low-light comparison of Xperia Z3 Compact (Unlocked Bootloader) and Xperia Z1 Compact (Locked Bootloader)

[Z3 Compact on Top; Z1 Compact on Bottom]

Picture taken with Xperia Z1 Compact (Locked Bootloader)

[Click to enlarge]

Picture taken with Xperia Z3 Compact (Unlocked Bootloader)

[Click to enlarge]

Via XDA.

Thanks @DooMLoRD!