Will I lose my data during a software repair?

When you perform a software repair using the Xperia™ Companion application, the internal storage of your Xperia™ device gets overwritten. Photos, videos, music and documents stored on an external SD card do not get erased during a software repair.

If possible, back up photos, videos and other personal content stored on the internal memory to a non-internal memory, for example, an online backup service which saves your data to online servers (the cloud). You can do this using Settings > System > Backup and Xperia™ Backup & restore (Android™ 8.0) or Settings > Backup & reset (other Android™ versions). Alternatively, you can make a backup to a computer using the Xperia™ Companion computer application.

To perform a software repair, you have to use the Xperia™ Companion computer application. 

• If not already installed, download and install the Xperia™ Companion application from https://support.sonymobile.com/global-en/xperia-companion/.

The following are examples of data that gets overwritten if stored on the internal storage:

• Contacts
• Calendar items
• Notes
• Messages (sent via SMS, MMS or email)
• Applications and application data including game high scores
• Settings
• Bookmarks
• Photos
• Videos
• Music

Note! Before performing a software repair, make sure you know the username and password of the Google™ account you've added to your Xperia™ device. Depending on your security settings, you may need to enter them in order to start up the device after a software repair. If you don't remember your Google™ account username and password, you cannot unlock the device yourself.

Tip: If you don't remember your Google™ account username and password, you can try to recover them using the Google Account Recovery page at https://www.google.com/accounts/recovery/?hl=en. If you still can't reactivate your device, contact us. For the Xperia™ X series, the Xperia™ Z5 series, Xperia™ L1 and the Xperia™ E5, you must be aware that when you receive a new Google™ username or password, you cannot use them to log in to and recover your device for 24 hours.