Sony Xperia XA1 Troubleshooting

Unable to activate or deactivate safe mode.

Make sure the device's screen is on and hold the power button until a pop-up window appears. Tap and hold the power off option until the message "Reboot to safe mode" appears and tap "OK". Your device will restart into safe mode.

While in safe mode, make sure the device's screen is on and hold the power button until a pop-up window appears. Tap the restart button and your device will restart out of safe mode.

Transferring data from old device to a Sony Xperia XA1

Old device must be updated to IOS 4.0+

On the Sony Xperia XA1, download the Xperia Mobile Transfer app and open it. Select "iPhone" and tap on "next". Connect your iPhone to the new Xperia with the USB host cable and select "Trust this Computer". Choose the files you want to transfer and tap "Transfer". A privacy notice will appear and tap "Accept". When the transfer is completed tap "Finish".

Can be done by Wi-Fi Direct and PIN/NFC. Old device must be running 4.0+. Sony Xperia must be running Android 4.3+.

Download and open the Xperia Mobile Transfer app on both devices and tap on "Next". Select "Android phone" on both devices and ensure the new Xperia is set to "Receiver" and the old device to "Sender". On both devices, select the same pairing option (PIN/NFC). Type the PIN generated by the old phone on the Xperia or tap the NFC tags together. Press "Accept" on the "Invitation to connect" pop-up and select the files you want to transfer from the list. Tap "Transfer" and once the transfer is completed, tap "Finish".

Device is performing slowly, often lagging or freezing.

Go to settings and tap on "Storage". Next, tap on "free up space". If wanting to clear an inserted memory card, tap on "internal shared storage" and tap on "free up space". Select files or apps you want to delete.

Connecting new devices to your Sony Xperia through Bluetooth

Go to settings and tap on "Bluetooth". Turn on Bluetooth and find the device you want to connect to and select it. If unsuccessful, attempt connecting to another device to ensure it's the device and not the phone with a problem.

The edges of the phone are not responding to touch, making it difficult and/or impossible to type certain letters or use the quick menu.

Some screen protectors have been known to interfere with the screen on this device. Make sure there is no dirt or air bubbles between your phone and screen protector. Some screen protectors may interfere with the touch screen in this way even when applied perfectly. To check if this is the problem, carefully remove your screen protector and test the sides of the bare screen.

Go to your settings to make sure the device is not missing any software updates. Sony has released several updates in an effort to improve the touch experience. In System Settings, you can find any pending updates. Install the latest update, and check to see if the issue persists.

Hold down the power button and volume-up button for at least 10 seconds until the device vibrates. Let go of the buttons, and the device will restart. Connect the device to a power source if needed. When the phone turns back on, check if the issue persists.

Swiftkey, the default keyboard on the Sony Xperia XA1, may be to blame. Downloading G-board from the Google Play store has reportedly worked for many users and could fix the screen touch issues. If none of the above solutions work, you may consider a screen replacement.

Even though the phone is plugged into the charger, the device shows no signs of charging. There may be a red light flashing.

Sometimes pieces of lint, dirt, food or dust can get caught in the charging port and prevent your device from connecting properly to the charging cable. Use a flashlight to see any debris in your charging port, and use a toothpick to carefully scrape out any debris you may have found. Be cautious not to damage any contact points for the charger.

Hold down the power button and volume-up button for at least 10 seconds until the device vibrates. Let go of the buttons, and the device will restart. Connect the device to a power source. A battery symbol should appear. When the phone turns back on, check if the issue persists.

Check to make sure that the charging cable is in working shape, swap out the cable with one that is known to be working, and check if the issue persists.

If your phone continues to have problems charging, see our USB-C module replacement guide here.

Device does not play sounds, even when the volume is all the way up.

To test the speakers on your device, first find “Settings,” find the “Support” section, go to “Xperia Tests,” then “Media.” Here you are able to test the speakers to see if they are working.

Put your device into safe mode, hold down the power button located on the side of the phone, and restart the device. Once the Sony logo shows up, hold the volume down button until safe mode appears. Safe mode will disable all applications, and by doing this you are able to see if a downloaded application is causing the issue.

If your phone speaker is still not playing audio or playing distorted audio, please see our speaker replacement guide here.

Not receiving calls at all, despite having full cell service.

Sometimes when your phone arrives, the following settings are turned on that make calls go straight to voicemail or not come in at all. If the following settings are turned on, that may be the problem.

• Call Rejection or Block
• Call Barring
• Forward to Voicemail

To disable these problematic call settings, follow these steps.

1. Open the Phone app and click on the three-dot menu
2. Go to Settings and tap Auto Reject List
3. Remove the numbers you don’t want on the list
4. Go back to Settings and click on the More button
5. Select Call barring and disable all call barring settings
6. Return once again to Settings and tap Call forwarding
7. Select Voice call, and then Always forward
8. Disable call forwarding
9. Restart your phone and check if the problem is gone.

Sometimes Bluetooth being left on prevents calls from coming through. Use the two finger swipe-down gesture, and hit the Bluetooth icon to turn it off. Check if the problem persists.

Check that this setting is turned off, “Do Not Disturb” will automatically send calls to voicemail and silent any notifications. You can find “Do Not Disturb” in the menu when you use the two finger swipe-down gesture. Tap the icon to toggle on and off.

If the solutions above have not worked, try re-inserting your SIM card. It is extremely important that your phone is completely shut off when you take out and re-insert the SIM card. Here are the steps to removing your SIM card.

1. Hold down the power button and upper volume button to force shut down your phone.
2. Locate the SIM card tray on the upper-right side of the phone
3. Use a thin and sturdy object (sometimes a fingernail will work) to pry open the tray.
4. Slide the tray out, and locate your SIM card
5. Remove your SIM card from the tray, and let it sit for 30 seconds. Ensure that the SIM Card is clean.
6. Re-insert the SIM card, and gently push the tray back into the phone.
7. Hold down the power button to restart the phone, and wait a few minutes for the cell provider to pop up in the upper right corner of the screen.

Sometimes your wireless carrier will have call protection settings that block unknown or suspicious numbers from calling you. Access your wireless carrier settings by going to Settings > More > Mobile Networks > Carrier Settings.

Phone will not work at all unless plugged in, even if it is at 100% battery life.

Here is a Link to a discussion to reference on fixing this issue.

Hold down the power button and volume-up button for at least 10 seconds until the device vibrates. Let go of the buttons, and the device will restart. Connect the device to a power source. A battery symbol should appear. When the phone turns back on, check if the issue persists.

If your phone continues to shut down when unplugged, you most likely have a dying battery. Please see our battery replacement guide by clicking here.

When plugged in, the audio does not come through to headphones or speakers.

Sometimes pieces of lint, dirt, food or dust can get caught in the headphone jack. An easy way to fix connectivity issues if your headphone jack looks dirty is to clean it out. We recommend using a toothpick to scrape out any artifacts.

3-pole plugs and 4-pole plugs are compatible with the Sony Xperia, 5-pole plugs are not compatible. Check to make sure that your headphones are compatible with the phone.

If your headphone jack continues to give you problems it might need to be replaced. Check out our headphone jack replacement guide here.