smartphones. Released around 2015, this version remains a "golden standard" for older Xperia devices (running Android 1.6 through 4.4) because it offers a stable environment for flashing official firmware without the compatibility issues sometimes found in newer 0.9.2x releases. Key Features & Functionality Firmware Flashing
If you are working on a pre-2018 MediaTek device (e.g., MT6580, MT6735, MT6753), 0.9.18.6 is often the only version that will flash successfully without throwing STATUS_AUTHENTICATION_REQUIRED or S_BROM_CMD_STARTCMD_FAIL errors. flash tool 0.9.18.6
“Works perfectly on Windows 7. On Windows 10, you need to manually install the legacy CDC driver. The included auto-installer doesn’t work.” – smartphones