In this tutorial, we will show you how to flash the TWRP Recovery on any Android device. One of the biggest USP of having an Android device is its open-source ecosystem. The customizations and tweaks that it brings with itself are virtually endless. Well, we aren’t only talking about the installation of custom launchers and icon packs. These are just the tip of the iceberg, and beyond all these, your device is capable of much more. There is a certain restriction that has been put forward by the OEMs. Every device now has a locked bootloader to prevent modification of the device beyond a certain limit. But once you have unlocked the same, you have opened the gates to a plethora of tweaks.
Some of these include flashing Magisk and gaining administrative rights (aka root), flashing Custom or GSI ROMs, installing different types of mods, ZIPs, and IMG files or even creating an entire device backup (including the partition). But for all of these activists, there stands a pretty important requirement- your device should have a custom recovery like TWRP installed. And in this guide, we will show you how to do just that. But before we list out the steps to flash TWRP on any Android device, let’s check out more about this recovery and the benefits and risks that it brings with itself. Follow along.
Table of Contents
What is a TWRP Recovery
Team Win Recovery Project, or more popularly known as TWRP is a custom recovery that users could install on their device to carry out high-end tasks. Although every Android device does have its recovery, that is a stock recovery with limited functionalities. More often than not, it only allows you to reset the device or install OTA updates. That is all. But a custom recovery like TWRP offers a plethora of other features, much beyond what a stock recovery is capable of. Let’s check out all the full feature list of the TWRP Recovery.
TWRP Functionalities
Here are some of the noteworthy features that the TWRP is capable of:
NANDroid Backup
While a normal backup only creates a backup of your data and some device partitions, a NANdroid backup creates a backup of all the device partition. Furthermore, once your device ends up in a bootloop, accessing the restore feature of your device is of no use. However, you could still access the TWRP Recovery and hence restore the last created NANDroid backup. Doing so will bring your device back to normal working condition.
Flashing Files
You could easily flash any ZIP or IMG files onto your device right from this recovery itself. These include the GSI system files, Magisk ZIP files, or even your Custom ROMs.
Wipe
TWRP also allows you to wipe various partitions on your device with just a right swipe. This is needed when you are about the flash a Custom ROM, or wiping of Dalvik and Cache partition are usually done after each flashing.
Mount
You could even mount an external USB Drive and directly flash any file right from that storage. This eliminates the need to transfer the file to your device beforehand.
Advanced Functionalities
There also exist some advanced features in the recovery. For example, you could use the Terminal Command, File Manager, Flash Recovery Ramdisk, and Fix Bootloop among others. All these aren’t needed for everyday usage but only once a while, but still, their usefulness cannot be ignored.
These are some of the most important usages of TWRP Recovery. But there are some downsides to its as well. Make sure to go through the below section before you end up flashing the TWRP Recovery on your Android device.
Risks in Flashing the TWRP Recovery
First and foremost, the entire process of flashing this recovery is quite dangerous. A single error and it might lead to bootloop or even worse a bricked device. Sometimes, even flashing an older version of TWRP might throw in an error or two. Likewise, there exist many modded and unofficial TWRP builds which itself might be buggy and unstable. Not to forget the point that the process requires an unlocked bootloader, doing which might make the device warranty null and void.
By going through the perks and risks of installing this recovery, you might have made up your mind. So if you wish to flash the TWRP Recovery on your Android device, then proceed with the below steps.
How to Flash TWRP on any Android Device
To begin with, make sure to go through the below requirements section. Your device should meet all the below-mentioned points.
Prerequisites
- Flashing TWRP requires an unlocked bootloader. Make sure you have done so, refer to our guide on how to unlock bootloader on Android devices via Fastboot.
- Also, we would advise you to create a complete device backup beforehand. If you are about to unlock the bootloader as well, then it becomes a necessity if not, then also count is among a requirement.
- Next, enable USB Debugging on your device so that a successful ADB connection gets established between your device and PC. To do so, head over to Settings > About Phone > Tap on Build Number 7 times > Go back to Settings > System > Advanced > Developer Options > USB Debugging.
- Finally, download and install the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC. This is needed to execute ADB commands to boot your device to fastboot mode.
Download TWRP for your Android device
Head over to the TWRP official site and download the TWRP build corresponding to your device. Regarding this, there is a pretty important point worth discussing. While there might be only a single IMG file for some devices, others might be having two different files- ZIP and IMG. The thing is the first one (only IMG file) is for those devices that still have a recovery partition.
In these devices, we could directly flash the TWRP.IMG to the recovery partition. On the other hand, the devices without the recovery partition fall in the latter bracket. Hence in those cases, we will first boot the TWRP.IMG to the boot partition and then permanently flash the TWRP.ZIP file. Here are all the required instructions in this regard.
Steps to Flash TWRP on Android
First off, make sure to rename the recovery files to twrp. Hence the complete names should be twrp.zip (if available) and twrp.img. Furthermore, transfer these recovery files to the platform-tools folder. Also, transfer the twrp.zip to your device’s internal storage.
- Connect your device to PC via USB cable.
- Head over to the platform-tools folder, type in CMD in the address bar, and hit Enter. This will launch the Command Prompt.
- Execute the below command to boot your device to Fastboot mode:
adb reboot bootloader
- Your device will now be booted to TWRP. Now follow the steps as per the TWRP files available for your device
Devices with only TWRP.IMG
- If your device only has the IMG file, then execute the below command:
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
- Now execute the below command to boot your device to the TWRP recovery.
fastboot boot twrp.img
- Once it boots to TWRP, you could then boot it to the OS, via the Reboot > System option in TWRP.
Devices with both TWRP.ZIP and TWRP.IMG
- If you are having both the ZIP and IMG files, then, first of all, boot your device to TWRP via the following command:
fastboot boot twrp.img
- Your device will now be booted to the TWRP Recovery. But it is a temporary install. For permanent installation, head over to Install and navigate to the twrp.zip file and perform a right swipe to install it.
- You could now reboot your device to OS. For that, head over to Reboot > System.
That’s it. These were the required instructions on how to flash TWRP recovery on any Android device. Do let us know if you face any queries while trying out the above-mentioned steps. Rounding off, here are some iPhone Tips and Tricks, PC tips and tricks, and Android Tips and Trick that you should check out as well.