How to Install TWRP Recovery without Root?

This guide is for those custom rom fans like me who want to try something new everyday. But one heck thing that happens whenever we flash a custom rom is, the Recovery mode gets replaced with the rom specific. For example, if your current recovery mode is TWRP after installation of a specific rom like MIUI 6, the TWRP gets replaced with CWM. And also if you enable the “update recovery” in CM 12.1 developer options then you would see a completely new custom recovery. Which is cyanogenmod’s official stock recovery and you see only options to update that specific rom. You don’t find “Install zip from SD Card” now and this issue raised number of quires in forums and blogs.

Downloads Required:

1. Android SDK for Windows (.zip file)

2. TWRP Recovery (.img) – download the correct image file.

How to Install TWRP Recovery without Root?

Step 1: Extract the Android SDK .zip file to a folder on your Windows PC

Step 2: Copy the TWRP Recovery .img file to “adt-bundle-windows…\sdk\platform-tools” folder and rename it as twrp.img (here .img is file extension)

Step 3: Enable Developer Options in your android device by heading into Settings, then scroll all the way down to the bottom and hit About Phone. In here, scroll down to the bottom again and tap Build Number seven times in rapid succession.

Next, back out one level and you’ll see a new Settings menu titled Developer Options. Open this menu, then tick the box next to Enable USB Debugging and press OK on the subsequent popup.

Step 4: Connect Your Phone/Tablet to Your Computer then unlock your device and you should see a dialog box asking you to Allow USB Debugging. Tick the box next to Always Allow From This Computer and tap OK.

Step 5: Now on Windows-PC: Open Command-prompt in the platform-tools folder by holding “Shift + Right-click the mouse” in the blank space and  select “Open Command window here…” from the list that appears.

Step 6: Now enter the following commands

adb fastboot devices (or) adb devices

(to see whether the device is detected by windows-pc or not)

adb reboot bootloader

(You should now be in fastboot mode)

fastboot flash recovery twrp.img

(this command writes/replace the custom recovery on your device)

finally…

fastboot reboot

(this command reboots your device)

To check whether TWRP installed or not, from the completely power-off state of your device press and hold the “Volume down + Power Key”  then navigate to recovery mode. This loads TWRP on your device.