The advantages of rooting have been covered before, and with rooting comes flashing ROMs and mods to your device. The easiest method for flashing anything is to do it through recovery.
Recovery is the bootable portion of the phone's system that allows data wipes and system updates. At its core, the stock recovery is fairly limited in the functions they can perform. This is where custom recoveries come in to play.
A custom recovery will allow you to flash ROMs, mods, themes, etc. You can also back up your entire system, partition internal and external memory, wipe various parts of your device, and more.
Most root methods will lead you to installing ClockWorkMod (CWM) recovery. CWM is easily the most popular recovery out there, but the version that comes with most root methods is dated, still utilizing the volume and power buttons for navigation.
About a year ago, a new custom recovery hit the scene, Team Win's Recovery Project (TWRP). GS3 SoftModder forum member Scott asked how to install TWRP, and this guide will show just how to do it.
According to Team Win, TWRP "started from the ground up by taking AOSP recovery and loading it with the standard recovery options, then added a lot of our own features. It's a fully touch-driven user interface—no more volume rocker or power buttons to mash."
The touch interface is a real game changer, and while other touch recovery's exist, TWRP is the easiest and most stable for our Samsung Galaxy S3's. Let's walk through the installation process.
What You Will Need
- Rooted GS3
- For method #1, Goo Manager
- For method #2, your device specific .tar file (choose one below)
Method #1: Install TWRP Using GooManager
This is by far the simplest way to get TWRP on to your Samsung Galaxy S3—install GooManager and have it download, install, and reboot your device. Done.
Step 1: Open GooManager and Go to Install Screen
Open the app, press the Menu key, and select "Install OpenRecoveryScript".
Step 2: Follows Prompts to Install
A couple of button presses, and you are done!
Your app will now download the appropriate file for your device, install the recovery, and reboot.
Method #2: Install TWRP Using Odin
For a rundown on how to use Odin, check out this guide.
Step 1: Prepare Odin for Flash
Make sure Auto Reboot and F. Reset are checked, then click the PDA button and load your .tar file.
Step 2: Go into Download Mode on Your GS3
If you are on a custom ROM, you can do this by holding the Power button, select Reboot, and select Download Mode. You can also do this by powering off your phone, and power back on by holding Volume Down + Home + Power.
Step 3: Flash TWRP
Press the Start button on Odin. Then watch your phone do its thing and reboot.
That's it, you now have the latest and greatest recovery available for the Samsung Galaxy S3.
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11 Comments
does this erase my CWM nandroid backup?
It will not erase it as long as you don't perform a full wipe. Depending on what version of CWM you had when you made the backup, TWRP may or may not be able to restore it.
You can always make a current nandroid with TWRP. I find TWRP to be faster than CWM when making backups.
Thank you!!! CWM is rather slow :/
The hardest bit is deciding which Rom to install :-)
Yup! What carrier are you on?
im using a deodexed stock rom (sprint), can i still install TWRP since on the goo app page it says it cant do anything on a stock device?
I think they mean stock unrooted. Stock rooted should be fine.
I can't find TWRP among the applications folder.
This is not an app but a recovery. It lies beneath the system and is used to "flash" roms and mods.
Hi Faisal. Nice write-up. I've a Galaxy S3 and have been using this write-up (and other) to try and unbrick my phone. It was rooted and running Cyanogen modjust fine. There was new ROM available via ROM Manager Premium and I elected to update. It did a backup and flashed the ROM and eveything went south from there. I have ODIN and it can communicate with the device. I also re-flashed the firmware from the http://samsung-updates.com/. 4.2. Failed. I am downloading 4.1.1 now.
If that fails, can you provide any other tips even like wiping the phone and flashing it with Cyanogenmod ROM or some other ROM in order to revive the phone?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Hello
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