All ABOUT CUSTOM RECOVERY FOR ANDROID

What is a Custom Recovery on Android?

A custom recovery is a third-party recovery image .Flashing this recovery image onto your device replaces the default, stock recovery image with a third-party, customized recovery image. This is a bit like flashing a custom ROM like CyanogenMod — but, instead of replacing your device’s Android operating system, it replaces the recovery environment. In a simple words CUSTOM RECOVERY is a tool or system which enable us to fully operate our android in recovery mode.



Android’s Stock Recovery

Android devices come with Google’s recovery or Factory recovery , which is often referred to as the “stock recovery.” You can boot to the recovery system by pressing device-specific buttons as your phone or tablet boots or by issuing an adb command that boots your device to recovery mode. The recovery menu provides options to help recover your device — for example, you can reset your device to its factory default state from here. The recovery mode can also be used to flash OTA update files. if you want to flash a new ROM to your device — or re-flash the factory default ROM file — you’ll need to boot to recovery mode first.




Popular Custom Recoveries


(CWM OR TWRP)

ClockworkMod Recovery (CWM) can create and restore NANDroid backups — backups of an Android device’s entire file system. ClockworkMod offers a ROM manager with a file browser that allows you to easily browse for and install custom ROMs via ClockworkMod Recovery and manage and restore backups. It also has other advanced features that will be useful if you’re installing and dealing with custom ROMs.

Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP) is a touch-based recovery environment. Unlike other recovery environments — including Android’s default stock recovery, which needs to be controlled with the device’s volume and power buttons — this recovery environment has a touch-based interface you can use by tapping your fingers on on-screen buttons. TWRP even supports themes. Like CWM, TWRP offers ROM installation and backup features the stock recovery environment doesn’t.


CWM and TWRP are the two most popular custom recoveries, but other custom recoveries may be available for some devices.



When and Why to Install a Custom Recovery


These custom recovery environments are most useful when you’re installing custom ROMS on your device, as they provide backup, restore, and ROM-flashing features you’ll need. You’ll need to unlock your device’s bootloader to install a custom recovery on it.


Install a custom recovery when you’re messing around with custom ROMs, or if you really want powerful backup features. This is often seen as a necessary prerequisite to installing a custom ROM, but it isn’t always required. For example, installing CyanogenMod with the CyanogenMod installer will also install ClockworkMod Recovery (CWM). Following installation guides for custom ROMs will often involve flashing a custom recovery, although you can flash a custom recovery and continue using the stock Android system if you just want those backup features.

FACTORY RESET ANDROID PHONE

HOW TO FACTORY RESET ANDROID PHONE


Safe mode can help you troubleshoot your Android, but sometimes you’ll need to wipe everything and restore your device to its factory state. But if you can’t perform a normal factory reset–say, if your phone won’t boot properly–you can do it through Android’s recovery environment.


Ensure you have any important data backed up before doing a reset. This includes your Google Authenticator credentials, which will be lost during the reset. Disable two-factor authentication on your accounts first or you’ll experience some trouble afterwards.


If safe mode doesn’t help fix your device, you can perform a hard reset by booting into a special recovery mode. First, ensure your device is fully shut down.


Press and hold the correct keys to boot the device into recovery mode. This will vary from device to device. Here are some examples:

Nexus 7: Volume Up + Volume Down + Power

Samsung Galaxy S3: Volume Up + Home + Power

Motorola Droid X: Home + Power

Devices With Camera Buttons: Volume Up + Camera

Similar devices will likely use similar key combinations. For example, the Nexus 4 also uses Volume Up + Volume Down + Power.

If your device isn’t on this list and none of the above methods work, do a Google search for the name of your device and “recovery mode” – or look in the device’s manual or support pages.

Release the buttons when the device powered on. You’ll see an image of an Android lying on its back with its chest open and its internals revealed.











Press the Volume Up and Volume Down keys to scroll through the options until you see Recovery mode on the screen.














Press the Power button to restart into recovery mode. You’ll soon see an Android with a red triangle.














Hold down the Power button and tap Volume Up. You’ll see the Android system recovery menu appear at the top of your screen.














Select wipe data / factory reset with the volume keys and tap the Power button to activate it.

Select Yes – erase all user data with the volume buttons and tap Power. Your device will be reset to its factory state and all your data will be erased.














If your device freezes at any point, hold down the Power button until it restarts.

If the factory reset process doesn’t fix your problems – or doesn’t work at all – it’s likely that there’s a problem with your device’s hardware. If it’s still under warranty, you should have it fixed or replaced.


(There’s one exception to this: If you’ve been flashing custom ROMs and messing with your device’s low-level software, it’s possible that you could have overwritten the stock recovery software. In this case, it’s possible that you have a software problem and not a hardware problem.)