Last Updated on November 15, 2019 by Mathew Diekhake

Installing a custom recovery on the ZUK Z1 takes only a couple of minutes if the bootloader on your phone is already unlocked.

The ZUK Z1 with an unlocked bootloader can easily be flashed with TWRP Recovery using the Fastboot method, and if you have already got your hands on this phone, here’s how you can install a custom recovery on it:

TWRP Lenovo ZUK Z1

Files You Need

  1. This requires the bootloader on your phone to be unlocked.
  2. This tutorial has been written keeping the Windows version of Fastboot in mind.
  3. This should install an unofficial version of the TWRP Recovery on your phone.
  4. Download Fastboot to your computer. It will help you execute commands on your phone.
  5. Download TWRP Recovery to your computer. It is the actual recovery that will be installed on your phone.
  6. You should only try this on a ZUK Z1 phone.

Installing a Custom Recovery on the Lenovo ZUK Z1

  1. Extract files from Fastboot over to your computer by right-clicking on it and selecting Extract here.
  2. Plug in your phone to your computer using a suitable USB cable.
  3. Copy TWRP Recovery over to the fastboot folder where fastboot.exe is located.
  4. Open a command prompt window in the fastboot folder by holding down Shift on your keyboard and right-clicking anywhere on the screen and selecting Open command window here.
  5. Type in the following command into the command prompt window and hit Enter:
    adb reboot bootloader
  6. Your phone should reboot into bootloader mode.
  7. When your phone reboots into bootloader mode, type in the following command and press Enter:
    fastboot -i 0x2b4c oem get-device-info
  8. It should tell you whether your bootloader is unlocked or not. Proceed further only if it returns the following:
    (bootloader) Device unlocked: true
  9. What the above message says is that your bootloader is unlocked. Now, proceed to flash a recovery on your phone by issuing the following command:
    fastboot -i 0x2b4c flash recovery z1.twrp.2.8.7.0.By.Breadcrust-UPDATE1.img
  10. Wait for it to flash a custom recovery on your phone.
  11. When it’s done flashing a recovery, reboot your phone by issuing the following command:
    fastboot reboot
  12. Your phone should reboot.
  13. You are all done!

Your phone has been successfully flashed with a custom recovery called TWRP and the recovery should now let you flash various custom developments on your phone.

These custom developments range from a single boot animation to a whole customized version of the OS that you can flash on your phone. Well, if you do not yet know, these are the actual tools that let you fully customize your phone and let it work at its fullest powers – these powers were behind the curtains so far as your manufacturer wanted you to be under limits due to some reasons.

Now that those limits have been removed, you can go ahead and get your phone flashed with whatever custom file you find on the Internet – but make sure you choose a file that is from a trusted source and is in working condition or in the worst case you will brick your phone.

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