If you have started using the Android operating system on your Huawei U8815 smartphone already then you might have checked out what the stock recovery image is all about. Every version of Android comes with one by default. It’s in the stock recovery image that you can flash signed zip files or take a factory reset to help recover your device from problems you may have been facing.

Some clever third-party developers have also created a custom recovery image, known as TWRP Recovery, that can be flashed to replace the stock recovery partition with a new recovery that comes with extra features. You’ll still be able to take a factory reset and do all that stuff, but you also get the chance to flash unsigned zip files, meaning custom ROMs and rooting files.

You’ll can find custom ROMs, when there are any available for a smartphone, from the XDA-Developers web forum. Flashing one will give you something completely different to the Android you are currently using. If you don’t want to do that then you still might want to flash SuperSU to get root access so you can start installing root applications.

A custom recovery image also comes with a new backup features, known as “taking a NANDroid,” that can help you backup and restore unbeknownst to any backing up you would have seen from your stock version of Android without a custom recovery.

Details We Should Know

  • The custom recovery images available in this guide are only to be installed on the Huawei U8815 smartphone. Most devices have a custom recovery image developed specifically for it, and you shouldn’t install one that is intended for another device unless advised it is okay by a professional.
  • You can follow this guide on any of the major three computer operating systems: Windows, Mac, and Linux. You just need to download the right platform-tools file from the Android SDK package when you’re on the Android website, which is walked through during the guide below.

Files We Need

How to Install TWRP Recovery on Huawei U8815 Smartphones

1. Make sure you’ve installed the universal ADB driver on the computer. That will make it possible for you to use adb commands as well as the Huawei U8815 smartphone. If you can’t get the Huawei U8815 smartphone connected to the computer, then you can also download the Huawei USB drivers instead so the computer has both the ADB drivers and Huawei drivers installed . . . you then can’t go wrong.

2. You need to have the platform-tools part of the Android SDK on your computer. From the download link scroll down until you get to the command line tools section and then download the package that is made for your operating system.

3. Once you have the SDK Manager on your computer, check the box only for the platform-tools, so you end up with the adb and fastboot binaries installed on the computer. (You could also install the drivers from there as well if you wanted.)

4. Pick up the Huawei U8815 smartphone and navigate to the Settings > About and tap your finger over the build number at least seven times so that the Developer Options menu becomes unlocked. Then go back to the Settings, enter the Developer Options menu and then enable the USB debugging mode.

5. Connect the Huawei U8815 smartphone to the computer by using the USB cable that it comes with.

6. Now on the computer open the Command Prompt and type the adb reboot bootloader command and hit “Enter” on your keyboard to get the Huawei U8815 smartphone into the bootloader mode and ready for the flashing.

7. Make sure you have copied the TWRP image file to the same folder as the adb and fastboot binaries. Also when you’re there, change the name of the TWRP to “twrp.img” by right-clicking the mouse pointer on it and selecting the “rename” option from the menu.

8. From the command line type the fastboot flash recovery twrp.img command and hit “Enter” on your keyboard to flash the custom recovery.

9. Lastly type the fastboot reboot command and as soon as the Huawei U8815 smartphone reboots, hold down the key combination to boot directly into the recovery mode. (If you don’t sometimes the stock recovery will wipe over the custom recovery you just installed.)

The custom recovery image for the Huawei U8815 smartphone is now installed, and you are ready to boot into recovery mode and start flashing the custom ROM or rooting zip files.

If there comes a day when you wish you had the stock recovery image installed again, then you can make that happen by flashing the Huawei stock ROM. Inside the stock ROM zip file is the recovery image that you can either flash by itself using adb commands or using a flash tool you can flash the full ROM and it’ll include the recovery image for you automatically.