Last Updated on September 20, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake

OnePlus XBefore you can get a custom ROM installed, you’ll either need to root your Android operating system or install a custom recovery image. The option of getting root access via a one-click rooting tool and then installing a root application to flash your custom ROMs for you is there a lot of the time, but not always.

Plus, even if people do have the chance to get root access with a one-click tool, often they overlook it and prefer flashing a rooting zip file from the custom recovery image anyway because it means they are doing the work instead of something else doing it for them. And developers have long praised the idea of people putting in the work themselves. For them it means they’ll have a better understanding of what is going on, and getting more educated is always a good thing because it can, in some ways, make the developers sleep easy knowing that one day they won’t have to spoon feed everyone every step of the way.

There’s also no real upside to not getting a custom recovery image flashed. Sure, you can use the NANDroid backup feature from one of the root applications if you like, but the same NANDroid functionality is waiting for you directly from the TWRP interface as well. In fact, you’ll get everything you need for flashing unsigned zips without a worry in the world, including the option to restore your partitioned backups, too.

If you want to be one of those guys who gets root access or installs custom ROMs from a custom recovery image, then you’ll want to make sure that it’s TWRP Recovery that is the custom recovery being installed. There really is nothing else like it available to install, and the devices that do have a choice of more than the one image won’t be currently getting any updates. And when developers aren’t updating it can often mean compatibility issues, either with the custom ROMs files or other unsigned zip files that you were looking to flash.

This is what you need to TWRP Recovery on the OnePlus X smartphone.

Details of Note

  • The custom recovery images available in this guide are only to be installed on the OnePlus X 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.
  • The codename for the OnePlus X TWRP recovery image is “onyx.” You will see that codename in the TWRP image file path and also from your About Device menu so you know you are flashing the right file on the right device.
  • 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 Required

How to Install TWRP Recovery on OnePlus X

1. Install the universal ADB drivers on the computer.

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 OnePlus X 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 OnePlus X 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 following command and hit “Enter” on your keyboard to get the OnePlus X smartphone into the bootloader mode and ready for the flashing:

adb reboot bootloader

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 following command and hit Enter on your keyboard to flash the custom recovery:

fastboot flash recovery twrp.img

9. Lastly type the following command and as soon as the OnePlus X 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.

fastboot reboot

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

That’s all.