Last Updated on September 20, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake

Samsung Galaxy S8+ (Exynos)Android being based on the open source software that it is, means it’s possible to customize it. If you haven’t seen what customizing is all about, then you might be interested to learn that you can actually install other ROMs that have different features and designs when compared to the official version of Android that you get shipped with your device.

Having an operating system that is made by Microsoft, Apple or Google is great, but it’s also a fact that these companies are going to find it very difficult to satisfy everyone’s needs in the world with just one operating system because we all need and want different things.

Companies like Microsoft have started to counter that idea by offering heaps of different options for you to choose from, making Windows one of the more customizable operating systems out there. But we are yet to see the same kind of attention being brought forth to the mobile platforms. And worse yet, mobile operating systems have an additional problem they are faced with that desktops and laptops don’t have which is carrier networks.

It’s not uncommon for a phone carrier network to install their own skins and applications on top of the operating system after Android had originally been shipped just to your manufacturer. So you’re getting the base version of Android, then changed by the manufacturer to a certain degree, and then changed once again by the carriers. It’s a recipe for a ROM that is not going even necessarily make the Android developers happy a lot of the time.

One thing you can do to change this is to install a custom ROM. If your device has sold a few units, you might be lucky enough to have quite a few third-party developers making a bunch of different ROMs, all with different features, designs, and often without the extra applications installed by the carriers and manufacturers.

The most common method for flashing the custom ROM files is from a custom recovery image, which is there to allow you to flash unsigned zip files. You can use the custom recovery image for getting root access with tools such as Chainfire’s SuperSU, too.

Details of Note

  • The custom recovery images available in this guide are only to be installed on the Samsung Galaxy S8+ 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 Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus is a dm-verity device, meaning that swiping to allow system modifications results in your device being unable to boot if it is using the stock kernel. To get around dm-verity’s boot prevention, you must first install a kernel that has dm-verity disabled in the fstab.
  • The codename for the Samsung Galaxy S8+ with Exynos processor TWRP recovery image is “dream2lte.” 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 visit the official support thread over at XDA-Developers if you run into any problems along the way.

Files Required

How to Install TWRP Recovery on Samsung Galaxy S8+ (Exynos)

Note: The Odin flashing tool is really easy to use, but it only works on the Windows operating system. You won’t get the flashing tool to load on a Mac or Linux computer. It doesn’t really matter what version of the Windows operating system that you’re using as long as it is something above Windows XP.

1. Download and install the Samsung USB drivers on the computer if you don’t have them already.

2. Download the firmware (.tar) file from the links above directly to the computer. Extract the file by right-clicking on it and choosing the option to extract. When you do, you’ll see the tar.md5 file inside. That’s the file you’ll be using to do the flashing.

3. Download the Odin flashing tool. It doesn’t really matter what version, but the latest is the most up to date so grab that one. Extract the Odin file and then double-click on the Odin executable file (.exe) that is found from within the Odin folder after extraction. You should now have the Odin interface open on the computer and waiting for you to connect to it.

4. Boot the Samsung mobile device into the Download Mode by first powering it down and then rebooting by holding the Volume Down + Home + Power keys at the same time.

5. A yellow warning triangle will come up on the device’s display. At this time you need to press the Volume Up button. You’ll then see the device getting into the Download Mode. It’s then ready for the flashing.

6. When in Download Mode, connect the Samsung mobile device to the computer with the USB cable.

7. If you have installed the USB drivers correctly, the Odin flashing tool should detect your device. You can tell this by observing the ID: COM port lighting up with a color, usually yellow or blue.

It doesn’t matter what color, it’s the lighting up that counts.

8. After the device is picked up by Odin, click on the PDA or AP button, depending on what button your version of the Odin flashing tool has.

9. Navigate to the stock ROM folder and upload the tar.md5 file to this location in Odin.

10. Without changing any of the default settings, click on the Start button in Odin, and the flashing then begins.

11. Wait until Odin shows a Pass message before disconnecting your device.

You can now close the Odin flashing tool and continue using your computer if you like.

It’s usually best to install custom recovery images when you know you aren’t interested in the official Android updates anymore. When you have a device that has only ever been on stock Android, it will never modify the system partition. This also makes it possible for manufacturers and carriers to roll out differential updates, and often these don’t even replace the entire files with new ones. It’s good if you want to limit the size of your new updates, which I something many of us installing OTA’s prefer to do so we can save data, but it also means people who have modified the system partition—with rooting, BusyBox, custom recoveries, having removed system applications, etc.—may experience instability after installing a new official update.

If you know for sure that you want to return your device to the stock recovery, you can do it either one of two ways. There is no “uninstall” button from TWRP, so you have to either flash the stock recovery file or flash the stock ROM that has the stock recovery file in it. The stock recovery can be flashed using the same method that was used for the custom recovery. The stock ROM can be flashed by using the correct flashing tool for your device. As long as your stock ROM is coming from trusted sources, it should contain the stock recovery inside its zip file, and it will get flashed automatically for you when flashing the ROM.

That’s all.