The Android operating system comes with some extra coolness thanks to the fact that it is based on open source software. Its open source nature means that people can have a play around with it and create something else. You’ll never be able to show what you’ve made on people’s mobile devices as official Android software updates, but there’s nothing stopping you from creating your own custom ROM.

And that’s precisely what some third-party developers do: they create new ROMs that people find appealing and then those people start using them over what Android offers as the default operating system.

You can get a custom ROM flashed a couple of ways: by using a root applications or a custom recovery image. Most people stick with just flashing the files manually from a custom recovery image, after finding out what ROMs are available from the XDA-Developers web forum.

There isn’t a huge difference in terms of efficiency for how you go about getting a custom recovery and root access. You could get root by using a one-click rooting tool and then flash a custom ROM using a root application or you could flash the custom recovery and flash the rooting files directly from the custom recovery image itself. Both end up being about the same amount of effort. But you won’t always find a one-click rooting tool available to use for all devices whereas, as long as you know you have a custom recovery image, there’s always a way to get root access with apps like SuperSU.

This is how to go about installing TWRP Recovery on the Lenovo A7000-a smartphone.

Details We Should Know

  • The custom recovery images available in this guide are only to be installed on the Lenovo A7000-a 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.
  • You can install the official TWRP Recovery application from the Google Play Store or from the TWRP website as an apk, if you have root access on the device already, and get the TWRP installed that way, no ADB required. Once the app is installed, it will be in your Downloads folder. Navigate to the Downloads folder and select the TWRP application. When the application opens tap on the option for flashing the TWRP.
  • This device has its own support thread made on the XDA-Developers web forum if you need to ask any questions.

Files We Need

How to Install TWRP Recovery on Lenovo A7000-a Smartphones

1. Make sure you’ve installed the universal ADB drivers on the computer. That will make it possible for you to use adb commands as well as the Lenovo A7000-a smartphone. If you can’t get the Lenovo A7000-a smartphone connected to the computer, then you can also download the Lenovo USB drivers instead so the computer has both the ADB drivers and Lenovo 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 Lenovo A7000-a 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 Lenovo A7000-a 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 Lenovo A7000-a 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.imgcommand and hit “Enter” on your keyboard to flash the custom recovery.

9. Lastly type the fastboot reboot command and as soon as the Lenovo A7000-a 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 Lenovo A7000-a smartphone is now installed, and you are ready to boot into recovery mode and start flashing the custom ROM or rooting zip files.

TWRP Application

If you decided to download the TWRP application from the Google Play Store or the apk file from the official TWRP website, then after you open the application you will be given a few different options to choose from. But before even going that far, it’s important to note that you should only install the TWRP apk file from the official TWRP website. If you’re installing it from Git, or any other file hosting website, it might not be the official version, and thus, it won’t have been built or tested by the official TWRP developers and maintainers.

Once the application is open, you’ll need to agree to not hold anyone from TWRP responsible for any issues that your device may face while using the application. This is a standard disclaimer that Team Win puts on top of each of the recovery image files from the official website as well, so it’s nothing new. It just explains that it is your decision to put the custom recovery on your device, and while they work hard to provide a quality product, there are no guarantees that your device isn’t susceptible to damages relating to TWRP while the custom recovery is installed. You can grant the application root permissions now as well. Root access can be obtained by flashing SuperSU, or other appropriate rooting files, from the custom recovery itself. Without root, you won’t have access to some of the app’s features, such as image flashing. It’s here also where you can enable InsightCore (a feature to monitor and record the network performance of your device).

Once you’ve accepted the agreements, you’ll see the TWRP applications home screen, where you can choose to flash TWRP or view the network statistics. When choosing to flash the custom recovery, you’ll need to scroll and select your device from the list to make sure you are flashing the correct file. When the device is chosen, the TWRP application automatically then searches for the latest version of the TWRP for that device and will continue doing so every day for as long as the app is installed. This interval can also be altered from the Settings in the top right-hand corner of the device’s display when the apps open.

If root access has been enabled, you’ll see the chance to select the custom recovery image and the buttons for flashing the images to boot or from recovery. You should choose to flash the images to recovery. Only use the boot image flashing when you are flashing full boot images, not just kernel zimages.

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