Install CWM 6 Recovery and Root Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini SPH-L520

By
Usama M
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8

Sprint’s Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini soon followed its siblings and came up modeled as SPH-L520. To enjoy the open nature of Android and go beyond the boundaires on your Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, you surely would like to flash custom ROMs, mods and other stuff available around, but you will need a custom recovery to pave a way for these things on your Sprint Mini S4. In case you own this device and you’ve been looking for a method to install CWM recovery on this device, you’re on the right place at the moment as in the following post we are going to install ClockworkMod 6.0.4.7 and root this device.Root-Samsung-Galaxy-S4-Mini-Sprint

Before we head towards the guide to install CWM 6.0.4.7 recovery and root your Sprint Galaxy S4 Mini SPH-L520, I am assuming that not all of you’re familiar with a custom recovery and the root privileges. To remove any confusions and to make it crystal clear for the newbies, we will first go through brief introduction of the custom recoveries and the root access on an Android device.

Custom Recovery [ClockworkMod]:

A custom recovery allows you to install custom roms, mods etc. Along with these, you can make a Nandroid backup, this helps you a lot as you can move back to the previous working state of your phone at any time you want if you have backed up your current system. In some cases, to root the phone you need to flash SuperSu.zip file in the custom recovery, having installed the recovery may help you while in some cases to install the recovery easily, you need to have the phone rooted. You can also wipe cache and dalvik cache of your phone using a custom recovery

Root Access:

Rooting your phone gives you complete access over all the data which is apparently locked by the manufacturers. This includes removal of the factory restrictions and making changes to the internal system and the operating system. Gaining the root access gives you the privileges to install various applications to enhance the performance of your device, allows you to remove the built-in applications/programs, helps you to upgrade the battery life of your device & install the apps which require the root access for the proper functionality and modify your device in so many other ways e.g using mods and flashing custom recoveries and custom ROMs. There is a laundry list of things you can do after having your device rooted and installed he custom recovery, now once you’re rooted and have installed custom recovery, go ahead and enjoy it on your phone. Here’s our collection of 10 Best Root Apps.

Contents

Here are the pre-installation instructions:

  1. This guide is only for  Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini SPH-L520. Do not try this on any other device, please check your device’s model number in Settings > General > About Device.
  2. Your phone’s battery must be charged at least over 60%. This is highly recommended in order to prevent any power issues during the flashing process.
  3. Make sure that you backup your important media content, Contacts, Call Logs & Messages. This is highly recommended just in case something goes wrong and you need to reset your phone.
  4. Use only OEM data cable to establish connection between your phone and PC. Turn off your Anti Virus and Firewall to prevent any connection issues. Also enable USB debugging mode on your phone if you face connection issues.
  5. Alright! Go ahead, follow this guide to the letter.
Disclaimer: The methods involved in flashing custom ROMs, recoveries and rooting your phone are highly custom and may result in bricking your device, and has nothing to do with Google or the device manufacturer that is SAMSUNG in our case. Also rooting your device will void its warranty and you will be no longer eligible for any kind of free device services by the manufacturers/warranty providers. In case of any mishap we may not be held responsible. Also, if your device comes with Knox Security, you will result in voiding it after you root your device and the Knox counter cannot be reset. Follow these instructions to the letter to avoid any mishap or bricking. Make sure that whatever you do, you are doing it at your own responsibility. 

How Install CWM 6.0.4.7 Recovery on Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini SPH-L520

Files you need to download: 

  1. Download and extract Odin PC – Get it here
  2. Download and Samsung USB Drivers – Get here
  3. Download ClockworkMod-Recovery.tar.md5 file.

Procedure:

  1. Open Odin3.exe from the extracted folder.
  2. Put your Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini SPH-L520 in download mode by pressing and holding Volume Down + Home + Power key at the same time, you should get a screen showing a warning and asking to continue, press Volume Up to continue. If this method doesn’t work, try one from this guide.
  3. Now your phone should be in downloading mode. Connect your phone to your PC.
  4. As soon as Odin detects your phone the ID:COM box will turn light blue.
  5. Click on the PDA tab and select the Recovery.tar.md5  file that you downloaded.
  6. In case you’re using Odin v3.09, you will put the .tar.md5 file in the “AP” tab, rest of the settings should remain untouched in Odin v3.09 as well.
  7. Your Odin screen should look like exactly as shown below.
  8. odin_explained
  9. Click Start and the flashing process should start showing you a process bar in the first box above ID:COM.
  10. The process should finish in a few seconds, once done unplug your device.
  11. Congratulations you have successfully install  CWM recovery on your Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini.

Don’t forget to create a Nandroid Backup once you’ve installed CWM recovery.

How to Root Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini SPH-L520:

  1. You need to install CWM recovery first using the above instructions.
  2. Download SuperSu.zip file now.
  3. Place the downloaded Supersu.zip file on your phone’s external sd card.
  4. Now boot into CWM recovery on your phone.
  5. Once in CWM, select “Install Zip > Choose Zip from SDcard > Select SuperSu.zip > Yes”.
  6. This will flash SuperSu.zip file, once flashing is complete, reboot your device.
  7. Congrats! You’re rooted now!

How to check if your device is rooted or not:

  1.  Download “Root Checker” app from the Google Play Store.
  2. Access the app from the App drawer and open it.
  3. Once opened press “Verify Root”.
  4. It should ask you for SuperSu permissions if your device is rooted, allow if it asks.
  5. Root Checker should show you “Congrats Message” if you’re properly rooted.
  6. That’s all.

That’s all. In case you got any queries or facing any problems regarding this post, feel free to stop by the comment box below and reach us. We will respond you as soon as possible. Thanks all.

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Usama M
Usama is a software engineer by profession and at TechBeasts.com he uses his expertise to solve everyday consumer tech problems with his main areas of interest being Android, iOS and Windows.

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8 COMMENTS

    • Installing the md5 from Odin seems to go without a hitch, but the supersu.zip I’m using in recovery (v1.94) reports that it isn’t signed properly or something … the report flies by so fast that there is no time to read much of it. Perhaps you could direct me to the supersu.zip that you’re using. I’ve had nothing but problems trying to root this phone as yours is the 4th method I’ve tried. I’m afraid that the L520VPUANA7 rom update screwed things with adding Knox and all. At one point I had the thing soft-bricked and I’m actually getting kinda freaked about messing with it anymore. I miss the days when rooting was relatively easy.

  2. After rooting my the SPH-l520 what steps can I take to unlock this phone? Is this even possible? I’ve been searching for this answer for over a week, and have yet to find a good answer. Please help.

    • @edmundoobando:disqus do you have a SIM-locked phone? If so let us know and I’ll do some research work how it can be done. Apparently rooting itself won’t unlock your phone and I guess, sprint’s devices are not bootloader locked.

      • Yes, the phone is Sim-locked. Thanks man, I just want to use it with a prepaid wireless carrier instead of sprint. I’m not sure if region unlock would work for me. Or if I would have to flash a completely new operating system.

  3. Is there somewhere else ClockworkMod for SPH-L520 can be downloaded from since the link in the article no longer exists?

Got a question/query or a suggestion? Drop it below.