TWRP Custom Recovery has been developed for the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9 Plus as well. The lucky Galaxy S9 or the S9 Plus owners who want to unleash the real power of the phone can now flash the TWRP recovery. The TWRP Recovery can be used to perform various tasks that the phone manufacturer doesn’t want the users to access. If you do not have any past experience of using a TWRP Recovery, then let’s learn a little bit about it first.
Custom recoveries like the TWRP and CWM work in the bootloader of the smartphone. These recoveries replace the stock recovery of a phone. The stock recoveries have limited options that can be used to flash official update files or to factory reset the phone. If you want to take Nandroid Backups or you want to access the advanced Wipe options, you need TWRP recovery for that.
The phone manufacturers never recommend installing a custom recovery as the recoveries are developed by third-party developers. Custom recoveries also void the warranty of a phone which is another reason for the manufacturers to discourage its installation. However, all these reasons are not enough to keep an Android enthusiast from modifying his/her phone.
Now that we are talking about a phone like Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, we will learn about the possibilities of modifications on these phones only. Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are pure powerhouses in their stock form, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go the extra mile to raise their limits. With the help of a TWRP custom recovery on the S9 or S9 Plus, you can install Xposed Framework.
The Xposed Framework has got thousands of modules that can add tons of features to your phone. For instance, you can run YouTube in the background, you can block all those flashy advertisements, you can tweak the battery life and performance of the phone.
Right after installing the TWRP custom recovery on Galaxy S9/S9 Plus, the very first thing you would want to do is going to be backing up the EFS partition. After EFS partition, you can consider backing up Nandroid and all other partitions. Then there is the wipe option which allows wiping Dalvik Cache along with other partitions individually.
TWRP also comes with its own terminal which can be used to sideload apps and ROMs. The install option in the recovery will let the S9 owners install .zip and .img files. Even if you want to root your S9, you are going to need TWRP because this is the only way to flash SuperSU or Magisk on your phone.
I hope all that explanation was good enough to give you a clear idea of TWRP custom recovery and also how it can help your brand new Galaxy S9. Assuming that everything’s clear, we will now have a look at the tutorial to install TWRP Custom Recovery on Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus. Read all the instructions carefully to ensure the successful installation of the recovery.
Contents
Install TWRP Custom Recovery on Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus
Note: These are highly custom processes and are not recommended by device manufacturers. Rooting or flashing custom recovery also voids the warranty of your phone. In case of a mishap, TechBeasts or the recovery developers may not be held responsible. Make sure that you are doing this at your own risk.
Let’s head over to the guide now. Have a look at the tutorial to root your Android Oreo powered Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus now.
Preparing your Galaxy S9/S9 Plus for TWRP recovery
This guide is only for the Galaxy S9 G960F/FD/N and S9 Plus G965F/FD/N Exynos variants.
Charge your phone up to 80% to avoid power issues during the installation process.
Backup your contacts, call logs, SMS messages and important media content.
Enable OEM Unlocking on your phone.
Enable USB debugging mode on your phone as well.
If you are using a Chinese variant of the Galaxy S9/S9 Plus, then unlock its bootloader.
While using Odin3, disable Samsung Kies if you have it installed on your PC.
Use OEM data cable to connect your phone to your PC.
Downloads required
- Download and install Samsung USB drivers on your PC: Download Link with Guide
- Download and extract Odin 3.13.1 on your PC: Download Link with Guide
- Now Download the TWRP Recovery.tar file: TWRP for Galaxy S9 G960F/FD/N | TWRP for Galaxy S9 Plus G965F/FD/N
- Lastly, Download patched boot image file.
Install TWRP on Galaxy S9/S9 Plus running Android Oreo [Exynos]
- Open the Odin3.exe on your computer from the extracted files in Odin.
- In Odin, click on the AP tab and select the recovery.tar file that you just downloaded above.
- The only option checked in Odin should be F.Reset Time. No other option should be ticked.
- Now put your Galaxy S9/S9 Plus in download mode. To do so, turn it off first. Now press and hold the Volume Down + Bixby + Power button for a while. As soon as the phone turns on with a warning, press the Volume Up button to get into download mode.
- Connect your phone to your PC now.
- Odin will recognize the phone and turn the ID: COM box blue. You will also see the “Added” message in the logs box on the lower left side.
- Now press the “Start” button in Odin. It will begin flashing the recovery on your phone.
- As soon as the recovery flashing ends, disconnect your phone from your PC.
- Press and hold the Volume Down + Bixby + Power key once again. As soon as the screen goes black, quickly switch from Volume Down to Volume Up key while keeping Bixby and Power keys pressed.
- Your phone will boot into TWRP recovery now. It will ask you whether you want to allow modifications. Swipe the screen and get into TWRP now.
- In the main menu in TWRP recovery, tap Wipe > Format Data.
- After formatting the data, get back to the main menu in TWRP recovery.
- Connect your phone to your PC now.
- Copy the patched boot image file to your phone’s internal storage.
- Now disconnect your phone.
- In TWRP’s home-screen, tap Install > Install IMG or IMAGE > locate the patched boot image file and flash it.
- You are free to flash Magisk or SuperSU now to root your phone. Have a look at this tutorial. That’s all.
