Install TWRP Recovery and Root Galaxy S8 [Exynos]

April 26, 2017

Samsung Galaxy S8 has found its space on the shelves in markets all around the globe. Galaxy S8 comes out as a pure beast from the house of the South Korean giant. Samsung has used a 5.8-inch WQHD display on the phone.

There is a 12 MP shooter at the back of this phone and an 8 MP shooter on the front. Samsung has used its latest Exynos 8895 in some variants of the Galaxy S8. A RAM of 4 GB is placed inside the phone. The standard Galaxy S8 has 64 GB internal storage and it has a 3000 mAh battery juice. Galaxy S8 runs on Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.

Samsung flagship devices have always remained the luckiest ones when it came to Android custom ROMs, custom recoveries, MODs and tweaks development. Same is the case with the Galaxy S8. Android power users who have just got their hands on the Galaxy S8 can now start tweaking their phone to go an extra mile with the Android OS on their phone.

An unofficial build of the only custom recovery available at the moment i.e. TWRP recovery has made its way for the Galaxy S8. This has been done by XDA recognized developer jesec. The TWRP recovery carries the version number 3.1.0-r1.

Not only the recovery is out, the phone has been rooted as well. Of course, this happened only because there was TWRP recovery available. This phone has been rooted using Magisk, the systemless interface. If you are wondering what you will be able to do after both these things or what are the exact advantages of a custom recovery and root, you would want to learn a little bit about it.

With a custom recovery on your S8, you can create and restore a Nandroid backup, EFS backup, and backup of other partitions. TWRP will also let the users wipe cache, Dalvik cache, and any other partition. Other advantages include MTP mode, flashing zip files etc. Rooting the phone has several advantages as well as installing Backup applications, battery enhancing tools and bringing in new features.

Galaxy S8 owners looking for a method to install custom recovery and root their device can have a look at the method here to install TWRP and root Galaxy S8 SM-G950F, G950FD, G950N, G950X.

Preparing your Galaxy S8 for TWRP recovery

Make sure your Galaxy S8 is powered up with Exynos CPU. Check your phone’s model number in Settings > About device section.
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.
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
Also, Download and extract Odin 3.12.3 on your PC: Download Link with Guide
Download the TWRP Recovery.tar file carefully.

Contents

Install TWRP Recovery and Root Galaxy S8

Open the Odin3.exe on your computer from the extracted files of 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 S8 in download mode. To do so, turn it off first. Now press and hold 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, 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 TWRP, tap Install > Install Zip > go into /twres/flashables/ > select no-verity-opt-encrypt.zip file > swipe to confirm flash.
In the main menu in TWRP recovery, tap Advanced Wipe > Wipe the Data Partition.
Once again get back to the main menu in TWRP recovery, tap Install > Install Zip > \twres\flashables/ > Magisk-v12.0-arm64.zip > swipe to confirm flash.
Reboot your phone into the system now.
Your phone has the TWRP recovery now and it is rooted using Magisk. That’s all. Enjoy 🙂