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How to Permanently Install TWRP without TWRP ZIP File (only using TWRP.img file)

In this tutorial, we will show you how to permanently install TWRP recovery on any Android device in the Recovery Ramdisk, using only the TWRP IMG file. Long story short, the TWRP.img file is used to boot your device to TWRP recovery, and then you flash the twrp.zip file to permanently install. But not every device has a ZIP file of this custom recovery.

As a result, they boot their device to the TRWP recovery via the IMG file and in the next boot, it gets replaced with stock recovery.  Today we will address all these issues. We will show you how to permanently install the TWRP Recovery via just the TWRP.img file. Follow along. It was all so good until Google decided to bring in the A/B partition thing. This dual-slot resulted in a slew of changes, most noticeably in the recovery partition being removed.

Yes, now there is no recovery partition, rather everything is now taken care of by the boot partition. This is the reason why you cannot simply flash the twrp recovery using the fastboot flash recovery recovery.img command. We first have to boot the twrp using the fastboot boot twrp.img command. Once the IMG file gets booted, you could then flash the ZIP file to make it permanent.

What if you don’t flash the ZIP file? Well then after each boot, the custom recovery will be replaced with the stock recovery. So you will have to connect the device to the PC send in the fastboot boot command every time you need to use the TWRP. This definitely requires a lot of effort. But the thing is not users have a say in this.

We are seeing many devices only have the TWRP IMG file but not the ZIP file. As a result, these users can’t get a taste of what the permanent TWRP feels like. If you are also sailing in the same boat, then this guide will come in handy. Today, we will show you how to Permanently Install TWRP without the TWRP ZIP file in the Recovery Ramdisk, only using the TWRP IMG file. Follow along.



How to Permanently Install TWRP without TWRP ZIP File (only using TWRP.img file)

There are some things that could easily be done without a TWRP Recovery, for example, you could easily root your device without TWRP. But for a plethora of other things (most importantly flashing a Custom ROM), TWRP is a must. Well, we could go on and on as to why we need a custom recovery like TWRP, but since you have come here, you already knew about all this.

So let’s get straight to the point. Follow the below prerequisites and make sure you meet each of them. Only after that, you should proceed with the installation instructions. Droidwin and its members wouldn’t be held responsible in case of a thermonuclear war, your alarm doesn’t wake you up, or if anything happens to your device by performing the below steps.

Prerequisites

  • First and foremost, check if your device has a Ramdisk or not. To do so, install the Magisk Manager app on your device and then launch it (it doesn’t require root). Now check for the status next to Ramdisk. If it says YES, then proceed ahead with the steps to permanently install TWRP, otherwise, it is not advised (the tech enthusiasts could still try out this tweak on their devices if they wish).recovery ramdisk samsung magisk
  • Along the same lines, I haven’t tested this method on Samsung devices. But judging by the fact that it requires flashing the TWRP TAR file via Odin, these steps might not work on Samsung devices either. Again if you wish to retry, you are more than welcome, though at your own risk. Whatever is the result, do let me know in the comments so that it may help out other users as well.
  • With that said, let’s now come to the requirements of this article to permanently install TWRP. So to begin with, make sure you have your device’s TWRP.img file. If you don’t have it yet, then head over to the TWRP official page and download the same. Or if there’s no official build, search for an unofficial one over at XDA. Even if that is futile, drop in your device name in the comments, we will help you out.
  • Furthermore, install the Android SDK and Platform Tools on your PC. This will be needed so that your device is recognized by your PC in fastboot mode.

STEP 1: Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlock

oem unlock usb debugging

To begin with, you will have to enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking on your device. The former will make your device recognizable by the PC in ADB mode. This will then allow you to boot your device to Fastboot Mode. On the other hand, OEM Unlocking is required to carry out the bootloader unlocking process. So head over to Settings > About Phone > Tap on Build Number 7 times > Go back to Settings > System > Advanced > Developer Options > Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking.

STEP 2: Transferring of TWRP

First off, rename the downloaded twrp recovery to just twrp. The complete name will hence be twrp.img. Then transfer this twrp.img file to the platform-tools folder. Furthermore, also make a copy of this recovery and transfer it to your device. Just a simple Copy (Ctrl+C) and Paste (Ctrl+V) will do.



STEP 3: Launch the Command Prompt

Head over to the platform-tools folder and in the address bar, type in CMD and hit Enter. This will launch the Command Prompt.

command prompt twrp

STEP 4: Boot your device to TWRP

  1. To boot your device to TWRP, connect it to your PC via USB Cable.
  2. Then in the command prompt that you had opened in the above step (3), enter the below command to boot your device to Bootloader/Fastboot mode
    adb reboot bootloader
  3. Once that is done, execute the below command just to make sure that your device has been successfully booted to fastboot:
    fastboot devices

    Useful ADB_Fastboot Commands- fastboot devices

  4. If you get an alphanumeric string followed by the fastboot text, then the boot to fastboot is successful. Now type in the below command to boot your device to TWRP:
    fastboot boot twrp.img

    twrp

  5. Your device will now boot to TWRP Recovery. It’s now time to permanently install this TWRP Recovery onto your device in the Recovery Ramdisk using just the TWRP.img file. Follow along.

STEP 5: Permanently Flash TWRP

Even though now your device has been booted to the TWRP Recovery, it is just a temporary boot. The next reboot will replace this custom recovery with the stock one. So it is now time to make it permanent. As already mentioned, we would only be using the twrp.img file. Here is how to proceed ahead:

  1. Inside the TWRP, head over to Advanced.
  2. Now select the Install Recovery Ramdisk option.
  3. Navigate to the twrp.img file and perform a right swipe to install it.
    permanently install twrp img flash install recovery ramdisk
  4. When that is done go back to the Advanced menu. This time select the Fix Recovery Bootloop option.
    permanently install twrp fix recovery bootloop
  5. Hit the Swipe to Confirm button to fix this bootloop. When that is done, head over to the Reboot option and reboot to Recovery.
  6. When your device reboots to TWRP again, you could now boot your device to the system. For that, head over to Reboot and tap on System.

So with this, you have now permanently installed the TWRP Recovery in the Recovery Ramdisk on your device using the twrp.img file. Do share your views on the same, in the comments section. Likewise, if you are having any issues with respect to any of the above-mentioned steps, do let us know your queries in the comments.


Using the Flash Current TWRP Feature

Instead of using the Install Recovery Ramdisk option, you could now also use the Flash Current TWRP option. The benefit of this method over the former one is the fact that you would no longer have to manually select the twrp.img file and then flash it [you will not have to perform the third point in the below instruction]. Rather as soon as you select the Flash Current TWRP option, it will automatically (and permanently) flash the TWRP.img file on your behalf.

flash current twrp install to ramdisk

This feature has just been added officially over to TWRP 3.6.0 (and on some older TWRP 3.5 versions). So to try it out, you need to go to the Advanced menu of TWRP and just select Flash Current TWRP. Once done, make sure to fix the recovery bootloop from the Advanced section as well.

Fix TWRP Install Recovery Ramdisk Option Missing

If your device has the recovery partition, then you might not see the Install Recovery Ramdisk option. This is because you wouldn’t even need this feature in the first place.  You could directly flash the TWRP to the recovery partition using the Fastboot Commands or from the TWRP Recovery itself. Here’s how:

Using Fastboot Command:

Boot your device to Fastboot and use the below command to permanently flash the TWRP using just its IMG file:

fastboot flash recovery twrp.img

Using TWRP itself

  1. First off, place the twrp.img file to the platform-tools folder on your PC and to your device’s internal storage as well.
  2. Then temporary boot your device to TWRP using the below command:
    fastboot boot twrp.img
  3. After that, go to the Install section and tap on the Install Image button.
  4. Now select the twrp.img file and subsequently choose the Recovery partition.
    permanently install twrp
  5. TWRP will now be permanently flashed onto your device.
  6. Once done, it is recommended to reboot your device to TWRP from Reboot > Recovery.
    permanently install twrp
  7. After that, you may reboot the device to the OS via Reboot > System.

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  • Hello, i am having problems in the installing part, neither boot and flash work for me, i read it is because my device is neither A or B, but “vendor”, and that those 2 commands would not work for that, what i can do in this case?

  • galaxy tab s2 t818w not getting a response from fastboot devices.
    everything up to that works as you show .
    what am i missing ?

    win10 pc

  • Itel p15 w5005 trwp img please 🙏 thanks

  • im having issues i enter the following commands

    fastboot boot twrp.img and i get error
    too many links tried on usb 3.0 and 2.0

    then i ran under linux

    sudo ./fastboot boot twrp.img and i get error status read failed (protocol error) in linux

    any help please?

  • Xiaomi Redmi 9c NFC
    A/partition system
    RAM disk – OK
    Bootloader unlocked, USB debuging OK
    Procedure:
    adb reboot bootloader
    fastboot devices
    fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
    – TWRP installed
    Next reboot to System – OK
    Next reboot to Recovery – reverted to stock recovery
    What to do?
    Regards!

  • Jean-Noël HAMON

    Device: OnePlus 8 Pro (256 GB RAM)
    OS: OxygenOS 11.0.10..10 IN11BA (last OTA update installed on 12/26/2021)
    Root with Magisk (installed version 23.0)
    Hello
    I just carefully read your tutorial on installing TWRP
    My device is in “bootloader” mode all the time
    The version on the official website of TWRP for my device is shown:
    OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro (instantnoodle & instantnoodlep)
    Link: https://twrp.me/oneplus/oneplus8p.html
    Can you confirm that this version is for my device?
    On the other hand, I would also like to know if the device will still be rooted after installing TWRP? If not, will the root have to redo with a Magisk.zip file via TWRP after its installation?
    Finally, I think all my data will be deleted from the OnePlus device with the installation of TWRP?
    Thank you in advance for your help. I am waiting for your information before installing the version of TWRP mentioned earlier in this message if this version is the right one for you.
    Best regards,
    Jean-Noel

  • Hello, unfortunately this option “Install Recovery Ramdisk” doesn’t exist in my TWRP, any other options?

  • Officer X

    when i ran that command:
    fastboot boot twrp.img
    my xiaomi redmi 9 lancelot bootloader unlocked rebooted, when i put it in recovery, it was the stock recovery any ideea?? :((

  • Hi! Every time i use ‘fastboot boot twrp.img’ command i get this error:
    FAILED (remote: ‘unlock device to use this command’)

    What am i doing wrong?

    • Sadique Hassan

      Hi Bart, your device’s bootloader is still locked. You will have to unlock it first before using the fastboot boot twrp.img command

  • Amit Dhiman

    Hi, I am having YOTAPHONE 3 brought from china. It does have twrp for it on XDA Developers sites but when I install it and reboot to the normal system there in file manager I see all folder shows 0Bytes size and even in settings>app there also all app shows size in Bytes only.
    So can you please write one post on “how to port TWRP for your phone” as your way of explaining things is very simplified and complete.

    Thanks

  • Gerd Schuster

    Hello, I am trying your tutorial on a Samsung Galaxy S6. Later I want to apply my knowledge on a Galaxy S9+.
    Samsung devices do not know “fastboot”. Therefore, I get to step 4. I can not do anything with “fastboot devices”. How can I continue from this step?
    I also read other of your tutorials and found a hint that this could also go from the TWRP? Or can I continue working from ODIN?

    • Sadique Hassan

      Hi Gerd, I would suggest that you don’t follow these steps on your Samsung device. Rather stick with the Odin method of flashing (AP section of Odin –> twrp.tar), then booting to TWRP and decrypting the data partition via DM-Verity disabler ZIP file. If you need a comprehensive guide on all this, do let me know, I will cover it.

      • I need
        Can you help me

      • Gerd Schuster

        Thank you very much for the quick answer. I will follow your advice.
        Thanks also for the many instructions on your website. I have been working with Root, Magisk, TWRP and Custom ROM for a few years. I was able to acquire a little knowledge. But now I have read so many new things on your site. I have to process that and try it out. 🙂

  • Steven Hazen

    Hi, I followed your instructions to the dot and everytime I enter the boot twrp.img command it will boot up normally from the bootloader where I just entered the commands.

    • Sadique Hassan

      Hi Steven, apologies for the delay. I guess your device might be having the recovery partition. In that case, you could directly flash the TWRP to the recovery partition via the following command: fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
      Do let me know the results as well.

  • Miguel Sanchez

    Good day, I followed your advice but every time I install a custom ROM it reboots in the TWRP, you can tell me how I remove the permanent TWRP installation.

    • Sadique Hassan

      Custom ROM rebooting back to TWRP isn’t really related to the permanent installation of TWRP. I guess you are using an A/B partition device and after flashing the ROM, you haven’t switched the slot. So try switching the slot to the inactive one and reboot your device. Your issue should be rectified. Anyways, to remove the permanent TWRP installation, then you might have to completely go back to the stock ROM (to remove all the modifications such as TWRP, root). Then you may use the fastboot boot recovery_name.img command to temporarily boot your device to recovery (hence the next time you reboot, TWRP will be re[placed with the stock one).