Getting the device ready for custom ROMs

Intro

So, you've unlocked your PDA's bootloader. Now, all that's left to do before you can start installing custom ROMs is to install TWRP & make sure it's not replaced by the stock recovery. Here's my guide (among infinite amount of guides) to prepare a PDA for a custom ROM.

This guide assumes you're on Windows & have adb & fastboot tools ready. If you haven't, search it on the internet. In addition, for Windows users, powershell will require adding .\ before the commands.

If you're using Linux & have fastboot tools installed (Arch distros, as an example, has android-tools in the main repo), open the terminal in the directory containing the recovery files instead. The commands stay the same.

A-only partitioned devices (Poco F1, OnePlus 3T)

1. Plug PDA to PC, boot to fastboot
2. Using the file explorer, browse to the directory containing adb / fastboot tools. Then, press shift & right click, & click on the "open PowerShell window here". Test for device detection by entering "fastboot devices".
3. Afterwards, type "fastboot flash recovery (name of recovery).img.
4. Boot to TWRP by either using button combo / fastboot boot recovery / fastboot boot (name of recovery).img
5. Install Magisk. This roots the stock OS, as well as preventing it from replacing TWRP. Version required depends on the stock OS' Android version. For example, Pie tops out at 19.3, A10 & A11 up to 22.1.
6. Wipe Dalvik & Cache & reboot to system.

A-only 2SI (Xiaomi) (Poco X3[N/P])

1. Plug PDA to PC, boot to fastboot
2. Using the file explorer, browse to the directory containing adb / fastboot tools. Then, press shift & right click, & click on the "open PowerShell window here". Test for device detection by entering "fastboot devices".
3. Afterwards, type "fastboot flash recovery (name of recovery).img.
4. Boot to TWRP by either using button combo (usually power & volume up) / fastboot boot recovery / fastboot boot (name of recovery).img
5. Flash the latest Xiaomi.eu ROM zip (or latest MIUI firmware depending on your variant) for your PDA, format data, & reboot to recovery once it's done. From this step, you can immediately proceed to flash a custom ROM.

A/B partitioned devices (Pixel XL, Mi A1, Mi A2, Zenfone 6)

1. Plug PDA to PC, boot to fastboot
2. Using the file explorer, browse to the directory containing adb / fastboot tools. Then, press shift & right click, & click on the "open PowerShell window here. Test for device detection by entering "fastboot devices".
3. Afterwards, type "fastboot boot (name of recovery).img.
4. Install TWRP installer zip (or install TWRP img in Advanced > Install Recovery Ramdisk) for your device & reboot to recovery
5. Install Magisk. This roots the stock OS, as well as preventing it from replacing TWRP. Version required depends on the stock OS' Android version. For example, Pie tops out at 19.3, A10 & A11 up to 22.1.
On the Mi A2 (latest stock A10, Nebrassy's TWRP 3.5.1), I find it unnecessary to flash Magisk.


6. Wipe Dalvik (& Cache, if available) & reboot to system.

LG V30 is an exception from the above.

• Most LG V30 requires following the WTF method (archive), step 6 - the "Installing TWRP & rooting" section.
• On the other hand, T-Mobile V30 (H932) must use lafsploit (archive), since the required fastboot commands (fastboot flash / boot) are unavailable.
• Regardless, after either WTF / lafsploit is done (depending on your V30 variant), you have to update to the latest firmware before using a custom ROM. As an example, 20h is required for most Pie AOSP ROMs, but you need 20e, 20f, & 20g as the base for 20h.

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