What is Custom Recovery in Android?

Before starting a discussion over this topic, first, let me introduce you to custom recovery and its role in Android devices.

Custom Recovery

Have you ever tried to root your Android or installing any custom ROM, then one thing you always came across is custom recovery?

It plays a pivotal role in this area.

Custom recovery is needed to be flash to install any third-party version of the operating system in Android or rooting the Android.

Let’s talk about rooting in Android.

Rooting in Android

It means increasing the accessibility of any Android device.

For example, you can edit everything that you were not allowed to edit or the device manufacturer has restricted to edit. This can increase the customizations in your device.

You can do new things in your device that can’t be done otherwise.

After rooting the Android device, some apps can use the rooting to provide more advantages for customizing the device like Greenify can select some of the apps and freeze them to boost the performance of the device and Xposed Framework can provide a lot of modifications on the User Interface of the device.

I hope everything is clear with Android rooting. Now, let us move further to discuss the custom ROM.

Custom ROM in Android

Since Android is open-source, so developers can edit the source code, recompile and re-release it by modifying it.

Custom ROM is a phone’s firmware based on the Android platform by Google and these ROMs are solely responsible to make changes in Android devices.

They are free of cost because developers of Android develop this for the passion of modding. Custom ROMs are available for all the devices that run from Android like smartwatches, tablets, media players, etc.

When you buy your Android, there is a preinstalled operating system called ‘stock ROM’ already present in your device.

This ROM limits its functionality as per the manufacturer.

Flashing custom ROM can help in making changes on the device as well as improving its performance.

There are many benefits of installing custom ROM in Android.

• It can increase the performance by removing bloatware also called OEM-installed apps. Also, they can overclock the hardware which means that their speed can be clocked to get a performance boost.
• Custom ROMs can make the processor run at a slower speed so that the battery consumption becomes less. Also removing the bloatware, makes lesser apps run in the background making the CPU do less work thereby consuming the battery.
• The worst part of any Android is that you have to wait for updates by the manufacturer. But in custom ROM, we can easily get the newest version of Android. Also, some ROMs can get updated daily. These updates are called ‘Nightlies’.

Let me take you to the stock ROM.

Stock ROM

Since it is an operating system that is already present in the Android, so no modification can be done on it. However, there are many advantages of stock ROM which includes:-

• It is not going to void the warranty of the Android device. Rooting will void the warranty of Android and this is the reason why users don’t go for custom ROMs. Most of the manufacturers prohibit the rooting or installing any third-party Android version.
• There are some pre-installed apps which are not there in custom ROMs.
• Along with apps, there are some premium features in stock ROM which are not there in custom ROMs. These features include a home screen, app drawer, etc.

There are a lot more benefits of custom recoveries.

Benefits of custom recoveries

1. It makes the third-party custom ROMs to flash with ease.
2. Access to more of the User Interface features.
3. It creates a backup which means that everything can be restored in the device through backup if something goes wrong.
4. Providing the rooting function to the Android.
5. It helps in flashing the zip.

And there are many more benefits like this!

Some popular custom recoveries

Some of the most widely used custom recoveries include Clockworkmod(CWM), Carliv Touch Recovery (CTR), Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP), Cannibal Open Touch (COT), etc.

Let me take you to them one after another.

Clockworkmod(CWM)

CWM is popularly known as Clockwork recovery and clockwork.

It is a recovery option for Android devices including features like creating and restoring NANDroid backup- backup of the entire file system of Android, advanced update.zip options which means ignoring asserts and signature checks, ADB shell and update.zip to be chosen from the file browser.

It offers a ROM manager along with a file browser.

The ROM Manager is used for installing CWM as well as overwriting the stock memory of the device and update the changes in the software of the device.

CWM is solely responsible for replacing the primary operating system of the Android device.

Once the CWM is installed, it can be accessed by turning off the device and then triggering the bootloader prompt by holding any device-dependent button after turning on.

Carliv Touch Recovery(CTR)

It is also a custom recovery that provides more features than stock recovery.

It is not better than TWRP but it will do its work in a very fine way.

It includes all the functions of CWM along with some extra support and features. It is currently an outdated version since its update takes too long and is a more lengthy process.

This is the reason it is not used much.

Team Win Recovery Project(TWRP)

It is a software with open-source functionality to install third-party firmware and provide backup to the current system which is not there in stock recovery. It is the most widely used custom recovery with its updates occurring for all types of Android devices and all versions.

The main feature of TWRP is being independent of the device that is rooted before installation.

It provides full-backup functionality for the Android device along with a file manager to save, store and delete the unwanted files and fix the issues related to the device.

Cannibal Open Touch(COT)

The most widely used custom recovery includes Clockworkmod and Team Win Recovery Project.

There is a new recovery that is made based on the CyanogenMod recovery with a lot of new features like UI having full touch function, backup and restore, theme support, etc.

Some salient features of Cannibal Open Touch include:-

• Advanced backup.
• Deleting old backups.
• Complete theme support.
• Sideload of ADB.
• Persistence in settings.
• Backup locations to be defined by the user.
• Support by GooManager.
• Calibration of the touchscreen.
• Button controls in touchscreen.

And many more!

This was all about custom recovery which is very important during the rooting of the device and custom ROM installation.

You can choose the custom recovery you wish for from the above options. You can choose the best recovery by your device type and Android version.

All you need to do is to remove the stock recovery or the pre-installed recovery and install the custom recovery you prefer.

Keep in mind that this custom recovery will result in void of warranty of your device and you will stop getting the premium features that you were getting from stock recovery earlier.

Still, you are going to get a lot of benefits from it along with the modification of the device.

I hope you enjoyed!

Lucas Hayden

Hello! My name is Lucas, and I am the creator of ursuperb.com. I’ve been writing about technology for almost 10 years now, and I love talking about tech news, reviews, and tutorials. I’m currently living in San Francisco, CA, and I’ve been blogging professionally since 2012. I love what I do, and I really enjoy interacting with people online. I believe in creating positive change for humanity, and I try to inspire others to do the same. You can read more about me here.

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