How To Install CWM Recovery On Your Android Phone

If you need to install a custom ROM image, you will need to replace the stock recovery mode which comes in Android devices with a more powerful custom recovery image. The most popular custom recovery image for Android is CWM Recovery (ClockWorkMod) developed by  Koushik Dutta. This post explains how to install CWM recovery on your phone.

The key features of CWM recovery are:

• Manage your ROMs via a handy UI.
• Organize and perform (nandroid) backups and restores from within Android!
• Install ROMs from your SD card.
• Install your favorite ROMs over the air!

Pre-requisite: You phone should have a rooted phone to install a custom ROM or a recovery image. Please see How to Root Your Android Phone.

How To Install CWM Recovery On Your Android Phone

Installing ClockWorkMode recovery to your device is quite easy. Here are two methods to install CWM recovery – the first one being way easier than the second as it can be done without the need of a computer.

How To Install CWM with ROM Manager

This is the official and quickest way to install CWM recovery to your android device.

1. Root your device
2. Download “ROM Manager” APK from the Play Store
3. Open ROM Manager and select Recovery Setup.
4. Under the Install or update recovery, tap on ClockWorld Recovery.
5. ROM Manager will identify your phone model, if the identified model is correct then click on Flash ClockworkMod Recovery.
6. Install latest CWM recovery for your device.
7. Reboot into stock recovery and choose “re-install package” two times to temporary load CWM recovery in memory.

How To Install CWM with ODIN (Samsung Devices)

1. Download Odin v 3.07 on your PC, download link.
2. Download CWM recovery (.tar) file, download link.
3. Enable Developer Mode in your phone
4. Turn on USB debugging (Go to Settings > Developer options > Turn on USB debugging).
5. Run Odin v 3.07 as an administrator.
6. Switch off your device, go to download mode (volume down + home screen button+ power button), then press volume up to continue and connect to your PC.
7. When Odin recognizes your device, click on the PDA option and navigate to the CWM recovery (.tar) file where you have downloaded it.
8. Select CWM recovery file and hit Start.
9. As soon as your device starts rebooting, unplug your device and remove the battery of your device.
10. Now you can access CWM recovery by pressing volume down +home screen button + power button.

Accessing CWM Recovery

• For Samsung Phones – press the volume plus and home button and power button all at the same time.
• For most other phones – press the volume down and power button at the same time.

Navigating within CWM Recovery

After installing CWM recovery, you can press volume down or volume up to navigate and power button to select any option.

We hope you found this tutorial useful. Let us know whether it helped you in the comments section below.

You might also want to check out how to use applications from other country’s Play stores by changing your Android Google Play Store’s country setting.