Howto: Using the Recovery

Recovery Mode (recovery.img) is a special piece of software that gives you access to administrative functions, such as installing the base system (ROM), making backups, and performing a 'factory reset'. There are several different versions of recovery.img, each with it's strengths and weaknesses. For more on how to install a custom recovery.img, please see the device specific page.

Contents 1 Booting into the Recovery 2 NANDroid backups 2.1 Making a backup 2.2 Restoring a backup 2.3 Manually restoring an *.img in fastboot 3 Custom Recovery Images 3.1 Amon_Ra's Recovery 3.2 ClockworkMod Recovery

Booting into the Recovery

There are several options to boot into a custom recovery image.

If the Android SDK is installed on the computer, you can use the command:

adb reboot recovery

From the terminal on the device, you can use the command:

reboot recovery

Or, you can use the following button combinations while powering up the device:

Device	How to Boot into the Recovery?
Advent Vega
Barnes & Noble Nook Color	Hold Power & "n button" down until the device turns on and off again. Then press Power to turn the device on normally and access the recovery.
Commtiva Z71	Hold Camera, Volume Up and Power together to boot into the recovery menu.
Geeksphone One	Hold Volume up, the Camera & the Power buttons until the device boots to the recovery.
Geeksphone One
HTC Ace	Hold Volume Down & the Power buttons until the device boots to the recovery.
HTC Aria	Hold the Volume down & the Power buttons until the device boots into recovery. Once in the bootloader wait a few seconds for checks to complete and then select recovery.
HTC Desire (CDMA)
HTC Desire (GSM)	Hold Volume Down and the Power button, then use Volume Down to highlight "bootloader" and press the Power button to select it. Once in the bootloader, use Volume Down to select "recovery" and press the Power button to select.
HTC Dream	Hold the Home & the Power buttons until the device boots to the recovery.
HTC Evo 4G	Hold Volume Down & the Power buttons until the device boots to recovery, or hboot. If the latter, wait until the menu appears, then press Volume Down to highlight RECOVERY then Power to select and then boot into recovery.
HTC Evo Shift 4G	Hold Volume Down & the Power buttons until the device boots to recovery, or hboot. If the latter, wait until the menu appears, then press Volume Down to highlight RECOVERY then Power to select and then boot into recovery.
HTC Glacier	Hold Volume Down & the Power buttons until the device boots to the recovery.
HTC Hero (CDMA)	Hold the Home & the Power buttons until the device boots to the recovery.
HTC Hero (GSM)	Hold the Home & the Power buttons until the device boots to the recovery.
HTC Incredible	Hold Volume Down & the Power button until the device boots to the bootloader. Once in the bootloader, use Volume Down to select "recovery" and press the Power button to select.
HTC Legend	Press down on the Trackball, hold Volume Down & the Power button until the device boots to the bootloader. Once in the bootloader, use Volume Down to select "recovery" and press the Power button to select.
HTC Magic	Hold the Home & the Power buttons until the device boots to the recovery.
HTC Slide	Hold Volume Down & the Power button until the device boots to the bootloader. Once in the bootloader, use Volume Down to select "recovery" and press the Power button to select.
HTC Tattoo	Hold the Home & the Power buttons until the device boots to the recovery.
HTC Vision	Press down on the Trackball, hold Volume Down & the Power button until the device boots to the bootloader. Once in the bootloader, use Volume Down to select "recovery" and press the Power button to select.
HTC Wildfire	Hold Volume Down & the Power button until the device boots to the bootloader. Once in the bootloader, use Volume Down to select "recovery" and press the Power button to select.
LG Optimus 2X	Hold Volume Down & the Power button until the device boots to the recovery.
Motorola Cliq XT	Hold Camera & the Power button until the device indicates to stop. Then press the Volume Down button to boot to the recovery.
Motorola Droid	Hold the X key on the keyboard & the Power button until the device boots to the recovery.
Nexus One	Press down on the Trackball & hold the Power button until the device boots to the bootloader. Once in the bootloader, press the Power button once, use Volume Down to select "recovery" and press the Power button to select.
Nexus S	Hold Volume Up & the Power button until the device boots to the recovery.
Samsung Captivate	Hold Volume Up, Volume Down, & the Power button, continue to hold all three until the screen flashes, then release all buttons.
Samsung Fascinate	Hold Volume Up, Volume Down, & the Power button, continue to hold all three until the screen flashes, then release all buttons.
Samsung Galaxy S	Hold Volume Up, Home, & the Power button, continue to hold all three until the screen flashes, then release all buttons.
Samsung Galaxy S II	Hold Volume Up, Home, & the Power button, continue to hold all three until the screen flashes, then release all buttons.
Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T)	Hold Volume Up, Volume Down, & the Power button, continue to hold all three until the screen flashes, then release all buttons.
Samsung Mesmerize	Hold Volume Up, Volume Down, & the Power button, continue to hold all three until the screen flashes, then release all buttons.
Samsung Showcase	Hold Volume Up, Volume Down, & the Power button, continue to hold all three until the screen flashes, then release all buttons.
Samsung Vibrant	Hold Volume Up, Volume Down, & the Power button, continue to hold all three until the screen flashes, then release all buttons.
ZTE Blade	Press Volume Down and Power.
ZTE V9	Press Volume Down and Power.

NANDroid backups

A utility, accessible through Recovery Mode, that allows you to backup the device and restore to the exact condition at backup.

Making a backup

1. Boot into Recovery Mode
2. Select Backup/Restore (may vary depending on recovery.img)
3. Select Nand Backup (may vary depending on recovery.img)
4. Follow on screen directions to complete
5. Wait for it to complete.

Congratulations, you now have a Nandroid backup!

Restoring a backup

1. Boot into Recovery Mode
2. Select Backup/Restore (may vary depending on recovery.img)
3. Select Nand Restore (may vary depending on recovery.img)
4. Select your 'Device-ID' from the list (You will most likely only have one device listed)
5. Select the backup you want to restore (Latest should be last on list)
6. Follow on screen directions to complete
7. Wait for it to complete.

Congratulations, you now have restored to a previous Nandroid backup!

Manually restoring an *.img in fastboot

1. Copy Nandroid folder off SD card onto computer
2. cd to Nandroid folder
3. Boot into fastboot
4. fastboot flash [partition] [partition.img]

Custom Recovery Images

The two most popular custom recovery images are Amon_Ra's Recovery and ClockworkMod Recovery. The features of each are detailed below:

Amon_Ra's Recovery

ClockworkMod Recovery