The Android recovery mode is a mode of Android used for installing updates. It consists of a

Linux kernel The Linux kernel is a free and open-source, monolithic, modular, multitasking, Unix-like operating system kernel. It was originally authored in 1991 by Linus Torvalds for his i386-based PC, and it was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU ...

with ramdisk on a separate partition from the main Android system. Recovery mode can be useful when a phone is stuck in a

bootloop A bootloop (also named boot loop or boot-loop) is a problem that occurs on computing devices which are unable to complete the regular booting sequence and reboot before it is finished. Examples * Windows NT 4.0 * Windows 2000 * Windows Server ...

or when it has been infected with malware.

Enablement

The way of entering recovery is different for every vendor. Examples: * Nexus 7: Volume Up + Volume Down + Power *

Samsung Galaxy S3 The Samsung Galaxy S III (or Galaxy S3) is an Android smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Samsung Electronics. Launched in 2012, it had sold more than 80 million units overall, making it the most sold phone in the S series. ...

: Volume Up + Home + Power *

Motorola Droid X The Droid X is a smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensiv ...

: Home + Power *

Samsung Galaxy A10s The Samsung Galaxy A10s is an Android-based smartphone designed, developed and marketed by Samsung Electronics as a part of its Galaxy A series. This phone announced on August 27, 2019. The phone was targeted towards low budget category as this ...

: Volume Up + Power

Features

Features of the recovery mode usually include: * Applying updates using the

Android Debug Bridge The Android Debug Bridge (commonly abbreviated as adb) is a programming tool used for the debugging of Android-based devices. The daemon on the Android device connects with the server on the host PC over USB or TCP, which connects to the cli ...

* Applying updates from the

SD card Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between San ...

* Factory resetting * Mounting partitions * Run system test

Custom recovery

The recovery that is preinstalled on Android can be replaced by other software, such as TWRP or

ClockWorkMod ClockworkMod is a software company, owned by Koushik "Koush" Dutta, which develops various software products for Android smartphones and tablets. The company is primarily known for its custom recovery image, ClockworkMod Recovery, which is used in ...

. It can include features such as: * Full backup and restore functionality * Applying unsigned update packages * USB mass storage access to SD cards * Full ADB access, with ADB running as root

References

{{Android Android (operating system)

Enablement

Features

Custom recovery

See also

References