If it weren’t for the long queues and that invite system we would have seen a huge increase in what was said to be the ‘2016 flagship killer’ but nevertheless is a very solid phone, the OnePlus 2. Armed with flagship specifications that give big money companies such as Samsung and HTC a run for their money OnePlus has certainly set a benchmark on how quality and performance can be achieved without applying any pressure on pricing.
One of the many reasons that OnePlus was also hugely successful last year was that it was offering a near stock Android experience when it partnered with CyanogenMod. And the trend continues even though their relation went south with the Oxygen OS. Apart from a few extra additions the OnePlus 2 offers complete stock Android.
This does mean that developer will just love playing around with this phone for ROM development and extra modifications. But first, as always we will need to start with installing a custom recovery and root access in the OnePlus 2.
Now for the beginners out there, a custom recovery is a third-party recovery environment. A custom recovery does the same things as the stock recovery along with additional features. Custom recoveries often have the ability to create and restore device backups.
Preparations
First of all you will need to ensure a few things before we start:
- Confirm you are using an unlocked OnePlus 2
Note: Carrier models might not work with this method. User is to perform this at their own risk.
- Ensure that you have the necessary OnePlus installed (Download here).
- Check if you have at least 80-85% of battery charge. We don’t want the phone dying in the middle of the process.
- If you have done this process before on other devices then you must be familiar with ADB and fastboot. Ensure that you have it installed.
For those who aren’t familiar with ADB and fastboot, Please refer to our detailed guide on How to Setup ADB and Fastboot on Windows within Seconds
- Enable USB-Debugging from Developer Options in the Settings menu.
- If you cannot find Developer Options, then you’ll have to first enable it by going to Settings -> About Phone -> Build Number and tap it 7 times until you see a small notification that you have enabled it.
- Then return to the Settings menu, you should find Developer Options there. Open it and enable USB Debugging.
- Make sure that you have backed up all your personal data and apps as all data might be erased!
- For Contacts, Calendar and People details use Google Accounts Sync to backup
- For Apps and App Data check out our detailed post here.
Disclaimer: The following procedure is highly risky and there are chances that you may brick your phone if not performed correctly, DroidViews cannot be held responsible if that happens. So user should tread cautiously and at their own risk.
Downloads
You will need to download these files on keep them on your Desktop.
TWRP for OnePlus 2: Download here
SuperSU: Here
Flashing TWRP on your OnePlus 2
After preparing your device along with all the required files we can start flashing.
Step 1 – Connect your OnePlus 2 to your PC using the USB Data cable.
Step 2 – Open Command Prompt and type the following command
adb devices
You should be getting a message saying ‘List of devices attached’ along with your device name. This will confirm that adb has recognized your device.
If you don’t see your device it means you haven’t properly installed your device USB drivers.
Step 3 – Next reboot your device in fastboot/bootloader mode by typing this command in Command prompt
adb reboot bootloader
Step 4 – Now change the directory of your Command prompt to your Desktop by typing this command
cd Desktop
Step 5 – Type the following command next and press Enter
fastboot flash recovery <name of the .img file>
This will flash TWRP custom recovery on your OnePlus 2 replacing the stock recovery.
Step 6 – Once the flashing is complete, select RECOVERY from the Fastboot menu to enter Recovery Mode, use the volume keys to navigate.
Step 7 – If you see the TWRP logo, then you have successfully performed the steps on you now have TWRP custom recovery installed on your OnePlus 2!
Step 8 – You will now see the TWRP Touch Recovery Menu, Select ‘Reboot’ to reboot your device and exit from the recovery.
Rooting the OnePlus 2
Now that we have successfully flashed the TWRP custom recovery you have the freedom to start flashing custom ROMs, kernels and other modifications, it’s time to move ahead and root the device, so that we can start using root applications.
Step 1 – Once the device boots up normally, re-connect it to your PC using the USB cable.
Step 2 – Copy the SuperSU.zip file you had downloaded earlier from your Desktop into the root directory of your internal storage.
Step 3 – Reboot you OnePlus 2 into Recovery Mode.
Step 4 – Select ‘Install’ and scroll all the way to the bottom till you see the ‘SuperSU.zip’ file.
Step 5 – Select the .zip file and swipe the bar to confirm. This will start flashing the .zip file.
Step 6 – Once the flashing finished you will see the ‘Reboot System’ option, click it to reboot your device.
Once the device reboots you will see the SuperSU app appear in your app menu. You can also confirm if your device is rooted by installing and running the Root Checker application.
[googleplay url=”https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrummyapps.rootchecker”]
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