The international LG G4 is getting official TWRP starting today. People with a flair for modding must have heard of TWRP by now because this is the most popular custom recovery you can find. It is only available for the international version though, so keep that in mind. The phones sold by carriers, other than version H815, are still locked at the moment.
An unlocked boot loader means you will not be able to flash any software, including a custom recovery. TWRP support will make it possible for users to flash ROMs, make system backups and more. Be careful when you flash things on your device though, things can happen. Unlike other devices, LG makes reflashing stock software really really difficult.
TWRP goes to version 2.8.6.0 and it shows some notable changes overall. You get some scroll bar adjustments, some keyboard and scaling improvements, that sort of thing.
Official Changelog:
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Fix daylight savings time rules for USA and Europe (_that)
Allow mulitple overlays for popup boxes (Dees_Troy)
Add pattern style password entry for decrypt (Tassadar)
Keyboard improvements (_that)
Update AOSP base to 5.1 (Dees_Troy)
Reduce theme count to 5 and rely on scaling (Dees_Troy)
Various scaling improvements (Dees_Troy)
Improved handling of resources in the GUI (_that)
Make scroll bar size proportional to list size (_that)
Allow scoll lists to render without a header (_that)
Make console scroll per pixel with kinetic scrolling (_that)
Support styles in XML to reduce XML size and improve consistentcy (Dees_Troy)
Various other fixes and improvements (mdmower, bigbiff, codelover, etc)
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TWRP is usually the go-to choice when it comes to backing up mobile devices, installing custom ROMs or flashing ZIP files. In order to replace the stock recovery you will need to know if you have an unlocked bootloader and you will have to check and see if your device is supported. As always, be careful when tinkering with your phone to prevent doing damage.
TWRP updated to v2.8.5.0 today and among the improvements you will find are GUI scaling and better USB keyboard support. You usually use TWRP when you need to flash ZIP files or backup your device. The update does not bring any new device support but it does help devices which already have TWRP work better.
Below you will see the official changelog to see exactly what’s different:
Scale the GUI – TWRP can read the theme’s resolution and scale it up or down to fit the theme to your screen’s resolution
Improve thread handling and move input handling into the main rendering thread to improve stability
Make MTP work even if unplugged and plugged back in
Unify scrollable list code and make kinetic scrolling feel more natural
Fix handling of mapped zip files for OTA updates (CM12 updater)
USB keyboards should now work on all devices that support USB host mode via a USB OTG cable
Other small fixes and improvements
If you want to flash TWRP on your tablet or smartphone, you can check the list of officially supported devices. In order to flash the new recovery you will need an unlocked bootloader. Bear in mind, you have to be careful so that you won’t break something!
Paranoid Android released the first alpha Lollipop custom ROM for some devices. The great part about having a Nexus device is the fact that you will always get the newest OS and custom ROMs first. Ever since Lollipop launched, some indie developers have been working on AOSP for Nexus phones and tablets.
A few weeks ago, the first CyanogenMod builds appeared online. Now some owners can choose another respected custom ROM team: Paranoid Android. Some alpha builds were published on the download site and below you can see what devices are already supported.
People who are new to tinkering and modding might not know that PA is less known than CyanogenMod when it comes to total downloads, but it is a great custom ROM in itself, depending on what you prefer to use, that is. Its developers always push the envelope when it comes to the user customizable interface such as the Chatheads-style Peek Notification system or the PIE navigation bar. These radical changes may not appear in the alpha builds though.
The official versions available you can find will support the following:
Nexus 4
Nexus 5
Nexus 6
Nexus 7 2012
Nexus 7 2013
Nexus 7 2013 LTE
Nexus 9
Nexus 10
OnePlus One
Oppo Find 7
Oppo Find 7S.
Paranoid Android developers recommend a full data wipe before flashing the new build, and Oppon and One plus users will have to flash a Cyanogenmod 12 nightly before applying the PA build. In order to get your stuffs running you will also need the Gapps ZIP package to get access to Google Services.
The Xperia Z3 tablet is getting official CyanogenMod support starting today. In order to get it, all you have to do is get over to CyanogenMod and find scorpion_windy.
Apart from the new support, DROID MAXX users can be happy to know that nightlies for obake are being worked on again. They will find two new files available for download as well. Last September CyanogenMod announced that they no longer have a maintainer, but it seems that that issue has been resolved now.
The current nightlies are stable, but they may also cause problems for some devices, which means flashing is a choice only you can make, fully knowing you may damage your device in the process.
Google just posted Android 5.0.2 factory images and binaries for the 2013 versions of Nexus 10 and Nexus 7. If you have one of these devices you can be sure you’ll be getting yet another update soon. These devices are already on Android 5.0.1, so that will not be such a big change, especially since other devices still haven’t received Lollipop 5.0.
If you are eager to try the update you can flash the factory images on your device back to stock and it doesn’t matter what you flashed before that. If you can access the fastboot you will be able to flash the image. You can also get binaries with everything you require for running ROMs on the device.
In order to flash sys images you will need an unlocked bootloader that you can get with the help of ADB through a computer. The OTAs will come soon, so if you don’t feel confident with the system images, you can wait for a few more days.
