How to install LineageOS on an Android phone - The Happy Android

LineageOS It is the natural heir to the mythical CyanogenMod, and one of the best custom ROMs for Android today. Thus, you may want to try it on your mobile, since it has some really interesting functions - especially if your smartphone is not too powerful. The truth is that it is all a candy for fans of customization and Android in general, without a doubt.

Although some time ago I published a post with general guidelines to install a custom ROM, today we are going to go into more detail. In the following tutorial, we explain step by step the LineageOS installation process on Android. Let's go there!

1. Check that your phone is compatible with LineageOS (and that everything is in order)

Before we begin, the first step will be to make sure that our smartphone is compatible with LineageOS. To do this we must enter the download section of LineageOS and see if they have a specific ROM for our brand and phone model.

We will do part of the installation from a PC, so it is also important that we make sure that we have everything we need on the computer. That is, we have the packages of ADB and Fastboot properly installed. For this we can take a look at the following ADB and Fastboot download and installation tutorial.

Another essential requirement to install LineageOS is that our phone allows unlock bootloader. If not (as is the case with many Samsung mobiles), then we will have to do a specific search on Google to find out how to unlock the bootloader in our exact terminal model.

2. Download all the necessary tools and components

To carry out the installation of the LineageOS custom ROM on our Android device we will need the following tools.

• A custom recovery: We can use TWRP or any other that is compatible with our phone.
• LineageOS: The operating system as such.
• GApps: The package with all Google applications (Google Apps).
• SU file: Necessary if we want to have root permissions once we have installed the operating system.

Both the installation of the Google Apps and the root permissions are completely optional, and they are not required to install LineageOS.

Download the custom recovery suitable for your smartphone

Both ClockWorkMod Recovery and TWRP are compatible with a large number of Android phones. To know if your terminal is compatible with TWRP you can take a look at its list of compatible phones HERE.

Note: It is important to ensure that the exact make and model match. If so, download the corresponding .IMG file and save it in the same folder where you installed ADB on your PC.

Download the LineageOS ROM

The next step will be to download the LineageOS ROM compatible with our phone model. For this we will return to the download section of the Lineage website that we visited a moment ago and download the ZIP file with the "Build" more recent.

If later we are going to install the GApp it is important that we note somewhere the version of LineageOS that we are downloading. It is a piece of information that we will need later.

Download the Google Apps

As we said a little above, this is an optional tool. Although essential if we want to have access to the Play Store, use our Gmail account, Google Photos, Drive and all those things that make Android so useful and practical.

Let's go to the GApps download page. Here we will have to select the version of LineageOS that we have downloaded, and then choose the right platform. The platform refers to the type of processor –ARM, ARM46 or x86- that our phone has (we can see it by consulting the Wiki HERE).

Once the package is downloaded, we will save it in the ADB folder on the PC.

Download the SU file from Superuser to get root

If we want that the new custom ROM have root permissions, then we must download the corresponding SU file. This is the link that we have put a little above, where we will have to choose the SU that corresponds to us, depending on the type of processor and our version of LineageOS.

Versions are available for Lineage 14.1 and Lineage 15.1.

Once the file is downloaded in ZIP format, we will save it together with the rest of the files in the ADB folder on our computer.

3. Enable developer mode and enable USB debugging

Now that we have all the necessary files, we go to the phone and we activate debugging by USB. This option appears in the hidden menu "Developer options”.

To enable developer mode we just have to go to "Settings -> System -> Phone information”And press repeatedly on the phone's build number until a message appears on the screen.

OEM Unlock

If our phone is quite recent, we will also have to activate the "OEM Unlocking" tab. This option is within the “Developer options”And it is the one that will allow us unlock bootloader.

4. Unlock the Bootloader

Having the bootloader unlocked is what will allow us to install the custom recovery (necessary to install the Lineage ROM). It is important, therefore, that we make a backup of Android, since during the process we will have to format the device.

To unlock the bootloader we connect the mobile to the PC via USB. We open the folder where we have all the ADB files and the files that we have just downloaded, and we open a command window in that path.

The quickest way to do this is by pressing the Shift key, right-clicking the mouse and selecting “Open Powershell window here”.

• The first command that we will introduce will be "adb devices”, With which we will check if the PC has detected our Android device. If it detects it, it will show the message “devices” and the device number.

• If this is the first time you use ADB commands on your mobile, you will see a message appear on the phone screen. Make sure to give the requested permission (otherwise the commands will have no effect).

• Now we will launch the command "adb reboot bootloader", Which will restart the phone and load in" bootloader "mode.

• From here we can launch the Fastboot command that unlocks the bootloader, "fastboot oem unlock”. Attentive! When launching this command a factory wipe will be performed. Make sure you've kept a copy of everything important.

To complete the unlocking and factory deletion we will have to accept a confirmation message from the phone. Once this is done, we will proceed to install our custom recovery.

5. Install a custom recovery

With the bootloader unlocked we can proceed to install or flash the custom recovery. To do this, we open the command window again and execute the following command:

fastboot flash recovery

Note: "recoveryname.img" corresponds to the TWRP installation package or whatever recovery we are going to install. That is, the name of the file in question.

6. Make a Wipe or "reset" the partitions

Once we have the recovery installed we can access it through the command "adb reboot-recovery”Or, with the mobile off and pressing the power + volume buttons up or down.

Now what we are going to do is a wipe of system partitions, data and cache. If we are working with TWRP, we can do this from "Wipe -> Advanced Wipe"And checking the" System "," Data "and" Cache "boxes.

This process can take a while. Once finished, reboot the device and enter recovery again.

7. Flashea LineageOS, Google Apps and root permissions

We are getting closer to achieving our goal. We reopen a Power Shell window as on previous occasions and launch the following command.

adb push / sdcard

Note: corresponds to the compressed LineageOS installation file that we downloaded earlier.

With this command we will be copying the LineageOS installation file to internal memory phone (no need to have an SD card).

If we are also going to install the Google Apps and root permissions, we will repeat this same process with these 2 additional installation packages.

adb push / sdcard

adb push / sdcard

Next, we will proceed to install the copied packages in the phone memory. From TWRP click on "Install" and select the LineageOS installation file that we just copied.

After that,click on "Add more Zips" and we will select the Google Apps installation files and the SU file.

It is important that we make sure that we have selected the 3 installation zips and that the first one in the list is the LineageOS package.

Once we have everything in order and ready to be flashed, we will move the bar “Swipe to confirm Flash”To begin the installation.

This is a process that can take several minutes. If everything went well, we will have our Android with the perfectly functional LineageOS custom ROM, the Google applications installed, and all this with superuser root permissions, ready for our enjoyment.