In an earlier post, we discussed how to root your Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 SCH-I535. With a rooted phone, you can customize and do whatever you want on your Android phone. But, before you take the first step in customizing your phone, you should first flash a custom recovery.

Custom recovery is an essential tool for Android developers. This tool can be used to backup your ROM, safely flash custom ROMs, clearing your mobile data, and many more. This tool might even save your phone from getting bricked or when you're faced with a roadblock while playing with your phone.

Senior XDA Developers member invisiblek shares the procedure for flashing custom recovery on your Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 SCH-I535. Using his guide, you will be able to flash ClockworkMod Recovery or TWRP Recovery on your mobile phone.

Read on to learn how to flash custom recovery to your Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 SCH-I535.

Warning

• The instructions in this guide are intended for use with the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3, model number SCH-I535. Applying these instructions on another device or model may produce undesired outcomes.
• The information in this guide is provided for instructional and educational purposes only. There is no guarantee that these instructions will work under your specific and unique circumstances.
• Use these instructions at your own risk. We shall not hold any responsibility or liability for whatever happens to you or your device arising from your use of the info in this guide.
• Read and understand the whole guide first before actually performing the instructions.

Requirements

• Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 SCH-I535 with root access
  • If you haven't rooted your phone, check guide on how to root your Verizon Galaxy S3 SCH-I535.
• Android Software Development Kit (SDK) and Android Debug Bridge (ADB) installed on your computer.
  • You may refer to our guides on how to install the Android SDK and how to perform ADB commands on your computer.
• Backup all personal data on your phone to make sure you have a copy of your personal data (e.g., contacts, SMS, MMS, Internet settings, Wi-Fi passwords, and the like) in case the procedure in this guide erases such data.
  • For backup tips, check our guides on how to sync your data to the cloud and how to create local backups of your mobile data.
• Download the custom recovery image of your choice (choose one):
  • ClockworkMod Recovery 6.0.1.0 image for I535 (cwm-6.0.1.0-d2vzw.zip, md5sum: 3928392a3056cdc3d4a9cfd96bc8810d)
    • Note: Extract recovery.img from the ZIP file after downloading.
  • TWRP Recovery (i535-twrp8.img, md5sum: bb43df335e437072a2e6bcc134891c3f)

Instructions

1. Connect your phone to the computer via USB cable.
2. Open a command prompt/terminal on your computer and navigate it to the directory where you have saved the recovery image file.
3. To check if your phone has successfully connected to the computer, enter the command below. Your phone's serial number will appear on the screen.
   • adb devices
4. To flash the recovery image, enter the following commands:
   • For ClockworkMod Recovery:
     • adb push recovery.img /sdcard/
     • adb shell
     • su
     • dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18
   • For TWRP Recovery:
     • adb push i535-twrp8.img /sdcard/
     • adb shell
     • su
     • dd if=/sdcard/i535-twrp8.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18
5. After flashing the recovery image, enter this command to reboot into Recovery Mode and check if flashing succeeded:
   • reboot recovery

Terrific! You have successfully installed a custom recovery on your Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 SCH-I535. You can now flash custom ROMs and customize your Android phone. Enjoy!