Basic requirements
- Make sure your computer has working
adb
andfastboot
. Setup instructions can be found here. - Enable USB debugging on your device.
Unlocking the bootloader
- Visit Huawei’s official unlocking website, you’ll be asked to login first.
- Follow the instructions and get your unlock password.
- Connect your device to your PC via USB.
- On the computer, open a command prompt (on Windows) or terminal (on Linux or macOS) window, and type:
adb reboot bootloader
You can also boot into fastboot mode via a key combination:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Power.
- Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
fastboot devices
Tip: If you seeno permissions fastboot
while on Linux or macOS, try runningfastboot
as root. - Now type the following command to unlock the bootloader:
fastboot oem unlock ****************
Replace ****** with the 16-digit unique unlock password that was obtained in step 2.
- Wait for the bootloader unlocking process to complete. Once finished, your device will reboot to system and will be restored to factory settings. If an incorrect password is entered, a message will be displayed and your device will also reboot to system.
- Since the device resets completely, you will need to re-enable USB debugging to continue.
- To check the bootloader lock status, reboot the device to fastboot mode (repeating steps 3 and 4) and type:
fastboot oem get-bootinfo
The message
Bootloader Lock State: LOCKED
indicates that the bootloader is still locked. Perform the unlocking procedure again and check that the password was entered correctly. On the other hand, the messageBootloader Lock State: UNLOCKED
indicates that the bootloader has been unlocked. You can now install third-party firmware.
Installing a custom recovery using fastboot
-
Download a custom recovery - you can download TWRP.
- Connect your device to your PC via USB.
- On the computer, open a command prompt (on Windows) or terminal (on Linux or macOS) window, and type:
adb reboot bootloader
You can also boot into fastboot mode via a key combination:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Power.
- Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
fastboot devices
Tip: If you seeno permissions fastboot
while on Linux or macOS, try runningfastboot
as root. - Flash recovery onto your device:
fastboot flash recovery twrp-x.x.x-x-cherry.img
Tip: The file may not be named identically to what stands in this command, so adjust accordingly. - Now reboot into recovery to verify the installation:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Up + Power.
Installing LineageOS from recovery
-
Download the LineageOS install package that you’d like to install or build the package yourself.
- Optionally, download 3rd party application packages such as Google Apps (use the
arm
architecture)
- Optionally, download 3rd party application packages such as Google Apps (use the
- If you aren’t already in recovery, reboot into recovery:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Up + Power.
- (Optional, but recommended): Select the Backup button to create a backup. Make sure to create the backup in the external sdcard or copy it into your computer, since the internal storage will be formatted.
- Select Wipe, then Format Data and continue with the formatting process. This will remove encryption and also delete all files stored in the internal storage.
-
Select Wipe and then Advanced Wipe.
-
Select Cache and System partitions to be wiped and then Swipe to Wipe.
- Place the LineageOS
.zip
package, as well as any other .zip packages on the root of/sdcard
:- Using adb:
adb push filename.zip /sdcard/
- You can use any method you are comfortable with.
adb
is universal across all devices, and works both in Android and recovery mode, providing USB debugging is enabled.
- Using adb:
- Go back to return to main menu, then select Install.
- Navigate to
/sdcard
, and select the LineageOS.zip
package. -
Follow the on-screen prompts to install the package.
-
(Optional): Install any additional packages using the same method.
Note: If you want any Google Apps on your device, you must follow this step before the first boot into Android! - (Optional): Root the device by installing the LineageOS su add-on (use the
arm
package) or using any other method you prefer. - Once installation has finished, return to the main menu, select Reboot, and then System.
Get assistance
If you have any questions or get stuck on any of the steps, feel free to ask on our subreddit or in #LineageOS on freenode.