While OnePlus 3 owners were treated to some new official software from OnePlus today as part of a software update to the device, it would seem that OnePlus 3 owners are in for a bit more support, although this time not from OnePlus. OnePlus as a company has always been very open and supportive of the device being tinker-friendly, and that means that users are freely able to play around with the device from rooting the phone to flashing custom firmware. Of course, flashing custom firmware, such as ROMs, is not something you want to do without a custom recovery installed, and one of the most popular, TWRP from TeamWin, has just added support for the OnePlus 3.
For those who are on the OnePlus 3 and are fans of this particular recovery tool, the option to use it is now available. Those who are interested in flashing TWRP to their own OnePlus 3 devices will be able to complete the process using TeamWin’s handy instructions which lists off a few different methods, including a no root method via Fastboot, and what is likely the easiest option (but requires root access), through the app install method. There is also the capability to flash this custom recovery by way of a TWRP install, but it requires TWRP 2.8.4 to already be installed for this method to work, so this isn’t a method you’ll be able to use on the OnePlus 3 just yet as it just gained support. It will however become useful for future versions of TWRP that drop for this device.
Alongside the support for the OnePlus 3, TeamWin has also added support for another newer device today, the Xiaomi Mi 5, which is Xiaomi’s latest flagship smartphone. All three of the same install methods are listed, although again, only the Fastboot method and the app install method will be available. Having said that, the Xiaomi Mi 5 does not already come with an unlocked bootloader like the OnePlus 3 does, so this is a step you will have to take before beginning the process to install TWRP. The good news is that Xiaomi makes it pretty easy to unlock the bootloader so there shouldn’t be much hassle.