How to Flash a Phone? [Most Complete Guide in 2020]

Do you need to flash your Android phone? There are a lot of methods you can follow to flash your smartphone. However, it is safe to say that it is a tricky thing to try on your own, because  if a single thing goes wrong, you might end up damaging your precious phone permanently.

So, is there any way you to do this without any risk? Luckily, we have got your back. And, today, in this post, we will share some of the best and easiest methods of flashing your Android phone. By following these methods (carefully), you will be able to flash your Android smartphone without a hitch. Without wasting more words, let's cut to the chase...

Part 1. Why Do You Need to Flash a Phone?

Prior to flashing your phone, you should know the reasons behind flashing a phone. There are several situations where you must flash your Android phone. But, here we will be sharing only a couple of those. If you are in these situations, then you have to flash your phone by following our methods which we will be sharing on this post later. So, let's see those reasons...

• To fix phone stuck, bricked, dead, or locked issues:

We love Android phones because of their customizability and flexibility. However, since Android is open-source, it is also the most vulnerable to many operating system related issues. It is a familiar scenario that your phone might get stuck or get bricked out of nowhere. There are various fixes to these issues. However, the ultimate solution to these serious issues is to flash your phone.

• To install new custom ROM:

Normally, your Android phone will come with a default OS (Operating System)/ROM. For some reasons, most of these stock Android ROMs are not the best option out there. As a result, a lot of people build custom ROMs which can be installed in the place of those stock ROMs.

Interestingly, those custom ROMs come with a bunch of additional features which are not typically available on the default OS. A custom ROM might make your phone faster, offer better battery backup, will give a new look (definitely) and so on. So, you must flash your phone in order to install a custom ROM.

Before you flash phone— Try hard resetting

You should know that flashing a phone has its consequences. First of all, you will lose all of your files and data from your phone. And secondly, you might not like the new custom ROM after installing it. That means you will have to go through the same process over again. Thirdly, sometimes a hard reset might fix a lot of issues automatically. Plus, if you mess up the procedure of flashing an Android phone, you might permanently damage your phone. So, you should try hard reset before going to flashing the phone.

There are hundreds of models of Android phones out there. And, not all of these phones can be reset to the factory settings following the same method. Each one has a different method. As a result, we can't share all of the available methods. Rather, we will share a basic method, which will be almost similar to all the methods available. So, here we go…

How to Hard Reset an Android Phone?

Remark: After a hard reset/factory reset, you will lose all the data from your phone including your apps, pictures, videos, audios, contacts and so on. So, you should take a backup before you do that. We have shared a method of backing up an Android phone down below. You can follow that.

Now, let's see how to factory reset your Android phone in a step by step manner.

• Navigate to the 'Settings' menu on your Android phone

• Then go to the 'Reset Option' by navigating to System > Advanced >Reset options

• If you don't see these options, type in the search bar 'Reset' and search

• In doing so, you will find the Reset option

• Next tap on the Erase All Data/ Factory Reset option (Varies depending on the model)

• Then tap on the 'Reset Phone' option. Then most of the time, you will need to enter your passcode/ PIN, or password of your phone

• And, at last, tap on the 'Erase Everything' option and wait for the procedure to complete

• That's it. Now, you can see if your problem is fixed

The above steps might be a little different on different devices. For the phones that are bricked or cannot work normally for other problems, remember that there is another way to factory reset your device by using power and volume buttons. However, this method also varies by phone manufacturers. Thus, you should visit your phone's support site for specific instructions based on your phone model.

Part 2. How to Flash Your Android Phone

Even after resetting your phone to factory settings if the issues still persist, you have no other ways except to flash your phone. Now, there are multiple ways you can flash an android phone. However, almost all of the methods are manual and sophisticated. Thus, it carries a risk of damaging your phone permanently. So, what can you do in this context?

Lucky for you, there are some softwares which can automatically flash your Android phone. The method is also pretty streamlined and there's no risk trying those softwares at all. In this section, we will share multiple methods of flashing your phone. However, before flashing any phone, you will have to take a backup of the files of that phone. Here's a common method of taking a backup of Android phones. Besides we will also share some tips on backing up your data down below.

Preparation: Back up files on an Android phone

• Navigate to the Settings app on your phone

• Next, go to System> Advanced > Backup

• If you don't find these options; just search for 'Backup' using the search bar from the top of the Settings menu and tap on the 'Backup' option

• Next, tap on the 'Back up now' option

• Finally, tap on 'Continue' to start backing up

Remember, the process will vary depending on the model of your Android phone. However, using the above method, you will be backing up the settings and the data of your phone to your Google Account. Here are some more tips on this topic.

Tips on backing up data:

• You can copy all the videos, audio, pictures, app data and so on to your PC to take a manual backup

• You can also upload all the data to your personal Google Drive account as well

• Use Google Photos to back up photos instantly

• Use Google Drive account for backing up documents

• You can use Text Message & Call Log backup apps to backup those data. You can find these type of apps on the Play Store

If you have a dead or frozen/dead phone, you can't take backup this way. Instead, you can try to recover your data using any recovery tools. Then again, it might not be possible. So, it is always better if you turn on online backup. Now, that you have taken back up your phone, we will talk about the easiest and most risk-free method for phone flashing so that you don't need to try the other risky methods at all. So, here we go...

Method 1: Use an easy-to-use tool to flash your phone

Here, we will show you how to flash your Android phone automatically using a third-party software. The name of the software is iMyFone Fixppo for Android. This software is very easy to use. And, there's no risk factor using this one as well. Now, let's see how to flash Android phone using iMyFone Fixppo for Android software. There are only 3 steps to flash your phone using this software. So, let's go…

At first, download the iMyFone Fixppo for Android on your PC and install it if you haven't already. And launch the app on your PC and click on the 'Start' button on the software.

Step 1:On the next page, provide information about your Android phone. After choosing all the correct info, just click on the 'Download Firmware' button. In doing so, iMyFone Fixppo for Android will start to download the correct firmware for your phone

Step 2:Now, connect your phone to your PC via USB cable and put it to download mode. Don't know how to go to download mode? iMyFone Fixppo for Android has the instructions, just follow those carefully

Step 3:Then, iMyFone Fixppo for Android will recognize your phone and will begin to flash your phone automatically. Just wait for the process to finish up. After your phone is successfully flashed, it will restart on its own. Lastly, click on the 'Done' button to finalize the procedure

See? That was so simple. Yet, for your convenience, we will share another method of flashing an Android phone down below. Let's go then…

Method 2: Flash Android manually with custom ROMs

To be noted, this is a manual method. So, if you do something wrong, you can't reverse it. Thus, we would tell you to try this method if you are familiar with the technicalities. And also, we are not responsible if this method doesn't work or damage your phone. Do it on your own responsibility. Nevertheless, this method might be a bit tricky but it works most of the time.

Required things:

• Your Android device

• Back up your device, if you haven't already

• A custom ROM

• Custom Recovery

• Unlocked bootloader

• At least 50% charge on your device

Steps to Follow:

No.1 — Download a Custom Rom:

There are tons of custom ROMs available for each Android phones on the web. So, search and find the one that you like the most. Remember, you need to find the correct ROM for your phone. So, verify that if it's compatible with your carrier/phone model and so on. And, then download it (.zip file) and save it on your phone.

No.2 — Unlock Bootloader (Optional):

Almost all Android phones come with an unlocked bootloader. However, some manufacturers also lock the bootloader. If that's the case for you, then you need to contact your phone manufacturer to unlock your phone's bootloader.

No.3 — Boot into Recovery:

This time, you will need to use recovery combo buttons to boot into the recovery mode. The recovery combo button differs from device to device. You can search on the web for finding information about the specific button combo to enter into recovery mode for your particular device.

However, in most cases, it will be the Volume Down + Power button. So, hold down these two buttons simultaneously for at least 5 seconds. In doing so, your phone will boot into the recovery mode.

No.4 — Finally Flash:

When you are in the recovery mode, you will see a specific screen which will depend on the recovery mode you are using. There are a number of recovery modes available such as ClockworkMod, TWRP, Cyanogenmod recovery, Red Wolf recovery mode and more.  However, as the ClockworkMod & the TWRP is the most popular ones, we will share the methods of using these two recovery modes in this section.

So, select 'Install' (on TWRP) or 'Install zip from sdcard' (on ClockworkMod) option from the recovery mode screen to initialize the procedure. Next, browse and find the custom ROM you have just downloaded earlier.

After you have found and selected the custom ROM (.zip) file, you can install the desired ROM. Select the 'Swipe to Confirm Flash' (on TWRP) or 'Apply sdcard/update.zip' (on ClockworkMod) option. In doing so, your phone will be flashed with this new custom ROM momentarily.

No.5 — Clear the Cache:

After you have flashed your phone, you can wipe the cache data on your phone. Just go back on the recovery mode, and select 'Wipe cache partion' option to wipe all the cache on your Android phone.

Congratulations! Give a pat yourself on the back because you have manually flashed your android device. However, there are some other methods which you can also use to flash any Android.

For those methods, you will need a PC and a specific set of software (Flash Tool) based upon your phone brand. We won't share all these methods. Yet, we will share a few names of the most popular flash tools down below. So if you need them, you can find them on the web.

• Odin (For Samsung devices)

• Nexus Root Toolkit (For Nexus devices)

• SP Flash Tool (For Mediatek Chipset)

• FlashTool (For Sony Xperia devices) and so on

• Miracle Box (For Chinese brands)

Wrapping things up:

In this post, we have shown various methods of flashing an Android phone. All these methods are viable. But, some are better than the others. Also, depending on the situation, some are riskier than the others. However, we try to offer the best solution to our readers.

We want to tell you that it is best to use the iMyFone Fixppo for Android software for this purpose, because it does not require you to have any technical experiences to use this software. Also, it is the most risk-free and safest method of them all. And, lastly, it can be used with any Android phone brands.

If you have any queries about flashing your Android phone, you can let us know by commenting down below!