How to Flash a Custom Recovery on the Samsung Galaxy S (I9000)

The Galaxy S was the first device to kick off the now successful Galaxy line of devices for Samsung.  While the device is certainly ancient by today’s standards, it is still a pretty popular device for those looking for a mid-range device that can take care of their Android needs.  Installing a custom recovery will further this device beyond this basic functionality and we’ll show you how to do the same by installing ClockworkMod Recovery (a very popular custom recovery) on the Samsung Galaxy S (I9000)

I.  Before You Begin

1.  This guide assumes that you have updated your device to Gingerbread 2.3 I9000XXJW4 firmware.  This will not work on Android 2.2 Froyo.

2.  Make sure that you have backed up everything you feel is important before you begin.

3.  Charge your device to 75% or more before you begin.

II.  Necessary Downloads

1. cf-root-xx_oxa_jw4-v4.4-cwm3rfs.zip

2.  Odin 1.85.rar

III.  Installing ClockworkMod Recovery

1.  Power down your device.

2.  Press and hold the Volume Down + Home + Power buttons until your device enters Download Mode.

3.  Extract cf-root-xx_oxa_jw4-v4.4-cwm3rfs.zip to a folder on your desktop.  You should end up with a file called cf-root-xx_oxa_jw4-v4.4-cwm3rfs.zip

4.  Extract the Odin 1.85.rar file you downloaded above to a folder on your desktop.

5.  From the extracted folder, double-click on Odin3 v1.85.exe to run the tool.

6.  Click on PDA button, locate cf-root-xx_oxa_jw4-v4.4-cwm3rfs.tar and click on OK to load it on Odin.

7.  Connect your device to your PC using the USB cable.  Odin should now recognize your device and light up the ID:COM field yellow to signify this.  If not, reinstall the proper drivers and try again.

8.  Make sure that the Re-Partition and Flash Lock are unchecked; this is important as you might brick your device if these options are ticked!

9.  Click on Start.

Once Odin says PASS and your device reboots, you should have ClockworkMod Recovery installed on your Samsung Galaxy S i9000!

IV.  Flashing Custom ROMs (Optional)

If you are ready to flash custom ROMs on your device, head to the next procedure to learn how to do that.

If this procedure helped you please thank/donate to the original developers here.

If you need help with this procedure, please ask in the comments below or in the forum.

This is part of our Android How To’s. We have how to’s on rooting, loading ROMs, and tons of other tips and tricks for your specific device or for Android devices in general! For all of our Android How To’s, head here.

20 thoughts on “How to Flash a Custom Recovery on the Samsung Galaxy S (I9000)”

    1. Usually, it doesn’t take too long to get into the Download mode. Depending on your unique circumstances, it could take 2-3 minutes.

  1. my device doesnt boot after i did this, it just does the galaxy s logo , then black , then agin , over and over agin….i took out the battery and put it back in and try to turn it back up, still does this what do i do?

    1. You’re not supposed to have this issue with this method. Well, to solve it, you can re-flash the stock firmware and then follow the above procedure. It might help you.

      Thanks!

  2. hey budies dont blame the author that much … though my sgs wasnt also not starting up but the cwm is really flashed and it’s good through that i installed a custom rom that’s what i needed 🙂

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