How to Flash a Custom Recovery on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE (SGH-I957)

The SGH-I957 is similar in almost all respects to the Galaxy Tab 8.9 P7300, except for one major difference – the I957 comes with 4G network support.  This small difference means an entirely different process if you want to root or install ClockworkMod Recovery on the I957 as using the solutions available for the P7300 will most likely brick your device.  The below guide is for those with the very same Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE and will aid them in getting ClockworkMod Recovery set up on their device.

I.  Before You Begin

1.  Back up anything you feel is important before you begin.

2.  Make sure that you have the necessary drivers installed on your Windows PC before you start; this will prevent any problems during the procedure and avoid bricking your device.

II.  Necessary Downloads

1.  Odin 1.85.rar

2.   CWMR5x_i957_recovery.tar.md5 [File attached to this post]

III.  Installing ClockworkMod Recovery on the Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE

1.  Power down your device.

2.  Press and hold the Volume Up + Volume Down + Power buttons until the device goes into Download Mode.

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

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

5.  Click on PDA button, locate CWMR5x_i957_recovery.tar.md5 and click on OK to load it on Odin.

6.  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.

7.  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!

8.  Click on Start.

Once Odin says PASS and your device reboots, you should have ClockworkMod Recovery installed on the Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE!

IV.  Accessing ClockworkMod Recovery

1.  Power down your device.

2.  Press and hold the Volume Up + Power buttons.

3.  Press Volume Up to select Recovery Mode.

V.  Rooting the Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE

Head to our next procedure if you want to root your device.

VI.  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.