keyboard_arrow_left Back to the overview

Install LineageOS on
LG V20 (T-Mobile)

h918

Warning: The provided instructions are for LineageOS 20. These will only work if you follow every section and step precisely.
Do not continue after something fails!

Basic requirements

Read through the instructions at least once before actually following them, so as to avoid any problems due to any missed steps!
Make sure your computer has adb and fastboot. Setup instructions can be found here.
Enable USB debugging on your device.
Boot your device with the stock OS at least once and check every functionality.
Warning: Make sure that you can send and receive SMS and place and receive calls (also via WiFi and LTE, if available), otherwise it won’t work on LineageOS either! Additionally, some devices require that VoLTE/VoWiFi be utilized once on stock to provision IMS.
LineageOS is provided as-is with no warranty. While we attempt to verify everything works you are installing this at your own risk!

Warning: Before following these instructions please ensure that the device is currently using Android 7.0 firmware.
If the vendor provided multiple updates for that version, e.g. security updates, make sure you are on the latest!
If your current installation is newer or older than Android 7.0, please upgrade or downgrade to the required version before proceeding (guides can be found on the internet!).

Checking the correct firmware

Installation on your device requires a specific firmware version to be installed before you continue.

Firmware refers to a device-specific set of images that are included in, and updated by the stock OS
LineageOS builds for this device require a specific version of the stock OS to be installed prior to following the installation guide
Please ensure that you are checking the Android version, and not the vendor OS version
Being on another custom ROM, including unofficial builds of the same version of LineageOS, does not ensure that this requirement has been fulfilled
Please re-read this section as many times as necessary to fully understand the requirements

Note: If you are unsure what firmware version you are currently on, we strongly recommend returning to the corresponding stock OS before following the installation guide!

Failing to install the correct firmware version prior to installation may result in failure to install LineageOS, unexpected crashes post-installation, or permanent damage to your device!

Unlocking the bootloader

Note: The steps below only need to be run once per device.

Warning: Unlocking the bootloader will erase all data on your device! Before proceeding, ensure the data you would like to retain is backed up to your PC and/or your Google account, or equivalent. Please note that OEM backup solutions like Samsung and Motorola backup may not be accessible from LineageOS once installed.

Enable OEM unlock in the Developer options under device Settings, if present.
Connect the 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 -d reboot bootloader
```
You can also boot into fastboot mode via a key combination:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Down, then insert a USB cable.
Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
```
fastboot devices
```
If you don’t get any output or an error:
- on Windows: make sure the device appears in the device manager without a triangle. Try other drivers until the command above works!
- on Linux or macOS: If you see no permissions fastboot try running fastboot as root. When the output is empty, check your USB cable and port!
Now type the following command to unlock the bootloader:
```
fastboot oem unlock
```
Note: At this point the device may display on-screen prompts which will require interaction to continue the process of unlocking the bootloader. Please take whatever actions the device asks you to to proceed.
If the device doesn’t automatically reboot, reboot it. It should now be unlocked.
Since the device resets completely, you will need to re-enable USB debugging to continue.

Installing a custom recovery using `fastboot`

Download Lineage Recovery. Simply download the latest recovery file, named recovery.img.
Important: Other recoveries may not work for installation or updates. We strongly recommend to use the one linked above!
Connect your device to your PC via USB if it isn’t already.
If your device isn’t already in fastboot mode, on the computer, open a command prompt (on Windows) or terminal (on Linux or macOS) window, and type:
```
adb -d reboot bootloader
```
You can also boot into fastboot mode via a key combination:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Down, then insert a USB cable.
Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
```
fastboot devices
```
If you don’t get any output or an error:
- on Windows: make sure the device appears in the device manager without a triangle. Try other drivers until the command above works!
- on Linux or macOS: If you see no permissions fastboot try running fastboot as root. When the output is empty, check your USB cable (preferably use a USB Type-A 2.0 one or a USB hub) and port!
Tip: Some devices have buggy USB support while in bootloader mode, if you see fastboot hanging with no output when using commands such as fastboot getvar ..., fastboot boot ..., fastboot flash ... you may want to try a different USB port (preferably a USB Type-A 2.0 one) or a USB hub.
Flash recovery onto your device:
```
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
```
Now reboot into recovery to verify the installation. Do not reboot into the existing OS, since it will overwrite the recovery you just installed!
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Power until the LG logo appears, then release Power for a second and hold it again until the recovery comes up.
  
  Note: If you can’t power down the device, try long-pressing the key-combination (if any was used in the instructions above) until the device reboots and follow the instructions above
Note: If your recovery does not show the LineageOS logo , you accidentally booted into the wrong recovery. Please start at the top of this section!

Installing LineageOS from recovery

Download the LineageOS installation package that you would like to install or build the package yourself.
- (Optionally): If you want to install Google Apps add-on package (use the arm64 architecture), you can download it from here.
If you are not in recovery, reboot into recovery:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Power until the LG logo appears, then release Power for a second and hold it again until the recovery comes up.
  
  Note: Accept the factory reset prompt using the hardware buttons. If you have done everything correctly, this will not actually reset your device but instead will boot the custom recovery.
Now tap Factory Reset, then Format data / factory reset and continue with the formatting process. This will remove encryption and delete all files stored in the internal storage, as well as format your cache partition (if you have one).
Return to the main menu.
Sideload the LineageOS .zip package but do not reboot before you read/followed the rest of the instructions!
- On the device, select “Apply Update”, then “Apply from ADB” to begin sideload.
- On the host machine, sideload the package using: adb -d sideload filename.zip.
  Tip: Normally, adb will report Total xfer: 1.00x, but in some cases, even if the process succeeds the output will stop at 47% and report adb: failed to read command: Success. In some cases it will report adb: failed to read command: No error or adb: failed to read command: Undefined error: 0 which is also fine.

Installing Add-Ons

Note: If you don’t want to install any add-on (such as Google Apps), you can skip this whole section!

Note: Add-ons aren’t signed with LineageOS’s official key, and therefore when they are sideloaded, Lineage Recovery will present a screen that says Signature verification failed, this is expected, please click Continue.

Warning: If you want the Google Apps add-on on your device, you must follow this step before booting into LineageOS for the first time!

Repeat the sideload steps above for all desired packages in sequence.

All set!

Once you have installed everything successfully, you can now reboot your device into the OS for the first time!

Click the back arrow in the top left of the screen, then “Reboot system now”.

Note: The first boot usually takes no longer than 15 minutes, depending on the device. If it takes longer, you may have missed a step, otherwise feel free to get assistance.

Get assistance

After you’ve double checked that you followed the steps precisely, didn’t skip any and still have questions or got stuck, feel free to ask on our subreddit or in #LineageOS on Libera.Chat.

Install LineageOS on LG V20 (T-Mobile)