There are two main ways one can customize the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet: installing a custom recovery and rooting the device. Installing a custom recovery image on your Samsung tablet is what you need to install a custom ROM. Getting access to the root file system on your Samsung tablet means you can start installing the applications that require that full system access to run on your system. These apps can vary from boosting your device’s performance to taking away performance and increasing the battery life instead. You can also find better backing up solutions and ways to remove the default Samsung apps. Those are just a few ideas of what you can achieve after rooting.

While the new backup solutions with root access are great, they aren’t as good as what you can do with a custom recovery. The TWRP recovery you are installing below lets you take a full NANDroid backup which is like taking a snapshot of your Tab S2 ROM.

BEFORE WE BEGIN

• There is a TWRP recovery available for the two main software updates the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 has received so far. The one in this guide is for the Tab S2 running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. You need the other guide if you want to install TWRP recovery on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop.
• The following TWRP recovery image is made for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 device only. Do not flash this custom recovery file on a different device.
• You are voiding the Galaxy Tab S2 warranty by following this guide. You can flash the stock ROM back on your device and get the warranty working again so long as you do not have Knox security.

HOW TO INSTALL TWRP RECOVERY ON SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S2 RUNNING ANDROID 5.1.1 LOLLIPOP

1. Download the SM-T710 TWRP recovery file from this link.
2. Next, click this link to download the Odin flashing tool.
3. Copy the files over to the desktop of your Windows computer.
4. Right-click over the files and select the “extract here” option.
5. Double-click the Odin executable file.
6. Wait for the Odin user-interface to load on your desktop.
7. Long-press the Power button on your Samsung Galaxy tab S2 tablet and wait until the device is off.
8. Reboot it now in the download mode you need to start flashing files with Odin by pressing the Volume Down + Home + Power buttons together.
9. Let go of those buttons and press the Volume Up button when it says to do so on the display.
10. Connect the Galaxy Tab S2 to the computer using the USB cable.
11. Click the AP or PDA button from the Odin user-interface.
12. Upload the executable TWRP recovery file.
13. Click the Start button and wait for the flashing tool to flash the custom recovery image on your device.
14. Soon your device should reboot automatically and you will see the pass message from the Odin UI letting you know you can unplug from the computer and enjoy your new custom recovery.

You can boot the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 into the new recovery by pressing the same hardware keys you would normally press for the stock recovery. Those of you with root access might prefer installing the Quick Boot app .