Installing a custom recovery image is the first step in being able to customize on the Motorola Moto X 2014 smartphone. Whether you want to flash new ROMs or get root access with SuperSU, it all starts with getting the stock recovery partition swapped over for a custom version that allows for these things to happen.

Here is what you need to installing TWRP on the Motorola Moto X 2014 smartphone by using ADB commands from a Windows computer:

REQUIREMENTS

• You must have a computer that is running a version of the Windows operating system to use this guide.
• You need to have the Motorola Moto X bootloader unlocked before you can follow this guide to installing a custom recovery image on the device.

BEFORE WE BEGIN

• Have the Developer options menu unlocked and then USB debugging mode enabled from the Developer options menu.
• We recommend you take a backup of the data that is on the Moto X smartphone that you don’t want to risk losing just in case you prefer taking a hard reset to get out of trouble should you find it.

HOW TO INSTALL TWRP RECOVERY ON MOTOROLA MOTO X  XT1097 (2014)

1. Download the TWRP Recovery image to the computer and extract the file so you can use it.
2. Set up ADB on the Windows computer and then come back and continue with this guide when it is done.
3. Copy the contents of the TWRP Recovery file over to the same folder as the ADB so you have everything available in the one directory.
4. Connect the Motorola Moto X 2014 smartphone to the computer with the USB cable.
5. Open the ADB and TWRP folder and right-click the white background while holding the Shift key on the keyboard and then choose to open a new command window here from the menu.
6. Type the “adb reboot bootloader” command into the command line and get the Moto X smartphone into the bootloader mode so it is ready for the flashing of the custom recovery image.
7. Type the “fastboot flash boot xt1097_boot_stock_with_may_2016_update.img” command into the command line ot flash the custom recovery on the Moto X smartphone.
8. Type the command “adb reboot” to reboot the smartphone but as soon as it does reboot hold down the hardware button combination for the Recovery Mode so that it first-time boots into the custom recovery that you just installed.

That is all you need to install TWRP Recovery on Motorola Moto X 2014 smartphones. We say to first-time boot directly into the custom recovery that you just installed so that the stock recovery doesn’t wipe over the work you just did which would have left you without a custom recovery image installed which can sometimes happen.

Those of you who were installing the custom recovery so you could go on to install root apps can now learn what it takes to root Motorola Moto X 2014 smartphones running on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates with the systemless root versions of Chainfrie’s SuperSU.