Android operating system is highly customizable and is open to modifications even at the system level. Recovery mode in Android is a special rescue mode from where you can perform some basic and advanced tasks when your device faces any issues. Nexus 5X is one of the latest additions to the Nexus lineup and comes with the latest hardware at a pocket-friendly price. Even though it’s a powerful device, you might want to explore further. In that case, one of the things you must learn is how to boot into Nexus 5X Recovery mode.

Recovery mode is a special Android mode which can be used to factory reset the device, delete cache and other advanced tasks. If you have installed a custom recovery, you have a bit more complex features like taking a nandroid backup, flashing ROMs and kernels on your device. Nexus 5X has a huge developer network, so you’ll have a multitude of ROMs and mods to choose from. To flash all those, you need to know how to boot into Nexus 5X Recovery Mode.

Booting into Nexus 5X recovery mode is quite simple. If you don’t know how to enter into Nexus 5X recovery mode, check below for various methods to boot into recovery mode.

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How to Boot Into Nexus 5X Recovery Mode

There are multiple methods to boot into Nexus 5X recovery mode. We have covered 3 of the most used methods to boot into recovery mode. The most preferred method is the hardware coded key combination followed by ADB tool and 3rd party apps. So, choose the method of your choice.

Method 1: Hardware Key Combination

The hardware key combination method is the fail-proof method that will always work unless you have a defective hardware key. If that’s the case, follow the other two methods. So, here’s the hardware key combination for booting into Nexus 5X recovery mode.

  1. Switch off your Nexus 5X.
  2. Now press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons simultaneously until you see the fastboot mode options on your device.
  3. Once you see the fastboot options, you can let go of the two buttons.
  4. In Fastboot mode, press the Volume Down button twice to highlight the Recovery Option.
  5. When the Recovery option is highlighted, press the Power button to enter the recovery mode.
    • If you’re on stock recovery, you’ll get a black screen with green Android lying down. Press and hold the Power button, then press the Volume Up button to enter the recovery mode.
    • If you have a custom recovery like TWRP installed on your device, you’ll be directly land in the Nexus 5X recovery mode.
  6. Now, you can see the recovery options on your device.

Method 2: Using ADB Command (PC Required)

This method requires a computer and a working ADB setup. ADB is a very useful tool which is used to send terminal commands to Android device via a command prompt. In this method, you’ll execute a simple command on your PC which will put your device into recovery mode. So, it’s highly useful when your hardware buttons are buggy or you’re frequently booting into recovery mode as a part of testing. First off, click the below links to install the ADB & Fastboot files and USB drivers for Nexus 5X on your PC.

Follow the below steps to boot your device into recovery mode.

  1. First off, prepare your device:
    • Enable developer options: Go to your device’s Settings » About phone » Scroll to the bottom and tap on “Build number” seven times to enable developer options.
    • Enable USB Debugging: Go to your device’s Settings » Developer options » tick the “USB debugging”checkbox (sometimes listed as Android Debugging)
  2. Connect your device to the PC using a USB cable and if a pop-up screen shows up on your device asking Allow USB debugging?”, tick the “Always allow from this computer” and press OK.
  3. Navigate to the folder where you have installed the ADB files and open a command prompt inside the folder by pressing Shift key + Right-click in the empty space inside the folder, and select Open command window here option from the Windows context menu.
  4. Now simply type the below command and press the enter key to boot into fastboot mode.
    adb reboot recovery

Method 3: Using 3rd Party apps (Root Access Required)

You can use a 3rd party app to reboot your device into recovery mode and it’s the easiest of the three methods in this tutorial. However, the catch is that you should have root access on your device. So, if you’re already rooted and want to reboot into recovery mode, this is the simplest and the preferred option.

  1. Download and install any 3rd party reboot apps from the Playstore. We prefer the Quick Boot (Reboot) app, you can download it from below:
  2. Open the app and grant SuperSU permissions when prompted.
  3. Select “Recovery” from the list of options and the device will automatically boot into recovery mode.