TWRP custom recovery is one of the most popular options for flashing custom ROMs and Zip files. Since Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are the most recent devices, a stable version of official TWRP recovery is not yet released, but a pre-release version is now available for download.

If you are interested, you can download the recovery image (twrp-3.1.1-alpha) and use it right now. Note that, you should not flash this pre-release version on your device, as it will brick your device. You can only use it to temporarily boot your Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL into TWRP. Read on to know how to boot your Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL into TWRP custom recovery using the alpha version of official TWRP recovery. Note that decrypting and MTP do not work, and backups cannot be made. Ii is also unclear what a factory reset will do, so try it at your own risk.

How to Boot Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL into TWRP custom Recovery

This guide requires ADB and Fastboot driver setup on your PC (read this guide). Also proper USB driver [download here] for Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL should be installed on the PC. Also, USB debugging and OEM Unlock options must be enabled on your device in Developer Options menu.

  1. Download TWRP recovery (twrp-3.1.1-alpha1) for Pixel 2 [here] and Pixel 2 XL [here]. Save the file where ADB is installed.
  2. Power off your device, hold Volume down and turn on the device to boot into bootloader mode.
  3. Open a command window on your PC and issue the below command to temporarily boot into TWRP recovery: fastboot boot path/to/twrp.img Note: If you accidently flash this TWRP image, you will need to download the latest factory image for your device and reflash the boot image. (Source – Team Win)