We had Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware leaked for the LG G3 over the weekend. And LG has promised to officially release the update this week. So for LG G3 users this has to be the most amazing week of Nov 2014, and they’re probably hitting the Check for update button frequently on their G3 devices. But beware! Among the tasty treats of Lollipop, you’d also get an updated bootloader on your G3, which you might not want since it’ll be non-root friendly and Bump! too isn’t compatible to it yet.

Bump! is a critical thing you don’t want to miss on your LG G3. In case you don’t know about it, it’s (so far) the only way to install/flash partition images on the G3, which means it’s the only way to get a custom recovery. Which is indeed something you don’t wanna miss.

So you need to preserve your current (KitKat) bootloader while upgrading to Android 5.0 Lollipop to be able to root Android 5.0 on LG G3. Thanks to Skin1980 over at XDA for providing a way to do this. He has basically created a recovery flashable zip for the leaked Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware and removed the updated bootloader from it. The developer also created a patched kernel for the device which supports root. The patched kernel is from stock Android 5.0 kernel from the leak.

Let’s hit the downloads section and see how you can install Android 5.0 Lollipop on your LG G3 along with root and TWRP recovery.

DOWNLOADS

  LG G3 Android 5.0 ROM (1 GB)
File name: D85520A-lollipop-skin1980.zip

└ All credits for the ROM file goes to Skin1980 over at XDA. For updates to the ROM, check his original post here.

  Patched Boot IMG (10.94 MB)
File name: D85520A-boot-rooted-bumped-skin1980.zip

  Beta SuperSU v2.19 (3.49 MB)
File name: BETA-SuperSU-v2.19.zip

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

WARNING: Warranty may be void of your device if you follow the procedures given on this page. You only are responsible for your device. We won’t be liable if any damage occurs to your device and/or its components.

Important Note: Backup important files stored on your LG G3 before proceeding with the steps below, so that in case something goes wrong you’ll have backup of all your important files.

  1. Make sure your device is LG G3 D855, do NOT try to install this ROM on any other device.
  2. Install a custom recovery (TWRP) on your LG G3.
  3. Transfer/save the three zip files you downloaded above to your LG G3.
  4. Boot into Recovery mode:
    1. Power off your LG G3 and unplug USB (if connected).
    2. Press and hold “Volume Down + Power” button together and soon as you see the LG Logo, release the Power button and quickly press it again.
    3. Continue holding both “Volume Down + Power” until you see “Factory Reset” screen. At this point, if have Bump installed (TWRP Recovery), it won’t erase your data, so don’t worry!
    4. On the Factory reset screen press “Volume Down” once, and then press “Power” button to confirm.
    5. Repeat the above step, press “Volume Down” once again, followed by “Power” to confirm.
    6. You’ll boot into recovery mode.
  5. Once in recovery mode, select Wipe » select Advanced Wipe » select/cross the box for Cache and then “Swipe to wipe” on the bottom of the screen.
  6. Go back to the main menu of TWRP recovery and select Install.
  7. Navigate to the file where you saved D85520A-lollipop-skin1980.zip file, select it and “Swipe to Confirm Flash” on the bottom of the screen. Now wait until the flashing process finishes.
  8. Now similarly flash both the D85520A-boot-rooted-bumped-skin1980.zip and BETA-SuperSU-v2.19.zip file like you flashed the Android 5.0 ROM file above.
  9. After flashing both the files. Go to Main menu, and select reboot to boot your LG G3 with a rooted Android 5.0 Lollipop. Be extremely excited for this!

That’s all. Enjoy!