A custom ROM provides a new build system for the Android operating system. The ability to use custom ROMs is a great joy for Android. Here is the list of why custom ROM use to customize the mobile phone.
- A custom ROM holds an entirely new build of the Android operating system. You need to install or flash the ROM to use it that offers huge benefits.
- If your phone does not get updates from the company, then a custom ROM can be installed to get the latest Android version.
- For experiencing “Stock Android” facilities, you can install a custom ROM in your smartphone to customize its software heavily.
- You can install a custom ROM to optimize your smartphone in terms of speed and good battery life. You can also find ROMs that will help you port back to your old version of your device if you didn’t like the features from other manufacturers.
In today’s topic, we, Techvaio, will look at two ways to install a custom ROM in the smartphone. Between the two ways, one takes the help of an Android App and the other approaches manually. Let’s start our topic without taking much time.
Know about installing custom ROM in android device
Before doing it, you need to do a little bit of practice. In this guide, we’re assuming you’ve got all the needed things in place. At first, you need a small piece of software called custom recovery, which is used to create a backup of the data and flash a ROM. When you root the device, the installation of a custom recovery will easy.
In this guide, TWRP is going to be used. Most smartphones have a locked bootloader, and the user needs to unlock it to overwrite the system files. Depending upon the devices and the Android versions, the process can differ, so check online for specific custom ROM for your device. For Android devices, go to “Settings > Developer options” and turn on “USB Debugging.”
You need to disable your smartphone security settings before flashing a custom ROM – especially your fingerprint scanner. You can back up your full data during the flashing process, but it’s convenient to use the Titanium Backup via root to back up your data. Also, take care of your phone charge because you don’t want to run out of power halfway through flashing a custom ROM.
Download a Custom ROM
You need a custom ROM that’s compatible with your smartphone. It’s important to access the right one to the right mobile. The custom ROM will be downloaded somewhere in your smartphone’s internal storage as a .zip file. You may need to download the Google apps (G Apps) for downloading most of the ROMs in a separate zip file.
You aren’t such silly attempting to flash an HTC ROM on an Indian version of a Samsung phone. But it could be easy to download a custom ROM in the US version of a Samsung phone if you’ve got it. These depend on different phones and be sure about the right one.
Flash a Custom ROM through Recovery
Through the recovery, you can flash a custom ROM manually and less chance to be wrong. Instead of using a third-party app, it involves manual control a little more. You will get full control over the process and less chance of getting wrong.
Please switch off the phone and boot it into recovery mode by pressing Volume down + power button, in some case home button +Volume down volume button. The way is not the same for each handset. Kindly check before proceeding this recovery mode for your device. After the boot, you have to follow the onscreen instructions to move further.
Flash the ROM
You can start flashing the ROM once TWRP has launched. Follow the given steps to flash a custom ROM by rebooting your device.
- Create an N-android backup that will help to restore or recover your phone. Go to Backup and select a part that you want to save and get back after flashing the ROM. You can also select all parts if you need them all and restore them when the time comes.
- Start the backup process by swiping the bar. Wait for several minutes to be completed the whole backup process.
- Going back to the home screen, select ‘Wipe‘ and swipe the bar up to reset the phone. The internal storage of your phone won’t be wiped out completely. Though it keeps all the apps and data intact, it causes the phone’s ROM error called a dirty flash. Alternatively, you can select ‘Advanced Wipe‘ and choose ‘Dalvik Cache‘ or ‘ART Cache.’
- Returning to the TWRP home screen, install the ROM by navigating the way to save the ROM’s zip file.
- Tap the zip file and swipe the bar to select and start the installation process.
- After the completion of the installation process, reboot your phone again.
If the phone screen gets stuck during the boot, don’t panic because the first time flashing a custom ROM usually takes a bit longer time.
With an N-android backup, the user will always restore your phone’s data and runs quickly. As soon as the phone has restarted, restore all your apps and data. Many ROMs are pre-rooted, but using Titanium Backup, you can do the work without extra steps. Now you can enjoy the new software.
Flash a Custom ROM with an App
If the previous process looks a bit tough, you can use an app to flash the ROM in your Android. FlashFire is one of the best apps for flashing a ROM. As it is free and easy to use, the user doesn’t have to worry about it. It’ll handle the entire process without a custom recovery.
But, one minor point about FlashFire is that it only works on rooted phones. For running the app for the first time, you need to grant the root access request and set it up. Then swiping up the sidebar and open the ‘Settings‘ to choose ‘Freeload.’ It will activate the App’s full features.
Flash a Custom ROM with FlashFire
You need to click a little more to complete every task in FlashFire compared to a couple of clicks. Follow the given steps to work easily.
- The “+” icon is present in the bottom right corner. Tap that to see options. There “Choose Backup> Normal (to create a standard backup) or Full (to create a full backup)” for saving everything.
- In the top right corner, hit the checkmark to get started. Then wait until the Backup is complete.
- Then select ‘Wipe‘ to choose the parts of your phone, which you want to clear. The App will select the System data, Third-party apps, and Dalvik cache by default that you need.
- Locate the downloaded ROM and select the Flash ZIP or OTA from the storage of your phone.
- Now, Tick the “Mount, system read, write an option,” and hit the check icon to start. You need to select some of the other options for some other ROMs or other flashable zips.
If ROM is required to be downloaded separately, restore a backup by opening the sidebar. FlashFire also supports OTA updates from the manufacturer of the smartphone. As it doesn’t interfere in root accessing, it makes Flashfire a very convenient tool.
The Final Word – The Best ROMs for android device
First, installing a custom ROM on your Android seems daunting, but you will understand the fundamental steps after doing it once. It becomes the second nature of the method you choose. All you need is to find a decent custom ROM for your smartphone to test.
Cyanogen-Mod is the most popular to make official and unofficial builds for most devices. PAC-ROM is another custom ROM supporting widespread. Although Flashfire has a stock interface, it is packed with geeky features that provide customize settings in terms of looks and works. We recommend the XDA Developers forums for finding a good custom ROM that supports your smartphone. N-android Backup will not harm testing of multiple ROMs as you find the right one.
If you like the article, share it with your friends and help them to install a custom ROM on your Android. And you can also suggest some other ways in the comments as we, Techvaio, are always looking forward to doing something new.
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