How To Find & Install a Custom ROM For Your Android Device

One of the great things about Android is that the operating system isn’t stuck on just one device – you can find it on all sorts of gadgets from multiple manufacturers. Another beautiful feature about Android is that it is extremely customizable, and (usually) so is the hardware. This means that if you’d rather run a custom ROM on your device, the chances of being able to do that is pretty good.
However, since not every device can be hacked into to make such changes – as the manufacturers can still choose to be restrictive if they feel it’s necessary – you’ll need to have a strategy to look for custom ROMs for your device. Also, if you do find a custom ROM you’d like to try out, you’ll need to know what you must do on your device in order to install the ROM.

What’s A Custom ROM & Why Use One?

A custom ROM is simply a version of Android which third-party developers create for your device. They are meant to replace what is known as the stock ROM, or the version of Android that the manufacturer provided on your device. There are many reasons why you may want to try a custom ROM on your device. In most cases, they take away all the bloatware that is usually impossible to remove, they can potentially increase performance and/or improve battery life, and they may bump you up to a newer version of Android that the manufacturer may not offer.

There are potential downsides to running custom ROMs, however, which include invalidated warranties, lack of hardware support for things such as your camera, and potential battery drain. However, if you stick to a custom ROM which comes from a more reputable source, then these downsides except for the invalidated warranties shouldn’t appear.

Where To Find One For Your Device

There’s a handful of different places you can look at to see if there’s a custom ROM for your device, but I highly recommend that the first place you should check out is CyanogenMod. These guys are among the leaders of custom Android ROMs and therefore one of the most reputable. They offer support for a huge variety of phones, so a high percentage of you should be able to find a custom ROM from them.
Their ROMs usually improve performance and battery life, upgrade your device to a newer version of Android than what the manufacturer supports, and includes some other extras such as enthusiast-level performance settings. If your device is quite popular, then CyanogenMod is most likely to offer custom ROMs for it.