Friday 21 March 2014
Android is a well known and great OS. It's simplicity and the wide range of possible things that we can do with it, itself makes it the most widely used MOBILE OS. But even though android is used and loved by so many of them it still offers very less updates. So here's a post on how to install a new version of Android (or ROM) on your device for an even better Android experience.
A SIMPLE INTRODUCTION TO ROM
One of the best things that android offers is that if you are unhappy about the current android version that your mobile manufacturer offers ,then you can install ROMs which contain modified versions of android. A new ROM helps you to bring the latest version of android to your smartphone and thereby improve your android experience.
A lot of ROMs are there and they can prove to be very useful even for people who owns Nexus phone with pure stock android, mainly because it helps you to add the latest ,useful features
STEP ONE : UNLOCK BOOT LOADER AND FLASH A CUSTOM RECOVERY
So before we go to this step we need to clear up some confusion. A popularly belief is that you need to root your phone before flashing a ROM .However rooting is not always necessary to flash all ROMs ,as many custom ROMs come with root access. So what you think of as "Rooting your phone"is what we will have to do first .
But unfortunately we can't go through this step in detail as this step is performed using different methods in different phones. But I recommend everyone especially beginners to perform this step after getting information,for knowing the consequences and things you should look out for from all possible sources. I would recommend sites like XDA Developers Forums for getting instructions on how to unlock the boot loader of your phone ,which recovery you should use (usually TWRP or ClockworkMod)and how to flash it.
Before going to step two I recommend that you should root your phone so as to make the second step much easier and less confusing. A lot of methods and one click apps can be used to perform this process. Again this will differ for different phones.
After your done with the rooting process return here and you can continue the rest of the ROMming process.
STEP TWO : BACKUP OF YOUR SYSTEM, APPS, AND DATA
Now that you have finished step one you will have to backup your device before bringing in a drastic change to your phone. So we will make a backup process, which is basically an image of your current system. This way if something goes against our expected result we can easily get a recovery without any hassle.
To do this :
1. Enter recovery mode by rebooting phone. Methods followed for entering recovery mode vary for different phones. Usually this process involves some permutation of pressing the power and volume buttons all at once.
2. After following this step go to the "Backup" or "Android" section of your recovery mode. Confirm your backup and give it a suitable name. After this allow the backup to run.
3. The backup process may take a while. So wait patiently for the backup process to finish.
A second type of backup is also recommended. This type of backup involves backing up of all your settings and apps. You can save a lot of time involved in reinstalling all the apps once the flashing of ROM has finished. You can perform this process with Titanium Backup
To perform a Titanium Backup :
1. Open Titanium Backup and provide it root permissions.
2. Tap the "Batch" button in the upper right-hand corner. Scroll down to the "Backup" section and find "Backup All User Apps." Tap the "Run" button. This will back up any apps you've downloaded from the Play Store, and their data.
3. Wait for it to finish. If you like, you can also sync these to Dropbox.
This may seem as a lot of unnecessary backups and it may also seem to be as a time wasting process. But it will or may prove to be quite useful.
STEP THREE : DOWNLOAD AND FLASH ROM OF YOUR CHOICE
Now it is the time to perform the most important part, which is flashing your ROM. For that first of all you'll have to download your desired ROM for your specific phone. I would recommend you to search sites like XDA Developers Forums for finding ROMs for your specific phone.
Once you have found your desired ROM,download it. But remember ROMs usually come as large Zip files. So you'll have to remember that before downloading the large file.You can either download it directly to your phone or download it to any other devices of yours and transfer it to your phone via USB, Bluetooth or through any other methods. Now after you have got the desired ROM to your phone, you can flash your ROM.
For this :
1. Reboot phone into Recovery mode.
2. Go to "Install" or "Install ZIP from SD Card" section. 3. Head to the Zip file you had downloaded ,and just select it inorder to flash it. And wait for the process to be completed.
4. When you are done ,you will have to reboot your new ROM.
After rebooting you should be in your new ROM. But you will be observing that play store is absent in you new ROM. But don't panic. All you have to do is read and follow the next step.
STEP FOUR : DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL THE DESIRED GOOGLE APPS
Google 's apps are not open source and as a result, custom ROMs can't bundle google apps. Which means that you will have separately repeat the downloading and flashing process, just like how we did it for flashing the ROM. Fortunately this step can be performed quite easily without any hustle. For performing this step you will have to head to this page on RootzWiki to find you desired ZIP file, download it to your phone, and flash it, in the way you did for the ROM. Gaps manager is also an app that can help you to find a suitable package for your phone. You can download the APK from XDA Developers Forums.
So after you have installed your google apps ,you are all set for entertainment. And you can also restore all your apps and settings ,if you made a Titanium backup. So enjoy your new ROM ,and we hope this post helped you out. And don't forget to visit this site for more new and helpful posts.
Technology
A SIMPLE INTRODUCTION TO ROM
One of the best things that android offers is that if you are unhappy about the current android version that your mobile manufacturer offers ,then you can install ROMs which contain modified versions of android. A new ROM helps you to bring the latest version of android to your smartphone and thereby improve your android experience.
A lot of ROMs are there and they can prove to be very useful even for people who owns Nexus phone with pure stock android, mainly because it helps you to add the latest ,useful features
STEP ONE : UNLOCK BOOT LOADER AND FLASH A CUSTOM RECOVERY
So before we go to this step we need to clear up some confusion. A popularly belief is that you need to root your phone before flashing a ROM .However rooting is not always necessary to flash all ROMs ,as many custom ROMs come with root access. So what you think of as "Rooting your phone"is what we will have to do first .
But unfortunately we can't go through this step in detail as this step is performed using different methods in different phones. But I recommend everyone especially beginners to perform this step after getting information,for knowing the consequences and things you should look out for from all possible sources. I would recommend sites like XDA Developers Forums for getting instructions on how to unlock the boot loader of your phone ,which recovery you should use (usually TWRP or ClockworkMod)and how to flash it.
Before going to step two I recommend that you should root your phone so as to make the second step much easier and less confusing. A lot of methods and one click apps can be used to perform this process. Again this will differ for different phones.
After your done with the rooting process return here and you can continue the rest of the ROMming process.
STEP TWO : BACKUP OF YOUR SYSTEM, APPS, AND DATA
Now that you have finished step one you will have to backup your device before bringing in a drastic change to your phone. So we will make a backup process, which is basically an image of your current system. This way if something goes against our expected result we can easily get a recovery without any hassle.
To do this :
1. Enter recovery mode by rebooting phone. Methods followed for entering recovery mode vary for different phones. Usually this process involves some permutation of pressing the power and volume buttons all at once.
2. After following this step go to the "Backup" or "Android" section of your recovery mode. Confirm your backup and give it a suitable name. After this allow the backup to run.
3. The backup process may take a while. So wait patiently for the backup process to finish.
A second type of backup is also recommended. This type of backup involves backing up of all your settings and apps. You can save a lot of time involved in reinstalling all the apps once the flashing of ROM has finished. You can perform this process with Titanium Backup
To perform a Titanium Backup :
1. Open Titanium Backup and provide it root permissions.
2. Tap the "Batch" button in the upper right-hand corner. Scroll down to the "Backup" section and find "Backup All User Apps." Tap the "Run" button. This will back up any apps you've downloaded from the Play Store, and their data.
3. Wait for it to finish. If you like, you can also sync these to Dropbox.
This may seem as a lot of unnecessary backups and it may also seem to be as a time wasting process. But it will or may prove to be quite useful.
STEP THREE : DOWNLOAD AND FLASH ROM OF YOUR CHOICE
Now it is the time to perform the most important part, which is flashing your ROM. For that first of all you'll have to download your desired ROM for your specific phone. I would recommend you to search sites like XDA Developers Forums for finding ROMs for your specific phone.
Once you have found your desired ROM,download it. But remember ROMs usually come as large Zip files. So you'll have to remember that before downloading the large file.You can either download it directly to your phone or download it to any other devices of yours and transfer it to your phone via USB, Bluetooth or through any other methods. Now after you have got the desired ROM to your phone, you can flash your ROM.
For this :
1. Reboot phone into Recovery mode.
2. Go to "Install" or "Install ZIP from SD Card" section. 3. Head to the Zip file you had downloaded ,and just select it inorder to flash it. And wait for the process to be completed.
4. When you are done ,you will have to reboot your new ROM.
After rebooting you should be in your new ROM. But you will be observing that play store is absent in you new ROM. But don't panic. All you have to do is read and follow the next step.
STEP FOUR : DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL THE DESIRED GOOGLE APPS
Google 's apps are not open source and as a result, custom ROMs can't bundle google apps. Which means that you will have separately repeat the downloading and flashing process, just like how we did it for flashing the ROM. Fortunately this step can be performed quite easily without any hustle. For performing this step you will have to head to this page on RootzWiki to find you desired ZIP file, download it to your phone, and flash it, in the way you did for the ROM. Gaps manager is also an app that can help you to find a suitable package for your phone. You can download the APK from XDA Developers Forums.
So after you have installed your google apps ,you are all set for entertainment. And you can also restore all your apps and settings ,if you made a Titanium backup. So enjoy your new ROM ,and we hope this post helped you out. And don't forget to visit this site for more new and helpful posts.
Technology
