I am absolutely loving my new ROM though. My phone is so much faster with CyanogenMod 10.1.0-RC5 which has the latest Android 4.2.2 otherwise known as Jelly Bean. The camera no longer glitches, apps load thrice as fast and I love the new camera features and functionality.
IMPORTANT
***This is not a specific
guide to follow for your device. These are just some helpful tips to know
before you attempt to root and ROM your device, whether it's your phone, tablet
or whatever.
**First and foremost, always
understand that there is a risk of bricking your device when you root and ROM
it and rooting will likely VOID YOUR WARRANTY.
(Bricking a device means making it unusable, an expensive paperweight.)
What is rooting.
Rooting is a way of obtaining full access to you device and all its settings
including ones hidden or disabled by your carrier or the manufacturer such as
hot spot capability.
What is a ROM: A
ROM is basically a new operating system for your device. So, switching to a new
ROM can be much like going from windows XP to Windows 7 on a computer.
Before you do anything else...do research.
After you do all the research, backup.
So, one of the easiest ways to make sure you root and rom
your phone correctly is to remove the external SD card so there is no
confusion about which card your using.
- Everything should be going on the internal SD card so the external card is just a distraction.
- Look online to find the ROM and if the ROM doesn't come with Google Apps as a package then get the Google Apps package as well.
- Then save it/them to the internal SD card.
- Next, download appropriate rooting software and save it to the internal SD card.
The XDA Developer forum has rooting instructions and
downloads, custom ROM's as well as step by step instructions for your model of
Android phone. http://www.xda-developers.com/
Be sure to spend enough time researching the steps involved
so you feel comfortable with the process. When looking through the forum make
sure you view the most recent updates, topics and comments so you can get up to
date instruction.
Find the drivers for your version of windows if needed, most
tutorials will tell you whether they are needed or not.
If the instructions say to put your phone in download mode
what they want you to do is this:
- have the USB cable plugged into the computer, ready to go
- make sure your phone is off
- hold down both volume buttons while plugging in to the USB
- release buttons when you get to the android screen
If the instructions say to go into recovery mode, have the
phone shut off, then, hold both volume buttons as well as the power button
until you get to a boot menu.
- If at first you don't succeed try, try again. Then Google it.
- After you have your shiny new ROM up and running and your favorite apps downloaded don't forget to move them to the SD card to free up memory.
If you went and added a custom ROM, you likely picked one with all the specific features you want such as improved camera software, added security or a slimmed down super speedy ROM with no frills but you'll still be able to make adjustments you would never be able to on a stock ROM.
You may love the new ROM forever and ever but once you see how easy it is to root and flash a new ROM you may want to change ROM's as often as your undies. For Rom addicts, I suggest using a ROM manager to help you make backups, install new ROM's and fine tune your device.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.rommanager&hl=en
Hope these tips helped and if you have any questions or input please leave a comment :-)
