Why You Should & Should Not Use A Custom ROM.
When it comes to having an Android phone, there is always a buzz about these questions:
- Which UI Is Running On The Phone ?
- Is It Stock Android ?
- Will I Have Problems Going From 1 Phone To Other Due To A New UI ?
- What Are Custom ROMs ? Should I Use Them ?
Testing The Latest Android !
The most important reason why people tend towards using a Custom ROM is: The "LATEST" version of Android. Any Android phone that comes in the market is supposedly scheduled for a maximum of 2 OS upgrades (like if your phone has Android N, it would go up to Android O & P).
But, consider these cases:
a. You already got 1/ 2 upgrades and will not be receiving anymore updates.
b. Your manufacturer / carrier is causing delays in giving upgrade
c. Your phone is scheduled for any upgrade.
If you have any of the above cases and want to run the latest version of Android, a Custom ROM is just the key.
Deleting Bloat !
When you purchase a phone from a carrier, it often comes packed with bloatware. These apps clutter your system and waste disk space. Manufacturers even add their own software before the carrier gets to it, so you have two companies each adding their own bloatware to your phone before it gets to you.
Some places you might have read you can remove bloat apps by "disabling" them. But the truth is that it doesn't clear up your space. The app is still on your phone, just not on your screen or drawer.
Sneaking Into Google's Official Take On Android !
"Skinning" is the thing every other OEM does to Android to make it feel different than the other. But not all of them have been loved for several reasons one of them being user-friendliness. If you do not like the skin your OEM has given to you, you can't just switch to the "vanilla" look. To achieve this and remove all manufacturer apps, you'll need a Custom ROM.
(This is how Google's version of Android 9 Pie looks)
If you don’t mind your device’s skin or is loving the skin or you’re using a Nexus device that already comes with a stock Android system, there’s no reason to do this.
So, I hope this thread might have given you an idea about why you should or should not install Custom ROMs. Its not that installing such ROM is bad but you should have a complete idea about it (like reverting back to your stock ROM) before you try to installing.
Tweaking Features !
With Custom ROMs you can enable / disable features as per your likes. Some of them are:
- Overclocking / Under-clocking Your Device.
- Applying Themes / Skins, Testing Custom UIs.
- Enabling / Disabling On-Screen Navigation Buttons.
- Running apps in tablet mode (only for certain apps).
- Easy system toggle for root access.
and many more...
The Negatives !
After all these positives, let's discuss the negatives you might run into while using a Custom ROM:
- Battery Life Problems: The custom ROM may not be as optimised for your device and may drain battery faster than the device’s official ROM.
- Hardware Issues: Custom ROMs may not properly support every bit of hardware in your phone, so you may run into bugs, non-functioning hardware, or just other issues. For example, the device’s camera may not take pictures quite as well as it did on its official ROM.
- Bugs: The custom ROM hasn’t been tested by your manufacturer and carrier, so you may run into other bugs specific to your device and ROM. You could also experience system instability, with apps force-closing and the phone randomly restarting itself.