Android based custom ROMs Explained

Android operating system is one of the most versatile and flexible OS available today. And because of it's flexibility, many independent developers have developed their own custom versions of the OS. These, mostly open source and free, custom versions of Android available all throughout the internet, is commonly known amongst many techies, as Custom ROMs.

Overview

Custom ROMs are basically firmwares developed upon existing android operating system. This is mostly an aftermarket operating system which one can install, and override upon the existing ROM of the device. These ROMs are basically customized to offer many features such as improved battery life, increase in processor performance and an update to the latest versions of the software.
These are basically built atop android, and is mostly a developed kernel with tweaks and upgraded device driver softwares, and a custom GUI. These are usually kept up-to-dated since they are built upon the latest Android releases, such as Android 7.0 Nougat.

To install a custom ROM, a user must have root access, or privileged control over various android sub-systems. This is very similar to having administrative access or superuser permissions as on Linux or any other Unix-based systems, as Android uses the Linux kernel.
However, one must be aware of the fact that, although gaining root access on  a device is not illegal, it does debars the user from the device warranty authorization, as it would be jailbreaking. Jailbreaking mostly refers to the bypass of several end-user agreements made by the manufacturer which includes modifying the operating system.

Installation

Installing a custom ROM is quite simple, although the process is different for different devices. Installing a ROM basically means to erase the preexisting ROM program and overriding it, which is called flashing the device, or simply flashing. First, one needs to gain root access by bypassing the system. However, many manufacturers do support installation of such ROMs, like Xiaomi offers it's users root access. After that one must enter the phones recovery menu, which is basically the menu for the root options of the devices. To access the recovery menu, one must fiest install a custom recovery program such as, TWRP (Team Win Recovery Program) to get to the recovery menu and other root options. From there the user would have to select the compressed ROM file and it would be installed. These are, of course, not the most proper steps of installation but just a general outline for what to do.
        However, there are certain situations a user must know about, while installing a ROM. As this process involves erasing the current ROM program and installing a new one, if this process is somehow interrupted, the phone might lose it's data halfway, and would become nearly impossible to recover it. Also, probably due to faulty downloading of the ROM program, or faulty installation, the installed ROM might lose potentially important data, such as bootstrap program, and may enter bootloop, a situation where the device constantly restarts itself without crossing the boot screen. The failsafe method to avoid such situations, would be to back up previously existing files, and of the previous ROM.

Advantages

Custom ROMs were developed to bypass the limitations and restrictions of a device. A custom ROM enabled many hidden features of a device, and optimizes the device to it's fullest. These programs usually provide better memory management, more battery backup, boost in processor performance and the latest device driver softwares.

Availability

In today's world, there are a lot of custom ROMs available for a wide range of devices. There are many developers who provide fully customized and developed ROMs, built in various versions, which are completely device specific, for not all devices have the same processor and architecture. One of the most popular custom ROM provider was CyanogenMod, which currently is known as Lineage OS.

Here is a list of the top Android custom ROM developers :

1. CyanogenMod(Discontinued) - Last built upon Android 7.0.1 Nougat.

2. LineageOS(Successor to CyanogenMod) - Currently built upon Android 7.0.2 Nougat.

3. Nitrogen OS - Current build upon Android 7.0.1 Nougat.

4. Ressurection Remix - Current build upon Android 7.0 Nougat.

A more detailed and comparative list of such ROMs would be soon published in this blog so stay tuned.

Although custom made ROMs have plenty of advantages, they also have some disadvantages. Alpha, or Beta versions of such ROMs have many issues, and due to the lack of an experienced brain, these seldom get fixed, and hence the finalised product is released after a long time. Also, if the system software or any other important program of the device gets hampered, the device may become permanently unusable, and the manufacture cannot be held liable.

However, it is completely upto the user whether or not to install it. In case of someone having a good hardware but lagging in software, that could be the case to install a custom ROM.

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