Advantages of Updating to Custom Rom on Android

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Android, the most common Mobile Operating System these days has really got a lot from the public! Just because it is open source, people can develop their own version of the Operating System unlike the Apple's iPhone or iPod or the iPad ROM which can not be customized easily! But before I proceed with telling you the advantages of updating to a Custom ROM, I would definitely like to tell you what is a Custom Rom!

A Custom ROM is a modified version of the existing ROM for your mobile phone. The developer performs tweaks on the Stock ROM (The default ROM) and then releases it as a completely new ROM! The tweaks may include performance tweaks, visual tweaks, playing with the default menu, changing the theme and providing other applications pre-installed on the ROM.

Well, now if I begin with the advantages, there are a lot of advantages that can come to someone's mind, but I would share the advantages I find worth the effort of Updating to the Custom ROM. Also, before going to the advantages, here are a few reasons for not updating to a Custom ROM.

Reasons not to update to custom ROM:

• Warranty Void : The mobile phone company's warranty is voided if you install any other firmware on the device, anything other than the one provided by them via official updates.


• Bricking your Device : When you are rooting your mobile phone or updating to a custom ROM, something might go wrong and you might end up having a bricked device. A bricked device is a device which is in a non-functional state and is really hard to get it back!


• Bug Fixes : When you update to a custom ROM, it might have some bugs but the developer is already working on rectifying those bugs so you need to keep yourself updated with the new releases that come up for your phone! Also, there might be some bugs that have not been identified yet and you might be getting them for the first time, which can cause you to panic.

Advantages of Updating to a Custom ROM:

As already mentioned above, the advantages are enormous! But the main ones are described below.

• Speed Tweaks : The custom ROM developers work a lot on the running speed of the OS. This is the best part! You can maximize your RAM usage and use it to its maximum level, which is not possible in Stock ROM.


• Better Battery : Accept it or not, most android phones have a pretty bad battery life! But when you update to a custom ROM, the developer has definitely taken this into consideration and has maximized the battery life. This can be done by simply disabling some default services and replacing them with battery efficient similar services.


• Over Clocking and Under Clocking : Over clocking is a way to make your processor run faster than the prescribed speed and under clocking is the opposite of this. Though over clocking will use up more battery, but under clocking your phone when you put it in standby mode proves as an advantage for the battery! The battery lasts long, experiments have shown!


• Newer Versions : As you might be aware that ICS (Android 4.0) is not available for all the devices because of its system requirements! But the developers have manage to port the ICS for lower devices, which will again come up as a custom ROM for your phone.


• New Themes : When you have a custom ROM installed, you can practically install any theme you find on the internet for your phone without any problem! It is going to be really easy!

A word of Advice :

Before you update your phone with any sort of Custom ROM or Stock ROM, be sure to make a complete backup of all your data, just in case you lose it! Also, always have a recovery option handy in case the ROM turns out something that you did not want.

Well, there are a lot more advantages and disadvantages of updating to a custom ROM, but this will be all from my side in this article. Keep subscribed to TechHive to receive these updates directly into your mailbox everyday! You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.