explaining roms

[cooldude1]

sinse i am new to android, i was wondering if anyone can spare a few min to explain to me what a rom is, how it works, and where to get them. the help is much appreciated.

 

[pr17]

I'm not an expert but i'll try to help.

ROMs are basically 3rd party software that extends on the Android OS.

To have most ROMs i'm pretty sure you're going to need to root your phone, which is another process (search the forum for this).

The two best and most well known ROMs are MIUI and Cyanogenmod. I don't want to advertise and link to their websites, so you can easily find these using Google.

If you need more help. PM me I'd be glad to help.

 

[dan330]

1. you have to have ROOT access.. to use custom ROMs.

2. ROMs are someone/groups development project for a particular PHONE.. they took some one else's android ROM and changed it up... to their liking.. add a feature or took away a feature... changed how it functions. they packaged it up in a ROM. You can take that ROM and flash it on your same model phone.

3. if it is just a color or look change... that is a Theme.

 

[cooldude1]

thanks a lot, that helps. so does this mean i ca download say, the gingerbread os rom and put it on a mobile device as the mian os?

 

[lunatic59]

thanks a lot, that helps. so does this mean i ca download say, the gingerbread os rom and put it on a mobile device as the mian os?

If a gingerbread rom exists for that device and that device has an unlocked bootloader, yes.

Each device is different and each requires a specific set of functions at it's base to access the hardware, etc. Android is not like a desktop OS that includes drivers for common devices and generic drivers in case specific drivers aren't available. So, if you have an EVO and you find a Gingerbread rom for the DroidX, you can't use it.

 

[dan330]

your device can only have one OS running at a time...

you can take a Gingerbread ROM and put it on your phone... only if the ROM was designed to run on your PHONE model.

I have an EVO 4G on Sprint. I can only run Gingerbread ROMs made for EVO on Sprint.

There are 4 Samsung Galaxy S phones in usa.. one for each major carrier. If you have an EPIC (Galaxy S phone on Sprint), you CAN NOT use a Captivate (Galaxy S on AT&T) ROM!!!!!! Making this mistake can perminately break your phone!!!

 

[cds0699]

OP, the main thing you want to do is find the forum for the phone that you have. Then look through and see what ROM's are available, and what features/benefits the ROMs have, and decide if that's a ROM you'd like to have on your phone. A lot of them come with custom tweeks and optimizations that really make your phone perform better.

Then you need to root your phone... generally speaking the forum for your phone should have an "all things root" subforum where you can find information on how to root your phone. Be sure to read everything carefully until you fully understand the process, and by all means if you have questions don't hesitate to ask BEFORE doing anything so that you're prepared.

Then once you've successfully rooted your phone, you can find the ROM you want, then read that thread completely (all the posts, not just the OP) so that you know all about the ROM, how to install, and other peoples posts about the ROM. Once you're clear on how to do everything properly, follow the instructions on how to install

You also may want to check xda developers for more ROM's as not all of them that are available are posted here. There's a lot of awesome ROM's available, the developers put in a lot of time and hard work on them.

 

[cooldude1]

can you do stuff like this to android tablets as well? or is the whole rom and rooting thing for android phones only?

 

[dan330]

anything android is up for modding...

XOOM just got its first ROM
Motorola XOOM Gets its First Custom ROM

Nook Color has been in play for a while.

 

[lunatic59]

can you do stuff like this to android tablets as well? or is the whole rom and rooting thing for android phones only?

If a rom exists for your tablet, then it certainly is possible. One of the obvious examples are the CM7 and Phiremod roms for the Nook Color from Barnes & Noble.

 

[cooldude1]

what about for the acer iconia? are there any roms for that?

 

[lunatic59]

what about for the acer iconia? are there any roms for that?

Does that not come with Honeycomb?

 

[cooldude1]

it does use honeycomb but above, it says u have to use roms designed for your device or else theres a really good chance you can break your device.

 

[lunatic59]

it does use honeycomb but above, it says u have to use roms designed for your device or else theres a really good chance you can break your device.

Except seeing that Honeycomb is the latest Android OS, what would you be flashing? A downgrade? I seriously doubt there's much development for that going on.