Part Three: Android Advanced
As Android becomes more and more popular, people are increasingly looking for advice on which phones to buy, which apps to download, and what settings to use to optimize their Android experience. Lucky for you guys, I’m here to help. I’ve had my Android phone (a Verizon Droid Incredible) for almost a year now, and I’ve done just about everything you can do to one.
This is the third in a series of three articles, each covering a different aspect of using and playing with your Android device. This article will cover advanced level Android topics, specifically ROMs and Theming.
IMPORTANT NOTE: THE THINGS DISCUSSED IN THIS ARTICLE CAN BREAK YOUR PHONE PERMANENTLY. NOTHING FROM HERE ON OUT IS OFFICIALLY SUPPORTED BY A MANUFACTURER OR CARRIER. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Now that we have that bit of information out of the way, let’s talk about the what’s, the why’s, and how’s of ROMs and Theming.
ROMs
So, what is a ROM? Simply, a ROM is the phone’s operating system. All Android devices run on the Android operating system, but as we’ve previously discussed Android comes in a lot of different versions. A ROM is just that: an operating system for your phone.
Loading a new ROM on to your phone can endow it with a whole new look, feel, and set of features. Obviously, there are certain limitations based on the hardware (for example, a ROM will not magically make your device 4G LTE capable, unless it already has a 4G LTE radio and 4G LTE is available in your area) but a new ROM can radically change the look, feel, and features of your phone’s OS. Among the most popular ROMs, that also happen to be cross-platform for most Android devices, are CyanogenMod and MIUI. CyanogenMod is a variation on the stock Android operating system released by Google, and it is frequently the first to bring the latest version of Android to phones, complete with their own custom enhancements. MIUI is a ROM developed by Chinese developers that replicates a lot of the look and feel of iOS, the iPhone Operating System, while integrating many of the more advanced features of Android. If it’s not available officially for your device, someone has probably ported it over. Beyond those two, there are people that like to install Stock Android, also known as AOSP (Android Open Source Project). It’s not my particular cup of tea, because I feel like the developer community can do so much more beyond it, it’s like leaving things on the table. However, some people like it, so I have to mention it. Outside of those three, there are many, many ROMs for most devices, most notably HTC Sense-based devices. HTC has established itself as one of the more developer friendly manufacturers, and their Sense package has proven relatively easy to port between devices. For example, my Droid Incredible, released over a year ago, can be upgraded using a ROM to access the features of HTC’s latest version of Sense, which will never be officially released for the device. The same is true for most devices.
So, how do you get one of these awesome ROMs on your phone? Well, believe it or not it’s pretty easy.
First things first: you need root. No root, no ROM. Google is your friend; unless your phone is brand new, you should be able to root it.
Now, you don’t necessarily need a PC to change the ROM on your phone, but it’s easier if you do. There are a few settings you’ll want to change on your phone first.
Go to “Settings “>”Applications”, and click the box next to “Unknown Sources”. Then, click on “Development”, and click the box next to “USB Debugging”. This will allow your phone to install non-Market applications and allow your PC to communicate more fully with your phone.
Now that you’ve done that, you need to download a ROM. I’ve found XDA-Developers to be the best place to find new ROMs. Their website can be accessed at http://forum.xda-developers.com/. Once there, you’ll want to choose your phone model (if you don’t know it, they have pictures), and choose the Android Development forum for your device. Some devices will have a list of ROMs in a thread at the top, and others won’t. It varies from device to device. I recommend you take a look at multiple ROMs to find one that has the look and features you’re looking for. Please be aware that some ROMs are more stable than others. Unless you really want to beta test for some developer, stick to ROMs marked “stable” or “final”. There should be a download link in each ROMs thread, so when you find one you like, download away.
Now, you’ve got your phone rooted and you’ve got a ROM you want to install. You’re gonna need two applications: Titanium Backup and ROM Manager. Titanium Backup will backup your programs so you don’t have to redownload everything from the Android Market, and ROM Manager will let you create a backup of your current ROM so you can restore it if things go disastrously wrong.
To backup your applications using Titanium Backup, open the application, give it root access, select the “Backup/Restore” button at the top, hit the Menu button, then select “Batch”. Under “Backup”, find “Backup all user apps” (it should be the first one), then hit “RUN”. Hit the button labeled “Run the batch operation” and let it back everything up. This may take a bit so go grab a soda, coffee, beer, smoke, whatever, and come back in ten to fifteen minutes.
…And we’re back. So, by now your applications should be all backed up. To restore them, which you’ll need to do after installing your new ROM, just repeat the process up until you choose “Backup user apps” and choose “Restore missing apps with data” instead.
Now, the next thing you’ll want to do is backup your current ROM. For this, you’ll need ROM Manager installed. Open ROM Manager, scroll down to “Backup and Restore”, and select “Backup Current ROM”. Once you choose a name, hit OK. If ROM Manager asks for root access, hit “Allow”. Your device should reboot and backup your current ROM. This will also take ten to fifteen minutes, so refer to my previous list and go from there.
…And we’re back. Again. So, you’ve backed up all your applications and your current ROM. Now you’re ready to install your new ROM.
Here’s how it works. First, mount your phone as USB Storage on your PC. Then, copy the .zip file that your ROM came in over to your SD Card. Reboot into Recovery. Select “Wipe data/factory reset”. This will reset your phone to factory settings, which is necessary for most ROMs to operate properly. Then, select “Install zip from SD Card”. Select “Choose zip from SD Card”, and scroll through the list until you find the file. Select the file, then select through all the “No”’s, until you find the “Yes” button. Select it, and let it do its thing. This may take between fifteen and thirty minutes. When it’s finished, select “Reboot system now”.
If you did things right, you should see a new boot animation. It may take a bit for your phone to reboot.
So, once you have your new ROM installed and your phone booted up, it’s the same setup you would do for a brand new device, except with more awesome software. You’ll want to download Titanium Backup from the Market and run the Restore batch operation. That should give you all your software back. After that, it’s all you. Most ROMs have additional functionality you’ll want to explore and play with.
Themes
If you’re anything like me (and if you’ve gotten this far, you probably are), you demand absolute control over not only the functionality, but the look of your device. This is where theming comes in. Most custom ROMs can be themed, which means applying a new set of graphics and icons to them than they might otherwise use. There are a couple of ways to do this: through manual zip file installation, Metamorph, and UOTK.
For manual zip file installation, you just need a zip file with the appropriate files to change. XDA-Developers is great for this as well. Just download the file, put it on your SD Card, and install it through Recovery. The only downside is that you’re stuck with whatever the creator of the zip file decided to do.
Metamorph is another option. I’m not a huge fan of Metamorph, but it’s a useful and powerful tool that allows you to theme elements of the ROM that you might not otherwise be able to, as well as choose what specific changes you want to apply. If you need absolute control, this is the program you want.
Finally, there’s UOTK, or the Ultimate Online Theme Kitchen. UOTK is a website that allows you to generate custom themes for your phone. This is my personal favorite. It allows you to customize your battery icon, notification icons, status bar, popups, window animations, fonts, and boot animation. If your ROM isn’t in their list, you can send files from your phone to them and they’ll try to cook something up for you. The address is http://uot.dakra.lt/.
Epilogue
I’d just like to thank everyone for following along and for all the good questions I’ve gotten. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. If you have questions, post something for me in an Open Thread. Thanks, and happy Androiding!
