Are there any specific advantages of using custom ROMs? I am using a stock ROM and removed all the bloatware. I tried few tweaks in build.prop and init.d and use greenify for better RAM and battery management. Other than the custom UI is there any real advantage of custom ROMs over stock ROMs?
121552
What can a custom ROM provide beyond rooting that I can't get by downloading an application?
116051
Is there a technical reason why Android phones general lag a lot behind the stable released version of Android?    This applies to both new phones, for example a recent trip to the phone shop everything was 4.0 to 4.2.1, KitKat could not be seen. And also old phones, my girlfriend's iPhone 4 had an OTA update to the latest OS, this is a July 2010 phone, whilst a July 2010 Android is basically a paperweight.    Presumably Android itself doesn't concern itself with the actual hardware, and thus talks to the OS via abstractions? I guess then the handset maker just provides the drivers for the specific hardware, thus I can't see the issue with pushing OTA updates if the ABI remains stable (my phone doesn't grow new hardware features).
8001
I am currently looking at the various libraries that I can use to show a map in my custom Android App. I have found several like Mapsforge, OSMDroid, ArcGIS runtime for Android, Google Maps for Android and so on. I'm sure that I am missing a few.   Is there a comparison chart somewhere about the differences in functionalities and pros and cons of each one?   If there isn't one, we could make this question community wiki, to serve alongside  &amp; .
123628
I keep hearing that this is a huge no-no. Why is this? I run Ubuntu mostly so it doesn't affect me, but I was just wondering.
103010
Is it possible to replace internal memory of a android phone ?  How difficult it is?  Is internal memory part of System On Chip itself, so that it is next to impossible to remove them ?  Have anybody tried this out ?  My device is "Redmi Note" - but you can consider this as a generic question. If these is any device where replacing internal memory is  possible, I will switch to that device :)  Thanks
92657
Right now I have in my phone the stock rom and I haven't rooted it. I want to root it and change the rom.    What should I do first, root or flash the rom? I don't want to lose all the configuration, apps, apps data or files (images, music, videos, etc in the SD). How can I do to be sure to avoid this? I want to make sure I can go back to the stock rom if I need, is there any special thing I should do?   If its relevant, I have a Samsung Galaxy I5510.  Thanks!
43223
I used Link2SD and Titanium too. Both of them failed. I want to convert a GPS Spoofer to system app. I tried to move it manually,  but in all 3 cases, the app is completely removed from the drawer. Is there any method?  I am on Samsung J200G rooted with TWRP flashing.
43348
I have apps that I don't trust or that I just want to try. The problem is that even after deleting them they might leave files/spyware/malware/etc. What are my options? I have Xiaomi mi4c on MIUI with google apps but will soon format it and might replace the ROM.
40081
This is a common question asked by those who want to root their phones. How exactly do I root my Android device? Are there risks involved?
65041
Hi I'm using Moto X style and most the space consuming apps are stock Google one which I basically don't use at all. Is there a way to remove them without rooting the device. I know it's an hard ask but I'm just taking a chance here ?
37938
I have recently installed a custom ROM and cannot find the Play Store. It seems like all apps that belong to Google are missing.  How can I install the Google Apps Package (Play Store, ...) on my Android device?
115841
As the question title implies, if I root my Droid Incredible (or any Android phone), will I lose all of my data? I'm not interested in installing a custom ROM right now so will rooting cause me to lose my data? Also, which tool should I use to root the phone?  Edit #1: Based on a suggestion, I rooted my Incredible using Unrevoked, and I didn't lose any information.
117981
I just wanna ask that after rooting Nexus 5 will I be receiving OTA updates by Google ? Or I'll have to install a custom ROM ?
49873
According to ,      /data ... Wiping this partition essentially performs a factory reset on your device, restoring it to the way it was when you first booted it, or the way it was after the last official or custom ROM installation. When you perform a wipe data/factory reset from recovery, it is this partition that you are wiping.   What about /boot, /system, and /recovery, and /cache?    If Factory Reset wipes only /data, then I wish it were called something else, because if you've rooted your phone, it will still be left with whatever custom ROM you flashed even after a Factory Reset.    On the other hand, if Factory Reset does indeed wipe /boot, /system, and /recovery as well, especially /boot, what does it restore those from?  Do all phones come with stock images in a real internal ROM somewhere that it can re-flash those images from?    I can somehow imagine manufacturers not wanting be burdened with the extra cost that such a spec for hardware-recoverable images might have cost them, so it got left out of the standard and left out of most phones, which is why it's so easy to brick them.  So, instead, they give you the option to wipe /data and /cache only, and call that a "Factory Reset" because you're not supposed to be foolish enough to root your phone in the first place according to their way of thinking.  Since rooting my Android and reading hundreds of posts, I've found that many of the terms I learned and accepted as a Computer Science grad student in the 80's don't quite mean the same thing anymore so I have to verify what everything really means before I do something.    Comments to  answer the first part of my question.  But they don't really answer the second part of my question which is really a complaint:  Why call it "Factory Reset" if it doesn't really restore your phone to it's stock factory state?    At this point, the question is merely rhetorical.  I think I already answered this in my question, unless someone can correct me.
44533
Are there any particular advantages/disadvantages to storing apps on the external storage of an Android device? As I have a Nexus S,  I can't think of advantages for me as I can't remove the storage, also the internal storage is more than enough for my needs.  I noticed that on phone start up, when I had all my apps moved to USB storage it was quite sluggish to register all the apps on the menu/home screens.  I also read somewhere that having a wallpaper set from a photo that was stored on the external memory actually drained quite a bit of battery too with all the reads (although I think this may have been a bug).
23535
Many people refer to Android versions by "codenames" rather than version numbers (e.g. Android "Gingerbread"). What are the names of the various versions of the Android OS, and how are these names chosen?
67861
I am interested in trying the new Ubuntu for phones OS development. (I am not an Ubuntu developer, I am new to Ubuntu. Impressed by the Ubuntu Touch preview, I got interested in learning how to develop for it).  Where can I start with it? I can't find any guidance on the Ubuntu site.