How to Install ROM using ROM Manager App!

For those of you who have been installing custom ROMs on your Android device using CWM Recovery, did you know you can use ROM Manager to automate the process?

ROM Manager app allows you to easily install ROMs without rebooting into CWM Recovery manually and automates the process of installing custom ROMs or even just zip files (like MODs).

The reason I didn’t include this in my root tutorials is because sometimes this automated process can break and if you don’t know how to manually install custom ROMs, you may end up in a nasty bootloop with no way to recover.  But, if you know how to manually install custom ROMs using CWM Recovery, I do highly recommend using ROM Manager app to automate the process in the future.

*Note – For TWRP Recovery, you can use TWRP Manager app on Play Store which works nearly identical to ROM Manager but for TWRP Recovery.  I should have another brief tutorial on that also later down the road.

Before we begin, you must have a rooted Android device.  If you don’t have a rooted Android device, see How to Root Android page.

Step 1. Most of my root tutorials install CWM Recovery by default so you probably already have CWM Recovery installed if you have a rooted Android device.

Download and open the ROM Manager app from Play Store.

Notice under “Recovery Setup” that I already have CWM Recovery installed.  If you have an older version of CWM Recovery, you can also update it using ROM Manager.

If you don’t have CWM Recovery installed, hit “Recovery Setup” to install CWM Recovery first for your Android device.

Step 2. Next, let’s install a new custom ROM.  Obviously, you should have downloaded all the ROM zip files onto your phone already.

So, hit “Install ROM from SD Card”.

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Step 3. Next browse your storage and find the ROM zip file you want to install and choose it.

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Step 4. If you are installing an AOSP ROM like CM11, you may need to add additional files like Gapps so use the “Add Zip” menu button to add more zip files if needed.

If you have not backed up your ROM or want to backup your existing ROM (so you can restore it later if you don’t like the new ROM), make sure “Backup Existing ROM” option is checked ON.

Also, for fresh install, I do recommend having “Wipe Data and Cache” ON, this is usually the recommended method but if you want to dirty-flash, leave it OFF.

After that, simply hit “Reboot and Install” and ROM Manager should automatically backup your current ROM and install new ROM for you while you go on a coffee break.

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Step 5. You may still want to watch the process as sometimes this process breaks.

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If the ROM you are installing comes with AROMA graphical installer, you may have to manually go through the installer like I am doing here.

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Step 6. Once everything is done, your phone will reboot and you will see welcome screen like below if your ROM was installed successfully.

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If you end up in a bootloop for some odd reason, you will manually have to reboot into CWM Recovery to fix the error.  But most likely, this should work well in most cases.

Enjoy!

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Max Lee

Max Lee is the founder of HighOnAndroid.com. Max makes Android tutorials and review videos for people who want to get high on Android over at his YouTube channel and Korean YouTube channel.