That’s why I’m still running a custom Android ROM in 2024

Custom ROMs Once the something for Android enthusiasts, but discussions about them have died down in recent years. Better software updates, more polished user interfaces, and more efficient hardware have made them seem less necessary. However, the community never completely disappeared, and in 2024 you will still be able to find dozens of Android phones and tablets running official versions of LineageOS. So what is it that keeps so many people hooked on modified operating systems while most others have moved on? To find out, I installed custom ROMs on two of my Android devices.

Why install a custom ROM in 2024?

The biggest reason to install a custom ROM hasn’t changed in over a decade – an aftermarket OS can extend the life of older Android devices that have long been abandoned by their manufacturers. Take the LG V40 or OnePlus 7 Pro for example. Officially, both phones are no longer receiving new Android version updates or security patches. However, the enthusiast community keeps such devices alive with official LineageOS builds Android 14. Some popular phones like the Galaxy S5 continue to receive updates to this day.

Performance and responsiveness are probably the second most important reason to consider installing a custom ROM. Even old flagship systems are buckling under the load of modern Android skins and apps. Finally, even if you have a relatively new device such as Pixel 9you may want to consider an alternative operating system without Google services to maintain privacy or extend battery life.

But this is just a theory – how useful is a custom ROM in the real world?

My test subjects were the Poco X3, which I use as a secondary phone, and the Xiaomi Pad 6, which I use for web browsing and multimedia consumption.

The Poco X3 was a popular budget smartphone when it was released four years ago in late 2020. It last received a security update in September 2023 and has never pushed past Android 12. However, with a little searching you’ll find several Android 14-based custom ROMs that are still receiving weekly updates (pictured above).

My Xiaomi Pad 6, meanwhile, receives routine official security patches, but may never see Android 15. And even though the tablet uses the Snapdragon 870, a flagship chip from several generations ago, I noticed stuttering while multitasking on the stock ROM. Xiaomi’s custom skin also doesn’t support multiple user profiles, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and install it CrDroidcustomization oriented custom ROM.

In both cases, the overall experience was night and day. My phone and tablet ran noticeably faster and smoother, and apps opened and closed almost instantly. In fact, I could barely tell the difference between my Pixel 8 and Xiaomi Pad 6 in multitasking, despite the latter’s much older chip. Opening the app drawer revealed that both custom ROMs had less than ten apps pre-installed, which was a far cry from the dozens installed stock.

While LineageOS has gained a reputation for being like stock Android, I’d say it’s closer to stock. Google didn’t give AOSP nearly the same attention as Pixel UI, so LineageOS developers took the liberty of adding a modern web browser, gallery, camera, and calendar app.

Likewise, you’ll find plenty of quality-of-life features that still haven’t made it to most stock ROMs. For example, I’d like my Pixel 8 to allow you to double-tap the status bar to quickly turn off the display, prevent apps from accessing the Internet, long-press the volume key to switch music tracks, and add a permanent network traffic monitor to the status bar.

LineageOS is just the tip of the iceberg, however, as CrDroid has dozens of features, from custom volume increments to customizing status bar icons. I’ll let the screenshots of the CrDroid settings menu below give you a more complete picture. And while it may sound like a broken record, the overall experience was so much smoother that I no longer felt the urge to run out and buy a new tablet.

I also discovered a wealth of Magisk modules that offer even greater functionality. Magisk modules are small applications for rooted Android devices that add system-level features. For example, I installed Pixelify module and I immediately had access to voice typing in the Assistant Gboard and Google Now Playing on my Poco X3. With a little effort you can use this module to get the most out of it Features exclusive to Pixel works on any device, including call checking in unsupported countries.

Overall, custom ROMs still ensure that your phone is updated with additional features if you want to tinker. So what’s the catch?

If you have ever dealt with root your android phoneyou may know that Google has started to oppose custom ROMs under the guise of security. The biggest obstacle is Play Integrity, a service provided by Google that allows apps to verify that they are running on a “genuine Android device” without “spoofed app versions and untrustworthy environments.”

To put it simply, the Play Integrity API will raise a red flag if your Android device has an unlocked bootloader or root access. Unfortunately, this also disqualifies any operating system that has not passed Google GMS certification. This is frustrating because a custom ROM is not inherently dangerous, but Google treats it as such. As you might expect, many banking apps use Play Integrity, but some other apps, such as McDonald’s, inexplicably refuse to work on uncertified ROMs.

Now you can technically bypass Play Integrity by rooting and installing a veritable cocktail of Magisk modules that spoof device IDs. I tried this approach and the popular Play Integrity Fix actually worked for me. Apps could no longer detect that I was running a custom ROM, let alone a rooted version. Google Wallet it also worked, allowing me to use the phone’s NFC for contactless payments.

However, within a few days my luck turned around. As I sat down to write this article, I noticed that my device no longer passed the Play Integrity Check. Confused, I opened the Magisk subreddit and found a thread claiming that Google had blocked most of the fingerprints used by the Play Integrity Fix module to avoid root detection. It turns out that the module currently relies on a small number of leaked fingerprints, most of which come from official Pixel ROMs in beta. Google can retire these fingerprints at any time, which means the community has to look for unblocked fingerprints.

As you may have noticed, it’s a game of cat and mouse and an unreliable solution at best if you rely on your phone for banking, RCS, contactless payments, or a myriad of other things that require an “integrity” check. However, not all custom ROMs have this problem – GraphenOS it passes a basic integrity check and this is enough for the vast majority of applications, even banking ones. I wrote about it first hand Experience installing and using GrapheneOS on the Pixel 6 last year and has only improved in recent months. Since it meets the basic security requirements of the Play Integrity API, most banking apps work well.

The good news is that outside of apps blindly relying on Play Integrity, I can’t say I encountered any usability issues with the ROMs I tested. I didn’t notice any crashes or random restarts, all my alarms went off on time, and battery life remained solid. Custom ROMs were once considered the wild west of Android, but they have advanced significantly over the years.

Apart from GrapheneOS, which is only supported on newer Pixel devices anyway, would I recommend installing a custom ROM in 2024? The answer will depend on whether you rely on Play Integrity-connected apps and whether you can tolerate sudden, significant changes.

For my part, I can’t justify running a custom ROM like LineageOS on my smartphone with everyday drivers. Even though my overall experience was better than most stock ROMs I’ve used recently, Integrity Play’s workarounds are just too unreliable. I wouldn’t want to wake up to an app that refuses to work on my fully functional phone. However, if you are among the small group of users who have a supported device, technical knowledge, and the patience to deal with potential issues, I can still recommend installing a custom ROM on your primary phone in 2024.

Having said that, I think custom ROMs deserve your attention if you have an additional Android device, such as a tablet. Heavier skins like Samsung’s One UI and Amazon’s Fire OS can be a real drag, especially on older devices. That said, both manufacturers have made it difficult to install custom ROMs on their latest devices. Xiaomi’s Pad series and Google’s Pixel Tablet are the only current-generation devices Android tablets with strong social software support.

Needless to say, I will continue to use a custom ROM on my tablet. Responsiveness and the ability to switch between multiple users are much more important than compatibility with a small number of applications, especially on a shared device.

Moreover, if you only care about the security and privacy-enhancing aspects of alternative operating systems, I can confidently recommend GrapheneOS.

Instead of bypassing security features like Secure Boot, GrapheneOS tries to leverage them and extend them with additional features. For example, you can effectively sandbox and isolate Play Services to ensure that Google is unable to collect data from your phone in bulk.

As for other custom ROMs, their future is uncertain. It’s a bit ironic that a company that once took pride in Android’s diversity now actively discourages the communities that celebrate it the most. But with no competitor on the horizon, it’s simply the status quo we have to live with. The only consolation is that advances in processing hardware have leveled off cheap android phones quite useful nowadays whether you installed a custom ROM or not.