Top 5 Things To Do Before Installing a Custom ROM on your Android Device

Rooting and installing custom ROM offer many advantages indeed but, at the same time it can be a risky as it can cause serious problems to your phone and possibly even brick it.

People brick their phone because they don’t take precautions when installing a custom ROM on their device. If you understand things and go through it carefully, you’ll never be caught into the uncomfortable situation. Here are some important things to be taken into consideration before rooting or installing any custom ROM.

1. Backup your Apps, Contacts, etc.
   The first thing that you should do before installing a custom ROM is to backup your applications, data, contacts, messages, etc. By backing up your phone, you won’t lose your important data when something happen during the procedure.
2. Ensure decent battery level
   It is very important to check the battery level before installing a custom ROM or rooting an android device. Because, if your device turned off in the middle of the procedure due to lack of battery, it can cause your phone to brick. So, it is very important to have battery sufficiently charged before you start rooting or installing any custom ROM.
3. Turn on the USB Debugging mode
   USB debugging mode is a mode to facilitate a connection between an Android device and a computer with Android SDK. Before an app like One-click-root can dig into your system and grant the access to your device, USB debugging is necessary to allow that function in the first place.
   That’s is why, whenever you want to perform such task, it is highly recommended that you turn on the USB Debugging mode from ‘Developer Options’ under Settings of your device.
   
   On Android phones with Jelly Bean 4.2 and higher, the Developer Options are hidden by default and it can only be accessed by tapping 7 times on ‘Build Version’ from Settings ->About.
4. Backup your current ROM
   If you’ve rooted your phone, it is recommended that before installing a custom ROM on your phone, you must back up your current ROM, whether it is stock or custom ROM. So that if you experience some lag or any other situation you don’t like after flashing a custom ROM, you can restore the phone to its original state with this tool. 
5. Backup Your Phone’s IMEI
   Sometimes, when you install a custom ROM, your IMEI number will be lost and as a result you will not be able to receive proper network signal. To avoid such situations, do not forget to backup a folder called ‘efs’ that stores your IMEI number.
   To access the folder, you have to install a root file explorer app like Root Explorer, X-plore File Manager, etc. Once installed, open the app and find the folder. You will easily find it as it is located on the root directory of your device. When you located the folder, just copy the entire folder and paste it on your external SD card. It will be even better if you copy it to your computer too. After installing the custom ROM, just copy and paste the folder in the same location where it was.