Flash & Boot Multiple ROMs on Xperia Z1 with MultiROM

Among all the things that you can do with your Xperia Z1 device, one of the best experiences is installing a brand fresh ROM with factory reset. There is nothing better than enjoying a new ROM which is fast and quick. It feels like you have just bought the phone.

Those people who have enough time in their hands can try out new ROMs everyday. All you need to do is to download the new ROM that you want to install, wipe data and perform a factory reset if the ROM has a new base and then install the file on the Xperia Z1.

Also Read: Install Android 5.0 Lollipop AOSP ROM on Xperia Z1 Honami

This process doesn’t take a long time. It takes only 5 minutes to perform the full thing. But the problem is after your phone boots up. All the applications that you had previously on the old ROM are gone. In the worst scenario, if you don’t like the ROM you just installed, you have to download another firmware, flash it and then you have to download all your apps again.

But, the amazing developers have come to the rescue again. Thanks to the amazing capabilities of Android, developers have created a tool called MultiROM. MultiROM is a tool for some of the most popular Android devices which allows you to install multiple ROMs at the same and use them all.

So, if you are running on stock ROM and you want to try another custom ROM on your Xperia Z1, you only have to use MultiROM. You install the second firmware and every time you boot the phone, a prompt will show up asking you which ROM you want to boot.

The best thing is that you don’t have to perform a factory reset. So, the first ROM will be same as it has always been with applications installed so you can go back to it every time you want.

MultiROM has just hit the Sony Xperia Z1 and if you are into the life of installing and using multiple ROMs at the same time, then follow the guide below.

How To Install MultiRom on Xperia Z1 and MultiBoot

There are three things you need to achieve the desired result: installing MultiROM, adding other ROMs and booting a ROM using a USB drive.

Installing MultiROM on Xperia Z1

There are two methods of installing MultiROM. There is the easy way and the not-so-easy way.

The easy way

1. Download MultiROM Manager from the Play Store: link
2. Launch the program. It will show that MultiROM and recovery are not installed.
3. Hit the “Install” button.
4. Wait for the app to install the tool. recovery and kernel.

Also Read: How To Enable Call Recording on Xperia Z1, Z2 and Z3

The not-so-easy way

1. You need to download and flash three things
   1. MultiROM tool: link
   2. Modified TWRP recovery: download
   3. Your preferred kernel with the kexec-hardboot patch.
2. Flash all the files in recovery.

Adding ROMs to the MultiROM

1. Boot into recovery.
2. Go to Advanced -> MultiROM and finally select “Add ROM”.
3. Choose the ROM that you downloaded and flash it.
4. Then you can choose another primary or secondary ROM.

Booting ROM using USB drive

When you are installing a new ROM, the recovery will show all the available partitions. While in the installation screen, plug-in the USB drive, press the refresh button and select the USB drive as the install location.