Installing a custom ROM is the last thing to do to completely customize your Nexus 6P. Unlocking the bootloader, rooting and installing a custom recovery give you more control over the phone, but a custom ROM is the gateway to heaven.
With root access you can properly optimize the stock firmware of the Huawei Nexus 6P. After all, it is stock Android 6.0 Marshmallow so it doesn’t suffer from performance issues. But stock Android has often been criticized for not having many features as skinned versions of Android. Google aims to give the best performance possible with the cost of excluding various features.
Custom ROMs are designed to fix this issue. ROMs are basically modified versions of stock Nexus 6P firmware which contain various improvements. A ROM can include a custom kernel for improved performance, increased battery life and added features such as theme support. CyanogenMod is one of the best ROMs which mixes stock Android experience with many useful features.
How to install a custom ROM on Nexus 6P
To install a custom ROM on your Nexus 6P, you need a custom recovery such as TWRP. Here’s a guide on how to install custom recovery on Nexus 6P.
- First of all, you need to download the ROM file that you want to install on your phone. There are a great selection of custom ROMs for the Nexus 6P over at XDA. Choose the ROM you like the most and download the zip file and move it to the internal storage of your phone.
- Turn off the phone. Press and hold volume down and power buttons at the same time to boot int fastboot mode. Select recovery using the volume buttons.
- Wait for the phone to boot into recovery mode.
- In recovery, perform a full factory reset, wipe cache, dalvik cache and wipe data/factory reset.
- Select install and navigate to the folder where the ROM file is located and swipe to flash.
Wait for the recovery to flash the ROM. Once the ROM is flashed, reboot your phone. The first boot takes a few minutes so be patient. Enjoy the new custom ROM on your Nexus 6P.