Flashing custom ROMs can be a trying ordeal for some, yet they endure because they’ve heard so many good things from their friends about the latest build. If you or someone you know has ever flashed any version of Cyanogenmod, then you know some of the great things that can come along with it. There are those however that would like nothing more than to try the latest custom ROM that everyone is raving about, but they are too afraid to mess something up. As I have always said, if you stick to the instructions on how to Root your device and flash a custom ROM of your choice down to the letter, you are highly unlikely to damage anything. That’s what the instructions are for. If you would rather not take the risk though, there may be a solution for you. It’s called SMS Romer.
This new app seeks to help those out there that wish to flash a custom ROM but don’t want to take the risk of messing something up. Just like the app name suggests, SMS Romer in short, flashes your choice of Cyanogenmod build all through a text message. We know it’s weird, but the app flashes Cyanogenmod by sending a text message that contains a code command, which starts the whole process. Just like if you were to boot into recovery mode on your own and wipe your cache and data, SMS Romer will do that too so you can properly prepare for the flashing of the ROM, unless you don’t have any need for wiping your data for a factory reset. I generally recommend wiping your dalvik cache any time you do an update to the latest builds, but unless you’re flashing a completely new custom ROM-like going from Cyanogenmod 9 to Cyanogenmod 11 for example-you don’t need to wipe your data.
Since custom ROMs don’t come with the core Google apps installed, you’ll have to make sure to flash the Gapps package to get things like Gmail, Play Store, and the like to show up on your device, and SMS Romer has you covered for this as well. If flashing a custom ROM this way sounds easiest for you, there are just a few things that you need to do before you proceed. Your device must be rooted for this to work, if it isn’t rooted yet you’ll want to search for a process on how to do so before you attempt to use this app. You’ll also need a custom recovery installed on the device, but it will only work with TWRP recovery, so make sure not to flash Clockworkmod recovery instead. Lastly, and the most important, is that you need to make sure that your device is on the supported list of devices for any Cyanogenmod build out there. If your device isn’t supported per the normal means of flashing the custom ROM, this app won’t work for you. If you want to check out the app and get started you can grab it from the XDA developers thread. Happy flashing!