There are many devices out there that have more custom ROMs available to them than the Samsung Galaxy A5 smartphones. Since Samsung make so many phones often the custom ROMs aren’t officially done for them unless it is one of the most popular releases—say the Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone.
There are more reasons that people install custom ROMs that can be counted on one hand, but the main reasons are always as follows: updating to new versions of Android, removing the manufacturers skin, using pure versions of Android, using open source software made by third-party developers, and finding a ROM that is made to suit your needs more than the stock ROM by Android.
Details of Note
- The Samsung Galaxy A5 smartphone now has a successor available to the original smartphone, so we are going to be breaking down our custom ROM listicles for the Samsung Galaxy A5 smartphones according to the years. The ROMs available in this guide are only available for the Samsung Galaxy A5 with the SM-A500 model numbers which are only available for the 2015 version.
- Some of the ROMs on this list might also only work on one particular model number such as the SM-A500FU like with the Grace UX custom ROM. Make sure you notice these details that are available from the download links also. If there are no specific model numbers written in the title of the thread, then it is likely for all the SM-A500 model numbers.
- You must have a custom recovery installed on the Samsung Galaxy A5 AM-A500 smartphone before you can install any of the custom ROMs that are available in this guide. Often a custom recovery can be installed on a Samsung smartphone by installing it by using the Odin tool. To do that doesn’t require the bootloader to be unlocked much of the time. You need to research what is necessary to get the custom recovery installed on the smartphone and then come back to this guide for the ROMs once the custom recovery is installed. Most ROMs can be installed regardless of the custom recovery image that is chosen while others have a recommended custom recovery image such as TWRP Recovery. Any details that the ROM has and needs are always available from the download links so make sure you read the title of the threads from the download links and also nay additional information that is available in the first post.
See also: Free Samsung Firmware Update Tools
Note 7 ROM
Few devices are gearing up for a release this year with as much hype as the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. True, there are plenty of articles out there being written about the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 that are suggesting that the speed is not going to be up to the standard of an Apple device, but there are just as many articles online telling another story. One where people are going to love the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 not just for its speed but also the features that it possesses.
Features: based on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates, Note 7 Messages App, Note 7 Gallery, Note 7 Music, Note 7 SBrowser, Note 7 Contacts, Note 7 Smart Manager, Note 7 Voice Recorder, Note 7 SystemUI.
Download: Note7 ROM
Grace UX
The Grace UX custom ROM is also available for the Samsung Galaxy A5 2015 smartphone, and it is based on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates. Samsung is one of our personal favorite brands that we don’t mind mentioning in a few posts, but one of the main annoyances with Samsung is the fact that they can be slow on the software updates. There are a few reasons for that. For starters, it’s hard getting toward the top of the list of updates since Google looks after themselves first and then they seemingly take care of the brands that they have close connections with a such as Motorola who were a Google company for awhile before being sold to Lenovo. Moreover, getting the latest updates is arguably the main reason for installing a custom ROM in the first place, so the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow-based ROM here with the Grace UX is a welcomed release.
Features: Grace UI, based on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates, everything that was part of the Grace UI in the context of the Samsung beta testing program.
Download: Grace UX
Resurrection Remix 5.7
The Resurrection Remix 5.7 is now out for the Samsung Galaxy A5 2015 smartphone, and it is one of the better custom ROMs available in the world. If you don’t have the luxury of running with something that the CyanogenMod team has created, then you will be hard pressed finding something that is better than what the team from Resurrection Remix manage to produce. In fact, many people firmly believe that Resurrection Remix custom ROMs are the best in the world and better than CyanogenMod. The only issue with this one is that it is an unofficial ROM which means that it has been ported to the Samsung Galaxy A5 smartphone and was never an official release by the Resurrection Remix developers.
Features: based on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software updates, all the general resurrection remix ROM features. The ROM is currently in its Beta stages.
Download: Resurrection Remix 5.7 ROM
CyanogenMod 12.1
The CyanogenMod custom ROM isn’t officially out for the Samsung Galaxy A5 smartphone that we have here, but there is an unofficial version made available for everyone to install. The unofficial versions of custom ROMs are referring to the fact that they are ported ROMs that were originally made for other devices. Although they are always tested and made sure to work, it isn’t the same as having the official team members dedicated a new ROM to be made for your device. That is the case here yet again for the CyanogenMod 12.1 custom ROM, Still, over 50,00 people are using this custom ROM, and it is arguably the most popular custom ROM that is made for the 2015 edition of the Samsung Galaxy A5 smartphone.
Features: based on the Android 5.1 Lollipop software updates, is the most recent version of CyanogenMod available for the 2015 A5 (CyanogenMod 13 was available, but it has since been deleted due to installation concerns), all the usual features that come with CyanogenMod 12.1.
Download: CyanogenMod 12.1 ROM