The official Blackhole custom ROM is now available for the T-Mobile LG V10 smartphone. It marks the first bit of aftermarket firmware we have to try out on the V10 handset, and many people are excited to give it a try.

There are many reasons why you should try installing a custom ROM on the LG V10 smartphone. Right now there are many more reasons than ROMs since this device is still new. Because the device is new, it doesn’t make any sense to update just for the newer firmware that isn’t yet available. That said, there are still reasons to install the new ROM, like testing out new features, wanting different features from your stock ROM, having a new ROM that is debloated, and so on.

Correspondingly, a custom ROM on the LG V10 is great for added privacy. You get to choose which Google stock applications you want running — if any at all — and the ROM itself does give you a greater say in what parts of the device are accessible.

The following tutorial demonstrates how to install the Blackhole custom ROM on the LG V10 smartphone.

Files You Need

  • Download the Blackhole custom ROM for the T-Mobile LG V10 smartphone from here.
  • Your device should be rooted and running TWRP Recovery before attempting to flash this file on your smartphone.
  • You must have the T-Mobile model number of the LG V10 to flash this ROM. The developers ayas it will not work on the International version, or any other version.

How to Install Blackhole custom ROM on the LG V10 for T-Mobile subscribers

1. Head over to the XDA Developers forum and search for the custom ROM you want to install on your device.

2. Download the custom ROM file to the computer.

3. Download the Google Gapps package on your computer so you can install the Google stock apps on your new ROM.

4. Transfer both the Google Gapps and the custom ROM to the desktop of the computer.

5. Do not unzip either of the files.

6. Connect your LG V10 to the computer and transfer the zip files over to the internal storage SD card on your device.

7. Unplug your device from the computer.

8. Reboot the LG V10 into recovery mode.

9. Take a NANDroid backup which is the same as selecting the Backup option from the recovery menu.

10. Now wipe the data and take a factory reset from inside the recovery mode.

11. Browse the SD card and upload that custom ROM file.

12. Browse the SD card again and upload the Google Gapps file.

13. Go back to the main recovery menu and select the reboot System option from the menu.

14. Your device will now reboot back into the normal mode. The stock ROM is gone and replaced with the custom ROM. That’s how to install a custom ROM on LG V10 devices.

That’s all.