The Google Nexus range of devices were almost made to have a custom ROM installed if you wanted to get away from the vanilla stock Android operating system. Further, the Google Nexus 7 is a device that has some of the best third-party developers spending their free time creating new custom ROMs for you to try on your device. In goes without saying that Nexus 7 owners should at least test out a new ROM once if they have a spare hour sometime during the year.

Google Nexus 7

Files You Need

  • You will need a rooted Google Nexus 7 before you can install a custom ROM from the list.
  • You will need a custom recovery installed before you can install any of the ROMs from the list.
  • You might find that some of the custom ROMs do not come with the Google stock applications pre-installed. If you need the stock application from Google on your device and they do not come with your ROM, you are best to flash a Google Gapps package after you flash the ROM.

Pure Nexus Project:

The Pure Nexus Project ROM is based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and the AOSP ROM which is a quite simple and fast custom ROM. The Pure Nexus Project ROM is the best custom ROM for you if you want an update to the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with the same UI and features of the stock Android.

Features: Based on AOSP Android 6.0.1, pre rooted with SuperSU, advanced rotation settings, native NTFS and exFAT support, Google sounds, UI improvement, download speed tweak, adb over network, host name customization, 3minit battery mod, lock screen customization, quick pin unlock, weather in status bar, force expanded notifications, quick settings pull down.

Download: Pure Nexus Project ROM

SlimLP 5.1.1 ROM:

The SlimLP custom ROM is the best custom ROMs for any smart phone. The SlimLP custom ROM is fast, smooth and great space savers. The SlimLP 5.1.1 custom ROM will give you the best performance by utilizing all the capability of your smart phone’s hardware.

Features: Android 5.1.1. Lollipop based, membar added to recent options, LS shortcuts increased from 5 to 7, Selinux switch, linked volume implementation changed, gesture lock screen, battery saver color selection, battery light 100% charged level, clean all icon colors added, proximity speaker, in call UI.

Download: SlimLP 5.1.1 ROM

CyanogenMod 12 ROM:

Everyone who knows anything about custom ROMs will know what CyanogenMod is all about. CyanogenMod is a custom ROM by a team of developers who started the craze of custom ROM installing on Android smart phones. CyanogenMod always makes custom ROMs imitating the UI and features of the stock Android OS version.

Features: Android 5.0.2 Lollipop based, quick settings customization, enable 2/3/4 tiles per row, enable disable brightness slider in notification panel, advanced location setting switch, long press toggles to enter settings, power menu customization, Home button, wake up device switch, short press actions, LCD density, quick unlock, optimization to improve battery.

Download: CyanogenMod 12 ROM

Euphoria OS 1.1 ROM:

The Euphoria OS is one of my favorite custom ROM of all time. The Euphoria OS has all the ingredients which make a custom ROM worth installing in any Android smart phone. Euphoria OS is fast, smooth, beautiful, customize-able and low space eating custom ROM with lots of new features came installed with it.

Features: Android 5.0.1 Lollipop based, lock screen shortcuts, choose up to 5 shortcuts in lock screen, 100+ icons for shortcuts, quick settings, calendar events, notification settings, notification count, advanced location settings switch, saving/device only/high accuracy directly in notification settings, app circle bar, gesture anywhere, toast animations.

Download: Euphoria OS 1.1 ROM

PAC MAN ROM:

The PAC MAN custom ROM is a mixture of three custom ROMs available on the internet: Paranoid Android, AOSP and CyanogenMod. These three custom ROMs are unique by features and also give an element of simplicity, so why not have all these features in a single custom ROM? This question makes an Android developer to extract the features of these custom ROMs and make a new custom ROM out of group ideas.

Features: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop based, navigation bar customization, notification bar customization, lock screen shortcuts, clear all recent apps button, clear all button location (top right, top left, top center, bottom left, bottom right, bottom center), status bar clock alignment (left, right, center).

Download: PAC MAN ROM

Dirty Unicorns v9.1:

The Dirty Unicorn custom ROM is my favorite custom ROM out of all that are available to install on any device on the internet. The highly customize-able custom ROM is now based on Android 5.0.1 Lollipop which means now it is much smoother and faster than before. You can customize every single bit of this custom ROM from the status bar to navigation bar.

Features: Android 5.0.1 Lollipop based, navigation bar customization, add navigation bar and arrow key toggle, create expandable volume panel, battery and notification, add sync tile, screen shot tile, update default app icon, material design makeover, heads up notifications, MMS improvements, lock screen tile, lock screen shortcut customization, update SuperSU v2.45, theme engine.

Download: Dirty Unicorns V9.1 ROM

Resurrection Remix 45.0.2 ROM:

If any custom ROM is the most popular after CyanogenMod custom ROMs, it is Resurrection Remix. Resurrection Remix had its own specialty in custom ROM making, although RR custom ROMs are made out of CyanogenMod custom ROM, but it feels different from a new UI and because it has features.

Features: Android 5.3.1 based, Halo, active display, lock screen notifications, application side bar, omni switch, notification panel switch, camera mods, list view animations, custom system animations, custom progress bar, music toggle, pitch black UI mode, screen recorder.

Download: Resurrection Remix 45.0.2 ROM