Installing a custom ROM on a OnePlus 6?

Cromulent · 23 Apr 2021 at 21:39

First of all, I have to preface this post by saying I've never done any smartphone customisation (no rooting, no custom ROMs, nothing). Still, I am a Linux user and programmer, so I would consider myself pretty tech-savvy.

I want to learn how to install a custom ROM on my OnePlus 6, but I'm not sure where to start and what options are available. I'd also like to hear about any downsides as to when it comes to installing a custom ROM?

If anyone could help me out with some useful advice or links, I would really appreciate it.

dymetrie · 23 Apr 2021 at 23:27

This sub forum on XDA should give you plenty of help.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/f/oneplus-6-roms-kernels-recoveries-other-devel.7613/

Have done a few custom ROMs on Android phones and they're usually pretty easy.

What ROM you want to use will depend on what you want to do/what changes you're after. Usually it's for a cleaner build, but OxygenOS is pretty clean anyway, or for a more up to date OS, for which I'd usually advise LineageOS as it's clean and pretty solid.

Cromulent · 24 Apr 2021 at 08:47

dymetrie said:
This sub forum on XDA should give you plenty of help.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/f/oneplus-6-roms-kernels-recoveries-other-devel.7613/

Have done a few custom ROMs on Android phones and they're usually pretty easy.

What ROM you want to use will depend on what you want to do/what changes you're after. Usually it's for a cleaner build, but OxygenOS is pretty clean anyway, or for a more up to date OS, for which I'd usually advise LineageOS as it's clean and pretty solid.

Thank you. I'm not sure what I am looking for at the moment. Just something that'll make my phone run a bit faster and have less bloat. I really want a privacy-focused custom ROM. That would be really good.

Orcvader · 24 Apr 2021 at 11:30

The most popular custom ROM is LineageOS, usually pretty stable and reliable.

Usually when flashing a custom ROM you'll lose SafetyNet (required by banking apps and Google Pay) and Widevine L1 (required for HD playback on some apps like Netflix). However, you can use something like Magisk to hide SafetyNet, and some custom ROMs have been successful in fixing Widevine, although I can't see any for the OP6.