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5.0 out of 5 stars
Reviewed May 18, 2011
Reviewed

5 PCWorld user reviews

Filed Under:

Tools

Developer:
ClockworkMod

com.koushikdutta.rommanager

ROM Manager4.3.2.4

Free

See more Free Tools app reviews »

*June 15, 2011* I am aware of the recently introduced force close bug, and would like to apologize. I have updated a fixed version, 4.3.1.8. Please let me know if that works!

ROM Manager is THE MUST HAVE APP for any Android root user. (Over 1.3 million downloads and counting!)

* Flash your recovery to the latest and greatest ClockworkMod recovery.
* Manage your ROMs via a handy UI.
* Organize and perform backups and restores from within Android!
* Install ROMs from your SD card.
* Install your favorite ROMs over the air!

Premium Version:
* Premium ROMs
* Receive notifications for when your ROM is updated!
* Automatic backups
* Install from QR Code
* Web Connect
* Support

Why does ROM Manager ask for account permissions?
Web Connect only needs to access your Google account to connect it to your google account. It can't access any private data or passwords.

Troubleshooting:
Droid users: Stuck at the "M" logo? Flash an alternate recovery and flash back to ClockworkMod.
HTC Users: Flash recovery not working? Try fastbooting a recovery on.
Droid X/2/Pro Users: You must run the Bootstrap application first to use ROM Manager.
Samsung users: You must flash a Clockwork compatible kernel first (see XDA forums)

IF YOU ARE HAVING LICENSE ISSUES, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE LATEST VERSION OF FREE (4.0+) AND THE LATEST LICENSE (1.0.7+) INSTALLED!

SEO: ROM Manager, ROMs, ROM, Root, Flash, jailbreak

Recent changes:
You can now block annoying spammers in the ROM comments.
Updated French translations.
Added Indonesian translation.

Content rating: Everyone

ROM Manager Screenshots

ROM Manager Review

– Edit Review

Easily back up and install custom ROMs on your rooted Android device.

by Brent W. Hopkins, PCWorld

So you decided to go ahead and root your Android device--now what? You might want to install a useful utility called ROM Manager to help in managing your rooted device. ROM Manager does two basic things: It installs ClockworkMod Recovery to back up and/or recover your phone's system, and it downloads and installs custom ROMs (versions of Android).

You can find tons of custom ROMs to choose from, including the popular CyanogenMod, Lithium Mod, cvpcs, Ihtfp69, JagerRom, Virtuous, Uncommon Sense, MIUI, and Berzerker, just to name a few. Each ROM brings something new to traditional Android. Once you have downloaded a ROM, you can use ROM Manager to install it on your device. Since the ROMs save to your SD Card, you can switch back and forth depending on your preference.

You can also use ROM Manager to back up and restore your ROM. I used ROM Manager to back up my HTC Droid Incredible factory ROM, and then to download and install the CyanogenMod 6 ROM. The whole process went smoothly, without a hitch. Since CyanogenMod doesn't include Google Apps, I also used ROM Manager to download and install them. So far I'm very pleased with the results; for example, the CyanogenMod soft keyboard is much more accurate than the factory one. But it's good to know that I can easily revert to the factory ROM if necessary.

ROM Manager includes utilities to partition your SD Card and 'Fix [file system] Permissions'.

If you want even more options, ROM Manager Premium ($5) also offers update checking, over-the-air updates for supported ROMs, an 'Install from QR Code' feature, and a larger catalog of custom ROMS. That seems like a very reasonable price to support the development of such a powerful tool.

Have you rooted your Android device? What apps do you use to take advantage of root privilege? Contact Brent W. Hopkins on Twitter. You might also like other articles by Brent W. Hopkins.