The amazing thing about Android is your ability to customize, tweak, and make your device perform to its full potential, maybe even a little bit more. Though we don’t usually promote flashing Custom ROMs on your ZenFone2 because it voids your warranty (read: you do it at your own risk and you’re S.O.L if you brick your device), we wanted to highlight some of them because we know some of you out there need to satisfy that ROM flashing addiction. The development community behind the ZenFone 2 has grown considerably and this is our props to them.

To reiterate: You’re boned if you damage your device, and ASUS will not save you. You do it at your own risk..so be sure to read every step very carefully.

CYANOGENMOD 12.1 [Android 5.1.X]

Probably the most well known of all the ROMs, CyanogenMod has been around for a while. However, this is an unofficial build from developers “crpalmer”, “jrior001”, and “hharte”. Some things are still borked, but it seems that the ROM is 90-95% stable and there are nightly builds being produced consistently.

So…what are the some of the things that CM12.1 can do?

• Change the LCD density
• Performance tweaks
• Customization of Notification Quick Settings (Dynamic Tiles)
• Music Visualizer on Lock Screen
• WiFi menu from Notifications
• Themes for different elements of the ROM
• Customization of Status Bar
• Notification Counts
• Sound and Notification Volume Settings from Sound drop down
• No bloatware

PARANOID ANDROID [Android 5.1.1]

When I was flashing PA on my old phones, I remember the aim for the PA team was to create a very unintrusive experience. For instance, you could tap on the day/time during the pulldown menu, and it could bring up the calendar or clock. Tweaks would be very much built into the UI and there would be more intuitive ways to navigate and do things.

• Similar to CM12.1
• Theme engine
• Quick Settings and Navigation Customization
• App Options
• Immersive mode
• Notification Light Control

SLIMLP [Android 5.1.1]

SlimLP is the project name for SlimRoms based on Android 5.0 Lollipop. The development team’s goal is to offer a slimmed down but feature-rich alternative to other ROMs and offers the following original features (From the XDA thread):

• Slim Dialer
• A full replacement of the official Google closed source dialer with added features
• Privacy guard
• Disable unnecessary permissions set by app developers
• Slim Center [WIP]
• Downloads, contact information, system app removal
• System-Wide Keyboard Controls
• Rotation, cursor control, optional emoticons..etc.
• Slim Global Menu
• Full Layers 2.1 Support
• Custom Shortcuts [WIP]
• Customize Hardware keys, Navigation Ring, Navigation Bar, Lockscreen, Tiles, Notifications etc.

SUPERZEN [Android 5.0.X]

Created by team d3rp, the aim for this ROM is to be a very slimmed down with tons of removed apps. See below for some of the features.

• Deodexed
• Insecure Boot
• Black Splash Screen
• Rooted w/ SuperSU
• ADB enabled by default
• Custom boot animation
• Roam Theme pre-installed
• Removed Junk
• Removed adb notification
• Removed PCLink pop-up on Windows when connecting
• Removed Headphone Notification & icon
• Removed System Update / Notification

These lists obviously don’t cover all the features for the ROMs, but if you have the chance to try them out, let us know what you love and don’t love about them! Again, please be careful and read all the instructions prior to flashing. In the end, we hope you enjoy ZenUI because of all the features we provide, but know that if you do want to take your phone even further, there are options out there that can help you customize your device at nearly every level.

Thanks for reading!