Now, you see this because you might want to try CyanogenMod.

CyanogenMod is an AOSP (Android Open Source Project), and i prefer it over anything.

I'm going to call CyanogenMod for CM from now on.

BEFORE DOING ANYTHING! THIS WILL MOST LIKELY VOID YOUR WARRANTY, AND YOU MIGHT BRICK IF YOU DO SOMETHING WRONG!

A lot of devices requires an unlocked bootloader if you want to flash anything. google is your friend there. (on newer nexus devices use ADB and type "fastboot flashing unlock" or "fastboot oem unlock" on older ones. to do this you need to enable oem unlocking in the developer settings. Tap build numbers untill you get a notification about getting access to developer settings)

First of all, you will need a custom recovery. I reccomend Team Win Recovery Project. (TWRP from now on). I would reccomend either googling your device name and TWRP, or looking at the official TWRP site at http://twrp.me

This is regularly flashed via ODIN on Samsung devices, or ADB on other devices. Find a good guide on custom recoveries for your device to learn how the process is for your device.

Now, you've got a custom recovery (TWRP, CWM, Philz Touch etc.)
You want to make a full backup via the custom recovery in case anything goes wrong before proceeding.
After doing that, i suggest heading to http://get.cm and try to find a build for your device. if there is nothing there, search for your device on www.forums.XDA-Developers.com and see if you can find anything.

Move the CM.zip you downloaded to your internal storage/SD
SUGGESTED STEP: i reccomend downloading the google apps package from www.opengapps.org go there and select the appropriate version for your phone. i reccomend using the nano version, as it has everything you need, and doesnt interfere with /system too much. this could be a problem while "dirty flashing" installing a ROM (firmware) without factory resetting.
Move the Gapps package to your internal storage/SD

Now, If you want try to keep your data, settings etc, go to the flash Zip from SDcard section in the recovery. Select CM.zip, and install it. then, select Gapps.zip, and install them as well. try to reboot. if it takes more than 10 minutes, then something must have went wrong. either restore your backup, or follow this

(This is also for those who want to factory reset their device)
Got to wipe in the recovery, then advanced wipe. select everything except internal storage and SD.
after this is done, go to the step above, and install CM + GApps

Reboot your phone.
You will be prompted with a CM Welcome screen, and language selection.


Congratulations! You have now installed CyanogenMod! Now you may use many features you didn't have before!

 

[Davidosky99]

the get.cm link is broken

 

[mgrev]

the get.cm link is broken

fix'd

 

[SomeGamer]

fix'd

Round 2:
the twrp.me link is broken

 

[mgrev]

Round 2:
the twrp.me link is broken

fix'd 2.0

 

[Davidosky99]

Third Round: for noobs it's better to visit http://forum.xda-developers.com/ than http://www.xda-developers.com/ , because the forums are device related and the portal is more for news

 

[mgrev]

Third Round: for noobs it's better to visit http://forum.xda-developers.com/ than http://www.xda-developers.com/ , because the forums are device related and the portal is more for news

yes. there is a search bar in the top right. pretty easy to find

 

[Davidosky99]

yes. there is a search bar in the top right. pretty easy to find

remember, we're talking about noobs !

 

[mgrev]

remember, we're talking about noobs !

fix'd 3.0

 

[Kamineko]

You should add that you need to unlock your bootloader on most devices to install a custom recovery / custom rom, also if you do that (and depending on the manufacturer) you can lose some features of your device.

 

[mgrev]

You should add that you need to unlock your bootloader on most devices to install a custom recovery / custom rom, also if you do that (and depending on the manufacturer) you can lose some features of your device.

that's why i mentioned finding a tutorial for your device, but ill add it

 

[raystriker]

I'd like to recommend everyone to go to their respective phone's XDA forum. Custom builds are way better than the server generated nightlies.
Cyanogenmod is a pretty bare bones custom ROM, is better to explore more stable and feature heavy ROMs

 

[mudassirul]

Custom roms saved my Motorola milestone from crashing so much until the mic stopped working and I destroyed it after I couldn't get to it because some screws were stuck (seemed like they were glued). Haven't used custom roms since.

 

[Jayro]

CM13 user here (Marshmallow nightlies) on a Samsung Galaxy S4, and I've never been happier. The S4 is 3 years old, but CM13 keeps it feeling fast and snappy. Plus, I love all the customization options. I have the micro Gapps installed to to reduce bloat.

 

[nxwing]

Custom roms saved my Motorola milestone from crashing so much until the mic stopped working and I destroyed it after I couldn't get to it because some screws were stuck (seemed like they were glued). Haven't used custom roms since.

It's most likely a hardware problem

CM13 user here (Marshmallow nightlies) on a Samsung Galaxy S4, and I've never been happier. The S4 is 3 years old, but CM13 keeps it feeling fast and snappy. Plus, I love all the customization options. I have the micro Gapps installed to to reduce bloat.

Aded you to the list