How to Install a Custom ROM on the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T

If you want to begin exploring other software for the OnePlus 5 or OnePlus 5T, you can follow this guide to learn how to install a new Custom ROM.

OnePlus has their own firmware (aka a ROM) called OxygenOS and they like to keep it pretty close to stock Android. The company has added in some additional features that aren’t included in AOSP and these features go a long way to enabling the user to customize the user experience of their device. Still, there are a lot of useful features that OxygenOS doesn’t have and many people like using them on a day to day basis.

This is where Custom ROMs come into play as each one available carries its own idea of what software features an Android phone should have.

Some try to pack in every single feature they can while others try to keep the options as seamless as possible. Which ever one best describes the software you want on your phone, you can install it on the OnePlus 5 as long as a build is available for the device. So today I’ll be showing you how to replace OyxgenOS with a Custom ROM.

Naturally, this will wipe all of the data you have on your phone so back up as much of it as possible. Also, the steps below are more of a general guide on how things are done. Some Custom ROMs require specific instructions to be sure to read through the developers first few posts of the thread to get an idea of what is required.

Note – Before you can do this you will need to have the bootloader of the OnePlus 5 unlocked. That is required because you have to have TWRP installed on the OnePlus 5 as a custom recovery too. Once those are done, you can then proceed with the instructions below.

OnePlus 5 Install Custom ROM

1. Download a Custom ROM (OnePlus 5 – OnePlus 5T)
2. Download a Gapps package for the OnePlus 5
3. Copy/move those two ZIP files onto the OnePlus 5’s internal storage
4. Boot the OnePlus 5 into Recovery Mode
5. Tap the Wipe button at the top right
6. Tap the Advanced Wipe button on the left side
7. Select all partitions except Internal Storage and USB-OTG
8. Swipe the white arrows to the right to wipe those partitions
9. Tap the Home button to go back to the TWRP main menu
10. Tap the Install button at the top left
11. Browse to and tap on the Custom ROM .ZIP file we downloaded
12. Tap the Add More Zips button
13. Tap on the Gapps .ZIP file we downloaded
14. Swipe the white arrows to the right to begin the installation process
15. Once completed, go ahead and tap the Reboot System button
16. Wait patiently until the OnePlus 5 reboots

Explanation

This process is generally the same for all devices, but there are some subtle differences between them. For example, the number of partitions you see in the Advanced Wipe section of the OnePlus 5 will likely be different than other devices. Sometimes they’re the same, but there are times when they are not. This is the reason why i write these individual tutorials like this, and then do a video so that you can see with your eyes that the process works.

To start here, we need to download a Custom ROM and Gapps package for the OnePlus 5 or OnePlus 5T. I recommend the links in step 1 and step 2 above as they’ve been tested by the community. Each custom ROM you find on XDA will be different than the next, and besides reading through feature lists, the best way to learn about one is to just try it out. It can be time consuming but it can also be fun exploring new custom ROMs. You’ll also want to download the ARM64 Gapps package for the OnePlus 5.

Be sure the Android version of the Gapps package you download also matches the same version of the custom ROM you’re installing. With that done, go ahead and boot the OnePlus 5 into Recovery Mode (after copying/moving those files onto the device) and then we need to do a clean wipe. So tap the Wipe button and then tap the Advanced Wipe button after that. You’ll see a list of partitions here and you want to select the ones I did in the video (for me it was all of them except Internal Storage and USB-OTG).

Swipe the white arrows to the right to begin the wipe process and then tap the Home button once it has finished. Now tap on the Install button and then browse to where you have the two ZIP files located. Tap on the custom ROM ZIP file first and then tap the Add More Zips button. Then tap on the Gapps ZIP file as that will put this ZIP file in the install queue right after the custom ROM one. Swipe the white arrows to the right to install these ZIP files and then wait.

It will only take a minute or two to finish, and then you can tap on the Reboot System button. This will reboot the OnePlus 5 and take you to the Android activation screen for your Custom ROM. This first boot cycle will take longer than normal so be patient during this process.