While the official Android 5.1.1 update for the Asus Zenfone 2 is still some time away, owners of the device who have no issue with flashing their phones manually can now benefit from the release of a new CyangenMod version, which supports the Zenfone 2. The ROM will bring the device up to Android 5.1.1 – with some additional improvements too – and will allow users to benefit from the latest additions to the operating system without having to wait for the official release channel to give them an update.
The custom ROM also comes with various options for customizing the device and improving its performance, usability and overall utility. Some users have been reporting better battery life too, although we can’t confirm those reports at the moment. In the end, it’s not rare that a ROM from the CyanogenMod family would make a device use its battery more efficiently, so we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s valid for this phone as well.
There is one caveat about this ROM – it’s specifically optimized for the Zenfone 2 and targets the device in various ways, so if users attempt to flash it on another phone, this might result in a bricked device. Even more specifically, the phone must have one of the following model identifiers in order for the ROM to work: Z00A/ze551ml or Z008/ze550ml.
While there have been reports that the ROM could work on other models too, users are advised against trying that as it can cause long-term problems with the phone until it’s reflashed correctly. There’s usually nothing that a complete wipe and reflash can’t fix, but it’s often very annoying to reach that state in the first place and users should be very careful to avoid getting their devices bricked.
In addition, those who haven’t flashed their phones before should be aware of the fact that there is practically no way to flash an Android phone without wiping it completely (even though some specialized tools exist that can facilitate the process of restoring a backup from the previous OS). This means that a full backup is mandatory before even thinking about flashing the phone.
There are some guides online on how to quickly pack up everything from the device and save it into a backup that can be easily restored afterwards, but the point is that this is not done automatically, and the user must take care to save their data on their own.
Another important detail is to start the flashing process with a fully charged battery, or at least close to that – even having the USB cable plugged in during the flashing won’t help as it tends to consume a lot of battery power due to the active processing that has to happen. If the phone runs out of battery in the middle of flashing it, this can be disastrous, and is a situation that must be avoided at all cost.
Last but not least, this procedure voids the warranty of an Asus Zenfone 2, and users who still rely on their warranty plans should be wary of that. While usually not much can go wrong in the course of flashing a phone if the user carefully observes all safety precautions, it’s still important to know that the warranty won’t be active afterwards and in case anything goes wrong, the user is on their own. Although, with so many repair shops that can fix the problem easily, that doesn’t really have to be such a worrying thought.