Android Oreo
People often choose Android just because of the level and freedom of customization it offers. Everything from the icons to the home screen, themes can be customized in the Android interface. With the release of new Android Oreo, developers have been busy developing new and improved themes to suit every smartphone. The following Technology Tutorial aims to empower you with the knowledge of installing a custom theme.
Most people think that it requires a lot of technical skills and knowledge of complex ADB commands and scripts. But this is not true in most instances. It is extremely simple and requires a minimum amount of skill to execute properly. So without further ado, let’s have a look at the instructions.
However, before we start, it should be noted that since the is a brand-new operating system, most of the theme apps don’t work properly. The only one to work properly is the Substratum theme app. You can get it easily via Google play and it’s super easy to use. You will be needing three applications, including the Andromeda add-on and finally the Andromeda desktop client.
- Go to Google play and search for “Substratum” without the quotes. There are plenty of themes on the app. Before you download them, you should look for a certain tag.
- Look for themes which mention that they are supported on Substratum or OMS. These themes are most likely to work on your device and other are more likely to malfunction. You can, however, try all of them, on the off chance that one of them starts Substratum themes include names such as Baltic UI, Celtic UI etc.
- Themes that mention PRO or Legacy are the ones that will not work with your device. Their development is underway and the supports for these themes will be brought along shortly.
- There are two ways to install a theme once you have selected it on the Substratum app. You can toggle near the top where it displays “Select all overlays”. This will check every overlay in the list. This can take some time since the app must skim through every available overlay.
- Alternatively, you can also select each overlying one by one. Note that since this project is still in development, some themes will come with predefined instructions, exclusive to only those ones. The Baltic UI, for example, recommends the user to not select the “System UI Status Bar Icons” or the “System UI QS Tile Icons”. They have some sort of bug which when tampered with glitches the theme. They need to be fixed and updated before further customization.
- There are further customization options for which you will need to pay special attention to the app. There are drop-down menus under the app that offer customization of background colors, accents, and primary color If you further expand the menu you can pick from another set of customization options. Some of the options may appear a bit overwhelming, but with a bit usage, it will get much easier.
- After editing, and once you have settled on a particular design and decided the app you want to be themed, tap on the “roller floating button”. Give it some time and the theme will be created. There shouldn’t be any error and the theme should be ready for use.
- After completion, tap on the “Build and Enable” which will trigger a loading screen, displaying that the theme is being compiled and will be installed after completion.
Now it’s time to install the Andromeda add-on.
- Firstly, you will have to enable the Developer Options. Go to settings>About Phone and tap on the build number 6 to 7 times. A message will pop up saying that you have become a developer, which means that you are given access to make changes and try out a new feature on your device.
- Go to the “Developer Options” and enable USB Debugging. Now opening the Andromeda application will display a “Disconnected” status.
- Now connect your phone to the pc with the help of a USB cable and run the Andromeda application on your pc that you have downloaded earlier.
- On your computer execute the start_andromeda.bat file. If it asks for administrator rights, go ahead and grant it. A command prompt will appear which will be executing a bunch of ADB commands. These are codes that are prepping your pc so that the add-on is able to run on your computer.
- Once the Andromeda client is up and running on your pc, the status of the app on your pc should change to “Connected”. Also, the Substratum app will open up indicating that both the app and the add-on are successfully connected. The Substratum app can now manage apps on your phone, no root required.
- Before you go, you should note that whenever you reboot your device, the link between the Andromeda app and the Substratum is killed. So, if you want to manage your themes, you will have to connect the device to your pc once again and run the desktop client. The connection will be established once again and be ready for use.
However, don’t worry about the themes, since they are safe and secure. They will not get dismantled every time you reboot your device.
This system is extremely convenient and useful and since it doesn’t require any rooting, the warranty of the device also remains valid. The Andromeda app is a paid add-on, but when you consider the degree of customization it is offering, it is a small price to pay.
Also, if you’re somehow unhappy with your themes, you can always restore your old ones. Simply navigate to the “Recovery” option and tap on “Restore Theme”. You can select to disable all overlays, if you have any intention of using them later on. Or you can uninstall them altogether, if you don’t want them on your device.
Substratum allows you to make modifications on a whole different level. Go ahead and don’t be afraid to experiment!
