If you have a rooted android device, it has a great potential for extensive customization by modifying the core of the OS and do things not otherwise possible on it. Unlocking the bootloader and flashing a custom recovery takes you to a whole next level, allowing you to install custom mods and even full ROMs that can drastically change your user experience. However, with flashing custom mods or ROMs, you give up the stability, simplicity & reliability of pure vanilla Android. 

Here comes the Xposed framework where you can get the features of a custom rom on a stock rom or AOSP. Developed by XDA Recognized Developer rovo89, Xposed framework uses root access to directly access core Android resources and utilize them to run different modules on the device that bring new features to the OS. The potential here is virtually unlimited, and many developers have already started switching to it for delivering their mods. 

Because it’s such a powerful tool, there are also a million things that can go wrong if you just jump in without knowing what you’re doing. You should definitely read all the documentation before getting started.

Installing Xposed Framework

Download the latest Xposed framework installer app, and sideload the downloaded APK to your device in order to install it. After installing open the app and tap on Install/Update and you will be prompted with a superuser message, grant access to it to begin installing. After that, tap on Reboot to restart your device and you can then begin downloading modules.That should be it – when your device reboots, Xposed framework will be fully installed and you’ll be ready to install its modules to start customizing your device.

Some custom ROMs have either Xposed or a feature like it built in it. Xposed may not work on these types of ROMs.

Bootloop? Disable Xposed Framework

If somehow you end up with a bootloop on your Android device, there is a zip file that you can flash to disable Xposed Framework. This zip file is automatically available after you install Xposed Framework on your device and it is located in your device sdcard folder.

In your Android Recovery, locate “Xposed-Disabler-Recovery.zip”, flash it to disable Xposed Framework.

Installing An Xposed Framework Module

Xposed modules are just APK files that can be installed like any other APK files. the Xposed installer app features a Downloads section that contains lots of modules, but you can also find other modules in form of APKs on XDA and other websites. To install one of the modules available in the Xposed Installer app, open the app and go to the Download section. You’ll see a long list of available modules, each with a description of what it does. Select the module that you want to install by tapping on it, and you’ll be shown further details about it.

Best Xposed Modules to try

Xposed Additions.

Comes with a configuration option to allow remapping of hardware button, reset the duration of long-press action, set device awake/sleep state when USB is plugged in/out.

GravityBox.

Targeted for Android version 4.1+, this is an all-in-one module that provides a large range of mods.

Wanam Kit.

Customize your Android 4.4 with features for status bars, sound, lock screen, system, phone, security and more.

BootManager. Choose the app you want to prevent running upon system startup using BootManager. This will help to reduce slow booting times.

XuiMod. Compilations of features ported from other ROMs packed into one mod.

DynamicNotifications. Light up Android device screen discreetly to show notifications without unlocking the lock screen.

XPrivacy. Restrict access to certain app permissions to prevent leaking of privacy sensitive data. For example, if you want to limit the privileges that your Facebook app has and deny it access to your contact list, you can easily do that from within XPrivacy. Changing privileges without knowing what you’re doing can cause the apps to misbehave.

XBlast Tools. Xblast Tools has a huge range of features for you to customize your Android device in any way that you want. The packed user interface lets users apply changes quickly.

App Settings. This module allows you to change per-app generic settings such as DPI, rotation, app behavior, full-screen etc. App Settings are a very powerful set of tools which can change a bunch of options on your device, including the language of specific apps, pixel density, enable full screen mode, change your resolution, and more.

Maximize Widgets on Lockscreen. Expand lockscreen widgets when device unlocked for quick viewing of notifications.

Youtube AdAway. Remove YouTube ads from the official Android YouTube app.

Network Speed indicator. Display download speeds in the status bar whenever the device is fetching data.