When you root Android, you can install new boot animations.

When you boot up a stock Android device, you probably see a Samsung logo, HTC logo, or some other corporate text.

After rooting your device, however, you’re free to customize that boot animation however you like. You can remove the default boot animations and install boot animations of your own.

Replacement boot animations vary widely. Some Android users like abstract designs which perfectly loop as the phone boots up. Others prefer seeing their name or an inspirational quote.

One of my favorite boot animations can be seen below:

All credit for that beautiful animation goes to Christian Tailor, a graphic designer based in the United Kingdom. It’s impressive, to say the least.

I don’t know how often you reboot your phone, but if you do it a lot, then a sexy boot animation can make the rebooting process mesmerizing. On fast phones, however, your phone may boot so quickly that you never see the boot animation. That’s a first world problem.

How to install boot animations on a rooted Android device

Step 1) Have a rooted Android device with a root explorer app (like ES File Explorer) and a superuser app (like SuperSU)

Step 2) Enable root directory in that file explorer (go to Settings and check “Up to Root”, then scroll  down and check “Root Explorer” in ES File Explorer and accept all SuperSU requests)

Step 3) Download a boot animation .zip file and title it bootanimation.zip

Step 4) Open the File Explorer app and navigate to the download location for your animation. Copy that file.

Step 5) Navigate through your root directory and go as far up as you can until you reach /data/local/

Step 6) Paste your .zip file into that /data/local/ and double check to make sure it’s named bootanimation.zip

Step 7) Reboot your device and enjoy your new animation!

Alternatively, some boot animations are flashable and can be installed simply by tapping on the downloaded file

The best place to download boot animations

There aren’t many good central locations where you can find boot animations. Nobody has bothered to make a boot animation database website yet (if you know of one, leave us a comment below!)

However, there are still plenty of good places to download boot animations. Check out this thread on the XDA Developers Forum, for example, where you can find over 80 attractive boot animations.

My favorite way to find boot animations, however, is to simply search for threads tagged with “boot animation” on the XDA Developers Forum. Click this link to view those search results.