Custom software often includes better background app management.

But the landscape has become more complex over the years. The golden age of simple, universal custom ROMs for Huawei devices has faced significant hurdles, making the process of finding the "top" ROM one that requires careful navigation and technical understanding.

Installing a custom ROM on this tablet is significantly more difficult than on most other brands due to locked bootloaders. Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite 10 Specs | Esper Device Management

Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP) is a custom touch-enabled recovery that makes it much easier to flash ROMs. If a specific TWRP for your model exists, you can flash it using fastboot:

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.huawei.appmarket adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.huawei.video adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.huawei.gameassistant

Flashing erases all internal storage. Backup photos, documents, and login credentials to an external drive or cloud service.

If you are comfortable navigating the hurdles of unlocking a Huawei bootloader, upgrading your Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite to a top GSI custom ROM like LineageOS or Pixel Experience is highly rewarding. It transforms an aging, abandoned device into a highly capable, modern tablet that is safe to use with up-to-date security patches and smooth software performance.

Phhusson’s AOSP GSIs serve as the foundational bedrock for most Treble ROMs. If you want absolutely zero gimmicks, flashing a pure AOSP image is the way to go.

Purest form of Android, highly stable, and contains specific fixes for Huawei hardware quirks within the "Phh Settings" menu.

It provides the cleanest user interface and immediate access to modern Google features.

The fastest boot times and lowest RAM footprint of any option on this list. Known Bugs and Trade-offs (What to Expect)

is like giving the device a second life, stripping away "bloatware" to reveal a cleaner, faster experience The Quest for a Custom ROM

LineageOS is the undisputed king of custom ROM longevity and stability. For the MediaPad M5 Lite, a LineageOS GSI (such as versions 17.1 or 18.1) offers a flawless, lightweight, and bloatware-free experience.