I finally decided to say goodbye to JellyBean and update the ROM on the N7000 to something more relevant (and speedy).
Previously, I have used the Ultimate ROMs on the N7000, and they have been great. Fantastic stability and haven't been too hard on the battery. The problem was that apps have become so large, I needed a lighter, slimmer ROM, and probably the biggest reason, I have had enough of TouchWiz.
After recently updating a Samsung GSII to CyanogenMod 12.1, I liked how light and quick it was, so I went in search of a CM12.1 ROM for the N7000.
The last ROM directly from Cyanogen was for CM11, but there is an unofficial port of CM12.1 out on XDA from NightOwl. Wanting to stay on Lollipop with all of my devices, I decided to give NightOwl CM12.1 a shot.
All of the links to the most current builds are available on the XDA page here:
NightOwl CM12.1 Android 5.1.1
Pull down the latest ROM and GApps and save both files in the root of the internal SD card on the N7000.
Links to the files I used are here, this is what worked for me, you should be pulling the latest files from the XDA link.
- NightOwl CM12.1 ROM 2015-10-03
- GApps lpmr1 2015-03-24 (signed zip file)
- Philz CWM6 XXLT5-OXX-5.03.0 (signed zip)
Boot into recovery. Because I had Ultimate ROM before, the power menu when shitting down the phone provides a Boot Into Recovery option. From power off, recovery can be booted into by press and holding Volume Up + Home + Power. Release the Power button when the Samsung logo appears while still holding the other two until Recovery loads.
Once in recovery is where I ran into some problems. I started getting the infamous "Status 7" error when trying to flash any ROM, so I needed to update my recovery, which is where Philz came in.
I selected "Install Zip" then "Choose zip from /storage/sdcard0", select the Philz zip file, select "Yes - ..." and Philz kernel and recovery will install.
I rebooted into CWM recovery after this to load the new ROM and GApps. Once in recovery, select "Wipe and Format Options", then "Clean to Install a New ROM", then "Yes - ...". The system will wipe Cache, Dalvik, and System, but leave Data. After this finishes, select the "++++Go Back++++" options until you are back on the Home menu, then select "Install Zip", "Choose zip from /storage/sdcard0", select the "Nightowl-cm12.1-....zip", then select "Yes - ...". The ROM will load, it should take about 2-5 minutes to complete.
After the install completes, reboot the phone. After the phone boots, check to see if the Google Play Store app is installed. On my flash, Play was already loaded and I did not need to run the GApps package in Recovery. If the Play store is missing, then reboot into Recovery and load the GApps package following the same instructions used for loading the ROM.
My N7000 started right up, I left it sit for 30 minutes after the first boot, then went through the initial setup steps. After that, I updated some Google apps I had selected in setup to be installed, then started setting the phone up how I like it. After a few hours, I have most of the core apps loaded and haven't experiences any problems. There is a small bit of lag compared to my Nexus 4 and Note 4, but overall, this ROM gives new life to the N7000 and makes it a usable device again.
Previously, I have used the Ultimate ROMs on the N7000, and they have been great. Fantastic stability and haven't been too hard on the battery. The problem was that apps have become so large, I needed a lighter, slimmer ROM, and probably the biggest reason, I have had enough of TouchWiz.
After recently updating a Samsung GSII to CyanogenMod 12.1, I liked how light and quick it was, so I went in search of a CM12.1 ROM for the N7000.
The last ROM directly from Cyanogen was for CM11, but there is an unofficial port of CM12.1 out on XDA from NightOwl. Wanting to stay on Lollipop with all of my devices, I decided to give NightOwl CM12.1 a shot.
All of the links to the most current builds are available on the XDA page here:
NightOwl CM12.1 Android 5.1.1
Pull down the latest ROM and GApps and save both files in the root of the internal SD card on the N7000.
Links to the files I used are here, this is what worked for me, you should be pulling the latest files from the XDA link.
- NightOwl CM12.1 ROM 2015-10-03
- GApps lpmr1 2015-03-24 (signed zip file)
- Philz CWM6 XXLT5-OXX-5.03.0 (signed zip)
Boot into recovery. Because I had Ultimate ROM before, the power menu when shitting down the phone provides a Boot Into Recovery option. From power off, recovery can be booted into by press and holding Volume Up + Home + Power. Release the Power button when the Samsung logo appears while still holding the other two until Recovery loads.
Once in recovery is where I ran into some problems. I started getting the infamous "Status 7" error when trying to flash any ROM, so I needed to update my recovery, which is where Philz came in.
I selected "Install Zip" then "Choose zip from /storage/sdcard0", select the Philz zip file, select "Yes - ..." and Philz kernel and recovery will install.
I rebooted into CWM recovery after this to load the new ROM and GApps. Once in recovery, select "Wipe and Format Options", then "Clean to Install a New ROM", then "Yes - ...". The system will wipe Cache, Dalvik, and System, but leave Data. After this finishes, select the "++++Go Back++++" options until you are back on the Home menu, then select "Install Zip", "Choose zip from /storage/sdcard0", select the "Nightowl-cm12.1-....zip", then select "Yes - ...". The ROM will load, it should take about 2-5 minutes to complete.
After the install completes, reboot the phone. After the phone boots, check to see if the Google Play Store app is installed. On my flash, Play was already loaded and I did not need to run the GApps package in Recovery. If the Play store is missing, then reboot into Recovery and load the GApps package following the same instructions used for loading the ROM.
My N7000 started right up, I left it sit for 30 minutes after the first boot, then went through the initial setup steps. After that, I updated some Google apps I had selected in setup to be installed, then started setting the phone up how I like it. After a few hours, I have most of the core apps loaded and haven't experiences any problems. There is a small bit of lag compared to my Nexus 4 and Note 4, but overall, this ROM gives new life to the N7000 and makes it a usable device again.
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