Get Android 5.0 Lollipop on T-Mobile Galaxy Note 3 with CM12 ROM

Official Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is expected to be released in late December 2014 or early in January 2015, but Samsung’s lollipop update will have TouchWiz UI all over it so it won’t give you the new Android 5.0 Lollipop material look like Nexus devices.

Although Samsung will be bringing material design to its TouchWiz UI with Android 5.0, the company has still managed to somehow stay away from the Material coolness of lollipop, and in result the Samsung’s TouchWiz even on material design looks crap.

Thanks to the folks over at SamMobile for sharing a video of Galaxy Note 3 running official Samsung firmware based on Android 5.0 lollipop. Take a look at it below:

VIDEO: Galaxy Note 3 running leaked Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmFRLu_mSCQ

Although, very much re-designed with material UI, the TouchWiz on Samsung Galaxy Note 3 running Android 5.0 still looks crap. So how do you get the stock Android 5.0 Lollipop experience on your Note 3?

Well, the answer is CM12 a.k.a CyanogenMod 12 ROM that’s being developed by Tony Layher. CM12 is the Android 5.0 lollipop based version of the highly popular CyanogenMod ROM. If you’re anything pro, you’d already know how much powerful CM ROM is, and coupled with Android 5.0, nothing can beat it. However, the CM12 ROM is still being worked on and some CM features aren’t yet available as the CM team is still figuring out how to bring those features to the material look of Android 5.0 lollipop.

T-Mobile Galaxy Note 3 CM12 ROM is in development phase at this time, so expect some bugs if you’re planning on installing it on your Note 3. Although, things like Camera, WiFi, Call/Data, Bluetooth are working on the ROM but are slightly buggy, for example the camera app crashes sometimes when taking a picture with flash.

The CM12 ROM for T-Mobile Galaxy Note 3 has minor bugs/issues at this time so it couldn’t be daily driver yet, but if you must use this check out the not working list on development page link mentioned below:

DOWNLOADS

  CM12 for T-Mobile Galaxy Note 3 (217 MB)
File name: cm-12-20141116-UNOFFICIAL-hltetmo.zip

└ For latest version of the ROM, keep an eye on this post →

  Android 5.0 Gapps package (155 MB)
File name: gapps-lp-201411xx-signed.zip

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

WARNING: Warranty may be void of your device if you follow the procedures given on this page. You only are responsible for your device. We won’t be liable if any damage occurs to your device and/or its components.

Important Note: Backup important files stored on your device before proceeding with the steps below, so that in case something goes wrong you’ll have backup of all your important files.

1. Make sure your device is T-Mobile Galaxy Note 3, do NOT flash this ROM on any other devices.
2. Transfer the CM12 ROM file “cm-12-20141116-UNOFFICIAL-hltetmo.zip” and Gapps package file “gapps-lp-201411xx-signed.zip” to your device’s internal storage and remember the location where you save it.
3. Install a custom recovery (TWRP, CWM, etc.) on your device. Either search our site or Google it!
4. Boot into Recovery mode via adb, hardware buttons or if your device is rooted use the QuickBoot app →
5. Once in recovery mode, take a backup of your current ROM. On TWRP, select Backup » and do a “Swipe to Back Up” on the bottom of the screen.
6. Once the backup is finished, select Wipe » and do a “Swipe to Factory Reset” on the bottom of the screen.
7. Go back to the main menu of TWRP recovery and select Install.
8. Navigate to the file where you saved your CM12 ROM’s zip file, select it and “Swipe to Confirm Flash” on the bottom of the screen. And wait until the flashing process finishes.
9. Once ROM is flashed, flash the Gapps package in a similar way like you flashed the ROM file.
10. After flashing both the files. Go to back to recovery’s Main menu, select Reboot » select System.

Your device will now reboot with CM12. Be extremely excited for this!