HTC is yet to release Android 7.0 Nougat update for the HTC 10. But folks over at Team Venom seems to have already gotten hold of a Nougat based firmware version 2.28.401.6 for HTC 10, and they have even released a custom ROM based on it with the Viper10 4.0.0 release.

The Viper10 4.0.0 for HTC 10 comes is the first custom ROM for the device to run on top of the Nougat base. However, there issues and complications with TWRP recovery and the new Nougat firmware. If you install the Nougat firmware, you’ll not have TWRP recovery for a few days/weeks until someone knowledgeable fixes it up.

However, you don’t have to necessarily flash/install the Nougat firmware 2.28.401.6 to get Viper10 4.0.0 working. The latest update to the ROM works even if you flash it on a Marshmallow firmware base on your HTC 10.

There are compatibility issues though if you do or do not install the Nougat firmware base. Read these issues carefully.

If you do NOT install Nougat 2.28.401.6 firmware:

  • The ROM boots on old firmware, but you will have a broken fingerprint scanner and home button. You could use a button remapping to have a home button, or enable the on-screen navbar buttons.
  • After flashing the Android N ROM (Viper10 4.0.0), TWRP won’t be able to decrypt your data.

If you install Nougat 2.28.401.6 firmware:

  • Flashing the new firmware will fix the fingerprint scanner and home button.
  • Flashing the new firmware will break TWRP recovery, you will only have a black screen. Means you would need to downgrade the firmware to have access to TWRP again.

We recommend flashing the new Nougat firmware over the Viper10 ROM to have full functionality. TWRP will be fixed anyway in the next few days/weeks.

Viper10 4.0.0 Features

  • Rebased on 2.28.401.6 Android Nougat firmware base
  • Magisk support
  • Rooted with phh superuser
  • Some additions to customize the new quick settings on Nougat

Downloads

Note: The instructions assumes that you have unlocked bootloader on your HTC 10 and have TWRP recovery installed. If not, get these two pre-requisites done before you get started.

How to Install Viper10 4.0.0 ROM on your HTC 10

  1. Download and transfer the Viper10 4.0.0 Nougat based ROM file you downloaded above to your HTC 10.
  2. Boot device into TWRP recovery.
  3. Install/flash the Viper10 4.0.0 rom zip file. It’ll follow up with Aroma installer to guide you through the rest of installation.
  4. Once the ROM is installed you can reboot your phone, set it up and start using the Viper10 4.0.0 Nougat beta ROM on the old Marshmallow firmware.
    └ Note: Fingerprint scanner and home button will be broken unless you install the new Nougat 2.28.401.6 firmware.
  5. We’ll now flash the Nougat 2.28.401.6 firmware for HTC 10.
  6. Download the HTC Nougat 10 2.28.401.6 firmware from the download section above and save the zip file to separate folder on your PC.
  7. Rename the firmware zip file to nougat-firmware.zip for your convenience.
  8. Setup ADB and Fastboot on your PC.
  9. Enable Developer options and USB debugging on your phone.
  10. Connect your HTC 10 to the PC.
  11. Open a command window inside the folder where you saved firmware file in Step 6 above. To do that, “Shift + Right click” on any empty white space inside the folder and then select “Open command window here” from the context menu.
  12. Now issue the following command to boot your HTC 10 into download mode: 
    adb reboot download
  13. Once your phone is in download mode, issue the following command to install Nougat firmware: 
    fastboot flash zip nougat-firmware.zip

    └ If you didn’t rename the zip file to nougat-firmware.zip file (as instructed in Step 7 above), then replace the file name with actual file name of the firmware zip in the command above.

  14. Once firmware is installed successfully, press Power button to return to Download mode screen.
  15. Reboot by issuing the following command: 
    fastboot reboot

For help and support, head over to the official support thread for Viper10 ROM over at xda.

Happy Androiding!