1 – My typical Android Woes
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Slowly I'm getting used to dealing with Android. All the devices I tried so far… and no Samsung (but the one tablet I was given to flash stock ROM – it wasn't mine and gave it back). Every manufacturer is different. Every SoC is different. Flashing tools, drivers, shady sites… d*mn!
Samsung using Download/Odin mode instead of fastboot was something new to me (back then when I did the tablet, I just flashed stock ROM after reviving the battery and that was it – don't even remember this).
As always with Android: The tutorials for noobs like me are anything but comparable to our beloved 3ds.hacks.guide (which I would say is the gold standard for modding guides). The manuals aren't step-by-step (for noobs), they aren't free of parts that can be misunderstood and most importantly: They aren't always working when following them to the letter.
2 – The Current Case
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The main question is: How to install custom ROM on Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (N7100)? Answer:
How to escape that endless loop of flashing TWRP to have it overwritten afterwards? Found the suggestion to remove the battery after flashing. Feels wrong, but I'm the "Fearless Testing Sina" after all and the device is of no value. Result: It booted right into main OS when reinserting the battery despite holding (Home) + (Vol+) + (Power). The following solution worked for me: After flashing TWRP with Odin/heimdall, the phone would fully turn off when holding the Odin button combination (Home) + (Vol-) + (Power) – and accepted the recovery combination on power on. TWRP needed about 30 seconds to boot which felt awfully like failure but it worked flawlessly disarming the trap. It made me want to rip out my hair! Countless tries forcing me to see the bloated¹ stock ROM on every failed attempt – as if it was making fun of me.
Surprisingly steps 2. and 3. worked out of the box. I'm used to problems (not mentioned in guides) with step 3. as well.
3 – Conclusion
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For the quick test I got greedy and took the absolute newest software package I could find: LineageOS 19 (Android 12). I wouldn't recommend this unofficial ROM for practical use for two reasons:
Maybe the Android 7 based ROM on XDA is the more reasonable choice. Still, impressive that this old phone runs latest Android. I mean it is not unusable in reaction time. Samsung never went beyond version 4.4 with official updates. Missing not only security updates but also CA-Certs (root certs) and app support the 4.4 Android OS is done for (concerning practical everyday use).
Let's compare the patchlevel of vendor image and installed LineageOS without further comment:
I'm really building up a collection of Android devices, trying to make the most out of every single one. Sadly nobody will want to use them and they all are gonna disappear in a drawer.
Will provide a photo of the phone later. Took a while, but now the pictures are ready:
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¹ Of all the devices I tested so far, this Samsung had the worst looking stock ROM. I found nothing at first (different UI) and it had by far(!) the most crapware installed (including pizza delivery). Even worse than the Sony Xperia Z3C.
The next person giving me the stupid saying "You get what you paid for!", will get laughter as response. This was an expensive phone back when it was new and had literal adware preinstalled.
************************************
Slowly I'm getting used to dealing with Android. All the devices I tried so far… and no Samsung (but the one tablet I was given to flash stock ROM – it wasn't mine and gave it back). Every manufacturer is different. Every SoC is different. Flashing tools, drivers, shady sites… d*mn!
Samsung using Download/Odin mode instead of fastboot was something new to me (back then when I did the tablet, I just flashed stock ROM after reviving the battery and that was it – don't even remember this).
As always with Android: The tutorials for noobs like me are anything but comparable to our beloved 3ds.hacks.guide (which I would say is the gold standard for modding guides). The manuals aren't step-by-step (for noobs), they aren't free of parts that can be misunderstood and most importantly: They aren't always working when following them to the letter.
2 – The Current Case
**************************
The main question is: How to install custom ROM on Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (N7100)? Answer:
- Flash TWRP 3.6 in Odin Mode → heimdall flash --RECOVERY recovery.img --no-reboot
- Wipe in TWRP ("factory reset", "prepare clean flash", "wipe data, dalvik, cache")
- Flash your preferred ROM.zip file (there are plenty for this phone)
How to escape that endless loop of flashing TWRP to have it overwritten afterwards? Found the suggestion to remove the battery after flashing. Feels wrong, but I'm the "Fearless Testing Sina" after all and the device is of no value. Result: It booted right into main OS when reinserting the battery despite holding (Home) + (Vol+) + (Power). The following solution worked for me: After flashing TWRP with Odin/heimdall, the phone would fully turn off when holding the Odin button combination (Home) + (Vol-) + (Power) – and accepted the recovery combination on power on. TWRP needed about 30 seconds to boot which felt awfully like failure but it worked flawlessly disarming the trap. It made me want to rip out my hair! Countless tries forcing me to see the bloated¹ stock ROM on every failed attempt – as if it was making fun of me.
Surprisingly steps 2. and 3. worked out of the box. I'm used to problems (not mentioned in guides) with step 3. as well.
3 – Conclusion
******************
For the quick test I got greedy and took the absolute newest software package I could find: LineageOS 19 (Android 12). I wouldn't recommend this unofficial ROM for practical use for two reasons:
a) It is marked "alpha" and has known bugs, including random reboots (which I already had one)
b) The device seems underpowered for Android 12. Not reacting fluently (despite no "Google Apps" garbage being present)
Maybe the Android 7 based ROM on XDA is the more reasonable choice. Still, impressive that this old phone runs latest Android. I mean it is not unusable in reaction time. Samsung never went beyond version 4.4 with official updates. Missing not only security updates but also CA-Certs (root certs) and app support the 4.4 Android OS is done for (concerning practical everyday use).
Let's compare the patchlevel of vendor image and installed LineageOS without further comment:
I'm really building up a collection of Android devices, trying to make the most out of every single one. Sadly nobody will want to use them and they all are gonna disappear in a drawer.
___________________
¹ Of all the devices I tested so far, this Samsung had the worst looking stock ROM. I found nothing at first (different UI) and it had by far(!) the most crapware installed (including pizza delivery). Even worse than the Sony Xperia Z3C.
The next person giving me the stupid saying "You get what you paid for!", will get laughter as response. This was an expensive phone back when it was new and had literal adware preinstalled.
