CyanogenMod firmware: advantages and features. How to install CyanogenMod on your Android Cyanogenmod app installation

Due to the fact that the CyanogenMod development team has released an installer with which you can easily install custom CyanogenMod firmware, this material will explain in Russian how to do it!

Primarily!

You can read the official information in English on the CyanogenMod Installer wiki page, also on this page there is a list of Android devices that are supported by the translator.

What you need to install CyanogenMod firmware using the installer

1. Computer or laptop with an Internet connection

3. Disable Antivirus on PC and Android device (if installed)

4. Original undamaged Micro-USB cable

5. A charged battery on an Android device

7. Connect Android device directly, not via USB-HUB

Instructions on how to install CyanogenMod firmware using the installer

on device - part 1

1. Download and install from the official website of Сyanogemod - CyanogenMod Installer http://get.cm/app

2. Run the installed application and click the Begin button

2. Press the button Continue and switch the USB connection method to PTP mode(camera)

4. After a few seconds, a message will appear that you need to run CyanogenMod Installer on PC, launch

on the computer - part 2

5. Run the CyanogenMod installer, after which it will check for an update of the installer

6. After that, it will check if there is a connection to the Android device

7. After determining the Android device, the download of custom recovery and firmware will begin, do not disconnect the device from the PC all this time!

8. After all the necessary parts of the firmware have been downloaded, you will be prompted to install the firmware, click the button Install

Quite often we mention CyanogenMod on our website. This is a firmware for those who are bored with stock Android or a version of the firmware with a shell from the smartphone manufacturer. This firmware is for those who lack control over their device and operating system and want more features. In other words, this is a firmware for advanced users, however, it is not that difficult to install.

What is CyanogenMod

Start over. CyanogenMod is a custom version of Android that allows you to quickly change themes, create profiles for using wireless connections, supports gestures, screen calibration, and many other settings. The firmware from the amateur version of Android has grown into a product that some smartphone manufacturers are willing to use. One of the brightest examples of smartphones on Cyanogen OS is.

How to install CyanogenMod

Today, the process of installing this custom firmware is as simple as possible. It does not take much time and does not require root rights and special user skills. Here's where to start.

Go to the settings section and allow the installation of applications from unknown sources.
Visit http://get.cm using your device's browser and follow the on-screen instructions.
After downloading the APK file and installing the app, follow the instructions in the app.
You can also use the official Windows program and quickly install CyanogenMod using a USB cable, also following the instructions.

This instruction will work for supported devices. You can find a list of these devices here. There is a way to install the firmware on devices not included in this list, but it, in turn, requires certain skills. Those who are able to install custom firmware and have the necessary knowledge and skills have probably already tried CyanogenMod.

According to AndroidPit

As new versions of mobile operating systems are released, developers are often of the opinion that new systems simply will not take root on an outdated smartphone, and are limited to releasing only one (maximum 2) updates for a phone two or three years ago. This has to do with official operating system updates, but what about unofficial updates? Luckily, there are plenty to choose from. There is a wide variety of unofficial Android OS firmware available on the market today, which, it is worth saying, are faster, more reliable and more efficient than the official update (Paranoid Android, MIUI). In addition, there are usually many more functions and features available in custom firmware that are not disclosed in the official version. One of the most stable unofficial firmware is the version CyanogenMod, backed by an international team of enthusiasts who are constantly releasing new versions with support for the latest smartphones. Today we will talk about how to install custom firmware on smartphone.

Preparing for a Firmware Update

Before proceeding with the update, make a backup of all important data stored on the smartphone's flash memory. You can compress all existing information into an archive, or you can simply transfer it to a third-party drive (an external USB drive or a computer). You don't have to worry about saving data on the SD card - the installation will only affect the internal memory of the phone.

The next important point is recharging. Before you install custom firmware on your smartphone, make sure that your device is charged at least 50%, or even more. If the battery runs out during the installation of CyanogenMod, this may be fraught with a critical error that can turn your smartphone into a “brick”.

Another condition is that you should definitely take into account which version of the firmware you have on your phone at the moment. Almost any build of CyanogenMod is installed exclusively on the official firmware of the phone, or on an earlier CyanogenMod, be it a Samsung, HTC, LG smartphone or any other model. To find out which version of CyanogenMod is available for your smartphone, and what basic firmware is needed to update to it, please refer to the portal forum w3bsit3-dns.com. On this site, each phone model and available unofficial firmware for it is dedicated to a whole separate branch, which describes detailed instructions for updating and the opinions of users about the operation of the system that have already installed the update on their device. In addition, after registration, you can ask questions that interest you if, after reading the header, you still have unexplained points.

In our material, we will talk about installing CyanogenMod 13 (Android 6.0) on a Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 (GT-I8160) device. This phone is far from the newest, and the update will literally give it a new life, which will allow you to postpone the purchase of a new device, provided that the performance of this particular device suits you.

So, you have transferred important information (synchronized the list of contacts with your Google account or made a backup copy, transferred photos and electronic notes) to external media and sufficiently charged the device. What to do now?

Basic firmware version

If the installation of CyanogenMod requires basic official firmware, there are two ways to install it:

1. Using the official application from the developer company (for Samsung products, this is KIES, for LG, this is LG PC Suite, etc.). Although this method is available by default, the update speed with it leaves much to be desired.

2. Using an unofficial application (for Samsung - this is the Odin program, for LG - KDZ Updater, for Lenovo - Smart Phone Flash Tool, etc.). This method is used by most technicians involved in the repair and restoration of mobile equipment. In our article, we will use the Odin program, since it is it that supports all Samsung devices.

How to install custom firmware via Odin - detailed instructions

For different Samsung smartphones, you will need a different version of Odin, depending on the year of manufacture of the device. Phones from 2012 and earlier will need version 1.83, which can be downloaded from this link. Fits later models version 3.10 current at the time of writing.

1. Download the Odin program of the required version from the links provided. Extract the contents of the file from the archive.

3. Run the Odin program.

4. Turn off the phone and connect it to the computer through the cord.

5. We transfer the smartphone to Download Mode (the "home" button + the volume down key + the shutdown button).

6. When the corresponding message appears on the smartphone screen, press the volume up button. Download mode is activated.

7. If all the preparations for the flashing were completed correctly, a yellow indicator will appear in Odin with the number of the port used to connect the device to the PC.

8. Now add the PIT, PDA and CSC files corresponding to your firmware version. You can find out which file corresponds to each of the categories in the description of the official firmware of your mobile phone model in the corresponding forum thread on the 4pda.ru website (link in paragraph 2 of the instruction).

9. Press the “Start” button to start flashing.

10. After about 5-10 minutes, the operation will be completed. Its successful completion should be indicated by a green indicator with the inscription “PASS” in the leftmost panel at the top.

Update to new firmware version

Now let's update to the new version of CyanogenMod. To learn in detail how to install custom firmware on a smartphone, you need to familiarize yourself with all the details of the w3bsit3-dns.com forum ( link as an example). As a rule, to update to a new version, 3 files are needed: this is the CyanogenMod firmware itself (in particular, the archive with it), the Open Gapps package, which allows you to install a minimum set of Google and Play Market services and programs, and a recovery file (cwm). All this can be found on the forum. Sometimes (in the case of installing Android 5.0 / 6.0) a kernel update is also required, it is installed from the recovery menu in exactly the same way, so we will not dwell on this.

It should be noted that each version of the Android OS has its own Open Gapps package, so before downloading the archive, make sure that it fits the version of Android you need.

1. We find these three files on the network and copy them to a single folder on the phone's memory card.

10. Specify the path to the CyanogenMod firmware file and proceed to install it on the phone.

11. After a few minutes, when a message appears about the completion of the file download, specify the path to the GApps archive and wait another minute.

13. Everything is ready, now the new system is booting.

If something went wrong, having the basic official firmware on hand, you can return to the official firmware version at any time using the Odin program. For information on how to install the base firmware, see the "Basic Firmware Version" section of this article.

Results

We hope that the presented material will provide you with all the answers to the question: how to install custom firmware on a smartphone. Before performing any operations, read reviews on the use of a particular version of the firmware on the 4pda.ru forum (fortunately, other users leave their comments on whether they successfully managed to install this or that firmware on their device).

Screenshot sources: babbler.me / samsung.com

CyanogenMod is an aftermarket firmware for Android OS smartphones and tablets from the Cyanogen Team, now Cyanogen Inc. When creating this firmware, a lot of work has been done on optimization and it really improves the performance of the device.

First of all, this is a must have for owners of “outdated” devices, such as the Galaxy Nexus, for example. As you know, officially this device does not support KitKat, but with the help of Cyanogenmod, the owners of this phone can appreciate all the delights of the latest version of the OS from Google.

The very interaction with the device has also been improved. For example, using shortcuts on the lock screen, you can immediately open the application you need. There is an opportunity to reduce, or even completely remove the on-screen navigation buttons.

The user can completely change the notification panel and quick settings: here you can change the battery icon, and move quick settings shortcuts, and even adjust the screen brightness by swiping on the status bar.

If you like to use the on-screen buttons, then in CyanogenMod you can move them around to your heart's content. Optionally, you can add other elements, such as a search button or menu.

For a long time I could not find a suitable music player for myself on Google Play. I tried both the popular Poweramp and Play Music, but they all did not suit me for many reasons. CyanogenMod comes with the beautiful Apollo player. Its appearance can be changed the way you want. In addition, there are a lot of free themes for it on Google Play. Also, a convenient equalizer is built into the firmware, which will allow you to adjust the sound both in the headphones, and through the speaker, and through the speakers.

CyanogenMod looks exactly like KitKat on the Nexus 5. Transparent buttons and a status bar, Google Now, called by a swipe to the right, are all in place. The appearance of the firmware itself can also be changed. Cyanogenmod has support for themes that can be found in abundance on the Internet.

The firmware even has such “wildness” as changing the processor frequency at the discretion of the user. You can set not only the frequency, but also the algorithm for changing it. A few words about each:

Interactive - the frequency changes when the smartphone screen is turned on (standard Governor from version 4.1.1)

Ondemand - Predecessor of Interactive, more power efficient but less productive

Userspace - allows you to fully customize the principle of operation

Powersave is the minimum frequency to save power. By the way, in this mode, everything slows down wildly, even flipping through desktops resembles android 2.2

Performance - Sets a constant maximum frequency. Accordingly, we get the maximum performance

Personally, I use the standard settings, but in rare cases, to save battery, I lower the processor frequencies.

Device performance on the CM is noticeably improved. For example, on stock firmware 4.4.2, my Nexus 4 gives out about 16 thousand points in the Antutu test, and with Cyanogenmod installed, this figure increases to 20-21 thousand.

You can talk endlessly about all the small innovations of this firmware, but it's better to try it yourself. Next, I will try to tell you in the most accessible language how to install Cyanogenmod on your device.

Installation

I will talk about flashing the device using the LG Nexus 4 as an example, since I use this device. On other phone models, the installation may differ to some extent. It is not recommended to flash other devices according to this instruction. I also want to say that before starting the installation, I recommend reading the article to the end.

IMPORTANT! You alone are responsible for all your actions and no one else.

The Cyanogen team has provided an easy way to install their firmware for people who don't want to bother. This method is self-explanatory. You just need to click on the picture below and follow the instructions.

However, this is not the best way. The first time I installed CyanogenMod on my Nexus 4, this program gave me the latest nightly build (a nightly build is a firmware version that is built almost every day (night), and it can be both stable and contain a number of bugs. In my case, a firmware was installed that contained errors and sometimes prevented the normal operation of the device.But a friend who installed Cyanogenmod on his Galaxy S2 in the same way received the latest stable version for his device (4.3.1 JellyBean), which he has perfectly working.

Let's proceed to the second, more "geeky" method. I will try to simplify all manipulations as much as possible and write to you about the easiest installation ways. First of all, you need to get root rights, unlock the bootloader and install custom recovery.

If you do not have a file manager, then just follow the link to Google Play and install it on your device. We'll still need it.

First, let's get the root right. The easiest way to do this is with the Framaroot app. Download the Framaroot- 1.9.1.apk file and install it through the file manager (do not forget to allow installation of applications from unknown sources in the phone settings).

Now let's go down the list:

We launch Framaroot and click "Allow" if the antivirus issues a warning about a security risk. Select "Install SuperSU" to get root rights.
Click Gimli, Sam, Frodo, Legolas, Aragorn, Gandalf, Boromir, Barahir or Faramir, that is, any exploit available for your device. If it doesn't work with one exploit, try another.
If we see a window with a funny smiley, then the root rights have been successfully obtained and we reboot the device.

After that, the Framaroot installation file will no longer be needed and it can be deleted through the same file manager, and thank the developer by purchasing a special application.

Now let's unlock the bootloader. Again, I suggest the simplest way. To do this, we need to install the BootUnlooker app directly from Google Play. Next, just go to the application and press the Unlock button, after granting administrator rights. Unfortunately, BootUnlocker only works with Nexus devices.

Next, we need to flash custom recovery. There are two options: CWM (clockworkmod recovery) and TWRP (team win recovery project). I use the second one and therefore I will tell you how to install it. Again, we will use the easiest possible way: first, download the GooManager application from Google Play. Let's go in order:

Open the application and press the “Menu” button (on the device itself), select “Install OpenRecoveryScr…”.
The program will ask you if you really want to install Recovery, click "Yes".
Another window will appear in which you will be prompted for the name of the .img file with the recovery that will be flashed to your device. Make sure that the name of this file contains the name of your device model, for example for Nexus 4 it will most likely be called openrecovery-twrp-2.6.3.3-mako, and for Galaxy S3 the file name will be openrecovery-twrp-2.6.3.0-i9300.img , where i9300 is the international model code for the Galaxy S3.
After you click “Yes”, you will be redirected to a site where the recovery file will be downloaded. The program will do everything for you and you just have to wait for a message from GooManager about the successful installation of the recovery.
Now TWRP is installed on your device and you can boot into it directly from GooManager by pressing the “Reboot Recovery” button, or press the power and volume down buttons when booting the device.

Finally, we have come close to the most important thing - installing Cyanogenmod, for the sake of which we actually did everything described above. To do this, go to the Cyanogenmod website in the Download section. On the left we see the TYPE column, let's briefly dwell on each of the firmware types:

Stable is the most stable and fully working version free from any bugs
Release candidate - pre-release version of the firmware. Not much different from stable
Snapshot is a solid midranger. It is considered not fully finalized, but from my own experience I can say that everything works fine. It is from this point that we will take our firmware
Milliestone is an empty item. Pay no attention to him. Even if some firmware versions appear there, I do not recommend installing them
Nightly - such builds are called "nightly" as they are collected every night automatically. They may contain a huge number of bugs, but many sit on them and use them with pleasure. We will pass by and will not focus on such versions.
Experiments - forget about it. As the title says, it's clear

Well, click on Snapshot and look for the version for our device. The easiest way is to use the page search (ctrl-f) and enter the name of your device. In this case it will be Nexus 4:

Downloading the zip file cm-11-20140210-SNAPSHOT-M3-mako.zip
Although it is an archive, you do not need to do anything with it on the computer. We just put it in the phone's memory. For example, in the Download folder
Next, boot into recovery mode either through GooManager, or when loading the device, hold down the power and volume down buttons at the same time
Select the Install item, go to our folder and click on our file (the one that cm-11-20140210-SNAPSHOT-M3-mako.zip)
We make a swipe to the right, thereby confirming the installation, and wait

After installation, reboot the system and wait for the device to boot. If everything went well, you will see a clean desktop. If everything went badly, then your phone will not boot up and, most likely, you will have to carry it to a service center or scrap it. (In fact, if the phone really did not boot, then you should return to the recovery mode and do a full Wipe in the appropriate paragraph, if this did not help, then write in the comments)

Now notice that you are missing Google Play and other Google apps. They must be installed separately. To do this, download the Gapps package from this link, throw them on the phone and install them in the same way as the firmware - through the recovery.

Congratulations! You have installed CyanogenMod 11 on your device and you can enjoy all the delights of this firmware.

If you liked this topic and want to continue, then be sure to write about it. In future articles, I plan to talk about how to make using the device as comfortable as possible: how to replace the on-screen buttons and the status bar, thereby increasing the amount of space used on the screen, and also talk about the MIUI firmware and installing it as a second system on your device .

Due to the fact that the CyanogenMod development team has released an installer with which you can easily install custom CyanogenMod firmware, this material will explain in Russian how to do it!

Primarily!

You can read official information in English on the CyanogenMod Installer wiki page, also on this page list of android devices supported by the installer.

What you need to install CyanogenMod firmware using the installer

Computer or laptop with Internet connection
Make a backup on your Android device of important data
Disable Antivirus on PC and Android device (if installed)
Original undamaged Micro-USB cable
Charged battery on an Android device
Enable USB Debugging on Android
Connect Android device directly, not via USB hub
Download CyanogenMod Installer on PC

Instructions on how to install CyanogenMod firmware using the installer

on device - part 1

1. Download and install from the official website of Сyanogemod - CyanogenMod Installer http://get.cm/app

2. Run the installed application and click the Begin button

2. Press the button Continue and switch the USB connection method to PTP mode(camera)

4. After a few seconds, a message will appear that you need to run CyanogenMod Installer on PC, launch

on the computer - part 2

5. Run the CyanogenMod installer, after which it will check for an update of the installer

6. After that, it will check if there is a connection to the Android device

7. After determining the Android device, the download of custom recovery and firmware will begin, do not disconnect the device from the PC all this time!

8. After all the necessary parts of the firmware have been downloaded, you will be prompted to install the firmware, click the button Install

Install Recovery

And after the CyanogenMOD firmware itself

In a few minutes, the Android device will have a new custom firmware Cyanogemod

After firmware!

After you managed to install the CyanogenMod firmware using the CyanogenMod installer, it is highly recommended to perform WIPE (WIPE DATA/FACTORY RESET) from the Recovery menu!