Install CM12.1 Nightly on Sprint Galaxy Note 3 and Update to Android 5.1 Lollipop OS

CM12.1 Nightly based on Android 5.1 Lollipop is currently available for various Android smartphones and tablets. The new CyanogenMod platform is bringing new and dedicated features that can customize and optimize the Lollipop experience whether you own a high end device or a mid range phone. In this respect, if you want to test the latest CM 12.1 ROM on your own device, do learn that CyanogenMod finally released the Nightly built for the Sprint model of Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

So, now you can customize and also improve your Note 3. The CM 12.1 Nightly ROM is stable, smooth and pre installed with extremely useful apps, features and capabilities. All these CyanogenMod “goodies” can be then smartly used by the users in order to improve performances, bump the speeds and optimize the Lollipop 5.1 system. Thus, you have a good opportunity for improving the performances of your Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

As mentioned, the Nightly release of CM 12.1 comes without software related issues. Therefore, you can safely flash the Android 5.1 custom ROM on your Sprint Note 3 without risking anything. However, I still recommend you to save the current firmware first, just in case. In this respect, make a Nandroid backup before doing anything else.

Also, just for being able to keep everything safe and secured, before installing CM12.1 Nightly on your Sprint Galaxy Note 3 and before updating to custom Android 5.1 Lollipop OS, backup your data – mainly the data that is saved on the internal storage of your smartphone. Do this operation because, while flashing the ROM a hard reset will be initiated and completed (you cannot complete this guide without applying the hard reset operation, so the backup process becomes a must).

You can complete this guide only after preparing some things. In that matter, you have to read the tasks that are being resumed during the following list:

• Root your Sprint Galaxy Note 3 because a custom ROM, such as CM 12.1, can be installed only on an unlocked Android based device.
• Install a custom recovery image on your smartphone because the custom ROM can be flashed only through the mentioned software.
• Be careful as all these operations (including the present update one) are unofficial and shouldn’t be related with Samsung or with Google – the warranty of your Note 3 will get void.
• Read about other essential pre requisites here. Do check all the lines from the mentioned guide if you want to learn everything about the update operation you are about to perform: advantages, risks, official terms and so on.

Do note that this tutorial is compatible only with the Sprint variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 – for each Android based device those of CyanogenMod are releasing a different Android 5.1 Lollipop firmware.

How to update Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with CM12.1 Nightly Android 5.1 Lollipop custom ROM firmware

1. First, go to the CyanogenMod official web page and from there download the CM12.1 firmware file for your Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
2. Save this file on your computer, but don’t unzip it.
3. Connect your smartphone with your PC via USB cable and place the Android 5.1 Lollipop update on your phone’s SD card; then unplug the USB cable.
4. Turn off your phone, wait a few seconds and then reboot into recovery mode.
5. From recovery clear cache and wipe the system by choosing “wipe system factory reset”, “wipe cache partition” and “wipe dalvik cache”.
6. Now, after completing these steps, you can finally load the CM firmware file; so select “install zip from SD card” and “choose zip from SD card”.
7. Pick the Lollipop package and install the CM 12.1 ROM on your Sprint Note 3.
8. Wait while the flashing process is being completed and in the end from main menu of recovery select “reboot system now”.

That’s it; after the final reboot you can enjoy Android 5.1 Lollipop OS, via CM 12.1 Nightly custom ROM, on your Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 3.