There’s a new Jelly Bean Android 4.1 based custom ROM out of the Verizon Galaxy Nexus. Called N7 ROM by development team “Team N7”, it is based on CodenameAndroid ROM, which is famous for its fast performance and extensive customization options (similar to AOKP and CyanogenMod), along with a few mods and useful tweaks by Team N7 to improve the experience even further.
Sprint Galaxy Nexus owners can try out a few Jelly Bean custom ROMs → here, while international Galaxy Nexus owners can do so → here.
Let’s take a look at how Team N7 ROM can be installed on the Verizon Galaxy Nexus.
Compatibility
This ROM and the guide below are compatible only and only with the Verizon Galaxy Nexus. It’s not compatible with any other device. Check your device model in Settings » About phone.
Warning!
The methods and procedures discussed here are considered risky and you should not attempt anything if you don’t know completely what it is. If any damage occurs to your device, we won’t be held liable.
How to Install Team N7 ROM on Verizon Galaxy Nexus
- This procedure will wipe all your apps, data and settings. Backup your Apps and important data — bookmarks, contacts, SMS, APNs (internet settings), etc. This Android backup guide would help you.
NOTE: Don’t forget to at least make a backup of your APN settings, which you can restore later if your data connection does not work after installing the ROM. Use the backup guide to find out how. - Important! Make sure the bootloader on your phone is unlocked and ClockworkMod recovery is installed on your Verizon Galaxy Nexus. You can use the Galaxy Nexus Toolkit to unlock bootloader and install recovery. Unlocking bootloader will erase your SD card files and all data, so make sure to take a backup (see step 1).
- Download the latest version of the ROM from its development page.
- Download the Google Apps package. This will install apps like Play Store, Gmail, etc. which are not present in the ROM by default.
Download Gapps | Alternate Link | Filename: gapps-jb-20120726-signed.zip - Copy the two zip files downloaded in step 3 and 4 to the SD card on the phone (do not extract the files).
- Boot into CWM recovery. To do this, turn off the phone. Then, press and hold the following keys together: Power + Volume Up + Volume Down to enter Fastboot mode where you will see “Start” written in big green letters. Then, using the volume buttons, navigate to the Recovery mode option, then select it using the Power button to reboot into recovery mode.
- Perform a Nandroid Backup of your existing ROM, so that you can always restore it from recovery if something does not work out with this ROM. To perform a backup, select Backup and Restore –> On the next screen, select Backup again. Go back to main recovery menu after backup is complete.
- Select wipe data/factory reset, then select Yes on next screen to confirm. Wait a while till the data wipe is complete.
- Then, select install zip from sdcard, then select choose zip from sdcard. Scroll to the ROM file on the SD card and select it. Confirm installation by selecting Yes – _______.zip on the next screen. The ROM will start installing.
- After ROM installation completes, select choose zip from sdcard again, then select the gapps-jb-20120726-signed.zip file to install the Google apps package.
- After the installation is complete, go back to the main recovery menu and select reboot system now to reboot the phone and boot up into Team N7 ROM. The first boot will take some time, up to 5 minutes.
NOTE: To go back to your previous ROM, boot into recovery, select backup and restore then restore your previous ROM by selecting it from the list.
The Team N7 ROM based on Jelly Bean Android 4.1 is now installed and running on your Verizon Galaxy Nexus. Visit the development page for more info and to get the latest updates on the ROM. Share your thoughts on the ROM in the comments.
Also try out a few other Verizon Galaxy Nexus Jelly Bean ROMs → here.
