[GUIDE] Getting ICS +root on your Note. Stable & fully functional. UPDATED.

I thought I would write this guide to help people who are having trouble with getting ICS to work reliably on their Galaxy Note. This guide is fairly beginner friendly but I do recommend that you quickly go through this once before you start. Also, this is a 'risk free' way of trying the ICS leak. You just need to have a nandroid backup from your current clockworkmod (or red-pill recovery) to try this out. If you do not like it, instructions are included on how to restore back to your Ginger Bread ROM. Hit the THANKS button if this helps. Happy Flashing!

Edit. CLICK HERE for my earlier thread demoing ICS on the Note. It has 3 videos that add up to 40 mins.

Edit 2. In case you have any trouble with the ROM and want to get back, I have now included a 'Getting back to your old Ginger Bread ROM' section in the end thanks to chasmodo. I do suggest that you read through for some user reports or better yet, try it yourself!

Edit 3. The guide now includes instructions to get TeamRocketROM ICS and criskelo's ICS ROM. I have had mixed results with these two ROMs. But feel free to try them out and see if they will work well for you. You will HAVE to install the CF repack ICS to be able to install other ICS ROMs. So follow the steps from section (2) until step 10 and choose either Section (4A) or (4B). A shout out to TeamRocket and criskelo. Original Thread for TeamRocketROM and Original Thread for criskeloROM.

Edit 4. MediaFire links for the essential files are now up. They are split into 200mb rar files. You will need WinRAR to extract them.

Index :

Section (1) Requirements
Section (2) Chainfire's ICS repack installation
Section (3) Bloatware List
Section (4A) TeamRocketROM installation
Section (4B) CriskeloROM installation
Section (5) Getting back to your old Ginger Bread ROM
Section (6) Recommended apps
Section (7) Tips, tricks & troubleshooting.

Section (1) : Requirements.

1) A Galaxy Note, obviously. It HAS TO BE model GT-N7000 (International) and NOT SGH-i717 (AT&T).

2) Samsung Kies, because it includes the latest Samsung drivers. Google it, download and install.

3) Stock GB ROM with a good radio. We are using a KKA for this. It is easily rootable AND it has a great radio. I have also included ODIN for convenience. CLICK HERE. | MIRROR | MF-Part1 | MF-Part2 | MF-Part3

4) Chainfire's CF-Root kernel/clockworkmod for KKA. CLICK HERE. | MIRROR | MF

5) Mobile ODIN Lite and files required to flash ROMs in one pack. OR you can get Mobile ODIN Pro from Market and support Chainfire's efforts. CLICK HERE. | MIRROR | MF
Note. Chainfire is one of the most prolific Android developers/reverse engineers and it will be worth every penny if you donate/buy his apps.

6) Chainfire's ICS repack. This includes CF-root kernel and clockworkmod. Package also includes the google apps zip. CLICK HERE. | MIRROR | MF-Part1 | MF-Part2 | MF-Part3

Check below for additional requirements for TeamRocketROM or criskelo ROM.

////// EXTRA REQs for TeamRocketROM //////

****ONLY IF YOU WANT TEAMROCKETROM******

Edit. MediaFire links are up for RocketROM.

1) TeamRocketROM ICS v1.4 CLICK HERE | MIRROR2
2) TeamRocketROM ICS v1.5 CLICK HERE | MIRROR2 | MIRROR3
3) 15 Button Toggle Bar CLICK HERE *OPTIONAL but recommended* CLICK HERE

Mediafire links (includes all 3 of the above files) :

MF-Part1 | MF-Part2 | MF-Part3 | MF-Part4


NOTE : You NEED to download BOTH v1.4 and v1.5 for installing v1.5.

////// EXTRA REQs for criskelo ICS ROM //////

****ONLY IF YOU WANT CRISKELO ROM******

1) Criskelo's ICS beta 1 ROM CLICK HERE | MIRROR2 | MIRROR3


Section (2) : Chainfire's ICS repack installation.

1) Your current firmware does not matter. It could be stock, stock & rooted, newer stock & ever-rooted, sammobile ICS, whatever. It's OK even if you're in a boot-loop or plain brick. It does not matter. But be prepared to loose all your app data and also maybe the files on the INTERNAL sd of the phone. This is MEANT as a clean, fresh install. Although you will get back most of the essential stuff once you logon to you google account on the new ICS.

2) MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ATLEAST 50% CHARGE.

3) Extract the file named " N7000XXKKA_N7000OXXKK5_AUT.rar". You will find three files there, .DLL, .TAR.MD5, .ZIP. Extract the zip file. Right click on 'Odin3 v1.85.exe' and click 'Run as administrator'.

4) Now you need to put your phone in Download mode. Turn off your phone if it is on. Hold volume down, home and power together and keep holding them until you see a screen that says Warning on top with a yellow warning symbol. As soon as you see the screen, you need to push the volume UP button to get into download mode. If you miss it, try holding down the three buttons and repeat. The download screen has an android with 'Downloading...' written in the bottom.

5) Now that you are in download mode, go ahead and connect the Note to your computer. If you installed Kies correctly, it will install the drivers for the new hardware and say that the device is ready for use. Now, on the ODIN screen you should see "Added" in the 'Message' window on the left. Now, click the "PDA" button and select the file that ended with .TAR.MD5. Make sure ONLY "Auto reboot" and "F. Reset Time" are checked. Say start and the flashing should begin. DO NOT INTERRUPT THIS UNTIL IT IS COMPLETED.

6) Once the flashing ends, your phone will reboot. Give it upto 5 minutes because it is the first boot. If it is stuck in a boot loop (or if things are force closing on the setup screen), hold down volume UP, home and power button together until you get into the recovery menu. Navigate the recovery using volume and home buttons. Now select the "Wipe data/Factory Reset option", select the Yes option and proceed to wipe the phone. Once done, select the reboot option and your phone should turn on now. Do not setup any accounts and just click through the setup screens. Reboot the phone.

7) Now you have a nice clean stock ROM. We will proceed with the rooting now. Go to settings and 'Applications' and enable 'Unknown sources', then go to 'Development' and enable "USB debugging". Now extract the file " InitialCFRootFlasherKKA". You will see a "not-rooted-yet.bat". Right click and run as administrator. Click enter to continue and now it should say "--- STARTING ---" and "found a samsung" and all that. If you get to the part where it tells you that it is going to flash the cf-root kernel too fast, the adb server probably failed to start. So, you need to close the bat file and run it again as admin. If everything goes right you should see the zergRush exploit in action and after some time it will tell you that it will attempt to flash cf-root kernel. Hit enter, it will flash the kernel and reboot. Congratulations, you now have root and clockworkmod.

7b) PERFORM A NANDROID BACKUP (optional but recommeded) : Turn your phone off. Hold volume UP, menu and power until you reboot into clockworkmod recovery. Go to 'backup and restore' and select backup. Clockworkmod will now create a nandroid backup of your rooted GB rom. So if you decide to g back to GB or try out different ICS roms, this will be really helpful.


8) Now we need to install Mobile ODIN Lite. Extract the file "Mobile_ODIN_Lite_GTN7000". You will see two apks. Now extract "CF_ICS_REPACK_GAPPS_INCL". You will see a .TAR and .ZIP. DO NOT EXTRACT ANY OF THESE FILES. Transfer all these files to your sd card using USB. You can go to 'Wireless and network' menu in settings and then 'USB utilities' to enable mass storage.

9) Using the included 'My Files' app, navigate to the apks. (Note. If you put your files in the external sd there is a folde called "external_sd" in My Files to take you there.) Install " MobileODINLite-v2.15" and then install " MobileODIN_FlashKernel_N7000-v2.0". Now launch Mobile ODIN. It should ask for su permissions and select "Allow" make sure the "remember" option is checked. Select 'Open file' and navigate to wherever you put the "I9220LP1-N7000-ICS-REPACK.tar" file transferred earlier. It should say that it has loaded the file. You will notice the 'Modem' and 'Param' fields are empty, that is fine. Scroll down to 'Flash firmware' and select 'Continue'. Mobile ODIN will boot into recovery and proceed with the flashing. DO NOT INTERRUPT THIS UNTIL IT IS COMPLETED.

### OPTIONAL STEP *ONLY* FOR ROCKETROM/CRISKELO-ROM : Once the flashing is complete, it will take you to clockworkmod. Perform a 'wipe data/factory reset'. Reboot. *SKIP TO SECTION 4A/4B* for further instructions.

10) Once the flashing is complete, it will take you to clockworkmod. DO NOT REBOOT. Navigate the recovery using volume and home buttons. Select 'Install zip from sdcard' and then 'choose zip from sdcard', navigate to 'gappsv7.1.zip.' Proceed to install the zip. Navigate back to main menu and select 'wipe data/factory reset' and say yes. Now select 'reboot system now'.

11) You should now have a stable, rooted ICS. BUT we need to get rid of all the bloatware before we can proceed. There is no set up screen. If your screen in all black when it boots up, that is fine. Reboot the phone. Reboot it again, just to be sure. Get Titanium Backup free either with market, or with the apk. You will need to set up your google account before you can download through market. Once you have Titanium Backup, the clean up begins. You will need to enable 'Unknown sources' under 'Security' and 'USB debugging' under 'Development' before you can use Titanium Backup.

12) Launch Titanium Backup it will ask for root and allow it. Click through the popups. Click the Backup/Restore tab. We begin from all the way dowm, so scroll down all the way. You can uninstall an app by clicking on the app and selecting "Un-install !" option. Click OK on any warnings you will see. Below is a list with the apps that I personally like to remove. It includes the "Samsung Hubs" because they mostly serve Chinese content.

Section (3) : The Bloatware list

-Two apps with Chinese characters at the very bottom.
-Zinio
-Youko
-wikiAR
-weibo
-VIVA magazine
-Trim
-TaoBao
-Straight Flush
-Software update (BOTH of them)
-Social Hub (BOTH)
-SNSAccountRr
-SNSAccountQz
-SNS disclaimer
-Sina weather, stock & news.
-RenRen
-Readers Hub
-Qzone
-QQ Browser AND QQ
-PressReader
-Palmenews & palmebook
-Navigation (This is NOT google navigation)
-Music Hub
-Media Hub
-Kobo
-Dictionary

That's it! Restart your Note and you should have a great, fully-functional ICS ROM! This procedure has been thoroughly tested by me and works every time. ALSO scroll down to check out the recommended apps for better functionality.


Section (4A) : TeamRocketROM ICS installation

****THIS SECTION IS TO BE FOLLOWED ONLY IF YOU WANT TEAMROCKETROM******

1) Once you are done with step 10 from Section (2) you should have the CF repack which forms the base for a lot of other ICS ROMs out there. So you absolutely NEED the cf repack running. If you don;t have it, go back to Section (2) and follow steps from 1 through 10.

2) Transfer the files "TeamRocketRom_ICS_Notev1.4_beta", "TeamRocketRom_ICS_Notev1.5_beta" and "Reworked_15ToggleBar_for_TeamRocketROM_v1.5" to you internal or micro sd. DO NOT UNZIP THEM. Turn off your phone and hold down volume UP, menu and power until you boot into clockworkmod recovery.

3) Now you need to perform a full wipe. Select "wipe data/factory reset" and yes. Now select "wipe cache" and select Yes. Go to advanced > Wipe dalvik cahe > Yes. Select back to go back to main menu.

4) Select "install zip from sd card" > choose zip from sd card > now navigate to the "TeamRocketRom_ICS_Notev1.4_beta" file. Remember it is *1.4*. Slect the file and proceed to flashing. After it is done flashing, perform a full wipe like we did in step 3 (wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache and wipe dalvik cahe). THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL.

5) Once you are done performing the full wipe, go back to the main menu and hit "reboot system now". The phone will reboot, give it some time. Once it is up and running, quickly setup your google account.

6) Now turn the phone off and hold voulume UP, menu and power to get into cwm. Select "install zip from sdcard" > choose zip from sd card > now select "TeamRocketRom_ICS_Notev1.5_beta". Remember, THIS TIME IT IS V1.5. After it is done flashing, do not do any wipes. Go back to main menu and reboot the system.

7) Wait till the phone boots, it will take some time. Go settings and about to verify that you are running RocketROM v1.5. Now, for the final part.

8) Turn off your phone and hold down volume UP, menu and power until you boot into clockworkmod recovery. Select "instll zip from sd card" > "choose zip from sd card" > now select the "Reworked_15ToggleBar_for_TeamRocketROM_v1.5" zip file and let install. Once done, don't wipe anything. Go back to main menu and reboot system. Congrats! You are now running TeamRocketROM ICS v1.5.

Section (4B) : criskelo ROM ICS installation

****THIS SECTION IS TO BE FOLLOWED ONLY IF YOU WANT CRISKELO ROM******

1) Once you are done with step 10 from Section (2) you should have the CF repack which forms the base for a lot of other ICS ROMs out there. So you absolutely NEED the cf repack running. If you don;t have it, go back to Section (2) and follow steps from 1 through 10.

2) Transfer the file "CriskeloRomNOTE.vICS-V1-Beta1-MD5-79520216F3E0F9D0DC5F87EB82EBB143" to your internal / micro sd. DO NOT UNZIP. Turn off your phone and hold down volume UP, menu and power until you boot into clockworkmod recovery.

3) Now you need to perform a full wipe. Select "wipe data/factory reset" and yes. Now select "wipe cache" and select Yes. Go to advanced > Wipe dalvik cahe > Yes. Select back to go back to main menu

4) Select "install zip from sd card" > choose zip from sd card > now navigate to "CriskeloRomNOTE.vICS-V1-Beta1-MD5-79520216F3E0F9D0DC5F87EB82EBB143". Select file and proceed with installation.

5) After it is done flashing, perform a full wipe like we did in step 3 (wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache and wipe dalvik cahe), just to be sure. Go back to main menu and select reboot system now. Enjoy your criskelo ROM!


Section (5) : Getting back to your old Ginger Bread ROM :

If your having troubles and want to go back to your old GB ROM, this is how you restore. Credits to chasmodo for the instructions.

1. download AbyssNote 3.9 kernel from HERE | MIRROR. It's a flashable zip.
2. put this zip on your SD Card before you try to restore your previous system
3. when you want to restore, power off your phone
4. boot into recovery (Volume up + Home + Power)
5. chose 'install zip from SD Card'
6. navigate to your Abyss kernel zip and flash it
7. go back to the Recovery start menu
8. go to advanced/reboot recovery <--- this will reboot the phone directly to recovery
9. you will discover that you now have Hyperdroid Redpill Recovery - it comes with the Abyss kernel - it's pretty much the same thing as CWMR
10. wipe cache, dalvik, do your factory reset
11. start your restore, and it will work.

Section (6) : Recommended apps

- Go Keyboard - Great, highly customizable keyboard. Includes emoji, touch tone keypad, smileys and themes. Does not lag.
- Nova Launcher - Awesome launcher meant ONLY for ICS. Highly customizable with stock ICS look and feel. Very stable too. Includes persistent search bar, dock pages, etc. Original thread HERE.
- Winamp - Really good music player with great navigation and a good looking widget. Also includes lock-screen integration.
- Airdroid - This app is must have for anyone who want to sync their phone wirelessly over wifi. Free and awesome.
- MX Video - Excellent video player. Essential for this ROM because stock player does not function. Has great gesture controls and plays almost anything you throw at it.
- ROM Manager - ONLY IF you are having trouble with force closing apps and general freezes, get ROM Manager and run 'Fix permissions'. I recommend that you do not mess with any other option on ROM Manager unless you know what you're doing.

Section (7) : Tips, tricks and troubleshooting

-- 14 Button Toggle Bar : This is a very nifty little UI tweak by Chris X.. Original post here. It is basically a really cool looking Notification bar with a lot of toggles. I have included a screenshot below. This tweak also works on criskelo ROM. I haven't tested it with chainfire repack, but you are free to give it a try. CLICK HERE to download.

-- Get stock ICS icons for CF repack (Nova Launcher) :
For ICS icons on your Homescreen, download "Ice Cream Sandwich (theme)" by kovdev from Market. Now go back to your Nova Launcher homescreen, tap and hold the icon you want to change and hit edit. Now click on the icon, select "ADW Icon Pack" and proceed to select the appropriate icon. However, the icon will only change on the homescreen and not the app drawer.

-- SoD & Freezes : If you are getting random freezes and/or Screen of Death issues, remove your SIM and microsd, transfer all the required files to internal memory and start over. You can also try using clockworkmod or ROM manager to fix permissions.

Hit the Thanks button if this helps at all. All credit goes to everyone who deserves it. Especially Chainfire. And remember, hit the Thanks if it helps. Good day.

golemagg said:

I am on the XXKK5 Baseband. GPS works when Wifi is turned off. Its slow but works. I do have random apps crashing a lot including the Phone and Contacts apps and such. I think I am going to revert to the Stock ROM and wait for ICS to officially pop out. Can't have my phone/apps crashing when I am traveling next week.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

You are free to do as you please. Although, the ICS ROMS mentioned here seem to be working just fine for a lot of people.

Lanarix said:

I tried all 3 the GB KKA Mirrors, and all of them give me an error saying unexpected file path or something like that when I extract them. the newest Mirror #2 is only ~150mb which is weird ;o
I have no clue why the other 2 don't work though.

Would appreciate help! I looked for similar download links but they don't include the Odin

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Hey, I'm sorry about that bro. I didn't know bulletupload was such a piece of S#!t. I will be removing BU links. Try the FileFactory links. Or better, yet, search the forums. You will get to do some good reading AND find a million other mirrors. BUT, due to popular demand , I WILL be uploading to MediaFire. Watch out for the links.

.Hell. said:

Hey acidburn89 I've been waiting for you for 3 days now to upload your ROM in any other site that works like Mediafire or so , I hope you almost done with it cuz I can not wait to try it

Thanks in advance .

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I totally forgot. I'm sorry bro. MediaFire links will be up shortly.

Edit. MF links are up!

jay_993 said:

okay guys ine question. i dunno how to install this flashkernel. shud i flash it with cwm?

Sent from my Galaxy Note using XDA App

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Which flashkernel?

betoNL said:

Great job....congrats

Criskelo ICS Rom updated to Beta 3 and with 15 toggles

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1522215


.

.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Thanks, beto! I will test it out tonight and update the guide later on.

kvsandeepreddy said:

no bro... i have a GB nandroid but was able to extract apps from it when i was in ics using app extractor

edit:: i restored 182 apps using it but the only prob is while booting up... it taking 2 min to optimize the apps

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I don't know what measures google has taken to prevent fragmentation, but I think GB and ICS versions of apps might be different. But hey, if it works for you, why not?

randomletters said:

Hi,

Can some one advice on RTL language support?
Do Arabic and Hebrew languages work?

Thanks for the guide!

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I don't think I see arabic or hebrew in the languages option. So, i'm not sure if RTL languages will render right everywhere in android (that includes apps in RTL). But Go keyboard DOES offer RTL languages.

m2b999 said:

BTW, any luck about ICS default icons?

I'm still having TW icons even aftet installing Nova and Trebchut launchers!!!

Sent from my Galaxy Note using xda premium!

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Check the first post, will post it in a bit.

DPMAce said:

so what step do I have to start at if all I've done to my note so far is root it using Dr. Ketan's guide?


Is it step 8? (I'm still on stock rom, only rooted with CWM, and superuser)

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

It depends on your baseband. I suggest using the KKA, but YMMV. Get a nandroid of your current setup and give it a try. If it has problems, you can start over from step 1.

Lanarix said:

Is there any way to download the two big files from another source, because it says I've reached my limit or something. And the mirror says I have to wait for 50minutes to download something..
Thank you.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I will try and upload more mirrors later tonight. Sorry for the trouble.

omrhsn said:

I am currently on rooted Gingerbread 2.3.6, Baseband Version N7000XXLA4, Build Number JPLA1. Can I just start with Step 8? It would be nice to have more download links like mediafire or something. Thanks

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

LA4 is newer than the KKA I recommend. So there is definitely no harm in trying. If you start having trouble with calls and GPS, you might have to start over from KKA.

It's a comprehensive guide, well done.

However, sooner or later there will be guys wanting to go back to GB via nandroid backup. At that moment they will discover that something is wrong with CWMR, and they are stuck with an unresponsive phone, save for CWMR access.

I think it would be wise to include the content of this post in this little tutorial to help them get out of jail.

sjhotwings said:

oh ? that work too ? i thought i have to get back to stock and do everything again lol. you said get it in DL mode ? what i have to do once i'm in DL mode ? thanks

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

You will have to flash the stock KKA. lol. Look up the guide. Start from step 3.