Update Galaxy Note 3 to Android 8.1 Oreo via LineageOS 15.1

When Samsung released the Galaxy Note 3 back in 2013, no one knew where the company is headed. Soon, it was clear that the Note series has set new trends and it’s here to stay. The Galaxy Note 3 undoubtedly brought the South Korean giant a lot of success. The Galaxy Note 3 set all the smartphone manufacturers on a new path. After the Galaxy Note 3, we saw many smartphone manufacturers following Samsung’s footsteps. It was only Samsung that lived up to the expectations making its new series truly iconic.

As of today, it’s been 5 years since Samsung released the Galaxy Note 3. The Galaxy Note 3 is still in use by thousands of users. It’s very easy to find a used Galaxy Note 3 under a very cheap price tag nowadays. That is one reason for this device to be alive even now when we have already reached the 8th iteration of the Galaxy Note. Galaxy Note 3’s spec-sheet makes it an incredible device. However, the spec-sheet is not great enough to help this device run on the latest version of Android. The official updates of the Galaxy Note 3 were halted after Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Galaxy Note 3 owners, who want to enjoy the pretty new version of Android on their pretty old Galaxy Note 3, have only one choice and that is to go with a custom ROM. There are many good custom ROMs available for the Galaxy Note 3 at the moment. The most popular and most widely used custom ROM for the Galaxy Note 3 is the LineageOS 15.1. The LineageOS 15.1 was formerly known as CyanogenMod.

LineageOS 15.1 for the Galaxy Note 3 was released in January 2018 for the first time. Since then, the ROM has seen several major improvements. At the time of writing this post, this ROM has greatly improved and it has entered a nearly-stable stage. If you have an experience of flashing custom ROMs in the past, you may consider keeping this ROM as your daily driver. Since LineageOS 15.1 is an AOSP based ROM and very close to stock Android, there is nothing much to know about it. This ROM is complete bloatware free. Installing the applications is totally up to you.

In this guide, you will find the steps to update Galaxy Note 3 to Android 8.1 Oreo via LineageOS 15.1. We will be using latest TWRP recovery to flash LineageOS 15.1 on the Galaxy Note 3. This ROM supports all the Qualcomm Snapdragon Variants of the Galaxy Note 3.

Prerequisites

1. This guide is only for the Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered Galaxy Note 3. Do not try this on any other device.
2. Backup Call Logs, SMS Messages, Contacts and Media Content as this ROM will wipe your phone.
3. Charge your phone up to 50% to avoid a power mishap during the installation process.
4. Install latest TWRP recovery on your Galaxy Note 3.
5. Backup Nandroid and EFS as well.
6. Your phone must be running on latest bootloader and modem for this ROM.
7. Follow this guide carefully.

Downloads required:

1. LineageOS 15.1 ROM for N9005: Download
2. Download LineageOS 15.1 for N900T, N900W8, N900R4 and N900V: Download
3. Lineage OS 15.1 for N9008V and N9006: Download
4. Download LineageOS 15.1 for N900S, N900L and N900K: Download
5. Google GApps – Download Mini package for ARM Android 8.1 Oreo – Download
6. Latest Magisk.zip file – Download.

Update Galaxy Note 3 to Android 8.1 Oreo via LineageOS 15.1

1. Copy the ROM and the Gapps.zip files to your phone’s external SD card.
2. Turn off your phone. Press and hold Volume Up + Home + Power button to boot your phone into TWRP.
3. Now in TWRP, click on Wipe > Format Data > Type Yes and click on the checkbox to wipe it.
4. Get back to the main menu in TWRP and click on Install > Install Zip > Locate ROM.zip file > Swipe screen to flash.
5. Similarly, click on Install > Install Zip > Locate Gapps.zip file this time > Swipe screen to flash.
6. In the end, flash Magisk just like you flashed ROM and Gapps.
7. Now once again, click on Wipe > Advanced Wipe > Select Cache and Dalvik Cache > Wipe now.
8. Reboot into the system now. First boot will take up to 10 minutes, you will find your phone on Android 8.1 Oreo now.

That’s all with the LineageOS 15.1 installation. The custom ROMs can act weird at times. In case the experience turns out to be bad for you, you can immediately switch the stock ROM. Here is the guide to install stock ROM on your Galaxy Note 3. If you have any queries and questions, feel free to ask them through the comments section below. I will try my best to help you out. Have a good day!