Installing Android 4.3.1 On Samsung Galaxy Note 2

In the excitement leading up to the launch of the Galaxy Gear Smartwatch, it seems that Samsung neglected to realize that very few of their handsets were actually compatible with the new peripheral. Fortunately, the SlimBean team (among others) has been busy creating custom ROMs with Gear compatibility baked in.

Today, we’re bringing you a custom SlimBean ROM based on Android 4.3.1 Jelly Bean. As always, DroidReport assumes no liability for the firmware installation. Proceed with caution.

Before Getting Started

Before you get started, ensure that your Galaxy Note 2 is the GT-N7100 model. You must also root your device and install a recovery utility like ClockworkMod.

As always, you want to backup your device and charge it to at least 80 percent.

Finally, enable USB Debugging mode by navigating to Settings -> Developer Options.

Updating Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (GT-N7100) to Android 4.3.1 Jelly Bean

1) Download the Android 4.3.1 SlimBean ROM and Google Apps package, which can be found here and here.

2) Connect your Note 2 to your computer via USB cord.

3) Copy the ROM file and Google Apps package to the root folder of the Note 2’s SD card. Don’t extract the files.

4) Boot your Galaxy Note 2 into Recovery mode by pressing the Volume Up, Home and Power buttons together until the Samsung logo is on screen.

5) Wipe all data from your Note 2 by first selecting wipe data/factory reset, followed by wipe cache partition, then wipe dalvik cache.

6) Install the SlimBean ROM by choosing “install zip from SD card > choose zip from SD. Hit confirm installation and then repeat the same steps to install Google Apps.

7) After the firmware is installed, navigate back to “reboot system now.” Your Note 2 will now take a few minutes to restart. Do nothing until this completes.

8) Once your phone boots up again, you’ll officially be running Android 4.3.1 Jelly Bean SlimBean ROM. Kudos.