[Upgrading, Modifying and Unlocking] cyi-5:
Update Motorola Droid RAZR to Android 4.2 via Cyanogenmod 10.1 Custom ROM

Many sources have confirmed that Motorola Droid RAZR is likely to get official Jelly Bean update. Now almost a half year is passed since Jelly Bean is launched. Still Motorola hasn’t quoted anything related to the update. Who knows when they are going to do so. But Droid RAZR users won’t get disappointed anymore as Cyanogenmod has arrived to serve the purpose.

Cyanogenmod is a custom ROM that offers a pure AOSP experience along with its own customization fetures. Moreover you are not going to get Android 4.1 with it but directly Android 4.2 (which is the latest version of Android OS up till now). So don’t wait for Motorola to roll out JB, instead flash your phone with Cyanogenmod 10.1 and customize your phone as much as you can.

Since the ROM is in development. It may take some time for developers to fix all the issues and bugs. But you can use it as a daily driver without any problems. Read on further to know how one can update Motorola Droid RAZR with CM10.1 Custom ROM.

Disclaimer: The procedure given in this tutorial is considered as risky and may cause damage to your phone. It is recommended that you should not follow it unless you are familiar with these things. Follow this guide completely at your own risk. Neither we nor ROM developer will be held responsible for any damage caused to your device while attempting these steps.

The guide is strictly intended for Motorola Droid RAZR having model number XT910 (GSM) & XT912 (CDMA). Don’t try it on any other device. This may result in permanent damage to your device.

Pre-Requisites:

Charge your device up to 75% battery level so that ROM installation won’t be interrupted.

Enable / Tick ‘USB Debugging’ option in your phone.

It is highly recommended to backup all your data from internal memory (includes contacts, messages (SMS/MMS), call logs, Internet APNs etc.). Your phone data will get lost after installation of this ROM (excluding External storage).

Procedure to Upgrade Motorola Droid RAZR to Android 4.2.1 via CM 10.1 Custom ROM:

You’re going to install a custom ROM & for that you need to have Safestrap Recovery 3.05 or higher installed in your phone. If you haven’t installed one yet, you can do so by following this article. (Note that it’s necessary to have custom recovery installed. Without this, you can’t proceed to the next steps).

Download Cyanogenmod 10.1 ROM package from (http://http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2028020) (If you’re GSM /CDMA user, choose your ROM file accordingly)

Download Google Apps (Gmail, Maps, GTalk, Play Store etc.) from the link given below.

http://http://androidlegend.com/gapps/(CM 10.1)

After downloading ROM package & Google Apps, connect your phone to the PC. Enable mass storage mode (or any equivalent mode) to access the internal memory. Transfer both the files on the root directory of it.

Now boot your phone into the recovery mode. For that, power off the phone completely. Power it on again. You’ll see the splash screen. While the splash screen is showing, hit Menu button to boot into Safestrap recovery.

After getting into the recovery, make a nandroid backup of your current ROM so that it can be restored back in case of failure. To do so, Highlight ‘backup’ option in the recovery menu, select it to start the backup process.

For CM10.1 installation, you need to create a ROM slot. To do so, hit ‘Boot Options’ followed by ‘ROM-Slot-1′ option. Change the ‘minimum data partition size’ to 1 GB. Wait for the process to get complete.

Note: You can also select different partition size (2 GB / 3 GB). It depends on the size you want to allocate for the ROM and apps & games you’re going to install in it.

After completion of Partitioning operation, you can use the created ROM slot for flashing this ROM.

Now press Home button to go back in the main menu of Safestrap recovery.

Tap on ‘Install’ option and navigate to the CM10.1 ROM package (cm-10.1-xxxxxxxx-UNOFFICIAL-xxxx_spyder.zip), select it & finally confirm the installation. Wait for the process to get complete.

Now select ‘Wipe’ to wipe the data from the internal memory. (Caution! performing this step will erase all the data from internal memory, which includes sms/mms, contacts, reminders, APNs, call logs, apps etc. therefore ensure that you’ve taken backup of all these things before).

By implementing the same step required for installation of CM10.1 custom ROM, you can flash the Google Apps (gapps-jb-20121212-signed.zip).

After you finish flashing both the files, Select “reboot system now” to Restart the phone.

You’ll have to wait for 10 seconds to complete the boot (You can select ‘Continue’ to boot the new ROM without waiting for the automatic process).

Tip: In case if you don’t like this ROMY, you can restore back your previous ROM using Safestrap’s restore feature. To restore the previous ROM, boot into the Safestrap recovery, select Restore option. Now choose the backup you like to restore (or the restore the backup you’ve made before flashing this ROM).

Congratulations!! You’ve successfully updated your Motorola Droid RAZR (GSM / CDMA) to Android 4.2.1 with Cyanogenmod 10.1 Custom ROM. Let us know if you’ve any problems, we’ll try our best to sort out them. And lastly don’t forget to check ROM development page for latest updates & bug fixes. Enjoy..