[Verizon Galaxy Note 3 Android Development] badchorizo:
Documentation

This is the best ROM I have tried on the Note 3, but it has one glaring flaw: no documentation at all. That would be fine if the procedure was factory reset, flash the zip in Safestrap, done. But it's not - there are a few things you have to do or it won't work. I'm not complaining, and I'm certainly not expecting nitro to do it because he already put in hundreds of hours I'm sure.

The thread has most of the important information, I think, but it's ridiculously convoluted to figure it out from scratch by trying to piece it all together. A wiki for this ROM would be a massive help, especially for people who want to try Eclipse for the first time today. I know I know, lurk moar, but a wiki page or a step by step guide would drastically cut down on these posts by people who can't get it to flash, strange errors, etc. Also: Easier install = more successful installs = more happy users = more forum buzz = more installs = more donations amirite?

Anyway I am far from qualified to write a full guide, but I will start a short outline of how to install 2.1, only writing what I'm fairly certain of. If I say anything wrong please point it out.

1.) What is it?

Eclipse 2.1 is the latest evolution of Eclipse by nitroglycerine33, the ROM that brings a genuinely AOSP-like experience to the Verizon Galaxy Note 3 SM N900V. Really! No Touchwiz! Dark! And it works! ....If you install it correctly and you start the process from the right place.

[I know people with non-VZW Note 3's have gotten this working, so it's possible, but I know nothing about it].

2. Requirements

You are not "required" to do anything of course, but don't expect much help if you run into problems trying to get other things to work.

You need to be on the "unified NC4 firmware" before you try to flash Eclipse 2.1. This is the firmware posted by Beans here. That thread has good instructions for how to get onto that build no matter where you're coming from.

I believe you only need to be on the unified firmware "N900v_NC2_FW_Updated.tar.md5" - I don't think it's necessary to be on the NC4 Jelly Beans ROM posted in the same thread, but starting from there does work. If you're flashing both the ROM and the firmware from the linked Beans thread, flash the ROM first from Safestrap, then from Safestrap select reboot to download mode and connect to a PC with Odin to flash the firmware.

After that boots, install the latest Safestrap, which is 3.75 beta4 available here. Also read the instructions in the Safestrap thread very carefully or you will find yourself starting over from scratch. Different SS versions are incompatible with different builds - newer SS's are not necessarily compatible with builds that earlier SS's were compatible with.

3. Flashing Eclipse 2.1

A.) The ROM.

At this point you are ready to begin. Make a backup in Safestrap now. Not required, but come on.

Download the zip from OP onto your phone, reboot to Safestrap 3.75, factory reset, then install zip from Safestrap. Assuming it worked, press the home button then select reboot system.

It may take several minutes to boot the first time so don't do anything stupid like mashing the power button after 2 minutes. Once it boots, go through setup, or skip it, then you should see a notification from SuperSU to update binary. Do it, and you can choose "normal way". Then reboot.

B. The Dark Gapps

One thing that really sets Eclipse apart is sweet sweet darkness even in Gmail, Play Store, YouTube and more. To get them, go to the Play store and get the Eclipse Gapps app, which is really just a downloader for the actual zips, which you will flash in Safestrap. At this point you should be a decent human being and buy the donation version of the dark gapps and also of the Galaxy Gadgets app, which is needed for a lot of settings you'll want to customize.

[I have to punt here on the best practice for Dark Gapps installation. I have only gotten it to work with trial and error and repeatedly starting over from my backup of first Eclipse boot. I know you want to set all of them to not auto-update. What I don't know:

Is there a recommended order in which the dark gapps should be flashed? I.e. Google Now before Gmail, or Play must be first, or...?

Can you flash all of them at the same time (repeatedly selecting "add more zips" in SS)? Or is it recommended to reboot and/or factory reset in between each flash?

Can you begin flashing the gapps zips immediately after flashing the ROM (for example, if you already have all the files on your external sd card because you had to start over after botching the gapps installation once)? Or is it better to boot the system after first flashing the ROM before you try to do the gapps?

What about the normal Gapps? Do you need to manually uninstall them before flashing the dark ones? Is it bad to launch any of the regular gapps prior to flashing the dark gapps, or does it make no difference?

This part of the installation is a total mystery to me. It just eventually worked after I did who knows what different than the previous times.]

C. Galaxy Gadgets

If you haven't already, get this from the Play store. The donate version has functionality you want. This one is straightforward, just follow the prompts and customize how you like. Only putting this so that new users don't forget to and then wonder why they can't change things.

As soon as you get all the basic apps working, it's a very good time to make a backup.

Please, for the children, someone copy this except for errors and/or augment it with more instructions to start a basic step by step guide/wiki. Please