Custom Rom: Samsung Note 5

Suddenly, the setup wizard. Android 12's "Material You" design, silky smooth, on a 2015 phone. I wept.

The screen went black for 10 seconds. Too long. Panic. Then, the boot animation appeared: a circular logo spinning. And spinning. And spinning for 12 minutes (first boot always takes forever).

The journey began.

Custom ROMs require an unlocked bootloader. Samsung phones, especially the US and Canadian variants, are notorious for locked bootloaders. My heart sank as I checked my model number: (Canadian). Locked. Impossible.

The custom ROM journey on the Note 5 wasn't about getting a new phone. It was about rebellion against planned obsolescence. For 3 glorious months, a 7-year-old phone ran circles around budget 2022 phones. It was frustrating, terrifying, and utterly glorious. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Just... with a shorter USB cable. custom rom samsung note 5

This time, the green bar filled. Then, adb sideload NikGapps-core-arm64-12-20220815.zip .

I used a (hardware JTAG) to revive it, but the cost was more than the phone's worth. I buried the Note 5 in a drawer, but this time, with honor. Suddenly, the setup wizard

But Samsung’s "Auto-Reboot" is a trap. If the phone boots normally after TWRP flash, the stock ROM overwrites it. I had to hold the millisecond Odin said "RESET," then quickly switch to Volume Up + Home + Power .