Upgrade Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi/3G P7500 to Ice Cream Sandwich via CyanogenMod 9

CyanogenMod is a good proof of how awesome things are in the Android community. Based on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest CyanogenMod 9 is currently breaking a lot of boundaries. The team behind this project is aiming to put this custom ROM into as many devices as it can. And, true enough, it is indeed happening.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi/3G is among the items on the growing list of devices that are compatible with CyanogenMod 9. Galaxy Tab 10.1 owners can now taste the goodness of Ice Cream Sandwich. You need not wait for Samsung to release an official Android 4.0 update for your tablet.  Heaven knows that such official updates usually take forever to happen.

If you are up for some Android hacking right now, let’s get on with it. In the remainder of this article you will see the steps on how to install CyanogenMod 9 into the Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi/3G.

Caution

Carefully read all the steps first and familiarize yourself with the whole procedure before applying it on your device. And, since this requires the device to be rooted, the warranty will be voided. This is not yet a perfect build; you may still encounter some functionality issues along the way.

Perform this procedure only on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi/3G model GT-P7500. This ROM may or may not work with other devices.

Requirements

• Windows PC with Internet access
• USB cable to connect the device to your PC
• Galaxy Tab 10.1 USB driver.  You can install the driver from here.
• The Galaxy Tab 10.1 needs to be rooted and must have ClockworkMod Recovery.
• Backup your data before proceeding.
• Ensure that your tablet is on full charge.

Instructions

You can install CyanogenMod 9 on your Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi/3G P7500 by following these steps:

1. Download the CyanogenMod 9 custom ROM from here and save it to your computer.
2. Download the Google Apps package from here and save it to your computer.
3. Connect the tablet to your PC via the USB cable and make sure the device is unlocked so it can be recognized properly by your PC.
4. Copy the CyanogenMod 9 ROM and the Google Apps packages into the root directory of the device’s SD card.
5. Disconnect the device from the PC and then turn off the tablet.
6. Boot the device again and go into recovery mode. This is done by holding down both the Power button and the Volume Down button. Once in recovery mode, use the Volume rocker to navigate through the menus and the Power button to select an option.
7. Make a backup of the current ROM by choosing the “Backup and Restore” option.
8. Wipe all data from the device using the “Wipe data/factory Reset” option.
9. Wipe the system cache using the “Wipe Cache Partition” option.
10. Wipe the Dalvik cache by going to “Advanced” and then select the “Wipe Dalvik Cache” option.
11. To begin flashing the CM9 ROM, go back to the main menu and choose “Install zip from sdcard” followed by “Choose zip from sdcard”.
12. Look for the GT-P7500-CM9-KANG-012912-maba.zip file and then select the file to start the install process.
13. Repeat the previous step, but this time around, choose the Gapps.zip file. This will install the Google Apps suite into the device.
14. Go back to the main menu and then choose “Reboot system now”.

Congratulations!  You have successfully installed Ice Cream Sandwich on your Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi/3G via the CyanogenMod 9 ROM.