How to Install Android Lollipop OS on Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro 8.4 (CyanongenMOD 12)?

Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro series has been really popular mainly from its ‘Magazine UI’ which basically adds a lot of features related to productivity and not to mention improvements on the UI of Android Kitkat OS.

Unfortunately, according to the recent news, all the users of Samsung Tab PRO tablets must be willing to accept the fact that their tablets won’t be updated to Android Lollipop OS, which is a shame because all Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO tablets are seriously powerful in terms of specs.

The good news is, Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro tablets can actually be upgraded to Android Lollipop OS, through CyanogenMOD 12 OS, which is based on Android Lollipop 5.0 OS. So you can enjoy almost all the features on this Android version.

Okay then, below I’m going to show you the step-by-step guide to upgrade your Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro 8.4 tablet to Android Lollipop 5.0 OS. Hopefully this works perfectly on your device.



Okay, first of all, I need you to check the firmware version that’s currently running on your tablet. This is really important to do in order to ensure that the rooting method in this post will work perfectly on your Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 tablet.

Go to Setting > scroll down to the bottom > select ‘About Tablet’ > and see the firmware version that is running on your device. Make sure that your Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro right now is running on the firmware version of ‘SM-T320’ based on Android KitKat 4.4.2. If this is what you’re seeing on your device, then you can proceed to the next step.


After checking the firmware version of your tablet, now download these 2 important files. The first one is CM12 or CyanogenMOD 12, which is the custom ROM based on Android Lollipop OS and compatible to run on Samsung GALAXY Tab PRO.

And the second file is ‘GAPPS’, which is the collection of Google important apps that will come pre-installed as stock apps once you have finished installing the CyanogenMOD 12 OS on your tablet.

After downloading these 2 files, transfer them both to the root directory of your tablet. You're gonna use these 2 files later in the next steps. But DO NOT EXTRACT THESE FILES. Just leave them untouched as zip/rar files.

CM12: http://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=mondrianwifi

Google Apps: http://d-h.st/users/dhacker29/?fld_id=27426 (use latest lp gapps)

More details at: forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-pro-12-10-8/orig-development/5-0-x-cyanogenmod-12-0-nightlies-tab-t2994796


In order to be able to install any 3rd party custom ROMs (including CyanogenMOD 12) on your Samsung GALAXY Tab PRO tablet, you firstly need to root your tablet.

Bear in mind that by rooting your tablet, you will lose the warranty of your device, which means you won’t be able anymore to claim your tablet at any Samsung service centers in your country.

Anyway, rooting Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro is actually pretty simple. You just need to download a specific rooting app that is compatible with Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro device. And it's called ‘CF Auto Root’.

So if you haven't rooted your Samsung GALAXY Tab PRO tablet, then you must go to this page first before proceeding to the step number #4 below.


Okay, now I assume that you have successfully rooted your Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro using CF Auto Root software on your computer. The next thing to do now is reboot your tablet.


After your tablet is rebooted, as you can see, the new app called ‘SuperSU’ has been installed on the app drawer, which means, your Samsung GALAXY Tab PRO has been successfully rooted using CF Auto Root.

By the way, SuperSU is a root authorizing app that enables you to control the root access of certain apps on your tablet. So by using this SuperSU, you can either GRANT/ALLOW or DENY the root access on any apps.


Now visit TeamWin website to get the installation file (image file) of TWRP. After landing on the website, now download the image file of TWRP version 2.8.3.0. This, by the way, is the right TWRP image file that is compatible with your Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro.


After downloading the TWRP image file, now extract the image file and transfer it to your device. But try to put the image file right in the root directory of external microSD card, so later you can easily locate this file for further use.


Now open Google Play Store and download ‘Flashify’. This app is free by the way but it requires root access on your device, which is the reason why I’ve already asked you earlier to root your tablet first before proceeding to the next steps.


Once the installation process of Flashify is complete, now open the app.


Right when you open the app, the system will ask you to grant the root access for this app. When that happens, select ‘GRANT’ or ‘ALLOW’. By doing this, you are giving Flashify the permission for root access of your device.


Inside the app, there are 3 options presented on the screen: Boot image, Recovery image and Zip file. Now select ‘Recovery image’ because you’re about to install the image file of TWRP that you just downloaded earlier.


Next, select the option ‘Choose a file’ and locate the image file of TWRP that you have transferred to your tablet earlier.


After selecting ‘Choose a file’, you will be given the options of file explorers that you have on your device. Now pick ‘File Explorer’ with Flashify logo on it.

Inside the file explorer, scroll down to the bottom and tap open the folder ‘sdcard’ (if you transferred the TWRP file on your external sd card). After that, locate the ‘TWRP version 2.8.3.0’ that you have placed on your device earlier.


If you have found the TWRP image file on your device, now tap on it and select ‘Yes’ to start the installation process of this recovery tool.


It usually takes just a few seconds for the system to flash the TWRP tool to your device. So be patient for a little bit.


After the installation process of TWRP is complete, the small window will pop up on the screen. When that happens, select the option ‘Boot to Recovery’. By choosing this option, your tablet will reboot itself to the recovery mode of TWRP, which you just installed a few seconds ago.


Okay, now it’s the time to create the backup system of your tablet. This is really important to do in case you want to go back to the stock Android Kitkat OS that is currently running your Samsung GALAXY Tab PRO.

So if you’re already bored of using CyanogenMOD 12 OS for a few months and you miss the stock Magazine UI that comes pre-installed on Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro, then you can restore back this stock OS again using TWRP tool.

But before even proceeding to the process of creating backup system with TWRP, you need to ensure that your tablet has sufficient amount of internal/external storage space and battery life bar around 50%.

Anyway, if you want to know how to create the backup system of your tablet with TWRP, you can check out my other post that covers this topic.

It’s actually really simple to create the backup system using TWRP. So first of all: on the TWRP recovery mode, select ‘Backup’ > check all the small boxes in ‘Select Partitions to Backup’ > Select Storage (either internal or external or even USB flash disc) > and finally swipe the toggle that says ‘Swipe to Backup’.


Okay, after swiping the toggle of ‘Swipe to Backup’, the new window will appear and show you the progress of backup process. All you need to do now is wait for a few minutes and DO NOT PRESS ANYTHING ON THE SCREEN until the process is complete to 100%.


Once the process is complete, now go back to the first screen of TWRP mode.


On the first screen of TWRP mode, choose the option ‘Wipe’.


On the next screen of ‘Wipe’, swipe the toggle of ‘Swipe to Factory Reset’. This is really important to do to reset everything on the system so you’ll be able to install other custom ROM from the fresh start of the system. This process only takes a few seconds to complete.


After the process of factory reset is finished, now go back to the first screen and select ‘Install’.


Earlier, I’ve already asked you to transfer 2 downloaded files to your tablet: ‘GAPPS’ and ‘CM12’. First of all, locate the CM12 file that you have placed on your tablet.


After selecting the ‘CM12’ (CyanogenMOD 12 OS) file, now press 'Add other Zip file’.


After pressing ‘Add other Zip file’, now locate the ‘GAPPS’ file you have downloaded earlier. This zip file contains some important Google apps such as: Google Play Store, Gmail, Youtube, etc.


Okay, if you have located the ‘GAPPS’ file, now swipe the toggle of ‘Swipe to Confirm Flash’ to start the installation process of CyanogenMOD 12 OS and Google apps on your tablet.


The process of flashing usually takes a few minutes to complete. So all you need to do now is wait until the process is finished. You can actually see the progress of this process by looking at the messages that appear on the screen.


Once the installation process is complete, now it’s time to enter to the system or homescreen of the new CyanogenMOD 12 OS. Select ‘Reboot system’ to reboot to the main system.


The process of booting up for the first time usually takes a couple of minutes because your tablet is about to install a new operating system, as well as the Google Apps. As you can see, the opening screen will show you with the logo of CyanogenMOD OS during this process.


Once the installation process is complete, your tablet is now ready to enter to the system/homescreen of CyanogenMOD OS. It usually will ask you to enter your Google account and set the settings like time/date and language.

If this happens, this means your Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro has been successfully installed with CyanogenMOD 12 OS based on Android Lollipop 5.0 OS. Congratulations!


Well, there you have it guys, the step-by-step tutorial to install Android Lollipop OS on your Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro 8.4 tablet.

So if you happen to own this tablet but you’re already bored with ‘Magazine’ UI that this tablet comes with, now you can also upgrade your device to Android Lollipop OS in order to improve its performance, battery life, experience and many more. Plus, you will get the chance to experience some of the main features on Android Lollipop 5.0 OS.

Have any question? Leave your comment here!