How to upgrade Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 to Android Marshmallow 6.0 with CyanogenMOD 13?

Despite being made for productive users, Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 is no doubt great as well for media consumptive purposes, like for watching movies, listening to music, recording videos and even playing games. All thanks to high-grade specs that Samsung crams inside this device.

Unfortunately, similar just what happens to Samsung Galaxy Tab S series, all the tablets under Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO have been written off by Samsung to not receive the official software updates to Android Lollipop 5.0 OS.

Thankfully, there’s another workaround that you can apply if you want to upgrade your Tab PRO tablet to Android Lollipop OS and even Marshmallow OS. One of them is by using CyanogenMOD custom ROMs.

Anyway, just a couple of days ago, I already showed you how exactly to upgrade your Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 tablet to Android Lollipop OS by using CyanogenMOD 12 custom ROM. But apparently, this tablet can also be updated to Android Marshmallow 6.0 OS by installing CyanogenMOD 13 custom ROM.

Okay then, below I’m gonna show you how to install Android Marshmallow OS on your Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 tablet by using CyanogenMOD 13. Hope this works perfectly on your device.



First of all you need to check the firmware version that is currently running on your tablet.

It’s actually really easy to do. First go to Setting > scroll down to the very bottom > select ‘About Tablet/Device’ > and from there you can see the firmware version that is being installed on your device. Make sure that the firmware version of your tablet is ‘SM-T320’.


Next, download these 2 important files which you’re about to use to upgrade your tablet to Android Marshmallow OS.

The first one is the CyanogenMOD 13 OS, which is the custom ROM based on Android Marshmallow 6.0 OS. And the second file is GAPPS which contains the collection of some important and basic Google apps like Google Play Store, Google Maps, Gmail, etc.


More details at: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-pro-12-10-8/orig-development/5-1-x-cyanogenmod-13-0-nightlies-tab-t3256093



After downloading 2 files above, now transfer them both to your tablet. Try to put them right in root directory of internal/external storage so it’ll be easier to locate/find them later. But DO NOT extract these files. Just leave them alone as zip/rar files on your device.


In order to be able to install any custom ROMs, first you need to root your tablet. This is really important to do.

I actually already wrote about how to root Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 tablet by using a PC software called ‘CF Auto Root’. So you may want to check that out before proceeding to the next step.


I assume that your Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 tablet has been successfully rooted. The next thing to do now is reboot your tablet and check if SuperSU app has been installed correctly or not.


Before installing CyanogenMOD 13 OS or any 3rd party custom ROMs on your device, it’s really important to backup your media files and apps.

MEDIA FILES: To backup your media files, you can move all of your important files such as: videos, photos, mp3s or documents to your computer.

GAMES/APPS: Meanwhile, to backup apps and games along with saved data (like bookmarks, saved games, etc), you can use an app like Titanium Backup.

Later, once your tablet has been successfully INSTALLED with CyanogenMOD 13 OS, you can put all of your media files and apps back into your device, of course after your microSD card has been formatted in the new system of CyanogenMOD 13.


Now download this TWRP recovery tool that is compatible with Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 tablet. And then extract the file. Later, you’re gonna use this custom recovery tool to create the backup system and then install the new CyanogenMOD 13 custom ROM.


More details at: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-pro-12-10-8/orig-development/5-1-x-cyanogenmod-13-0-nightlies-tab-t3256093


After extracting the image file of TWRP above (.IMG), now transfer this file to your tablet. Make sure to put it in the root directory of internal/external storage so it will be easier to locate the file.


Next, go to Google Play Store and download an app called ‘Flashify’. This app requires root access from your tablet. So if this app asks for root permission, select ‘GRANT’ or ‘ALLOW’ in the prompted options.


After opening ‘Flashify’ app, press the option ‘Recovery Image’.


On the prompted window, select ‘Choose a file…’ to locate the image file (.img) of TWRP custom recovery tool you just downloaded earlier.


On the next screen, select the option ‘File Explorer’ with Flashify logo on it > and then locate the TWRP image file (.img) which you just downloaded earlier.

If you have found the TWRP image file on internal/external storage, select that file and press ‘YES’ in the prompted window.


Okay, before continuing to the next steps, please make sure that your tablet now has sufficient amount of storage space on internal and external storage. Later, you're about to create the backup system of your tablet. And it's usually huge in size, like around 2 - 4GB of data.


Before going into recovery mode, make sure first that your tablet currently has around 50% of battery life. This is really IMPORTANT to prevent anything bad happens during the process of installing the new custom ROM.


Once the installation process is finished, select the option ‘Boot to Recovery’. Your tablet will then reboot itself and enter to the recovery mode of TWRP.


After entering to the recovery mode (TWRP), first you need to create the backup system of your tablet.

** This is REALLY IMPORTANT to do so. If something wrong happens during the process of installing custom ROM, you can still restore the system back to normal again with this 'backup file'.**

Anyway, to create the backup system of your current Android system (OS), select ‘Backup’ > check all the boxes in ‘Select Partitions to Backup’ > and ‘Swipe to Backup’.


Now go back to the first screen of TWRP. After that, select ‘Wipe’ and ‘Swipe to factory reset’. This is important to do in order to ensure that your tablet will start fresh and clean before installing the new custom ROM.


After doing the factory reset, now go back to the first screen of recovery mode.


Now select ‘Install’ and then try to locate the CM13 or ‘CyanogenMOD 13’ zip file which you downloaded earlier.


Besides the CyanogenMOD 13 file, you’ll also need to add ‘GAPPS’ file in order to install Google apps on your device. Now press the button ‘Add other zip file’.


Next, locate the ‘GAPPS’ file which you just downloaded earlier.


After adding ‘CM13’ and ‘GAPPS’ files, now to start installing these 2 files, move the toggle ‘Swipe to Confirm Flash’ from left to the right.


The process of installing the new CyanogenMOD 13 custom ROM along with ‘GAPPS’ file usually will take up a few minutes to complete. You can actually see the progress of this process through the messages that appear on the screen.

But DO NOT PRESS anything on the screen! You might mess up with the system if you do that.


Once the process of installation is finished, press the button ‘Reboot to system’ to let your tablet reboot to the new custom ROM.


After rebooting, the boot animation logo of CyanogenMOD OS will appear on the screen. This will take around 15 minutes before it finally enters to the homescreen. Once the installation process is complete, you will then be prompted to enter your Google account and also configure some settings like time/date, language, etc.


Once you’ve finished with the basic settings, you will be taken straight to the homescreen. This means, your Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 tablet has been successfully installed with CyanogenMOD 13 OS.

Congratulations guys! Now you can enjoy Android Marshmallow experience on your Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4!


Well, there you have it guys, my step-by-step guide for you if you want to upgrade your Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 tablet to Android Marshmallow 6.0 OS. Hopefully this method works perfectly on your device.

Have any question? Leave your comment here!