The HTC One M7 completed its two year cycle and the company finally disbanded its software update support for this device. Due to the part of an exclusive HTC Advantage Program, the company provides software update support for 2 years and this is actually six months more than the rival Android devices from other manufacturers.
The last Android 5.0.2 update for the HTC One M7 was released in February this year. Thankfully, there is some good news for all those readers who are still using their HTC One M7. Senior member dd98 of the XDA Developers Forum released a Cyanogen Mod CM13 series custom ROM for this 2013 HTC flagship smartphone.
The custom ROM is based on the latest features of Android 6.0 Marshmallow and comes with similar features. It includes the Doze power saving feature, faster Chrome browser, more intuitive Now on Tap feature, new security feature, verified boot system, support for more international dialects, and a new contextual assistance feature.
There are also several other features which can be used in order to enhance user-experience on the HTC One M7. Users should keep it in mind that the Cyanogen Mod CM13 firmware is actually an experimental version and as a result, it comes with some bugs in it. You should definitely think about it before installing.
Firstly, this mod can only be installed on the HTC One (M7) GSM, AT&T, T-Mobile (m7_u, m7_ul, m7_att, m7_tmo) models. Other devices or variants can get bricked if you try this on them. Check out Settings> About Phone> Model Number. The device’s performance and UI experiences are greatly improved by the installation of a custom ROM but keep in mind that this voids its warranty.
With this installed, you are no longer liable to receive any kind of updates from the company. Warranty can be restored after you flash the device with stock ROM. Before proceeding with custom ROM installation, make sure that your device has been rooted.
You need to clear memory in your phone before installing the custom ROM and therefore, the date needs to be backed up by installing Clockwork Mod (CWM) Recovery/ TWRP in your HTC One M7. Before proceeding, make sure that your device has 80% charge in it or else if the installation process is interrupted in the middle, the device can get bricked.
First, you need to download Google Apps and Android 6.0 Marshmallow CyanogenMod [unofficial] CM13 custom ROM on your PC. After this, you need to connect your device to the PC using an USB cord. After this, you need to place the Google Apps zip file and Android Marshmallow custom ROM zip file in your phone’s memory.
They should be placed in the root folder and not anywhere else. After this, you need to place boot.img file in to the android-sdk-windowsplatform-tools directory. Disconnect from the PC after turning off your device. Hold down Power and Volume Down button in order to enter into the regular Bootloader mode sortie.
With Bootloader mode entered, head over to android-sdk-windowsplatform-tools directory on your PC and then open Command Prompt. After this, type ‘fastboot flash boot boot.img’ followed by Enter. Use Shift+ Right Click in order to Open Command Prompt. Press Enter after typing ‘Fastboot reboot’. After this, you need to follow the instructions that are displayed on the screen. Enter Recovery Mode after Selecting the Bootloader option.
Clear the phone memory by choosing ‘wipe data/factory reset’ once you have entered the Recovery Mode. Power Button can be used to select options and Volume keys for navigating purposes. Use ‘wipe cache partition’ to clear the cache memory.