Update Nexus 4 to Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Chameleon OS [How to Install]

The ChaOS team recently released a nightly custom ROM touted Chameleon OS, which is based on the original CyanogenMod Jelly Bean firmware. Nexus 4 is among the lucky few Android devices to get the latest Android 4.2.2 firmware via Chameleon OS. The ROM brings complete control over the device's interface with highly customisable options and a new theme engine that is based on the popular MIUI theme engine.

The Chameleon OS reportedly offers a bloatware-free, fast and smooth user-interface (UI) for a unique Android experience. The ROM flaunts an attractive UI with a host of intriguing features such as multi-user support, gesture typing, new quick settings option, lock-screen widget, new camera app, photo sphere, improved Google Now, new daydream feature and miracast display.

The home screen launcher has been completely revamped to accommodate several new options such as home screen previews, folder sorting and folder icon styles. Its messaging app also constitutes some UI retouches, including messaging bubbles and quick emoji button.

Chameleon OS is now supported on eight Android devices including Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S3, Galaxy S2, One XL, One S and Kindle Fire.

Chameleon OS Key Features

• Launcher Features
  • Folder icon styles: stacked, grid, or carousel
  • Folder sorting: alphabetically, reverse alphabetically, or by usage
  • Icon scaling in app drawer and on homescreen
  • Home screen previews, rearrangable homescreens
  • Set default screen from previews layout
  • Add or remove homescreens from previews layout
  • Slide homescreens with a second finger while holding widgets and icons
  • Gestures: Pinch to show previews, spread to show launcher settings
• Theme Manager
  • Customisable toggles, compact or page view (or off)
  • Extended volume panel in page view toggles
  • Access status or navigation bars while in fullscreen apps by touching the edge of the screen
  • Applies native ctz files, but also will apply MIUI mtz files, not all elements will theme properly with mtz packages
  • Animated boot animation preview
  • Boot animation resolution scaling
• Status Bar
  • Customisable toggles, compact or page view (or off)
  • Extended volume panel in page view toggles
  • Access status or navigation bars while in fullscreen apps by touching the edge of the screen
• Messaging
  • Reads custom notification tones from Contacts
  • Revised layout: Added messaging bubbles, removed avatar icons from conversation and put one in the action bar, quick shortcut for emojis
• Security
  • Manage installed apps' permissions ...and more!

For more details, head over to the official developers page.

NOTE: The instructions given in this guide are meant for reference purpose only. IBTimes UK reminds its readers that it will not be held liable if the device is damaged or bricked during or after the firmware installation.

Pre-Requisites

• Chameleon OS and the instructions given in this guide are applicable to the Google Nexus 4 model only. Verify the device's model number by navigating to Settings > About Phone.
• Back up important data and settings on the phone such as SMS, contacts, MMS, APN and other internet settings to avoid data loss during firmware installation.
• Ensure the phone has at least 80 percent battery charge to prevent unexpected device shutdown (due to battery drain) that may inadvertently brick or damage your device during firmware installation.
• Make sure the correct USB drivers are installed on the phone (download LG Nexus 4 USB drivers)
• Enable USB Debugging mode on the phone by navigating to Settings > Developer Options (if device is running Android 4.0 or later) or go to Settings > Applications > Development (if running Android 2.3 or earlier). If the phone is running Android 4.2, then do the following steps:

• • Go to Settings > About Phone
  • Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and select Build Number
  • Tap the Build Number seven times to unlock or reveal the hidden Developer Options under Settings. Now, select the checkbox to enable USB Debugging mode under Settings > Developer Options.

• Ensure that the device is factory unlocked (not locked to a specific carrier) and rooted with CWM recovery installed on it.
• If the device is stuck at booting or experiencing boot loop issues, then perform Wipe Cache Partition and Wipe Dalvik Cache a few more times before rebooting.
• Allow the newly installed ROM to stabilise for at least five minutes before working on it.
• If the device shows up Status 7 error, then either the device is incompatible with the firmware or a necessary kernel is missing (for instance, you may require to install a Jelly Bean kernel before installing a Jelly Bean ROM).

How to Install Android 4.2.2 Chameleon OS Jelly Bean on Nexus 4

Step 1: Download Chameleon OS ROM for Nexus 4 (choose the latest nightly build) and Google Apps

Step 2: Connect the phone to computer with USB cable and mount the device's storage.

Step 3: After the phone's SD card is mounted on computer, copy the downloaded ROM and Google Apps zip files to the phone's SD card (without extracting).

Step 4: After the file transfer procedure completes, disconnect the USB cable and Power off the phone.

Step 5: Boot the device into Recovery mode. To do so, first switch off the phone and then boot it into Bootloader mode. In bootloader mode, navigate to Recovery Mode using volume keys and then choose it by tapping Power button.

Step 6: Take a Nandroid backup of the phone's current ROM, so that it can be restored later if the new ROM fails to work or you want to return to original ROM. To do a Nandroid backup, choose Backup and Restore and then hit Backup on next screen. Return to main recovery menu once backup is done.

Step 7: Do a full data wiping task to eliminate conflict between new ROM and previous ROM. To do so, first click Wipe Data/Factory Reset, then click Yes on next screen to confirm. Wait for a few minutes until the data wipe process completes.

Step 8: Return to CWM recovery main menu. Perform Wipe Cache Partition and Wipe Dalvik Cache under advance option. Wait until the wipe process completes and then proceed to the next step.

Step 9: Choose Install Zip from SD card and then click Choose Zip from SD card. Now, browse and select the Chameleon OS zip file that you copied earlier to your phone's SD card in Step 3 by tapping the Power button. Confirm the ROM installation on next screen and the installation process will begin.

Step 10: Once the ROM installation is complete, repeat the step 9 but choose gapps-jb-20130301-signed.zip instead of ROM zip to install Google apps as well.

Step 11: After Google Apps is also installed, return to the main recovery menu and hit Reboot System Now. The phone will now reboot into the newly installed ROM. The first boot may take about 5 minutes to complete. So, leave it alone.

Restoring Previous ROM: To restore your previous ROM, boot into recovery, choose Backup and Restore then restore your original ROM by choosing it from the list.

Nexus 4 is now successfully updated to Android 4.2.2 Chameleon OS Jelly Bean firmware. Go to Settings > About Phone to verify the firmware version installed.

[Source: Droid Noobs]