Motorola's second generation Moto E received Android Marshmallow in January 2016. It was nothing short of a miracle, as Motorola initially dropped the plans to upgrade the device, despite Moto E (2ndGen) being launched in mid-2015.
Motorola fans who bought the device were fumed over the company's apathy towards the budget devices and criticised the American firm on social media platforms and forced Motorola to release the Marshmallow update to the Moto E (2nd Gen) LTE in January in select regions.
That said, the budget device owner will not be able to ask Motorola again for the official Nougat update, as the phone is no more eligible for new firmware. People who are still hanging on to the Moto E (2nd Gen), fret not. You can still be able to upgrade to the new v7.0 mobile through custom ROMs.
Folks at XDA Developer Forum have come up with the CyanogenMod CM 14 series custom firmware to bring Nougat features to 2015 series Motorola budget phone.
We would also like to advise readers that the new Nougat ROM is an experimental firmware and contains a few bugs, and functions are not working. We urge users to go through the entire perquisite and tutorial procedure before going ahead with the CyanogenMod CM 14 ROM installation on Moto E (2nd Gen).
Working-
- Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth
- RIL
- Camera (photos)
- Video playback
- Booting
Not Working/Bugs-
- Video recorder
Also read: Android 7.0 Nougat: 16 key upgrades of Google's new mobile OS update over Marshmallow
Prerequisites (things to remember before installing Custom ROM)
- This new Android v7.0 Nougat CyanogenMod [unofficial] CM 14 custom ROM has to be installed on Motorola Moto 2 (2nd Gen) – Otus (3G) and Surnia (4G-LTE) models only, if tried on other devices, it might brick them [to check your device model: Go to Settings >> About phone >> model number].
- Though installing custom ROM improves the device's performance and UI experiences, it makes the company warranty void; the company will no longer be liable to provide updates in future [users can restore warranty by flashing the device with stock-ROM].
- Make sure the device is rooted before going ahead with custom ROM installation.
- Installation of custom ROM requires clearing memory in the phone, so make sure to back all the data by installing Clockwork Mod (CWM) Recovery/ TWRP in the smartphone.
- Make sure USB driver is installed on the PC or else your device (Moto E2) will not be recognised by the computer.
- Make sure your device has more than 80% battery, or else there is a chance of the smartphone getting temporarily bricked if the installation process is interrupted midway.
[Disclaimer: This procedure is very technical and should be performed by a person with sound knowledge of rooting (or manual software installation) Android devices. If the step-by-step installation process is not followed properly, there are chances of the smartphone getting bricked or being permanently irreparable. IBTimes India cannot be held responsible for any damage or claims from readers if the procedure does not yield the required results or if the smartphone is bricked. Hence, users are advised to proceed with caution.]
Tutorial: Step-by-step installation procedure for download Android v7.0 Nougat CyanogenMod [unofficial] CM14 custom ROM on Moto E (2nd Gen) via TWRP-
Step 1: DownloadAndroid v7.0 Nougat CyanogenMod [unofficial] CM 14 custom ROM and Google Apps on to your PC
[Note: downloadable file links are provided at the bottom]
Step 2: Connect Moto E(2nd Gen) to the computer
Step 3: Place the CyanogenMod Android 7.0 Nougat into the phone's storage memory
[Note: Users are advised to paste the .zip file in the storage root folder, not in any other folder.]
Step 4: Turn off device and disconnect it from PC
Step 5: Perform Recovery mode sorties by long pressing Volume (Down) + Power buttons
Step 6: Once entering the TWRP settings menu, clear phone's memory (full) by selecting 'Wipe' option. Once done, select – 'Swipe to Factory Reset' perform factory reset
Step 7: Return to TWRP settings and tap 'Install' by the selecting .Zip file in the phone's memory downloaded from PC
Step 8: Come back to TWRP menu setting to approve the installation by tapping 'Swipe to Confirm Flash'
Step 9: Flashing of the custom ROM begins and after few minutes, a message 'Successful' appears on the screen, thus completing installation
Step 10: If faced with boot loop problem, navigate back to TWRP settings, and select 'Wipe cache/dalvik'. This procedure will help resolve any issue with regard to custom ROM installation
Downloadable files:
Moto E (2015) aka Otus (3G model) Android 7.0 Nougat CyanogenMod [unofficial] CM14 custom ROM: HERE
Moto E (2015) aka Surnia (4G-LTE model) Android 7.0 Nougat CyanogenMod [unofficial] CM14 custom ROM: HERE
Google Apps:HERE
USB Driver: HERE
[Credits: XDA Developers Forum, squid2 (for Otus) and srfarias (for Surnia)]
