[HELP] Z7 Max (NX505J) upgraded to paolothlw8's unofficial CM12.1 -- report - ZTE Z7, Z7 Max, Z7 Mini

NOTE: this OP subject was originally "[HELP] ZTE nubia Z7 Max (NX505J) stock ROM v3.09 update report";
- for the "Upgrade to paolothlw8's Unofficial CM12.1 Lollipop v5.1.1 V3 report", see post #22.
- for the Stock v3.19 update, see post #4.​
I updated my Nubia Z7 Max from BB72's v1.64 custom KitKat 4.4.2 ROM directly to the latest stock Nubia v3.09, with Lollipop 5.0.
I want to leave here a brief account, so others know this can be done and it is not an overly complicated procedure. But, please, pay attention, because this will completely reformat and factory reset your device -- so, if you want to keep anything on the phone, backup before!
For starters, the downloads and instructions I used (mostly ):
Nubia Z7 Max v3.09 (free registration required for download)
http://www.needrom.com/download/nubia-z7-max-v3-09/
Be sure to access *#7678# dialer menu to enable both ports before and after flashing!​
Needrom instructions are quite detailed and accurate, so I'll just summarize the main steps:
Install ZTE mobile USB drivers. (I used 'Drivers All In One Tool By Tigreos')
Download and install 'Nubia Tool Updater V2.0.0' in your Windows computer.
Download 'NX505J_CNCommon_V3.09.rar' file on your computer and unpack.
Run the installed 'Nubia Tool Updater V2.0.0' as administrator (right click...) and select the path were you unpacked NX505J_CNCommon_V3.09.rar.
Watch Needrom's pictures carefully to know when you're ready to proceed (summary picture below, you might need a few tries...).
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
The remaining button is "Open"......
My findings:
- Drivers MUST be updated for this to work, so you'll have to uninstall previous versions;
- The phone must be connected to computer in powered state, before the Updater is run;
- I had two hiccups after installation, because (I thought) the phone didn't boot and got stuck in the Chinese red letters after the boot animation;
- I solved this by connecting phone to computer again, a Chinese message with a counter appeared, and I let it finish (it counted to 21);
- Tigreos tool also provides for TWRP v2.8.6.0 quick installation (reboot required);
- TWRP provides ROOT (reboot required);
- Even after rooting adb doesn't push files (system RO, no ROOT in shell), so I needed an SD card to get GApps on phone;
- This is caused by ROM being a production build (you'll get a message saying thus: "adbd cannot run as root in production builds");
- After you flash GApps via TWRP, setup and get updated busybox from the Play store, as well as [THREAD="1687590"]adbd-insecure[/THREAD] to solve the problem;
- Not all languages are present (I use English) and some features will be presented with Chinese characters -- so, for a smoother experience, some tweaking will be required...
All in all a fast and stable new start for this great phone, which is being let down for the lack of Western locales support.
Bear in mind that various other information sources exist here at the forum, as well as elsewhere; I'll just list a couple here for the benefit of newcomers...
[THREAD="3053880"][Tutorial] [Root] [Upgrade] [4.4-->5.0] ZTE Nubia Z7 Max to Lollipop 5.0[/THREAD]
Very detailed report by user craagz of the upgrade procedure from stock v1.57 (KK 4.4.2) to v2.13 (Lollipop 5.0).
[THREAD="3100542"]Tuto installation rom stock v 3.09 nubia z7 max[/THREAD]
French(!) tutorial by user hayastan06 of installation of the stock ROM v3.09 (Lollipo 5.0)
For further info on the Nubia Z7 Max, search the present Nubia forums (http://forum.xda-developers.com/zte-z7) or check my dedicated index post ([THREAD="2961145"][INDEX] ZTE nubia Z7 Max[/THREAD]).

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I thought I'd follow up by posting here some screenshots as well as talking about some of the changes and tweaks I have been doing. So first here are the screen captures of the system details after the upgrade, as well of the AnTuTu benchmark.
System details
AnTuTu Global Score
AnTuTu Comparison Chart
EDIT: list of ROM included mostly Chinese apps I have removed with Titanium Backup without major(!) problems...
Amap.apk
Baidu Map.apk
DianPing.apk
MeiTuan.apk
QQ.apk
Qunar Travel.apk
Sogou Input Method.apk
Sohu TV.apk
Tencent Video.apk
Today's Headline.apk
vip.com.apk
WeChat.apk
Weibo.apk
Mostly Chinese apps I was unable to remove/replace because they caused stuff I need to stop working:
nubia_Music.apk (replaces default Android Music)
nubia_Tms.apk (replaces the default Android browser, but is in fact QQ browser, which I didn't manage to replace with either AOSP or CM default browser).
(!) Be forewarned, though, that there might be unforeseen complications...

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Another thing: I seem to have lost the ability to send audio file metadata (filenames, ID3 tags and such) over Bluetooth. If anyone happens to know how to solve, please post. TIA.

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Upgrade path to Stock v3.19 successfully completed
As the title implies, I have now upgraded my device to the latest Stock version being offered on Needrom.com.
I lost hours at the beginning because Nubia Upgrade Tool kept giving me the "Internal Modem Error" (see the Italian instructions for solving it here)...
So here's the upgrades list (ATTENTION: serially upgrading appears to be mandatory and you always have to unroot via modded TWRP from v3.15 up):
Stock v3.15 -- http://www.needrom.com/download/nubia-z7-max-v3-15/
Stock v3.17 -- http://www.needrom.com/download/z7-max/
Stock v3.18 -- http://www.needrom.com/download/ota-update-v3-18/
Stock v3.19 -- http://www.needrom.com/download/ota-update-v3-19/
After completion I installed GApps (Pico v5, from first link above) and, for more governors and tweaking options, the NZ7ML kernel v1.3 (the only Lollipop compatible version!).
The final app list (user+system) after GApps installation, updating and debloating (uninstall of every Chinese user app) is at http://pastebin.com/w9DxJMuq.
One of the benefits I am already seeing is improved battery -- only 2% gone after 7 hours, with no screen time...

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How do we flash 3.17 over 3.15? The instructions are not clear on Needrom and dont want to end up with a bricked device. Can you please help?

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linom said:
How do we flash 3.17 over 3.15? The instructions are not clear on Needrom and dont want to end up with a bricked device. Can you please help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sky walker @ Needrom.com said:
Installation process:
1.-Execute .exe, and install TWRP with option 2.
2.-Unroot phone, this function is in special TWRP.
3.-Flash v3.17
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are two downloads: "Official Stock Z7 Max v.3.17" is the OTA ROM update, and "TWRP special OTA", which is a modded TWRP recovery installer that you need to put on the phone before upgrading.
Copy the first package to your phone storage -- remembering where you put it; for easy retrieval, my advice is to put it at the root of the phone's internal storage.
Unpack the second package to a folder on your computer and execute the only executable you'll find inside as administrator; if the phone drivers are installed and an ADB connection is achieved, upon pressing "2" the upgrade to the modded TWRP recovery will be performed.
Reboot to Recovery and you should see the TWRP recovery v2.8.6.0 modded by Stalence (it will ask for language settings, choose English, as I summon you don't understand Chinese).
Touch the "Advanced" button, then "Stalence Tools" and "Unroot" -- it will tell you if it succeeded; re-rooting is just a matter of choosing the appropriate option.
Return to the initial screen (touch "Home" or press back button until you arrive), touch "Install", locate the OTA ROM update package and swipe to flash.
In case any of these steps shows some error, just reboot to recovery and do it again (repeat the step).
After doing all, reboot to system and be very, very patient, because it will take a long time to finish booting... Done! :fingers-crossed:

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and you can also download Official Stock Z7 Max v.3.20 from here (853.1 MB) and just flash with any recovery

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Any changelog for v3.20?

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Directly updated to 3.20
And what is the procedure for updating to 3.20? Does it require 3.19 or it can be directly installed from 3.15?
I flashed 3.20 over 3.15 using TWRP and its directly updated. Working fine as of now. Yet to see the improvements over 3.15. Thanks all!

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hi. can someone help me out and upload the drivers in the phone itself somewhere? all the available drivers on the web are incompatible with my z7 max. the only one that worked was the one inside the phone. when i installed cm 12, apparently i lost the driver too. i would really appreciate it if someone could upload the driver from the virtual cd-rom the z7max creates. thanks.

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i've attached it to this post. hopefully it takes the attachment.
mszi said:
hi. can someone help me out and upload the drivers in the phone itself somewhere? all the available drivers on the web are incompatible with my z7 max. the only one that worked was the one inside the phone. when i installed cm 12, apparently i lost the driver too. i would really appreciate it if someone could upload the driver from the virtual cd-rom the z7max creates. thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

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Thanks for that tp2droid -- link added to [THREAD="2961145"]Z7 Max Index post[/THREAD]... :good:
Care to mention from which ROM version were these drivers extracted from? And what version do they display?
mszi said:
hi. can someone help me out and upload the drivers in the phone itself somewhere? all the available drivers on the web are incompatible with my z7 max. the only one that worked was the one inside the phone. when i installed cm 12, apparently i lost the driver too. i would really appreciate it if someone could upload the driver from the virtual cd-rom the z7max creates. thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Next time, please avoid double-posting like you just did. Better yet, open up a new thread with your request to improve visibility... :angel:

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thanks. i apologize for that, i was really frustrated with my phone and in a hurry. i managed to get them after all and installed the new rom (3.15). i just want to highlight something that was mentioned in installation guides, but should be mentioned more than once and with a very big RED FONT!!
disconnect every external hard disk and flash drive from your computer before starting the installation. i almost lost 4 tbs of data on 2 hard disks because i didn't pay attention to this. the app will erase every partition on your external hdd and might create 20-30 partitions on it! and if that happens getting your data back is possible using partition recovery software like testdisk, partition find&mount ...etc.

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oops, totally forgot about that. if i'm not mistaken, it was from (NX505J_CNCommon_V2.13) which was the lollipop beta (very unstable).
i have since already updated my phone to v3.15.
v3.15 looks stable so far. from the nubia.cn forums, it seems like anything above 3.15 has been buggy for them (from what my google translate says). so, i have stayed on 3.15.
Amazingly, the best thing so far is that my notifications are all working and battery life does seem to be a bit better. Most of the apps I use also look to be staying resident better and
crashing less.
The built in music player does still seem buggy. Seems to stop/crash quite a bit (especially when I swap over to a game which has music turned off).
pnin said:
Thanks for that tp2droid -- link added to [THREAD="2961145"]Z7 Max Index post[/THREAD]... :good:
Care to mention from which ROM version were these drivers extracted from? And what version do they display?
Next time, please avoid double-posting like you just did. Better yet, open up a new thread with your request to improve visibility... :angel:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

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tp2droid said:
if i'm not mistaken, it was from (NX505J_CNCommon_V2.13) which was the lollipop beta (very unstable).
i have since already updated my phone to v3.15.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for clearing that. :good:
tp2droid said:
v3.15 looks stable so far. from the nubia.cn forums, it seems like anything above 3.15 has been buggy for them (from what my google translate says). so, i have stayed on 3.15.
Amazingly, the best thing so far is that my notifications are all working and battery life does seem to be a bit better. Most of the apps I use also look to be staying resident better and crashing less.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As the thread implies, I'm now on v3.19, which I find by far to be the best I have tried (including vanilla stock and BB72 rehashes). Maybe the fact that I run paolothlw8's modded kernel is the key factor here, I don't know.
Now, if only it wasn't bridled with so many Chinese (cr)Apps... :silly:
tp2droid said:
The built in music player does still seem buggy. Seems to stop/crash quite a bit (especially when I swap over to a game which has music turned off).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone complained of the same at Adroidiani, so I took the precaution of keeping the Nubia Music APK shared as solution -- you can find it at http://mir.cr/PWWLWUYN...
I haven't tested it, since the version in the current ROM is the best ever for me, but you might want to try it...
And please do tell us if you do.

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I am on version 3.15 can I update it directly to v.3.19 or I need to go step by step for updating it
Sent from my MI 4W using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 01:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:14 AM ----------
On flashing version 3.09 and 3.15 and after installing gapps from needrom or minimal gapps from xda then after resetting I always stuck at cyanogen like startup screen that allow me to select country screen after Nubia startup finished just before loading homescreen . without gapps I have reset it many times no problem
Please help in need gapps that support v3.09
Sent from my MI 4W using Tapatalk

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sandycool123 said:
I am on version 3.15 can I update it directly to v.3.19 or I need to go step by step for updating it
Sent from my MI 4W using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 01:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:14 AM ----------
On flashing version 3.09 and 3.15 and after installing gapps from needrom or minimal gapps from xda then after resetting I always stuck at cyanogen like startup screen that allow me to select country screen after Nubia startup finished just before loading homescreen . without gapps I have reset it many times no problem
Please help in need gapps that support v3.09
Sent from my MI 4W using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my MI 4W using Tapatalk

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Is that the nubia setup wizard? I don't remember it having UK as a country to select ... I thought it was just language. Which 309 or 315 did you install? I had no issues install 315 from needrom and then using the paranoidandroid link for gapps. Maybe try it again?
also, you don't need to apply gapps right away. try letting the nubia go through setup wizard first. then go the temporary recovery and install gapps later (if you haven't tried that)

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Thanks for this guide and your support.
I used it to go from 1.59 ->1.64 ->3.09 ->3.22
Had some time consuming issues along the way (4-5 hours..) - bootloop when going from 1.59 ->1.64 and loosing IMEI when going from 3.09-> 3.22.
the first issue was finally solved by flashing stock ROM from side load and the second issue was solved by extracting the nv.qcn file from the nubia backup folder under C: and writing it to the phone using QPST tools.
So if anyone hit one of these walls..
Does anyone have any issues with the bluetooth and WiFi?
I'm having an issue with the bluetooth where i can't pair things as it doesn't bring up the popup screen to write the PIN.
The WiFi connection is not stable.

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pnin said:
After completion I installed GApps (Pico v5, from first link above) and, for more governors and tweaking options, the NZ7ML kernel v1.3 (the only Lollipop compatible version!).
The final app list (user+system) after GApps installation, updating and debloating (uninstall of every Chinese user app) is at http://pastebin.com/w9DxJMuq.
One of the benefits I am already seeing is improved battery -- only 2% gone after 7 hours, with no screen time...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Pnin
which parameters did you put into the kernel? (I'm using Trickster mod)
Thanks.