Enjoy Android 5.1 Lollipop on OnePlus One with CM 12.1

The OnePlus One, being a high-end budget smartphone has been the priority of most of the Android users in the past year and a half. However, the terrible news that Cyanogen and OnePlus ended their partnership has struck OnePlus One users like me in a very bad manner. Although there aren’t any further hopes of getting any more software updates from Cyanogen for the OnePlus One, we still have a lot of developers working hard to provide the best out of the best. Cyanogen isn’t going to provide any updates, we still have our long-lasting friend, CyanogenMod. Now, Cyanogen OS 12, and CyanogenMod 12 are two very different things.

If you happen to be one of the many sad OnePlus One users, and if you’re left without any further hope, don’t give up. Recently, developers worked hard to release the long-awaited CyanogenMod update for the OnePlus One. This sure is a Lollipop update, but this time, it’s CM 12.1, meaning the ROM runs on Android 5.1, Lollipop. Although this is a ROM which needs to be manually flashed via the recovery, this still is a very official ROM for the OnePlus One. In today’s guide, we will have a look at how to install the CM 12.1 update on the OnePlus One and enjoy Android 5.1, Lollipop on it.

Pre-Requisites

• For this job, you’ll require a OnePlus One which is rooted, has an unlocked bootloader, and which has TWRP recovery installed. Refer to our guide below for detailed steps on how to root and flash TWRP recovery on your OnePlus One.

  Unlock Bootloader, Root and Flash TWRP on OnePlus One

• You’ll also need to have USB Debugging enabled. To do so, hop into Settings > About Phone, and tap ‘Build Number‘ 7 times. Now, go back, and enable USB Debugging.
• You will be required to download the latest CM 12.1 ZIP file: cm-12.1-2015XXxx-NIGHTLY-bacon
• Also, since this CM Update doesn’t come pre-loaded with any of the Google Apps, you’ll need to flash it manually: gapps-5.1-2015-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx
• Since flashing a Custom ROM requires you to wipe your entire device, we insist you take a full backup of it first.

How To Update OnePlus One To CM 12.1

1. Download and transfer cm-12.1-2015XXxx-NIGHTLY-bacon to your OnePlus One.
2. Now, switch off your OnePlus One. Reboot your OnePlus One into the recovery mode to enter the custom recovery (TWRP). To do this, you can directly use the fail-proof hardware button combo or use a third party app like Reboot manager to do the job.
3. Once you boot into the TWRP recovery menu, tap on Wipe, and swipe to factory reset your OnePlus One. Note that this will wipe off everything that’s present on your OnePlus One (duh.), excluding the media like photos and videos.
4. Now, tap on ‘Install‘, and find and locate the CM 12.1 ZIP file (cm-12.1-2015XXxx-NIGHTLY-bacon) that you’ve downloaded and transferred earlier on your OnePlus One.
5. Select it, and swipe to flash the ROM.
6. Wait for a moment until the flashing process is done.
7. Now’s the time to flash the GApps ZIP file. To do so, tap on Install, and find and locate the GApps file (gapps-5.1-2015-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx).
8. Now, select it, and swipe to confirm the flash. This might take a moment or two.
9. Once done, reboot your freshly flashed OnePlus One. Note that the first boot might take up to 5 minutes, so don’t freak out.

Voila! You’ve successfully flashed CM 12.1 on your OnePlus One! You can now enjoy Android 5.1 on your OnePlus One. If you encountered any problems while in the process of flashing, then simply refer us in the comments below.