Motorola Atrix 2 is a decent phone. Unfortunately, the official OS development has stopped at Ice cream Sandwich. A little later there was a Jelly Bean Leak that emerged. It was clearly left 90% into the development – the GPS didn’t work, the FM radio was broken and the numbers were auto dialled with China country code. Now there is KitKat which is way superior than the ICS that the Atrix 2 runs, which makes the 2 year old phone quite outdated.
Thankfully, stock versions of Android can be installed via Cyanogenmod (CM). The latest Android OS – Kitkat 4.4.2 – can be installed via Cyanogenmod 11 – Unofficial Edison.
I had to garner info on upgrading to CM11 from multiple sites. This is my consolidated tutorial on how to upgrade Atrix 2 to CM11. Before you start, backup whatever you have on the device and make sure battery is sufficiently charged. The entire process should not take more than 30 minutes.
1. Firstly, the basic stuff to transfer files between the computer and the device.
- Install USB driver
- USB debugging is enabled to transfer files between phone and PC (settings > developer options > “USB Debugging”)
2. Root your Atrix
- Download the file ICS_Root_Atrix_2.zip
- Unzip the file
- Go to settings > Security > Unknown Sources
- Connect phone to pc using data cable
- Select computer connection as Camera (PTP)
- First run ADB.exe from the folder you have extracted ( important )
- When the program closes run ROOT.bat
The phone should reboot quickly a couple of times during the process… In the DOS prompt, press any key when asked by the ROOT.bat window to press any key to continue.. The process should take 3-5 minutes. You should get a message that the rooting is complete. Wait till the phone reboots and back to your home screen. Rooting is done
3. Install the latest Boot Menu Manager app (BMM).
4. Download CM 11 & GApps (all proprietary Google branded Apps that come pre installed on your phone) and
- CM11 For Motorola Atrix HD [Copy the latest CM11 file] {Make sure you read about the stability of the release version from the XDA thread here – I use the 20140115 version}
- Google Apps
- Connect phone and copy these files onto your memory card
- Disconnect and reboot
5. Time to install CM11 (KitKat – Android 4.4.2)
- Turn on device and BMM comes up
- Set up the partition:
- Leave System 1 which is the default partition to run the existing OS. Use any other partition (excluding
System 2, the System 2 partition on Motorola Atrix 2 has some memory limitation - Create the partition first (example System 3). To do so, go to Settings > tap on the System that you want to create for example System 3 > Partition Setup > System.img –> Create > Set space (500MB). Then create data partition of about 1 GB and finally Cache Partition with 300MB
- Now tap on Recovery > Switch system > System 3 (that we created earlier so that you are choosing System 3 to install stuff on)
- Tap on Firmware Flashing and then Backup CID
- Now, tap on Mount & Format. Now perform format/system, format/data and format/cache
- Go back to main recovery screen. The tap on Wipe & Clean option. The perform all 4 wiping task that located there one by one
- Once done switch the system again to System 3 to make sure, you are in right partition
- Leave System 1 which is the default partition to run the existing OS. Use any other partition (excluding
- Install Files
- Once everything done, tap on Install zip package, then tap on Install a zip package, locate the CM11 file that you copied and select it (Power button (use Volume keys to scroll). Tap on Yes to start the installation process. The ROM installation will begin
- Once the ROM installation process end, repeat the previous step but choose the GApps file instead of ROM zip to install the Google apps package
- When installation is completed, go back to the main recovery menu and select reboot options and then tap on Reboot to reboot your Motorola Atrix 2
- Setup BMM
- Then boot into BMM again, go to Recovery, tap on System Keeper and then install BMM on main system (which is System 1).
- Reboot
You are done!
When you reboot, you should be able to select the partition in the Boot Menu Manager. System 1 would have your old OS and System 3 would have Android 4.4.2 based CM11 ROM. Root is turned off by default in CM derived ROMs, you must enable developer settings first (tap the build number 8 times under about device), then enable root under Developer Settings].
CM11 is not without its issues, the FM App is missing, the GPS doesn’t lock quickly, there are issues with the dialer and voice gets garbled sometimes.
Before I sign off, nothing beats Atrix 2 running ICS. So keep it in System 1 just incase you want a stable OS without bugs and very good battery life.
Update: I have been using MoKee for a few days now. Its amazing – much better than CM 11. Instructions here.
Thank you.
It Helped a lot.
Welcome. Check out MoKee. Much better and stable than CM.
Hi ravi,
Thank you for the lucid post. I have doubt – I am currently running JB 4.1.2 on my atrix 2 of which you have mentioned. Is the upgrade process the same as what you have mentioned above? Mine is rooted as well.
Thanks!
sai
Thanks for you kind comments. ~Ravi
The process should be the same for any AOSP based OS. I would recommend you use MoKee OS, the release versions unless you are experimental.
I am getting “Device not found error”. Any idea ?
That’s a very cryptic clue to answer.
However, I am guessing that the message is just an annoyance and you are able to boot into your OS as required. If this is the case, then you have most probably screwed up your CID. Connect your phone via USB to the comp, locate you CID file (remember you made a backup of the same in the installation steps). Keep a copy where you can easily access or remember the path. Goto BMM and restore CID (pointing to thie file). The annoying message should be gone.
What if i want to flush the existing OS and just want the Mokee to be there on device??
Having used it for months now, I found Mokee to be really stable. So, go ahead, it would be absolutely fine to run it on System 1.
I had earlier used Cyanogenmod and it was buggy to the point of not being usable. That is one reason why I recommend to run it on a different system. That way, you always have the option to go back to a usable OS on a single reboot.
Hi,
I was able to install CM , but on restart it is not asking me to choose System1 or the new ( which i created i.e. system 5) and device only shows moto logo and stays there for more than a minute, it is not bringing up CM..
Please help…
Thanks,
Vibhor
Hmm… looks like you haven’t installed BMM back on system1. Did you do the last step before the final reboot from above?
The gapps fails, error status 6. Any thoughts? Using “gapps-kk-20131119.zip”. I have googled, no help.
Hi Jeff, Is it the correct GApps for your device and version? Try using the correct GApps, nice tool here – Gapps manager – http://lifehacker.com/gapps-manager-gets-you-the-right-google-apps-for-your-r-1501497103
You don’t say : We find this page is a little rousing primarily because CyanogenMod has been one of the best custom ROM for Android users.. For the most part what intrigued me most about this post is I want to buy Xiaomi Mi3 or RedMi Note. We feel CyanogenMod will be available for it or not.
Hey help me with this..
I rooted my atrix 2 and tried installing Mokee android 4.4.4 kitkat.
After that while installing GApps it showed “Installation Aborted”.
I couldn’t go further, so took off my SD card out to copy latest GApps and inserted it to try again.
There it just stuck and I had to remove battery to reboot it.
And now everything on my phone is gone, I mean..I wiped out even ‘System 1’.
So help me to restore it to ICS 4.0.4 as it was originally. I just want my phone to function.
Thanks…
Hi Kushalesh, If you have BMM working, copy the latest version of Mokee & Gapps on your SD card and try again installing afresh. If you don’t, see the Cyanogenmod install method via Laptop tethering. It should work.
My only problem is that I now have no APN info. I looked up a few sites and tried but none of them work. I can’t hook up through wifi or mobile data.
Did you backup CID? If yes, try restoring it properly.
Does this work on the At&t Atrix 2? I know there are usually compatibility issues there. If not, what will work? I’ve never rooted anything or flashed anything, so I need very easy, clear instructions. This phone keeps rebooting randomly and I’d love for it to just be stable. Thanks!
My phone wasn’t carrier locked so I don’t have experience with your question. But I guess, as long as you can root it, it should work fine. Suggest you partition and keep the new OS on a different partition. That way, you can access both the old and new OS and can fall back easily if needed.
The instructions are as clear as they can get. You can probably look up some videos of flashing on YouTube to get more confidence.
can u plz upload a video for dis
sry but i didn’t get it.
Hi
After all steps of “set up the partition” nothing is happening . Only black screen appears and red led light is coming. Please Help…!!!
Thanks
Harsh Jain
Sorry Harsh. I haven’t been using Atrix 2 actively for the past 5/6 months. Will look into this when I get time.
~Ravi
BMM app is not available on Playstore.
Some how, I installed BMM app from different website.
When I rebooted the device it is not showing BMM app.
Please help me out on this?
Device: Motorola ME865(Atrix 2))
Hi Sridhar,
Did you root your device? You can probably use other alternatives like Safetrap, Team Win Recovery Manager (TWRP) or ClockworkMod
when i install gapps eror instalation aborted
You’ll have to use the appropriate GAPPS for the version of OS you are using.
Hi ravi I need an immediate help please.I’ve an ics build but with cid error I’ve lost my cid & I want to root my atrix 2,I was told to root using bptools,I’ve no clue how to root using bptool,can someone really help really appreciate it