Customizing your Android phone is great but if you don't know what you're doing, there's a big chance that you might brick your device. One way to ensure that your Samsung Galaxy Note GT-N7000 won't get bricked after flashing a ROM is to make sure your phone is running on a safe kernel. The XDA Developers Forum has threads with lists of kernels that are safe to flash custom ROMs from. Take a trip through those threads to make sure your Galaxy Note is on a safe kernel before flashing the ROM in this post, the Cookies & Cream 1.3.0 ROM.

Released by XDA Developers member neobuddy89, the Cookies & Cream ROM packs the fused greatness of a CyanogenMod kernel, and features from ParanoidAndroid and CodenameAndroid (CNA). If you loved the DPI customizations in ParanoidAndroid and the smoothness of both CyanogenMod and CNA, you won't regret flashing this ROM on your Android device. Experience cherry-picks from three great ROMs in one and maybe you won't consider flashing another ROM for a long time.

This guide shows you how to flash Cookies & Cream ROM for the Galaxy Note N7000.

Warning

• The instructions in this guide are intended for use with the Samsung Galaxy Note, model number GT-N7000. Applying these instructions on another device or model may produce undesired outcomes.
• The information in this guide is provided for instructional and educational purposes only. There is no guarantee that these instructions will work under your specific and unique circumstances.
• Use these instructions at your own risk. We shall not hold any responsibility or liability for whatever happens to you or your device arising from your use of the info in this guide.
• Read and understand the whole guide first before actually performing the instructions.

Requirements

• A Samsung Galaxy Note GT-N7000 running any CM9-, CM10-, or AOSP-based custom ROM Make use of the ROM's built-in ClockworkMod Recovery.
  • For help, you can check the following guides:
    • How to install AOKP custom ROM
    • How to upgrade the Galaxy Note N7000 to Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean via CyanogenMod 10 (unofficial nightly)
    • How to install CM9-based AniDroid ROM to the Galaxy Note N7000
      • NOTE: Make sure you are not running a stock ICS ROM or any other ROM that is based from stock ICS. Flashing and wiping from the said ROMs will brick your device.
• Download the following files to your computer:
  • Cookies & Cream 1.3.0 ROM package (TeamPassion-Cookies&Cream-N7000-1.3.0.zip, 164.35 MB)
  • Notification Spacing Patch package (patch.zip, 4.6 MB)
  • Google Apps package (gapps-jb-20121130-signed.zip, md5sum: fda2660e94d9b9079b23e7b67ef012b0)
• See to it that your phone's battery is charged up to 75% or more to avoid interruptions during the process.
• Backup all personal data on your phone to make sure you have a copy of your personal data (e.g., contacts, SMS, MMS, Internet settings, Wi-Fi passwords, and the like) in case the procedure in this guide erases such data.
  • For backup tips, check our guides on how to sync your data to the cloud and how to create local backups of your mobile data.

Instructions

1. Copy the Cookies & Cream 1.3.0 package, the Notification Spacing Patch package, and the GApps package to your phone's SD card.
2. Switch your phone off.
3. Boot into ClockworkMod Recovery. To do this, press and hold down the Volume Up, Home, and Power buttons until the phone boots into recovery.
   • NOTE: You can use the Volume keys to navigate and the Power button to select an item or option in recovery.
4. Make a NANDroid backup of your current ROM. Go to Backup and Restore > Backup.
5. Select Wipe Data/Factory Reset > Yes.
6. Select Wipe Cache Partition > Yes.
7. Select Advanced > Wipe Dalvik Cache > Yes.
8. Go to Mounts and Storage > Format System > Yes.
9. Select Install ZIP from SD card > Choose ZIP from SD card > Locate and select TeamPassion-Cookies&Cream-N7000-1.3.0.zip > Yes.
10. Repeat step 9 to install the Notification Spacing Patch.
11. Repeat step 9 to install the Google Apps package.
12. Select Go Back and select Reboot System Now. This will reboot your phone to the newly installed Cookies & Cream ROM.

Great job! You have successfully installed the Cookies & Cream 1.3.0 ROM on your Samsung Galaxy Note GT-N7000. If there are things you find great about this ROM, share them in a comment below.