How to Install CyanogenMod on the Oppo Find 7a / Oppo Find 7 (Video)

One of the Oppo Find 7a and Find 7’s biggest downfalls has to be the software. Misspelled alerts, strange cartoony icons and animations, it just doesn’t scream premium in the way it’s hardware does. Thankfully though it’s easy to flash a much better software onto the Find 7’s; CyanogenMod to the rescue. The same operating system that is on the Oppo’s alleged sister company’s main device, the OnePlus One, can easily be downloaded from CyanogenMod’s own site and flashed in no time flat.

All you need is to root the Find 7, download the ROM, and flash it via a custom recovery. Here’s the breakdown and video of how to get CyanogenMod on your Oppo Find 7a or Find 7.

I. Root the Oppo Find 7a / Oppo Find 7

1. Head to our Oppo How To’s section and then choose which Oppo device you have and follow the how to root for that specific device.

2. Return here to continue.

II. Flash CyanogenMod on the Oppo Find 7a / Oppo Find 7

1. Head to our Oppo ROMs section, choose your specific device, click on the CyanogenMod ROM you want to flash.

2. Click on the download link there and then find the download on the developer’s page and save the .zip file to your desktop.

3. Plug the phone in via USB.

4. Copy the ROM file to the root of the device’s sdcard storage.

5. Unplug the phone.

6. Turn off the phone.

7. Hold down volume down and power until it vibrates then let go to get into recovery mode.

8. Tap Backup.

9. Tap Backup and swipe to confirm.

10. Once done backing up, tap Wipe.

11. Tap Wipe Data.

12. Once done wiping, tap Install then choose the ROM .zip file and flash it.

13. Tap Reboot.

III. Install the Google Apps (optional, but you know you want them)

1. Download the Google Apps package and save it to your computer.

Google Apps for CM 11

2. Plug the phone in via USB.

3. Copy the Google Apps file to the root of the device’s sdcard storage.

4. Unplug the phone.

5. Turn off the phone.

6. Hold down volume down and power until it vibrates then let go to get into recovery mode.

7. Tap Install then choose the Google Apps .zip file and flash it.

8. Tap Reboot.

Feel free to head back to the Oppo ROMs section to find other ROMs for the Find 7 you might enjoy besides CyanogenMod and check out the Oppo How To’s section for other How To’s for both devices as well.

147 thoughts on “How to Install CyanogenMod on the Oppo Find 7a / Oppo Find 7 (Video)”

  1. Do you have video on how to root the Find 7 on it´s way? I´m runnig the Find 7, X9076 with ColorOS 1.2.3i wich do not support SuperSU if I understand it correctly..?

    1. What file? The ROM?

      On to the root of the devices storage (I.e on the phones storage but not inside any other folders inside the storage). Then find it in recovery to flash.

  2. Just wondering after succesfully rooting my Find 7 I went to the OPPO Roms section but there is nothing there…..Can I use the ROMS from the Find 7a section????

  3. after being harassed for the past month about the find 7 root video …….David Cogen ….THANK YOU!!!!. I now miss color os…(just a little). ok…..now that i have cyanogenmod installed, what do i do about 4k video recording, 50 mp pics, slow motion record
    ing and (the most important to me) maxx audio ???? can i still access these features somehow???

    1. Ha, I was harassed wasn’t I? You’re welcome! Hope it helps!

      I actually haven’t gotten a chance to mess with it in that much detail, so you’ll have to check Cyanogen’s site or flash it yourself and check (easy to flash back by flashing a different ROM and I’ll do an unroot video ASAP). I doubt he’ll have Maxx Audio per se but he’ll definitely have his own audio enhancements I’d imagine (and they could be better even).

  4. also, if it appeases the mass. would you mind making a video about your favorite mods (aside from cyanogen), favorite extra features downloaded, tips and tricks to take advantage of the oppo find 7. once again thanks

    1. Yeah, I actually have been wanting to do more videos/articles like that. Can you give me an example of a tip or trick you’d want to see? Thanks, @freddy !

      1. freddy medina

        Well, I’m a novice to flash mod game. On other phones (all htc evo,note 2,3) i relied on go launcher,next launcher etc…so now just curious what other awesome stuff you can show me on rooted find 7 (best audio app, best mods, best features etc…

  5. I have installed CM11 on my Oppo Find 7. It looks great! No problems at this time.
    Thanks for the instruction video.

  6. freddy medina

    ok david cogen……here is the mission…..if u choose to accept……..PLEASE ACCEPT!!!!! color os camera app for cyanogenmod find 7s or alternative camera that can compare to color os camera app. I did my research to no avail. you are humanity last hope (mainly find 7s cyanogenmod user) of survival. any info would be great. {FYI} also -maxx audio- has nothing on -viper4android- i know I’m late to the game but I just installed viper4android and its MIND BLOWING!!! the sound that my phone can now produce through headphones, speakers and bluetooth. thanks again for all the work

    1. Ha, I’ll see what I can find, but not sure a developer has attempted to port the app yet. Let me see…

      As for Viper4Android, tell me more… Can you link to it? Maybe I’ll do a quick tutorial on how to install that for anyone else using the Find 7 if you don’t mind!

      1. well, viper4android can be installed on rooted phones (2) different ways. one by flashing it through http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2191223 and the other in google play store. but the one in google play store is NOT from the official developer. viper4android has got TONS! of settings that might overwhelm some user but if you like tweaking and tuning your audio, then this app is it. its got settings for you to tweak when your on headphones, speakerphone and bluetooth and within each category you can save and load these settings separately with different profile names to best suit your needs. hope this helps a little David

      2. btw, how is the search for the find 7s cyanogenmod camera alternative going? I’m suffering with stock cyanogenmod camera app. compared to color os camera app it takes HORRIBLE!!! pics. If you couldn’t find anything then I’m forced to re-install color os until this is resolved. I LOVE everything i have done so far with cyanogen on my find 7 and HATE to lose it all, but it’s worth to lose it all just to get my camera working the way it was meant to work and how do I revert back to color os safely?

          1. hey david, so apk for the camera app that you recommended on xda didnt work. i downloaded and installed the oppo camera apk through file manager and once done, i try to open the app but tells me “unfortunately app has stopped” any reason u can think of that this is happening? also any new updates as far as how to better improve the overall experience of the oppo find 7 running cyanogenmod (especially the camera)

  7. Can someone advise as to whether this process also removes the 3GB apps partition limit and convert to unified storage on the FInd 7 post install of CM11.

      1. Zdenda Delfínů

        installation I performed explicitly by your procedure. Does this mean that I can click on the cell phone factory reset ?

        1. No. Factory Reset will end up still having CyanogenMod. You need to boot into recovery mode, and select Restore and choose the Backup you should have made in step 8 of Section II. Good luck.

          1. Do this:

            1. Turn off the phone.

            2. Hold down volume down and power until it vibrates then let go to get into recovery mode.

            3. Tap Restore.

            4. Choose the Backup file you made when doing the tutorial originally and swipe to confirm.

            Good luck!

  8. Hi ! I would like to ask, if someone ported a ROM which is meant for other device onto my device, and the updater of the ROM prompts an update, should I update it through the phone? cuz I thought the update might not be supported on my device.

    1. If you are already running the ROM updates from that specific ROM developer for that specific ROM will be fine.
      Porting a ROM means taking it and making it work for another device. If they’ve done that and you’re running it fine, the updates from that same developer also will work on that same device.

  9. Indra Mario Chandra

    Hi, i am at the last part of the CM installation, but it always failed, I have tried other file, still the same result. on the screen is says, no MD5 file found. HELP PLS!!

  10. I am getting the message that I cannot copy the item and that the device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected. please help!

      1. Thank you. I got it to work but now I am getting the error when flashing saying ‘can’t install this package on top of incompatible data. Please try another package or run a factory reset
        E:Error executing update binary in zip ‘/internal_sd/cm-11-20 140911-NIGHTLY-find7.zip’

  11. I’m loving Cyanogenmod on my Find 7! It literally feels like a different phone! One thing though, I liked the stock camera app better. Anyway to get it back?

  12. dear david, i had already istalled the cm11s on my oppe find 7a, but then it failed to mount my sd card. it cant even access to my files in my internal storage and my sd card. how do i solve this problem? thank you

  13. ♛∞Petrus ▲dam™∞♛

    If I installed CM11S . can it automatically update the latest firmware or I will have to download it from the website ?

  14. Hi, i am at the step 12 of the CM installation, but it always fails, I have tried other files, it keeps saying installation failed… Thanks

  15. Can’t root my phone, It’s always show “installation fail” I use find 7 with color 2.0 Kitkat 4.4.2 can you tell me how to fix this ???

        1. Where is there III. Root the Find 7 in this tutorial? Are you referring to another one? If so, please comment on that tutorial instead. Or are you referring to the flashing of the Google Apps in this tutorial or flashing CyanogenMod?

      1. Hi David!
        I cant install CM11.. the menu after restarting oppo isnt the same as it appears on the demo video..

  16. Hi David, first of all thank you! I followed all the steps for rooting and then flashing cm on my oppo find 7. However, at the end after I reboot the device, I keep getting “Unfortunately, Setup Wizard has stopped.” and “System UI has stopped.” I would appreciate any help. Thanks!

  17. Hello, just two concerns, how’s the battery life on CM11S? (I am not going for CM 11 nightly because it’s not stable) I am on ColorOS v2.0.0i Kitkat now and the battery life sucks (2-3 hours SOT).
    Which ROM would you recommend me to use? CM11S or ColorOS? In terms of battery life, and other features, like gestures and motions.

    1. I’d go with CM11S over ColorOS, Cyanogen and his team are just better at developing software, period. They’re going to do a better job of optimizing the system overall and that’ll mean more battery life. Good luck and let me know if that proves true!

  18. Hi. I’m Shah from Malaysia.. a newbie here. 1stly.. thank
    you so much to admin, all moderator & theunlockr team member.. you all are awesome. I’ve
    successfully change my Oppo Find 7 ColorOS v1.2.8i to CyanogenMod 12 Nightly [v20150326].
    I’m so thankful & greatly appreciated. Dear mr David Cogen…
    I wanna request for da Oppo Privacy Apps like Guest Mode aka Visitor Mode. Is
    there anyone who can help me ? Thanks in advance. Pls excuse my bad English..
    =)

    1. Hello Shah!

      Unfortunately, those apps most likely won’t work since you aren’t using ColorOS anymore. I’d recommend either googling for their APK files and trying to install them and see if that works otherwise, just check the Play Store for third-party apps that do the same thing.
      Good luck!

  19. David, the recovery installer file is no longer shared by XDA Dev. Can you share us the file? Many thanks

  20. Hi David,

    I been trying to in install the cyanagen Mod on my OPPO Find 7a. After i rooted my phone, i put in the Zip Cyanogen mode file to install and i have wipe all my data. But i failed to install the cyanogen mode. Currently i have no OS to run and couldnt even restore my phone. Any Advice?

    Appreciate your help

      1. Hi David,

        Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have been trying but I think the installer recovery has been removed.

  21. fast boot… press the power button for 6 seconds to exit and reboot..

    i pressed it 6 seconds and it keep restarting and show this message..i tried for many times..how to solve this?

  22. Hi David, after flashing the cyanogen mod, i tap reboot and im stuck on the fastboot screen! i cant go anywhere, not even to the custom recovery! please help me 🙁

      1. After i followed your guide on how to flash the rom. Anyways, I managed to get out from the fastboot screen by plugging my phone back to my pc, go to adb command and type fastboot oem unlock. Thanks for the prompt reply though!

  23. hi david,i just waiting untill 18 hours for reboot process and it doesnt finish yet.i cant go to custom recovery..what must i do now

        1. Ok, so you managed to flash CyanogenMod in section II and then when you put Google Apps on the phone and tried to install that it won’t reboot? Please be as specific as possible so we can not go back and forth over and over 🙂

          1. im sorry..after i managed 2 flash cyanogenmod then i try to reboot my device but the process doesnt finish untill now

  24. Hello, David!
    I need help. I have finished flashing the ROM and after rebooting, my phone is at “Android is starting” where it’s preparing the apps and after that the Cynogenmod logo pops out all over and over again, like there’s a bootloop there. What did I do wrong there? What should I do? :/

    1. If you didn’t wipe data first that can happen or if the ROM file is corrupted. Just boot into recovery and flash your backup or a different ROM (or even try to flash the same ROM again after redownloading it). Just make sure to wipe data before you flash it.

      1. Hi, my find 7 stuck on the fastboot too “it says press the power button for 6 seconds to exit and reboot”.
        i back up my data and i did wipe data before i flash it. help me. i can’t go to anywhere as in now. cannot attemp to go in recovery or anything. just oppo logo, then comes out fastboot again and again and again david. please help me.

          1. For @faiqmahmudin:disqus & @disqus_d4dgTIpyf6:disqus It sounds like you all might have the wrong Google Apps for the version of CyanogenMod. The one I link to here is for 11, if you have CyanogenMod 12 or a different version you need the Google Apps for that version. Post links of the ROM you downloaded please.

  25. Katharina Echle

    hello david.

    i did al the steps. after the reboot step theres coming ” Fastboot.. Press the power button for 6 seconds to exit and reboot.”

    i did that and it starts for like 2 seconds andd than it’s the same again with fastboot.

    What shall i do pleas help me

        1. OK, so sounds like you might have flashed the wrong Google Apps. What version of CyanogenMod did you flash 11 or 12? Just paste a link to the ROM you downloaded and I can check from there.

  26. Hi David, Thanks for the tutorial, it has been really helpful. Unfortunately I have an issue installing the new rom nightly cm13. I have followed all of your steps, and I am stuck pretty much at the end.
    I do wipe, then install, select my rom (cm-13.0-20160714-NIGHTLY-find7s.zip), then swipe to confirm flash

    It then fails saying: E:Error executing updater binary in zip ‘/sdcard/cm13.0-20160714-NIGHTLY-find7s.zip’

    Do you have any idea of how to fix this problem ?
    Many thanks in advance !!
    Remi

  27. Hi David, Thanks for the tutorial, it has been really helpful. Unfortunately I have an issue installing the new rom nightly cm13. I have followed all of your steps, and I am stuck pretty much at the end.
    I do wipe, then install, select my rom (cm-13.0-20160714-NIGHTLY-find7s.zip), then swipe to confirm flash

    It then fails saying: E:Error executing updater binary in zip ‘/sdcard/cm13.0-20160714-NIGHTLY-find7s.zip’

    Do you have any idea of how to fix this problem ?
    Many thanks in advance !!
    Remi

  28. Marco Castanho

    I also got stuck on the “Fastboot.. Press the power button for 6 seconds to exit and reboot.”
    Whatever I hold volume down, volume up, or just the power button, it goes into that message for a few seconds and then it just turns off.
    I installed version 13.0, since it was the latest stable version in the cyanogenmod website.

    1. OK, so you already rooted, confirmed that you have a custom recovery, then you already Flashed Cyanogen 13 through recovery? Then you should flash Gapps in recovery as well and reboot into normal from recovery. I’m confused as to why you guys are in fastboot and not recovery. What numbered step in this tutorial are you doing when this happens? Thanks!

    2. this is the solution, i hope it work for you

      fastboot devices
      fastboot oem unlock
      fastboot flash recovery “yourrecovery”.img

      goodluck

  29. Hi David! My phone have some problems which is cant turn on wifi, bluetooth and hotspot… How to solve this issue? Btw, im currently running coloros 2.0.0i

  30. Hello David! Im currently running spectrum v1.3i beta for my find 7a, i wanted to change this spectrum with nameless rom and i already did (flash firmware for find7-flash lvmsetup-factory reset-wipe dalvik cache-wipe cache-wipe data-wipe system-flash nameless rom-flash gapps-reboot) then i waiting for reboot to complete but then it stuck on bootanimation. I waited about 1 hour and nothing ever happened. What’s the issue actually?

    1. Re download the ROM zip file put it back on the phone replacing the one you have there now, boot into recovery, wipe data, and flash it. Sometimes they get corrupted during download. If that doesn’t work you’ll need to try another ROM for now and contact the ROM developer for help with his ROM. Good luck!

          1. Then it might not be compatible with your particular model. You need to flash a different ROM that you know works and then you can get your phone to work at least. After that reach out to the developer of the ROM and let him know and see if he has more info on his ROM.

          2. Alright buddy thank you for the info! I would like to ask more, how about cm13 on find 7a? Does it support lvm partition?

  31. Hi,
    I following the all the step in Section II and reboot. The phone became completely dead. Black screen, no power!!! I have Find 7a, X9007, I installed cm-13.0-20161220-SNAPSHOT-ZNH5YAO3XL-find7.zip
    Please help!

    Thanks!

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