A few days back, the very first Android Pie GSI build based on AOSP landed in for Android phones. The Android Pie GSI supports all the phones that are Project Treble-enabled. Luckily, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus support Project Treble. This means you can install the latest Android Pie GSI on Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus.
The Galaxy S9 with Exynos SoC is the one that can get this Android Pie GSI. The Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S9’s bootloader cannot be unlocked so you cannot install the ROM on that variant. To install the Android Pie GSI on Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, you need a TWRP recovery running on your phone.
The Android Pie GSI AOSP ROM has got most of its basic features working. On the Galaxy S9, this ROM can make phone calls, send SMS messages, run the Mobile Data. The Audio and Video Playback is working fine. WiFi also works smoothly and the Bluetooth connectivity doesn’t have any kind of issues either.
The broken things in this ROM include the NFC. The stock AOSP camera doesn’t work, but the users can pick the OpenCamera app that works fine. The Android 9.0 vendor is not working. Rest of the features are fine in the ROM.
The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are entitled to get the official Android Pie update. However, when it comes to Samsung, the updates are not that easy to get. Although the Galaxy S9 phones support Treble, that doesn’t mean Samsung will act a little nice to its users. If you don’t want to rely on Samsung for the Android Pie and you want to get an early glimpse of the firmware on your device, the Android Pie GSI is a good choice to go with. A number of users have reported this ROM to be running good enough to keep as a daily driver.
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Download Android Pie GSI on Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus
Before downloading the Android Pie on your Galaxy S9, please keep in mind that this is a custom ROM. A custom ROM contains a lot of bugs. In the early stages, a custom ROM cannot be used as your daily dose. If you have had experience of flashing custom ROMs in the past, flashing this ROM is going to be piece of cake for you. If you are new to custom ROMs, pay extra attention to all the steps given below.
Preparations to get Android Pie GSI on Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus
- This guide is only for Exynos S9 and S9 Plus. Do not try this on Snapdragon phone.
- Charge your phone’s battery up to 50% to avoid power loss during the installation process.
- Backup each and everything from your phone as the ROM can wipe it.
- Follow the instructions carefully.
Required downloads
- TWRP Recovery for Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus
- Android Pie GSI Custom ROM.zip
- Extract the downloaded Custom ROM file to get the .img file.
- Copy the ROM.img file to your phone’s internal storage.
Install Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus Android Pie GSI
- Turn off your Galaxy S9 completely.
- Press and hold Volume Up + Power + Bixby button to boot into TWRP.
- In TWRP, click on Install > Install Zip > Install Image > Locate ROM.img file > Flash as System Partition.
- Now in TWRP, go to Wipe > Advanced Wipe > Select Cache and Dalvik Cache > Wipe.
- Reboot your phone into the system now.
- Your phone should be running on Android Pie GSI AOSP. That’s all.
