Install Android 5.0 Lollipop On Galaxy S4 I9505 With CyanogenMod 12 Custom ROM

Folks over Sammobile have already shown the Android freaks a few swings of the Android 5.0 Lollipop running flawlessly on the Galaxy S4, but the firmware isn’t nearing its release anytime soon. Until then it will be pretty hard for the S4 owners to wait for the official firmware to hit their devices and get the extreme sweetness of the Lollipop. This will be the biggest update for the Galaxy S4 ever since this update will not only bring a new UI, it will also add a lot of new features to the device, there will be battery improvements and performance will get much more better. The device might get some features from the Galaxy S5 as well, but that’s a matter of latter once the update is out. Until then we can only either talk about the Lollipo update or find some other way to taste the sweetest update of Android on our Galaxy S4.

It looks like XDA senior memeber AntaresOne couldn’t wait for the update he decided to come up with unofficial build of CyanogenMod 12 for our beloved Galaxy S4’s LTE variant GT-I9505. In case you don’t know about CyangenMod, it happens to be the best and the most popular custom ROM for Android. The early builds of CyangenMod aren’t recommended as a daily-dose, you’ve to go through a lot of hiccups here and there. One thing that we found in the very early builds of CyanogenMod 12 was, we couldn’t find the phone functionality working for several devices, that included CM 12 for Galaxy S2, CM 12 for Galaxy Note, Galaxy S3 Mini and few others, but it seems that we pretty lucky since these major functionalities are working for the Galaxy S4. In short, it’s actually worth giving this CyanogenMod 12 Android 5.0 Lollipop build a try on the Galaxy S4 I9505.

You may be wondering how  you can install this firmware on your device, well that’s actually what we are here for right now. Let’s move ahead and go through the guide to install Android 5.0 Lollipop using CyanogenMod 12.0 unofficial build on the Galaxy S4 GT-I9505.

Early Preparations

1. This Guide Is Only For Galaxy S4 GT-I9505

This custom ROM is only for the device mentioned above. Make sure that your model number matches the one listed above. To do so, go to Settings > About Device on your device and see your model number. Flashing this ROM on any other device will result in bricking it so make sure that you meet this requirement first of all.

2. Battery should be charged at least over 60%

Make sure that your battery is charged enough to complete the flashing process. In case your battery is low and your device goes dead during the flashing process, you may end up soft bricking your device as it won’t complete the flashing process.

3. Flash a Custom Recovery

A custom recovery is required for flashing this ROM. You may use our guide to install TWRP recovery on your Galaxy S4 I9505.

4. Backup everything!

Just to be on the safe side, you may consider backing up each and everything from your Android device. This is highly recommended so that in case anything goes wrong, you still have the access to all of your data and you can restore it immediately. You may backup everything as listed below.

1. Backup SMS Messages
2. Backup Call Logs
3. Backup Contacts
4. Backup Media – Copy your files manually to your PC or Laptop.
5. Backup EFS
6. Titanium Backup – If already rooted, use Titanium Backup to backup all of your apps, system data and other important content.
7. Backup Nandroid – You can do this using CWM/TWRP recovery.

5. Disclaimer

The methods involved in flashing custom recoveries, ROMs and rooting your phone are highly custom and may result in bricking your device, and has nothing to do with Google or the device manufacturer that is SAMSUNG in our case. Also rooting your device will void its warranty and you will be no longer eligible for any kind of free device services by the manufacturers/warranty providers. In case of any mishap we may not be held responsible. If your device has the Knox counter on the bootloader, it will be tripped and you won’t be able to reset it ever. Follow these instructions to the letter to avoid any mishap or bricking. Make sure that whatever you do, you are doing it at your own responsibility.

Known issues in this ROM:

External SD (works only if formatted in FAT32, exFAT is broken on any device at the moment)
F2FS (works only for /system, formatting /cache makes ROM unbootable)
NFC

How To Install Android 5.0 Lollipop On Galaxy S4 I9505 With CyanogenMod 12 Custom ROM

1. Download cm-12-20141121-UNOFFICIAL-jflte.zip file.
2. Download Google Gapps.zip file.
3. Connect your phone to your PC now.
4. Copy both the .zip files to the storage of your phone.
5. Now disconnect your phone and turn it off complete.
6. Boot into TWRP recovery now, in order to do so, turn it on by pressing and holding Volume Up + Home Button + Power Key. You should see the recovery mode in a while.
7. Now in TWRP recovery select wipe option and wipe cache, factory data reset, dalvik cache.
8. After wiping all these three, select “Install” option.
9. Now select “Install > Choose Zip from SD card / locate the zip file > Select cm-12-20141121-UNOFFICIAL-jflte.zip file > Yes”.
10. This will flash the ROM in your phone.
11. Once again in TWRP select “Install > Choose zip from SD card / locate the file > Gapps.zip file > Yes”.
12. This will flash Gapps in your phone.
13. Reboot your device.
14. You should see the Android 5.0 Lollipop CM 12.0 running on your device in a while.
15. That’s all!

First boot may take up to 10 minutes, so hold on tighter until your device gets ready. Just in case you don’t find this ROM working so great, you may want to restore your Galaxy S4 to stock condition.

If you’ve any queries or you’re stuck with anything regarding this post, please reach us through the comment box below. We will get back to you immediately. Thank you all.