Custom ROMS

Install Android 7.1 Nougat on Galaxy S4 Mini via LineageOS 14.1 Custom ROM

March 17, 2017

Galaxy S4 Mini owners! you can now update your phone to Android 7.1 Nougat. This has been made possible by means of a custom ROM named as LineageOS 14.1. If you don’t already know about the LineageOS, you may be interested in adding to your knowledge that LineageOS has taken over the most popular custom ROM CyanogenMod. The legacy from here will be continued by LineageOS. To give a new life to your pretty old Galaxy S4 Mini, you can get your hands on this ROM. Before updating the phone, we will just have a recap.

S4 Mini was launched by Samsung in 2013 right after it launched the Galaxy S4. S4 Mini on the front had a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display. Galaxy S4 Mini had a 1.5 GB RAM and Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU accompanied by Adreno 305 GPU. It ran on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box and was later updated to Android 4.4.2 KitKat. Unfortunately, it didn’t get any further update of Android. Since then, this phone has been relying only Android custom ROM developers.

Now that we have the LineageOS 14.1, we should just focus on renovating the phone. Galaxy S4 Mini runs smooth on this LineageOS 14.1 ROM. The ROM is in its development stages. It may carry a number of bugs here and there, but it is good enough if you just want to enjoy the look and feel of Android 7.1 Nougat on it. If you are a newbie, it is highly recommended to not to flash this ROM. However, if you are an Android power user, you may go ahead and take this risk. All you need to do is to follow the steps carefully to get done with it.

Early Preparations

This ROM is only for Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini GT-I9192, GT-I9190 and GT-I9195. Do not try this on any other device, please check your device’s model in Settings > About Device > Model.
Your device must have a custom recovery installed, in case you’re missing it you may Follow our full guide here to install TWRP 3.0 recovery on your Mini S4.
Your device’s battery should be charged at least over 60%. This is highly recommended in order to prevent any power issues during the flashing process.
Make sure that you backup your important media content, Contacts, Call Logs & Messages. This is highly recommended just in case something goes wrong and you need to reset your phone.
If you already have rooted your device, use Titanium Backup to back up all your important apps + system data.
Also if you are using a custom recovery, it is recommended that you backup your current system using that first. [Just for the sake of safety]. Here’s our full Nandroid Backup guide.
You will have to go through Data Wipes during installation of this ROM, so make sure that you have backed up all the mentioned data.
Make an EFS backup of your phone before you flash this ROM.
You need enough confidence to flash this ROM.
Alright! Go ahead and flash the custom firmware, follow this guide to the letter.

Disclaimer: The methods involved in flashing custom 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. 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.