Update Galaxy S3 I9300 To Android 4.4.4 KitKat With Paranoid Android ROM

The Galaxy S3 was one of the very best Android devices at the time of its release, the device earned Samsung some great respect, but unfortunately Samsung is unable to treat this device very well and the international variant GT-I9300 will be sticking to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean for the rest of its life due to hardware limitations. Other variants of the Galaxy S3 are already running on Android 4.4.4 KitKat officially, this also adds to the disappointment of the I9300 variant owners. But there isn’t a need to worry about this while having some great developers up at the XDA forums who always brought us something cool to run on our Android devices, and for the Galaxy S3, this job has been done by XDA recognized contributor gokussjx who pulled the curtains off from the Paranoid Android ROM for GT-I9300.

Paranoid Android is one of the most popular custom ROMs for Android, after CyanogenMod, this ROM is greatly selected by the people and known for it’s performance. This ROM is compiled up by using sources from AOSP/Google, CyanogenMod and AOKP. Paranoid Android offers great performance and stability. The ROM has a great UI as well, it’s pretty much responsive and attractive. There’s a number of features available on this ROM that can simply enhance your device’s life. To have a look on the features, check out this thread. 

If you’re willing to get your device a taste of Android 4.4.4 KitKat, you would like to have this ROM installed on it. In case you’re wondering how you can do so, you may stop worrying about it as we are going to install this Android 4.4.4 KitKat ParanoidAndroid custom ROM on our beloved Galaxy S3 I9300 in the following post. Let’s go through the early preparations and then head towards the installation guide.

Early Preparations

1. This Guide Is Only For Galaxy S3 GT-I9300

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 S3  I9300.

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.

Backup SMS Messages
Backup Call Logs
Backup Contacts
Backup Media – Copy your files manually to your PC or Laptop.
Backup EFS
Titanium Backup – If already rooted, use Titanium Backup to backup all of your apps, system data and other important content.
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.

How To Update Galaxy S3 I9300 To Android 4.4.4 KitKat With Paranoid Android ROM

1. Download pa_i9300-4.41-20140705.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 pa_i9300-4.41-20140705.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 ParanoidAndroid ROM running on your device in a while.
15. That’s all!

First boot may take up to 10 minutes, you may not worry if it’s taking that much long. In case it’s taking too long, you may boot into CWM  or TWRP recovery and wipe cache and dalvik cache and reboot your device as it may fix the issue. In case your device is having issues, you may return to your old system using the Nandroid backup or follow our guide here to install stock firmware.

In case you got any issues or you face any difficulties regarding this post, please feel free to stop by the comment box below and let us know. We will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you all.