The Galaxy S3 has been quite a lucky device, having seen both custom Jelly Bean Android 4.1 ROMs come out for it as well as official Samsung firmware getting leaked, and the saga continues with the S3 getting another custom Jelly Bean ROM.

Do try out the leaked official Jelly Bean firmware for the Galaxy S3 → here.

Owners of US variants of the S3 can find links to Jelly Bean custom ROMs at the bottom of the article.

XDA Senior Member jimbo77 has ported over the Jelly Bean based MIUI ROM to the Galaxy S3, which along with giving you all the features of Jelly Bean also features MIUI’s unique interface and features such as an inbuilt theme engine with lots of themes available, intuitive and customizable notifications menu, privacy protection, and other useful things that make up for a unique and different experience.

Keep in mind that this is not an official Samsung ROM. It’s a custom ROM that is under development and may have a few bugs and issues, and some things may not work properly and some stock Samsung ROM features will not be available.

Let’s take a look at how MIUI ROM can be installed on the Galaxy S3.

Compatibility

This hack and the guide below are compatible only and only with Galaxy S3, model number i9300. It’s not compatible with the US variants or other devices. Check your device’s model number in: Settings » About phone.

Warning!

The methods and procedures discussed here are considered risky and you should not attempt anything if you don’t know completely what it is. If any damage occurs to your device, we won’t be held liable.

How to Install MIUI ROM on Galaxy S3

  1. This procedure will wipe all your apps, data and settings (but it will NOT touch your SD cards, so don’t worry about those). Backup your Apps and important data — bookmarks, contacts, SMS, APNs (internet settings), etc. This Android backup guide would help you.
    NOTE: Don’t forget to at least note down your network’s APN settings, which are required to make mobile data work. Go into Settings » More » Mobile Networks, click on the APN that is in use, then note down the setting for each field. While APN settings should be automatically restored from network, you can enter them manually if needed to make mobile data work. You can also find your APN details → here.
  2. Make sure you have ClockworkMod recovery installed. If not, use this guide to install it.
  3. Download the latest version of the ROM from its development page.
  4. Copy the downloaded zip file from step 3 to the internal storage.
  5. Now, boot into ClockworkMod recovery. To do that, turn off your phone. Then, hold down Volume Up, Home and then the Power buttons together until the screen turns on, then let them go. The phone will boot into ClockworkMod recovery in a few seconds.
    In recovery, use the volume buttons to scroll up/down and the home button to select an option.
  6. Perform a Nandroid Backup of your existing ROM, so that you can always restore it from recovery if something does not work out with this rom. To perform a backup, select Backup and Restore –> On the next screen, select Backup again. The backup make take a while (up to 10 minutes). Go back to main recovery menu after backup is complete.
  7. Select wipe data/factory reset, then select Yes on next screen to confirm. Wait a while till the data wipe is complete.
  8. Select install zip from sdcard, then select choose zip from sdcard. Scroll to the ROM file and select it. Confirm installation by selecting Yes – Install _____.zip on the next screen. The ROM will start installing.
  9. After the installation of the ROM is complete, select go back then select reboot system now to reboot the phone into MIUI ROM. First boot will take up to 5-7 minutes.
    NOTE: If you want to go back to your previous ROM for some reason, boot into recovery (using the procedure explained in step 6), select backup and restore then restore your previous ROM by selecting it from the list.

MIUI ROM, based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is now installed and running on your Samsung Galaxy S3. Visit the development page for more info and to get the latest updates on the ROM. Share your thoughts on the ROM in the comments.

Also try out a few other Jelly Bean Android 4.1 ROMs for the Galaxy S3 → here.

Jelly Bean ROMs for other Galaxy S3 variants: