Get the best and most customizable Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0 experience on your Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket with AOKP ROM, a custom ROM that provides amazing performance and the stock Android 4.0 experience. XDA Senior Member InstigatorX has started releasing unofficial personal builds of AOKP to the public, keeping them as updated as the official AOKP ROM as possible.

NOTE: As the ROM is unofficial and under development, there may be a few bugs and issues in the ROM, though most things will work perfectly.

Known Issue: As of 11/06/2012, the ROM does not contain the camera app, so you’ll have to download a third-party camera app from Google’s Play Store (i.e Android Market).

NOTE, Please Read: Since this is an AOSP based ROM, some features like 3G video calling will be unavailable as those are only possible on stock Samsung ROMs (video calls using 3rd party apps like Skype will work fine though). Also, if you use Swype as your preferred keyboard, you will need to download the beta version from beta.swype.com as Swype is also not included in the ROM.

Let’s take a look at how AOKP ROM can be installed on the Galaxy S2 Skyrocket.

Compatibility

This ROM and the guide below are compatible only and only with the AT&T Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, model number SGH-I727. It’s not compatible with any other device, including other US variants of S2, the Epic 4G Touch, and AT&T Galaxy S2. 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 AOKP ROM on Galaxy S2 Skyrocket

  1. Important! You must use the touch enabled CWM recovery to install this ROM on your phone. Use the guide here to install touch CWM on your Skyrocket.
  2. 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.
    Important! Don’t forget to at least make a backup of your APN settings, which you can restore later if your data connection does not work after installing the ROM. Use the backup guide to find out how.
  3. Download the latest version of the ROM from the official development page.
  4. Download the Google Apps package. This will install apps like Market, Gmail, etc. which are not present in the ROM by default.
    Download Link  |  Filename: gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zip
  5. Download the DarkSide Super Wipe file, which will be used to wipe the necessary partitions on the phone before installing the ROM
    Download Link  |  Filename: DARKSIDE.SUPER.WIPE_EXT4.zip
  6. Copy the 3 .zip files downloaded in steps 3, 4 and 5 to the internal SD card on the phone (do not extract them).
  7. Turn off the phone, then boot into CWM recovery. For this, press and hold these 3 buttons together until Samsung’s screen shows up: Volume UP + Volume Down + Power. Phone will boot into CWM recovery.
  8. Select install zip from sdcard, then select choose zip from sdcard. Scroll to the DARKSIDE.SUPER.WIPE_EXT4.zip file on the SD card and select it. Confirm installation by selecting Yes to wipe the necessary partitions.
  9. After installation is complete, go back to the main recovery menu by selecting go back. Then, select mounts and storage, then select format cache, followed by selecting Yes on the next screen. After format is complete, go back to the main recovery menu.
  10. Select install zip from sdcard, then select choose zip from sdcard. Scroll to the ROM file on the SD card and select it. Confirm installation by selecting Yes – Install _____.zip on the next screen. The ROM will start installing.
  11. After ROM installation completes, select choose zip from sdcard again, then select the gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zip file to install the Google apps package.
  12. After the installation is complete, select Go back then select reboot system now to reboot the tablet and boot up into AOKP ROM. The first boot will take some time, up to 5-7 minutes, so be patient.
  13. NOTE: Again, as the ROM does not contain a camera app, download a camera app like Camera360 from the Play Store.

[Important!] Enabling Data Connection after ROM boots

After the ROM is up and running, you will need to do the following to enable the data connection on the phone (quoted from developer thread):

  1. Open System Settings->More (under Wireless & Networks)->Mobile Networks->Access Point Names
  2. Select the WAP APN…
    1. APN = PTA
    2. Username = BLANK (delete whatever is there)
    3. MMSC should be http://mmsc.mobile.att.net
    4. MMS Proxy = proxy.mobile.att.netHit Menu button and select SAVE
  3. Give it a few seconds and data should be working

AOKP ROM is now installed and running on your AT&T Galaxy S2 Skyrocket. Visit the official development page for more info and to get the latest updates on the ROM. Share your thoughts on the ROM in the comments.