An official Samsung Android 5.1 update for Sprint Galaxy S4 is as good as already ruled out, both because of S4’s age and Samsung’s lethargic approach to updates. The Samsung 5.1 update is expected to arrive on company’s S6, S5 Note 4 and Note 3 in coming 2-3 months, but S4 users look to have fallen behind, no longer in the plans.

Thankfully though, there will be lots of custom ROMs that can be relied upon as far as Android 5.1 update for Sprint Galaxy S4 is concerned. We’ll get CM12.1 for sure, but right now, we’ve got the GamerROM that’s based on none other than CM12.1 and is already available for installation. And it’s also available for Verizon S4 and T-Mobile S4.

Being based on CM12.1 which is turn is based on AOSP, the GamerROM features an incredibly beautiful pure Android Lollipop interface, ditching the Samsung’s dirty TouchWiz UI for good. The Lollipop UI alone is worth the efforts of installing a custom ROM, let alone additional features of Android 5.1 and CM12.1.

Both CM12.1 and GamerROM are far from fully stable as of now, and both are in early stages of development. But don’t worry, save for video recording, everything else is said to be working fine.

And in any case, if you want to go back to official Samsung firmware for your Sprint Galaxy S4, you can do so pretty easily — a simple firmware flash using Odin software is all it takes to remove custom ROM, custom recovery and root, all in one shot, and restoring the phone back to stock, Samsung firmware.

Note: As you already know, it’s not an official Samsung Android 5.1 update for Sprint Galaxy S4, so expect few kinks at some corners of the ROM that are yet to be fixed by the team. Any major bugs will be reported below.

Bugs
  • Video recording
Downloads

Download the ROM file in .zip format from the source development page here, where you could also keep a tab on updates for the ROM, and any current issues with the ROM with fixes, if any, available. No need to download the Gapps separately as this ROM contains them already but flashes separately than ROM to be in line with Google’s policies, while saving you some labor work.

Supported devices
  • Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4, model no. SPH-L720
  • Don’t try on any other Galaxy series set or other device of Samsung or any other company
Instructions

Warning: Warranty may be void of your device if you follow the procedures given on this page. You only are responsible for your device. We won’t be liable if any damage occurs to your device and/or its components.

Important Note: Backup important files stored on your device before proceeding with the steps below, so that in case something goes wrong you’ll have backup of all your important files.

  1. Transfer the ROM file package file to your device’s internal storage and remember the location where you save it.
  2. You need TWRP recovery for this. Get it from here. There’s good instructions set there, too. For more help, Google is your friend.
  3. Boot into Recovery mode.
  4. Once in TWRP recovery, take a backup of your current ROM. Select Backup, then do a “Swipe to Back Up” on the bottom of the screen.
  5. Once the backup is finished, select Wipe, then do a “Swipe to Factory Reset” on the bottom of the screen.
  6. Go back to the main menu of TWRP recovery and select Install.
  7. Navigate to the file where you saved your ROM’s zip file, select it and “Swipe to Confirm Flash” on the bottom of the screen. Now wait until the flashing process finishes. It will also flash Gapps after flashing the ROM.
  8. Go to back to recovery’s Main menu, select Reboot » select System.

Your device will now reboot with Android 5.1 update, thanks to GamerROM custom ROM.

In case you need any help over this, let us know. And, you can thank the developer g7755725 for this.

Android 5.1 update is also available on: