Stable, fast, and superfunctional. That’s what the tagline is of the Jelly Bean Android 4.1 based X-Bean ROM, which has already made an appearance on the Galaxy S, and is now here to showcase its power on the Samsung Captivate.

“Samsung Vibrant owners can find a few Jelly Bean ROMs → here, while Galaxy S owners can find some → here.”

X-Bean gets you all the important features of Jelly Bean, such as the smooth and fluid interface, the actionable and expandable notifications, Google Now for voice recognition based search and information etc, while also adding functionality from CM10 such as the customization options, and the speed and cleanliness of stock Android, for an amalgamation of speed, functionality and stability.

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.

NOTE, Please Read: Since this is an unofficial 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). Some other features such as an FM radio will be missing too, and some apps like camera may not be the same as on stock ROMs.

Let’s take a look at how the X-Bean ROM can be installed on the Samsung Captivate.

Compatibility

This ROM and the guide below are compatible only and only with the Samsung Captivate, model number SGH-I897. It’s not compatible with any other device and may render an incompatible device unusable. Check your device model 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 exactly what you are doing. If any damage occurs to your device, we won’t be held liable.

How to Install X-Bean ROM on Samsung Captivate

  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 on the phone.
  3. Download the latest version of the ROM from the source page.
  4. Download the Google Apps package. This will install apps like Play Store, Gmail, etc. which are not present in the ROM by default.
    Download Gapps  |  Alternate Link  |  Filename: gapps-jb-20120726-signed.zip  
  5. Copy the zip files downloaded in step 3 and 4 to the internal SD card on the phone.
  6. Turn off your Captivate and wait for complete shutdown (wait for vibration and check capacitive button lights).
  7. Then, boot into CWM recovery. To do so, press and hold the Volume Up + Volume Down buttons while powering on the phone. When the screen turns on, let go of all three buttons. The phone will boot up into ClockworkMod recovery in a few seconds.
    In recovery, use Volume keys to scroll up and down and power key to select an option.
  8. [Repeat this step 2 times] Select wipe data/factory reset, then select Yes on next screen to confirm. Wait a while till the data wipe is complete. Repeat 2 more times.
  9. Then, perform the following steps:
    1. Select install zip from sdcard, then select choose zip from sdcard. Scroll to the ROM file on the sdcard and select it. Confirm installation by selecting Yes – Install _____.zip on the next screen. The ROM will start installing.
    2. To make sure the ROM is properly installed, repeat the above step again to reinstall the ROM a second time.
    3. After ROM installation completes the second time, select choose zip from sdcard again, then select the gapps-jb-20120726-signed.zip file to install the Google apps package.
    4. After Gapps installation is complete, go back to the main recovery menu, select advanced, then select Fix permissions.
  10. Then, select go back then select reboot system now to reboot the phone and boot up into X-Bean ROM. The first boot can take up to 5 minutes.

X-Bean ROM, based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is now installed and running on your Samsung Captivate. Visit the source 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 some other Jelly Bean ROMs for the Captivate → here.