[How to] Update Galaxy S I9000 to Android 4.4 KitKat with CM11 AOSP ROM

It just feels celebrations when a favorite gadget of yours from the past gets the advancements of modern day technology. The Samsung Galaxy S, the first smartphone of the now famous Galaxy S series by Samsung, is the device I began learning to customize Android devices beyond the official ways. It was Android 2.2 back in that time when I first rooted my Galaxy S.

Anyway, the Samsung Galaxy S yesterday received an unofficial CyanogenMod 11 (aka CM11) build. The CM11 ROM is based on the latest Android 4.4 KitKat update by Google. Samsung stopped updating the device a long time ago, the Android 2.3 was the last update that booted officially on the Galaxy S.

Various updates to Android that followed Android 2.3 — Android 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and now the 4.4, were never supported by Samsung for the Galaxy S, but the great community of users and independent developers have still kept the device rocking.

You can install Android 4.4 KitKat update on your Galaxy S by following our step-by-step guide below, but before that have a look at the bugs/issues present in the CM11 ROM

Bugs/Issues?

As of November 14, 2013, following bugs were present:

Display issues in Browser (Google Chrome Browser works fine)
No access to TV-Out menu
Layout issues in lockscreen
Can only mount 1 sdcard on PC (either external or internal)
Menu soft-buttons appearing where they shouldn’t
Some CyanogenMod features are missing
Color calibration does not get saved

Other than the bugs listed above the KangBang ROM is working fine.

Let’s see how to install the Android 4.4 KitKat CM11 ROM on your Samsung Galaxy S I9000

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.

CHECK DEVICE MODEL NO.

To make sure your device is eligible with this, you must first confirm its model no. in ‘About device’ option under Settings. Another way to confirm model no. is by looking for it on the packaging box of your device. It must be GT-I9000!

Do not use the procedures discussed here on any other Galaxy S (including the Galaxy S devices at Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile) or any other device of Samsung or any other company. You have been warned!

BEFORE YOU BEGIN..

You must do this pre-installation stuff before attempting to install the ROM on your Samsung Galaxy S in order to avoid any complications later, and have a smooth and successful process.

BACK UP YOUR DEVICE

Back up important data and stuff before you start playing around here as there are chances you might lose your apps and app-data (app settings, game progress, etc.), and in rare case, files on the internal memory, too.

For help on Backup and Restore, check out our exclusive page on that linked right below.

► ANDROID BACK UP AND RESTORE GUIDE: APPS AND TIPS

CHARGE YOUR DEVICE

If your android device powers off due to lack of battery while the process is underway, it could damage the device.

So, make sure your device is adequately charged — at least 50% battery of the device.

EXAMPLE VIDEO

If you haven’t used a custom recovery, either CWM or TWRP, before, to install a .zip file of a ROM on anything else, then we suggest you first watch a video of that, given right below, to get familiar with the process.

Just fyi, the video below shows installing a .zip file (of recovery) on Galaxy S3, but it doesn’t matter as the process remains exactly same. So, once you are finished with video, jump to downloads and step-by-step guide below.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S ANDROID 4.4 KITKAT ROM

DOWNLOADS

Download the files given below and transfer them to a separate folder on your phone and remember the location.

Android 4.4 KitKat update – CM11 ROM file: DOWNLOAD LINK
File name: cm-11-20131115-UNOFFICIAL-galaxysmtd.zip (396.32 MB)
Gapps file (art compatible): DOWNLOAD LINK
File name: gapps-kk-20131111-artcompatible.zip (103.05 MB)

Reminder: Before you proceed, make sure you’ve transferred the files you downloaded above to a separate folder on your Samsung Galaxy S phone.

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Make sure you have backed up your phone adequately (including important data stored on internal memory).

NOTE: If you’re running CM9/CM10 or CM10.1, it’s It’s recommended to update to CM10.2 first before flashing CM11 following the guide below. Otherwise, you may get ‘set_metadata_recursive‘ error during installation.

Boot into recovery mode. For this:
- Power off your device and wait for 5-10 seconds until the device is fully switched off.
- Press and hold Volume Up + Home + Power buttons together and release them as soon as you see the Galaxy S logo.
  └ In Recovery mode, use Volume buttons to navigate Up and Down between options and use Power button to select an option.
Create a Nandroid Backup from recovery. It’s optional but very important to do, so that in case something goes wrong you can restore to current status easily. For making a Nandroid Backup, go to Backup And Restore » Backup.
Perform a Factory Reset (This will delete all apps and their settings and game progress). For this:
- Select Wipe data/Factory reset, then select Yes on the next screen to confirm factory reset (screenshot)
First Install the ROM file (cm-11-20131115-UNOFFICIAL-galaxysmtd.zip):
- Select Install zip » Choose zip from sdcard (or external sdcard, you know where your files are) » browse to the location where you saved the file and select the ROM file cm-11-20131115-UNOFFICIAL-galaxysmtd.zip
Now similarly flash the gapps-kk-20131111-artcompatible.zip file.
└ Make sure to first flash the ROM file and then the Gapps file.
Reboot your device. For this, go back to the main menu of recovery and select reboot system now.

That’s all. Your phone will now reboot and it will take some time as it’ll be phone’s first boot after installing Android 4.4, be extremely excited for this!

Note: In case your device gets bootloop (stuck at logo while rebooting), just do a factory reset (step 3) and you will be fine.