If there is one thing that every Android user wishes to get on his/her smartphone or tablet, it’s surely the Android 4.4 KitKat. Unfortunately, quite a little percent of Android devices (including the Nexus ones and Moto X) have been lucky enough to receive the update. It really feels irritating to see some users enjoying the privilege while you are doomed to wait for months. Again, there are a plethora of older devices that can only dream of the new KitKat update. Ideally, every OS upgrade should reach all devices that are based on the same platform but in most cases software updates depend on the whim of the OEMS.
Thanks to the hard-working developers of the Android community who try their best to level the unevenness of update distribution among Android devices. Once sold the millions of units of a phone, your manufacturer might forget it after an year or so but if you have root access on your device, there are good chances that you can find custom ROMs based on the latest version of Android for you.
Yesterday. we saw a leaked update schedule for a range of Samsung Galaxy devices. According to this table, the Galaxy S4 and Note 3 will get KitKat sometime in January next year, while device like Galaxy S3, Note 2, Tab 2 and Note 10.1 users can expect the update by April 2014. It means that the users of Samsung Galaxy S4 will still have to wait about 2 months or more before Android 4.4 makes it way to their phone.
Meanwhile, if you have root access and a custom recovery like CWM/TWRP/SafeStrap installed on your Galaxy S4 and you wish to have a KitKat bite on it, there are various AOSP and CyanogenMod based custom ROMs that can make you day today. We have gathered together Android 4.4 KitKat based custom ROMs for the different variants of the Galaxy S4 listed below:
- Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE
- AT&T Galaxy S4
- Canadian Galaxy S4 (Bell, Rogers, Telus, Virgin, etc.)
- Sprint Galaxy S4
- T-Mobile Galaxy S4
- U.S. Cellular Galaxy S4
- Verizon Galaxy S4
Warning!
Please note that all KitKat based custom ROMs for the Galaxy S4 are still under development phase and so you should be ready to expect bugs after installing them. We have tested a couple of them on Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 and for us they worked fine except for a few issues like random disconnecting WiFi and FC in camcorder. Such issues, however, are not common to all ROMs. When you download a ROM, make sure to grab the latest version which might come up a fix to such issues.
Moreover, installing a custom ROM might put your device in risk and by proceeding to give them a shot, you agree that you are aware of the consequences that might follow. In case of any mishap, please do not shout on us or hold the respective developer responsible. As for ourselves, we’ll alway be on our side to help you with any kind of support we are capable of.
Requirements
- Samsung Galaxy S4 with root access
- Presence of a custom recovery like ClockworkMod, TWRP or SafeStrap on the phone. To install the KitKat ROM on your device, make sure you have the latest version of the aforementioned recoveries.
If you have not yet rooted your Galaxy S4, we have some easy tutorials for all variants of the device. If you wish to root your phone, head over to our S4 Rooting Guide Section to do it now.
Preview
Android 4.4 KitKat ROM on Galaxy S4
You can download the Android 4.4 based KitKat ROM for your device from below. Download the first ROM (in case there are more than one listed for your model) and try others if you notice any serious issue with it. In case you find any problem with the Android keyboard, try a different version of Gapps and wipe dalvik cache after that.
How to Install:
- Important: Do not forget to backup your phone’s EFS/IMEI before attempting things like installing a custom ROM or downgrading firmware. Read this article for detailed tutorial.
- Copy the downloaded Android 4.4 ROM file, Gapps package and SuperSU zip to your phone.
- Boot your Galaxy S4 in recovery mode: turn off the phone and then hold the Volume Up + Home + Power buttons together for about 4-6 seconds. Alternatively,you can also enter recovery mode using these apps.
- Important: Having entered the CWM/TWRP recovery, it is very important that you backup your current ROM so that you can restore it later if needed. You can do this using “backup and restore”option (in CWM) or “Backup” option (in TWRP).
- Wipe data / factory reset, then go to mounts and storage and wipe data and system.
- Return to the main menu.
- Select install zip from sdcard> choose zip from sdcard option and select the ROM file.
- Confirm the installation and wait till the installation finishes.
- Repeating the Steps 3 & 4, install the Gapps package too.
- When it is installed, also install the UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.75.zip the same way.
- Finally, select reboot system now option.CWM Users:
- TWRP Users:
- Tap on Wipe button and select Data, System and Cache.
- Swipe the confirmation slider.
- Go back to the main menu.
- Now tap on the Install button, locate the ROM file and select it.
- Once again swipe the slider button to install the ROM.
- Now install the Google apps zip package.
- The install the SuperSU zip file too.
- Finally, tap on Reboot and then System.
When your phone boots up and you see the welcome screen, do the required setup and you are good to go. Start exploring the new avatar of Android and share with us what you think about it. If you have any problem installing the ROM, and you need support, just drop a comment. Cheers!
Still no luck. I get past the omni logo to the “android is upgrading” screen. The apps update, but then the phone stays stuck on starting apps.
Did you flash SuperSU after installing the ROM?
http://download.chainfire.eu/supersu
Yea. I am using safestrap 3.73 (TWRP v2.7.0.0). I started off by wiping the Dalvik Cache, data, cache, and system. I then flashed omni-4.4.4-20140908-jflte-NIGHTLY.zip, followed up by gapps-kk-20140606 then I flashed UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.75. all were suscessfull. I then did a factory reset and rebooted my s4. Everything works up to the point where Androind is Updating the apps.
Try the latest SuperSU zip and wipe dalvik cache. If it does not fix, leave it and try the latest CM 11 instead: https://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=jfltevzw
Argh, still no luck. Omni still couldnt get past starting the apps and CM 11 didnt work. I dont know what im missing here. The custom roms, gapps and Super SU v.2 all flash, but the phone will not let the custom roms boot up. Stock rom works fine so I guess its just stock for me 🙁
Unluckily or rather luckily, I’ve never used Safestrap or I would have tried a not-TW ROM to check it myself.
I flashed the omni rom, Gapps then supersu with safestrap. All were suscessful, however when I reboot my i545 Nc5 it will not boot. The omni logo just sits there and winks at me. Anyone know why this is happening.
Try wiping cache and reboot.
can anyone here help me, i’m looking for the latest gapps file for an i337m gs4. I’ve tried to download
gapps-kk-20141113.zip
from the link above but the link seems to be broken or unavailable to me at the very least, does anyone know anywhere else I can find it? Please Help
Download this:
Thanks Rakesh. I’m having another problem that you may be able to help me with. I’ve recently flashed my phone and now it gets wifi again after flashing cm11, but the mic and sound do not work ever since I’ve done an upgrade to 4.3 I think, I’d really appreciate any help you could give. The phone I’m using is a sgs4 i337m. Thanks in advance.
Try a data factory reset and flash the ROM again.
I changed to the Nexus 5 but thanks anyways 😀
Thanks Craig but that’s for the GT-I9505 Model mines a SGH-M919 (I said all that on a older comment below) but thanks though. I’ve actually purchased a nexus 5 sending the galaxy s4 over seas. Now I’m having issues unlocking Sim….tried all forums and none work might have to buy a code or something
I talked about a problem I had earlier that …..well….got worse
After restarting phone ever time I have no service or loose in call audio it got to the point where I stayed on a boot loop…..for a sec I thought I bricked my device lol
Managed to get into recovery mod after like a hour and installed a older rom (more reliable since this is in beta)
Not trying to say don’t install but if you start to get issues like mines you might want to consider another ROM (for now)
I have the t mobile sgh m919 and it worked just fine. Only issues I’ve been having is during a cal (receiving or making) I don’t get a in call volume, its silent so I restart the phone every time. And the other pro is screenshots are blurry sometimes. Besides that works like a charm. Let me know if you have any advice for my issues!
And I’m not sure if I need to update the ROM or does it do it automatically with the releases from Google?
Hi, most of the ROMs posted above are currently in beta stage so a few bugs are possible. Just keep trying the latest versions and the issues should be fixed with each new release.
Oh OK sounds good. Since this was my second ROM to install ever…where can I subscribe to be up to date? (Gimmiealink) lol
I have an at&t S4. I tried flashing gummy ROM using safestrap. I install the ROM, gapps and wipe dalvik, cache and data. When I try to reboot I get stuck on this blue screen with a bunch of little lines. For a split second the screen showed the ROMs boot screen then it went right back to that blue screen. Also, when I’m flashing the ROM it says “unable to mount internal storage” I don’t know if this has anything to do with this problem I’m having.
Try wiping cache partition in recovery and reboot it. If it does not work, install the ROM again. Also make sure that the md5 checksum of the ROM matches.
Where do I find the cache partitions? And what is the ROM supposed to match with and how do I check it?
Ok I figured out how to wipe cache partitions and to check the md5 sum. But still, I’m getting stuck on that blue screen.
Was anybody able to get this to install on a Verizon Galaxy S4 using Safestrap instead of TWRP or CWM?
CWM or TWRP are not available for Verizon S4 currently. Since customs are available for the device and most of the users have Safestrap, there is no reason why it should not work. Give it a try.
Can anyone verify a successful install via safestrap on i545 build Mk2 with verizon?
Safestrap works fine on I545.
Thanks for the reply,sorry for not being clearer. I am currently using i545 build mk2 with safe strap and have hyperdrive 14 installed. I was questioning if anyone has successfully installed omni rom via safe strap on the i545.
I don’t see any reason why one ROM can work fine and others not.
Well rakesh you might wanna do a little more research if that’s what you think. The mk2 build on the i545 is currently only safestrap compatible and there are only a handful of touchwiz ROMs that will work. Which is why I questioned if anyone was successful in flashing omni ROM in hopes that I could finally use a kit kat rom.
The build number has a huge impact on how it can be rooted and what custom recovery and ROMs can be used.
Other than not including that information in all seriousness this is a good article and all around good info on several different models and carriers.
Does this 4.4 ROM work for the GT-I9500 device??
Download and try this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zge3by7am7acxtl/Omni%20Rom%204.4%20By%20UltramanKing.zip
or from here: http://d-h.st/BGj
Use the Gapps package from above.
Do not forget to backup the EFS as instructed above and report back the issues, if any. 🙂
Gonna try it over the weekend and report back.
I have installed this numerous times on my gs4 and can’t seem to get data to work. I have a sprint gs4 that is flashed to straight talk. I think the apn settings might need to be changed but why don’t I have to change them with other rooms.