How to Install CM 10.2 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean on Samsung Galaxy S4

CyanogenMod is a customized, aftermarket ROM based on Jelly Bean firmwares. Besides its fresh, simple look, CyanogenMod increases performance and reliability of your device. It also offers a bunch of enhancements and new features you won’t find in the stock versions of Jelly Bean. Today we’re going to show you how to install CM 10.2 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean version on your Samsung Galaxy S4. If you want to push your powerful Galaxy S4 to its limits – definitely give it a try.

 

Note! This is an alpha version of CM 10.2 so don’t expect it to be a fully bug-free system. This tutorial is only for the GT-I9500 version of Galaxy S4. If you want to install this on other versions of this phone – do it on your own risk. We do NOT take responsibility for what’s done to your device. Follow the below steps carefully in order to not brick your device.

 

 

Important! Your device has to have an unlocked bootloader and a custom recovery installed on it. To do so please follow our guides on how to unlock the Galaxy S4 bootloader and how to flash TWRP Recovery or CWM Recovery on Galaxy S4.

 

Prerequisites

1. Read the above information and make sure your Galaxy S4 has a custom recovery installed on it. A TWRP or ClockworkMod recovery is strongly recommended, because a Data Wipe and Cache Wipe is mandatory in this process.
2. Download and install Samsung USB drivers.
3. Enable USB debugging on your Galaxy S4 by navigating to Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging.
4. Fully back app your data and settings as this process will wipe all your information away.
5. Make sure you have at least 60% battery left.
6. Download CM 10.2 Alpha 20 and Google Apps addon.

 

Flashing CM 10.2 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean

1. Copy previously downloaded .zip files somewhere on your SD card via USB using your computer.
2. Shut down your Galaxy S4 and boot it into Recovery Mode. Press and hold down Volume Down + Home + Power buttons simultaneously until the Samsung Galaxy S4 logo appears. Either CWM or TWRP recovery should now appear on the screen.
3. Optional. Go to backup and restore and perform a Nandroid backup to make it easier to restore to your original ROM later.
4. Return to the main screen and select wipe data/factory reset and then confirm by selecting Yes. Do the exact operation only with wipe cache partition this time.
5. On the main screen go to advanced, select Wipe Dalvik and wait till the wiping process is completed.
6. Return to recovery menu and select Install Zip from SD card. Navigate using the Volume Up/Down and Power buttons to the folder where the two .zip files are located. Install the CM 10.2 ROM first and then the Google Apps addon zip. This step will take you a few minutes, please be patient.
7. Once the installation process is done, return to the main recovery screen and select reboot system now.

 

Keep in mind that the first boot of a newly installed ROM takes a little bit more time than usual. The screen might stay black until your Galaxy S4 fully boots up. Please have patience and leave it alone during this step.

Congratulations! You’re now running CyanogenMod 10.2 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean version on your Samsung Galaxy S4. Remember that there’s an update coming that will fix most issues and bugs in this alpha version. Please let us know what you think of this custom ROM in the comment section below.