Samsung might have disowned the Galaxy SL I9003 Android smartphone, but not the Cyanogen mod team which has come up with the all new update of KitKat 4.4.2 in the form of Cyanogen Mod 11 form. Unfortunately, Samsung won’t be coming up with the update of KitKat 4.4.2 officially, but this custom ROM firmware will be roping in the latest update. This custom ROM firmware comes with hell lot of features which ropes in all the goodies as that of Kitkat 4.4.2 which are otherwise there in the Kitkat builds for Nexus devices. Before proceeding to checking out on what are the instructions with which you can apply the update, you need to follow the list of quick pre requisites which are mentioned below.
Quick Pre Requisites:
- All the data in your Samsung Galaxy SL I9003 needs to be backed up with the help of below mentioned steps. Don’t make use of KIES for backing up the data as it may not help you restore the data as this being the custom ROM firmware.
SMS – Use “SMS Backup & Restore app”,
Contacts – Sync with the Gmail application,
Call Log – Call Log and Restore
Images, Songs, Videos, Files – Copy to internal / External SD Card,
APN and MMS Settings – Note down from the path “Applications > Settings > Wireless and Network > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names”
- In your Galaxy SL I9003, enable USB Debugging from the path “Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging”. Also, the minimum battery life should be a minimum of 50% to make sure that your Galaxy SL I9003 doesn’t get turned Off in the middle of firmware update.
- As this is the custom ROM firmware, you will need to make sure that your Galaxy SL I9003 is rooted. To check on whether your phone is rooted or not, you will need to check the same from the Root Checker app. You can download “Root Checker” app from Google PLAY Store.
Disclaimer: We should not be held responsible or liable in any manner for any damage caused to the device. Also, make sure that this rooting process is not applied to the Network Locked Devices.
Once the device is rooted, you now need to head over to the next step where we have mentioned the detailed guide which will help you update the device.
Procedure to Update Galaxy SL I9003 with KitKat 4.4.2 Android Firmware:
- Download the KitKat 4.4.2 Android Firmware and Google Apps Package from here to your computer. Once downloaded, place these 2 zip files in your device.
- Download ROM Manager app from Google PLAY Store and install custom recovery image in the device. It will take around 3 -4 minutes for installing the custom recovery image. Once done, turn Off the device so that it can be entered in the Recovery mode. Recovery mode can also be entered from the ROM Manager app directly.
- Alternatively, Recovery Mode in Galaxy SL I9003 can also be entered by holding the Volume Up button + the Home key button (the middle button). While holding these both buttons, you need to switch ON your device. If the device starts normally, you need to retry the process of entering the device in the recovery mode.
- In recovery mode, select “install zip from sd card” and then choose the zip file of Kitkat 4.4.2 Android firmware and then the Google Apps Package which you have placed in your phone.
- Once the firmware is updated, select “Go Back” and select “reboot system now”. The whole process of firmware update will take around 4 -5 minutes and in some cases it may take more time than expected. You can check the installed firmware from the path “Settings > About Phone” where the current firmware will be mentioned as KitKat 4.4.2.
Note: If at all your Galaxy SL I9003 smartphone gets in the boot loop mode, then you need to turn off the device and then reapply the update from the start. To turn off you can reinsert the battery or say you can long press the power button.
So there you go, you have now successfully applied the latest update of KitKat 4.4.2 Android firmware. Do let us know in the comments section just in case if you face any issues in the process of firmware update.
