Sadness is the word best described for the Samsung Galaxy S3 users.
The most painful part when consumers own a smartphone is when the phone maker cease all the updates when the device has reached a certain age.
This isn’t the case for the Samsung Galaxy S2. Despite being much older than the S3, users are content as they can access update as they wish via CyanogenMod. Now, the notorious developer is back and with it comes the all-new CM11, developed specifically for the GT-I9100 Samsung Galaxy S2.
The CM11 custom ROM will bring the S2 up-to-date with most smartphones today as it installs the latest Android 4.4 KitKat OS. Getting the CM11 will give the users access to a long list of CM apps. More importantly, the custom ROM is bloatware-free.
If you’re a GT-I9100 user and wish to update your device, you can check out the procedure below.
Pre-requisites
1. Flash this firmware to the Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 only. Doing it on other models will risk bricking it.
2. Root the handset and then install a custom recovery like ClockworkMod.
3. Install the USB drivers for your Galaxy S2 on your PC.
4. Make a manual backup of all your personal info, settings and data files.
5. Ensure that your battery level is at least 50% to stop any power interruptions during the flash.
6. Enable the USB debugging mode on your phone. Head to Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging mode or Settings > Developer options > USB debugging.
7. Download CyanogenMod 11 for Galaxy S2 i-9100 and the Google Apps package to your computer.
Flashing Instructions
1. Connect your Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 to your PC via USB.
2. Copy the CyanogenMod 11 and the Google Apps packages to the SD card of the Galaxy S2. Do not extract the zip files.
3. Unplug the phone from the PC before turning it off.
4. Reboot into recovery mode by pressing and holding the volume up, home and power keys at the same time until the Samsung logo appears.
5. Inside recovery mode, make an Android backup of your current ROM. Select “backup and restores > backup.” You can then restore the saved ROM inside the SD card anytime you need to.
6. Do a full wipe on your phone. Select “wipe data/factory reset” and “wipe cache partition.” Then choose “advanced > wipe Dalvik cache.”
7. Return to the main menu and install the CyanogenMod 11 by selecting “install zip from SD card > choose zip from SD > search the ROM you have copied earlier > confirm installation.” Do the same thing with the Google Apps.
8. Once the installation has completed, go back and select “reboot system now.”
9. It might take five minutes or so before your Galaxy S2 reaches its home screen after rebooting.
