Owners of the Samsung Galaxy S2 were not happy to hear that they were not going to get KitKat 4.4. Now CyanogenMod has come to the rescue by releasing a stable version.
CM11 has now been ported over to the GT-i9100 version of the Samsung Galaxy S2. The ROM has been based on the Open Source Project firmware and so it offers owners a version that is free of bloatware. Owners of the handset are able to edit themes, personalise the UI and it comes with the expected services, memory and apps that can be found in the official version. The ROM has a CPU Governor along with providing owners with the option of installing mods and CM add-ons.
Owners of the Samsung Galaxy S2 need to install the ROM manually and it is very important to check out the instructions to make sure you don’t brick your handset.
One: Flash this firmware to the Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 only, as any other models might get damaged.
Two: Root the handset and then install a custom recovery like ClockworkMod.
Three: Install the right USB drivers for your Galaxy S2 on your PC.
Four: Make a manual backup of all your personal info, settings and data files.
Five: Ensure that your battery level is at least 50% to stop any power interruptions during the flash.
Six: Enable the USB debugging mode on your phone. Head to “Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging mode” or “Settings > Developer options > USB debugging.”
Seven: Download CyanogenMod 11 for Galaxy S2 i-9100 and the Google Apps package to your computer.
Flashing Instructions:
One: Plug your Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 to your PC with a USB cable.
Two: Copy over the CyanogenMod 11 and the Google Apps packages to the SD card of the Galaxy S2. You don’t need to extract the zip files.
Three: Unplug the phone from the PC, then turn it off.
Four: Reboot into recovery mode by pressing and holding the volume up, home and power keys together till you see the Samsung logo.
Five: 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.
Six: Do a full wipe on your phone. Select “wipe data/factory reset” and “wipe cache partition.” Then choose “advanced > wipe Dalvik cache.”
Seven: 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.
Eight: Once the installation has finished, go back and select “reboot system now.”
Nine: It might take five minutes or so before your Galaxy S2 reaches its home screen after rebooting.
