You may remember that back at Google I/O the Nexus 5 was introduced, except it wasn’t the Nexus 5 as we expected it, it was instead a Samsung Galaxy S4 running Android 4.3 – a stock version of Jelly Bean.
It seems that thanks to some porting work, this version of Android 4.3 can be made to run on a standard Galaxy S4, as well as the Google Play edition S4. We’ve already seen Android 4.3 running on a Nexus 4, but this is the first time we’ve seen the firmware available for the Galaxy S4.
Android 4.3 Details
Android version: 4.3
Build ID: JWR66N
PDA: I9505GUEUBMFP
CSC: I9505GXARBMFP
Build Date: 26 June 2013
Changelist: 968842
The stock ROM has been uploaded for those daring to try it, but be warned it does void your warranty if you still have one. The Android 4.3 ROM was originally intended for the Google Play edition Galaxy S4, but this port enables compatibility with the standard Galaxy S4.
Everything is working that should be, there do not seem to be any funny bugs or cameras that aren’t working, it is fully functional on the Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S4.
Just a small note:
– This is not flashable through Odin.
– This will void your warranty.
– Dont attempt this if you dont have the skills to flash a custom ROM
– You are doing this on your own risk
Instructions:
– Copy Google Play Edition ROM to your internal SD Card
– Enter Recovery (Power + Volume Up + Home)
– Do a Wipe/Factory Reset (Necessary due to new Android version)
– Flash Google Play Edition ROM
– Reboot your device!
Download:
– Android-4.3-I9505GUEUBMFP-Odexed-I9505.zip
MD5: 363ED9CC32A841A512E72372A19C7D05
– Android-4.3-I9505GUEUBMFP-Deodexed-I9505.zip
MD5: 74D241B64266220161018EB98A19F279
Android 4.3 is still in development, so these builds are by no means the final feature set that we’ll see released. Never-the-less, it’s nice that manufacturers are already getting access to the latest source code, which hopefully should result in less Android fragmentation – we can only dream!