The Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 is the newest phone in the Galaxy series. The phone already packs sweet Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), topped by the latest TouchWiz UI from Samsung. And, when it comes to stock ROMs, we can always expect bloatware apps to come pre-installed on the phone.
If you want to experience pure ICS with those bloatware apps removed, try installing CyanogenMod 9 on your mobile phone.
CyanogenMod 9 (CM9) is a custom ROM based on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with a few modifications on board. Although you can enjoy a pure ICS user interface, the ROM for the Galaxy S3 is still in its nightly build stage and contains a few bugs and issues, such as the FM radio not working, bad voice quality during calls, and not being able to wake the phone using the Volume keys.
Nevertheless, you can still enjoy a pure and enhanced Android OS right on your mobile phone. Read on to learn how to flash the CyanogenMod 9 nightly ROM to your Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-I9300.
Warning
- The instructions in this guide are intended for use with the Samsung Galaxy S3, model number GT-I9300. Applying these instructions on another device or model may produce undesired outcomes.
- The information in this guide is provided for instructional and educational purposes only. There is no guarantee that these instructions will work under your specific and unique circumstances.
- Use these instructions at your own risk. We shall not hold any responsibility or liability for whatever happens to you or your device arising from your use of the info in this guide.
- Read and understand the whole guide first before actually performing the instructions.
Requirements
- A Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 with ClockworkMod Recovery installed
- Charge your phone’s battery to 70% or more to ensure that your phone has sufficient power for the entire procedure.
- Backup all personal data on your phone to make sure you have a copy of your personal data (e.g., contacts, SMS, MMS, Internet settings, Wi-Fi passwords, and the like) in case the procedure in this guide erases such data.
- Download the following files:
- Download the latest nightly CyanogenMod 9 ROM (cm-9-20120703-EXPERIMENTAL-i9300-CAM-HDVOICE.zip, md5sum: e6d48ede6d636a132c38ba46259eb331)
- Download the GApps (Google Apps) package for this ROM (gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zip, md5sum: 7c524e1e078164f681e0aa6753180b2c)
Instructions
- Copy the CyanogenMod 9 ROM package and gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zip to your phone’s internal SD card.
- Switch off your mobile phone.
- Reboot your Samsung Galaxy S3 into ClockworkMod Recovery. You can do that by pressing and holding down the Volume Up key, Home button (middle key), and Power button until recovery boots
- While in recovery, use the Volume keys to navigate and the Power button to select an option.
- Create a NANDroid backup of your current ROM. Go to Backup and Restore and select Backup on the next screen. Wait until your phone completely creates a backup of your ROM.
- Perform a full wipe by doing the following:
- Select Wipe Data/Factory Reset and confirm the action on the next screen.
- Select Wipe Cache Partition and confirm the action on the next screen.
- Go back to the main menu and select Advanced. From there, select Wipe Dalvik Cache and confirm the action on the next screen.
- After performing a full wipe, go back to the main menu and select Install ZIP From SD Card.
- Select Choose ZIP From SD Card and locate the cm-9-20120701-EXPERIMENTAL-i9300-CAM_LED_RIL.zip. Confirm the action on the next screen to flash the ROM to your mobile phone.
- Once done, go back to the main menu and flash gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zip in the same manner as in steps 6 and 7.
- After flashing the GApps package, select Wipe Data/Factory Reset again to make sure the calendar sync works.
- Go back to the main menu and select Reboot System Now to restart your phone.
Updating the CM9 nightly ROM
The following instructions are for updating your phone with the latest nightly build of CyanogenMod 9. Go to the official CM9 download page for Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 and check for the latest builds. If an updated ROM is available, do the following steps:
- Download the latest CM9 nightly ROM.
- Copy the ROM to the phone’s internal SD card.
- Switch off your phone.
- Reboot your phone into ClockworkMod Recovery Mode.
- Select Install ZIP From SD Card.
- Select Choose ZIP From SD Card and locate the latest CM9 nightly ROM.
- After installation is complete, return to the main menu and select Reboot System Now to restart your phone.
Congratulations! You have successfully installed the CyanogenMod 9 nightly ROM on your Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-I9300. You can now enjoy pure and enhanced Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on your mobile phone.
