The Samsung Galaxy S (I9000) has stopped receiving official updates for a while, and as such, the original SGS is now still running Android Gingerbread. Fortunately, you can still apply unofficial updates to your Galaxy S, with the help of custom ROMs.

This guide will allow you to update your Samsung Galaxy S I9000 to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, through a CyanogenMod 10.2 stable build. CM 10.2 is based on AOSP Android 4.3, but it does offer extra features as well. The best part about this ROM is that is a "Stable" build, meaning that you can use it on a daily basis without experiencing any issues. Keep in mind, however, that this ROM has nothing to do with Google or Samsung. It is a custom ROM created by the developer community.

IMPORTANT – READ BEFORE PROCEEDING:

  • This guide is only for the Samsung Galaxy S I9000. Do not attempt to apply this guide / ROM to any other smartphone or Galaxy S variant. Doing so might result in bricking your phone
  • In order to apply this ROM you need to have a rooted Samsung Galaxy S I9000 that runs the latest CWM Recovery
  • During the installation process, you will need to perform a factory reset. Create backups if necessary
  • You can use the "Helium" application to backup data from apps
  • You can use the "SMS backup & restore" app to backup your messages
  • The "APN Settings Backup & Restore" app allows you to backup your APN Internet settings
  • Your contacts should be backed up to your Gmail account. If they're not, then make sure that you do so before proceeding
  • This guide includes instructions on how to create a NANDROID backup
  • Make sure you enable "USB Debugging" before proceeding. To do so, go to "Settings" > "Developer option"
  • Before proceeding, make sure that your smartphone has more than 60% battery life. It is very important that your smartphone does not run out of battery during the installation process
  • Do not skip any steps
  • This is a guide for advanced users, and includes actions that would void your smartphone's warranty. If you brick / damage your phone, you cannot hold the developers or anyone else responsible

Installing Android 4.3 Jelly Bean CyanogenMod 10.2 on the Samsung Galaxy S I9000:

  1. First you'll need to download the ROM zip file by visiting this link
  2. The ROM does not include Google apps due to licensing issues. You will need to download a Google apps zip separately by visiting this link. (IMPORTANT: make sure you download the gapps file for Android 4.3, and not 4.4, as the latter won't work. Download the file named "pa_gapps-full-4.3-20131102-signed.zip"
  3. Once these files have been downloaded, connect your smartphone to your computer. (Remember that USB Debugging needs to be enabled)
  4. Copy the zip files from your computer to your phone's internal storage
  5. After the transfer is complete, power off your smartphone and boot in CWM Recovery mode. To do so, press and hold the "Volume Up", "Home" and "Power" buttons at the same time.
  6. When the custom recovery menu appears, you can release the buttons
  7. At this point you should create a full NANDORID backup as a safety measure. This will allow you to restore your current ROM, should you decide that CM 10.2 is not what you were looking for. To do so, select "backup and restore", give a name to the file and the save it
  8. Now you will apply the factory reset. Select "wipe data / factory reset" and confirm
  9. After the reset, select "Install zip from SD card" > "choose zip from SD card" and browse for the CM 10.2 ROM. This will flash Android 4.3 CM 10.2 on your device
  10. Now you will need to add the Gapps zip file. Select "Install zip from SD card" > "choose zip from SD card" and browse for the Gapps zip file
  11. Once both files have been installed, return to the recovery menu
  12. Reboot your phone in normal mode. NOTE: this process will take several minutes to complete. You'll need to be patient and don't press any buttons.
  13. Congratulations, you can now log into your account, and restore your data backed up via the aforementioned apps (such as Helium etc)

NOTE: In case the first boot after the flashing process takes more than 10 minutes to complete, then something might've went wrong. You'll need to restart the entire guide from the beginning, without skipping any steps. The same goes if your smartphone is also stuck in a boot loop

IMPORTANT: In case you don't enjoy CM 10.2 Jelly Bean on your Samsung Galaxy S I9000, then you can always roll back to your previous ROM using the NANDROID backup that you have created at step 7.

› See More: Samsung Galaxy S (I9000): Installing Android 4.3 CM 10.2 Custom ROM (Official CyanogenMod Release)