Android 4.4 KitKat has been recently released on a handful of devices, such as the Nexus line-up. Samsung has promised that the Galaxy S4 will receive the update in the foreseeable future, but until then, if you wish to enjoy the Android 4.4 KitKat OS, then you need to rely on a custom ROM.

This guide will teach you how to flash the Gummy Android 4.4 KitKat custom ROM onto your AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4. The ROM in question has been developed by the Gummy team, and it is based on experimental CyanogenMod 11 builds. As such, this ROM is not official, and you may run into certain bugs after applying it.

IMPORTANT – READ FIRST BEFORE CONTINUING

  • This Custom ROM requires you to have a rooted smartphone, running a custom Recovery image like CWM or TWRP
  • This custom ROM is meant ONLY for the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4. Do not use this guide for any other phone or SGS4 model
  • In the process, you will need to factory reset the device. You will lose data on your device. You will also remove all data from the system partition. Create backups!
  • To backup data from installed applications, you can use the "Helium" app from the Play Store
  • You can backup text messages by using "SMS backup & restore"
  • Use the "APN Settings Backup & Restore" app to backup the APN Internet Settings
  • You should sync all your contacts to your Gmail account
  • Your smartphone needs to have the battery charged to at least 60-70%. It is very important that your smartphone does not shut down due to a depleted battery, while following this guide
  • USB Debugging should be enabled in the Developer Options menu
  • Keep in mind that this is an advanced guide and some issues may occur. If you brick / damage your phone, you can't hold the developers or anyone else responsible


Booting in Recovery Mode:

IMPORTANT: Do not follow this guide yet. This is a tutorial that will come in handy a bit later. This is meant to show you how to boot your AT&T SGS4 in recovery mode. Refer to this guide when necessary.

Recovery mode can be easily achieved on the Galaxy S4. However, if you root your smartphone (and I assume that you have a rooted AT&T SGS4) then you should run ClockWorkMod recovery. It is highly recommended that you use CWM for this entire tutorial.
To boot in recovery mode:

  1. Power off your device
  2. Press and hold the "Volume up", "Home" and "Power" buttons at the same time
  3. Once the phone's screen flicker or you enter CWM Recovery mode, release the buttons
  4. After you release the buttons, you should see a "Recovery Mode" menu

Applying the Android 4.4 KitKat Gummy Custom ROM to the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4:

  1. Download the Gummy Android 4.4 ROM zip file by visiting this link
  2. Download the Gapps for this ROM by visiting this link
  3. Connect your smartphone to your PC using the USB cable
  4. Copy both zip files (do not extract the archives) onto your phone's internal storage. Once the transfer is complete, disconnect your smartphone from your computer
  5. Turn off your Galaxy S4
  6. Reboot the device in custom Recovery Mode (refer to the guide above)
  7. Create a Nandroid Backup for the current ROM
    • In CWM, select "backup and restore" and create the file, then continue to the next step
  8. Now you need to factory reset your device:
    • In CWM, select "wipe data / factory reset" and confirm
  9. Now, using CWM you need to flash the custom ROM. Select "Install zip from sdcard" and select "choose zip from sdcard". Browse for the Gummy ROM and install it
  10. Once the ROM is flashed, repeat step 9 but browse for the Gapps zip instead for the Gummy ROM
  11. Once the files have been flashed successfully, return to the custom Recovery screen
  12. Reboot your AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4 in normal mode. NOTE: this process might take several minutes. This is because your device will now load the new files. DO NOT press any buttons until the KitKat home screen appears
  13. Use your Google Account credentials to take control over your device.
  14. Contratulations! You should now run on Android 4.4 KitKat Gummy ROM

NOTE: assuming that the files are not installed successfully, or in case you manage to flash the files but the device will still not boot in normal mode, then you will need to force shut-down your smartphone by removing the battery. After a few moments, insert the battery back and repeat the tutorial from the beginning.

NOTE: If you wish to restore the device to the previous ROM, use the Nandroid Backup file that has been created at step 7 in order to do so.


See More: AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4: Install Gummy Android 4.4 Custom ROM