How-to: Samsung Galaxy SIII LTE I9305: Installing OmniROM Android 4.4 KitKat Nightlies

OmniROM has recently started launching Android 4.4 KitKat Nightly Custom OmniROM builds for the Samsung Galaxy S3, and if you own the LTE i9305 model and you wish to enjoy the Android 4.4 experience, then installing this ROM is one of the ways of doing that.

Keep in mind that the OmniROM custom ROM is not official. It has been built by developers such as Dees_troy, Chainfire and Xplodwild alongside other contributors. This particular OmniROM is a nightly build as well, meaning that certain features might not work properly, but new nightly updates are going to be launched in short time.

OmniROM is based on the Android 4.4 AOSP, but it does contain extra features as well, including multi-window, multi-workspace modes, UI improvements and more.

IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ BEFORE PROCEEDING

• This guide is designed only for the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE model number I9305. Do not attempt to apply this guide to other smartphones, or other SGS3 variants. If you wish to apply the OmniROM build on the Samsung Galaxy S3 I9300, please visit this post instead
• IMPORTANT: This guide requires you to have a rooted Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE I9305 and the latest ClockWorkMod Recovery image
• To find your smartphone's build number, go to "Settings" > "About device"
• This is a "nightly" build. It may contain bugs, but "nightly" updates are going to be released often
• Installing this ROM requires you to factory reset your smartphone. Create backups if necessary!
• You can use the "Helium" app to backup data from apps
• You can use the "SMS backup & restore" app to backup your messages
• To backup your APN Internet settings, you can use the "APN Settings Backup & Restore" application
• You can backup your contacts by syncing them with your Google account
• The flashing process contains instructions on how to create a NANDROID backup
• You will need to enable "USB Debugging" before proceeding. To do so, go to "Settings" > "About device" and tap "Build number" until the "Developer options" menu becomes visible. Then go back to "Settings" > "Developer options" and enable "USB Debugging"
• Make sure your smartphone's battery is at least 60-70% before proceeding
• This is a guide for advanced users. If anything goes wrong and you brick / damage your phone or you lose important data, you cannot hold the developers or anyone else responsible

Booting in CWM Recovery Mode:

IMPORTANT: Do not follow this guide right now. These are steps that you will need later. Refer to this guide when requested to do so.

1. Turn off your smartphone
2. Press the "Volume up", "Power" and "Home" buttons at the same time
3. Release the buttons after the recovery mode screen appears

Flashing OmniROM Android 4.4 KitKat Nightly on the Samsung Galaxy S3 I9305:

1. Download the OmniROM zip by visiting this link. (Sort by "Last modified" and download the newest zip)
2. Since OmniROM does not include Google apps, you will need to download them in a Gapps package.
   
   • To download the full Paranoid Android Gapps package, visit this link. Make sure you download the file destined for Android 4.4, and not 4.3. (the one weighing 245.5 MB – pa_gapps-full-4.4)
   • Alternatively, download separate Gapps zips by visiting this link
3. Connect your smartphone to your computer using the USB cable. (Make sure that USB Debugging is enabled. See bullet points above)
4. Copy the zip files to your phone's storage
5. Once the transfer is complete, turn off your smartphone and disconnect it from your computer
6. Reboot your Galaxy S3 LTE I9305 in "Recovery Mode". (Refer to the guide above)
7. You will now need to create a full NANDROID backup of your current ROM. Do not skip this step. This is a way to ensure that, if you don't like OmniROM, or if things go wrong, you can go back to your previous ROM.
   
   • To perform the NANDROID Backup, select "backup and restore", save the file
8. Once the backup is complete, factory reset your device by selecting "wipe data / factory reset"
9. Flash the OmniROM Android 4.4 zip. Select "install zip from sdcard" > "choose zip from sdcard". Browse for the ROM zip and select it. Don't interrupt the installation process, and don't press any buttons
10. Now you will need to install the Google apps package. Once again, select "install zip from sdcard" > "choose zip from sdcard", but this time, select the Google apps zip(s)
11. Return to the recovery screen
12. Reboot your smartphone in normal mode. NOTE: the first boot will take several minutes. Don't press any buttons during the process
13. After the reboot, you should now be able to enjoy OmniROM Android 4.4 KitKat. Congratulations!

NOTE: In case the first boot after the flash takes too long, or if your device is stuck in a boot loop, then remove the battery, re-install it and repeat the steps above without skipping any steps.

NOTE: you can use your SMS / APN / Helium backups to restore your information. Sign in to your Google account to restore your contacts.

If you wish to return to your previous ROM, you can use the NANDROID backup.

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