Galaxy S3 I9300‏: Guide, Pre-Requisites and Steps to Upgrade

By Alicia Pablo Oct 02, 2014 02:52 AM EDT

Galaxy S3 I9300‏: Guide, Pre-Requisites and Steps to Upgrade

XDA Senior member, arter97 shared that Samsung Galaxy S3 I9300‏ owners can now enjoy a new O.S. Version inspite its 1 GB RAM constraint. With the release of Android 4.4.4 KitKat via new ArchDroid (v2.0) ROM, owners of the smartphone can expect series of changes for their handsets.

With the new update, the pre-requisites are:

The instruction is only intended for the model GalaxyS3 GT-I9300 only. Users must first check their phone's model number by scrolling through the Settings then About phone.
Through the recommended custom recovery tool, back up settings and data. Access it through ClockworkMod (CWM) or TWRP. In the recovery menu, access Backup, restore, Backup.
Make sure your phone has the necessary drivers. Verify it through the manufacturer's site.
Navigate Settings then Developer Options to assure USB debugging mode. Then, choose the checkbox to enable USB debugging mode under Settings> Developer Options. (Note: Select the smartphone's Build Number seven times in order to unlock or show the hidden developer options under settings.)
While installing the ROM, ensure that you have enough battery charge of atleast 80 percent to prevent device failure during installation.
Make sure that the Bootloader is unlocked and the device is rooted with CWM recovery.

When ArchiDroid ROM is installed on Android 4.4.4 KitKat, many new features can be noted:

UBUGNF1 modem will be updated
New missing "semco" variant to BCM
upgraded chromecast
upgraded Boeffla kernel to 2.4-beta1 (NG)
upgraded Nova Launcher to 3.0.2
upgraded AGNi kernel to 2.8.4
upgraded PA GAPPS to 29 July
upgraded sources
upgraded XPrivacy to 2.2.2
upgraded Onandroid to 9.51
upgraded PhilZ Touch recovery to 6.48.4
upgraded Google Keyboard

How to Install the Upgrade of your S3 I9300 with Android 4.4.4 KitKat Port?

Step-1: Download Android 4.4.4 ArchiDroid ROM on your Galaxy S3 I9300‏

Step-2: Download Google Application package.

Step-3: Connect your Galaxy S3 I9300‏ to computer via USB cable. Copy the Google Apps zip files and downloaded firmware zip to the root folder of phone's SD card without extracting.

Take note that if the update froze or you encountered some problem, doing a factory reset in the recovery mode can solve the problem.