I am planning to root & install custom ROM on my Samsung Galaxy S Duos. Can anyone experienced tell me the best way to root & best latest Android 4.4 Kitkat custom ROM for my phone?
The best place for info & resources about rooting & custom roms will always be XDA forums Just look for the forums for your Samsung model, most but not all custom roms are already pre rooted but usually it is very easy to root your device unless your carrier makes it harder. There are different custom roms, some are based on Samsung firmware with bloatware removed, others are based on ASOP Android or Cyanogen Mod. Personally I always found my old Galaxy S3 ran faster & more stable with a good ASOP rom on it compared to the huge bloated Samsung firmwares.
I am new to this so asked here. What is ASOP Android or Cyanogen Mod? I will look at XDA forums & ask here if any probs. Do XDA forums require registration to download custom ROM?
ASOP stands for Android Open Source Project & is pretty much stock Android that nexus devices use, Cyanogen Mod is based on ASOP but has other options, tweaks & can have different apps like camera It is free to register on XDA & registering allows you more access to the forums, most of the manufacturer sub forums have this type of layout. Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 General Discussion about the Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 (general, tips & tricks, etc) Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting For all your questions about the Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 Accessories Accessories for the Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 (cases, screen protectors, batteries, etc) Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 Android Development Android development for the Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 Original Android Development Android development for the Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 Themes and Apps Themes and applications for the Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 Most Samsung stock based based custom roms would be in the Android Development section & the custom roms based on ASOP, AKOP, Cyanogen Mod etc are based in the Original Android Development sections. One thing I would strongly advise is that you fully read all the info on the rom that you want to use & also read up on what root is, this is to make sure that you don't brick your device or flash the wrong model firmware on it. Don't be afraid to post questions in the Q&A Help & Troubleshooting My Galaxy S & Galaxy S3 had custom roms on them as soon as they were available & stable as I hated the bloated software & Touchwiz UI that Samsung seems to love. On my new Sony Z2 I kept the sony stock rom, unlocked my bootloader & just rooted it.
You have mentioned Galaxy Grand Duos. Mine is Galaxy S Duos. When I search at XDA for my phone, the search shows Galaxy Grand but not my phone. Does this mean no latest custom ROM or no custom ROM for my phone?
@narenbisht I do not think your phone has a stable custom rom, probably because it has dual sim card slots. Here is a link for cyanongenmod custom roms for Samsung phones. I do not see your phone there. If Cyanongenmod does not have a rom for you, it is highly unlikely anyone else will have a custom rom. Here is an article I found on the web for installing a custom rom on your model. They appear to be using a cyanongenmod rom, but most probably it is not an official cyanongenmod rom for your model, so it will give you problems.
Raza, Thanxx for the info. Can you give me a good link to atleast install stock Android on my phone? This can be done & the phone will have no probs, right? Currently my phone has Ice cream Sandwich but Samsung customized Android. Can I install any stock Android or only the one on my phone i.e Ice cream Sandwich?
Sorry was just using the Galaxy Grand Duos as a example of how the manufacturer sub forums are laid out, can't find your phone listed on there I'm afraid EDIT did find a link to XDA wiki that shows some threads for custom roms. You should know that flashing a custom rom usually invalidates any warranty & Samsung use a system that shows either a triangle or red exclaimation mark when phone is powered on to show that it is using custom or modified firmware. There is a tool from Chainfire called Triangle Away that can in some cases remove the mark. Before I sold my old Galaxy S3 I had to flash the stock Samsung rom using ODIN then run triangle away & then flash the stock rom again so it didn't show any exclaimation marks etc. Also a lot of Custom Samsung roms remove a lot of the bloatware from it so you might find that some Samsung functions like smart stay etc no longer work, custom roms based on ASOP or AKOP will also be missing most if not all of the Samsung stock rom features. Flashing any kind of custom firmware can occasionally cause issues with devices or brick them completely so they not longer boot. Always best to read & research extensively first before jumping in.
Check this - http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S_Duos/GT-S7562 But i would advise against rooting your phone , because usually custom aosp/cm roms for samsung phones are mostly not stable
Actually, the stock rom or the AOSP rom is only designed to work on nexus devices. When google releases the AOSP rom, others take this rom and customize it (adding device specific drivers etc) for individual devices. So, in order for the AOSP rom to work on your phone, someone has to have done all the hard work of making it workable on your device. This requires that you search the internet for a custom rom. Then you will have to do the hard work for trying to determine which rom is currently the best for your device. Check out the above link provided by @Sherlock Holmes and see which of the roms is being updated continuously for your model. From a quick glance the PMP Ultra looked promising. Since you are new to rooting etc. Here are the steps involved in installing a custom rom on your phone: 1- You will first need to unlock the bootloader for your device, this will erase all user data from the device so make sure you backup personal documents. 2- You will then need to root your device, this is done by installing superuser on your phone. You will also need to install a custom recovery. Now you are ready to install a custom rom on your device. 3- Download a zip file of any custom rom designed for your device, boot into custom recovery and flash it from there. Doing so will erase everything on your phone, so again backup your device. Hope this helps.
Thanxx guys for all the info. It seems theres nothing much for my phone. On XDA I came across a thread. Some one is developing KitKat for SG S Duos. Its in testing so limited functionality. I will wait & see how the development goes on. This is the link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=50836347#post50836347 It mention Unofficial Build. Whats Official & Unofficial Build on XDA?
If CM team is officially supporting a device it lists it on the device page , at that time the rom is official build If some other developer takes cm base and builds it for a non supported device it is unofficial
