Back in May, Google announced that it would offer a "Google Edition" edition of the Samsung Galaxy S4. Compared with the regular Galaxy S4, the Google Edition program functions a stock version of Android, free from any Samsung-specific features and programs.
Unfortunately, the Galaxy S4 Google Edition is only marketed in the US through the Google Play Store and is not available in Australia. However, if you're eager to use the newest form of inventory Android operating system on your Galaxy S4, there is a way to set up the application personally, offered you are using a Windows PC.
Backup your data
IMPORTANT: Before you go forward you should make sure you back-up your Galaxy S4 and preserve any essential information (such as images and videos) you want to keep. This guide application set up will clean any information on your device.
To back up your Galaxy S4, navigate to Settings > Backup & reset and ensure the "Back up my data" checkbox is ticked.
To back up other files that won't be saved through your Google account there are a few options. For photos, we recommend the excellent Dropbox app. Navigate to the camera upload menu and you can choose to sync the images in your camera roll that you want to keep.
The best way to manage this in an ongoing manner is to use the automatic camera upload feature in the settings menu of Dropbox. When this is switched on, any new photos you take with the Galaxy S4's camera will automatically be uploaded to Dropbox.
To backup your text messages, we recommend the SMS Backup+ app. It can back up your text messages through your Gmail account and can be set to backup automatically, or at predefined time periods.
WARNING: Good Gear Guide takes no responsibility for anything that might go wrong during this process. We are not liable for any faults or damages caused by any of the procedures in this guide. If followed correctly, these instructions should ensure a hassle free process but you are ultimately advised to attempt this at your own risk. Do note that rooting your device and installing a custom ROM is likely to void your manufacturer warranty, so attempt this at your own risk.
This guide will work with the GT-I9505 version of the Galaxy S4 sold in Australia by Telstra, Optus and Vodafone and various other retailers. Do note that it will remove any Australian telco customisation such as included Telstra/Optus/Vodafone apps. It will also remove all Samsung-specific features such as dual-camera, S-Voice and Smart Scroll.
Step one: Root your Galaxy S4
This method will require your Galaxy S4 to be rooted. There are a number of methods to root your device but we used the popular Chainfire Root (CF-Root for short).
Once downloaded, unzip the file. We recommend extracting the file to your main hard drive. In our case, this was the C:\ drive. You should see a .tar.md5 file once unzipped.
To root your Galaxy S4 you'll also need to download Odin, a small program that allows you to flash software to Samsung Android devices.
Once downloaded, unzip the file. Double click on the "Odin3 v3.07.exe" file. It should look like this:
Turn off your Galaxy S4. Put the phone into bootloader/download mode by holding the power button together with both the home and volume down buttons. Hold these three buttons simultaneously until you see this screen:
This is a Galaxy S III, but should look almost identical on your Galaxy S4.
Press the volume up button to continue and you'll then see this screen:
Plug your Galaxy S4 into your PC using the USB cable. The phone should automatically be detected by your computer and will be displayed in the ID:COM box on Odin. (On our PC the port is COM8, but it may be a different number on your computer). The ID:COM box should be highlighted yellow or blue.
Click the "PDA" button in Odin, and select the CF-Auto-Root .tar.md5 file you downloaded earlier. Press Start on Odin. You should see a progress indicator on Odin and a progress indicator bar on your Galaxy S4.
Ensure you DO NOT remove the USB cable from your Galaxy S4 while your phone is being rooted. Once the process is completed, your Galaxy S4 should restart as normal.
Step two: Install a custom recovery
Once your phone is rooted you'll need to install a custom recovery. This is a replacement for the stock Android recovery and allows you to flash new ROMs to your device.
There are number of custom recovery's available, including the popular ClockWorkMod Recovery (CWM for short) or TeamWin Recovery Project (TWRP for short).
Once downloaded, unzip the file. We once again recommend extracting the file to your main hard drive. In our case, this was the C:\ drive. You should see a .tar.md5 file.
You'll need to flash your custom recovery via Odin, so you can follow the same process in step one, just with the different file.
Turn off your Galaxy S4. Put the phone into bootloader/download mode by holding the power button together with both the home and volume down buttons. Press the volume up button to continue.
Plug your Galaxy S4 into your PC using the USB cable. Click the "PDA" button in Odin, and select the custom recovery .tar.md5 file you downloaded earlier. Press Start on Odin. You should see a progress indicator on Odin and a progress indicator bar on your Galaxy S4.
Ensure you DO NOT remove the USB cable from your Galaxy S4 while the custom recovery is being flashed. Once the process is completed, your Galaxy S4 should re-boot straight into recovery mode. Select "reboot system now", then select "yes" when prompted with the "disable flash recovery" screen.
If the phone reboots normally and not into recovery mode, repeat the exact steps above but untick the "autoreboot" check box item in Odin.
Step three: Install the Google Edition 4.3 ROM
Once you're rooted your Galaxy S4 and flashed a custom recovery, you are now ready to install the Google Edition 4.3 ROM. There are various versions of this ROM, but one of the best we've come across is Janjan's version which can be found over at the Xda-developer forums. The ROM is a direct port of Android 4.3 without any changes.
To install the Google Edition ROM, download the latest version from the Xda link above. We used the latest v.1 version, but previous versions are also available to download.
Once you've downloaded the file, DO NOT unzip it. Plug your Galaxy S4 into your PC and copy the zip file to the internal storage on your device.
Detach the Galaxy S4 from your PC, then convert off your cellphone. Now you'll need to start into restoration method by having down the quantity up, home and energy control buttons until you see the Samsung Galaxy S4 logo. Launch the control buttons when you see the logo. Don't keep them for too long, otherwise the cellphone will start as regular.
Once you're in recovery mode, use the volume buttons to select wipe data/factory reset. Press the power key to confirm. Then select clean to install a new ROM from the internal SD card storage on your phone. Scroll down to the zip file you copied to your phone earlier in this step. Press the power button to confirm.
Select "reboot system now", then select "no" when prompted with the "disable flash recovery" screen.
Your phone should now boot as per normal with the latest Google Edition Android 4.3 software installed! If your device gets stuck on the Samsung logo screen, boot into recovery mode again, wipe data and reboot again.
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