Samsung Galaxy S install guide for Android 4.3 MacKay Custom ROM

Samsung Galaxy S I9000 owners haven’t gotten very much official love from Samsung or Google lately, which should come as little surprise since the phone is over 3 years old. Fortunately, XDA-affiliated developer Kasper_h has released a new custom ROM reportedly based on CyanogenMod. The build is a bloatware-free version of 4.3 Jelly Bean that delivers an unadulterated Android experience.

As always, DroidReport assumes no liability for the firmware installation, so proceed with caution.

Before Getting Started

Before you get started, first make sure that your Galaxy S is the factory-unlocked I9000 model. You will also need to root your device using ClockworkMod.

As always, you want to backup your device and charge it to at least 80 percent. Finally, enable USB Debugging mode by navigating to Settings -> Developer Options.

Note: Once you’ve installed the MacKay custom ROM, Samsung KIES will no longer recognize your handset.

Installing MacKay Custom ROM (Jelly Bean 4.3) On Samsung’s Galaxy S

1) You’ll need to download the ROM, which can be found here, as well as the Google Apps package, located here.

2) Using your USB cable, connect your S to a computer and copy the MacKay ROM and Google Apps package to the root folder of your phone’s SD card.

3) Boot into recovery mode by holding down Home and Volume Up while tapping the Power button repeatedly until you seen an icon of a green robot. You’re now in recovery mode.

4) Next, access CWM recovery and perform “wipe data/factory reset,” “wipe cache,” “wipe dalvik cache,” and finally, format the system through the “mounts and storage” submenu.

5) Finally, hit “Install Zip from SD card” within CWM recovery and navigate to the ROM you copied earlier, which will be in a .zip archive. Once you select the ROM, your Galaxy S will begin to install the MacKay custom ROM. The process should take five minutes or so to finish. Do nothing until the installation is complete.

6) Once the ROM is loaded, navigate to “Reboot System Now” and allow the phone to restart. Once it boots back up, you are officially running MacKay’s custom 4.3 Jelly Bean ROM. Kudos.