[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] djibe89:
[GUIDE/TUTORIAL/HOWTO] Samsung Galaxy S4 i9505 Stock to Android 11

[GUIDE/TUTORIAL/HOWTO] Samsung Galaxy S4 International i9505/jfltexx Any version to Android 11 / LineageOS 18

This detailed step-by-step guide helps you transform your Samsung Galaxy S4 i9505 to a powerful one with Android 11.

Make sure your phone is i9505 before going further : when you Power on phone, it is written Galaxy S4 i9505.

CHANGELOG

v7. Moved to Android 11 R, TWRP 3.6, updated pack

v6. Moved to Android 10 Q, TWRP 3.4, root with Magisk

v5. Moved to Android 9 Pie / Official Lineage OS 16, updated pack

v4. Moved to Android 8.1 Oreo

v3. Propose Android 8 or 9, latest Odin in pack + TWRP 3.2.3-0, tweaked OpenGapps download link

v2. Android 7.1, Google Play authentification, TWRP 3.2.1-0

v1. Android 6, pack v1

1) DOWNLOAD

- djibe Galaxy S4 i9505 pack: http://bit.ly/djibe-i9505-djibev2

(contains Samsung Odin 3.13.1 flash tool + Samsung USB drivers + recovery TWRP 3.6.0_9-0 + Magisk root).

### TWRP recovery is unified among all Galaxy S4 i95xx devices

Unzip files.

+ ROM [JDCTeam] Optimized LineageOS 18.1: https://xdaforums.com/t/jdcteam-optimized-lineageos18-1-v6-0-27nov.4203927/

Download latest build here (v9 or later): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1a0xTxU1JIO6pxBC5JGB4QqvZsKyCaa_3

+ BitGApps Package ARM 11: https://github.com/BiTGApps/BiTGApps-Release/releases

+ a microSD card (FAT32 format)

+ Charge phone to 100%

Copy ROM, GApps, Magisk (optional) on the microSD card.

Insert it in phone.

1) BACKUP DATA

Install Samsung drivers (you unzipped earlier).

Then plug phone to PC in File transfer mode.

Collect all .jpg or .mp4

Use an app like Backupyourmobile or SMS backup & Restore to backup texts, contacts, etc.

Check that backup is located on microSD card.

Then copy the backup on your PC.

Download latest official updates.

Connect phone to Wi-Fi.

Go to Settings > More > About device > Software updates > Update now and confirm with OK.

Install updates if there are and repeat this operation after each update.

Remove Google Account:

Go to Settings > Accounts > Google > tap on account name. You are in Sync settings.

Tap on Menu button of phone (bottom left button) > Remove account. Confirm account removal in dialog.

3) FLASH TWRP RECOVERY

Shut down phone.

Boot in Download Mode : hold Home + Power + Volume- for 3 seconds and release.

Confirm with Volume+.

Connect phone in USB, wait for bootloader drivers installation in Windows.

Then launch Odin.exe (you unzipped) and wait for Odin indicator ID:COM to become blue.

In options: Verify re-partition and Auto Reboot are NOT tickeded while F. Reset Time is ticked.

In Files > AP > select twrp-3.6.0_9-0-jflte.img.tar (from my pack)

### Warranty is now Void ###

Click Start.

When PASS! is written in Odin: disconnect phone

Hold Power to shutdown phone.

4) NANDROID BACKUP

Boot in Recovery Mode: Hold Home + Power + Volume+ for 4 seconds, release and wait a few seconds for TWRP recovery to boot.

TWRP will ask for Keep System Read Only ? > Swipe to Allow Modifications.

Go to Backup, select all partitions (EFS MUST BE STORED TO SAVE phone's IMEI),

tap on Select Storage to set it to Micro SD card.

Swipe to backup.

5) WIPE DATA

Go to Wipe > Format Data, type yes and confirm with buttom right icon.

Go to Wipe > Advanced wipe,

select Dalvik, Cache, System, Data, Internal Storage, then Swipe to Wipe,

then back.

6) FLASH ROM, ROOT AND GAPPS

Go back to TWRP Home menu. Then tap on Install > choose Lineage*.zip,

(if you don't see the files, tap on Select Storage and make sure Micro SDCard is active).

(Optional) then Add more Zips > Magisk*.zip,

then Add more Zips > bitgapps*.zip,

then Swipe to confirm Flash.

Wait for operation to end.

Then tap Wipe cache/dalvik, swipe to confirm,

then Reboot System.

Wait for the phone to boot during 5 minutes.

7) ROOT ACCESS (OPTIONAL)

Magisk grants you superuser privileges from boot. No extra activation needed.

Superuser access can be set from Magisk Manager app.

8) DARK MODE

As the screen is Super Amoled, Dark mode can save up battery to ~30%.

Go to Settings > Display. Switch Dark theme ON.

If you experience image flickering or screen bugs: Settings > Display > Smart Pixels

Switch Smart Pixels ON fixed my bugged display.

Developer options:

Go to Settings > About.

Tap 7 times on build number.

Back to Settings > Developer options

Select USB Configuration > set MTP

Set Windows animation scale, Transition animation scale and Animator duration scale to .5x

Enjoy,

djibe

Thanks: JDC team, LineageOS team, TWRP team, OpenGapps team, @ripee, @Exodusnick, @0LDST4R, @AnnoDomini1993, @Buff99 and many others