Get Android 4.4.4 KitKat on your International Galaxy S3!!!!!!!!!!

Samsung decided to go ahead and release an Android 4.4.4 update for the LTE Galaxy S3, but only in Korea. However, that didn’t stop developers from taking this update and porting it for the International version of the Galaxy S3. Thanks to the fine folks over at the XDA Developers forum, this port is now available and is relatively stable. Below, we’ll show you how you can install this KitKat update on your international variant of the Galaxy S3.

The international version of the Galaxy S3 now has an official port of Android 4.4.4 KitKat. / © ANDROIDPIT

A few months ago, Samsung issued a statement saying that they wouldn’t be releasing a KitKat update for the 3G version of the device, stating that the “limitations” in the hardware of the device wouldn’t provide an optimal KitKat experience. Unfortunately, this was deemed to be a bit of bunk by many users as the 1 GB of RAM in the 3G version of the Galaxy S3 was more than enough to handle it seeing as devices with 512 MB of RAM were running just fine with it.

Warning

Rooting and flashing ROMs does come with risks, but considering Samsung isn't supporting your device any longer and it is more than likely out of warranty, unless you really can't afford to get a new device if something goes terribly amiss, you should be fine. Just follow the steps outlined below carefully, and if you're not sure, do not proceed until you get some clarification.

A few things to note

• The ROM file contains a kernel modified specifically for this ROM.
• This ROM is heavily debloated.
• This ROM does not supports any other custom kernels including the arter97 kernel.
• This is based on Korean firmware, some stuffs may remain in Korean(e.g. Dialer).
• BusyBox or Superuser are not included with the ROM. 

Required files

• back-to-n00t ROM for Galaxy S3
• You will need to have your KitKat rooted before you are able to install this, please follow our previous root tutorial guide for the Galaxy S3.

Installation

1. Install a custom recovery, such as TWRP Manager.
2. Place the ROM on your internal memory.
3. Enter recovery.
4. Make a full data wipe (wipe cache, wipe dalvik, format system and wipe data). However, if you are already running a previous version with the back-to-n00t, this will not be necessary.
5. Flash the ROM.
6. If you don’t already have it, flash and install SuperSU.

If you’ve done the steps properly, you will not have the official KitKat ROM ported to your international version of your Galaxy S3. Let us know in the comments whether this worked for you!