Verizon started rolling out the Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean update for the Samsung Galaxy S3 only from Friday, lagging way behind other major US carriers.

However, thanks to a custom firmware build, users of Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 I535 can try their hands on the latest Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. In order to install Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean on the Verizon Galaxy S3, users need to install custom firmware LiquidSmooth ROM, which is based on Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean AOSP, on their devices.

The LiquidSmooth ROM is considered as one of the smooth, stable and fast ROM as it has been built from the AOSP release. The ROM includes many customizations that are usually found in CM10.1, AOKP, Team CAN and Team EOS ROM, Android Jinn has reported.

The report added that most of the features of the LiquidSmooth ROM work fine. But given that the ROM is still under development, users might come across some issues and bugs while using it on Verizon Galaxy S3 I535. However, all these issues are expected to be fixed as development progresses.

Below is a tutorial to install Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean on Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 I535 using custom firmware LiquidSmooth ROM. But before going ahead, users must be aware of some prerequisites:

- Backup your data so that you can recover if you lose any.

- Ensure that the device has at least 80 percent battery power.

- Backup your EFS Folder.

- USB drive must be installed for Samsung Galaxy S3 in your PC.

- USB Debugging must be enabled.

- Make sure that your device is rooted and has ClockworkMod Recovery Installed.

- Don’t skip Nandroid backup as it’s very helpful if this custom ROM doesn’t work the way you wanted.

- This tutorial is only for Verizon Galaxy S3, model number SCH-I535. Don’t try this on any other Android device.

- The users must note that IBTimes cannot be held responsible if anything goes wrong. They should proceed at their own risk.

Files Needed

- LiquidSmooth ROM For Verizon Galaxy S3 [Filename: Liquid-JB-v2.1-Beta1-d2vzw.zip]

- Google Apps [Filename: gapps-jb-20121011-signed.zip]

Procedure

Step 1: Connect your Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 to PC via USB.

Step 2: Copy all downloaded zip files to the SD card of your phone. But don’t extract any file.

Step 3: Disconnect USB and turn off your phone.

Step 4: Boot into ClockworkMod recovery in your Galaxy S3 by pressing and holding Volume Up, Home and Power button together till you see Samsung logo on screen.

Now release all three buttons. You will see ClockworkMod recovery screen soon. Use Volume keys to browse between options in recovery while using Power key to select an option. (You can also try this alternative method to achieve Recovery Mode without key combination)

Step 5: Perform a Nandroid backup of your existing ROM. To do that, select Backup and Restore, then on the next screen, select Backup again. Go back to the main recovery menu after backup is complete.

Step 6: Perform data wiping task. To do so, select wipe data/factory reset, then select Yes on next screen to confirm your action. Wait for a few minutes till the data wipe is completed.

Step 7: Select install zip from sdcard and then select choose zip from sdcard. After that, locate the Liquid-JB-v2.1-Beta1-d2vzw.zip file that you copied earlier in Step 2 and select it by pressing Power button (tap on it if using touch version).

Confirm the installation by selecting Yes – Install _____.zip on the next screen. The ROM installation will begin.

Step 8: After the installation process ends, repeat step 7. But choose gapps-jb-20121011-signed.zip instead of ROM zip to install the Google apps package.

Step 9: Once the installation is completed, go back to the main recovery menu and select reboot system now to reboot the smartphone and boot up into customized Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean ROM LiquidSmooth. The first boot will take time.

Step 10: If you want to go back to the previous ROM, boot into recovery, select backup and restore then restore your previous ROM by selecting it from the list.

[Source: Android Jinn]

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