Last Updated on April 9, 2017 by Mathew Diekhake
The Samsung Galaxy S2 is one of the originals to come out of the flagship Sammy name. It makes it a prime candidate for tinkering with the operating system and unlocking the internals. We know the CyanogenMod name for producing a stable ROM experience. Nevertheless, we know M12 isn’t a final product since it’s still under the “nightly’ name. That means if you are thinking about installing this ROM on your work phone, think again. Hopefully, the S2 is your secondary handset at this stage of your career and you can afford to knock it around and have some fun.
You can’t install the CM 11 M12 custom ROM unless you have root access. You can search Google or use the search bar associated with this website for looking up the steps on how to get that done if you don’t have the OS unlocked already. Since you already have the internal hardware unchained you can use different apps for backing up. Try using Titanium backup from the Google Play Store. Alternatively, take a Nandroid backup if you prefer that method.
The CM team are working hard on updating their builds with the Lollipop version. However, they are not ready yet. That’s where M12 steps in to play. Not all devices get the pleasure of experiencing the build we have here. Additionally, meany users are complaining about the older version of the ROM having bugs and lag issues. If you are using the S2, this could be one of the last releases you see since the Paranoid Android team decided to drop it from the Lollipop list. We don’t know if this team will do the same. For now it makes the perfect secondary phone that you can play with.
Installers want to make copies of the call logs, SMS texts, MMS messages, videos, music files, pictures from the galleries and any other data they don’t want to lose. As I previously mentioned, there are two great ways to back up the data. However, if you are still rolling with a locked bootloader, try out the Helium for Android application, G Cloud backup, Holo and Google Drive. Google offer a free Drive service up to a certain amount of GB’s before it turns into a paid service. Many people love using Google’s own native service since they trust the Mountain View company. Rightfully so considering they are also the same guys who own Android.
Do not attempt any kind of customization techniques unless you are an experienced Android user. If you are a rookie it’s best to sought after a friend or family member with more experience than you. If you decide there’s always a first time for everything, don’t blame us when something goes wrong. We are not liable for any data loss from your device. We are not liable for you soft or hard bricking your device. If the worst case scenario of bricking does occur, we point you in the direction of the XDA Developers forum since that’s where the experienced developers love to hang out. Moreover, many of them create tools to fix bricks. Since this is the ex Sammy flagship we are talking about. we know that tool likely exists.
The S2 comes with USB charging as s stock standard feature. That means after we connect to the computer the battery will automatically begin charging. However, since the device is aging rapidly, sometimes features don’t work. If you know the USB charging feature isn’t working for you, make sure there’s at least 50% battery power remaining. You can check the battery levels by turning the device on and taking a gander at the battery icon from the status bar.
You must have a Windows computer to use the guide. Connecting to a computer and transferring the files is the safest way to run. That’s why we don’t directly use the phones SD card or internal storage.
You ought to enable USB Debugging Mode from the Developer options menu. Those running Android 4.2 won’t see this menu as it is hidden away. You must tap on the build number from the “About Device” menu to unlock the Developer Options. For most of you none of that is an issue since it’s not locked. The folks out of the Googleplex decided against hiding it as it was a nuisance.
Lastly, you want the latest up-to-date USB drivers if you haven’t connected the phone to the computer in a while. You can save yourself the time by connecting to the computer and seeing if you can get access to the device data. If so, there’s no need to sought after the drivers as they are already working perfectly.
The CM 11 M12 Snapshot Custom ROM on Android 4.4.4 KitKat Installation Guide
- Turn the computer on and log in to your user account.
- Use the desktop and download the following files:
- Download the I9100G M12 ROM here.
- Down load the right Google Gapps pack for KitKat here.
- Find the USB cable.
- Connect the S2 to the computer with the USB cable.
- Transfer both packs to the internal storage of the S2.
- Turn the smartphone off completely.
- Boot it back up into the custom recovery of your choice.
- Use ClockworkMod or TWRP.
- Press home + Power + Volume Up buttons to enter the recovery mode.
- CWM users want to:
– ‘wipe data/ factory reset’
– ‘install zip from sdcard’
– ‘choose zip from sdcard’ - TWRP users want to;
– choose Wipe.
– select ‘Install’ - Now pluck out the M12 Snapshot zip file.
- Confirm the installation.
- Repeat the process using the Gapps pack.
- Go back to the main recovery screen and select “reboot system now”.