Last Updated on April 12, 2017 by Mathew Diekhake
The Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE i9505 is just like the original S4 only with 4G capabilities and a few other extra bits and pieces such as the Quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor. With the extra features, it was released slightly after the original but still carried the same operating system of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. From here, it was updated to 4.3 Jelly Bean and then Android 4.4.2 Kitkat. What we have here today is a newer version of that same 4.4.2 Kitkat namely XXUGNE5 for you to install.
If you root it will open up tons of extra features and things you can do like installing Custom ROMs and apps. It isn’t just all fun and games either because there are lots of useful ideas that can help with getting rid of Android bloatware and new kernels compared to the stock version. Before we start though it is always a good idea to go through what we need you to be aware of so you don’t end up regretting anything after this tutorial.
Checklist
- Backing up is important. It is the only way to retrieve what was on the smartphone if it gets wiped accidentally during this procedure. Please note that it is not meant to wipe anything at all from start to finish. However, if you are not a risk taker then backup to internal storage. Clear enough memory space to be able to achieve this. If you refuse to get rid of apps, video, photos and music to remove the space then there is always the option of external memory. Let me explain further what that is. The Samsung galaxy S4 comes with microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC storage expansion ideas that can hold as much as 64 GB data. If you don’t know what that is, they come in the form of a little card from the electronic stores and other retail outlets. The smartphone already has a slot made for this when it is manufactured, it just doesn’t come with the card sitting inside. They make you go out and buy this an add on extra if you want to use it. That makes sense because not everybody wants this extra space and if it came pre-installed they would make you pay for it.
- Temporarily disable any security programs. Often people run Antivirus, or at least I hope they do on Windows-based PCs. That is important because we need to be using a Windows OS here today because the Odin tool is only made for Microsoft Windows and no other OS such as OS X from Mac or Linux. Even though the tool is made by Samsung Developers they chose to make it this way.
- You can check what software version you are running now by navigating your way to Settings > general > About Device and reading the baseband version. Sometimes people can get confused with what they have already accepted as an OTA download. Speaking of over the air, many will have seen this come in there. If you don’t mind or would rather update and installing OTA go to General > About Device > Software Update and tap “OK” to start installing if there is anything there. If you have custom ROM, firmware or root then you will not receive OTA updates so you have no choice, but to install the file manually. It will result in the same software being installed on the device.
- Remember that once you use this guide the root that you did have will be taken away. The good news with that is the warranty will be useful again because it was previously void.
- This release was done in Germany, but with the file it can be installed on any device namely I9505 all over the world. That is yet another benefit of handling this yourself instead of the system update. If you want to learn even more about it, it has the PDA of I9505XXUGNE5 and the CSC of I9505OXAGNE5. Sammy did not provide any change list for this file.
- Make sure you have a Samsung Galaxy USB drivers. In past years, Sammy would make different USB drivers for many devices. Of course as you could imagine when it came to doing this thing that inevitably became a nightmare. So, the smart developers decided to make it so that the same USB drivers can because for all of their devices. It goes without saying that knowing what I just told you, there is no reason to search frantically for the particular I9505 drivers or even S4 drivers.
- Make sure you enable USB Debugging. There is chance Android have it hidden for you if you never updated from Android 4.2.2 and are still on that version today. Making matters even worse is that getting there to find the unlock is altered because the menu is changed on the S4. However, I know how to get you there so don’t worry. Go to the Settings menu to unlock this feature. You need to tap the “More” tab followed by Software Information. Search for the listing called “About Device” and tap it again. Scroll down to the build number and tap on it seven times. After tapping size times, it will prompt you and let you know that you are about to unlock the Developer Options. We are not sure why Google decided to do this. It is almost more like an Easter Egg than anything else. if you have any difficulty unlocking then just leave a comment and I will walk you through it.
How To Update The Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE i9505 with XXUGNE5 Android 4.4.2 KitKat
1. Download the Android 4.4.2 I9505XXUGNE5.
2. Download the latest Odin 3.09 here. Link is on the page.
3. Download both zip files to the C: Drive.
4. Extract the contents by navigating to Start > Search box and begin typing on the letters “Od” to bring up Odin.
Note: If you do not want to keep these files long term than just download them to the desktop and delete them after you have finished.
5. Turn the S4 LTE off if it is currently on and operational.
6. Boot into Download Mode.
7. Open the Odin application and then plug the smartphone into the computer system unit with USB.
We want to open Odin first because then it can be picked up properly.
8. Look inside the program for “added” message and the ID: COM port changing color.
Note: If that did not happen then re-download the USB drivers. They might not be up to date. You can also try to download them from another source.
9. Click the AP button in the program.
10. Upload the file that has AP in the file extension.
11. Leave the default setting the way they are existing. It will be the Auto reboot and f reset Time boxes marked as representing the “on” position.
12. Do not have the re-partition box marked as on. There should be no “tick” inside any other box.
13. Click the Start button.
14. It will say “pass” when completed. Do not touch any settings in the mean time.
15. Close the program and disconnect using the “safely remove hardware” icon in the task-bar and stopping the USB mass Storage device properly.