How to install Lineage OS 18.1 on Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A

How to install Lineage OS 18.1 on Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A: The Year 2020 has been a rollercoaster ride for Android fans out there. Because of Android 11, which was supposed to release earlier this year but got delayed till September. But finally, Android 11 is out in its full glory, and many users are still waiting for the update to roll out for their device. Manufacturers around the world are trying to roll out this update as fast as they can, but some users can’t wait. The Custom ROM development for Android 11 is booming as well, with developers like LineageOS, AOSP, ArrowOS, and others already putting out Android 11 based ROMs. Like the very first Android 11 custom ROM based on AOSP (Android Open Source Project) came out just a few days after the stable release of Android 11.

Android 11 brings some new features to the table like Chat bubbles, Notification history, Conversation notifications, Built-in Screen Recorder, Smart device controls, and many others. Android 11. But you can root your Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A to flash Android 10 ROM. Flashing a custom ROM gives a new life to your old device and makes your experience better.

About Lineage OS 18

One of the most well known custom ROM developers is LineageOS. Recently, LineageOS came out with LineageOS 18 based on Android 11 with features like Improved dark theme, Improved Animation Transitions, Share to Print, 4GB video recording limit removed, Better App Permissions and Privacy Control, and New Media Controls. In this guide, we will show you how you can install Lineage OS 18.1 on Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A, but before that, here are some issues that you will face with Lineage OS 18.1:

• Do not encrypt your data partition as encryption has not been tested.
• SELinux – still permissive
• Nivida codecs have problems playing videos in the Chrome browser.
• MAC address is fixed, but device-specific MAC will be ignored.

Pre-Requisite

So these are the issues you can face with Lineage OS 18.1. Now we can keep that aside, and it’s time to start with the process. But before that, here are some prerequisites:

• Make sure your device has at least an 80% charge.
• Create a complete backup of your device before starting the process.
• Make sure your device has an unlocked bootloader mode and a Custom Recovery, Preferably TWRP, installed on your device.
• Download GApps and Magisk for your device and keep them in the internal storage of your device.
• Download the Lineage OS 18.1 for Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A.
• All Files Download 

How to install Lineage OS 18.1 on Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A

Unlock the bootloader

A bootloader is a piece of software that ensures that you are running the stock OS on your device. Unlocking the bootloader is the key to flashing custom ROMs on your device. And after unlocking the bootloader, make sure to install a Custom Recovery (Preferably TWRP) to flash custom ROMs on your device. You also need to Download GApps of your choice as LineageOS 18.1 does not come with Samsung Apps preinstalled. If you want to have root access on your Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A running LineageOS 18.1, you will also have to flash Magisk. Magisk is known as a systemless root method. In other words, it is a way to modify the system without actually modifying it.

In case you don’t know a thing about how to do it just follow this guide on how to unlock the bootloader of your Samsung.

Install TWRP On Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A

This section will tell you how to install the TWRP on Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A.

• First of all, download the TWRP recovery image for your device and rename it to TWRP and save it in the ADB folder. To download the TWRP for your device, follow the link above and select your device and download the TWRP recovery image from there.
• Now go to the ADB folder and hold shift and right-click inside the folder then select open command window here.
•  Connect your device with the PC and type:

•  ADB reboot bootloader

•  Once you’re into bootloader mode, type the following command

• fastboot flash recovery twrp.img

•  Once TWRP is successfully flashed on your device, type this final command to reboot your device.
• fastboot reboot
•  Done!! This will install TWRP on your device

Guide on How to install Lineage OS 18.1 on Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A

Now follow the steps below to flash LineageOS 18.1 on your Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A if you are not using a previous LineageOS 18.x Build:

1. Hold the power button and select Power Off from the power menu.
2. Once your device is completely turn off, hold down the Volume Down + Power button for a few seconds.
3. Release the button once you are in TWRP recovery mode.
4. Go to Wipe and Select System and Data (If encrypted) partitions.
5. Swipe to wipe these partitions.
6. Once you are done, select Install and flash LineageOS 18.1 on your Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A.
7. Now repeat the same process to flash GApps and Magisk.
8. Before Restarting your device, wipe cache and Dalvik.
9. Reboot your device, and Done.

But If you are using a previous LineageOS 18.x build on your Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A, follow these steps:

1. Hold the power button and select Power Off from the power menu.
2. Once your device is completely turn off, hold down the Volume Down + Power button for a few seconds.
3. Release the button once you are in TWRP recovery mode.
4. Select Install and flash LineageOS 18.1 on your Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A.
5. Similarly, flash Magisk on your device.
6. Before Restarting your device, wipe cache and Dalvik.
7. Reboot your device, and Done.

Now you will be able to experience Android 11 on your Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A. Keep in mind that the ROM is not very stable as of now and has some issues mentioned above, but you can still use it as your daily driver.

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