Update AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577 To Android 4.4.4 KitKat via CM11 Nightly–How To

AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577 can now be updated to Android 4.4.4 KitKat using CM11 ROM custom firmware. ROM released by CyanogenMod Team recognized as one of the most featured rich and customized ROM and this nightly release isn't a different. Android 4.4.4 KitKat do comes with many big features over previous version, hence it's always a good idea to update your device to latest Android build when available. Apart from Android 4.4.4 KitKat features, CM11 ROM comes with various own features including Theme Engine, Phone Dialer, Customized Power option, Easy screenshot taker and many more useful features. You can read through this article to learn how to update AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577 To Android 4.4.4 KitKat using CM11 Nightly.

Please note, this nightly build is still under development and hence, you should expect some minor bugs in it. All bugs and issues expected to be fixed as development progress towards a stable build.

Warning!
This tutorial is only for AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577. Don’t try this guide on any other Android device. Also, we (Android Pulp Team) are not responsible for any damage caused due to the instruction given in this page. Try this at your own risk. However, it is very unlikely that your device will be damaged if you follow all the instructions as it is which are mentioned in procedure.  

Pre Requisites:

1. ROM flashing require you to wipe your internal memory data, hence you required to backup your device data. You can follow our ultimate backup guide.

2.  Make sure your device have at least 60% battery power. If your phone shut down during installation then there is good chance to brick your device.You can install an app like Battery Notifier BT Free on your Android device to check it easily.

3. You must have USB Driver Installed for AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577 in your PC. [Download USB Drivers]

4. Make sure USB Debugging is enabled otherwise it's won't be possible to transfer file between PC and AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577. [Guide].

5. Your device must have latest available custom recovery installed. [General Guide]

If you done everything that we mentioned above then you are ready to follow step-by-step guide on how to install Android 4.4.4 KitKat based CM11 ROM (Nightly) on AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577.

File Required(Download by clicking on it)

1. CM11 Nightly For AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577 [Filename: cm-11-20140917-NIGHTLY-exhilarate.zip]
2. Google Apps [Filename: gapps-kk-20140606-signed.zip] or any other 4.4 KitKat GApps

How to Install Android 4.4.4 KitKat based CM11 (Nightly) ROM on AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577

1. Connect your device to PC using USB cable and then copy downloaded files to the SD card of your device. Important: Don’t extract any files.
2. Disconnect USB and then turn off your AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577.
3. Now, Boot into recovery mode. To do so, press and hold Volume Up, Volume Down and Power button together until Samsung logo flash twice and then leave the buttons. You should see recovery menu soon. In recovery use Volume Keys to navigate between option and Power or Home Key to select an option. Alternatively try this: Recovery Mode without Key Combination.
4. Perform a Nandroid backup of your existing ROM that you can restore later if this new ROM not work or you want to go back into your previous ROM. To perform a backup, select Backup and Restore, then on the next screen, select Backup again. Go back to main recovery menu after backup is complete.
5. Now, perform data wiping task. To do so, select wipe data/factory reset, then select Yes on next screen to confirm your action. Wait few minutes till the data wipe is complete. Now come back to CWM recovery main menu. Select wipe cache partition and after wiping process done, select Wipe Dalvik Cache under advance option to perform Dalvik cache wiping.
6. Select install zip from sdcard, then select choose zip from sdcard. Now, locate the CM11 Zip file that you copied earlier in Step 1 and select it by pressing Power button. Confirm installation by selecting Yes – Install _____.zip on the next screen. The ROM installation will begin.
7. Once the ROM installation process end, repeat the step 6 but choose the gapps_kitkat-140619.zip file instead of ROM zip to install the Google apps package.
8. When installation is completed, go back to the main recovery menu and select reboot system now to reboot your AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577 and boot up into Android 4.4.4 KitKat ROM CM11. 
9. Returning to Previous ROM: To go back to your previous ROM, boot into recovery, select backup and restore then restore your previous ROM by selecting it from the list.

Tutorial For TWRP Recovery Users:

1. Connect your device to PC using USB cable and then copy downloaded files to the SD card of your device. Important: Don’t extract any files.
2. Disconnect USB and then turn off your AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577.
3. Now, Boot into recovery mode. To do so, press and hold Volume Up, Volume Down and Power button together until Samsung logo flash twice and then leave the buttons. You should see recovery menu soon. Alternatively try this: Recovery Mode without Key Combination.
4. Create a Backup using TWRP Backup Option.
5. Perform a Factory Reset (this will delete all apps and their settings and game progress). To do this, Tap on Wipe, then at the bottom of the screen do a Swipe on the ‘Swipe to factory reset‘ option.
6. Now its time to add zip file for flashing. Tap on Install, then browse to the location where you saved the files and tap on the CM11 Zip file. Then tap on Add More Zips, and add gapps_kitkat-140619.zip. Now at the bottom of the screen, do a swipe on the Swipe to confirm flash option to begin flashing.
7. When installation is completed, go back to the main recovery menu and tap on Reboot and then, tap on System to reboot your AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577 and boot up into Android 4.4.4 KitKat ROM CM11.
8. Returning to Previous ROM: To go back to your previous ROM, boot into recovery, select Backup then through Restore option, restore your previous ROM by selecting it from the list.

Congrats! Android 4.4.4 KitKat firmware based custom ROM CM11 is now running on your AT&T Samsung Exhilarate SGH-I577. Now explore the latest Android 4.4.4 KitKat. [Note: If you find difficulties to run root only apps then it may be disabled. Do this then, enable developer settings first (tap the build number 8 times under about device), then enable root under Developer Settings].

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