Update Galaxy S5 Mini with CM12 Android 5.0.2 Lollipop Firmware

As I have already told you, CM 12 is available for Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini. An unofficial port of the firmware has been released by those of xda-developers for the Mini variant of the SGS5, which means that you can now enjoy the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop experience, ahead of official OTA roll out. So, what do you say, are you ready to learn how to install CM 12 on your own Galaxy S5 Mini? If you are, then let’s see what you need to know about this CyanogenMod built and then let’s check how to safely and easily flash this Lollipop based software.

Do note that this release of CM12 is not the official Nightlies built offered by those of CyanogenMod. The present software is developed by those of xda-developers so we are facing with an unofficial CM 12 custom ROM. Therefore, the update might be coming with minor bugs, though the devs and other users who have already installed the ROM on their own Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini devices, stated that there aren’t any software related issues spotted. Bottom line, we have a stable and smooth Android 5.0.2 Lollipop OS that can be safely flashed on your S5 Mini.

CyanogenMod like any other custom ROMs (for example AOKP or ParanoidAndroid) represents a free aftermarket distribution of Android OS. Thus, CM12 is based on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop firmware, but shouldn’t be associated with Google and in our case with Samsung. This is an unofficial Android update that can be installed on your Galaxy S5 only manually and only in given conditions (we will talk about this in a minute). Because of that, this tutorial is also unofficial, so you should consider this operation risky and complex – only advanced Android users should complete the steps from below.

First of all, due to same reasons, the warranty of your Galaxy S5 Mini will get void once you begin to apply the guidelines explained in this dedicated step by step guide. Then, CM12 can be updated only if your Samsung branded device is rooted and installed with a custom recovery image, such as CWM or TWRP recovery. The root access will enable the custom ROM to access and modify in built apps, features and programs while the custom recovery image will be used on the flashing operation of Android 5.0.2 Lollipop OS.

As you will notice, you can install CM12 on your Galaxy S5 Mini for enjoying Lollipop OS ahead of official release, only if you make a hard reset and clear cache. Because of that, you should now backup your personal data, info and accounts. This will be a general backup as you will save general files like contacts, texts, images and other similar files – you can use DropBox or other similar tools in order to complete the backup process. In addition to the general backup process you also need to apply a Nandroid backup for saving the current ROM that powers your S5 Mini – you will then be able to use the Nandroid for restoring the ROM, if CM12 will not be on your taste.

You can check the other pre requisites (it is essential to apply all the pre requisites if you want to safely and easily install CM 12 on your Android smartphone) by using our dedicated step by step guide.

Good; now let’s resume the proper update process and let’s see how Android 5.0.2 Lollipop in form of CM12 ROM runs on your Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini.

How To Update Galaxy S5 Mini with CM12 Android 5.0.2 Lollipop Firmware

1. First, download the update package on your computer – go to this page.
2. Save the file on desktop, but don’t unzip the CM12 ROM file.
3. Connect your S5 Mini with your computer – plug in the USB cable.
4. Copy and then paste the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop firmware file on your phone’s SD card and when done unplug the USB cord and turn off your phone.
5. Reboot recovery mode on your Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini.
6. You now need to select “wipe data factory reset” – the hard reset process will now be completed.
7. Also, clear cache by choosing “wipe cache partition” and “wipe dalvik cache”.
8. When done, from main menu of recovery select “install zip from SD card” and “choose zip from SD card”.
9. Select the CM 12 Custom ROM firmware on flash Android 5.0.2 Lollipop on your Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini.
10. Optional: get and install Google Apps package on your smartphone.
11. In the end, select “reboot system now” from main menu of recovery.

That’s all the work you need to make. So, in the end CM 12 will smoothly run on your Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini which means that you can finally test Android 5.0.2 Lollipop firmware on your own Android based smartphone.