Upgrade Samsung Galaxy Gio to CyanogenMod 10.1
After about a year of Gingerbread (2.2.3) and CyanogenMod (7.2), I thought it was time again to look at further upgrades to my Galaxy Gio. This was apparently enough time for developers to work out problems involved in dealing with Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.x) and Jelly Bean (4.[1-2].x) such as no ICS (or greater) libs and codecs from Qualcomm for the MSM7x27 family of chips for hardware acceleration.
Thanks to the Samsung Galaxy Gio community at xda-developers, we now have CyanogenMod (10.1) which is based on Jelly Bean (4.2.2) that is usable for every day use. There are a few things that I’ve noticed that are not perfect, but it is a fully usable ROM. Before you do anything suggested below, it is wise to first backup anything you think important and not just to your SD as it will be overwritten to support an extra ext4 partition that can be used to store your applications and save valuable space. Make sure your SD is rated 6 or better.
You will need a new version of the Clockworkmod recovery rom for your Gio that specifically supports Jelly Bean. You should read more about the clockworkmod recovery image. Here is a wiki to answer some of your questions about it.
ClockworkMod installation procedure:
- Download to your sd-card the cwm-6.0.2.7-itachiSan-ext4only.zip (clockworkmod 6.0.2.7) as your recovery rom image.
- Reboot into recovery mode, hold down the Home/OK (middle) button and press the Power button.
- In recovery mode, use the Volume buttons for navigation and the Home/OK button for selecting.
- Select “Update from SD card” from the recovery menu and drill down to cwm-6.0.2.7-itachiSan-ext4only.zip and press OK
- Reboot again into recovery mode and you should now have the new CWM recovery screen.
- Please wipe date/factory reset.
- Once finished head down to advanced and then to partition sdcard. Select 4096M (or smaller if your SD card is not big enough) for your new ext4 partition and hit OK, then select your swap partition size of 256M (or 0 if you do not wish to use swap on SD card) and press OK to create your new partitions.
- You are now ready to install CyanogenMod 10.1!
Once CWM is installed and you’ve created your new partitions, we should be ready to install CyanogenMod. The new partitions are purely optional, but I use them to help offset the Gio’s memory is really small. You should have 3 partitions on your SD card, 1 that you can use to store applications on in ext4, 1 for swap and the last one is your normal fat32 partition. CM10.1 doesn’t automatically make use of this, but I installed a separate application that makes the proper symlinks. It is advisable to install this application right after CM10.1 is installed. If you wish to read more about this particular blend of CynanogenMod, please follow the forums here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1804646
Installation of CyanogenMod 10.1 for Samsung Gio
- Download last known good build:cm-10.1.0-RC6-GT-S5660-gio.zip which has been thoroughly tested and widely installed.
or
Download last known stable build:cm-10.1.6-GT-S5660-gio.zip is the latest build in the stable series. It is also reliable. - Copy the file to your SD card
- Reboot into Recovery Mode (CWM)
- Select install zip from sd card
- Select “cm-10.1.*-GT-S5660-gio.zip” ROM
- Select Yes – Install update
- Wait till the Installation is finish
- Select ‘wipe data/factory reset’
- Select ‘reboot mobile’ and enjoy
After you have settled into your new Android version, head over to XDA and download a modified version of S2E. Install S2E from clockworkmod, reboot and configure it to your liking. I check everything but Application data for performance reasons. Once you have it configured how you like it, make sure that the status is enabled and you need to restart your mobile for settings to take effect.
The next thing you should look into is getting the “Developers Options” screen to appear in settings. By pressing the “Build number” in the about section 7 times, you’ll get access to an important part of the phone. I go to the CPU functions and set the min to the lowest the CPU will go and highest to a 825Mhz with the Smartassh3 governor. This creates a very smooth experience and an extra bit of raw power on top when necessary.
Some addition tips to help manage your battery: turn off any services you don’t need, don’t use too many widgets, the widgets you do use should not interrupt deep sleep, keep brightness to medium.
Enjoy your “new” mobile! 🙂
Update (20130625): Since Olddroid’s project is abandoned, I’ve switched to using Erika’s build he is a member of the androidarmv6 team.
Update (20131104): I’ve been running latest release from androidarm6 team for about a month now, and it has been very stable. I’ve not had one single unexpected restart. Cheers! cm-10.1.6-GT-S5660-gio.zip
Note:
Should you ever run into a situation where your mobile is unresponsive and possibly ‘bricked’, then you should have a look at this thread about “one click unbricking” to try to get your mobile back in working order.
This is part 3 of a 3 part series about the Galaxy Gio.
Part1: Upgrade Samsung Galaxy Gio from 2.2.x Froyo to 2.3.x Gingerbread
Part2: Upgrade Samsung Galaxy Gio to CyanogenMod 7.2
Part3: Upgrade Samsung Galaxy Gio to CyanogenMod 10.1
Here are screenshots of what to expect:
Hi,
I’ve downloaded this rom on my Gio, but my battery life isn’t long. (6 hours without going on the internet) =s I’ve also had a few crashes… (camera doesn’t want to exit and the animated wallpapers don’t work too) :s Will this Rom update soon? =)
My battery life is about a weekend, but I only use half brightness and no internet. There are crashes. This development branch is dead at the moment, Olddroid isn’t working on it any more. I’ve since migrated over to CM10.1 provided by Erikas which you can find at the XDA forums.
They are currently at RC5 (very close to being final) and so far the experience has been positive. I’ve also ditched the mounts2SD application and now use a modified (for CM10.1/jellybean) S2E which also ‘just works’. You can find S2E also on the XDA Forum.
Success with your mobile!
Does the S5660 camera work under this mod?
Yes it does, but the zoom function while making films leaves vertical stripes.
One other question – as the gio is memory starved, how much space is left after this ROM is installed?
Thanks for quick reply.
Actually… with the RC5 from Erikas with S2E it is nearly perfect. When looking at my apps that are installed/downloaded it uses something like 11~32MB so there is room enough for other apps. As a result, the responsiveness of the Gio with Jelly Bean is pretty good. I highly recommend it.
Screenshots
Thanks for the encouraging reply, Brett!
Which nightly version of erikcas are you using?
The vertical streaks problems are from the current rom or in the prev rom that you were using?
I’m not using a nightly, I’m using his RC5 like I mentioned in my previous comment. The vertical streaks was from OldDroid, I’ve not seen it in Erikas build.
I must have overlooked – but the link you had posted seems to take me to the nightlies. That’s why I got confused.
Can you please give the link to RC5?
Thanks again.
http://jenkins.androidarmv6.org/view/All/job/android/
It is there, the nightly on jenkins are on top and marked with a yellow triangle (warning) that says Nightly. Below those are the ‘green’ balls which are the Stable releases with a lock on the right that means forever. You will want the latest Stable build for the gio, click that and you will see in the Build Artifacts the RC5 zip.
All new releases you can find here instead of looking at XDA for updates. Cheers!
my gio was upgraded to cynanogenmod10.1, but..why i can not install freespace for the S2E app??
No idea, I can install freespace without a problem. It isn’t necessary in order to use the S2E app.
RC6 released – any experiences anyone. Still using gingerbread 2.3.6
I’ve been using it since yesterday, no complaints thus far.
Hi Bret,
Finally summoned the courage to update the gio to 4.2.2. Completely different experience.
However, after updating – I dont understand how to force the system to use the ext4 as a storage space for installing the apps ( the swap is fine ).
Thanks
was s2e supposed to do that. The file by wah-idone – is it to be installed as an “update.zip” via clockworkmod? Or I have to look for s2e app separately?
s2e is supposed to do that and yes, to be installed via clockworkmod. Once installed, reboot and it will appear as an app. There is an sister app that it asks about, but it is not required.
At the risk of irking you, let me ask another question –
Do you know where I can find the gapps bundle that will work with this
build?
Thanks for your infinite patience, Bret!
Found it!
The s2e app is complaining that it doesnot have access to root.
Never rooted my phone before.
Do I perform that with CWM?
You have to allow it have access to root. It should pop up when you run the application and it asks you have to agree, make it permanent instead of temporary.
Small probem:
When I “wipe date/factory reset.” before transferring the zip file into my sd card; I get stuck. I cannot transfer the zip into my sd card from the cwm recovery mode…
help?
Thanks
Hello!
Thanks for a great tutorial, everything works well but i noticed problem with bluetooth, when i connect bluetooth headset it doesn’t play media, but calls work fine, how do i fix this problem?
There are some known problems that are still being worked on. You can keep up to date with the URL I posted in the tutorial.
Known issues:
I upgraded using this fine tutorial, but now the phone only works as a tablet since I get the “SIM network unlock PIN” screen and neither the IMEI or IMSI are taken as valid.
Any ideas?
Your IMEI and IMSI are not your PIN, it is requesting this to unlock your SIM card. If you have a SIM without a PIN, you can try 0000 (default) or try with another phone to set a PIN code on the SIM. Maybe Google has more answers. It is usually “best practice” to put a PIN on your SIM to prevent others from using your mobile/device. Good luck!
Turns out it wasn’t the PIN either (that bit worked as expected) but a 00000000 default network unlock. 8 zeros.
All working fine, thanks for this guide!
Help me please!…after I completed the 7th step I tried to turn on the phone butit just doesn’t work! It ust keeps turning on over and over again! Something might have happened whem I clicked “wipe date/factory reset”? Please help me 🙁
I thought that it might be solved by restoring user data but I can’t beause the SD Card is weird…the phone says it can’t mount it and the computer detects it but when i try to open it the computer says it’s not inserted :\
mobilenetwork can’t work..why?
Guys , it works ? I want to try it , i copy the file now . I hope to don’t regret the decision .. I will back with the consequences .
So after some minutes , i see error in / tmp/sideload/package.zip ( Status 0 ) Instalation aborted . So , what can i do ?
I’ve never seen that but it also doesn’t look like you followed the instructions either.
great tutorial…
is it still safe to use it?
FLOnaldo did you get yours to work? What build did you try to use?
Nothing in life is safe. Use at your own risk.
Hey Bret, I’m quite new to the rom scene. Great tutorial! I’ve got two questions: will the GIO work smoother with an AOSP ROM instead of the cyanogenmod?
2nd, since this is a low-end phone, what is the smoothest and fastest ROM for the GIO? For example, the xda website offers cyanogenmod versions of android 2.3.3 gingerbread, android 4.0.4 ICS or android 4.2.2 JB and AOSP versions of 2.3.3 and 4.0.4.
Wouldn’t 2.3.3 or 4.0.4 logically be smoother and faster or less taxing on the hardware? Same with AOSP vs. cyanogenmod?
It is entirely possible AOSP is lighter on the Gio, but I haven’t bothered with AOSP because I like Cyanogenmod features.
I have no idea what is the smoothest nor fastest. I’ve used Cyanogenmod7 (2.3.3) and it ran quite well. I honestly just want my mobile to work, like a mobile, so I do not use every feature available but what I do use, I use the hell out it. I’ve not had any complaints with this particular version which is why I posted about it. It is entirely possible that later versions will be worse.
What I use is good enough for me. 🙂
Sorry for the double-post. I flashed my gio with the rom that you provided above. It’s working very nicely there’s only one thing that leaves me wondering:
I followed your steps and partitioned my 8gb microSD card into a 4gb ext4 and a 265m swap partition. However, after I flashed and booted into the software, the ext4 partition is not recognized. Right now it shows up as a 3.22GB fat32 drive in my computer and phone. What happened to the ext4? Do I need to try and partition again with clockworkmod or should I try it manually through windows?
By itself, CyanogenMod10.1 will not automatically use your partition. You have to use the specially modified app that I posted about first. What I posted in my thread is what worked for me.
how do i get back to my last gingerbread .?
Seek and ye shall find:
Upgrade Samsung Galaxy Gio from 2.2.x Froyo to 2.3.x Gingerbread
Hi Bret, I have successfully installed cm10.1 on my gio using the steps you have provided. Thanks a lot. But google apps like maps, etc are not there. How can I install theme. Pls help.
My Mobile has maps and gmail with this particular release. Only the nightly builds do not have gapps installed, are you sure you are not using a nightly? No idea about installing a theme, I’ve never bothered. If, for whatever reason, you don’t have gapps, have a look at this: Superslim Gapps for JB 4.2.2
pls hw do i use d extension on my sdcard,
Hello, is audiorouting issue fixed for cyanogenmod? It’s really annoying that i can’t use my bluetooth headset on my gio.. But everything else works fine, excellent tutorial!
Last I checked, it still wasn’t 100% fixed. I’ll post an update when I can validate that some things are fixed.
Hi, I have successfully installed cm 10.1 but I can’t anymore find my sim card ( meaning I can’t phone neither use my 3g). Please if you have any solution I would be thankful.
Normally the SIM left untouched during the upgrade, but to verify that it is the mobile and not the SIM, try putting it in another mobile. Is your SIM locked in to a particular vendor? It is possible that it doesn’t know what network it should bind with, you can try going into settings and selecting a provider (it will scan all available first). Does your SIM use a PIN code or not? I hope you figure it all out, otherwise if all else fails you can downgrade.
Update: I’ve installed the next ‘stable’ release and so far so good.
Release:cm-10.1.4-GT-S5660-gio.zip
Here is the changelog: CHANGES.txt
^– inside it mentions:
For those waiting for this, please test and verify. 🙂
Just tested this new release, audiorouting isn’t fixed yet :/
Also during the day testing this build i noticed more problems and crashes, 10.1.0-RC6 looks more stable 🙂
I’ve noticed that the latest ‘stable’ is smoother, but is more prone to reset which is annoying. Pity that the audio-routing problem isn’t fixed. My recommendation as well is to stay with RC6 for now.
I’m back to rc6 and fixed audio routing issue with free app from google play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bluetooth.audiorouter&hl=en but there’s another problem, sound quality is very poor, any ideas how to fix that? I think this problem is in cyanogenmod, because call quality is also very poor
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.ALL WORKING FINE.AFTER BOUGHT VIA EBAY MY GIO,I HAD BIG PROBLEM.MY CAMERA DON`T WORKING.REINSTALL TO 2.3.3 OR 2.3.6 DON`T REBOOT.I FOUND YOUR SITE AND AFTER STEP TO STEP INSTALLATION ALL WORKING FINE.LOT OF THANKS.
Just a heads up everyone, there has been a new release about a month ago that I’ve been running. It is by far the most stable release I’ve tested. It has been a month since an unexpected restart. Feel free to grab it here:
cm-10.1.6-GT-S5660-gio.zip
проблем нет к просмотру видео высокой четкости?
720P and 1080P will downscaled by the software renderer, 1080P is choppy. Don’t get your hopes up on that. 720P is fluid but CPU intensive. 360P is rendered in hardware.
Excellent guide. Been running cm-10.1.6-GT-S5660-gio for a few days now and so far it’s working perfectly!
One thing though, I noticed in your guide you set governor to Smartassh3, but I seem to be missing it? Is it not included?
You’re right, it isn’t included in the latest (10.1.6) release. In its place, I’ve been using SmartassV2. Glad to know it works for you. 🙂
Newer stable version released: http://jenkins.androidarmv6.org/job/android/673/
Anyone tried it yet? Thoughts?
My Gio is running fine on the 10.1.6!
Except for one thing: I can’t add APN’s for mobile data. It simply won’t save them.
I’ve tried a lot of things, including fixing permissions, but to no avail. There are a lot of bug reports about this on the internet, but I haven’t been able to find an effective solution or workaround. Can you help?
OK, I’ve found a workaround for my APN problem: do *not* change the MNC value. Everything else can be changed, but not the MNC.
By default the MNC value is 07, and according to the instructions of my mobile provider, I had to change this into 04. But then I couldn’t save the APN. When I left the MNC value as is, I could save the APN without a hitch.
In spite of the “incorrect” MNC value, my mobile internet works fine now. Me happy. 🙂
Great! I’m glad you got it figured out. This will help everyone out.
Cheers!
My sd card is about 8 gigabite when i go to pqrtition i just saw 4gig then i chosed my sd card going to half of it how i can fix this partition pls answer me
You can only create a 4GiB or smaller partition on the SD card for use with Android, this is the ‘cache’ used to help speed up the system. This partition is not viewable by you. The other half will be usable by you, it is fat32 and you can load your films/ringtones/whatever you want on there. There are tools out there to help you verify this, like gparted or partition magic.
So what you are seeing is normal: 4GiB for cache and 4GiB for normal usage.
You can always set the cache smaller if you want more usable space.
really happy to know my gio could be back to alive by following your clear steps. It works fine although my sdcard seems a little bit slow so that there is some delay when the apps are started at the first time. BTW, do anyone of you know why the chrome is still not a compatible app for the gio running in JB? is it because of the ARMv6?
Chrome as in the web-browser? I honestly have no idea, sorry.
hi CyanogenMod 7.2 successfully
but when installed CyanogenMod 10.1 aborted help me
You are going to have to be more specific, I can’t read your thoughts. 🙂
What is the error/warning message and when does it happen?
I’ve not ever come across an aborted installation before.
when installing CyanogenMod 10.1 messages ‘instalasi aborted’
That isn’t all that helpful either. What steps did you take? Where did it happen?
My best guess is that your download was corrupted. You can verify by changing the md5sum of the file against this:
http://jenkins.androidarmv6.org/job/android/604/artifact/archive/cm-10.1.6-GT-S5660-gio.zip.md5sum
Good luck!
Have you tried the roms for gio at Maclaw.pl
(now known as http://novafusion.pl/)
seems kitkat still needs a bit of work but the other roms are good.
I’ve used their work in the past but was put off by their non-sharing of information.
I have tried to install ClockworkMod. I have downloaded cwm-6.0.2.7-itachiSan-ext4only.zip as you provided, renamed it as update.zip and then installed it through recovery mode (home+power buttons).
After that I am not able to restart phone in the recovery mode – Was my steps correct and how to recover recovery mode?