As smartphone users, we all love software updates as they bring new features, enhancement and fixes to the bugs found on the older software. Now, there are two types of software updates— the minor ones that are mostly incremental and introduce little changes, and the major ones that bump the OS version to a greater one and bring tons of new goodies. The Android Lollipop is probably the greatest update the OS has received so far.

You must agree that new updates taste best when served fresh and hot but sadly most Android users get updates when they get stale. Android Lollipop was released by Google back in November 2014 but even after 6 months only 3% devices have been able to get it. As for Samsung, the company never had a very good track record in rolling out updates.

Anyway, for the last few weeks, the Korean giant has been constantly sending the Lollipop updates to different variants, especially the AT&T models. After a long wait, the users of the AT&T variant of the Galaxy S4 started reporting the Android 5.0.1 Lollipop update with build number I337UCUGOC3. The size of the update is around 945 MB. Having updates to Lollipop, you’ll experience a complete overhaul in the UI with all new material design and smoother performance.

Screenshots

If you own the AT&T Galaxy S4 (SGH-I337) and have not received the Lollipop OTA yet, you can manually check for the update by going to Settings> System> About device> Software update. If you still don’t get any update notification, we have the Lollipop OTA package that you can flash manually via stock recovery. Thanks to Apoplectic1 for sharing the file. For the users who did not take the Lollipop OTA for the fear of losing root, we have a working method to update the AT&T Galaxy S4 SGH-I337 to Lollipop and keep root.

Warning!

Whatever method you choose to go with, you must backup your phone’s data. Moreover, the procedures given below are considered risky and meant to be followed with utmost care. Follow the tutorial at your own responsibility! Also, having updated to Lollipop, you won’t be able to use Safestrap until an officially supported version is released. Also, you cannot downgrade to KitKat from Lollipop. Read the tutorial twice before you start following it!

Install Lollipop OTA on AT&T Galaxy S4

Make sure your AT&T Galaxy S4 is 100% stock NJ4 (Android 4.4.4 KitKat) firmware. If your phone is running a different firmware, install the NJ4 firmware using this tutorial. Now download the OC3 (Lollipop) OTA package: 5.0update.zip Extract the downloaded Zip file to get the .cfg file. Now rename the file with .cfg extension to as “update.zip” and copy the file to the external SD card of your phone. Enable USB Debugging on your phone as precaution. Now turn off your device and reboot into the stock recovery. To do so, hold the Volume Up+Home+Power keys together while the device is switched off. As soon as you see the Samsung logo, release the Power key and keep the other two keys pressed until you see the recovery menu. Using the volume keys, scroll to apply update from external storage option and select it by pressing the Power key. Navigate to the OTA update Zip package and select it. Confirm installation when prompted. When the file is flashed, go back to the main menu and select reboot system now option.

Please note that it might take from 5 to 10 minutes on the first boot and so you need to be patient. When your AT&T Galaxy S4 boots up, it’ll have Android 5.0.1 Lollipop running on it.

Update AT&T Galaxy S4 to Lollipop and Keep Root

If you want to enjoy Android while retaining root privilege on your AT&T Galaxy S4, you can do so by following the instructions provided below. The method is based on muniz_ri’s tutorial.

Note: You can use this method regardless of what firmware build version your phone has. However, you must be rooted to be able to use the FireFlash app! Flashing the pre-rooted firmware provided below will not trip the KNOX Warranty Void flag.

Preparations

Proceed with this method but make sure you got root. You can try Towelroot app to gain root access on your phone.

to gain root access on your phone. Install Chainfire’s FireFlash app on your AT&T Galaxy S4. Since this new app is only available for beta-testers currently, go to the Google+ page and join the Android-FlashFire community. You must be signed into Google+ using the same Gmail ID that you use on the Google Play Store. Having joined the community, click the Play Store link to download FireFlash. If you have TWRP/CWM recovery installed on your phone, you can flash the provided ROM zip using custom recovery too.

community. You must be signed into Google+ using the same Gmail ID that you use on the Google Play Store. Having joined the community, click the to download FireFlash. If you have TWRP/CWM recovery installed on your phone, you can flash the provided ROM zip using custom recovery too. Download the stock rooted Lollipop ROM for the AT&T S4: I337_OC3_Stock_Rooted_ROM.zip

To enable WiFi tethering on your AT&T S4 running Lollipop, download the following add-on: I337_OC3_TetherAddOn.zip

Instructions

Set the screen timeout of your phone to 10 minutes. Before you do any thing, open SuperSU app on your phone, tap the Settings tab, scroll to Enable su during boot option and enable it. Copy the I337_OC3_Stock_Rooted_ROM.zip and I337_OC3_TetherAddOn.zip file to your device. Open the FlashFire app and “Agree” to the Terms and Conditions prompted by the app. Press the rounded “+” button twice to bring up the Actions menu. Tap Flash Zip or OTA and select the I337_OC3_Stock_Rooted_ROM.zip. If you also want to enjoy free WiFi hotspot on rooted Lollipop, tap the “+” icon once again. Press Flash Zip or OTA option and select I337_OC3_TetherAddOn.zip. Make sure that Auto-mount is unchecked under the Options menu and press the check-mark to continue. From the main menu uncheck all options under EverRoot and use default Reboot settings. When all’s done, tap the Lightning bolt followed by OK to begin the installation.

All you have left now to do is to keep you finger crossed and wait patiently for some time. Don’t panic if the screen is blacked out for a while. When the installation finishes, your Galaxy S4 will reboot automatically. You’ll have to wait again for 5 minutes before your phone boots up.

Installing WiFi Tethering Add-on

If you want to enjoy free mobile hotspot on your AT&T Galaxy S4 on Android Lollipop, follow the instruction provided below.

Install FireFlash app by Chainfire (see Method 1 for how to). Download the Mobile Hotspot mod file and copy the zip to your phone: I337_OC3_TetherAddOn.zip Now launch FireFlash and tap the “+” icon twice to bring up the menu and then select Flash Zip or OTA option. Navigate to I337_OC3_TetherAddOn.zip file and select it. Make sure that the Auto-mount option is not selected under Options. Leave the default settings under EverRoot and Reboot options untouched. Finally, tap the Lightning bolt icon and then tap OK.

FireFlash will start flashing the tether add-on file. When your device reboots and becomes usable you’ll be able to enjoy WiFi tethering on your AT&T Galaxy S4 running Lollipop firmware.