The Epic 4G, which stopped getting official updates a long time ago, has been kept updated by the custom development community with new versions of Android. And now Android 4.2 Jelly Bean has also made its way to the device in the form of CyanogenMod 10.1 (CM10.1) ROM, thanks to XDA developer team CMTeamEpic.

A not so major upgrade compared to Android 4.1, Android 4.2 still brings a few noticeable new features – keyboard with gesture-based typing, lockscreen widgets, multitasking speed improvements and new animations, camera with 360 degrees panorama pictures-taking ability, a screensaver mode with Daydreams, and generally improved performance and smoothness – and Epic 4G owners will no doubt love to try it all out to check out what the latest Android version has to offer.

However, there are a couple of issues present in the ROM for now, and the list of known issues is given below (quoted from the source page, where the most up to date list of issues can be found):

Known Issues (As of 14 December 2012): – Bluetooth still needs some work. Things work (audio, tethering, file transfers) although they might not work every time. Also, there is a chance that it will get stuck “Turning Bluetooth off…” when you attempt to, well, turn Bluetooth off. If this happens, your best bet is to reboot your phone before the system bogs down due to logcat spam. – Wired headset mic & buttons.

There’s nothing majorly wrong in the ROM, but since this is a custom ROM in its early stages of development, some undocumented issues may be present as well and things might not be too stable.

To try the ROM out on your Epic 4G, continue reading for the download links and also the step-by-step instructions to install the ROM.

Compatibility

The procedure described below is only for the Samsung Epic 4G. Do not try it on any other device.

Warning!

The methods and procedures discussed here are considered risky, so try them out at your own risk, and make sure to read each step carefully before attempting anything. We will not be held responsible if anything goes wrong.

How to Install CM10.1 on Samsung Epic 4G

[Important] The procedure to install the ROM includes wiping the data on the phone, so make sure you backup important apps and data such as SMS, contacts, bookmarks, etc. See our Android Backup Guide for help. The personal files on your SD card, however, will not be wiped, so there is no need to back them up. You just need to take a backup of the installed apps and data such as messages if you want. Make sure you have ClockworkMod (CWM) recovery installed on your phone. Download the latest build of the ROM from the source page. Also download the Google apps package for CyanogenMod 10.1 using the link below. AOSP ROMs like CyanogenMod do not contain Google apps like Gmail, Talk, YouTube, Search, etc by default, so you will need to install the Google apps package as well.

Download Google Apps Copy both the ROM and Google apps files (copy the files, don’t extract them) to the internal storage on the phone. Turn off your phone and wait for it to shutdown completely. Then, boot into CWM recovery. To do so, press and hold the Volume Down, Camera and Power buttons together. When the screen turns on, let go of all three buttons. The phone will boot up into ClockworkMod recovery in a few seconds.

In recovery, use Volume keys to scroll up and down and power key to select an option. Select wipe data/factory reset, then select Yes on next screen to confirm. Wait a while till the data wipe is complete (this will only wipe installed apps and settings, but will not wipe files on the SD card). Select install zip from sdcard, then select choose zip from sdcard. Scroll to the ROM file and select it. Confirm installation on the next screen. The phone may reboot once during installation, then continue installing the ROM automatically. If it doesn’t resume and just boots into ClockworkMod recovery, repeat step 9 to install the ROM again. After ROM installation completes, select choose zip from sdcard again, then select the Gapps file to install the Google apps package. Once the installation of the Google apps package is complete, go back to the main recovery menu and select reboot system now to reboot the phone and boot up into Android 4.2. The first boot can take a few minutes, so don’t panic if it takes 5-7 minutes to do so. Updating to newer versions of the ROM: The ROM will get regular updates as development goes on, so to update to newer versions, download the latest version of the ROM, copy it to the device, reboot to recovery, repeat step 9 to install the update, then reboot again. You do not need to install the Google apps package or wipe data when updating to a newer version. Those steps are only required when installing the ROM for the first time.

CM10.1 is now up and running on your Epic 4G. Put it through its paces, and see how it works, and do let us know if you run into any problems while installing it. Enjoy!