Both Samsung and AT&T are known for being slower than others when it comes to customizing new Android releases and rolling out updates OTA for devices. So it may come as a surprise that AT&T's Samsung Galaxy S4 -- a device that's now almost two years old -- got the Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade beginning early in April.

For those unusually lucky AT&T Galaxy S4 owners with unrooted stock Android 4.4.4 KitKat (NJ4), all you need to do is go to Settings > About Phone > Software Updates, and check for your Lollipop (OC3) update.

The rollout began a few weeks ago, so even with AT&T's typical OTA availability hitting various markets in stages, chances are that your official Lollipop firmware is ready for installation.

If an update is available, make sure you have more than 50 percent battery and are connected to (preferably fast) WiFi -- not to mention double-checking that you have enough storage room on your device -- because this update is a nearly 1GB whopper.

While the OTA rollout is great for AT&T customers, it still leaves Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile customers with GS4 devices up the creek without an update -- or even a confirmed OTA release date for non-AT&T carrier variants at all. 

A likely reason for this, as we previously reported, are the bugs, crashes, and other issues that Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4 users in Scandinavia (the update's testing grounds) reported earlier this year. That development likely put a hold on ongoing development until the bugs could be worked out.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is closer to its firmware support sunset than owners would like to think about, so there's another option to get Lollipop immediately for SG4 owners on Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile customers -- if they're willing and able.

This option is a nearly universal custom Android 5.1.1 Lollipop ROM for the Galaxy S4 based on CyanogenMod 12.1.

It purportedly works with any Galaxy S4 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 running inside, which includes Galaxy S4 devices with the following model numbers (check in Settings > About Phone):

  • GT-I9505
  • GT-I9505G
  • GT-I9507
  • GT-I9508
  • Any SCH-I545
  • Any SCH-R970
  • Any SGH-I337
  • Any SGH-M919
  • Any SPH-L720

It emphatically does not include the GT-I9515 or the I9500 (international variant), or variants like the GS4 mini or Active. The Galaxy S4 Active recently got its OTA Lollipop update from AT&T, anyway.

Check out XDA Developers for more information about the CyanogenMod-based Android Lollipop update, if you dare.

But be forewarned: Installing custom ROMs on smartphones always requires a lot of challenging technical work.

For Samsung carrier devices, that's doubly true. Even if you're not a novice, altering your firmware in such a way could render your Galaxy S4 bricked and useless -- and, at the least, will technically void your warranty. Neither LatinPost nor this author endorse this method, and are not responsible if you wreck your phone trying it out.

But the information is worth checking out at least -- if only to temporarily assuage your nagging sense of worry over whether or not you'll ever get Android Lollipop on your Galaxy S4 the easy, official way.