yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S III General] Markaine:
Hello and thanks for your and all the other peoples' answers, I really appreciate it!

I didn't think the phones would be that different or at least that installing another piece of software wouldn't be too hard. I've learned my lesson so to speak. Will never buy electronics in China again, ever.

I'll get CheckFUS and see what I can get and follow the guides that has been posted. I'll check back in the near future, thanks again for all your help!

EDIT/UPDATE:

I installed the Google Play APK but it doesn't start, when I run it the screen just flashes and then it dies. The application that is, not the phone. I also tried to install MoreLocale 2 and it only gave me Korean and US English. So I guess that's a no go. Currently I'm using CheckFUS to download new firmware. But it can't find Swedish nor Nordic firmware (only Norwegian and Danish). So I'm currently downloading the Hong Kong firmware and the UK English one. I don't know whether this will work or not. But I figure that if I brick my phone there's no loss since without Google Play it's just a normal phone with an awesome screen and stuff...

Still have my HTC Desire as back in case I brick it.

I don't know where to find the files for the I9308 modem thing, nor have I have been able to install any of the other firmware from the link in my first post in this thread. I'm sorry to say I'm kind of a noob at this and I've been searching the forums and followed most of the guides that I've found. I think the link in my first post actually links me firmware for the Swedish sold phone but I can't install it. In Odin the process just fails after a while, which is annoying since right now it feels like I can't get around this.
[Galaxy S III General] Jack_Random:
Sorry to hear that! Don't give up, sooner or later u'll fix the phone!
[Galaxy S III General] esist:
That's true, I've seen some Chinese phones (cheap ones) which come preloaded with the framework, but not the apps. Not sure why though.

My guess would be the system requires more substantial modifications to make it work without Google Apps framework, so cheaper brands might take the lazy way and just leave the framework there. That guess is very possibly wrong, its just the only reason I can think of why some that don't include the actual applications include the framework, and others don't.

You'll need to manually enter the language code for Swedish. (I forgot about that until just now) MoreLocale 2 can only go with what languages the phone tells it it has. You can force the code, and in most cases it will work fine.

I've just tested my own phone, which does not list Swedish (and so neither does MoreLocale) but using the "Custom Locale" function (top right in green in MoreLocale) Swedish works just fine. Set Language to "sv" and country to "SE" and push Set. It should work.

As for the bit about flashing a i9308 modem over a i9300, two things I just realised.

The first is that FUS doesn't currently list the i9308. The list of devices doesn't come from Samsung, its added by users and the maintainers. Only the downloads come from Samsung. There is a firmware image here. The three files are already separate (though compressed into another) so after flashing a whole i9300 image, extract the file called "Modem...." and select that file for "Phone" leaving the rest empty. The only checkboxes that should be ticked for the second flash are "Phone", "Auto reboot" and "F. reset time" (I'm not sure what the latter actually does be its on by default and doesn't seem to actually do anything).

I wouldn't be too concerned about bricking the phone though. Samsung phones are notoriously difficult to brick. As long as you do not select "Update Bootloader" the chances of you bricking it are probably 0. Even messed up bootloader updates can usually be fixed (if I'm not mistaken), but not by the usual means.

Of course this is all assuming you can get ODIN to work. It can be very cryptic when it fails, with pretty much no explanation as to what caused it. You'll have to ask someone who knows more about it how to troubleshoot it.

PS Regarding Google Play not working, I'm guessing its to do with what I said about phones needing the framework (which is several separate apks). If you can manage to flash one of the GApps zips they have for CyanogenMod etc., they should work (you'll need to root and install CWM to do this, but there's a guide for that on i9308 somewhere)
[Galaxy S III General] XIAOSpider:
should i wait for a lower prize to siii（international）or just buy a htc one x(international)？i tried both of them in zhong guan cun, though the s voice does not support Chinese yet, it is fantastic. htc sense 4.0 is ugly. (ps: miuiv4 is uglier)

what shall i choose？

a cheaper s3 in august or a one x in this week？

meizu mx quad is a choose to, but i do not like the 960.640 screen.

huawei ascend d quad(xl) and lg optimus 4x hd have not on sale yet.
[Galaxy S III General] avataranjie:
Gs3
[Galaxy S III General] XIAOSpider:
can you give me some reason to wait 2 months for a lower prize s3？why should i choose s3？(PS: my signature shows im 15 , i use mobile for 4 years and used 10 phones, i really want i9300 to be the 11th:D
[Galaxy S III General] esist:
GS3 has a removable battery and MicroSD slot. You never know if you'll need/want to change it (or be able to buy a spare). Also all benchmarks that I've seen also show S3 beating HOX. The features added by TouchWiz (Smart stay, plus face recognition in the gallery, in particular) are very cool.

Also I wouldn't buy from ZGC (maybe you weren't planning to but I'll just point it out anyway). A guy (Chinese, not even foreign) I know wanted to buy a Galaxy Nexus there. After they showed it to him and he agreed it was fine they said to make it work in China they'd have to flash something on it.

So he paid and said he'd come back in an hour. When they couldn't get it whatever patch it was to work (the phone actually wasn't working, to my surprise. My own Unicom SIM showed no signal when we tried it, and couldn't make or receive calls but would receive texts intermittently), they insisted that they were doing him a favour by even letting him change for an SII.

Also, I've never seen them bring out a phone in ZGC that was actually brand new. They always have been at least "tested", even when they bring them out in "sealed" boxes. There might be pictures of their stock room in Gallery, the Android setup screen doesn't show because they're too lazy/stupid to even bother to do a wipe. But that's assuming its as benign as that: it could just as easily be a refurbished unit. If it was used before, you can't be sure how much it was used.

Just keep it in mind. There is a very good reason why ZGC is cheaper than 360buy or amazon.cn.
[Galaxy S III General] XIAOSpider:
i know that, but on 360buy is mainland offcial version, it's out of Google Apps. android needs them. if you flash gapps pack, there will be FCs.
[Galaxy S III General] esist:
If you buy the CU version though, you can just flash an official HK firmware. HK firmware will be signed by Samsung so won't add to flashcount (unless I'm mistaken).
[Galaxy S III General] NickDunn:
xiongdi, zhongkao cheng ji ru he?? ;)
[Galaxy S III General] esist:
请只用英语，拼音不算。还是用私人讯息谈中考吧。不是我规定的，但还是这儿的规则 :o

English only please, pinyin doesn't count. Use private message to talk about Zhongkao if you want. These aren't my rules, but they're still the rules. :o
[Galaxy S III General] tian105:
being a Chinese yourself, why support rules which forbids you to speak your native language..

or even try to enforce it?

if a moderater hasnt said a word about it, why should you be telling others what to follow?
[Galaxy S III General] XIAOSpider:
other people from non-English countries should use ONLY English here, not ONLY Chinese.
[Galaxy S III General] XIAOSpider:
the results are unknown yet.

don't break the rules, there are many people from non-English countries have to obey it, not only Chinese.

you can send me PMs in Chinese.
[Galaxy S III General] Jack_Random:
Hi guys!

Now i am having a problem...

A friend of mine bought a s3 in a samsung store in china, however it has a bootscreen from china unicom, of course no google apps installed etc

Tried to flash another ROM (from hong kong) and it keeps failing to flash using odin. All works fine until it gets to modem section of flash, and keeps telling me fail, tried idk how many times, the unicom bootscreen is still there...

Didnt boot up at first, tried applying CF root, got it to boot up, works basically but the messasging app does not work at all, keeps force closing when booting up the phone as well when i open the app

So i tried flashing a modem file for china, which worked, but now i got an unknown csc.

Downloading a separate csc package now and will try to flash that one in the hopes i get this damn phone to work properly!

Anyone any ideas what causes this issues? And more important, how to fix them?

Feeling responsible cause friend bought it upon my recommendation...

Might it work if i go and creeate a cwm backup of my phone, restore it on his and factory reset it?

Update: phone works, except stock message app, 3rd party message app works, CSC still unknown

So please if anyone got an idea... Please, shoot
[Galaxy S III General] innahouse:
hi, I also bought chinese S3 GT 9308 from China Mobile, 6000RMB in Beijing... I flashed Slim ICS and all works fine except the phone won't recognize my sim card. As I read it here many times I guess something with the modem is wrong.

I'll go back to germany in about 6 weeks and it would be a pitty if I couldn't use that nice phone in my country..Where can I find a chinese modem file for china mobile S3?

Thank you, xie xie nimen :D
[Galaxy S III General] Markaine:
We're you able to solve the problem? I was stupid enough to buy a China Mobile phone and I'm stuck. Can't resolve my problems. But people in the thread say they managed to fix their Unicom phones.

---------- Post added at 11:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:36 AM ----------

Hello

Can you please tell me everything you did, step by step? And also link me the ROM's or flash files you used? A helpful soul earlier in this thread link me a modem file for I9308 or whatever it was that's supposed to work with China Mobile phones but I couldn't download it, read back a bit and you'll find it, I think it's on page 7.

If you could describe how you went about to fix your phone (except the modem part) I'd be very grateful!
[Galaxy S III General] Jack_Random:
As I said... yes and no... yes in terms of the phone running and working and no in terms of having an unknown CSC as well as stock message apk not working (will try to copy/ paste my stock message apk and odex onto his phone and see if that helps)

As for the CSC: I guess ima try download a fitting CSC package for original stock ROM and flash that...

Biggest issue I have right now is I want to know what the heck unicom did to the phone in the first place that I can't successfully flash a different ROM. Ideas anyone? Might help me figure out how to fix it!
[Galaxy S III General] innahouse:
@markain

first, u have to root, i think u know how to do it...

then goto

w w w dot slimroms dot com

take 4.2. there u also will find instructions how to do it

still I could not find 9308 modem file

any chinese in here maybe any idea where to find modem file for china mobile s3 ????
[Galaxy S III General] innahouse:
Or maybe does somebody know where I could download stock 9308 Samsung firmware so that I can reflash it to original?

I was stupid enough not to do a backup before flash custom rom.

I checked the internet, samfirmware etc etc..nowhere you can get any files for 9308.......damn....

EDiT :

One nice Australian guy from Bangkok ( XDA User UpInTheAir ) helped me on that one.. there you guys can get completely Chinese firmware ( all is for 9308 ), also modem file is included...hopefully it works for china mobile devices...I could not try, the download from hotfile is slow for me, I will post result later, tomorrow ..... cross fingers :D :D :D

I9308ZMALEA_I9308CHMALEA_I9308ZMALEA

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1722247
[Galaxy S III General] Markaine:
That's the file I can never download. Let me know how it goes for you cause I'm about to give up myself. Best of luck to you.
[Galaxy S III General] stan7849:
stan7849

I'm having the same issuses how did you do. Everybody is saying use odin but the my chinese i9300 doesn't seem to have a download option only install from sdcard any help would be great
[Galaxy S III General] GaryLiao:
Changing bootlogos (param.bin & sbl.bin)

Hey guys,

Like many of you, I currently have my hands on a China Unicom version of the I9300. The device was a pain to get up and running with a European ROM, but with a little fumbling around, Mobile Odin was able to do the trick. I have a hunch that the reason behind our flashes failing lies in the fact that China Unicom is using a different bootloader (albeit unlocked, adb says [ro.bootloader]: [I9300ZNALE9]), and since mobile odin doesn't flash that partition, the phone works when flashed from the device itself. Now once you successfully flash any stock European ROM, you'll notice that the logo that appears before the boot animation is still the one from China Unicom (WO 3G). Furthermore, if you go into download mode, the initial warning is also completely in Chinese.

Now, I've extracted the boot.img, there are no .rle files in there, indicating that the bootlogo for China Unicom is definitely in param.bin. The funny thing is, when I checked those images in the param.bin CURRENTLY on my device, they were the ones that we find on Generic I9300 devices, not the Chinese ones; that means that something is definitely overriding the param.bin file at boot.

According to the thread "[REF] GT-I9300 PIT and Flash Analysis [WIP]" in the Original Android development section. The only other file that contains any images is the sbl.bin, which is as far as I know, is the secondary bootloader. So my question is here is, how can I extract and modify the sbl.bin file without risking a soft brick (flashable zip)? And as much as I have searched, I've not been able to actually extract the sbl.bin file from the phone itself. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated!
[Galaxy S III General] GaryLiao:
Chinese Firmware flashes

Have you guys had any success with flashing ROMS that are in Chinese but not from China Unicom? the I9300ZSALED versions for example? They are from either Taiwan or Hong Kong, and they include PIT files as well as a bootloader flash. If anyone has any success with firmwares from Taiwan or Hong Kong, please let all of us know!

---------- Post added at 11:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:12 PM ----------

I've managed to do the same as well, but I have a few questions:

1. When you boot the device up, do you still see the Chine Unicom Bootlogo?

2. Is the download mode warning still in Chinese?

Thanks,
[Galaxy S III General] DeuXxX:
Hi guys,

I just got myself a 9308 form China Mobile, and from the last few days it had been a real pain to understand how everything works.

I just did some research and did not try to root the phone yet. I read all the previous posts but I still do not understand if the root for the 9308 works smoothly in order to get the samsung apps and google play

I asked at the China Mobile shop about using the phone outside of China and they told be that as long the new SIM card uses TD-SCDMA, however it is possible to change it to GSM?

Regards,
[Galaxy S III General] cortezone:
Can you please post your procedure? Looks like a lot of people are in the same situation and need a remedy.
[Galaxy S III General] Edward Zhuang:
9308 is a different model and if the phone is unlocked it sure works outside China however be careful of flashing roms and rooting becasue 9300 roots and roms does not work on 9308

---------- Post added at 07:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:23 PM ----------

there is not that much difference of one x and gs3 and one x is cheaper in China i would suggest buy a one x
[Galaxy S III General] jioke:
目前就想要个能刷入google的联通官方版。。。。
[Galaxy S III General] Akula29:
Hello.

Anyone tested this Methode,work it on i9308,is it possible to flash a i9300 ROM?

I have a i9308 with brocken IMEI after flash CyanogenMOD from i9300,I have successfull repair IMEI with SPT 2 Box,but no Network,how to solve this problem?

Best regards!
[Galaxy S III General] jlevy73:
Not sure if you can read Chinese but there are many good sites (in Chinese) that have lots support for the I9308. I have both the 9300 and 9308 and have been running a custom Rom on the 9308 since the device was released. AOSP/AOKP Roms seems to be problematic for the I9308. I have read many people losing their IMEI number in the process. Did you by chance flash a different modem? Anyway, here is a link to the latest firmware for the I9308. Use Odin to flash. http://bbs.52samsung.com/thread-673463-1-1.html

I would start with flashing the stock firmware and see if you can get the network back.

---------- Post added at 06:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:19 PM ----------

To answer your question, no I have not used the method posted above. I would not recommend flashing a 9300 rom for the 9308. There are many good 9308 roms out there.
[Galaxy S III General] coach31:
can you recommend one? all i need is english language and the google apps/play store to be included.

no virus/bloatware would be nice :victory:

for an alternative:

there is this available:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1722247

after download and extraction you have five files, one of them named modem.

can i combine that with a normal I9300 rom? (like a cyanogen)

i'm working on a phone that isn't mine. so i'm not to eager to experiment too much with a friends phone and possibly brick it etc.

i tried installing the google apps pack that cyanogen offers, but i can't get the market to work :rolleyes:

(to be fund at http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Latest_Version scroll down to the bottom of the page)

---------- Post added at 11:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:18 PM ----------

edit: try the pack for cyanogen 9

that works so far
[Galaxy S III General] wangdaning:
Dhang's Process

Hello everyone,

I am a bit stuck here.

I have a unicom phone, came with firmware ZN(B)LH3 (not sure what a v b is).

Problem 1: When I dial in the #1234# I always get a "connection problem or invalid mmi code" It might be because I am in China and on a China Mobile account. Don't know.

Problem 2: The I9300ZNLE9.7z mentioned in the post is inaccessible and very difficult to find. I can find a three piece (pda, phone, csc), but not the full rom.

Can some kind person help me out?

Wangdaning

#I am new to messing with this type of thing on a phone, trying to be cautious and not brick the thing.

---------- Post added at 03:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:17 PM ----------

OK, got it flashed, but I still get "connection problem or invalid mmi code" when dialing #1234#. Why?
[Galaxy S III General] GaryLiao:
The firmware you had before (LH3) is the base ROM for the Chinese OTA leak to Jelly Bean. That's all that I know. I'm not too sure as to why that MMI code isn't working. I think it's for the one to test all the sensors and screen. I do know that it works if you use a BTU ROM, so flash one of those using mobile Odin (root the phone first).
[Galaxy S III General] manormachine:
Where did you find the I9300ZNLE9.7z? I have been looking for it as well and cannot find it. Please share with me! Thanks!
[Galaxy S III General] wangdaning:
I ended up searching for i9300ZNALE9 without the 7z. Got it from sammobile.
[Galaxy S III General] Lofolo32:
Missing a star...

On my side i bought the s3 yesterday, chinese but from a shop not china mobile not unicom, just the phone. Same issue with google play.

I rooted it and still does not work

Now i want to try to just flash I9300ZNLE9

Will I keep chinese keyboard (i use chinese)

Will i loose all appli or i need to save them first?

Is there any drawback on this method?

AP I9300ZCBLH3

CP I9300ZCLH3

CSC I9300CHNBLH3

Thanks

---------- Post added at 06:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:42 AM ----------

Oooops forgot to answer why your code don't work, miss a *

*#1234#
[Galaxy S III General] wangdaning:
Thanks, realized that after I posted, stupid me.

The LE9 is the base Chinese ROM (from what I understand). It has the Chinese keyboards and all, but also has the same google play issues ect. The thing is, it allows you to flash to a different ROM. I ended up using the HK ROM, so I could keep the Chinese keyboard. I first used ZSBLH3, then I upgraded to ZSBLI1.

I believe any East Asian ROM will allow Chinese input options, I just went with HK because I found it before anything else.

I got the ROMs from sammobile, good source.
[Galaxy S III General] GaryLiao:
Wait so the china unicom version of the I9300 will flash any Asian ROM? Even hong Kong or Taiwanese?

Sent from my GT-I9300
[Galaxy S III General] wangdaning:
Yes. Follow the instructions found on this thread and it will. I have used two HK ROMs and a UK ROM so far, all have worked. I am sticking with the HK one for now.
[Galaxy S III General] GaryLiao:
You mean flashing with mobile Odin? Or can the phone accept a firmware from taiwan through Odin (PC) without failing? Cause the other method where you use mobile Odin is the one I've been using to switch ROM's every time. Might be easier to jump around ROMs with the boot loader own the Taiwanese firmware.

Sent from my GT-I9300
[Galaxy S III General] wangdaning:
I use PC Odin to get to the base ROM and then mobile Odin to flash the new one (HK for me). If I try to flash the HK ROM on PC Odin it fails, not sure why.
[Galaxy S III General] cortezone:
I believe you're looking for *#1234# not #1234#
[Galaxy S III General] wangdaning:
Just to let you all know a bit more. So, I found out why PC Odin was failing. Because the bootloader that came with the HK Rom will not install (mobile Odin will not flash bootloaders). This is a problem that Gary has mentioned in other threads. It seems that the unicom model of the i9300 has locked the bootloader somehow. I think it would require a new PIT file, one that would match an international phone. I am not going to go playing around with this (phone works, don't want to go to phone doesn't work).

Gary, I upgraded to the newest HK rom (LI1). The first flash with mobile Odin gave me CSC unknown, so I used PC Odin to flash just the LI1 CSC. After that the CSC showed as LI1. Now I have:

AP: ZSBLI1

CP: XXLH1

CSC: ZSBLI1

In my language input options I get:

Chinese (TW)

Chinese (HK)

Chinese This really means simplified

Korean

English

I also get google apps.
[Galaxy S III General] GaryLiao:
I'm in the same boat as you, I figured that as well so I don't feel like risking a brick. But it gave me hope when you said it could flash any Asian ROM, cause i knew that the Taiwanese ones have boot loaders that allow the installation of any ROM. But since you've done the exact same as me it doesnt seem like it really matters :P maybe a dev can answer this question if I ask them about it.

Sent from my GT-I9300
[Galaxy S III General] wangdaning:
Yeah, I am not experienced with how these phones work, but one thought I had was that the Unicom version is partitioned differently, so it will not let you update the bootloader. Just a guess.

If I had a legit PIT file for the HK ROM I might try it, if I was drunk enough. Haha

I have the PIT file for the Chinese one, so I guess I could turn it back if it didn't work.

Again though, I am not experienced enough, and after reading a lot on here I am still left uncertain about this. As more people end up with the Chinese model, I am sure eventually someone more experienced will find a solution.
[Galaxy S III General] jlevy73:
It's not a locked bootloader it's just a different one.
[Galaxy S III General] wangdaning:
But why can't another bootloader be flashed, specifically the one that goes with the ROM installed (ZSBLI1)?
[Galaxy S III General] GaryLiao:
I have a Taiwanese firmware that comes with PIT and boot loader. I'm just too scared to flash it. :/

If anyone here is brave enough I can upload it.

Sent from my GT-I9300