yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] mariod505:
It seems to be working now. Still revision 131.

Although the Casual tool doesn't seem to work right for me... I can only get a connection when in recovery mode (doesn't sound right). When flashing DebugFSroot loads the files, then reboots, says "Rebooting", and the popup says "click ok when fully rebooted and in locked screen", but then it never re-establishes a connection, so nothing happens when I hit ok. Then it fails if I try to flash "aboot to unlock bootloader".

I was thinking it might be a driver issue, but I have been flashing ok with these (latest linked by OP) for a couple weeks. :confused:

---------- Post added at 06:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:42 AM ----------

I appreciate you taking my feedback as it was intended. I work in failure analysis & fault tolerance in complex systems, which has made me a bit anal, so sometimes people take it the wrong way (my wife certainly does), but really, I just want to make the world a better/safer place for everyone.

Tech forums, in general, can be daunting for new users (this place gets the full spectrum), and I know your guide was setup to help mitigate that. so mad props to you.

Also, the Casual
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Yea for some reason casual works for some and not others, thats why i have alternative methods posted. Hopefully adam will release a update to resolve this. Perhaps thats why the link went down?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] another813:
Samsung Noob Install

Soooooo,

I just bought my phone what would you guys ( or gals) say is the easiest way (or recommended way) to get from stock to custom roms?

I have been reading about kexec and casual stuff also, which roms would I pick so I don't brick.

Seems like the OP has a lot of different links to do the same so just trying to get it clarified before I start. No wiki to refer to so I can learn what has been happening in the samsung DEV world.

Thanks.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] aznguyen316:
So if I've done casual's unroot, I cannot re-root again at all? I'm getting these messages when trying to root again. Verizon S3. If I'm SoL so be it, but if there is a way to root again, please let me know! Thanks.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
The recomended way is to follow the guide...whats so hard to understand if u dont mind me asking?? Root your device, unlock bootloader, flash cwm 6.0.1, and flash rom of choice. There is plenty of wiki floating around here, search around.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Odin the stock root66 file from section 6, then unlock boot loader with ez-unlock...if folks keep having issues with root on casual ill remove it from op.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jmcharles:
No luck

I have searched far and wide with no luck. I can't get this to work. Installed the drivers, the java SE thing, and casual. I open Casual, plug the phone in and nothing. It just sits there saying disconnected. Any ideas?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Yes use the alternate methods...adams post on casual specifically stated that if your using windows make sure you know how to use your computer...basically that means adam has no plans to support windows. It worked for me and a few others, so i assumed it would for everybody, cleary I was mistaken.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Aquila76:
Plug the phone in first, wait for all the drivers to load. Then run CASUAL. That's how I got it to see my S3.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Same here, but if its too dificult for new users then just follow section 2!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Kellic:
EDIT: And its back. Never mind.........
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] aznguyen316:
Thank you for this. I will have to try this. Only problem is I don't have a great backup method without root. I will have to try to transfer everything to extSD before putting the root66 file as I assume it will basically wipe my phone to factory + root?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
If you odin root66, dont wipe/factory reset and you will not lose any data.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] y2jasper:
ok so I'm getting ready to root my S3, but im a little wary, since I'm not a big hacker or anything. I had rooted my incredible a few years back, but even then i followed a step by step guide, i think something went wrong in the middle but eventually it worked out. so a couple of newb questions:

1) I was going to use section 2 of the OP to root and unlock the bootloader, using the GS3DebugFSRoot tool. has there been any issues with this?

2) just to check, my phone won't get wiped in the rooting process right? only if i install a custom ROM will i lose my data right?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
no issues im aware of using section 2 with windows...also, there is no issues with section 1 if your using linux or mac. Rooting does not wipe data so you should be good to go.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] aznguyen316:
Oh wow.. so how exactly does that work. I downloaded the image being ~500MB, so what exactly is transferred over with Odin if everything else is kept on my phone? It will just boot back up with all my current settings as I had just left it, except rooted? Because the roo66 image is a "stock image". I guess I imagined it would put on the stock image, but rooted --> thus being as if it were factory reset.

Again thanks for all the answers, you've been great!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] tu3218:
I don't get it, I'm rooted with cwm but a LOCKED bootloader an I still don't get a custom screen while booting up. I just want full understanding of all this before I dive in. What should this custom screen look like? I go from Samsung, to sgs3, to boot animation.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
the only time odin wipes data on the gs3 is when you wipe data factory reset...on older galaxy s devices we used a pit file w/ repartition checked and flashed a stock package in pda, everything was wiped... but on the gs3 it does not work the same. Data and cache Partitions must be setup differently.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Some do some dont...there are threads floating around explaining this. Its a big padlock thats half unlocked and says custom underneath it. My device showed it from first boot, although majority of devices will only show the custom unlock after flashing a custom recovery. Welcome to the world of android, where everybodies experience can be completely different using the same device, software, and settings!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] tu3218:
Thanks man! Yeah just wanted to make sure cause I wanted to verify it worked when I unlock it using the app in the play store. But I'll assume it worked an continue on with your guide.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Kreeker:
Thanks for this Droidstyle.

I have to return my phone so I have to go back to stock. It seems as though section 6 has already been updated for the unlocked bootloader, but I want to make sure I'm not going to brick.

So basically does flashing back to stock kernal and rom lock the bootloader? If it doesn't I was going to flash to rooted rom with a non-custom kernel, use ez-unlock to lock bootloader (because I can't find how to manually do it), and then follow your steps.

Also, does anyone happen to have a torrent link or faster link to the non-rooted stock rom?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jasondhsd:
Is anyone else experiencing lower Quadrant scores on leankernel vs stock VRLG1? I tested 3x with leankernel got between 4500-4700 just below or equal to the HTC One X results, I rebooted and waited 10mins before running the 3rd test just to make sure same results. When I flashed leankernel I cleared cache partition and dalvik. I flashed back to VRLG1 the init.d version from scottsroms same thing, cleared cache and dalvik again. Rebooted wait a few minutes and ran quadrant got 4913 ran a couple more times they were all +/- 20 points.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Hypnosis4U2NV:
This isn't the thread to post those questions in, but running NoSympathy VRALG1 with Imo's Lean kernel .03 and I'm around 5600 at 1.9Ghz OC.. The latest kernel is set to 1.51Ghz and you need SetCPU or System Tuner to adjust the OC.. I think your results are fine..

Sent from my Commodore 64..

READY.

load"*", 8,1
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] antawnm26:
Will this be updated to deal with rooting the VRLG1 the ones that got replacements devices that was updated? Im curious due to the fact I received a replacement with the updated VRLG1
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Yes section 2 works for g1...use the debugFSroot tool
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] antawnm26:
Is this downgrading the firmware/kernel?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Mystikalrush:
I noticed you change the getting back to stock methods. Is the VRLG1 file not good anymore? cause my phone is the G1 varient, can i still use this file to odin back? If so, is it okay to use the kernal you supplied even though its F2 or should i not bother doing so?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jasondhsd:
Sorry didn't know where to post the question wasn't sure people in Q&A would understand what I was talking about and I knew better then to start a new thread in this forum this was the only place I could think of. I'm not really interested in overclocking right now, I thought leankernel and stock kernel had the same default clock speeds "out of the box" so to speak, which is why I was surprised that that a kernel that is leaner wasn't faster or at least equal in terms of performance at stock speeds.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] y2jasper:
Thanks, I went ahead and followed the directions and was able to root and also unlock the bootloader no problem. but before doing any real changes, i wanted to create a backup, but not sure what to use to do that, and didnt really see something in the OP about it. was wondering if i could get some advice on that?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Blaiser47:
So I followed the directions in part 6 to a T and had my bootloader unlocked so yes it works with the updated unlocked bootloader. Thanks!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Yea it does in both section 3&4... make a nandroid backup from the backup/restore menu in cwm recovery.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Kreeker:
So I'm trying to follow section 6, and when I try to flash the stock rom it immediately prints: "<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 0)"

Bad download?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Yep sounds like it! Check md5
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Kreeker:
Is there an md5 floating around?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
try this link:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/69414229/HOME_I535VRALF2_I535VZWALF2_618049_REV09_user_low_ship.tar.md5
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] mariod505:
I had this same problem. The Casual program would only recognize the connection when it was in download mode. Of course, then it never was able to complete the installation because it needs to reboot and complete when fully booted (which it never recognized).

I'm still looking for an alternative - let me know if you find anything.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
The alternative is to use section 2
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Kreeker:
Thanks that worked great :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] y2jasper:
Oh Damn, I had skipped the roms section to kernels, and only breezed through what was there and missed it. My mistake.

One more question- I see there are 2 kernels suggested for using stock... Is one better then the other? I'm mainly looking to improve battery life, and without losing performance. And also, I will I see any difference by just changing kernels, or do I also need to use Setcpu or something similar to over/under clock.

Also thanks again for making this topic! I'm able to find pretty much everything I wanted to do in the first post, or at least a link to where I can find it in the reference.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
they both are good imo... try them both and see which one suits your needs.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Shibby87:
Great guide, extremely comprehensive. I have a question about section 6 as well. I downloaded a stock rom and kernel earlier today, I downloaded HOME_I535VRALF2_I535VZWALF2_618049_REV09_user_low_ship.tar from a dropbox folder and I noticed the OP has been updated with inviziblek's stock rom, the kernel seems to be the same as the one I downloaded earlier.

Is the dropbox link still cool to use? I searched and diddnt find any mention of issues with it and I'd rather not download another 1gb file if I don't have to, my speeds suck, 100kb on a good day. Thanks :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Yea i just pulled the link so my dropbox dont get suspended. Invisiblek is going to host it for us...just patiently waiting.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] dave_k605:
If I'm on jb will I bootloop if I try and restore stock rooted Rom nandroid?

Our would it be possible to flash back to a tw ics rom without having to odin back to stock
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Wipe data in cwm, flash back to touchwiz, restore nandroid.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] eman3316@optonline.net:
Sorry to sound dumb but I am expecting my S3 to be here later this week. In order to get bootloader unlocked and rooted and recovery, etc do I just follow the steps in #1 or do I need to run something else before #1. Also, I am confused on why it says for Windows use #2. I will be doing this on a Windows 7 machine. What is #1 for if not for Windows?

Sorry, just want to make sure I am prepared in advance and I am not sure exactly which steps to follow from a brand new untouched device.

I hate sounding like a noob. Also, is this pretty fail safe to unlock the Verizon GS3? I am hoping it isn't as hard as unlocking my wife's Rezound with a paper clip. lol

Thanks for the help!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
I believe the guide says section 1 is for linux/mac, section 2 is for windows.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ac29593:
I just rooted and unlocked the bootloader with this method...super easy.

Now that my bootloader is unlocked can I delete the app? Does anyone keep it just to lock and unlock? I dont see any reason to keep it if I do not need to.

Thanks
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Dont use it to lock...follow section 6 for that. You can delete it, but if you ever go back to stock for some reason, then you will need it to unlock again!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] eman3316@optonline.net:
Sorry, I don't know how I missed that.

So all I need to do is follow the steps in #2 and that will give me root and an unlocked boot loader along with recover?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ac29593:
Thanks for the quick response.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] BrUhNiGGs:
Does anyone have a mirror for the adam outlet whatever for mac? The dropbox link in the op is dead and the link from the original thread is not working as well. I cannot believe how hard it is to root my god damn S3. For some reason it doesnt work on my pc and now there is no link for the mac. Ughh im sooooo frustrated right now.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] fix-this!:
thanks for the guide, now i need to figure out what rom too choose. :eek:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
First off, there is no need to step in this thread with a attitude.

2nd, i fixed the link...try it now!

3rd, section 2 works with windows(just saying since you stated "it dont work with my pc")
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] WizeGuyDezignz:
Hey guys, I have my bootloader unlocked running clean rom 2.0 with clean kernel 1.0. I want to go back to stock unrooted and start fresh.

Do I need to do anything special because my bootloader is unlocked or can I just follow the instructions to go back to stock unrooted?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
just follow the instructions and you will be fine.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] WizeGuyDezignz:
Thank you kind sir.

Do I need to unlock the bootloader again after I reroot?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
yes
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] eman3316@optonline.net:
So my S3 should be here any day now and I had sine more time to read.

Can you just let me know if I have this right.

To root my phone on my windows machine, I use the files in the OP. After I root I can unlock my bootloader and install a recovery with the ez apps on the play store? Is that all there is to it? I though we would need to install another boot loader in order to unlock? Is that not the case. The stock boot loader can now be unlocked.

Appreciate the confirmation and all the help the OP has given throughout the thread.

One last thing, will rooting and unlocking reset my Rom and delete my internal storage? Need to know if I should do this before setting anything up.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
the ez unlock app flashes the unsecure aboot.img

rooting and unlocking does not wipe data

everything else you mentioned is coorrect
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] eris72:
DERP nvm
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
No it shouldnt...but i would back contacts up with google and apps with tibu just to be safe!!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] sherdog16:
2 things.

1) When I reboot recovery in TE it just reboots. However, a 3 finger salute results in CWM recovery

2) In CWM when I attempt a backup it tells me the path isn't there.

Any help would be appreciated on these "issues" guys (more so the back up not working), i know i'm missing something :o...
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Dizfunky:
How do I get Odin to recognize my phone? I put it in download mode and it doesn't show up.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Lemonhead8890:
Do you have your phone in USB debugging mode? Under <Settings> then <Developer Options>

---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:40 PM ----------

Just asking, but there isn't really much we can do with the recovery up at this point anyways is there? Other then making a backup?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Dizfunky:
Yes, I do. I installed the drivers, put it into download mode, and connected it to my usb -- nothing.

EDIT: NEVERMIND IT WORKED
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
We can still flash mods in recovery like custom boot animations and whatnot.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] demarcmj:
That's good news. Hopefully someone can make a mod to add that brightness slider that the international version got OTA :-)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
agreed!!!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Avohkah Tamer:
So, I assume I'm correct, but I just want to double-check before doing anything:

If I want to root my phone, but keep it as close to how it is right now (all Verizon bloatware intact), I want to flash the "Factory STOCK Bloated 4.0.4" ROM? (Or is that one meant for unrooting?)

And one more stupid question, since I've never used this particular root method before:

How do OTA updates work, assuming I have a rooted stock image with all bloatware intact and no mods installed? Will it still automatically update as usual? Will the update automatically unroot my phone, or is there any possibility it may brick it?

My apologies for asking noob questions, I just want to know what I'm getting into.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Stock bloated takes you back to the day you first powered the device. You want the file that says ROOT! Also i wouldnt worry about ota, get your updates from the dev section or this guide. It will be updated soon as its released. As long as you dont flash a image in odin thats not vzw specific you will never brick your device. Thats the point of this guide, to collaborate all the vzw files and guides into one thread, so things are less co fusing. As im sure you can tell, these forums are a cluster right now.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Avohkah Tamer:
Thanks for the reply!

So for my situation, where I want my phone identical to how it is now, except rooted (minimal changes to stock), I want "Rooted Stock 4.0.4 by MrRobinson"?

And I assume I can unroot if necessary by simply flashing "Factory STOCK Bloated 4.0.4", or is there a more efficient/simple way that wouldn't cause me to lose settings and such?

And my OTA questions were more regarding my worries I had with my previous phone, which had OTA updates that installed without consent/notification with no way to decline them. I was worried that might be the case for GSIII.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Yes, yes, and im not 100% sure on the ota...i would freeze all verizon services with tibu and that should remove ota from automatically starting.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] kola1228:
Mods, can we move this to the Verizon Android Development section?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Why its not development? It does need to be stickied tho...:o
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jonhern:
anyone have a mirror for the stock rom? That link won't work for me.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
Give me a minute fixing now.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jonhern:
so i downloaded the file, its a .zip, do i extract it or do i just rename to a tar file? I am trying to make my phone stock again to return to vz. I already tried extracting it and loading the md5 file in odin, it says Leave CS after it loads it.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Rom-Addict:
Can we switch between recoveries ? If so how, always used cmw but wanna try touch &don't wanna mess somethin up
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
I just extracted it with 7zip and it created the .tar file to put in the pda function of odin.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
yes, just download the other recovery you want to the root of the sd card and rename the previous recovery to .old or something, then proceed as normal. Also in Terminal you will have to change the second command to match the recovery your trying to use

Example:

This is for cwm: # dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18

This is for TWRP: # dd if=/sdcard/twrp8.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] kls629:
i have not been on this forum for awhile not knowing we achieved unlocked bootloader.

i got my device and rooted it the original way (don't remember what it was called) from Odin. Now i want to achieve an unlocked bootloader to flash roms and root the device for tethering.

i never flashed a rom and believe i am stock besides rooting. do i need to do something different to unlock the bootloader? i have re-read everything and am not sure, dont want to end up with a bricked device
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] eman3316@optonline.net:
From my understanding once you are rooted you need to download the 2 EZ apps from the playstore, one that unlockes your bootloader and the other that flashes a recovery.

Once that is done you should be able to flash Roms.

Since I do not have my S3 yet and I am just going with what I have been reading, just wait for someone to confirm this but I am pretty sure that is what you need to do. I do not want to be blamed for a bricked device.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Shibby87:
If you follow the steps, you won't brick. Thanks to our devs, this is pretty much

Idiot proof.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidstyle:
this!