yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] nicholi2789:
Also, in the network info app it still says that I'm on the VRALE6 bootloader. Even though I used this same method a while back and when I was done, made sure to flash the VRBMB1 bootchain to return to original partitions.

SlimSnoop; maybe you could help me understand this, Bootloader stuff always confuses me. I attached a screenshot to show my device info. That means that I have the older less secure bootchain? I mean I wouldn't be able to use a custom recovery if I was still on the VRBMB1 bootchain correct?

Could you shed just a little light on this subject? I've tried searching and searching to find out more information about booloaders/bootchains and I can never find the answer i'm looking for.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] open1your1eyes0:
Please note that following this method will give you either VRALEC bootloader or VRALE6 bootloader (if you choose to unlock it). This is required and restoring the bootchain restores the other partitions back up to VRBMB1

except

the bootloader. No need to worry. This is exactly what everyone should be seeing.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] nicholi2789:
Yes I apologize for myself.

I just did some extensive reading and understand a little better now. VRALE6 is the

unlocked

bootloader. Sorry about cluttering your thread with my needless post.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SlimSnoopOS:
Don't worry, bootloaders and bootchains are not exactly the easiest to understand. First, there isn't much information on bootchains except the directions illustrating when/which to flash. Secondly, I really don't know what the bootchain is for so you're not alone lol I just know there isn't a reason to worry about the bootchains after the unlock process. The important thing is the bootloader and whether or not you're unlocked.

I think Open explained it a hell of a lot better than I could have attempted lol

Edit: nicholi2789, could you remove the photo you attached? It includes your phone number and also your IMEI which is something you should not want posted here. Just looking out for you bud.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Erisnoob:
Thank you, aside from download times, this took all of 10 mins! Appreciate the write up.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] nicholi2789:
Yeah thanks Snoop. I thought about blurring it out with photo editior before I posted it, but then was just like "Meh, what's gonna happen?" probably not a good idea though. Lol. Thanks for looking out.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] pure_player52:
ok si im stuck on step 3.

ive run the vralec bootchain and everything went smooth

installed the recovery and everything passed

but now all i get is a black screen when trying to enter into the recovery (home+power+vol up)

kind of stuck there now.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SlimSnoopOS:
Release the power button after the phone vibrates the first time. It's weird like that.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] pure_player52:
cool that worked but now im getting the android system recovery not CWM
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SlimSnoopOS:
Uncheck "auto reboot" in Odin, reflash the recovery image and once it says Pass/reset, unplug, pull battery, then boot into recovery.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] pure_player52:
awesome! that worked

thank you very much i appreciate your help

now on to step 5

thanks a bunch
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] TheMayne:
I get to step 3 but when i got to flash from sdcard the cwmr just isn't in Download/ I am following all of the steps it just isn't there. It is getting me so mad.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] mav3rick478:
You're choosing install from external card after choosing install from sd card correct? I'm just making sure, not trying to be a **** or anything.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] phoenixus:
Hey Everyone,

New Galaxy S3 owner here. This is actually my first Android phone that has a way to unlock the bootloader (previous phones were Droid 2 and Droid Bionic). I ran roms on these, but having the locked bootloader made it a pain, and half the time stuff didn't work right. I gotta say, it's kinda nice having a phone not "Droid" branded. I had a few questions though:

I'm thinking of installing CM 10.1 once it it's stable. I''ll follow the unlock/root steps here, but if I ever need to go back to stock, is that possible?

I also assume that once I unlock, I'll need to take a nandroid backup. Do we have stock images to flash in case we soft brick? I know that having an unlocked bootloader means I can run a customer kernel (and likewise official releases of CM), but what else does that entail? Should I still worry about completely bricking my device?

Finally, for anyone on CM, is the camera software as good as it is on the stock rom? (Picture quality, shutter lag, ect).
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Ryno77:
Thanks! Not quite sure what I'm going to do but at least I know just flashing the bootchain won't hurt anything.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidxxxxx:
So let me get this straight them I need to lock my bootloader before I do the update then unlock it and restore from OTA rk? Or do I need to even worry about locking my bootloader?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] swirly05:
i can not root my OTA update... wtf?! cant load root+bootloader
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] -XIV-:
Any new method for rooting JB on a MAC?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] swirly05:
This should be on the OP asap!!!

Good luck... i have searched up and down for a program for mac, but Thankfully my folks have Windows, good luck yo
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidxxxxx:
Anybody still able to wifi tether with the new jelly bean Rom?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] fanto3k4:
I am running the stock K3 leak non rooted and I can

Sent from a phone!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] -XIV-:
:mad: DAMN
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] greatdaneduke:
Based on all the work you have done. In order to root I need to do all the steps?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidxxxxx:
What tether app are u using? And this on the OTA Verizon update?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ham-300bowler:
Updating from i535vrlhe

Getting a signature verification failed on both root only and root+bootloader. All other steps prior to it worked fine.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] bgs_piece:
Does it matter what baseband version, kernel version and build # I'm on or can I just use the process in the OP no matter what versions?

I'm using the K3 baseband, and the VRALF2 build # currently.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] speedyr6:
For those having issues getting into recovery after flashing via ODIN, just pull the USB cable to boot into recovery. I initially had that issue where it wouldn't boot into recovery as normal and I missed the reboot after ODIN flashed recovery. As an earlier poster said, to get into recovery all I did was pull the cable and then used the normal VolUp/Home keys to get into recovery.

I am still having signature verification error on applying SU and bootloader via TWRP.

I flashed CWM instead and then did the same update and it worked, so I'll stick with CWM...
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] chucklehead:
Holy cow!!!

That took me entirely too long.

I definitely suggest adding the part(s) about how to get into recovery to the OP. I've been at this for at 4 hours trying to get recovery to stick. I'm an idiot for not reading the entire thread to see the solution but it really needs to be in the OP.

Thank you, by the way, for the tutorial.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] AngryGibson:
Quick question, I'm still new to the rooting thing but once I download the root program, am I to extract it and then move it to my SD card or do I leave it in the zip file? Thank you.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ham-300bowler:
That worked for me as well, so my other post on page 6 can be ignored :laugh::laugh:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] chocolate8175:
Is flashing the rpm manually sufficient, or do you think this is a better method. Actually let me rephrase...what would happen if I flashed the blk3 bootchain in odin if I was already rooted, unlocked and had a custom recovery. Would it just take me up to stock, rooted, bare bones ota jellybean and then I could throw a custom rom on from there? Or is that way unnecessary and a waste of time since i already have the blk3 rpm and modem flashed, thanks for any wisdom you care to share
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SteveGrandRapids:
. . . once your custom recovery is in place, put the root.zip on your SD card . . . boot into recovery and select the "install zip from sd" or whatever the wording is that is there . . . use the "select zip" menu and point the recovery program to the correct zip file you are installing . . . :good:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] greatdaneduke:
Trying to use your method bu Norton keeps reporting the site as Malicious and phishing?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] owenbeals:
It is an exploit so obviously its going to trip a virus scan
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] rocknrolla818:
flashing CWM

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong I'm trying to flash the CWM but i can't seem to find it in ODIN V3.07 ALSO WHERE DO I PUT THE REST OF THE FILES IN ODIN as in pda or phone please help
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SlimSnoopOS:
Totally possible to return to stock, just Odin flash VRBLK3 4.1.1 in Odin and you'll be there. Open1your1eyes0 has another thread which contains the stock images and Invisiblek has these as well. mrRobinson has rooted versions of each update HOWEVER you would need to unlock the bootloader if you want to flash roms. There is no VRBMB1 4.1.2 image available so the most recent tar is VRBLK3, you'll receive an OTA prompt to VRBMB1 right afterwards too.

For this phone, having an unlocked bootloader means you can flash roms and modify system level things like the radio and kernel at will. Essentially, its the full android experience. I can't chime in on AOSP camera as I only use TW roms. I use AOSP maybe once a month and I don't use the camera when I do.

The file you download onto your computer would be in the location where your downloads normally go to. Just tap PDA and find the cwm tar. Always Odin flash tars in PDA unless the instructions state otherwise.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] coolguy71261:
still getting the custom and unlocked lock showing up
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SlimSnoopOS:
Download EZ Unlock v1.2 from Rootzwiki and tap unlock if you're trying to be unlocked. It needs root access to work.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] macman159:
I suppose you want to return the phone to vzw or make it completely stock. In that case, the lock that shows means that the bootloader is unlocked and vzw can tell very easily lol. The way to fix it is to go back to the f2 ics odin file and flash that and then when it boots up, download triangle away and remove the root counter and then download ez unlock (get v1.2) and the click on "lock" and that will lock the bootloader and won't trip the root counter and then factory reset. If in case the rom gets stuck at the 4g lte boot screen, go to the stock recovery and wipe cache. Tell me if this works.:cowboy::cowboy:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Rword69:
I had this happen to me and then I got the yellow triangle soft brick. I was able to finally get it to boot and used EZ Unlock v1.2 and Keep Root. That got rid of the unlocked lock and Custom. I should mention that this was after the OTA update to 4.1.2. I just keep it unlocked all the time. I didn't get the Soft Brick till I tried to do a backup with CWM..
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Tallica21:
Does this method wipe data? I have a stock GS3 running 4.1.2 and I would like to root, install a custom recovery and unlock the bootloader without losing data
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ramdesai:
No this method won't wipe data.

Thanks doesn't hurt....
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Tallica21:
Sweet thanks, this is a work phone, and I don't feel like setting it up again right now.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] coolguy71261:
thanks it worked like a charm.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Quie2TP:
Hey Guys a little stuck here. I have gotten all the way to flash the unlock bootloader zip in CWM but it keeps saying that the signature failed. What am I doing wrong. Not my first root and rom installs as I have been doing this since the original droid days.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Tallica21:
Turn off signature verification in CWM, not sure where exactly though. Haven't used CWM in a looooong time
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] denpad2010:
where i have to put the bootchin?? in pda or bootloader??
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Ryno77:
Pda
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] denpad2010:
thanks you,just want make sure....
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Joey22688:
unfortunately the new s3 (old one got ran over by a car and screen is in a million pieces but still working) I just got hard bricked at step 2

the md5 matched and everything and yes I did use pda box

not sure what happened, it came out of the box with 4.1.2

all the boxes were unchecked except f. reset and auto reboot

odin said finished and the phone shut off, and that was the last time it turned on, it does nothing now

cant get into recovery or odin mode, and the screen doesnt display anything, not even the samsung splash screen

the charging led doesnt even light when plugged in

I can bring it back and get a new one with the 90 day warranty but now not sure if I even want to attempt it again

my last s3 I did this for went fine
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] rivera82falcon:
Hey all! Been a long time since I rooted anything but now I think it's time I have some fun with my GS3.

Simple question: all I want to do is root the stock rom because I don't want to run any custom rom. Can I do this w/o unlocking the bootloader and just have SU on the phone w/o worrying about reboots removing it? Also, if I want to unroot for any reason, how simple is it to do so? Thanks!!!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] radpp16:
cleanrom 6 and root?

working great. Follow instructions to the T.

What would happen if I flashed CleanRom 6 r2?

Lose root?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Ryno77:
No you would not lose root. If your rooted, have a custom recovery installed and have your bootloader unlocked.....flash cleanrom, you'll be on cleanrom instead of stock.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] tekrhino:
Ok so, This method worked nicely for me.

I should mention, it didn't ask me to Disable Flash Recovery when it was supposed to. But all in all.. Big Thanks to the OP and all involved!

This is my second SGS3 after my first one took a 40ft fall to its demise and it came with 4.1.2 so I had to use this method instead of the conventionals!

Thanks again!:good:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Joey22688:
returned the bricked s3 and got a new one (came with 4.1.2)

this time used a different usb cable and port and redownloaded everything

everything went smoothly, no problems :good:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ensignb:
Thanks for providing this guide. It worked great for me on my 4.1.1 a couple months ago.

However, should I be able to to the OTA update from Verizon or no? Every time it tries it fails. It reboots into Clockwork Mod and says something about the file being invalid.

Basically, is there a better way for me to update to the newest version than going through Verizon? I know that's probably a stupid question, but I'm not sure if I've screwed something up or if it's the nature of this unlock/root method.

Please let me know if this is not the correct place for this post.

Thanks so much!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] hallstevenson:
I upgraded to the S III and rec'd it yesterday and before I went to bed, I had it rooted and the bootloader unlocked thanks to this guide ! ;)

I will look at custom ROMs later but will do some housecleaning of the pre-loaded bloat that Verizon and Samsung include on these phones....

---------- Post added at 10:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:39 AM ----------

Same here. My first thought was I downloaded a different (newer / older ?) version of CWM than was used when the guide was written.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SempaiMatt:
Flash the stock rooted 4.1.2 from here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2178482

Get the 4.1.2 modem and rpm from post #3 as well.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] scubamike:
Works perfectly.

This worked perfectly on my 4.1.2 VZW S3. I'm now running the latest AOKP, 5-21-13, with Lean Kernel 6.0. Thank you for this super simple and effective method!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Tomsgt:
Is there a way to check and see if my Boot Loader is unlocked now that I have done this process? root and recovery work great thanks.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] hallstevenson:
I'm 98% certain that if you have a custom recovery, your bootloader is unlocked. I could be mistaken though.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Tomsgt:
I would think the same thing but normally I can look at a boot loader screen that says it is unlocked or a padlock on the boot screen. I just dont see anything on this device.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] nicholi2789:
There is no foolproof way to show that your bootloader is unlocked. I tried searching when I first did this method. There are however a couple things that will show you that your bootloader is most likely unlocked. First is when you boot the phone the Samsung logo in the beginning flashes by in about a tenth of a second instead if hanging for a few seconds. It only does that when your unlocked. Second is downloading a free app called "Network signal info" in the device screen it will show device info and will say bootloader: VRALE6 that's an older insecure bootloader. The one you flashed in this method (thanks SlimSnoopOS). If you didn't successfully flash then it will show a different bootloader.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Tomsgt:
Thanks that worked for me my bootloader is the same as in the picture and my samsung logo only shows for like 1/2 a second. I just figured there was a easy way to see this info. like in odin mode or something like that.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] techspecs:
Ok, so I was trying to follow this and something serious happened. First, I've had a rooted several devices before but never run into any issues. I downloaded and installed the drivers and files as instructed. When I flashed the VRALEC file in ODIN (verified the MD5 beforehand and matched) it applied successfully per ODIN and the device went black to reboot. From that point, the phone has never turned back on. I have removed the battery, SIM, etc and I cannot get it back on. When the battery is in and I plug it in, the LED doesn't come on. If I take the battery out and plug it in, the light comes on for about 30 seconds or so (red) and then just turns off. The display never turns on. If I plug it into the computer, the computer makes the 'device connected' noise but it doesn't seem to otherwise recognize it except that it installed a new driver the first time I connected it in this state (didn't catch the name exactly).

Obviously, I can't get into download mode that I can tell. Any ideas? Has this happened to anyone else? Bricked? Thanks for your help!!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] nicholi2789:
Sounds like a hard brick. Do you have this message pop up when you plug into your computer? "QHSUSB_DLOAD" if so, then your hard bricked and only a Jtag repair will save it most likely.

I don't know why people are having brick problems with this. It worked flawlessly for me. Maybe not putting the files in the PDA slot..?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] techspecs:
No, I put it in PDA. Everything looked normal until it bricked.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] nicholi2789:
That is bizarre. So where are you at with it now? Still bricked? Have you tried using a USBJig yet?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] feom:
can't flash back to original bootchain

I've done all the steps everything seems to have gone fine, trying to flash back to the VRBMB1 boothchain (Step 6)and I'm getting this error messege in ODIN:

04> Get PIT for mapping..

<ID:0/004> Firmware update start..

<ID:0/004> rpm.mbn

<ID:0/004> NAND Write Start!!

<ID:0/004> FAIL! (Auth)

<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

What am i doing wrong?

*****Update**** never mind, redownloaded the file and it seems to have worked.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] nicholi2789:
Hmm.. It's hard to say. Mine flashed without issue. In any event, this part isn't absolutely crucial to the process. Your phone will still function fine. I would say try downloading again and see if it works. I never rule out the bad download possibility, it's happened to me too many times. If you can't get a good download, let me know and I will link you a copy of mine. It worked just fine.

EDIT: Here just try this one:http://db.tt/KZ4RQEYL
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] techspecs:
Yeah, still bricked. I don't have ready access to a USBJig (and my understanding is that my type of hard brick may require the JTAG diassembly/short out the capacitor/flash method) so I'm sort of at the end of the road on this one I think. For parts at this point I guess... I guess my first brick was bound to happen eventually. I've been at this game awhile now. I sure miss the indestructibility of my Galaxy Nexus but it just got too damn laggy.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] nicholi2789:
Damn. I'm really sorry to hear that man. That is a super bummer. Before you try Jtag here is a USBJig that is cheap and works with the S3: http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=130724488168#ht_2115wt_1256

You could give that a try. I'm really sorry to hear about your predicament.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] techspecs:
Thanks. I knew what I was signing up for so I certainly don't blame this community. Like I said though, I've done this before on other phones so I don't know if I had bad hardware or if there is a problem with my setup (files matched MD5 so I rule that out) like the computer, cable, who knows what other variables. Now I'm just nervous to try this again on a new phone.

edit: Thanks for the link too. I went ahead and picked up a jig to have but they're clear in the auction that cases like mine where the screen doesn't come on are hard bricks which can't be solved by a jig. But, being the capitalist I am, I'm trolling eBay for broken Samsungs now that I can fix and resell.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] dweezle:
I have used this thread to successfully hand hold me through rooting and installing TWRP on my "former" S3.. I was about to do it again with my replacement S3. I sure would like to know how yours bricked, before I go back for seconds on this new phone. As I finish typing this, I know I will probably jump in anyway.

On my previous S3 I ended up with "Samsung Custom" and a padlock icon that came on during boot. Is there any way of avoiding that? My goal is to end up with a rooted. stock S3 with TWRP recovery.:confused:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] nicholi2789:
I only had the unlocked logo on the boot screen after flashing the VRALEC boot chain and the recovery image, when I follow the third step to boot into recovery to flash the superSU zip. That's the only time it showed. After I finish and flash the VRBMB1 boot chain I never have it show again. I think if you follow this to the T it won't happen.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] dweezle:
I just got a replacement for an S3 that died when I plugged in an otg cable. (long story). On the new S3 I was about to start the root process using the info from this thread, when I noticed the computer would recognize the phone, and then drop the connection to the phone, then recognize it again. BAD USB cable

straight out of the Samsung box

. The Samsung cable from my wife's S3 worked correctly, so I figured it wasn't the USB port on my computer or on the phone. If you hadn't posted your experience, I think I would have been in the same boat as you. I would have just charged ahead. So thanks for letting us know what happened.

I have a question about step 4 in this process. When exiting the custom recovery we are supposed to be asked if we want to "disable recovery flash". Is that only in CWM or is there some way that TWRP needs us to do that too?