[AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note II] Tanamir:
I did remove everything of value to me that was on the phone before I did the factory reset but that was a couple of days ago... I did some video of my son today and took a few pics of him but that is no problem to download and then I will do another quick wipe and then try flashing again...

There is no MicroSD card in my unit since I did the original factory wipe and subsequent wipes and flashes return 0 results ( i.e.: I still have Android 4.1.2 installed). At this point I am left to ponder whether: a) I am a complete idiot and cant follow basic instructions, b) That there might be a problem with the phone in download mode and it is not responding to Odin, c) That there might be a problem with the ROM's I downloaded from another part of the XDA site...

Default [HOWTO] [ROOT] No Tripping Flash Counter - [ATT / Bell / Telus / Rogers / Sasktel]

This is a root injected FACTORY Stock I317 Odin Flashable Image. You flash this in Odin just as you would the completely stock ROM from samsung. I've simply injected the su binary and SuperSu app so you now have rooted stock image.

So if you want to keep your device stock yet have the functionality of root without tripping the counter or messing up OTA updates then this would be your best bet.

You can get ODIN here

and the drivers for the SGH-I317 so ODIN can detect your phone can be found at Samsung's site. Click on the Manuals & Downloads tab at the bottom and then on Software for the latest driver.

Instructions:

First, Download Image:

ATT Rom

January 2013 JB 4.1.2 New!

Mirror 1: root66_ATT_I317UCAMA4.7z

October 2012 JB 4.1.1

Mirror 1: root66_ATT_I317UCALJ2.7z

Mirror 2: root66_ATT_I317UCALJ2.7z

Image supplied by Kirbo20. Please thank him for his time in getting the stock image to me.

Bell Rom

January 2013 JB 4.1.2

Download: root66_BMC_I317MVLBMA3.7z

October 2012 JB 4.1.1

Mirror 1: root66_BMC_I317MVLALJ2.7z

Mirror 2: root66_BMC_I317MVLALJ2.7z

Telus Rom

January 2013 JB 4.1.2

Download: root66_TLS_I317MVLBMA3.7z

October 2012 JB 4.1.1

Mirror 1: root66_TLS_I317MVLALJ2.7z

Mirror 2: root66_TLS_I317MVLALJ2.7z

Rogers Rom

January 2013 JB 4.1.2

Download: root66_RWC_I317MVLBMA3.7z

October 2012 JB 4.1.1

Mirror 1: root66_RWC_I317MVLALJ2.7z

Mirror 2: root66_RWC_I317MVLALJ2.7z

Sasktel Rom

January 2013 JB 4.1.2

Download: root66_BWA_I317MVLBMA3.7z

October 2012 JB 4.1.1

Mirror 1: root66_BWA_I317MVLALJ2.7z

Mirror 2: root66_BWA_I317MVLALJ2.7z

Virgin Rom

January 2013 JB 4.1.2

Download: root66_VMC_I317MVLBMA3.7z

October 2012 JB 4.1.1

Mirror 1: root66_VMC_I317MVLALJ2.7z

Mirror 2: root66_VMC_I317MVLALJ2.7z

Second, Extract and Flash:

Extract the root66_xxx_I317MVLALJ2.tar.md5 from the .7z file you downloaded.

Use Odin, put phone into download mode [with phone off, hold vol. down + home + power ], connect to computer and open Odin.

once in odin click the PDA field and select the root66_xxx_I317MVLALJ2.tar.md5 you downloaded.

Leave Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time checked.

click start and

when done let phone reboot.

If you have issues flashing with Odin please ensure you are using the microusb cable that came with the phone, users have had issues using other cables.

If you just want a stock, rooted phone with no custom recovery, no plans to flash custom roms, etc. then you can stop HERE.

Optional, Recovery (will trip counter):

It seems loading any custom recovery will trip the download mode flash counter. Loading a non stock recovery will also prevent you from successfully applying any OTA updates however here is a procedure for any who want a non-stock recovery:

Currently I see TWRP has support for this device so the instructions here will install that recovery.

Option 1: Download GooManager from the Play store. Once installed click the menu and select "Install OpenRecovery Script".

Option 2: Download the TWRP recovery image here. Copy it to the /sdcard of your phone.

Connect your phone to your computer and use adb

type adb shell

once in the shell run su

then

dd if=/sdcard/http://goo.im/devs/OpenRecovery/t0lteatt/openrecovery-twrp-2.4.4.0-t0lteatt.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p9

Alternate if unfamiliar with adb commands

Grab android terminal emulator from the play store and run the same commands starting with su and then the dd command.

De-Bloater

If you've made it this far with a stock, rooted phone with CWM or TWRP and you don't want to flash a custom rom (which will do its own de-bloating) you can check out my mrRobinson Note II De-Bloater to easily get rid of bloat system apps you no longer want to see. Simply flash in CWM or TWRP like anything else and you will be presented with a menu system to choose what to remove. If you are unsure it is safe to pick Minimal and still get a decent de-bloat.

Miscellaneous Files

CWM/TWRP Flashable OTA Update: I took the stock I317UCALK7 update.zip that was posted by reinbeau (thanks!) and simply made it flashable with a non-stock recovery preserving root through the process. I see nothing in here that would wipe data but did not test it myself.

Download: root66_OTA_I317_UCALJ2_to_UCALK7.zip

History:

I've injected root into other stock images and those threads have a lot of valuable information which could answer some questions that may arise here. If you have time to do some reading here are a few of the informative ones:

Samsung Galaxy S3 [ATT / Bell / Telus / Rogers / Sasktel ]

Samsung Galaxy S3 [TMO / Wind / Mobilicity]

Also did sprint and vzw but there isn't much there that won't be covered above.

FAQ

Does this remove bloatware?

A: No. It is same as stock, nothing is removed.

Does this use an unsecured boot.img

A: No. This flashes the stock boot.img in the ODIN image.

If my flash counter has been tripped, and I flash this and reset the counter, will it stay at 0.

A: Yes, as long as you don't then flash a non-stock recovery.

More to come...

The answer to my earlier question is A) I am an idiot...

I have had an AHA!!! moment when I realized that there was some critical info missing from what I needed to do... If you read the instructions above they say that you:

Use Odin, put phone into download mode [with phone off, hold vol. down + home + power ], connect to computer and open Odin.

once in odin click the PDA field and select the root66_xxx_I317MVLALJ2.tar.md5 you downloaded.

Leave Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time checked.

click start and

when done let phone reboot.

If you have issues flashing with Odin please ensure you are using the microusb cable that came with the phone, users have had issues using other cables.

This is wrong... I found that in order to work, Odin has to be running BEFORE you connect the phone in download mode so that Odin recognizes the phone, it didn't work for me the other way around.

Although I was able to get the phone to flash, and Odin gave the phone a pass... I closed Odin and disconnected the phone from the computer but something is wrong and the phone is stuck a the "Samsung" screen where the letters kind of glow blue every two seconds... maybe I disconnected the phone from the computer too early so I am going to try to reflash the phone again and I will leave the phone alone to see what happens...

Something is wrong and the phone won't go any further than the aforementioned Samsung screen... I haven't unplugged the phone from the USB cable yet but when I restart the phone it wants to download files from the computer and its a good thing that I installed the Samsung USB driver pkg, but it seems that I am missing something... The notice on the computer says that "Device driver software was not successfully installed" followed by please consult with your device manufacturer for assistance in getting this device installed: Samsung mobile MTP device X Failed.

Help.