yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
The best answer anyone can give you for this is to search, read, read, and read some more. Once you've learned how to root, it is a relatively simple process for this particular device, but it is still not something you should attempt until you have read a lot of the information already here. Start with the sticky threads. Not only will you learn several options for how to root, you will learn what to watch out for, what you can do with it and more. Everything you need to know to get started is already posted (many times over in most cases), so it shouldn't be too difficult to find.

Like I said, start with the stickies, then search for answers to any questions you may have. Very nearly every question you could come up with at this point has probably been answered, and you will accomplish two important things by finding those answers on your own. You will come away knowing even more than just what you were initially looking for, and you will show that you are not just looking for someone to hold your hand and walk you through every line of every guide. (This is important because not only will you not need as much help with other issues down the road, but many more people will be willing to share their time and knowledge with you when you really do need help!)

If you truly do get stuck and cannot find something though, I recommend you check out a new option recently implemented here at xda called "

XDA Assist

". The people covering that forum won't necessarily answer your questions for you, rather, they will help guide you on your way to finding them.

I hope that helps you get started! Only other important tip I have......HAVE FUN!!! :cowboy:
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] a2441918:
USe this guide here to root your phone and install the latest cwm and flash the rom. It should work.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] alek889:
Dude..All this information about T-999L is awesome.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bh101:
i have a S3 t999l and just put on cyanogenmod 11 and i cant launch my messaging "app" (stock) it wont even open , hits an error right away
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
That would be a rom issue, not a T999L issue.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bh101:
where can i find the Stock Recovery and Stock Kernel? the post at the beginning of the thread are outdated.

thank you
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
Reflash stock firmware for that.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bh101:
im sorry, im new to this. i put on custom rom and now i want to take it off. im following the guide in the beginning of this thread and it says that i should put on

Stock System

stock recovery

stock kernel

the updated stock system is there but the corresponding stock recovery and kernel arent, what should i do?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] serio22:
reflash stock firmware with Odin.. search for root66 firmware if you want to be rooted, or flash the regular stock for bone stock, they are both in the same thread
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bh101:
so i dont need the recovery and kernel?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
The info in that post is quite old and was only useful when there was no firmware available for the T999L. As serio22 said, just flash the stock firmware via Odin. Use root66 if you want root.

Ill try to remove the outdated info soon.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] serio22:
it will flash them in the process
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] chefno2:
First off Thanks for all your time and effort to make this possible :)

I used the ----

How To Root Your T999L

Method 1 - The Root66 Way (RECOMMENDED) ---

And it worked great , I was wondering if I can upgrade to a 4.4 build using the same method, if so please advise .

Thank you for you time , chefno2 ( using tmobile s3 sgh-t999L ) (T99LUVUBNC1)

Just looking for a way to get a newer build..my phone won't check for updates now...
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bh101:
thank you for your help
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Not untill the official update is released and a root66 package is made. Till then there's always my sprint port you can use.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] chefno2:
Thank You for the fast reply , I will wait for when the official update is released and a root66 package is made.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] RyconPayne:
I can't tell you how many times this post has been referenced when trying to figure things out, thanks a lot.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] henry8668:
I have an issue on unlock (SIM card) on my phone.

I got a replacement tmobile S3 phone two weeks ago(SGH-T999L, T999LUVUBNC1).

I rooted with odin 3.09 by flashing file root66_TMO-L_T999LUVUBNC1.7z.

Then flash CWM_6.0.4.5.tar.md5

reboot to recovery and installed cm-11-20140608-SNAPSHOT-M7-d2lte.zip and gapps-kk-20140606-signed.zip.

so it is on android 4.4.2.

Everything worked fine.

Today I requested sim card unlock code from Tmobile, however it doesn't work. By searching around, seems it is related to the root and flash of cm11 and gapps-kk.

If I follow the revert to stock (odin root66), will I be able to unlock the phone use the code I got from tmobile?

Once it is sim card unlock, if I root it and install cm11, will the phone still unlocked, or it will be lock again?

Thanks!!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] serio22:
Yes you have to be on stock when unlocking, once you go back to stock you can unlock it and install cm11 and the phone will remain unlocked.. Note that you do not need root to install custom recovery and install cm11, it doesn't hurt but its just an extra step. Just flash recovery in Odin and proceed to install cm11
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] henry8668:
Thanks! Since I have lot of apps installed currently, can I just backup the whole system up in CWM and restore them later?

steps:

back whole system in CWM

revert to stock

sim card unlock

root by odin root66,

restore the previous back in CWM

Will this work?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] serio22:
No, if you only back up system it will only back up system files, do an entire nandroid and it will back up and restore everything up as you have it right now including apps.. And like I said, no need to root again if you plan on going to stock and then back to cm11 unless you want to do the extra step
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] henry8668:
In CWM, there is option to backup to sdcard or sdcard1. Does this backup entire nandroid? or do I need some other tool to do that?

regarding root, do you mean that in the step of "revert to stock", I only need to flash root66 and don't need to do unroot(keep it rooted)?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
When you start Nanadroid, you select System, Data, Dalvik and Cache. Optionally you may include the Recovery as well.

Going Back to Stock = Flashing Original Stock Firmware that will completely unroot.

In your previously listed steps you had mentioned one of the steps as

"root by odin root66,"

He's saying you can skip this step.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] serio22:
Thanks, exactly what I meant

Actually you don't even need to be unrooted to unlock, just be running stock based firmware, so if you wanted to you could flash a touchwiz ROM, unlock it, and restore your backup without having to flash back to full stock firmware in Odin
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] henry8668:
I thought I was clear earlier, but now seems not :)

In CWM, when I try to do a backup, it backs up system/data etc, so I think it does backup everything. Is this a Nandroid Backup you guys referring to?

"Going Back to Stock = Flashing Original Stock Firmware that will completely unroot."

In this step, only flash root66, leave it rooted so I don't need to do the root again, right?

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

Got it. So the steps will be:

In CWM, do a full backup (It backs up system/data etc, so I think this is the Nandroid backup you guys referring to, right?)

Flash touchwiz ROM

unlock sim card

in CWM, do a full restore (using the previous full backup).

Is this correct?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] serio22:
Correct.. Just don't forget to do a full wipe when switching to touchwiz, and then again when restoring cm11
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Drashnar:
Ok. I haven't read anything since my last post in this thread. I have an SGH-T999L. I was able to use root66 and get my root setup. I left the stock recovery loaded at the time.

Fast forward to now. I'm ready to load a custom recovery. Is TWRP still the best option? I tried, and could not install it via goomanager. I don't want to just start guessing either. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] serio22:
Use flashify from play store
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Drashnar:
What profile do I select, or will it matter? When I looked at the TWRP website it didn't have the LTE version posted. Is running the non LTE version ok?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] serio22:
What profile? I didn't have to select a profile, although I have T999 but yes the non lte works fine.. you can also download the tar and flash it with mobile Odin if you prefer
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Drashnar:
Ok, downloaded and tried flashify, but it seems to have just removed my root instead. And for whatever reason, odin is not detecting my phone when I put it into download mode either. I just tested the phone and I have normal (non-rooted) functionality, but root is totally gone. I can't access titanium backup pro or supersu. Any ideas?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] serio22:
I'm not sure the app is to blame. Did it have a bad flash? What firmware are you on? And can you get into recovery?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Use Towelroot to reroot.

There are lots of things to try with Odin. Drivers, cables, different usb ports, uninstall kies....
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Drashnar:
Yes, I still have access to the stock recovery. When trying the app I didn't even get a chance to flash anything. I opened the program and it gave me an error saying that I didn't have root. So I went to Supersu to go check, and that started giving me an error too. I'm positive it was the app, as I had full access to Titanium Backup Pro earlier today when I did a full backup. My build number is JSS15J.T999LUVUBNC1. Nothing else explicitly uses the word firmware. I'm in the phone though, so if you need more info let me know.

---------- Post added at 09:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 PM ----------

well, towelroot got me root access back. Still no reaction at all when I plugin the phone to my computer though. I uninstalled the drivers, and I never installed kies anyway, even when I rooted with roo66 originally.

Guess I'll have to keep digging. I don't have an alternate cable I can try, so I suppose it could be that, but I doubt it.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Drashnar:
Well after several times re-installing USB drivers, pulling the battery, and trying again, odin connected and I flashed the latest version of TWRP. However, when I pressed the backup button,it's not backing up (sorry I forget the exact error atm). It appears that it can't see the internal storage? Do I have to mount it manually? Is there some sort of checklist or somewhere I can go that will teach me how to use TWRP? Thanks for all the help everyone. :)
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
At the top of the screen it will say external storage, tap that to change to internal.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Drashnar:
It shows internal storage selected, 0 MB.

I go to the "mount" button, but it won't let me check any box. If I tap where it says internal storage, in order to select something else, it shows all possible mount points at 0 MB. Perhaps a version conflict? This is TWRP version 2.7.1.0. Regardless, all signs point to it not seeing the partitions right. But the phone boots up into normal working mode just fine.

Is TWRP a solid choice? I chose it because I remember reading some months ago that it is the best choice if I'm going to load CM on there? Is it worth switching to CWM? Thank you for all your help.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
I think those who had this problem said cwm worked. Twrp worked just fine for me though, so I really dont know what could be causing it. Are you using a stock kernel? Purely a guess, but if you are maybe it has to do with seLinux. Try flashing an insecure or custom kernel if you care to test that. Otherwise try cwm.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Drashnar:
Ok, I'm gonna head to bed and probably try cwm in the morning. Before I go digging around too much, do you by chance have a link to an odin flashable version of CWM? And also, do you by chance know if I can use the touch version of CWM, or do I have to use the legacy version? Thanks again.

P.S. I'm using the stock kernal that came with root66.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Either version of cwm is fine and you can get them from my sig.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Drashnar:
Sorry for all the stupid questions, but the TWRP file for use with odin was a .tar file. Everything in your sig is a .zip, .img, or .md5. Do I do it the same way I did TWRP just using the .zip file? Thanks for your help.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Flash the .tar.md5 in Odin, .zip in recovery, and the .img is for a manual install via Terminal Emulator.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Drashnar:
Well cwm flashed (thought I got the touch version, but still had to use hardware keys too, but that's a different issue). The paths that it looks at are wrong. For example: it gives me the option to backup to /sdcard, /sdcard1, /storage/sdcard, or /storage/sdcard1, but none of those paths exist on my phone's system. The proper paths that I need to access are /storage/sdcard0 (that is the internal) and/or /storage/exSdCard (this is the external).

Am I just out of luck? I'm beginning to suspect me having the LTE version of this phone is being more of a pain than its worth when it comes to a custom Recovery/ROM.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
I never use cwm so I dont know about all of that. I will flash it later tonight to look if someone else cant help. Which version did you flash? And you got it from the link in my sig right?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Drashnar:
I used CWM_6.0.4.5.tar.md5 from clicking on the link in your sig. I may have to go back myself and try it again if I really want cwm. I found a d2lte variant of Philz Touch Recovery and used that. The odd thing is that that uses the same paths that cwm does. So either I'm missing something, or there's an alias set that points to the external card that makes it all work.

Anyway, Philz Touch worked for me, and I just verified the backup. Looks like I'm all set in the recovery and nandroid backup department. Next up is doing the homework for CM 11.

I still have some searching to do, but I don't suppose you or anyone else has a link to instructions on how to restore my data from my titanium backup after I flash CM 11? Thanks for everything Doc. :good::victory:
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
Trying to restore data from Touchwiz apps onto CM is inviting trouble. You should only restore apps individually. Make sure those apps are not System apps.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] HisLordship:
What did I do?

I'm pretty sure I followed the instructions and did everything I was supposed to do. I tried flashing the rom linked in your ROM section that have had their updater-scripts edited to allow flashing to the T999L. It fails due to not finding a MD5 file. I'm downloading the PureStock Rom. you have linked so I can try and re-install that since my phone no longer has an OS. Any Ideas?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Were you trying to flash a zip file in Odin? Odin only flashes .tar and .tar.md5 files. Zip files are for flashing in custom recovery such as TWRP.

And why dont you have an OS? You manually formatted (wiped) /system I'm guessing. You should never, never, ever do this. All roms format system as their very first step when they are flashed, and if the flash is going to fail it will usually do so before formatting, so you wouldn't have this problem.

I am guessing you are after a stock, rooted rom, so you should just flash the root66 firmware via Odin and you'll be done.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] HisLordship:
I don't fully understand what I need to do. I'll have to read through all that again but. All I did was load TWRP recovery Do a system factory restore. Tried installing the ZIP file you had listed for T999L and it said it failed. I chuckled because I realized I didn't even have a rooted phone anymore. So I rooted my phone with the CF-Auto-Root-d2tmo-d2tmo-sght999.tar (only file I have found to root my phone) with Odin3 v3.09. After that I went back to the TWRP 2.6.3.1 and tried flashing and it failed again. So I tried wiping everything :confused: and after it failed flashing a fifth time I read the tiny letters and it said there was no TWRP said there was no MD5 file. I restarted my phone again and there was no OS. Now I can't access my Micro SD card to put any data on it :eek:

UPDATE I'm downloading the root66 firmware right now and will flash that with Odin.

UPDATE2 It worked Thanks Doc. Any idea where I can get a rom that I can flash my phone with? I'm fine with either LiquidSmooth or CM
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Roms are in both development sections of the forum. Most should flash without issue now. The stuff I had previously posted was right after the T999L was released and devs were playing it safe and not adding it to their scripts to allow it to flash.

Now the biggest issue is CM doesn't update their roms scripts when new firmware is released, so the scripts originally designed to prevent flashing on older and incompatible firmware, now prevent flashing on the latest firmware as well. Most roms with this issue will likely have how to fix it somewhere in their threads. But there are only a few that do this afaik anyway.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
Thanks Doc for Reminding. I may go and submit a commit to CM.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] chefno2:
Sorry for the trouble but after some thought I would like to return this device back to the original state , what is the recommended way?

Thanks for your time Chef :)
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] serio22:
Flash stock firmware with Odin
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] chefno2:
Thanks worked perfect :)
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] RockstarCondoms:
Any Tethering on KitKat Yet?

Hey, any luck with tethering without the carriers knowing? I am running CyanogenMod 11 Snapshot M7. I gave up trying a few months ago, but I would love to be able do it now. I read something about editing "/data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db " but it's not a permanent fix. Would have to be edited every time you boot. Anyone have a permanent fix for tethering on kitkat?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] rikki711:
keep losing root

Hello, i went through the steps to get root following the root66 way. That worked no problems,next made the backup of nv files and then installed TWRP 2.7.0.0. Everything seems fine except i keep losing root. I think it happens everytime i reboot. I then reboot again and i have root again.

Also when i was in TWRP file explorer i could not find my external sd card. Any suggestions would be appreciated
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Can you describe how you are losing root?

In twrp you switch between external and internal sd cards by tapping the heading at the top that says whichever you are currently looking at.

Also make sure its mounted and look in /mnt
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] rikki711:
RE: losing root

I have went through the process 3 times now to root using Docs root66 method. I just keep getting root every other boot. I will have root and then reboot and then no root. I then reboot and have root back. I do not know what to try to get root to take permanently .As for TWRP, i installed TWRP Manager and now i can not get the GUI. I get Android system recovery which does not give me a option to backup.It has

Apply update from ADB

Apply update from external storage

Wipe data/factory reset

Wipe cache partition

Apply update from cache. I included a pic if you can see it. How can i get all this straightened out and just root and install TWRP. At this point i am not worried about the counter forv warranty.Thanks
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Flash the plain stock firmware to start. This is just to make sure nothing is corrupted through all of this. (Very weird btw).

Then in the General section look for my Towelroot thread and follow its instructions.

Once rooted with Towelroot, reboot a few times to make sure it stays. Then get TWRP from the link in my Sig. (Ill upload the latest 2.7.1.0 in a few min). Use the .tar and flash it using Odin. This should gain root and install TWRP.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] itrustno1:
Here it is Doc....

Now im soo broke, I cant even pay attention!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] :
Make sure he does not tick the auto reboot checkbox in Odin. The operating system replaces the recovery using some files in /system/etc I think. After the .tar is flashed, just power off and go straight into recovery and he should have TWRP.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] rikki711:
TWRP not mounting

Hey, i just came across this thread. http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2391616

This is one of the problems i am having(.TWRP not mounting).This may be some useful info. As far as the root problem do you think i could just go ahead and use Towelroot without going back to stock?

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2391616
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
That only happens if you updated by OTA. Its a side effect from how they update the recovery. I had told him to flash the firmware in Odin first, so this would not be an issue.

The files are

/system/etc/install-recovery.sh

/system/recovery-from-boot.p

Forgot all about that. Never needed it though, all the recoveries I've used have always worked just fine for me. Figured it had been fixed in the latest versions.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] :
Oh didn't know...useful information. I thought it was present on any firmware (whether flashed via Odin or OTA).
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] FcHsChilD:
Out of curiosity Doc what recovery do you use?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
I believe he's a TWRP fan.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
And I believe you are correct.

I know some folks have had issues with past versions (even some on the latest two), but I have never had a single issue that was due to the recovery. Philz is good to btw, but I've never been a big fan of the CWM ui.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] adeptustech:
TWRP also updates more often to solve those issues faster than other recoveries.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
I have to agree with both of you. However, TWRP has not added F2FS. CWM did. Could be sore point for some.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] FcHsChilD:
I like Philz it's what I currently use.When I tried TWRP(2.7.0 and 2.7.1) it didn't read any partitions from my T999L at all so I went back to Philz.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Frozin:
I'm having a problem flashing with odin. I"m using the Root66 image.

My phone is the tmobile T999L

Everytime I try to flash the image or even a recovery it fails.

when flashing an image it says

<ID:0/004> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..

<ID:0/004> Please wait..

<ID:0/004> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..

<ID:0/004> Leave CS..

<ID:0/004> SetupConnection..

<ID:0/004> Initialzation..

<ID:0/004> Get PIT for mapping..

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

<ID:0/004> sbl2.mbn

<ID:0/004> Complete(Write) operation failed.

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

I've got the correct drivers installed, and in device manager it recognizes the phone. Any help would be appreciated... If someone has asked about this sorry for asking again, couldn't find a post describing this particular issue.

Thanks
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
What firmware is on your device now and what build were you trying to flash?