yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] scifan:
Warranty's long gone... and well, I've played with this phone previously... just let her have it when she chose between that and the Sony Xperia ZL I'm currently running with.

I remember the whole fiasco about trying to downgrade and what not when they finally released 4.3 (and you torched at least one S3 phone while putzing with the first 4.3 release...)

So, just grab the root66 for the latest, and flash via odin without wiping data, and it should be golden? (well, and add twrp later if I feel so inclined?)
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Lol, yeah, I've kinda had a streak of bad luck when it comes to my phones!

But it sounds like you'll be good to go. Just remember, if it seems at all buggy, a factory reset should fix it. If you recall the initial release of 4.3 did not go well. Lots of people were complaining about all sorts of problems, but from what I could tell, it was everyone who updated via OTA and did not factory reset.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
What I want to do is get the update if it ever becomes available then reroot my phone and have TWRP

recovery basically rooted with stock firmware as I had previously. I looked at files in my phone under

TWRP and there is no file for restore only recovery but in a format that my phone can`t read or open

so do I have to download it again and start all over? Cause it looks as if it`s a file on my phone but not

accessible to restore.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Try making a new nandroid backup. Then odin flash the official (not root66) firmware and factory reset.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Is nandroid what I had previously? ( When I was rooted ) I`m not understanding Nandroid concept.) As for making a new backup I don`t think I can because the TWRP backup is on my sd card and there is no restore file only recovery that breaks down to I think binary files

that can`t be accessed or used. I do how ever have everything on my desktop ( PC ) the official firmware, Odin, CF Autoroot,

and TWRP. I did make backup`s on Kies but I believe it`s only contacts and misc etc. I will most likely have to start from

scratch at this point since I have no workable backup. I have one concern though I have been reading about locked bootloaders

recently and can`t seem to find a answer on how to check and what to look for in my model of the phone I own would you help

me to figure out if I have this or not and how or where to check for it? Thanks.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
The T999 and variants dont have locked bootloaders. A locked bootloader prevents you from flashing recovery and kernel making roit much more difficult and some types of roms near impossible to use. As of 4.3, our bootloader will not let you flash older firmware. But you can still flash older roms, recoveries, kernels.

A nandroid backup is one made from twrp or cwm. It creates complete image files of your system, data and kernel. So when you restore it you should be running identical to what you had when you created it.

Redownload twrp 2.7.0.0 from my signature. Get the .tar or .tar.md5 file and flash in odin. (Put it in ap for odin 3.09 or pda for any other version)

Next boot recovery and create your backup. Still in twrp use the built in file manager to copy it to external sd. (And anything else you want to save from internal sd)

Now factory reset. Then reboot download and odin flash the firmware.

Now you will be full stock and if you choose, you can reload twrp and restore to your current state.

If you want individual backups of apps id suggest Titanium Backup. This needs root to function though.

Hope that helps!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Okay yeah thanks it gives me a better idea of what I need to do. I have all the files you mentioned on my PC. What is your choice of zip programs to use? I currently use 7zip to unzip files but sometimes when I extract a file I don`t get just one file but several when I right click instead of extract here option in the program I get other options only when I drag and drop the zip file to a new folder I then get the option to extract here. Does that corrupt the file doing it that way or it doesn`t make a difference how you unzip it?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
It only makes a difference if its a signed pkg. But then all you need to do is delete the signature files. I prefer 7zip myself. If you download twrp in zip format, flash the zip file in recovery. If its a .tar file you flash it in odin. No need to extract unless your trying to do something else.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
So the CF Autoroot has to be flashed first to establish root before anything else?

Just need the order that these files should be as in CF first then TWRP second.

and I think the stock firmware. The only thing I don`t get is doing a factory reset

because when I do that everything is back in factory is there a reason for doing this?

Thanks Doc your helping me understand all of the details with customizing my phone

I appreciate you taking time too help me to understand and safely get my phone modified.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
You dont need root to flash and use twrp. So rooting first would be up to you. If you want root flash the root66 firmware instead of official firmware.

The reason I say to factory reset is because if something is inaccessible on your internal storage, it may be the /0/0/0 folder problem. Factory resetting would fix that (if using stock recovery anyway. If using twrp choose format data instead). Youre welcome to try skipping this at first, but if issues continue itll set you back to an oob state so everything should be read correctly. If it still is not, it may be a deeper, possibly hardware issue.

After JB, if you flash a rom it creates a new folder at /storage/0 for internal storage. Every rom flash after will create a new folder and it wont see the previous contents. It can look like this for example: /storage/0/0/0/0/0/0/

The data you might be looking for could be in the 3rd /0 folder. Hope that makes sense!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
What file manager are you using? mine are MY FILES and second is ES file EXPLORER and neither of the two have 0000 folders they both show icons and labels. I think I know why there not accessible is because I have to have a app that can open them which now since I unrooted I have no longer or the app is missing only thing is though is I don`t know what format the files are in all I know is that the icon is a white folder accompanied by a label so the problem I`m having is the format of the files. when I try to open the file it gives me ( unable to find application to perform this action ) I can not find any 0 files in either of them.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
I use root explorer. And you would need root access to get to those folders. Or use the built in file manager if you install twrp. The /0/0 folder may or may not be an issue for you. I might just not be understanding exactly what you are seeing. Its just a possible explanation.

Its the nandroid files youre looking for right?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] sonwon:
I have a /storage/emulated/0 folder should I be concerned? stock 4.3 ROM debloated. I don't see any other 0 folders under this one.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
No but if you flash another rom and your data is gone youll know where to look.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Yes, The backup I made in twrp I did have twrp installed do I have to go to recovery mode to find it?

---------- Post added at 10:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 PM ----------

I`m in android system recovery ( not twrp recovery) go to external sd card. I scroll down to twrp go to backups then the official firmware string then it shows me four files 1. boot.emmc.win.md5 2. cache.ext4.win.md5 3. data.ext4.win.md5 4. system.ext4.win.md5 which one of these is my backup file?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
They all are. Boot is the kernel.

Cache, data and system are each of the individual partitions.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
So the files are all separated which means I can`t restore the backup I`ll just have to start from scratch is what your saying.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
No, thats exactly how tgey should be. When you go to restore, select system, kernel and data and itll write each back to their partitions. Or just choose system and kernel if you like. Its like that to give you options.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
I`m confused how do I select all the files when I`m in recovery mode cause I can only select one by the volume button then hold the power button to enter it if I select boot won`t the phone then reboot back out of recovery I don`t get it could you explain how it works. Thanks.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
There should be boxes to check for each one if I remember right. Are you sure you are using twrp?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] AlexHer:
Thank you for the work done.

Helped a lot!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
My recovery at this time is stock not twrp or cwm. I had twrp when I was rooted

but after I unrooted I had it no longer it went back to stock android recovery it is just file`s in my sd card and there

isn`t any boxes to check only binary strings that I listed previously. boot, cache, data, an system no boxes to check.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Nandroid backups can only be used by the recovery which created them. So you need to flash twrp back onto your device in order to restore. Stock recovery is pretty much useless. There is very little you can actually do with it.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
You could try Nandroid Manager if you want to extract something out of that nandroid. But if you want to restore everything then it has to be same exact Recovery.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
I have a question hopefully you can answer it seems that gs3 t999 t mobile isn`t going to get the kk update anytime soon.

I was wondering if there is a way to get the kk firmware that is compatible with my model phone and

is close or official firmware that I can flash to my phone I`ve been reading about the i9300 international gs3

having the way to upgrade to 4.2.2 kk just curious if anyone knows if there is a way to upgrade for the t999.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
Oh there's Stable Kitkat on the T999 Since beginning of the Year. Pretty Rugged Daily driver for me since then on my T999. It just isn't like Official. The official firmware is Touchwiz Framwork based and is called Stock or TW. There is AOSP Kitkat for the T999. It is what you'd call Google Play Edition of the S3. Google AOSP for more details. I use SlimKat Rom on my phone.

Let me know if you want to go down this Road.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Sound`s interesting does this Rom work with twrp? and does it have all

the functions of the s4 version? I like it to be as close to official as possible.

And do you have the tut or thread that gives instructions to flash the ROM?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Aosp and touchwiz are quite different. Im not sure what you saw but last I checked there was no S3 anywhere with an official 4.4 update.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
It was youtube videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZGPeuXIndQ How to update Samsung Galaxy S3 too 4.2.2 official firmware i9300 it`s the 4.2.2 JB not 4.4.2 JB And now I`m really stumped because at first I thought it was 4.2.2 now I see 4.4.2 is 4.4.2 the latest version of JB and how do I get it on my device Perseus71 said he was running slimkat on his t999 but didn`t tell me the version of it. I looked it up in threads and found several threads on it I typed in general search slimkat t999 and I`m more confused then ever lol.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] shredswithpiks:
Is it just me, or is this download for odin v.3.09 full of malware?

https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/...4efd2d5ce7bafc64e0f22cba69071e10a8c/analysis/
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] sonwon:
There is a version out there that is full of malware, took me two hours before I was comfortable that the system was clean. Funny thing is the anti-virus package didn't see the spyware stuff at all. I had to use Spybot Search and Destroy, Malwarebytes Malware remover, and another which I don't remember the name of. Good news is there was no rootkit that I could detect. Also required a manual clean of Chrome. I think I forgot to check IE. I never use anyway. My Win 7 partition is only used for games not compatible with Linux and Odin as I am usually in Xubuntu.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] shredswithpiks:
Absolutely. I'm reformatting now because I trusted a regular XDA contributor's post. The link in the OP is full of malware.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] sonwon:
I doubt the OP knew that downloads from odindownload.com are unsafe. If the OP is around please remove that link as it is trouble.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
OP updated.

When I had originally posted, that website domain pointed correctly to the same place where the other threads pointed to.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
I`ve been looking at this slimroms version and find that it is compatible with my device t999 is this the rom your using

Slim-d2mtr-4.4.2.build.4.1-OFFICIAL ? aka slimkat
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Slimkat is not an official bssed rom om pretty certain. I just checked and there is still no 4.4.2 update for any s3, anywhere. There are still international models waiting for 4.3 in fact.

4.3 is the latest and is JB. 4.4.x is kitkat.

You can always get odin and more from the links in my sig. No malware here!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Ok Doc what would you suggest I use to get kk on my device? I appreciate all your helpful info thanks I would like to try a unofficial rom

for test purposes.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
No that's the MetroPCS Version. You want Slim-d2lte-4.4.2.build.4.6-WEEKLY-3819

If you want Official /Stable then Slim-d2att-4.4.2.build.4.1-OFFICIAL

(There is no D2LTE Stable release yet)
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] sonwon:
I can confirm that I had no issues with Doc's links, odindownload.com is NOT safe.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Stick with [MENTION=3639717]Perseus71[/MENTION] and his suggestions. I dont use cm/aosp roms (personal preference), and he will know a great deal more than I do about these.

If you dont want to use one of these then you will just have to wait....
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
My phone is originally t mobile but my service is metro pcs I quit t mobile because they were charging a arm and a leg

for service so does it matter what service your on? or the brand name of the device?

---------- Post added at 07:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:03 PM ----------

Ok doc thank you your advice is very useful thanks again.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
Yes it does matter. If your Phone Model is SGH-T999 then you need to follow the D2LTE version(s) I linked. But if you bought the phone from MetroPCS then you will follow the d2MTR version you linked.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
I bought the phone from T mobile just have service from metro pcs.

I need to be rooted first right? as I am official status at this time. I used cf auto root

then twrp for recovery are they compatible with this ROM?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
Look at the sticker behind the Battery. I bet it says SGH-T999 since you bought from T-Mobile. So you use D2LTE Version.

No need to Root. Just flash TWRP first then the SlimBean Rom.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Yes that`s the model # of my phone. So this is the name

of the rom I use Slim-d2lte-4.4.2.build.4.6-WEEKLY-3819 aka slim bean?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Okay thank you I`ll give it a try thanks for your help.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Hey Perseus The ROM is a zip file do I unzip it or leave as is?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
You take the Zip as is. Flash it via a custom Recovery such as TWRP. Make sure to turn off Md5 check in the recovery.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
I am in TWRP recovery and can`t find md5 check, where is it under... install, wipe, backup,restore, mount,settings, advanced, reboot? I have the free version with ads, and is it in a file that you have to scroll to? please help thanks.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Never mind I wasn`t in recovery just the app on the phone all the options

were un checked when I hit settings all good.. now where do I put the ROM

on my sd card or internal memory?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Should be able to use either and tell twrp which its in in the settings.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
I finally got the slimkat running on my phone it`s nice ROM but

tends to reboot alot just by me holding the device in my hand not

sure how to fix it anyone having the same problem with the USA

version t mobile s3 t999 and have a solution to fix it?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] sonwon:
It sounds like a kernel issue. I would recommend running the stock ROM and debloat it using Doc's debloater script. If it is rooted you can run Xposed and setup the ROM mostly like you want, just make sure you backup before using Xposed and before installing new modules. Also use Greenify to control the background apps from killing your battery.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] netfortius:
I am familiar and previously used [MENTION=3355398]mrRobinson[/MENTION] debloater script. Where is doc's one?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Actually, I never made one. There are several floating around though. I know [MENTION=4788211]Aerowinder[/MENTION] used to have one in his sig.....at least I think he did. mrRobinsons would probably do just as well though.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] sonwon:
Yes, got confused mrRobinsons is the one I used and it worked great.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] El_Chapo:
When it was done with the Auto-Root and it rebooted, it said Superuser is not responding.

Then it said KNOX blocked an application that was trying to access my phone without my permission.

Root Checker also says its not rooted!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
[MENTION=3639717]Perseus71[/MENTION]

Just a suggestion, but you might consider updating the OP to link to mrRobinsons root66 firmware since its out now and already has knox removed. Id also consider linking to my firmware thread rather than (or in addition to) sammobile. Downloading from there should prove to be a much faster option. Like I said though, just a suggestion. Thanks!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Well after testing cf root over an over and having issues I decided to try root66 and it works great

my device runs smooth I can tweak with xposed and gravity box now I have soft keys nav and gives

my phone a custom look thanks guys I also did a back up of the rooted stock fw in twrp on my sd card

now I can restore stock fw or rooted fw at will and have the folder on my computer as well. Just curious

since the fw is injected w/root will the status of the device remain custom or is there a way to set it too

official?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
There are ways but its purely cosmetic. All it realky means is it wont try to download otas which doesnt matter because it would fail to flash anyway.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Oh I see so I would have to un root and advance wipe reinstall stock fw to

be official status again. I`m glad that knox was removed with this fw was really

annoyed by all that security blocking non stock rooting apps etc. And besides

it is our devices not samsungs we should be able to do what ever we want with our

devices, We bought and paid for, just like apple prevents on their devices except when jailbroken which gives

the user freedom to what they want with the device.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
Correct on how to reset to official status for an ota.

Things may have changed since my gen1 ipod touch, but as i recall, even jailbreaking doesn't do much. I remember wanting to overclock and the only answer I got anywhere was "why would you want to do that"! Finally was told it simply couldnt be done with apple. Was and will forever be my last apple product!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Yes things have changed quite a bit for jailbreaking i touches but who cares. the only thing

I`m worried about is can I keep all my root and rooted apps on my sd card so I can get everything back

after I`m updated or must I start all over again sigh! ?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Almazick:
50/50 it'll work. In my case upgrade didn't work properly or I was lazy to fix it. Probably you have to grant all your rooted apps su access and do a few restarts, otherwise expect to wipe the whole phone and start from scratch. Sometimes starting from scratch is faster than fixing all non working apps.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
That what I thought guess there`s no way around it but to start from scratch kind of

a pain but it is what it is lol
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Almazick:
If all your apps just APK files then you can install them all at once using ADB or you can find an app in google play store which installs all your apps from a folder. In my case wiping is not easy :) I usually delete around 50 apk files from /system/app folder manually and everytime I do upgrade it restores all unneded apps. Someday I'll create a script which would delete all that junk automatically with one step instead of deleting file by file using root explorer.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
I wish.. no there not all apk some are md5 tars and google apps I`m just hoping

that s3 t999 will eventually get the kk update can`t seem to find anything about

the update coming for the s3 t999 wish someone knew.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Almazick:
Why do you need KK update? I don't know about you but I don't see much of a difference between Android 2.x and 4.x. I don't use any of the android apps except for phone and sms, for everything else I use third party software for launcher, files, music, camera and etc.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
Do you use xposed framework? the JB version sucks compared to

the KK version I`ve seem a lot of vids (youtube) on the subject and there are

alot more tweak options then JB version that`s really the reason I want kk
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] DocHoliday77:
As long as youre not making a huge jump in android version (4.1-4.3 for ex) and youre staying on touchwiz it shouldnt be an issue to keep everything as is. Back up as always just in case and if you have issues you can factory reset and restore only essential data.

Download one of the debloater scripts and edit it in Notepad++. Just change the apps to the ones you want removed.

watch for it on the i9300/i9305 first. We would usually be several weeks after that.

KK will have extra features and should provide a fair increase in battery and performance.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Almazick:
I've never used xposed framework but I saw videos about Gravity Box module and I didn't find it useful. Any cool modules that you really need to use? Mind to share?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] panteralives4:
I want to stay with the stock fw injected w/root hope there be a version for

kk stock w/root in the making soon.

---------- Post added at 07:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 AM ----------

Gravity box is a good module but like I said JB version sucks

but the kk Gravity box has more tweaks then JB take a look

at youtube videos on it there are many tuts about it I found a few

modules that are useful without having to flash a custom rom to

get the tweak the one I found on JB that is useful was Xperia/AOSP Navbar Buttons

which gives you soft keys on the bottom of your screen.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Perseus:
Sorry Doc, missed this post. I have updated OP.