[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] ZipAddict:
This thread is for...​

• Helping you to understand why you would want to upgrade your Samsung Galaxy S3 to a 5.1 ROM.

• Helping to address any concerns prior to this upgrade.

• Helping you to accomplish this upgrade.

• Helping you to troubleshoot and fix any issues after this upgrade.

• Talking about custom kernels, mods, tweaks, custom recoveries, apps, privacy, etc. for the Galaxy S3 running a 5.1 ROM.

• Talking about anything else similar to the above that pertains to the GS3 with a 5.1 ROM.​

Why Would I Want To Upgrade My GS3?​

**** Your Galaxy S3 is an amazing machine for how old it is. However support and customization is limited now that there are "better" phones available. Waiting for updates from android can be frustrating. Some newer software may not work for you. Bugs can get on your last nerve. Everyone else seems to have a cooler phone.

**** By upgrading your phone you can unlock its full potential safely without losing important data stored on the phone. Customization, performance, compatibility, and privacy will improve and can get close to or even surpass some of the brand new devices coming out today! My GS3 outperforms my sisters GS6 in many ways!

**** If you decide to make the change you will feel like you have a brand new phone and forget about upgrading anytime soon! Newer models are removing sd card access, removable batteries, privacy measures that protect you, etc. This phone is a beast if you give it a little TLC! If in the end you prefer the older way you can restore your phone to the exact moment before you upgraded and everything will be the same, no harm done! I am assuming you are rooted already, although this may not be necessary if you are flashing a ROM that is pre-rooted like Cyanogenmod.

Issues That I Have Experienced To Be Aware Of Before Upgrading. Most Of These Are Fixed In Recent Builds, But I'm Including The Solutions That Worked For Me Anyway.​

• Issue: Blackscreen during phone calls

Fix: For me I used xposed app proximity off. Other solutions can cause high cpu usage due to general, sloppy developing

• Issue: No 4g or mms

Fix: For me i used cm12 ting apn zip

Better fix: use apn backup app prior to upgrade and save settings so you can reapply them on new ROM.

• Issue: Battery drain

Fix: For me I recalibrated my battery and used* Xprivacy and Greenify apps along with built in privacy guard advanced settings to double my battery life

• Issue: No sound when using free phone apps

Fix: For me i had to edit my build.prop real quickly and changed mic from digital to analog. Consult with a professional before editing your build.prop

• Issue: Root access denied

Fix: For me I had to enable developer settings and enable root access there

• Issue: App not opening

Fix: For me I had to boot to recovery and wipe cache and dalvik and then reboot.

• Issue: No Google apps or playstore

Fix: For me i had to flash gapps after update.

• Issue: Stuck in boot

Fix: For me i had to pull battery and hold power button down for 30sec. Then using button combination reboot to recovery and wipe cache and dalvik and then reboot.

Things To Do Before Upgrading To Be Safe​

~ Research ROMS and select one that is for your device model# specifically (ex: sprint s3 is different from verizon s3). If unsure just ask!

~ Make sure your battery is fully charged.

~ This guide is for the sprint variant. Other variants may have locked bootloaders and if so this could brick your device without first unlocking.

~ Install custom recovery (I recommend TWRP. CWM has known problems with our device, so please don't use it if you care about your device).

~ Create a TWRP backup (also called nandroid backup) and put on sd card.

~ Backup your texts to sd card using app called Sms backup and restore.

~ Backup music, pics, vids, downloads, contacts, calendar, etc. to sd card.

~ Backup apps to sd card using Titanium Backup App. Although it will be better to re-download them after upgrading.

~ Email yourself links to your bookmarks in browser.

~ Screenshot anything that you cant figure out how to save.

~ Look at each app in your list of app and think "is there any data in this app that I don't want to lose?"

~ Backup anything else not mentioned above that you care about to sd card.

~ Download ROM zip and gapps zip to sd card.

How To Accomplish This Upgrade​

~ If there is anything you don't understand yet, please ask now!

~ Do everything listed under "Things To Do Before Upgrading To Be Safe".

~ Verify in file manager that your nandroid backup, all important data, and all zips needed for upgrade are on your sd card not internal storage.

~ Make sure your battery is fully charged.

~ Boot to custom recovery (Please use TWRP!)

~ Pull out sd card so that you don't accidentally erase it.

~ Select wipe-advanced wipe-and check the boxes for dalvik, system, data, internal storage, cache.

~ Reinsert sd card.

~ Select install-micro sd card (touch where it says, "storage: internal storage" and switch to micro sd card)

~ Find and select new 5.1 ROM zip and Gapps zip on sd card.

~ Flash them and reboot to system.

~ Allow about 15min reboot.

~ Go through initial setup of ROM to get to home screen.

~ Let it sit on home screen for about 10 more minutes to allow background processes to update.

~ Get ready to show off your phone because it will be amazing!

Give it time to reboot and dont interrupt the process it typically takes 15 min total. If you are stuck at boot image still then pull the battery out, and hold down power button for 30 seconds. Then replace battery and reboot directly to recovery by holding down power, volume up, and home. When it flashes logo and in top left corner you see blue writing, then let go of power button and continue to hold volume up and home until you see the recovery screen. Then wipe cache and dalvik cache and reboot. If this does not work, then all you need to do is boot to recovery again using hardbutton combo like above, and restore your nandroid backup from sd card. If you brick your device by making a mistake somehow in all of this, and you forgot to nandroid, then you need to search for the debrick image for your specific device to start over, or use odin to flash back to stock, but it will come back to life dont worry.

Btw I am running cm12.1 nightly with Dkp kernel, Lspeed mod, Xposed 5.1, and carrier is Ting.

Ask me if you are interested in help to finely tune battery, performance, and privacy after installing your 5.1 ROM.​

Related XDA Threads (with permission)​

Dkp

- This is a custom kernel that works for sprint GS3 model. Other variants available on other thread by him.* I love it!* Special thanks to [MENTION=4932679]decimalman[/MENTION] for his hard work!:good::good:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2174403

Lspeed

- This is a module that should work with any device.* Its amazing!* Special thanks to [MENTION=5514152]Paget96[/MENTION] for his hard work!:good::good:

http://xdaforums.com/android/software-hacking/tweak-l-speed-v1-0-02-02-2015-t3020138