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Help Locked out of my s3, what to do?

Carrier: Verizon
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S3 4gLTE 32gb
Model Number: SCH-I535
OS: stock

My friend entered the pattern-swipe password too many times, which made my GS3 lock up and force me "To unlock, sign in with [my] Google account". So, I did that many times to no avail. I tried all 3 of my gmail accounts even though I know which one specifically that associated with the google play account as I had bought an application a few weeks back and found the receipt of that app in my main email. Next, I changed the passwords to all the accounts and tried them again. Then after that I changed all my passwords to strictly numerical passwords so my passwords had no letters in them as I thought perhaps my phone was auto-capitalizing the first letter of my password -- didn't work. I've turned my phone on and off multiple times, taken out the batter and sim card multiple times as well. Also, it's important to note that I attempted to log in with and without the domain name: "emailaddress" and "emailaddress@gmail.com" and that I assume the Wi-Fi is turned off due to the fact that manually turned it off since I was on a cruise at the time that was charging $23 per every half hour of internet... I also turned off the data inside the scroll down menu and then turned on airplane mode; however, I was able to turn off airplane mode via holding down my power button and clicking on the airplane mode button. I'm pretty sure that the data is on now, at least when I try to type in my password.

I talked to Samsung online: they told me that Verizon had unlock codes...

William: As you are unable to unlock the device with the Google account details , please contact the carrier for assistance
William: As the unlock codes are provided by the carrier
William: You can contact Verizon support at 1-888-466-4646.

I called Verizon and they said they can do a factory reset and don't have any such "unlock codes"

I've tried to access the phone with Samsung Kies, but it says that I need to unlock the phone first.
I tried accessing the phone through the my computer folder, but there's nothing inside the SCH-I535 folder.
I right clicked and looked at the properties of the SCH-I535 folder and there was no information provided (not even the file size of the harddrive).
I right clicked and tried to import movies and photos and I couldn't do that.
I tried having someone call me (I can receive calls) and quickly pressing the menu button to try to get into the phone -- that didn't work.

So yeah, I can't get into my phone.
I want to at least be able to retrieve my photos/videos from the family vacation I just went on. Is there a way to salvage them? (I didn't set up dropbox or any backup service for that matter) Does verizon backup assistant plus backup information on your phone without you having to set it up? Is the password that I need to supply the same one as my gmail password?
How can I fix this?

Someone save me.
 
My goal is to save my photos and videos before I factory reset. And no I don't have an external sd card. I've been told that the internal hard drive is not parititioned in a way that would save all my pics/photos in the event that the phone undergoes a factory reset.

I was thinking that I could try using this dude's toolkit:
[SAMSUNG GALAXY S3 TOOLKIT V4.0] Drivers, Backup, Root, CWM, BusyBox + MORE [GSM] - xda-developers
however the problem is that I need to have usb debugging turned on and I'm pretty sure that it's turned off (obviously I can't change that being locked out of the phone)
do you guys see any possible solutions?
 
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Odin doesn't need USB debugging as it uses the phone's download mode. Additionally, before I Odin flash, I format EVERYTHING, so that mode (or any mode) doesn't exist at that point.

When I briefly had a lock pattern, it had me set up a PIN to unlock it in case I forgot the pattern. Is it asking you for that PIN?

Tell your friend he owes you a four-star dinner.
 
Upvote 0
Odin doesn't need USB debugging as it uses the phone's download mode. Additionally, before I Odin flash, I format EVERYTHING, so that mode (or any mode) doesn't exist at that point.

When I briefly had a lock pattern, it had me set up a PIN to unlock it in case I forgot the pattern. Is it asking you for that PIN?

Tell your friend he owes you a four-star dinner.

Sorry, but I'm a major noob, haha. What do you mean by format? And how would I go about doing that? Do I use Odin to format it?

And yeah, it did ask for the pin; although, he also input that input that so many times that it ended up locking my phone. I'm definitely having him buy me a dinner or two.
 
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I don't know what it takes to increment the flash counter; mine is still at zero even though I flashed quite a few times. There is an app to check/reset it (TriangleAway).

Format...just like formatting any other disk. You do it from recovery.

As far as warranty goes, there are other threads about that. Legally and technically, no but that doesn't mean the store won't make it difficult for you.
 
Upvote 0
Carrier: Verizon
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S3 4gLTE 32gb
Model Number: SCH-I535
OS: stock

My friend entered the pattern-swipe password too many times, which made my GS3 lock up and force me "To unlock, sign in with [my] Google account". So, I did that many times to no avail. I tried all 3 of my gmail accounts even though I know which one specifically that associated with the google play account as I had bought an application a few weeks back and found the receipt of that app in my main email. Next, I changed the passwords to all the accounts and tried them again. Then after that I changed all my passwords to strictly numerical passwords so my passwords had no letters in them as I thought perhaps my phone was auto-capitalizing the first letter of my password -- didn't work. I've turned my phone on and off multiple times, taken out the batter and sim card multiple times as well. Also, it's important to note that I attempted to log in with and without the domain name: "emailaddress" and "emailaddress@gmail.com" and that I assume the Wi-Fi is turned off due to the fact that manually turned it off since I was on a cruise at the time that was charging $23 per every half hour of internet... I also turned off the data inside the scroll down menu and then turned on airplane mode; however, I was able to turn off airplane mode via holding down my power button and clicking on the airplane mode button. I'm pretty sure that the data is on now, at least when I try to type in my password.

I talked to Samsung online: they told me that Verizon had unlock codes...

William: As you are unable to unlock the device with the Google account details , please contact the carrier for assistance
William: As the unlock codes are provided by the carrier
William: You can contact Verizon support at 1-888-466-4646.

I called Verizon and they said they can do a factory reset and don't have any such "unlock codes"

I've tried to access the phone with Samsung Kies, but it says that I need to unlock the phone first.
I tried accessing the phone through the my computer folder, but there's nothing inside the SCH-I535 folder.
I right clicked and looked at the properties of the SCH-I535 folder and there was no information provided (not even the file size of the harddrive).
I right clicked and tried to import movies and photos and I couldn't do that.
I tried having someone call me (I can receive calls) and quickly pressing the menu button to try to get into the phone -- that didn't work.

So yeah, I can't get into my phone.
I want to at least be able to retrieve my photos/videos from the family vacation I just went on. Is there a way to salvage them? (I didn't set up dropbox or any backup service for that matter) Does verizon backup assistant plus backup information on your phone without you having to set it up? Is the password that I need to supply the same one as my gmail password?
How can I fix this?

Someone save me.


well, if the point is to save the pics, and you have access to the sd card either by connection or by removing it from the phone, you should be able to access them and copy them.

Then wipe the damn thing and don't let your friends touch your stuff!

p.s. if backup assistant is enabled for photos then yeah, they are backed up. Mine came across when I upgraded a few weeks ago from DroidX to SIII.
 
Upvote 0
Yeah, we really do need a section called: "How to unlock a stolen phone." That way people can just step up and say: "Hey, beat the crap out of this guy last night, took his wallet and phone. Using his credit cards right now but can't get into his damned phone. Would someone on this forum please, pretty please! help me get into his phone? Thanks ahead of time!"
 
Upvote 0
I agree. Odin flashes leave the /data and /sdcard alone (found that out when I forgot to wipe everything once).

My concern is that whatever mechanism is locking it remains but it's worth a try at this point.

Oh! What about the Samsung site? Perhaps you can unlock it there. (You did create a Samsung account, didn't you?)


A samsung account? why do I need a samsung account?
 
Upvote 0
Yeah, we really do need a section called: "How to unlock a stolen phone." That way people can just step up and say: "Hey, beat the crap out of this guy last night, took his wallet and phone. Using his credit cards right now but can't get into his damned phone. Would someone on this forum please, pretty please! help me get into his phone? Thanks ahead of time!"

I'm glad someone finally said it....
 
Upvote 0
Factory reset doesn't delete anything that is stored in internal memory. Pics, videos, downloaded files, etc are all safe. You will lose all your apps, settings, and contacts (if they're not synced in Google).

If the phone is stolen, and the user reported it, the ESN is dirty and it cannot be used.

Why are you guys talking about Odin? Factory reset is a feature in recovery.
 
Upvote 0
Yeah, we really do need a section called: "How to unlock a stolen phone." That way people can just step up and say: "Hey, beat the crap out of this guy last night, took his wallet and phone. Using his credit cards right now but can't get into his damned phone. Would someone on this forum please, pretty please! help me get into his phone? Thanks ahead of time!"

Good point.
Nevertheless, with my case your postulations are negligible due to the fact that if I actually stole this phone, I'd just do a simple factory reset and forget about the photos/videos on the phone as they'd only be incriminating evidence proving to whoever I let borrow my phone that the phone is indeed not mine. But hey, maybe I'm nosy...
 
Upvote 0
well, if the point is to save the pics, and you have access to the sd card either by connection or by removing it from the phone, you should be able to access them and copy them.

Then wipe the damn thing and don't let your friends touch your stuff!

p.s. if backup assistant is enabled for photos then yeah, they are backed up. Mine came across when I upgraded a few weeks ago from DroidX to SIII.

verizon 32gb doesn't come with an external sd card :(
though it does have a virtual sd card partitioned inside the hardrive (I hear from some people that this partition is saved during factory resets, while others say it gets wiped)
and I didn't set up backup assistant :/
 
Upvote 0
I agree. Odin flashes leave the /data and /sdcard alone (found that out when I forgot to wipe everything once).

My concern is that whatever mechanism is locking it remains but it's worth a try at this point.

Oh! What about the Samsung site? Perhaps you can unlock it there. (You did create a Samsung account, didn't you?)

didn't make a samsung account
lol i didn't set anything up... no samsung, vzn backup assistant, dropbox, or google+
i was an idiot
 
Upvote 0
Good point.
Nevertheless, with my case your postulations are negligible due to the fact that if I actually stole this phone, I'd just do a simple factory reset and forget about the photos/videos on the phone as they'd only be incriminating evidence proving to whoever I let borrow my phone that the phone is indeed not mine. But hey, maybe I'm nosy...

"Postulations are negligible..."? Well, you are guilty of barbarian English. Actually... no one cares about a stolen phone per se, it is the info inside thieves want. And I really wasn't accusing you, just that I've read so many helpful "how to break into a phone" postings that I think the appropriate response should be: "Call your manufacturer or provider." My wife once locked herself out of her Nokia (something) and T-Mo told her Nokia had a strict policy that meant you had to call them. Once they determined it really was her phone, they unlocked it.
 
Upvote 0
"Postulations are negligible..."? Well, you are guilty of barbarian English. Actually... no one cares about a stolen phone per se, it is the info inside thieves want. And I really wasn't accusing you, just that I've read so many helpful "how to break into a phone" postings that I think the appropriate response should be: "Call your manufacturer or provider." My wife once locked herself out of her Nokia (something) and T-Mo told her Nokia had a strict policy that meant you had to call them. Once they determined it really was her phone, they unlocked it.

verizon won't do the same :(
 
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just flashed the stock firmware with odin3 v3.04 using firmware from here: [Official] Latest STOCK ROMS for VERIZON SGS3 (SCH-I535) - [06/07/2012 - I535VRALF2] - xda-developers

Claims it was successful and when it rebooted it was still locked :T

The "messages"


<ID:0/007> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> HOME_I535VRALF2_I535VZWALF2_618049_REV09_user_low_ship.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/007> Odin v.3 engine (ID:7)..
<ID:0/007> File analysis..
<ID:0/007> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/007> Initialzation..
<ID:0/007> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/007> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/007> boot.img
<ID:0/007> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/007> recovery.img
<ID:0/007> system.img.ext4
<ID:0/007> NON-HLOS.bin
<ID:0/007> cache.img.ext4
<ID:0/007> RQT_CLOSE !!
<ID:0/007> RES OK !!
<ID:0/007> Completed..
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 1 / failed 0)
<ID:0/007> Removed!!
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<ID:0/005> Removed!!
<ID:0/005> Added!!
 
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