Root [ROOT] Samsung Galaxy s3 (SCH-S968C) (straight talk)

[ChronicLord]

THIS IS YOUR ONE AND ONLY WARNING FOLLOW ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY AND I HOLD NO RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU BRICK YOUR PHONE!!

******SIDE NOTE: this ONLY works with a Samsung Galaxy s3 from straight talk model number :SCH-S968C i am not held responsible if you try and do it with a different phone...

and now that thats out of the way.
What you need.

1. Samsung galaxy s3 (SCH-S968C) from straight talk.
2. cydiaimpactor http://www.cydiaimpactor.com/
3. cyanogenmod 10.1.3-d2vzw http://get.cm/get/aW7 <there or there> http://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=d2vzw
4. google play apps (for 10.1 http://itvends.com/gapps/gapps-jb-20130812-signed.zip.torrent)
5. usb cable
6. about an hour if you dont know what your doing.
7. Clockworkmod Touch http://download2.clockworkmod.com/recoveries/recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.4.5-d2vzw.img ( or here> http://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager its samsung galaxy s3 (verison) clockworkmod touch)
8. google keyboard (http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google...board-4-0-21173-1568296-android-apk-download/)
9. and the terminal emulator app for your phone from the appstore.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
plug your phone into your computer and make sure it is on

run the cydia impactor (it should say "# drop SuperSU su to /system/xbin/su" without the quotes"

click start and you have rooted your phone
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
now to get TouchRecovery on your phone.

1) downloaded this recover IMG (http://download2.clockworkmod.com/recoveries/recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.4.5-d2vzw.img)
2) Renamed it to "recovery" (no quotes), and placed it in the root of my sd
3) downloaded Terminal Emulator from the playstore
4)Run terminal and type: su (press enter)
Then type: dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18 (press enter) **That is MMCBLK(zero)P(one)(eight)

NB: i take NO CREDIT for this.NB: DONT SCREW UP THE TERMINAL COMMANDS!!! YOU WILL BRICK YOUR PHONE!


On the same site you can also find ROMs for the devise, however, you flash at your own risk buddy



AS FOR YOUR ROOTING ISSUE...its kinda odd, i used it and it worked flawlessly and in 8 second...(my co-workers and i timed it). its one of the fastest rooting methods i have ever seen, if not the fastest.


once you have touch recovery its time to make your first back up of your system... just incase..
it will take about 5 minutes to an hour (depending on how much you are backing up..)

now once your back up is complete its time to say your final goodbyes to your original ROM, for now
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
factory reset the phone and turn it back on..
move the 4 files you downloaded

1. cyanogenmod 10.1.3-d2vzw http://get.cm/get/aW7 <there or there> http://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=d2vzw
2. google play apps (for 10.1 http://itvends.com/gapps/gapps-jb-20130812-signed.zip.torrent)
3. google keyboard (http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google...board-4-0-21173-1568296-android-apk-download/)
4. NoBloat (https://www.dropbox.com/s/gyi25h8060kjpaq/com.tvkdevelopment.nobloatfree.apk?dl=0)

to the root (main folder) of your sdcard (or sdcard0)

once the files are done transfering reboot into touch recovery either via the app or by disconnecting if from power and holding power volume+ and home until blue letters show up in the top left hand corner once you are in touch recovery you can go ahead and plug it back in though

once in touch recovery select
install zip>choose SD card>cm-10.1.3-d2vzw.zip>yes - install
once it finishes (anywhere from 5-30 minutes) go ahead and boot up and make sure it load cyanogenmod...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
IF IT STAYS AT THE CYANOGENMOD SCREEN FOR TOO LONG (longer than a minute) REBOOT INTO RECOVERY AND DO A FACTORY DATA RESET/WIPE, WIPE YOUR CACHE, AND CLICK ADVANCED AND WIPE YOUR DALVIK CACHE
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
now turn on your phone
go to your file system and install NoBloat AND google keyboard (make sure to turn on install from outside sources)
TO STOP THE AOSP KEYBOARD ERROR>>>Run NoBloat and delete "Android Keyboard (AOSP)" no quotes (com.android.inputmethod.latin)

REINSTALL CLOCKWORK ROM ON YOUR PHONE FOR EASY RECOVERY ACCESS

now you will probably want play store though so you have to boot back into recovery and install zip again and then look for the file named "gapps-jb-20130812-signed.zip" (no quotes)

once you do that you should have a straight talk galaxy s3 with cyanogenmod and google playstore

 

[sweetcandyboo]

awesome i was thinking of this method lastnight how will i know if its rooted after this process

 

[AMOCO]

You may want to put Root in the title.
BTW,Awesome guide.

 

[sweetcandyboo]

You may want to put Root in the title.
BTW,Awesome guide.

have you tried this method ?

 

[AMOCO]

have you tried this method ?

I don't have that device.

 

[sweetcandyboo]

I don't have that device.

oh okay it didnt work for me anyways

 

[ChronicLord]

oh okay it didnt work for me anyways

you can check if it is working by downloading a Rootchecker on your phone

and what didnt work? the root? or getting cyanogenmod on your phone

 

[ChronicLord]

You may want to put Root in the title.
BTW,Awesome guide.

thank you and i will go ahead and do that

 

[sweetcandyboo]

you can check if it is working by downloading a Rootchecker on your phone

and what didnt work? the root? or getting cyanogenmod on your phone

the root

 

[Droidriven]

the root

Go to system settings>about phone>baseband, if it ends in H2 then towelroot and cydia impactor won't work, they work on the H1 baseband.

If you have the H2 then you will need to downgrade the stock firmware by flashing the stock H1 firmware through Odin, then you'll be able to root as this guide says, there is a guide on flexispy that I updated them on that explains how to downgrade, I can link you to the guide and the H1 firmware if you do indeed have the H2.

 

[sweetcandyboo]

Go to system settings>about phone>baseband, if it ends in H2 then towelroot and cydia impactor won't work, they work on the H1 baseband.

If you have the H2 then you will need to downgrade the stock firmware by flashing the stock H1 firmware through Odin, then you'll be able to root as this guide says, there is a guide on flexispy that I updated them on that explains how to downgrade, I can link you to the guide and the H1 firmware if you do indeed have the H2.

how do i kno that i have the h2 or not

 

[Droidriven]

..

 

[Droidriven]

how do i kno that i have the h2 or not

I explained that in the first part of my post. Its in your system settings menu in the about phone menu

 

[sweetcandyboo]

I explained that in the first part of my post. Its in your system settings menu in the about phone menu

build number ends in H2

 

[Droidriven]

build number ends in H2

OK, I'll be right back with the guide to downgrade and a link to the H1 tar, the rest of the info for rooting/flashing recovery and the ROMs are not even close to what is up to date but for the newer stuff you'll need a CDMA SIM card if you want to flash a newer custom ROM or you won't get any 3g data. There are a few 4.4.4 Kit Kat ROMs that work without a SIM but they require third party apps for camera and MMS(SMS works fine but not multimedia like pic messages). I can walk you through however you want to go and get you setup with whatever you want within your means.

 

[sweetcandyboo]

OK, I'll be right back with the guide to downgrade and a link to the H1 tar, the rest of the info for rooting/flashing recovery and the ROMs are not even close to what is up to date but for the newer stuff you'll need a CDMA SIM card if you want to flash a newer custom ROM or you won't get any 3g data. There are a few 4.4.4 Kit Kat ROMs that work without a SIM but they require third party apps for camera and MMS(SMS works fine but not multimedia like pic messages). I can walk you through however you want to go and get you setup with whatever you want within your means.

okay

 

[Droidriven]

okay

Here for the downgrading guide
http://blog.flexispy.com/root-samsung-galaxy-s3-sch-s968c/

Here for the H1 firmware
http://www.sdboyd56.com/s968c/H1baseband.html

You'll need Odin 3.09 to flash the firmware to the phone, the guide I gave you has a link to Odin and the firmware but don't use it, it takes you to something for the i9300. Instead do a Google search for Odin 3.09 and use the link I gave you to get the firmware. Follow the guide I gave you on how to use Odin and the firmware.

Here for the USB drivers you'll need just in case you don't already have them.
http://www.mediafire.com/?jotj0yjj4st761t

If that link for the drivers doesn't work then do a search for "USB drivers for Samsung phones", make sure you've got them installed.

After you follow the guide and you've successfully downgraded to the H1 firmware and you're booted and signed back in your phone you can download the " Towelroot.apk" and install it on your phone(make sure you go to security settings and turn on "unknown sources" before you download the apk), after installing, open it and tap the "make it rain" button and you'll be rooted in seconds.

Then go to playstore and install superSU.

Then install "EZ Recovery for VZW" or "Flashify" from playstore.

Then do a Google search for "CWM 6.0.4.5.img for d2vzw", make sure the recovery is in .img format, you don't want .zip or .tar. When its downloaded place it where you know where it is at and then use EZ recovery or Flashify to flash the recovery, you can find directions for either app very easily.

Then you can boot to recovery and make your first nandroid backup of your stock ROM. From there you can go on to flashing custom ROMs and Gapps.

Do you have access to a CDMA SIM card? A Verizon 4G SIM card works best because it can get stock MMS working without having to use third party apps, the newer ROMs that require the SIM have a working camera and MMS but the older KK ROMs don't. There is one KK ROM that I know of that doesn't require SIM and has a working camera but not a working MMS, its 4.4.4 and its packed with features and has its own themed Gapps package and its own custom kernel that can also be flashed with it.

If you have any questions or have any issues with what I've given you then I'll help you through it.

 

[Droidriven]

okay

By the way, I meant to say that the ROMs that don't have a working stock MMS can use Google hangouts for MMS.

 

[Droidriven]

THIS IS YOUR ONE AND ONLY WARNING FOLLOW ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY AND I HOLD NO RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU BRICK YOUR PHONE!!

******SIDE NOTE: this ONLY works with a Samsung Galaxy s3 from straight talk model number :SCH-S968C i am not held responsible if you try and do it with a different phone...

and now that thats out of the way.
What you need.

1. Samsung galaxy s3 (SCH-S968C) from straight talk.
2. cydiaimpactor http://www.cydiaimpactor.com/
3. cyanogenmod 10.1.3-d2vzw http://get.cm/get/aW7 <there or there> http://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=d2vzw
4. google play apps (for 10.1 http://itvends.com/gapps/gapps-jb-20130812-signed.zip.torrent)
5. usb cable
6. about an hour if you dont know what your doing.
7. Clockworkmod Touch http://download2.clockworkmod.com/recoveries/recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.4.5-d2vzw.img ( or here> http://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager its samsung galaxy s3 (verison) clockworkmod touch)
8. google keyboard (http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google...board-4-0-21173-1568296-android-apk-download/)
9. and the terminal emulator app for your phone from the appstore.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
plug your phone into your computer and make sure it is on

run the cydia impactor (it should say "# drop SuperSU su to /system/xbin/su" without the quotes"

click start and you have rooted your phone
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
now to get TouchRecovery on your phone.

1) downloaded this recover IMG (http://download2.clockworkmod.com/recoveries/recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.4.5-d2vzw.img)
2) Renamed it to "recovery" (no quotes), and placed it in the root of my sd
3) downloaded Terminal Emulator from the playstore
4)Run terminal and type: su (press enter)
Then type: dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18 (press enter) **That is MMCBLK(zero)P(one)(eight)

NB: i take NO CREDIT for this.NB: DONT SCREW UP THE TERMINAL COMMANDS!!! YOU WILL BRICK YOUR PHONE!


On the same site you can also find ROMs for the devise, however, you flash at your own risk buddy



AS FOR YOUR ROOTING ISSUE...its kinda odd, i used it and it worked flawlessly and in 8 second...(my co-workers and i timed it). its one of the fastest rooting methods i have ever seen, if not the fastest.


once you have touch recovery its time to make your first back up of your system... just incase..
it will take about 5 minutes to an hour (depending on how much you are backing up..)

now once your back up is complete its time to say your final goodbyes to your original ROM, for now
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
factory reset the phone and turn it back on..
move the 4 files you downloaded

1. cyanogenmod 10.1.3-d2vzw http://get.cm/get/aW7 <there or there> http://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=d2vzw
2. google play apps (for 10.1 http://itvends.com/gapps/gapps-jb-20130812-signed.zip.torrent)
3. google keyboard (http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google...board-4-0-21173-1568296-android-apk-download/)
4. NoBloat (https://www.dropbox.com/s/gyi25h8060kjpaq/com.tvkdevelopment.nobloatfree.apk?dl=0)

to the root (main folder) of your sdcard (or sdcard0)

once the files are done transfering reboot into touch recovery either via the app or by disconnecting if from power and holding power volume+ and home until blue letters show up in the top left hand corner once you are in touch recovery you can go ahead and plug it back in though

once in touch recovery select
install zip>choose SD card>cm-10.1.3-d2vzw.zip>yes - install
once it finishes (anywhere from 5-30 minutes) go ahead and boot up and make sure it load cyanogenmod...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
IF IT STAYS AT THE CYANOGENMOD SCREEN FOR TOO LONG (longer than a minute) REBOOT INTO RECOVERY AND DO A FACTORY DATA RESET/WIPE, WIPE YOUR CACHE, AND CLICK ADVANCED AND WIPE YOUR DALVIK CACHE
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
now turn on your phone
go to your file system and install NoBloat AND google keyboard (make sure to turn on install from outside sources)
TO STOP THE AOSP KEYBOARD ERROR>>>Run NoBloat and delete "Android Keyboard (AOSP)" no quotes (com.android.inputmethod.latin)

REINSTALL CLOCKWORK ROM ON YOUR PHONE FOR EASY RECOVERY ACCESS

now you will probably want play store though so you have to boot back into recovery and install zip again and then look for the file named "gapps-jb-20130812-signed.zip" (no quotes)

once you do that you should have a straight talk galaxy s3 with cyanogenmod and google playstore

The EZ recovery for VZW app or Flashify are easier for flashing the recovery .img , also the towelroot app also roots in seconds, in fact, a PC is not needed in any step to root or install recovery as long as the phones baseband ends in H1, if it ends in H2 then the device has to be downgraded to H1 baseband via Odin using the stock H1 .tar.

 

[Droidriven]

okay

Are you or did you have any luck with doing this?

 

[sweetcandyboo]

Are you or did you have any luck with doing this?

i wish i knew sumbody that cud help me with this

 

[Droidriven]

i wish i knew sumbody that cud help me with this

Are you having trouble with the guide? I told you I would help you. Its simpler than it seems.

 

[Droidriven]

i wish i knew sumbody that cud help me with this

Install your USB drivers if you don't already have them, then download and install Odin 3.09. Then download the stock H1 firmware. When you get that done let me know and then we'll go to the next steps.

 

[sweetcandyboo]

downloadin odin now

 

[Droidriven]

downloadin odin now

OK, get the H1 stock .tar downloaded after that, its a 1.2GB file so it'll take a while, when you've got it save it on your PC where you can easily find it then.

The next step will be making sure your phone is fully charged and USB debugging is turned on.

***note***-downgrading will factory reset your device so anything you want to keep you will have to backup and store somewhere safe or you will lose it, it can all be put back after you are done with the process. Its very easy to do.

Then boot the phone to download(Odin) mode by pressing and holding the volume down+home+power button, when it boots to the caution screen press the button to go to download mode, then using your stock USB cable that came with the phone connect to your PC, if it is recognized you will see a blue or yellow comm# box and it will say added in the dialogue box in Odin. If you aren't being recognized then try a different USB port, make sure you have good connection at the ends, verify that your drivers are properly installed and that you restarted PC after installing them, sometimes the drivers have to be uninstalled then reinstalled before they work right.

Once you have connection and the device is recognized and added in Odin then click the "AP" button(newer versions of Odin have AP button, older versions have PDA button but they are the same thing). After clicking AP or PDA browse to where you stored the H1 stock .tar and select it, this will take you back to the Odin screen, verify that the file is showing in its slot then click "start" in Odin, don't touch anything, give it a few minutes to flash the firmware, when its done you will see a green PASS and the device will reboot, it will be slow on the first boot, give it a few minutes to load the new software, when it boots you'll have to do the setup wizard and signing to your Google account, when you're fully booted into system you can download the "Towelroot" app to get rooted or you can use the cydia impactor that you already have (it will work this time because you are H1 now).

After rooting go to playstore and install superSU.

Then you're ready to install recovery and custom ROMs.