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Root [Virgin Mobile] [OUTDATED][GUIDE][MD7][MG2] Rooting & Recovery for Galaxy S3(VM)

Austrie

Android Expert
Jan 16, 2011
1,325
898
Rooting & Recovery Guide
Guide For Getting Root And CWM Recovery On The Galaxy S3(VM)​

Download Mode = Press And Hold Volume Down, Home, And Power Button At The Same Time
Recovery Mode = Press And Hold Volume Up, Home, And Power Button At The Same Time

Requirements:
Samsung Galaxy S3(VM)
Windows PC
USB Cable

Steps:

1. Download ClockWorkMod(CWM) Recovery, Samsung Drivers, Odin 3.04, and Root From Recovery Zip
2. Install The Downloaded Samsung Drivers
3. Plug In GS3 Into PC(Powered ON)
4. Place Root From Recovery Zip On SD Card(Internal Storage)
5. Unplug GS3 From PC
6. Place Odin Folder and CWM File In A Folder On Your Desktop
7. Open The Odin Folder In The Folder On Your Desktop
8. Right Click The Odin EXE And Click Run As Administrator
9. Once In The Main Menu Of Odin, Click The PDA Button
10. Navigate To The CWM File And Double Click It
11. Once Back To The Odin Main Menu, Uncheck The 'Auto Reboot' Option If Checked
12. Make Sure The 'F. Reset Time' Option Is Checked

13. Power Off Your GS3
14. Take Off The Back Cover Of Your GS3
15. Go Into Download Mode
16. Once Your Phone Power ON To Download Mode, Let Go Of The Buttons
17. Press Volume Up To Continue
18. Plug Your GS3 Into PC (Your Computer Might Say Installing Drivers, Let It Do So)
19. A Blue Box Should Pop Up In Odin Saying 'com#' (# = a number)
20. Click The Start Button
21. It Should Take 10 Seconds, Once Odin Says 'PASS' You May Unplug Your Device
22. Pull Your Battery Out Then Place It Back In
23. Go To Recovery Mode
24. Let Go As Soon As Your Device Lights Up
25. Use The Volume Up And Down Buttons To Navigate And The Power Button To Choose
26. Navigate To 'Install From SD Card' And Select It
27. Navigate To 'Choose Zip From Internal SD Card'
28. Navigate To The Root From Recovery Zip And Select It
29. Select 'Yes', Then Select 'Go Back' Once The Installation Is Finished
30. Then Finally Select 'Reboot System Now'
Now You Are Rooted With A Custom Recovery!​

Video: How to Root the Sprint / AT&T / T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S III - Latest - YouTube
 
Rooting & Recovery Guide(Mac & Linux Version)
Guide For Getting Root And CWM Recovery On The GS3(VM)​


Requirements:
Mac OSX or Linux Computer(With A Password)
Samsung Galaxy S3(VM)
USB Cable

Steps:
1. Download Motochopper And Move Them To Your Desktop
2. Turn On USB Debugging, Go into 'Settings' Then 'Developer Options' And Check The Option 'USB Debugging'. Then Plug In Your GS3
3. Open Terminal And Type Each Line Of These Commands:
[HIGH]cd Desktop
cd motochopper
chmod 755 *
sudo sh run.sh[/HIGH]
5. Once The Program Have Started, Press Enter Key on Keyboard And Allow USB Debugging On Your Phone If The Option Appears
6. Once The Process Have Finish Press Enter Again
7. Once Your Device Powers Back On, Go To Play Store And Download ROM Manager And Click 'Flash ClockWorkMod Recovery'
Now You're Rooted With A Custom Recovery!​
 
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FAQ

Q: What Is Root?
A: Root is having complete control of your phone, like being Administrator on a PC, and being able to change the phone to the user's liking; similar to Jailbreaking on iOS.(Simplified)

Q: What Is A Recovery?
A: A recovery is part of the phone that helps you flash ROMs, Kernels, etc.(Simplified)

Q: Do I Lose Any Data Doing This Method?
A: No, you do not.

Q: Is This Free?
A: Yes, it is. There is a one-click method by another dev at XDA, but it will cost you money.

Q: Will This Work On Boost Too?
A: Yes, I also have this guide in the boost mobile gs3 section.

Q: Austrie Why Are You SOOO Awesome?
A: Cause I was born that way :smokingsomb:
 
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Anyone know how simple it is to merge/flash the virgin files over sprint or something?

It should be fairly simple to patch Sprint roms to have working MMS and Visual Voicemail. This was done on the Samsung Galaxy Victory and on the S2 with just a zip file that patched Sprint roms. I imagine development will pick up rather quickly on this device.
 
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Thanks Austrie!! Did you get one yet? I just bought this phone today cause my 3V0 was on its last legs from getting beat up at work...

Hopefully I should be getting the device next month, really want to get a phone with a more battery and camera. Currently I have someone helping me with testing stuff, though I wouldn't mind a second tester who has a Linux and/or Mac computer.
 
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Hopefully I should be getting the device next month, really want to get a phone with a more battery and camera. Currently I have someone helping me with testing stuff, though I wouldn't mind a second tester who has a Linux and/or Mac computer.

running arch linux on my other partition - what do you need help with? I'd love to help get this phone community going.
 
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