[Q] Update to 4.4 KitKat Yes or No?

I had an i747M Galaxy S3 that I bought as an i747.

Had to send ot back, as thanks to DocHoliday77, I realized my network connectivity issues on AT&T in the US were because it was a Canadian version phone. Confirmed by AT&T as well.

I sent it back, got refunded, and now have a US version AT&T i747 running JB 4.1.1.

I keep getting prompted to update the software. (Firmware) According to AT&T TS, it would be an update to 4.4 KitKat.

My only option to avoid the update seems to be to root the phone. I really have no need to root the phone, but I don't know if I want the update.

I bought the phone outright, so it is mine. I do realize that rooting voids the warranty.

QUESTION 1: If I do root with the root injected firmware that does not trip the counter, will that prevent future OTA updates?

QUESTION 2: Is KitKat an improvement? Should I just let it do it?

I have gone to app mgr to try to force stop/ disable the "AT&T updater", but it is greyed out, so I can't disable it.

Thanks for any input!

I was only able to postpone it by doing a factory reset. No big deal as I do not have much stuff on the phone yet. It was going to do the update whether I wanted it or not, as I had postponed it a maximum of 3 times.

It's party the principle of the matter. I should not be forced to install a new version, but also I like this version fine, and AT&T has admitted problems with KitKat and the S4 (or maybe it was the S5?), and I don't want to run into any issues on mine. I own the phone outright, so I should be able to do what I want with it.

I still have 11 days to take it back to Best Buy and return it for full refund, so I guess I could let it update, and if I don't like it, I can return it, get another that has 4.1.1 on it, and root it.

I'll head over to general right now and do the free sim unlock.

Once again, thanks for your reply and insight Doc!

Evidently the update had already downloaded when I had the phone on wi-fi when I first got it. The install postponements were only allowed 3 times once the update was downloaded.

After I did the factory reset, I made sure I had wi-fi turned off.

Now, the check for updates button is the active one, whereas before, the continue update was highlited/active, and the check for updates was greyed out. This was because the update had already downloaded. Factory resetting got rid of it.

According to AT&T, the update can only be done when on wi-fi, so as long as I have my wi-fi turned off, it shouldn't be an issue.
I don't use wi-fi much at all, just my data plan.

This at least gives me some time to figure out a way to disable the updater, or root the phone, or go with the update. I may at some point want to use wi-fi, so I'll need to decide what to do.

Thanks again Doc!

I will probably do that. I haven't unlocked the phone yet, as I guess I need another sim, non AT&T, to do the unlock?

Thanks for the info on the KK. I appreciate it!