SAMSUNG GALAXY SIII SCH-S968C Rooted, Recovery Flashed, and Flashed with Custom Rom

Jbeat69 said:

Before I go on to give tutorial, I want to see how many people actually use this phone and if it's common enough for me to give the tutorial. I've noticed many people have tried to flash this phone and always end up bricking it or doing something wrong. I have successfully flashed it, no brick and everything working. I would love to give tutorial, but before I do so I must see how many actually need it. :good:

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Let me first say thank you bcuz I'm just trying to get my boys phone updated from jb an he's got the st version but I can't find a recovery anywhere, so I'd u could even just inform me on where to get the recovery I'd be good lol

I've been looking for this for some time now

Jbeat69 said:

Your Welcome, and I want to apologize for not answering right away i'm still trying to get xda setup on my phone. I have school most of the day and will only be available at nights. But you say you only want recovery? Download an app called ez-recovery for VZW Galaxy S3 on the play store. Yes this is the Verzion Galaxy S3 Variant but it works for this device because of where it uses uses Verizon towers. Then once you download the app, open it up and flash the clockworkmod recovery, not the touch or twrp. Let me know your results You might come across some failed to mount SD card errors in the recovery menu. If you do it doesn't take a lot to fix..

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I've managed to gain root and flash recovery for verizon sch-i535. would just like to know if that's correct and also need flash image and I also still looking for a compatible ROM. I've been to scared to download and install one.

Very interested!!

Jbeat69 said:

Before I go on to give tutorial, I want to see how many people actually use this phone and if it's common enough for me to give the tutorial. I've noticed many people have tried to flash this phone and always end up bricking it or doing something wrong. I have successfully flashed it, no brick and everything working. I would love to give tutorial, but before I do so I must see how many actually need it. :good:

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I have been driving myself crazy trying to find this information. I would be very grateful to you for the information on flashing the firmware and upgrading to KitKat 4.4 on the SCH S968C. It's impossible to get the info from ST or Samsuck.

Thanks

dijjay said:

I have been driving myself crazy trying to find this information. I would be very grateful to you for the information on flashing the firmware and upgrading to KitKat 4.4 on the SCH S968C. It's impossible to get the info from ST or Samsuck.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

here for the latest roms and fixes for this device

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2516498&page=30

Sent from my SCH-S968C using Tapatalk

Jbeat69 said:

Before I go on to give tutorial, I want to see how many people actually use this phone and if it's common enough for me to give the tutorial. I've noticed many people have tried to flash this phone and always end up bricking it or doing something wrong. I have successfully flashed it, no brick and everything working. I would love to give tutorial, but before I do so I must see how many actually need it. :good:

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

i use this model and have been surfing these forums for some links to the stock rom since samsung doesn't provide it on their website. I was going to try to flash it back to stock but to be honest i have no idea what im doing and could use all the help i can get.

I've looked all over and watched and listened and read, and other than using oneclickroot to root my sch-968c, I'm too apprehensive on doing anything else before I know better. It's using 4.1.2 jellybean and theres a few things that I'd like my phone to be able to do considering its cost. I want to get KitKat 4.4 on my Galaxy s3. Samsung doesn't offer support, Straight Talk doesn't offer support. I understand its up to me to make this happen but I'd appreciate any help! Thanks!!

edit: So I havent used oneclickroot yet, I needed to download a samsung driver. I did use odin to flash a rom onto my device properly, but I'm pretty sure all i did was put exactly what I had on before it. Maybe I need to look for a custom rom, but I have a hard time finding the right sources. I need to look for a custom rom for sch-s968c with 4.4 kitkat? Need someone to tell me otherwise...

sch s-968c update os , help please

GS3 SCH S-968c its h2, I am trying to update the os to at least 4.4 so I can download an app that currently is'nt compatible with the 4.1.2 jellybean, for my husband. I just rooted it, using odin, first time messing with a phones insides...intimidating but I figured it out. lots of bad information for this phone...can anyone please help me figure out how and where to go to download the update for th os? thank you so much!


this would be awesome

Jbeat69 said:

Before I go on to give tutorial, I want to see how many people actually use this phone and if it's common enough for me to give the tutorial. I've noticed many people have tried to flash this phone and always end up bricking it or doing something wrong. I have successfully flashed it, no brick and everything working. I would love to give tutorial, but before I do so I must see how many actually need it. :good:

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

---------- Post added at 07:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:26 PM ----------

GS3 SCH S-968c its h2, I am trying to update the os to at least 4.4 so I can download an app that currently is'nt compatible with the 4.1.2 jellybean, for my husband. I just rooted it, using odin, first time messing with a phones insides...intimidating but I figured it out. lots of bad information for this phone...can anyone please help me figure out how and where to go to download the update for th os? thank you so much!

Droidriven said:

here for the latest roms and fixes for this device

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2516498&page=30

Sent from my SCH-S968C using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

---------- Post added at 07:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:30 PM ----------

dijjay said:

I have been driving myself crazy trying to find this information. I would be very grateful to you for the information on flashing the firmware and upgrading to KitKat 4.4 on the SCH S968C. It's impossible to get the info from ST or Samsuck.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Hi, Did you ever find the rom? I rooted my phone successfully, after much ado with tedious searching all night...any info would be appreciated. thank you!

saucyredhead said:

GS3 SCH S-968c its h2, I am trying to update the os to at least 4.4 so I can download an app that currently is'nt compatible with the 4.1.2 jellybean, for my husband. I just rooted it, using odin, first time messing with a phones insides...intimidating but I figured it out. lots of bad information for this phone...can anyone please help me figure out how and where to go to download the update for th os? thank you so much!


this would be awesome


---------- Post added at 07:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:26 PM ----------

GS3 SCH S-968c its h2, I am trying to update the os to at least 4.4 so I can download an app that currently is'nt compatible with the 4.1.2 jellybean, for my husband. I just rooted it, using odin, first time messing with a phones insides...intimidating but I figured it out. lots of bad information for this phone...can anyone please help me figure out how and where to go to download the update for th os? thank you so much!




---------- Post added at 07:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:30 PM ----------


Hi, Did you ever find the rom? I rooted my phone successfully, after much ado with tedious searching all night...any info would be appreciated. thank you!

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Most of the ROMS from 4.4 and newer require using a SIM and some extra setup to get mobile data(3G) and stock MMS(photo/audio/video messages) working.

Fortunately for you I have a copy of a CM11 4.4 Kit Kat ROM that doesn't require a SIM for mobile data(3G) to work, the only down side is that you can't use the stock MMS app, you'd have to use some kind of 3rd party texting app such as GoSMS or Textra or Chomps or a similar app.

If you want to have working stock MMS then you'll need a CDMA SIM card.

A GSM SIM will not work. A SIM from AT&T/T-mobile or any network under them won't work, neither will the AT&T/T-mobile SIMs from the Straight Talk BYOP activation package, it has to be CDMA.

I can help you painlessly get the SIM set up and APNs configured correctly so that MMS works. Any CDMA Verizon 4G/LTE(you'll need a previously activated SIM if you use a Verizon SIM, it won't work if it's a never been activated SIM from Verizon) or a Tracfone CDMA SIM will work, or any of Tracfone's subsidiary networks (Total Wireless/Net10/Straight Talk/etc..)

As for ROMs, I suggest one of the following:

1) the d2vzw CM11 4.4 that I have a copy of along with a SIM(you'll have working stock MMS and won't need anything extra) it's a rock solid ROM with the SIM setup correctly and uses less battery than the newer ROMs.

2) d2vzw OctOS 5.1.1 if you can find it, it will need a SIM also to have working mobile data and stock MMS.

3) d2vzw OctOS 6.1.1 if you can find it, needs SIM also.

As for there being bad information out there about this device. I've been posting accurate information about this model number for 3 years or more. I've posted information about this model all over the internet. It is all accurate and works, some information is old and no longer necessary due to processes and methods changing but it isn't "bad" information. The old information can still be used, it just involves more steps and has been simplified over time due to improvements in development for this device.


I DO NOT PROVIDE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE

Need to upgrade to at least Android 4.2

"Fortunately for you I have a copy of a CM11 4.4 Kit Kat ROM that doesn't require a SIM for mobile data(3G) to work, the only down side is that you can't use the stock MMS app, you'd have to use some kind of 3rd party texting app such as GoSMS or Textra or Chomps or a similar app."


Can you help me? You seem to be very knowledgeable about this phone. My husband just bought a new Galaxy and he gave his old S3 to our seven year old grandson who is one of those kids who loves and understands all things electronic. He has been craving an Android device for some time now. (He already has an iPod touch).

My husband returned the phone to factory settings today and I brought it over to a very excited grandson. My daughter said she was going to use her gmail account to set up the phone and then create an additional account from her account that she could use parental controls on. Alas, this feature only works if you have at least version 4.2 or higher, and this Straight Talk Model S968C has version 4.1.2

This phone will not be connected to a cellular service, just wifi. He doesn't need to be able to send or receive MMS or even texts. He mostly wants to create videos and and download and use some of his favorite apps from Google Play, and use the web (with restrictions that my daughter will set. It won't help to create a separate Gmail account for him because setting restrictions will still not be possible due to the Android Version.

Is there a relatively easy way to do this? I've never done anything like this to a phone before but I'm pretty tech literate and understand most of the terms.

Thank you very much for any help you can provide to me.

Lesa

lirn44 said:

"Fortunately for you I have a copy of a CM11 4.4 Kit Kat ROM that doesn't require a SIM for mobile data(3G) to work, the only down side is that you can't use the stock MMS app, you'd have to use some kind of 3rd party texting app such as GoSMS or Textra or Chomps or a similar app."


Can you help me? You seem to be very knowledgeable about this phone. My husband just bought a new Galaxy and he gave his old S3 to our seven year old grandson who is one of those kids who loves and understands all things electronic. He has been craving an Android device for some time now. (He already has an iPod touch).

My husband returned the phone to factory settings today and I brought it over to a very excited grandson. My daughter said she was going to use her gmail account to set up the phone and then create an additional account from her account that she could use parental controls on. Alas, this feature only works if you have at least version 4.2 or higher, and this Straight Talk Model S968C has version 4.1.2

This phone will not be connected to a cellular service, just wifi. He doesn't need to be able to send or receive MMS or even texts. He mostly wants to create videos and and download and use some of his favorite apps from Google Play, and use the web (with restrictions that my daughter will set. It won't help to create a separate Gmail account for him because setting restrictions will still not be possible due to the Android Version.

Is there a relatively easy way to do this? I've never done anything like this to a phone before but I'm pretty tech literate and understand most of the terms.

Thank you very much for any help you can provide to me.

Lesa

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Go to settings>about>build number, tell me if it has H1 or H2 on the end of that number.

If you have H1 I can make it very easy for you with just a couple of apps, a good internet connection and about 30-45 minutes.

If you have H2 you'll need a PC, about 1.5 hours and a good USB cord.

Or you can skip all of that and just go straight for the PC method, it works on H1 and H2. You'll probably need to get familiar with the tool that is involved in the process so that you'll know how to restore the device if there are issues later on. The device will be rooted(stock devices do not ship with root access), root means the system partition has been "unlocked" to write permissions, which means the daughter/grandson could inadvertently delete the wrong thing and render the device inoperable.

Of course, you could also remove root from the device, then he wouldn't be able to modify the system partition, he could install and modify/customize everything else though. But that can, in some cases, also cause issues, which then requires flashing the stock firmware via PC or using custom recovery to restore a backup or reinstall your ROM.

This device has the potential to do many things, there are a lot of custom 4.4 and newer operating systems for this device, each with their own flavors of UI and features. If you're not going to have the device activated on a network then you can probably use any of the 4.4+ ROMs without the SIM, probably all the way up to the newest 7.1 or newer builds. Maybe even the new Android Oreo 8.0+ if they build it for this device, someone probably will, the OctOS team still builds new ROMs weekly for this device. If he likes Pokemon Go you might have issues with it seeing that the device is rooted or you might have GPS issues on this device. They can be solved in most cases though.


I DO NOT PROVIDE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE

Upgrading s3

The build number ends in H1.

I wouldn't want it to be easy for him to accidentally render it inoperable.

I have a good internet connection and the time to do this, if you can take me step by step through it. I'm a visual learner, I learn very well from watching videos of people doing things, so I really need clear step by step written instructions. Do you have the time to help me? That would be SO great!

And if it's just as easy to install a more up to date version of the OS, of course I'd rather do that! (and my grandson would be thrilled!)

Thank you so much!

Droidriven said:

Go to settings>about>build number, tell me if it has H1 or H2 on the end of that number.

If you have H1 I can make it very easy for you with just a couple of apps, a good internet connection and about 30-45 minutes.






I DO NOT PROVIDE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

---------- Post added at 03:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:17 AM ----------

He probably doesn't care about Pokemon Go. he likes to create his own emojis, make videos with visual and sound effects, use graphics programs, stuff like that. Also loves music and likes to download apps to create his own music. The more photography and graphics stuff he can do the happier he'll be.

I just want him to be able to use it and he can't without the parental restrictions in place. Whatever you recommend, I'll try.

It's H1, cool. You'll be amazed how easy this is. You'll be doing all of this, except downloading your ROM and Google apps, directly from the device.

Use PC to download these files then connect the S3 to PC and copy them to external SD card.

1) download this file, it's the last release of Octos 6.0.1 marshmallow(there is also 7.1.1 available but I haven't used it so I can't verify stability), it's a very good ROM, I used it for over a year on this device, store it on an external SD card as a file by itself, not in a folder.

https://basketbuild.com/filedl/devs...lease/d2vzw/OCT-M-R3-6.0.1-20161025-d2vzw.zip

2) Go to http://opengapps.org/, select:

ARM
6.0
Micro

Then click the red download circle. This is the Gapps(the stock Google apps) package that you need to flash with the ROM, they are flashed separately because they can't be included in the ROM file. Place this file on the SD card with the ROM file, as a file by itself, not in a folder.

Now, on the device:

1) Go to system settings>security> unknown sources and enable it (it will prompt you warning that it can be dangerous to install apps from unknown sources, you only need it to install the Towelroot app to root on the device).

Also, go to system settings>about>build number, tap it repeatedly until you see the message saying you are a developer, this unlocks developer options, go back to system settings>developer options>USB debugging and enable it.

2) using the devices mobile browser, go to https://towelroot.com/ and tap the big red lambda symbol to download the Towelroot app. (you might get a warning about the site being dangerous, don't worry, this is because Google sees the Towelroot app as a virus because it can be used to modify your system partition which is actually what you want, you will be removing root when you're done but right now you need it)

3) Drag down the notification in status bar for the app that you downloaded, tap on it and install the app, once installed, open it, tap the "make it rain" button, you'll be rooted in about 10 seconds, you can uninstall the Towelroot app now, it isn't needed anymore.

4) Go to PlayStore and search for "SuperSU", install it, open it, it will ask you to update binaries, when it asks which method, choose "normal", reboot the device if it doesn't do it automatically. (if you get a prompt asking you to grant superuser permission while doing this, grant it, this is what allows you to write to /system)

5) when the device reboots, go to PlayStore, search for "TWRP Manager", install it, open it(grant superuser permission if prompted at any time while using TWRP Manager)

Now you're ready to follow my guide, starting from the ***FLASHING WITH TWRP MANAGER*** section.

When you get TWRP installed, skip to the ***BACKING UP YOUR STOCK ROM** section and continue from there, you can ignore all the stuff about SIM and APNs. I recommend doing a clean install of your ROM, coming from stock to custom ROM usually causes a bootloop, clean install avoids this. After you get your backup created, read the troubleshooting section in post #2 of my guide, it explains how to perform a clean install, just make absolutely sure that you create your stock backup before you do it. You will be wiping the operating system and everything on the device out before installing the new ROM, don't worry, everything is still safe in the backup you created. This is similar to wiping a PC and reinstalling Windows, the device won't boot without OS so you must flash the new ROM before trying to reboot the device. Sounds scary but it's really simple.

https://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s3-verizon/development/guide-to-flashsetup-sim-apn-cm-cm-based-t3351290

After you get the device signed in with Google, you can go ahead and remove root permission from the device. To do this, open the SuperSU app, open its app settings menu, find the option to "cleanup for unroot and uninstall", it will remove root. Reboot the device and you should be done. You're ready to setup for the grandson.

Just make sure you charge the battery to full before you start flashing the ROM and Gapps, if the battery dies before it is finished, it will damage the device and it's a headache to fix yourself.

If you have questions I'm here.



I DO NOT PROVIDE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE

Thank you!

Thanks so much. I have cleared the rest of my afternoon to attempt this.

---------- Post added at 06:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:06 PM ----------

Did I mention this S3 is from Straight Talk? When I look at a list of supported devices for TWRP, it doesn't list ST as one of the S3s supported. Just want to make sure before I start.

lirn44 said:

Thanks so much. I have cleared the rest of my afternoon to attempt this.

---------- Post added at 06:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:06 PM ----------

Did I mention this S3 is from Straight Talk? When I look at a list of supported devices for TWRP, it doesn't list ST as one of the S3s supported. Just want to make sure before I start.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

The Verizon S3 d2vzw and the Straight Talk S3 d2tfnvzw are the same device, they use the same TWRP and ROMs. That is all explained in the guide that I created, starting from the top of the thread. My guide has pretty much everything you need to know about this device as far as what you can flash, how to flash it and how to get it set up correctly.




I DO NOT PROVIDE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE

Guide

---------- Post added at 09:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 PM ----------

I'm having a little trouble with downloading towelroot to the phone. Found the link/lambda symbol fine. When I tap it to download and swipe down the notifications, it just shows that it's in progress. This went on for about ten minutes before I canceled it and tried again. It's now been about three minutes and it's doing the same thing. I have a very fast internet connection with Xfinity so it's not that. Just keep canceling and trying? (I even tried holding down the lambda symbol and saving the link--same problem). The phone is fully charged. I have unknown sources checked and also USB debugging.

ADDENDUM: I've tried this a few times now. I tried using Chrome to see if that would help--it didn't. The download is in progress for about ten minutes, then says download failed no matter what browser. I've double and triple checked all the settings are correct.
Is it possible to download it to my laptop and transfer it to the phone?

ADDENDUM: finally got it!

Thanks.
Sorry to have so many questions! I appreciate your help.

flashing recovery

Got to the point of using TWRP Manager. Selected device ( Verizon S3 d2vzw) and it downloaded the file and asked if I wanted to flash the recovery and said please make sure the bootloader is unlocked. (I didn't see that in the guide but will go back and look again). I said yes. I got an error message:

Something went wrong
flashing recovery was unsuccessful. Either you already have this recovery installed or another error has occurred. Would you like to attempt rebooting to recovery now?

I'm just going to leave the phone on until I get your opinion of how I should answer that question. Reboot or no?
Thank you!

lirn44 said:

Got to the point of using TWRP Manager. Selected device ( Verizon S3 d2vzw) and it downloaded the file and asked if I wanted to flash the recovery and said please make sure the bootloader is unlocked. (I didn't see that in the guide but will go back and look again). I said yes. I got an error message:

Something went wrong
flashing recovery was unsuccessful. Either you already have this recovery installed or another error has occurred. Would you like to attempt rebooting to recovery now?

I'm just going to leave the phone on until I get your opinion of how I should answer that question. Reboot or no?
Thank you!

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I've never had issues using TWRP manager.

Are you sure that you have rooted the device before trying TWRP manager? There is an option in TWRP manager that will show you the "installed recovery" that you have currently on the device, it should tell you whether you have stock recovery or custom. Don't reboot until you're certain that it has flashed the recovery. If it did something wrong before, it might not reboot, slight chance but possible. Still fixable if it doesn't, just more junk to do to get there.

Can you find the folder that TWRP manager downloaded the recovery.img file to? If so, you can install the Flashify app from Playstore, also linked in my guide. Then use it to flash the recovery.img from the folder that TWRP manager downloaded it to. I mention in my guide to use Flashify if you have issues using TWRP Manager.

This should be a simple process, I've done this many times. Since you're having issues, I'd rather have some form of faster communication. Do you know how to use Google hangouts? If you have Firefox on PC you can install the hangouts add-on in Firefox, then I can text in real time to make this much simpler to walk you through. I can send you a PM here with my Gmail address, use it to find me in hangouts and start a conversation thread.


I DO NOT PROVIDE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE

THANK YOU!

Well, all these hours later, with your amazing patience, I have Android 6.0.1 running on my old Galaxy S3 from Straight Talk!

I can't thank you enough! My grandson is going to be ecstatic!

Thank you again for spending so much time taking me through it step by step!