[q] can i return to stock?

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michaelemerica

New member
May 31, 2014
4
2
I just bought a Galaxy S3 from someone and it was already rooted. I am not able to add this phone to my Sprint account because of it. SO I looked up threads on returning the phone to stock and they all say if you have this new update you cannot go back to stock because of this knox warranty and warranty. When I loaded the boot screen thing it says warranty: 0. Or something like that.

So is there a way I can revert back to stock and UNroot my phone??
 

jhill110

Senior Member
Oct 12, 2012
1,919
1,372
Santa Barbara
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8
I just bought a Galaxy S3 from someone and it was already rooted. I am not able to add this phone to my Sprint account because of it. SO I looked up threads on returning the phone to stock and they all say if you have this new update you cannot go back to stock because of this knox warranty and warranty. When I loaded the boot screen thing it says warranty: 0. Or something like that.

So is there a way I can revert back to stock and UNroot my phone??

The phone being rooted has nothing to do with activating the phone with Sprint.
If you mean by boot screen download/bootloader mode and you see warranty bit 0, sounds like you already have kitkat (with knox).
Go into settings\about phone and see what your android version is.
And yes you can go back to stock un-rooted.

Get back about your version of android and then you can go from there.
 
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michaelemerica

New member
May 31, 2014
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I have version 4.4.2.

The reason I believe this is the reason I cannot activate for Sprint is because I sold a rooted phone to a friend and they could not activate it. I got the phone and unrooted it back to stock and it was able to be put on their account.

But yeah, I think it will work after I am able to unroot it. I'm just nervous bc all of the threads I have found have a warning telling me not to use their method if I have that Knox Warranty in the bootscreen. They said it will hard brick. But most of those threads are from a few years ago. I guess because it's an older phone.

If you could find me a method to return it to stock / unroot I'd appreciate it so much.
 

jhill110

Senior Member
Oct 12, 2012
1,919
1,372
Santa Barbara
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8
If you could find me a method to return it to stock / unroot I'd appreciate it so much.


Ok,

First go download Holo Backup. Extract the folder in the zip file to your desktop:
Get it Here:
http://omegavesko.github.io/SimpleADBBackup/

It's a self contained ADB solution for backing up your apps etc. Instructions are on the web page. Pretty simple really. Make a backup(s) and store it in the Holo folder on your desktop.

Then as metalfan78 said, go and get DR CDMA's stock tar file. You will Odin that after you back up.
Get it Here:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2738533

It will restore you completely to stock, un-rooted with stock recovery.

Then use Holo backup to restore.

Thats it.
 
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roirraW "edor" ehT

Forum Moderator
Staff member
Just note, when you Odin the ND8 tar, it'll wipe your internal storage (not your microSD), so if you've saved any pictures or downloads to the internal storage, copy them to your SD and / or PC / cloud.

Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy SIII on TouchWiz 4.4.2 with Wicked X v6.5, Ktoonsez' latest kernel and the latest Philz Touch Recovery.
 
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michaelemerica

New member
May 31, 2014
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2
HEY GUYS IT WORKED!

I'm not sure if my phone had a custom rom on it from the previous owner or what. It's an almost brand new phone, no scratches or anything. But my last phone did this same thing only it was easier to find the file to un-root. I want to say it's a Samsung thing... but that could be false. My last phone was a Samsung Epic.

But anywayyy. You guys solved my problem 100% and I appreciate you guys taking the time to help me. XDA is the best. I come here for most everything.

THANK YOU.
 

michaelemerica

New member
May 31, 2014
4
2
That's great.

Now for the sake of the masses, explain exactly what you did.

-----------
I bought a phone from a friend and called Sprint Customer Care to make sure it wasn't lost/stolen. It wasn't but they still weren't able to activate it because they said my device wasn't supported by Sprint and was not a Sprint device. (It definitely was. It had a Sprint model #, Said Sprint when I booted up, and said Sprint on the back of my phone)

I tinkered with my phone and realized it was Un-rooted by being able to go into Odin download mode. You can go into download mode by simultaneously pressing the power button, home button and volume down key. If it works you are rooted. There may be other ways to check, but that's how I did it.

I was having trouble un-rooting my phone because many threads I came across said I couldn't Un-root my device with their method if I had Knox Warranty on my phone. Their methods were for older android versions. (They said it will brick my device if I did it that way.)



You can figure this out by going into download mode by simultaneously pressing the power button, home button and volume down key. If your device says Knox Warranty or Warranty Bit on the screen then you have the update. SO USE THIS METHOD TO UNROOT / RETURN TO STOCK.

I asked XDA and they gave me this handy little website that allows you to un-root and return to stock with instructions. http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2738533

***BEFORE YOU DO THIS BACKUP ALL YOUR DATA WITH HOLO BACKUP SO YOU DONT LOSE ANYTHING***
First go download Holo Backup. Extract the folder in the zip file to your desktop:
Get it Here:
http://omegavesko.github.io/SimpleADBBackup/

It's a self contained ADB solution for backing up your apps etc. Instructions are on the web page. Pretty simple really. Make a backup(s) and store it in the Holo folder on your desktop.


The only other problem I ran into while using this method is downloading the .tar.md5 file. The website wouldn't load the Captcha for me to enter to begin the download. So I looked around and the other one I found was downloading WAY too slow.

SO I found and used this one: http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23487008491966461

It worked perfect.

Instructions:

1. Extract Download file
2. Put phone into download mode (power off, then power button + Volume Down + Home Button (website didn't mention holding the home button but you have to with the S3), then volume up when prompted)
3. Open Odin (right click > open as administrator)
4. Load File L710VPUCND8_L710SPRCND8_L710VPUCND8_HOME.tar.md5 into the PDA slot
5. Start flashing
6. Grab some popcorn because it will take a while

The only thing they forgot to mention and it left my phone stuck on the Samsung boot screen is you must go into Recovery Mode (power off, then Power button + Home + Volume up) and CLEAR THE CACHE.

Reboot your device

Once it boots up call Sprint or talk to a representative online to activate your device and they will walk you through it.

VOILA, YOU ARE GOOD TO GO.
 

roirraW "edor" ehT

Forum Moderator
Staff member
The only thing they forgot to mention and it left my phone stuck on the Samsung boot screen is you must go into Recovery Mode (power off, then Power button + Home + Volume up) and CLEAR THE CACHE.

Glad you got it all sorted. I figured that's all you needed.

It doesn't always get stuck like that for everyone. That's a generally good way to fix that kind of problem any time it does happen, though.

Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy SIII on TouchWiz 4.4.2 with Wicked X v6.5, Ktoonsez' latest kernel and the latest Philz Touch Recovery.
 

abqdavid

Member
Apr 22, 2011
12
5
Will this work with 4.3 w/knox?

Ok,

First go download Holo Backup. Extract the folder in the zip file to your desktop:
Get it Here:
http://omegavesko.github.io/SimpleADBBackup/

It's a self contained ADB solution for backing up your apps etc. Instructions are on the web page. Pretty simple really. Make a backup(s) and store it in the Holo folder on your desktop.

Then as metalfan78 said, go and get DR CDMA's stock tar file. You will Odin that after you back up.
Get it Here:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2738533

It will restore you completely to stock, un-rooted with stock recovery.

Then use Holo backup to restore.

Thats it.

Will this also work on Android version 4.3?
I have 4.3 with Knox and have rooted my phone and also have loaded Philz Touch 6 (CWM Base Version: V6.0.4.5).
I've attached a screen shot of my complete phone info. I would like to return to stock and upgrade to 4.4.
Thanks!

David

phone_info.png
 

jdsingle76

Senior Member
Jan 19, 2013
2,816
2,951
Will this also work on Android version 4.3?
I have 4.3 with Knox and have rooted my phone and also have loaded Philz Touch 6 (CWM Base Version: V6.0.4.5).
I've attached a screen shot of my complete phone info. I would like to return to stock and upgrade to 4.4.
Thanks!

David

phone_info.png

Yes, it will work. The tar link is the 4.4 stock tar. Just backup using holo, or backup of your choice, flash the tar, then philz, reroot, profit :)

Sent from my SM-G900P using XDA Free mobile app
 

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    Will this also work on Android version 4.3?
    I have 4.3 with Knox and have rooted my phone and also have loaded Philz Touch 6 (CWM Base Version: V6.0.4.5).
    I've attached a screen shot of my complete phone info. I would like to return to stock and upgrade to 4.4.
    Thanks!

    David

    phone_info.png

    Yes, it will work. The tar link is the 4.4 stock tar. Just backup using holo, or backup of your choice, flash the tar, then philz, reroot, profit :)

    Sent from my SM-G900P using XDA Free mobile app
    2
    I've never heard of root being the cause of activation problems. As long as you are on a tw rom it should work. A quick search would have given you this though http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2738533

    [FULL RESTORE][TAR] Stock ND8 Odin FLASHABLE [4.4.2]
    2
    If you could find me a method to return it to stock / unroot I'd appreciate it so much.


    Ok,

    First go download Holo Backup. Extract the folder in the zip file to your desktop:
    Get it Here:
    http://omegavesko.github.io/SimpleADBBackup/

    It's a self contained ADB solution for backing up your apps etc. Instructions are on the web page. Pretty simple really. Make a backup(s) and store it in the Holo folder on your desktop.

    Then as metalfan78 said, go and get DR CDMA's stock tar file. You will Odin that after you back up.
    Get it Here:
    http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2738533

    It will restore you completely to stock, un-rooted with stock recovery.

    Then use Holo backup to restore.

    Thats it.
    2
    HEY GUYS IT WORKED!

    I'm not sure if my phone had a custom rom on it from the previous owner or what. It's an almost brand new phone, no scratches or anything. But my last phone did this same thing only it was easier to find the file to un-root. I want to say it's a Samsung thing... but that could be false. My last phone was a Samsung Epic.

    But anywayyy. You guys solved my problem 100% and I appreciate you guys taking the time to help me. XDA is the best. I come here for most everything.

    THANK YOU.
    2
    Well, I use TiBu exclusively but I wanted to have an alternative incase something went wrong. So just before I finally moved to ND8 I gave it a try and it worked perfectly.