[Q] Root stock OTA 4.4.2 without unlocking bootloader?

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LotsaBS

Member
Jan 24, 2011
9
3
My sister has a Sprint GS3, SPH-L710 and recently installed the 4.4.2 OTA (L710VPUDND8) not realizing that her apps will no longer be allowed to write/backup to her External SD card after the OTA (thanks google :(). Anyway, I told her I could probably fix that problem by rooting it and making a few tweaks to restore the ability to write to the external SD card. Does rooting this phone require unlocking the bootloader (can you even unlock the bootloader anymore?) or can I get root without unlocking the bootloader? If so, what is the best/simplest method to use? She doesn't plan to be installing any custom ROMs, won't need a custom recovery and I'd like to root it without wiping her phone if possible. Thanks
 
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flastnoles11

Senior Member
Nov 16, 2011
8,380
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Palm bay
OnePlus 9 Pro
This phone doesn't have a locked bootloader, to root just odin the tar for Philz recovery, boot directly into the recovery (uncheck auto reboot in odin, pull battery then boot to recovery) then flash the su.zip in recovery... Then boot the phone and you're rooted... Easy as pie
 
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LotsaBS

Member
Jan 24, 2011
9
3
This phone doesn't have a locked bootloader, to root just odin the tar for Philz recovery, boot directly into the recovery (uncheck auto reboot in odin, pull battery then boot to recovery) then flash the su.zip in recovery... Then boot the phone and you're rooted... Easy as pie

Thank you. Sry for my ignorance, obviously I'm not very familiar with the GS3. Can you direct me to step by step instructions? And will I be able to root her phone without wiping it? I want to keep this a simple as possible and not have to mess with restoring everything on her phone.

I found this on another thread: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=52610162&postcount=2. Will this procedure work?

Thanks again
 

LotsaBS

Member
Jan 24, 2011
9
3
I can verify that the method in post #3 above did work. However, after reboot, SuperSU sent a message that it had stopped working. I checked and it was installed. I went and updated SuperSU to the latest version (v1.94) via the market. I then went to SuperSU settings and installed it into the system. I now had root access and SuperSU was running properly. I then installed NextApp SDFix from the market and enabled writing to the external sd card. All is good now, her phone has root access and her apps can now write to the external SD Card. Thanks to all for your help.
 
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    My sister has a Sprint GS3, SPH-L710 and recently installed the 4.4.2 OTA (L710VPUDND8) not realizing that her apps will no longer be allowed to write/backup to her External SD card after the OTA (thanks google :(). Anyway, I told her I could probably fix that problem by rooting it and making a few tweaks to restore the ability to write to the external SD card. Does rooting this phone require unlocking the bootloader (can you even unlock the bootloader anymore?) or can I get root without unlocking the bootloader? If so, what is the best/simplest method to use? She doesn't plan to be installing any custom ROMs, won't need a custom recovery and I'd like to root it without wiping her phone if possible. Thanks
    1
    This phone doesn't have a locked bootloader, to root just odin the tar for Philz recovery, boot directly into the recovery (uncheck auto reboot in odin, pull battery then boot to recovery) then flash the su.zip in recovery... Then boot the phone and you're rooted... Easy as pie
    1
    I can verify that the method in post #3 above did work. However, after reboot, SuperSU sent a message that it had stopped working. I checked and it was installed. I went and updated SuperSU to the latest version (v1.94) via the market. I then went to SuperSU settings and installed it into the system. I now had root access and SuperSU was running properly. I then installed NextApp SDFix from the market and enabled writing to the external sd card. All is good now, her phone has root access and her apps can now write to the external SD Card. Thanks to all for your help.