[ROOT][TOOL][2012-07-24] GS3DebugFSRoot: Root the Verizon GSIII without flashing

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Noxious Ninja

Senior Member
Jul 9, 2010
650
425
Dallas, TX
THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH JELLY BEAN.

---

Here's a easy-to-use tool based on the method in this thread.

If you like this tool, please click the Thanks button!
Even better, see my signature.

DISCLAIMER: As with any rooting tool, there is some chance that something will go wrong. Use of this tool is at your own risk, and I will not be responsible if you brick your phone in the process. Although there have been zero reports of this tool breaking anyone's phone, don't run it if you aren't comfortable with the possibility of having something go wrong and having to re-Odin back to stock or worse.

Instructions:
  1. Install the USB drivers if you don't have them already: Verizon_Wireless_I535_GSIII_Samsung_USB_Driver_v1_4_6_0.exe
  2. Download the package and extract it somewhere (you'll need 7-Zip or some other modern compression tool) Make sure you extract all the files to a folder somewhere! Running it straight from your compression program probably won't work.
  3. On your phone, enable installation of third-party apps (Settings --> Security --> Unknown sources, near the bottom in the "Device administration" section)
  4. On your phone, enable USB debugging (Settings --> Developer options --> USB debugging)
  5. On your PC, make sure you don't have any other Android devices connected, any Android emulators running, or any Android tools like PdaNet running.
  6. Plug your phone into a USB port on your computer. For best results, use a port directly on the machine, and not a USB hub.
  7. Double-click RootDebugfs.bat and follow the directions on the screen. Your phone will reboot 3 or 4 times during the process; just leave it plugged in. To be safe, don't switch to any other applications while the root process is running.

DOWNLOAD GS3DebugFSRoot R2 FOR US GALAXY S III VARIANTS ONLY!!!
(Released July 24, 2012)

If anything goes wrong, post here and I'll see what I can do.

Credits:
* miloj, for the debugfs root method for the Asus TF300T
* sparkym3, for his script for rooting the Asus Transformer Prime - this is a modified version of that script
* ChainsDD, for Superuser
 

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Noxious Ninja

Senior Member
Jul 9, 2010
650
425
Dallas, TX
Version History:

The most recent version is always at the top.

r2 2012-07-24
+ Changed font color to white for readability
+ Cleaned up output
+ Fixed typo in title (GSII instead of GSIII)
+ Fixed Unknown Sources/USB Debugging directions
+ Included latest version of adb from platform-tools 13, might make things more reliable
* Includes ChainsDD Superuser 3.1.3 and su binary 3.1.1
* Known to work with LF2 and LG1.

r1 2012-07-23
* Initial beta
* Includes ChainsDD Superuser 3.1.3 and su binary 3.1.1
* Works with LF2. Probably works with LG1.


Possible future features:
* APK version of the tool! I'm still not sure if this is possible - currently researching.
Sadly, I don't think this is going to happen.
* Unroot tool.
* Choice of Superuser or SuperSU.
 

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  • GS3_debugfs-root_r1.7z
    1.7 MB · Views: 1,867
Last edited:

Noxious Ninja

Senior Member
Jul 9, 2010
650
425
Dallas, TX
FAQs:

Q: What versions of the stock ROM does this work with?
A: It's known to work with anything from LF2 up to LHE. It seems likely that DebugFSRoot will be able to work with any ICS ROMs. We'll have to wait and see if it works on JB or not.

Q: I'm getting an error like "adb is not recognized as an internal or external command", or "cannot stat 'su': No such file or directory". What do I do?
A: Don't run the tool straight from your compression program. Make sure to extract all the files somewhere first.

Q: Will this wipe my data?
A: Nope.

Q: How can I unroot? Will flashing a stock ROM unroot?
A: Flashing a stock ROM will unroot and also remove any modifications you made to /system.

Q: Everything seems to have worked fine, and the Superuser app shows the binary as present and working. However, none of my root apps work. What do I do?
A: This seems to happen to a very small number of people, and the cause is unknown. If this happens to you, try installing Chainfire SuperSU.

Q: Is this any better than flashing the root66 ROM?
A: The end result should be pretty much the same, but this tool is much smaller to download than the root66 ROM.
A: If you are on a phone with the stock LG1 ROM update, root66 will downgrade you to LF2, while this tool will leave your ROM alone.

Q: Is this any better than using the VRALEC boot chain method?
A: The boot chain is a little more complicated. It requires flashing two bootloaders, flashing recovery, and using Triangle Away to reset the Custom Binary Download counter. If you intend to install a custom recovery/custom ROMs anyway, it's fine and probably quicker. However, if all you want is root to run Titanium Backup or other root apps, GS3DebugFSRoot is easier.

Q: Will this increment the flash counter?
A: Not on its own. If you flash anything else after rooting, however, you might, so read up on what you're doing.

Q: Will this cause the "custom unlock" boot screen to appear?
A: In general, no. However, the spyware Samsung/Verizon included (SysScope/libcordon) is paranoid, and a lot of tweaks you can do after rooting will trigger it. If you don't want to risk getting the custom unlock screen, don't freeze any apps using Titanium Backup and generally limit your tweaking to things you could do without root.

Q: Can Samsung/Verizon block this method in the future?
Yes. It's very possible that a future OTA will patch the exploit that this tool uses. If you want to root, it's always best to do it now!
 
Last edited:

DFieldFL

Member
Jul 25, 2010
18
3
I just tried this and it appears to work. Installed Titanium Backup and SuperUser permissions were given. Thanks!

P.S.
Some of the instructions in the console app are incorrect for the location of enabling Debug Mode and Installing Unknown App Sources.
 
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Noxious Ninja

Senior Member
Jul 9, 2010
650
425
Dallas, TX
I just tried this and it appears to work. Installed Titanium Backup and SuperUser permissions were given. Thanks!

P.S.
Some of the instructions in the console app are incorrect for the location of enabling Debug Mode and Installing Unknown App Sources.

Ah, I forgot to update that part in the Transformer Prime script I based this on. I'll fix it tomorrow.

Did you get the custom unlock boot screen?
 
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phantomevo77

Senior Member
Jun 11, 2010
424
66
Cant recognize the phone using this tool. Yet device is recognized by adb in a standalone cmd prompt..

saying "adb is not an executable file"
 
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Noxious Ninja

Senior Member
Jul 9, 2010
650
425
Dallas, TX
Next release will be out tonight after I test it.


Some of the instructions in the console app are incorrect for the location of enabling Debug Mode and Installing Unknown App Sources.

Fixed in the next version. Also, I added those steps to the main post.

Also title says Galaxy S II not III.

Typo on my part. Will be fixed in the next release.

Cant recognize the phone using this tool. Yet device is recognized by adb in a standalone cmd prompt..

saying "adb is not an executable file"

I'm not sure about this one. However, I had packaged a slightly older version of adb, which could cause a difference. The next release will have the latest adb.

If my gs3 came updated with the newest version, will this still work?

I think so, but I don't know if it's been tested. Worst case should be that it would fail when trying to copy su into /system/xbin/, and you might have to manually clean up a few things:

Code:
adb shell
[COLOR="Red"]$[/COLOR] rm /data/local/tmp
[COLOR="Red"]$[/COLOR] mv /data/local/tmp.bak /data/local/tmp
[COLOR="Red"]$[/COLOR] rm /data/local/su
[COLOR="Red"]$[/COLOR] rm /data/local/debugfs
[COLOR="Red"]$[/COLOR] rm /data/local/debugfsinput
[COLOR="Red"]$[/COLOR] exit

Really worst case is that your /system is screwed up and you have to re-flash a stock ROM with Odin, but that is highly, highly unlikely with this method.
 
Last edited:
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chmodbot

Member
Feb 13, 2011
46
5
Thanks for this awesome tool!!! Will there be a reversal to what this script does, aka, non-root to reverse changes if necessary or will that require odin flash?
 

Noxious Ninja

Senior Member
Jul 9, 2010
650
425
Dallas, TX
It's probably possible to unroot via script. I think it might even be possible to move this into an APK and do away with adb altogether. I'll play around with it.
 
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edthesped

Senior Member
Sep 13, 2010
352
38
Is there an unroot method that's just as easy? I'd prefer not to reflash the phone to get rid of root. I guess I'm one of the oddballs here as I can care less about custom roms, I only root to be able to backup and remove bloatware.

edit: sorry I typed and posted this as others were doing the same... I couldn't delete or edit the post for a few minutes because of my newby status.
 
Last edited:

Noxious Ninja

Senior Member
Jul 9, 2010
650
425
Dallas, TX
Is there an unroot method that's just as easy? I'd prefer not to reflash the phone to get rid of root. I guess I'm one of the oddballs here as I can care less about custom roms, I only root to be able to backup and remove bloatware.

You should be able to do it via adb shell.

Code:
adb remount rw
adb shell
$ su
# rm /system/xbin/su
# exit

And then uninstall the Superuser app.

I'll try and add it to the script.
 
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r1tman

Member
Dec 15, 2008
25
1
Thank You ! so much ... The tool works perfectly on my stock VZ ... Finally can get rid of all the crap that VZ puts in.
 

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  • 220
    THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH JELLY BEAN.

    ---

    Here's a easy-to-use tool based on the method in this thread.

    If you like this tool, please click the Thanks button!
    Even better, see my signature.

    DISCLAIMER: As with any rooting tool, there is some chance that something will go wrong. Use of this tool is at your own risk, and I will not be responsible if you brick your phone in the process. Although there have been zero reports of this tool breaking anyone's phone, don't run it if you aren't comfortable with the possibility of having something go wrong and having to re-Odin back to stock or worse.

    Instructions:
    1. Install the USB drivers if you don't have them already: Verizon_Wireless_I535_GSIII_Samsung_USB_Driver_v1_4_6_0.exe
    2. Download the package and extract it somewhere (you'll need 7-Zip or some other modern compression tool) Make sure you extract all the files to a folder somewhere! Running it straight from your compression program probably won't work.
    3. On your phone, enable installation of third-party apps (Settings --> Security --> Unknown sources, near the bottom in the "Device administration" section)
    4. On your phone, enable USB debugging (Settings --> Developer options --> USB debugging)
    5. On your PC, make sure you don't have any other Android devices connected, any Android emulators running, or any Android tools like PdaNet running.
    6. Plug your phone into a USB port on your computer. For best results, use a port directly on the machine, and not a USB hub.
    7. Double-click RootDebugfs.bat and follow the directions on the screen. Your phone will reboot 3 or 4 times during the process; just leave it plugged in. To be safe, don't switch to any other applications while the root process is running.

    DOWNLOAD GS3DebugFSRoot R2 FOR US GALAXY S III VARIANTS ONLY!!!
    (Released July 24, 2012)

    If anything goes wrong, post here and I'll see what I can do.

    Credits:
    * miloj, for the debugfs root method for the Asus TF300T
    * sparkym3, for his script for rooting the Asus Transformer Prime - this is a modified version of that script
    * ChainsDD, for Superuser
    15
    Version History:

    The most recent version is always at the top.

    r2 2012-07-24
    + Changed font color to white for readability
    + Cleaned up output
    + Fixed typo in title (GSII instead of GSIII)
    + Fixed Unknown Sources/USB Debugging directions
    + Included latest version of adb from platform-tools 13, might make things more reliable
    * Includes ChainsDD Superuser 3.1.3 and su binary 3.1.1
    * Known to work with LF2 and LG1.

    r1 2012-07-23
    * Initial beta
    * Includes ChainsDD Superuser 3.1.3 and su binary 3.1.1
    * Works with LF2. Probably works with LG1.


    Possible future features:
    * APK version of the tool! I'm still not sure if this is possible - currently researching.
    Sadly, I don't think this is going to happen.
    * Unroot tool.
    * Choice of Superuser or SuperSU.
    10
    very nice man it worked for me so I decided to create a video tutorial to root & install recovery for rookies. if it helps anyone don't forget to hit the thank you button!

    9
    FAQs:

    Q: What versions of the stock ROM does this work with?
    A: It's known to work with anything from LF2 up to LHE. It seems likely that DebugFSRoot will be able to work with any ICS ROMs. We'll have to wait and see if it works on JB or not.

    Q: I'm getting an error like "adb is not recognized as an internal or external command", or "cannot stat 'su': No such file or directory". What do I do?
    A: Don't run the tool straight from your compression program. Make sure to extract all the files somewhere first.

    Q: Will this wipe my data?
    A: Nope.

    Q: How can I unroot? Will flashing a stock ROM unroot?
    A: Flashing a stock ROM will unroot and also remove any modifications you made to /system.

    Q: Everything seems to have worked fine, and the Superuser app shows the binary as present and working. However, none of my root apps work. What do I do?
    A: This seems to happen to a very small number of people, and the cause is unknown. If this happens to you, try installing Chainfire SuperSU.

    Q: Is this any better than flashing the root66 ROM?
    A: The end result should be pretty much the same, but this tool is much smaller to download than the root66 ROM.
    A: If you are on a phone with the stock LG1 ROM update, root66 will downgrade you to LF2, while this tool will leave your ROM alone.

    Q: Is this any better than using the VRALEC boot chain method?
    A: The boot chain is a little more complicated. It requires flashing two bootloaders, flashing recovery, and using Triangle Away to reset the Custom Binary Download counter. If you intend to install a custom recovery/custom ROMs anyway, it's fine and probably quicker. However, if all you want is root to run Titanium Backup or other root apps, GS3DebugFSRoot is easier.

    Q: Will this increment the flash counter?
    A: Not on its own. If you flash anything else after rooting, however, you might, so read up on what you're doing.

    Q: Will this cause the "custom unlock" boot screen to appear?
    A: In general, no. However, the spyware Samsung/Verizon included (SysScope/libcordon) is paranoid, and a lot of tweaks you can do after rooting will trigger it. If you don't want to risk getting the custom unlock screen, don't freeze any apps using Titanium Backup and generally limit your tweaking to things you could do without root.

    Q: Can Samsung/Verizon block this method in the future?
    Yes. It's very possible that a future OTA will patch the exploit that this tool uses. If you want to root, it's always best to do it now!
    3
    Is this reversible? Or do we need to Odin back?

    You can manually unroot. Use a root-supporting file explorer to delete /system/xbin/su, then uninstall the Superuser app.

    I'll see if I can add an auto-unroot in a future version. However, I'm pretty busy for the next week and a half, so it might take awhile.

    Sent from my Verizon GSIII using Tapatalk 2