I haz teh R00tz! - I got root on my Verizon S3

[Ollie]

How did you get adb to see your phone finally?

And yes, you can hard brick your phone by a bad flash within CWM.

Sent from my GT-I9300

[spodoc]

I couldn't get adb to work, i kept getting a no device error. You need to use it when the phone is on and you open a command prompt where adb is installed on your computer, right?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Phone on, in USB debug mode (settings -> developer options -> USB debugging is checked
Plug phone into USB.
Launch cmd window from your PC, run ADB
Type the following commands:
adb push recovery.img /sdcard/
adb shell
su
dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18

Then unplug your phone and reboot into recovery mode (vol-up, home, and power)

[spodoc]

And yes, you can hard brick your phone by a bad flash within CWM.

Sent from my GT-I9300

The real danger w/ a locked bootloader phone is allowing OTA updates. On most of the OTA updates from VZW, the bootloader was upgraded, prohibiting return to a previous bootloader. The last OTA for the DX was particularly nasty as it broke root and nobody could revert. Eventually there was a work around thanks to folks like goose, but still. Locked bootloaders bite. /rant

[NITRO2]

Phone on, in USB debug mode (settings -> developer options -> USB debugging is checked
Plug phone into USB.
Launch cmd window from your PC, run ADB
Type the following commands:
adb push recovery.img /sdcard/
adb shell
su
dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18

Then unplug your phone and reboot into recovery mode (vol-up, home, and power)

Agh, that was the issue! I completely forgot about USB debug mode! Thanks spodoc, I have CWM now

[Ollie]

The real danger w/ a locked bootloader phone is allowing OTA updates. On most of the OTA updates from VZW, the bootloader was upgraded, prohibiting return to a previous bootloader. The last OTA for the DX was particularly nasty as it broke root and nobody could revert. Eventually there was a work around thanks to folks like goose, but still. Locked bootloaders bite. /rant

So your phone would still be functional after the update?

I can receive OTAs on mine and then flash another rooted insecure kernel via Odin that delivers CWM, SU, and Busybox. Not the same phone version as yalls (obviously).

[spodoc]

On motorola phones (locked bootloader) you are stuck. I'm not sure about locked sg3. I will type up a more thorough response when i get home. It may apply to our phones or it may not. Edit, sorry for such a long next post. I'm tired and I get wordy when I'm tired. Point is, locked bootloader means you loose control of your phone. With a carrier like VZW, that's not a good position in which to be.

[spodoc]

Alright, i might not get this technically correct so don't cringe. I'm explaining a bit of what happed on the locked droid x because that's what I know. Those with a VZW sg3 have a locked phone also, so this hints at what's possible for the manufacture and carrier to do to us.

On the droid x, the bootloader only allows the flashing of roms based on the moto kernal. So a rom is at it's heart, a moto rom no matter how much you've tweaked it. When moto sent out an OTA update from eclair to froyo they upgraded the bootloader verison. If you had an old eclair rom and you flashed it after taking the OTA, you'd be stuck in bootloader mode and not be able to get out until you re-flashed a froyo sbf file (sbf files are basically system images from moto). Then moto did an update from froyo to froyo (upgrading the boot loader again). So again, you could not go backward if you took the OTA because something in the OTA upgraded the bootloader. Keep in mind, each OTA broke root.

Since moto doesn't officially release their .sbf files when they upgrade a bootloader, you are in no-mans land without a saftey net until the new sbf leaks. This process is what made p3droid so famous/popular since he and TBH supplied the leaked sbf files. Then everyone forgot about all this when moto upgraded to GB and DID NOT upgrade the bootloader. Many folks bounced between froyo and gb often. Then several OTA upgrades went by and no upgraded bootloader. So all these different SBF files piled up and we could do anything we wanted (except go back to old eclair and early froyo from past bootloaders). The developer CVPCS even figured out a way around the bootloader (sort of) so that AOSP roms (not kernals) could be flashed. Times were so good, we kind of forgot how locked down the phone was.

Side note, 2nd-init along with super nice guy wicked giving his old DX to X13thangelX has kept the DX relavent for the past year /side note

Now this is the important part, this last update (.621 version) motorola broke root again but also upgraded the bootloader. MANY folks took OTA and forgot about that possibility. They were stuck in a version unrootable w/ no SBF yet leaked. What does this all mean for us? Well, VZW is most likely a strong influence behind all this so you can bet that these things could be headed our way. I know, I know, we're not locked down as much... yet.

Take home lesson:
1) don't buy phones w/ locked boot loaders
2) if you do, don't take OTA... EVER... well, not at least until others have for a few weeks and figure out what might change
3) pay attention to folks in the forums. right before .621 was pushed, some of us warned that VZW would do this on this final dx update.

OK, glass half full time: folks like Goose helped get root and sbf on .621 and he's here w/ a vzw sg3 so we've got some good help here. Also, CVPCS is getting a vzw sg3. He is the one that figured out 2nd-init (a way around the bootloader and kernal so that AOSP roms could be flashed).

I'd also like to take this moment to recognize wicked. He donated his DX to x13thangelx. I know I already said that, but shortly after that and up until now we have been getting a steady stream of "unofficial" DX ports of AOSP roms. This donation is what allowed ICS on the DX to mature into what it is now. Thanks wicked and thanks x13thangelx.

[CR6]

Thanks for the explanation spod!

**tap'n**

[spodoc]

Thanks for the explanation spod!

**tap'n**

You're welcome. Sorry it was so long and so moto-specific. But, if you are wanting to see what's possible with a locked bootloader then that's a pretty good place to look. All that said, I'm not returning my phone. I really like it and I'm willing to live with what we can make happen on a locked sg3. It's not like I know anything different anyway

[Amazonfemme]

I just followed the instructions located here but basically:

• Download the rooted system image file
• Download the recovery image in case of the worst
• Download Odin
• Download the Kies files from Samsung (Drivers for the device are included)

Note: I did have to do a battery pull before it would allow me to click start. Not sure why just FYI. I did NOT lose any of my settings, apps, etc...

DD, apologies in advance for this, but could you (or someone equally knowledgeable) talk me through this process more precisely? When I rooted my DX, it was with zroot -- absurdly simple -- and also two years ago. The DX was my first (and until now only) smartphone, and I'm unfamiliar with Samsung, Odin, etc. I'm looking at the instructions at xda, but there are certain things I'm too inexperienced to suss out for myself. For example:

1. Boot into Odin mode on the phone. Do this by powering off and then holding vol down, home and power to power on. Then press vol up to accept the disclaimer. Plug into your computer. OK, but is Odin already on the phone, or do I have to save it there?

2. Fire up Odin (Heimdeil may work in linux, haven't tested) choose the PDA section and browse to wherever you downloaded rooted.system.img.tar then click flash. This takes awhile, be patient. Took me around 8 minutes to flash this. Again, where should I download/save these files?