A few questions on Rooting my Sprint s3

[Athlete_12]

Don't really know if this is in the right section or not but I own a Sprint galaxy s3. I've heard about rooting and seen videos about it lots of times. I've also seen the latest Jelly bean 4.2 on the Nexus 4 and I thought that the pure jelly bean experience on google phones seemed much better. Touchwiz is a nice skin but I just like the feeling of pure jelly bean experience on a phone (no offense to Samsung's touchwiz)
So basically I want a pure Jelly bean on my galaxy s3 and I was just wondering if it's worth rooting it so I can install roms like CM10. It would be my first time rooting an android and I heard that it's pretty easy .to root, but as a beginner I just have a few questions:
If I root my s3...
1. Will it void my insurance with Sprint?
2. Am I still able to swtich back to touchwiz as my regular os (if I install CM10)
3. WIll it take away the features of a galaxy s3 for example: smart stay, palm screenshot, or other motion controls
4. Can it damage my phone?
5. Is it worth rooting?

Sorry about all the questions, I'm new to rooting and I plan to get into it more and what better way it is than to start now. Thanks in advance.

 

[npark2012]

Don't really know if this is in the right section or not but I own a Sprint galaxy s3. I've heard about rooting and seen videos about it lots of times. I've also seen the latest Jelly bean 4.2 on the Nexus 4 and I thought that the pure jelly bean experience on google phones seemed much better. Touchwiz is a nice skin but I just like the feeling of pure jelly bean experience on a phone (no offense to Samsung's touchwiz)
So basically I want a pure Jelly bean on my galaxy s3 and I was just wondering if it's worth rooting it so I can install roms like CM10. It would be my first time rooting an android and I heard that it's pretty easy .to root, but as a beginner I just have a few questions:
If I root my s3...
1. Will it void my insurance with Sprint?
2. Am I still able to swtich back to touchwiz as my regular os (if I install CM10)
3. WIll it take away the features of a galaxy s3 for example: smart stay, palm screenshot, or other motion controls
4. Can it damage my phone?
5. Is it worth rooting?

Sorry about all the questions, I'm new to rooting and I plan to get into it more and what better way it is than to start now. Thanks in advance.

1.) Most likely yes. But there is a way to UNroot and have it like you never rooted before.
2.)Technically your OS has been android 4.0+ touchwiz is exactly like CM10 by nature. They are both ROMs or "skins" that goes over the android OS. But if you mean if you can go back to touchwiz I'm not exactly sure...sorry. >.<
3.) Yes it will get rid of all Samsung features.
4.) Not physically but there is a risk of bricking your phone.
5.) It depends on you really. If you just want the jelly bean I would advise against it until you are advanced enough in rooting. Or just get a nexus phone if you can. But opposite of what most people would say, I will say to you that with rooting comes with great responsibility. it's fun to experiment but when something happens it's all on you. So just be very careful about it, research a lot until you're very confident in rooting and then you can root. In general it is safe so you SHOULDN'T worry too much, just be aware there ARE risks.

EDIT:
Oh by the way you may want to try out Apex or Nova Launcher Prime first. They have the jelly bean skin and it's an app so no root required. Unless it doesn't work on your s3 for some reason... but since it's running 4.0+ apex or nova should work fine. Tell me what you think about it! They both have free and paid version. Hope that helped.

Apex Launcher FREE:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...?id=com.anddoes.launcher&hl=en&token=pOB1CE1Z

Nova Launcher FREE:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...com.teslacoilsw.launcher&hl=en&token=svPfXVxm

 

[Golfdriver97]

Don't really know if this is in the right section or not but I own a Sprint galaxy s3. I've heard about rooting and seen videos about it lots of times. I've also seen the latest Jelly bean 4.2 on the Nexus 4 and I thought that the pure jelly bean experience on google phones seemed much better. Touchwiz is a nice skin but I just like the feeling of pure jelly bean experience on a phone (no offense to Samsung's touchwiz)
So basically I want a pure Jelly bean on my galaxy s3 and I was just wondering if it's worth rooting it so I can install roms like CM10. It would be my first time rooting an android and I heard that it's pretty easy .to root, but as a beginner I just have a few questions:
If I root my s3...
1. Will it void my insurance with Sprint?
2. Am I still able to swtich back to touchwiz as my regular os (if I install CM10)
3. WIll it take away the features of a galaxy s3 for example: smart stay, palm screenshot, or other motion controls
4. Can it damage my phone?
5. Is it worth rooting?

Sorry about all the questions, I'm new to rooting and I plan to get into it more and what better way it is than to start now. Thanks in advance.

Don't worry about asking questions. That is what these forums are for.
Now, to answer yours....
1. Voiding insurance....possibly. The physical damage part of the insurance, no it shouldn't. The OS part of the insurance and manufacturer's warranty, yes.
2. You can switch back, but what I have seen with uninstalling CyanogenMod, there are a few extra hoops you have to jump through. There are Many other ROMs out there, not just CM. I suggest to heavily look at others before deciding. I am also not a big fan of CM. The colors are all themed to a cyan color, and dulls down the phone a little. I am currently running MOAR.
3. CM will strip some features away, while replacing them with others. Depends on how they built the ROM itself.
4. Damage...rooting, no. Improper flashing of ROMs, yes. More later.
5. Worth rooting? YES!!! Rooting opens up options in some apps and even is the key to downloading other apps. Titanium Backup is an app that can back up, freeze and even erase apps. (I would advise extreme caution in this regard). Freeze first, erase later. Freezing allows you to stop an app and see if it affects your phone.

ROMs....research, read, and above all else...read. Read all instructions to the point where you know them forward and backward. Make sure the ROM you are downloading is for your device model number. And a big one I run into a lot....DON'T FLASH INTERNATIONAL ROMS!!! That is a sure path to bricking (rendering device 100% useless...like a brick). If anything, have a backup stock ROM on your PC as a fall back so that if you don't like a ROM you can go back. Install a custom recovery (Clockwork Mod) and make a back up of the current ROM. Install ROMs to an external SD card, install through recovery, wipe all data (phone cache, dalvik cache, and wipe the entire phone) before flashing a new ROM. This procedure is called a 'clean install', and makes a better install. You have heard of some people hating current updates they got to their phone? Over The Air (OTA) updates don't do any of the wiping that I just said, thus what is called a 'dirty install', and can cause performance issues.

Check out YouTube QBKing77. He does wonderful videos and hot-to's on the Galaxy series phones for Sprint. He previews and instructs how to install ROMs (Separate videos).

Any questions give me a shout. Sorry for the long winded response...but you didn't exactly ask the simplest of all questions....lol

 

[Golfdriver97]

Don't really know if this is in the right section or not but I own a Sprint galaxy s3. I've heard about rooting and seen videos about it lots of times. I've also seen the latest Jelly bean 4.2 on the Nexus 4 and I thought that the pure jelly bean experience on google phones seemed much better. Touchwiz is a nice skin but I just like the feeling of pure jelly bean experience on a phone (no offense to Samsung's touchwiz)
So basically I want a pure Jelly bean on my galaxy s3 and I was just wondering if it's worth rooting it so I can install roms like CM10. It would be my first time rooting an android and I heard that it's pretty easy .to root, but as a beginner I just have a few questions:
If I root my s3...
1. Will it void my insurance with Sprint?
2. Am I still able to swtich back to touchwiz as my regular os (if I install CM10)
3. WIll it take away the features of a galaxy s3 for example: smart stay, palm screenshot, or other motion controls
4. Can it damage my phone?
5. Is it worth rooting?

Sorry about all the questions, I'm new to rooting and I plan to get into it more and what better way it is than to start now. Thanks in advance.

npark has a good suggestion. After my post one thing I realized is why do you want to root? I also would suggest Nova launcher. It allows numerous customizations to animations, grid layout color themes, etc...all for free. While you are playing with that, that gives you time to do further reading on rooting, custom recoveries and ROMs.

Also, if you have an older Android device, try looking up how to root and install ROMs for that. It will give you practice, and allow you to play with a ROM without putting your S3 on the line. Same guidelines apply, read, follow all directions, have a way to revert it back to original state.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

You've gotten lots of good advice, which I won't repeat, but just a couple of things:

After rooting, before flashing any new ROM (like CM), be sure to do a Nandroid backup of your original setup. That will give you the option of easily going back to the stock (rooted) configuration.

2. The only way to switch back to touchwiz would be to either restore your Nandroid backup, or flash a complete new ROM.
4. While rooting is pretty easy and safe IF YOU DO IT THE RIGHT WAY AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY it is possible to screw up your phone. Not the hardware, but you can get to where the phone won't boot normally. This is usually recoverable. The key is to make sure you're following the procedure for the right phone.All Galaxy S3s are not the same. Don't follow the procedure for a Sprint phone when you have an AT&T, or for the international version if you have a Sprint, etc.

This goes double for flashing ROMs. Flashing a ROM meant for a different model / carrier version of the phone than what you have can, and probably will, hard brick your device.

5. It all depends on what you want to do with the phone. My suggestion is to first spend a bunch of time reading the rooting forums here, see what other people have done, and why, and decide whether the benefits matter to you. For me, being able to do complete backups of all software and settings (including system settings) and WiFi tether for free, and run a few other apps that require root, were well "worth it." Again, though rooting and flashing ROMs are different things. You can get benefits from rooting even if you stick to the stock ROM.

Questions you didn't ask:

6. Should I flash CM10?

Frankly, I would say no. The latest CM ROMs don't really seem to play that well with the S3. I'd consider alternatives if you really want to flash. Just be sure, whatever you do, that (If you have a Sprint phone) you're flashing a ROM intended for the Sprint phone, and only the Sprint phone. Too many ROM builders don't clearly explain what device their ROM is for. (Note: a ROM meant for the i9300 will brick your Sprint phone in an instant). We've had a minor rash of people bricking their phones here by not understanding this simple rule.

7. What should I flash, then? If you really want a plain vanilla Google experience, I'm not sure. The most stable ROMs for the S3 are Touchwiz-based ROMs, including Wicked Sensations and MOAR.

8. I see lots of videos on YouTube with rooting instructions. What should I use?

Follow Skunkape's How to root sticky at the top of this forum. It's simple, easy to follow, and works. Just make sure you read the instructions several times, and understand them, before you start. Some of the video's I've seen on YouTube are so misguided I'm sure people have bricked their phones trying to follow them.

 

[Athlete_12]

Thanks so much guys for all the replies! And I decided before I root I'm going to do my research until I'm confident enough. Again thanks everyone!

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

 

[GiantJay]

There are plenty of AOSP ROMs to choose from not just Cm. CM and the other ROMs are built from source and are pure android not a "skin" like touch wiz. You will notice your phones ram is way lower when running a AOSP rom because it doesn't have touch wiz on top of it running. Cm is not themed either it looks like pure android is supposed to look. You can change the theme from the play store for cm and other AOSP ROMs. Just search cm 10 theme in the play store. Qbking77 has very helpful videos on YouTube and there are other people that show off different ROMs on YouTube so you can check them out. Qbking77 videos are kind of out of date though. Just make sure you read about what you are doing and understand it before attempting anything. And despite what others have said in this thread you can absolutely mess up your phone while rooting. If you want the look of AOSP and features of touch wiz I would go with The Peoples ROM or MOAR you can theme them to look just like a AOSP rom if you know what you are doing. If you need help let me know, I'm also on xda-developers.com under this same name.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Athlete_12]

There are plenty of AOSP ROMs to choose from not just Cm. CM and the other ROMs are built from source and are pure android not a "skin" like touch wiz. You will notice your phones ram is way lower when running a AOSP rom because it doesn't have touch wiz on top of it running. Cm is not themed either it looks like pure android is supposed to look. You can change the theme from the play store for cm and other AOSP ROMs. Just search cm 10 theme in the play store. Qbking77 has very helpful videos on YouTube and there are other people that show off different ROMs on YouTube so you can check them out. Qbking77 videos are kind of out of date though. Just make sure you read about what you are doing and understand it before attempting anything. And despite what others have said in this thread you can absolutely mess up your phone while rooting. If you want the look of AOSP and features of touch wiz I would go with The Peoples ROM or MOAR you can theme them to look just like a AOSP rom if you know what you are doing. If you need help let me know, I'm also on xda-developers.com under this same name.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks! And if I ever need any help or questions I'll be sure to contact you.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

 

[qbngator]

I'm also a root noob. The reasons I'm thinking of rooting are: 1) for the multi window app and 2) for wi-fi tethering

When you root, do you HAVE to flash a ROM, or will you be running a "normal" phone that happens to be rooted if you don't flash one?

Also, the most noob-friendly video I've found (I'm a visual guy) is by QBKING77. Is he reliable?

 

[seanskiT1]

I'm also a root noob. The reasons I'm thinking of rooting are: 1) for the multi window app and 2) for wi-fi tethering

When you root, do you HAVE to flash a ROM, or will you be running a "normal" phone that happens to be rooted if you don't flash one?

Also, the most noob-friendly video I've found (I'm a visual guy) is by QBKING77. Is he reliable?

No you don't have to flash a ROM. The stock ROM will be there. However, unless you've updated to MD4 you won't have multi-window unless you flash a ROM.

Yes he is reliable.

sent from my GS3 sporting Wicked Sensations

 

[GiantJay]

I'm also a root noob. The reasons I'm thinking of rooting are: 1) for the multi window app and 2) for wi-fi tethering

When you root, do you HAVE to flash a ROM, or will you be running a "normal" phone that happens to be rooted if you don't flash one?

Also, the most noob-friendly video I've found (I'm a visual guy) is by QBKING77. Is he reliable?

Multi view is in the latest md4 update, you don't have to root or install a ROM to use it. Qbking77 is awesome reliable, if you have questions about his videos just read through the comments on YouTube, everything has probably been asked before.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[meyerweb#CB]

The guide in this forum: http://forums.androidcentral.com/sp...e-updated-how-root-your-sprint-galaxy-s3.html

is also very easy and very reliable.

 

[qbngator]

Multi view is in the latest md4 update, you don't have to root or install a ROM to use it. Qbking77 is awesome reliable, if you have questions about his videos just read through the comments on YouTube, everything has probably been asked before.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

I have it, but the are limited apps. There is a multi view app in the Play store, but it requires root access. The app supposedly enables multi window view for all apps.

 

[qbngator]

The guide in this forum: http://forums.androidcentral.com/sp...e-updated-how-root-your-sprint-galaxy-s3.html

is also very easy and very reliable.

It certainly looks that way, and I'm not doubting that it is easy and reliable. I'd just rather have somebody to show me how to do what I'm reading, and qbking77's videos seem to be the most thorough.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Completely agree. qbking does great work. Just wanted to provide you an option.

 

[qbngator]

Completely agree. qbking does great work. Just wanted to provide you an option.

...and I do appreciate it. I saved the link so that I could go directly to it. Thank you.

 

[eldub1]

It took me 10 minutes to root my SG3. That's only because I had find my data cord. It's that easy.