[GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 10/23

[PsYcHoNeWb]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock

Quick question! But first of all, thanks for this very useful guide!

So, I made a mistake the first time through. After locking my bootloader with EZ-Unlocker, I restarted my phone (I probably shouldn't have... IDK what I was thinking) and got some error about unauthorized software and it said I needed to take my phone to a Verizon Wireless center.

Because of this, I wasn't able to get to EZ-Recovery and do a data wipe, but I went ahead with ODIN and I got to step six and got the green light from ODIN and everything, but my phone wouldn't boot up and got stuck on the flashy, colorful 4G LTE screen. So I pulled my battery and pressed Volume UP + home button + power button to go into recovery mode and did a wipe data/factory reset ONLY! I didn't do wipe davlik cache/format system; I don't think that was an option in the menu I saw. When I did Step Six again, everything worked, and I immediately got sent into the setup wizard (which is what I wanted to do) without having to do Step Seven or a factory reset from the settings.

So here's my question: Is everything fine? Everything looks fine, but I'm worried that something went wrong because I didn't wipe davlik cache/format system. I'd hate to think everything was fine, and then have my phone bricked after my first OTA update.

PS I'm a complete noob about this stuff. I rooted my phone for the first time yesterday and got CM10, but I realized that all this rooting business is a bit over my head so I'm trying to get my phone back to the old bloated version designed for people like me.

Update: So when I set up my phone, it already had the wifi info for both my home and school networks saved and my phone automatically connected to my home network. Also, my phone had the default background initally, but then it switched to my old background I used to have before I started rooting/flashing yesterday. This leads me to believe that I didn't do a complete wipe. However, when I installed CM10 yesterday, I used this guide (thanks for that, too ) and did all the wipes written there. Is it possible that my wallpaper and wifi data were saved by Verizon Backup Assistant or something similar?

Also, when the Play Store reinstalled EZ-Unlocker (with all of my other old apps), I tried opening it, but it told me I was unrooted! I don't need my phone to look completely new so I can return it to Verizon or anything. I just want the stock OS back (which I have, I think) and I want to be unrooted (which I am) and bootloader locked so I can safely receive OTA updates. Is there a way to check that my bootloader is locked from my current unrooted state?

Thanks again for this guide and sorry for all the questions. Like I said, I'm a complete noob at all this and just want to get back to the way things were.

You should be fine. Wiping cache and dalvik won't stop your phone from receiving updated. If you really are paranoid about it, ODIN up and flash the stock rooted ROM and wipe everything then flash back the nonrooted image.

Yes, your wallpaper and WiFi passwords save. Its part of the Google Backup, same things with apps you buy from the market. Sometimes that feature works, sometimes it doesn't. Depends on the ROM/GAPPS package.

Yes you can check. Reboot your phone and when it starts to come back up if the "SAMSUNG" logo stays on the screen for more than a second before going to the Verizon boot animation then it is locked.

If I missed anything let me know.

 

[ejpark]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock

Thanks again! I just wanted to make sure I was rooted and locked so I could safely receive OTA updates.

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock

Yes you should be fine like I said since the stock ROM has all of the built in function that the original one does.

 

[HalfwayJames]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock

I'm sorry if this is redundant but I don't want to brick my phone so here it goes. I relocked the bootloader with EZ-Recovery and then selected to boot into recovery but instead it booted to the "unauthorized software....report to Verizon" screen. I now can't boot to recovery to wipe my data or anything so I'm wondering what the best route to take is. Should I connect to ODIN, flash the stock ROM and kernel, then re-root my phone, and THEN redo the unroot process? Great guide by the way, and sorry if this is a stupid question. Hate that there is a locked bootloader on this great device in the first place.

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock

I'm sorry if this is redundant but I don't want to brick my phone so here it goes. I relocked the bootloader with EZ-Recovery and then selected to boot into recovery but instead it booted to the "unauthorized software....report to Verizon" screen. I now can't boot to recovery to wipe my data or anything so I'm wondering what the best route to take is. Should I connect to ODIN, flash the stock ROM and kernel, then re-root my phone, and THEN redo the unroot process? Great guide by the way, and sorry if this is a stupid question. Hate that there is a locked bootloader on this great device in the first place.

No its okay, this guide was made before we had the ability to unlock the bootloader so there is a new guide coming. You are going to have to follow this guide on XDA to get back to stock with an unlocked bootloader. This is what I did when I had to send mine back for warranty.

[HOW-TO] Unbrick your soft bricked Galaxy S III - xda-developers

 

[bigguh]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock

My question is regarding my current setup. I am running CM 10 nightly from 9/20. All seems well. However, I want to go back to stock for the official Jelly Bean OTA update (whenever that is). Do I lock the bootloader before I flash the stock rom? I feel like that would cause me to soft brick, which was enough of a pain to recover (not hard necessarily; version 1.3 of EZ Unlock did not actually unlock the bootlader...had to use version 1.1. or 1.2) from the 1st time. Also, is the ODIN process what is actually doing the "unrooting"? I think I have been reading so many things in recent days since I am new to rooting, that I am getting a bit confused...particularly with going back to full, clean stock. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock

My question is regarding my current setup. I am running CM 10 nightly from 9/20. All seems well. However, I want to go back to stock for the official Jelly Bean OTA update (whenever that is). Do I lock the bootloader before I flash the stock rom? I feel like that would cause me to soft brick, which was enough of a pain to recover (not hard necessarily; version 1.3 of EZ Unlock did not actually unlock the bootlader...had to use version 1.1. or 1.2) from the 1st time. Also, is the ODIN process what is actually doing the "unrooting"? I think I have been reading so many things in recent days since I am new to rooting, that I am getting a bit confused...particularly with going back to full, clean stock. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

You are correct on causing a soft brick. If you want to go back to full stock I believe that you are going to need to use ODIN at some point to restore the proper bootloader files so that you don't end up getting a softbrick. I am going to update the guide today on how to restore your device if you have an unlocked bootloader since when this was created we didn't have the ability to unlock the bootloader.

If you want my honest opinion... these phones won't see JellyBean for a while, probably closer to when the Note 2 comes out and even then its going to a chance we wont see it right away.

 

[bigguh]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

Thanks. I guess my thing is that I really like this CM 10 ROM but I have no idea which nightly is the most stable version without many hiccups. For example, I use SwiftKey and since I flashed this ROM, I haven't been able to use the voice recognition feature via the keyboard. That's not at all a huge deal, but with all these nightlies, my head is spinning trying to keep up and figure out where I can settle or if I need to continuously flash ROMs.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

Thanks. I guess my thing is that I really like this CM 10 ROM but I have no idea which nightly is the most stable version without many hiccups. For example, I use SwiftKey and since I flashed this ROM, I haven't been able to use the voice recognition feature via the keyboard. That's not at all a huge deal, but with all these nightlies, my head is spinning trying to keep up and figure out where I can settle or if I need to continuously flash ROMs.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

If nightlies aren't your thing then the M1 build is for you. Its a build that will updated monthly and run a little more stable. It worked pretty well on the GS3 but you have to remember you wont get certain features or bug fixes right away but when you do get them there will be a lot. It won't require you really to keep up as much as nightlies would and you get a more stable build.

 

[Defcon One]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

Question. I've got the Samsung "custom unlock" screen when I boot my phone. I assume that means I have an unlocked bootloader.

If I wanted to take my rooted phone back to stock, can I use EZ-Unlock 1.2 to lock it first and then follow the instructions for a locked bootloader, or do i HAVE to follow the instructions for an unlocked bootloader? Thanks.

 

[HalfwayJames]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

Thanks for the response! I figured it out on my own with no issues somehow, and then I ended up rerooting it, but now I'm trying to put it back on stock. Flip floppin', I know . I flashed the kernel following the instructions but instead of saying PASS the box just reads RESET. I didn't touch it for a while because your guide says not to reset it, but it hasn't changed. Thanks for the continued updates!

Update: I fixed my issue, I had to boot into recovery and wipe data. Reset the device and back on track.

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

[GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

Question. I've got the Samsung "custom unlock" screen when I boot my phone. I assume that means I have an unlocked bootloader.

If I wanted to take my rooted phone back to stock, can I use EZ-Unlock 1.2 to lock it first and then follow the instructions for a locked bootloader, or do i HAVE to follow the instructions for an unlocked bootloader? Thanks.

I would follow the instructions. Locking the boot loader before anything may softbrick your device.

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

[GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

Thanks for the response! I figured it out on my own with no issues somehow, and then I ended up rerooting it, but now I'm trying to put it back on stock. Flip floppin', I know . I flashed the kernel following the instructions but instead of saying PASS the box just reads RESET. I didn't touch it for a while because your guide says not to reset it, but it hasn't changed. Thanks for the continued updates!

It may take a while to say pass when your phone doesn't reset because you have auto reset off. If it doesn't eventually go to pass let us know but when I did it, it said pass after a while.

 

[HalfwayJames]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

It eventually went to pass after about 15 minutes, not sure what the hold up was.

Finished all the steps, but when my phone booted back up a window popped up over my homescreen showing a bunch of information (went away, didn't get a good look at it) and the bottom of the screen had a window that said something about the phone being in developer mode. Did I miss something or how do I fix this because this doesn't seem right. Also did a data wipe and still the same screen. Any thoughts?

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

It eventually went to pass after about 15 minutes, not sure what the hold up was.

Finished all the steps, but when my phone booted back up a window popped up over my homescreen showing a bunch of information (went away, didn't get a good look at it) and the bottom of the screen had a window that said something about the phone being in developer mode. Did I miss something or how do I fix this because this doesn't seem right. Also did a data wipe and still the same screen. Any thoughts?

That is weird because my friend who had that same issue but he never rooted/unlocked the device. He just rebooted one day and thats what happened. Try a battery pull, thats what he did and it fixed it.

 

[revofev]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

When I load the kernel and start it says "RESET" is that the same thing as "PASS?" Because I followed the rest of the directions and my phones stays on the Verizon LTE 4G screen, so I pulled the battery and restart the process over? Never mind I waited a while for it to say PASS.

Okay after it showed pass I followed the steps to load the root66 file after pressing start then my phone still reboots and remains stuck on the 4G LTE screen.

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

When I load the kernel and start it says "RESET" is that the same thing as "PASS?" Because I followed the rest of the directions and my phones stays on the Verizon LTE 4G screen, so I pulled the battery and restart the process over? Never mind I waited a while for it to say PASS.

Yea when you don't auto reboot your device through ODIN it takes longer for PASS to come up. Ill add that to the OP.

 

[revofev]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

Now my phone is stuck on the 4G LTE screen.

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

Now my phone is stuck on the 4G LTE screen.

Unfortunately you pulled the battery before ODIN said PASS, my guess is that is why you are stuck on a boot loop. Follow this here on how to unbrick your device... [HOW-TO] Unbrick your soft bricked Galaxy S III - xda-developers

 

[J_Ness]

Re: [GUIDE] Restore Back to Clean Factory Stock UPDATE 9/22

Great Tutorial! I followed it to the letter, but still managed to end up in an apparent boot loop, stuck on the 4G LTE screen. I was able to fix it by following the instructions here..
[HOW-TO] Unbrick your soft bricked Galaxy S III - xda-developers
However, I'm picky and wanted to try flashing the Stock Non-rooted ROM once more..... Boot loop again. This time, however, I simply followed the last set of instructions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Reboot into Stock Recovery (hold volume-up, home button, power button simultaneously)

NOTE: You WILL see the following error in recovery so don't freak out:
Code:
E:failed to mount /data (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /data/fota/ipth-muc.prop
E:failed to mount /data (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /data/fota/ipth-muc.prop
E:failed to mount /data (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /data/fota/ipth-muc.prop
Wipe data/factory reset
Wipe cache partition
Reboot
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Worked like a charm.