Samsung Galaxy S3 III Mini I8190N - Rooted / Unroot

[Andrew_S83]

Hi Guys
Wondering if someone could give me some advice or point me in the right direction,

I brought a second hand S3 Mini I8190N from eBay that i've just refurbished.
It had a broken LCD but was guaranteed it was unlocked and would work once replaced, which it does.

The problem is when i went to update the software, it says no updated available, i did some google searching and have since noticed the phone says - Device Status: Custom.

Does this mean it's rooted? or is it just because i don't have an SD card in?

If it is rooted, how would i go about getting it back to normal?

Finally, is there a way i can find out what network the phone on originally? or if it was factory unlocked?

 

[br77494]

Hi Andrew,

I got this same phone for my son 4 or 5 years ago. He's transitioned through about 3 other phones since then. It's a very low powered device and I'm sure it would really struggle with apps today. I didn't think many people would still be using it! Are you just wanting to update Android, or do you want security patches too. This phone shipped with Jelly Bean 4.1 but I know that AT&T eventually upgraded it to Kitkat 4.4. What version of android are you running on it?

Carriers are notorious for installing carrier specific apps that cannot be uninstalled on phones they ship. That'd be your first clue that it was locked at one time.

I've experience the same sort of thing with my Note 4. Got it through AT&T, then later got it unlocked and switched over to T-Mobile. I could never find a way to get it upgraded to Marshmallow after I did that - couldn't connect to AT&T server anymore and I didn't have T-Mobile firmware on it so I couldn't upgrade it through their server. So, if it still has the original carriers firmware on it it's never really 100% unlocked! And I'm not tech savy enough with it to find a way to flash new firmware to it. So, I guess I'm stuck with Lollipop on it. Used it that way for over a year, then upgraded to a new phone. I use it as a backup, so I'd like to find someway to upgrade it.

Hope you can find a way to update your S3 mini. If you're not successful finding help here, you might be able to find some help over at XDA in their forums.