Where can I find the most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.4.2?

[Erik Cacciatore1]

Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.4.2

I just bought this phone, new, from Virgin Mobile and am seriously disappointed in the battery life. I've had it for 3 days now and am seeing a drain of 20-30% within 4-6 hours without even using the phone--just on standby.
I achieve only marginal gains by adjusting or disabling (as the case may be) sync, brightness, connection optimizer, etc.
I've looked at Battery Usage...
Android System has been using approximately 25% (clicking on that there are 51 entries in "Included Packages"),
Android OS has been using approximately 20%,
and the rest are under 7%, which I feel is appropriate.

Android System consumes only 5% on my friend's rooted 2013 Nexus 7, with just 7 entries in Included Packages.
With my Android System consuming so much battery, I feel it's the background system apps which are the main culprit and I can't disable any of those without rooting.

My concern is that all of the tutorials I've either read or watched on YouTube are typically 1-2 years old, many of them written or explained before KitKat. Also, none of them specifically mention the Virgin Mobile edition of the S3 (maybe that didn't exist at the time these tutorials were made). They do mention Sprint, but I don't know if that's exactly the same.

I could really use someone to walk me through the steps or point me to the correct and verified method of rooting my device. I'm fairly tech savvy and am not new to Android (I've had the Nexus 7 (2013) for about a year now, unrooted). I'm also very open to any suggestions for improving the battery life via the stock settings. The features of this phone have opened up a whole new area of trial and error and confusion that I didn't face with the Nexus.

Thank you for reading.

Virgin Mobile Samsung Galaxy S3
Android 4.4.2
Model number SPH-L710T

 

[Rukbat]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

Rooting adds a file to the /system directory (and an app to control it), it has nothing to do with battery life. A phone consuming just 5% for Android System isn't good, it's phenomenal. But it's different hardware than yours, a different kernel (and he may have replaced the kernel with one that uses less battery) and you're comparing apples to cars.

Also, removing some of those background apps that "you don't need" might surprise you because you do need them and the phone won't boot. Turn off background data, turn off all radios you're not using, turn the screen brightness down as far as you're comfortable, charge th battery when it gets no lower than 40% (50% is the ideal point). If the phone is new, condition the battery. Fully charge it. Use the phone, without charging, until the phone tells you to charge it (usually around the 5%-10% point), then repeat twice. Three full charge/discharge cycles. Then try to never let it drop below 40%.

As far as rooting 4.4.2 on a Sprint (VM uses Sprint towers in the US, so it's a Sprint phone), it's possible. Look in Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3 - XDA Forums for articles on rooting it. (Any current method may trip Knox [I haven't looked in a while], which immediately voids the warranty, so you may want to wait until someone comes up with a better rooting exploit and just live with the battery life for now. A spare battery is $14, and two of them and a charger [to charge the one in the phone and the one out of the phone at the same time] are $26. See Anker on Robot Check) [Don't ask me why an Amazon link shows that name - I have no idea.] If you get a spare battery or two, condition each one. Swap batteries every month, even if they don't need it. [I'm still using the OEM battery and an OEM spare bought at the same time in my 2003 Motorola V551. Late 2013, so only a little over 11 years. I still get about 95% of what I got when they were new.])

 

[GSDer]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

You could check out Towelroot (http://towelroot.com) to see if it works on your firmware/kernel.

If you want help analyzing your battery life be sure to post the three screenshots from the Battery view (main page, History and Screen on). Be sure to start with a fully charged battery and let it discharge to about 30% with no intermediate charge cycles. The best I've gotten was almost four hours of screen on time.

 

[Erik Cacciatore1]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

Thanks for the reply. I didn't mean to suggest that rooting alone would improve the battery life, but rather it would give me access to background apps that can't be configured without rooting. But you make the valid point that I could easily disable something I actually need. So I'm holding off on rooting at least for the time being. And yes, my friend's Nexus 7 is not a phone and he did replace the kernel, so it was pointless of me to compare the two.
I took your advice and bought the Anker charger with two batteries, as well as another Anker 7200maH battery with case. I do love the fact that the batteries can be swapped out on this device. I also performed that discharge cycle you suggested, a total of three times.
So many of the suggested methods for improving battery life (and I've tried most of them) end up leaving you with a phone that's pretty boring, ya know? Turning off this, disabling that. So I hope to find some happy medium by using these spare batteries and the larger battery and still be able to get enjoyable and useful functionality from the phone.
I intend to revisit the idea of rooting at some point. But for now, I'm just waiting for these batteries to arrive and then I'll see how it works out.

 

[Juan Torres_Flores]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

i have a link for you i just can't post it

 

[Juan Torres_Flores]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

cause i need

 

[Juan Torres_Flores]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

10 posts

 

[Juan Torres_Flores]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

so...

 

[Juan Torres_Flores]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

i'm

 

[Juan Torres_Flores]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

going

 

[Juan Torres_Flores]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

to post

 

[Juan Torres_Flores]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

random

 

[Juan Torres_Flores]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

lines

 

[Juan Torres_Flores]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

till i reach 10

 

[Juan Torres_Flores]

Re: Looking for most up-to-date instructions for rooting VM Samsung Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710T) Android 4.

Thanks for the reply. I didn't mean to suggest that rooting alone would improve the battery life, but rather it would give me access to background apps that can't be configured without rooting. But you make the valid point that I could easily disable something I actually need. So I'm holding off on rooting at least for the time being. And yes, my friend's Nexus 7 is not a phone and he did replace the kernel, so it was pointless of me to compare the two.
I took your advice and bought the Anker charger with two batteries, as well as another Anker 7200maH battery with case. I do love the fact that the batteries can be swapped out on this device. I also performed that discharge cycle you suggested, a total of three times.
So many of the suggested methods for improving battery life (and I've tried most of them) end up leaving you with a phone that's pretty boring, ya know? Turning off this, disabling that. So I hope to find some happy medium by using these spare batteries and the larger battery and still be able to get enjoyable and useful functionality from the phone.
I intend to revisit the idea of rooting at some point. But for now, I'm just waiting for these batteries to arrive and then I'll see how it works out.

sorry for clogging your thread in a way but here is the link forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53511366#post53511366