Another Fake GS3 with 4.1.9? ... maybe not ...

[AndroidMadd]

Hi ...

I just bought a Blue Marble Galaxy S3 off eBay 2 days ago and it arrived today ... spent most of the day muckin' about and testing this and that (like you do) ... then checked the specs in the About section ... Android 4.1.9!!! ... wft ... never heard of that version ... alarm bells went off at that point but I dismissed it becasue of the quality of the unit and because it 'looks' just like a real one ... it may even be a real one ...

About Phone
Model #: I9300
Android Version: 4.1.9
Baseband version: MAUI.11AMD.W11.50.SP.V20,2012/10/25
kernel version: 3.013 user1@ubuntu#100 thu oct 25 12:12:12 CST 2012
Build#: GINGERBREAD.ZSKI3

So with that I decided it would be nice to install CyanogenMod 13.0 on it ... so the 1st thing I had to do was put a recovery app on it (TWRP) ... this is where I started to get frustrated ... I couldn't get to Download Mode at all, with the usual vol (dwn), home & power button ... instead I kept getting Factory mode ... a small menu that looks like this:

Factory Mode
Full Test
Item Test
Test Report
Clear eMNC
Version
Reboot

Haven't found any images, in Google images, showing my version of this menu ... and none of those options in that menu worked or done anything whatsover ... I could move up & down the menu, that's it ... battery removal brought the phone back to normal ...

I couldn't get the phone in a mode to use ODIN ... it didn't even want to talk to KIES ... I can read the contents of the SD card and the phones internal memory no problem ... currently having an issue with the MTP driver but not worried about that at the moment ...

So I went back and thought about it and decided to investigate Android 4.1.9 ... ... every thread I saw with 4.1.9 in it was said to be fake ... If mine is a fake it's a bloomin good one (best I've seen) compared to what I've seen on the net ... I have 2 GS3's (faulty atm) so I know what the screens and graphics should look like but this sucker has got me stumped ... the start up screen is exactly the same, the sound is the same and to be fair the whole home screen & icons look right ... they don't look blurry low resolution images ... the inside (back cover off) looks like my white versions (need to fix them ... Tip: don't use cheap Chinese car chargers as they burnout the charging ciruits TWICE!) ... movin' on ... after spending hours! on this, getting nowhere, I've come here ...

I really need to know if this is a fake or not, as I've never encounter one and only really got to know how good they look while investigating this unit ... it came with an original (maybe) dark blue box ... proper Samsung manual ... 3rd party charger & USB cable ... if it's fake it's going back, deffo ...

If it's not a fake but real, why put 4.1.9 on it? ... if I tap the Android version part in the About section I get a jellybean cartoon image ... oh and here's the weird part the phone will not sit in my (3rd party) desktop charger like my original whites ones did ... the USB connector on the phone it the WRONG way round ... so what do you think? ...

Screenshot of About section:
http://i.imgur.com/SsRDLlm.png

I'll get some nice photos of it next with the DSLR ...

cheers,
AM

 

[anon(632115)]

It's a fake [Q] Bought an S3 Clone and the software if c… | Samsung Galaxy S III I9300, I9305

 

[AndroidMadd]

Hi Pugs,

Thanks for the reply ... yep I was dreading that ... well it's going back (via eBay return policy)... but before I do I'd like to post some images I took, so others can use them as a reference ... as I haven't seen any decent images showing them side by side ...

Front:
https://i.imgur.com/51d02a6.jpg

Pretty convincing eh? ... they're definitely getting better at this ... but I noticed that the LED indicator (which is on the left) looks smaller(?) ... on an original Pebble Blue the hole is bigger and is very visible ...


Back:
https://i.imgur.com/yxlzRIG.jpg

Still looking reasonable ... although the Samsung logo is embossed on the original phone, the fakes can have a raised logo when running your finger over them ...


Cover Off - Battery Present:
https://i.imgur.com/d2PJ9jy.jpg

At quick glance you cannot really tell them apart ... but a few extra screws are present in the fake phone ... the LED Flash also looks different ...


Cover Off - Battery Removed:
https://i.imgur.com/IhghiPj.jpg

Now it starts to become clear ... the first thing I noticed was the water damage indicator ... it's missing off the fake phone ... also in the fake phone, there is a small hologram sticker in place ... and the main label's text is larger ... the IMEI & Serial number could well be false (cloned?) ...


SD Card + SIM Slots [Close Up]:
https://i.imgur.com/osD5qjl.jpg

Again, pretty good, apart from some small giveaways ... namely the MicroSD imprint and some other imprints that are not present in the fake but are in the original and vice versa ...


Close-up of the Speaker Grills:
http://i.imgur.com/inQAsOq.jpg

The grill can be a good tell-tale sign for a fake ... look at the drilling process ... it's pretty bad and all over the place ... whereas the Samsung phone looks decent and consistent ...


Fake Phone - Main Back Cover Off (Oh Dear!):
https://i.imgur.com/O0Tvcwn.jpg

With the main cover off, it starts to make more sense and gets really bad ... it definitely shows positive for a fake (totally different to an original) ... check the touchscreen flex, it's on the opposite side and smaller ... there's actually less in this phone than the original Samsung ...

I'd liked to have taken the board out, to view the other side but being as it was going back (to the seller) I didn't want to risk damaging it ...


Fake Phone - Close-up Top Section:
http://i.imgur.com/hDbg97c.jpg

I've ran out of wording ...


Fake Phone - Close-up Bottom Section:
http://i.imgur.com/j36XhCa.jpg

Not even going to comment about the bottom section ...


About Phone Section:
http://i.imgur.com/gY9iR1O.png

If none of the above give it away then spotting the version of Android OS installed could well be the clincher ... Google never released an OS firmware version of Jellybean 4.1.9 ...


As I said, it's a bloomin' good knock off ... until you look for the Android OS firmware installed, or better still look under the hood ...

cheers,
AM

 

[AndroidMadd]

Before I send it back, I decided to take some more photos of the fake phone (see post above) ... with the main cover off you can really see what it's all about ... check out the motherboard ... don't forget to zoom @100% ...

cheers,
AM