I think I bricked my S3 :/

[Seth Stancil]

So I tried following a rooting guide for the S3 without realizing that the model it was for was the international version and not the US cellular version. My phone is now stuck on the "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. please select recovery mode in Kies and try again". When I connect to Kies it just keeps trying to connect to the device and will eventually say there was a problem with connecting to the device. I can however still put my phone in download mode, I'm not sure if that makes any difference here, any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Paul627g]

If you can still get into Download Mode then all hope is not lost. You need to locate the EXACT carrier/region specific Odin package to flash the device back to a stock factory " working " state.

 

[Seth Stancil]

If you can still get into Download Mode then all hope is not lost. You need to locate the EXACT carrier/region specific Odin package to flash the device back to a stock factory " working " state.

Thank you! Could you push me in the general direction of finding my Odin specific package? would it make a diference that I bought the phone through Wal Mart and not US Cellular?

 

[Paul627g]

No it doesn't matter purchasing it thru WalMart or any third party reseller. If the device is branded as a US Cellular model then that is the Odin package you need to look for.

 

[scorpiodsu]

Thank you! Could you push me in the general direction of finding my Odin specific package? would it make a diference that I bought the phone through Wal Mart and not US Cellular?

I've bricked my old S3 plenty of times but ODIN always works

Here's a link for the file you need for US Celluar:

Stock ODIN - TeamUSCellular

Download ODIN:

[Tools] Odin Version 3.04 - 3.07 and GS3 Drivers for Windows - xda-developers

Steps to flash via ODIN:

a. Make sure you have your tar file stored on your PC. (Extracted form your download)

b. Reboot your phone to Download Mode [shut down your phone, then hold down the Home + Volume DOWN Buttons and press the Power Button for about 2 seconds until a Warning screen appears. Press Volume UP to continue to Download Mode.

c. Connect your phone via usb and the first box at the top under ID:COM should turn blue and have some text in it. If you are using Download Mode on your phone for the first time then you will notice drivers being installed to use it.

d. The site or page you downloaded the file from will usually give you instructions to set Odin but if not you want to load boot/recovery/system files to the PDA location and have 'Auto Reboot' and 'F.Reset Time' ticked and nothing else.

e. Click on 'Start' to start the flash. You can see what is happening in the text box in the lower left.

Source: [SAMSUNG GALAXY S3 UNIFIED TOOLKIT V7.0] Drivers, Backup, Root, Recovery + MORE [SPR] - xda-developers

 

[Seth Stancil]

Thank you! It's in the process of recovering, any pointers on rooting now that I'm better informed on this?

 

[scorpiodsu]

Thank you! It's in the process of recovering, any pointers on rooting now that I'm better informed on this?

Sorry, not sure about rooting for us cellular model. I would visit xda and check their development threads for your device. Although it appeara the tool kit in the last link does provide root. Check it out. Good luck.