Going from rooted phone to stock SGS3...?

[TrailofTears]

I hope I didn't miss a dedicated thread for this, but I searched and found nothing obvious. If this should be moved to a larger thread somewhere, please do so, mods. Thank you.

I am looking for advice and/or instructions on going from a rooted DInc (CM7/Gingerbread) to a stock GS3 (Verizon, if it matters). I don't know what steps I should be taking to make the process as painless but thorough as possible. I just got my phone and then froze because I didn't want to screw this part up.

In particular:

1.) What is possible as far as backing up Apps and data, and what programs/steps do I need to take to lose as little as possible when making the change?

2.) I currently use ADWEx for my launcher, and I would like to use it again. Do I just need to run the backup for settings/desktop, and then reload from that file onto the GS3? Is that even possible going from 2.3 to 4.0?

3.) Are there any pitfalls I should look out for when making this leap? Things I might botch or forget or do out of order that will require me to start over or reactivate my old DInc?

4.) No question here. Just wanted to say thank you for anyone who offers to help me. I appreciate you and everyone else on here that is smarter and/or more knowledgeable than I with this stuff.

 

[Crafty]

Here is what I did (desire to SG3):

Backed up contacts to google account

Used SMSBackup+ to back up my text messages to google account

Transferred all media via bluetooth/wifi to my laptop (pics, music, videos etc)

Set up SG3 with my google account. Restored contacts + text messages

Put whatever media I wanted on my micro SD card and put it in the phone.

I don't know if that launcher will work or not. ICS was a fairly significant change so you may want to set up the launcher again manually... its more fun that way anyway

 

[TrailofTears]

Here is what I did (desire to SG3):

Backed up contacts to google account

Used SMSBackup+ to back up my text messages to google account

Transferred all media via bluetooth/wifi to my laptop (pics, music, videos etc)

Set up SG3 with my google account. Restored contacts + text messages

Put whatever media I wanted on my micro SD card and put it in the phone.

I don't know if that launcher will work or not. ICS was a fairly significant change so you may want to set up the launcher again manually... its more fun that way anyway

Thanks for the helpful steps to making the change. Do you know if there is any way to transfer apps and their respective data/settings/preferences to the new phone? I am hoping to avoid having to redo the settings for every app, widget, etc.

Also, is there anything I should know about taking the SD card from the old phone and using it in the new one? Can I use it as a medium for transferring media and/or apps as described above?

I'm sorry I'm so lost. I'm generally pretty tech-savvy, but going from a rooted older OS to ICS has me mixed up.

 

[Crafty]

Far as apps widgets go, if you sign in to the same google account and go to google play hit the menu button and click "my apps", then scroll right to the "all" list and it'll show you a list of all the apps you've ever downloaded - so you can pretty quickly get them all back. Just make sure you are on wifi when it starts downloading them all

If you wanted to back them up with their data the only way I know of doing that is to use titanium backup app, but you need to be rooted to do that - obviously not a problem on your existing phone but I *think* you need to root the S3 to restore. Go see what you can find on XDA, maybe someone there has a better answer.

 

[eelton]

If you wanted to back them up with their data the only way I know of doing that is to use titanium backup app, but you need to be rooted to do that - obviously not a problem on your existing phone but I *think* you need to root the S3 to restore. Go see what you can find on XDA, maybe someone there has a better answer.

I rooted my S3 and used Titanium Backup to restore apps and data. One word of advice--restore apps individually, not as a batch. When I did the batch (restore missing apps with data), it created conflicts with pre-installed apps, and I had to do a factory reset and start over.