• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Root [Virgin Mobile] [OUTDATED][GUIDE][MD7][MG2] Rooting & Recovery for Galaxy S3(VM)

haven't been able to get this to work, anybody else? application starts up and say tethering started with errors, check log, but then there's nothing in the log.. used all the recommended settings.. really wanted this to work , why else root?
 
I'm good. updated my post!

Awesome! My desire is to definitely have everyone who wants to get their phone rooted and customized and running the way they want to be able to achieve that goal, with whatever help required from all of us here on the forums. Keep us posted on your progress, needs, concerns and successes!
 
First I'd like to thank struckn for the great guide at post 232. I however am having a problem. I can boot into custom recovery but when I navigate to "install update from external storage" the phone hangs for about 5-10 seconds then spits out:

E:failed to mount /sdcard (No such file or directory)

In red text. I'm wondering if this has something to do with the latest philz touch update? When I reboot the phone the sdcard works fine, all my files and apps are there. Another thing I noted, in recovery it says "Android system recovery <3e>" Should it not say something about philz touch there? Thanks in advance.
 
First I'd like to thank struckn for the great guide at post 232. I however am having a problem. I can boot into custom recovery but when I navigate to "install update from external storage" the phone hangs for about 5-10 seconds then spits out:

E:failed to mount /sdcard (No such file or directory)

In red text. I'm wondering if this has something to do with the latest philz touch update? When I reboot the phone the sdcard works fine, all my files and apps are there. Another thing I noted, in recovery it says "Android system recovery <3e>" Should it not say something about philz touch there? Thanks in advance.

Most likely you didn't uncheck the "reboot" option on Odin before pushing the .tar file for Philz. Try pushing Philz again with that box unchecked. Wait for green "Pass" message (takes two minutes), pull battery, wait five to ten seconds, replace battery and then manually boot into recovery. If the "reboot" box is checked, your phone will reboot before the custom recovery fully installs and then it reverts to stock.
 
I did have the box unchecked.. this is my final odin screen:

odin.png
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hm22b42fpksk13r/odin.png

F.reset seemed to get checked on it's own during the process. The only thing I may have done differently from the instructions is maybe I had the battery pulled too long? I was probably at 15-20 seconds but I wouldn't think that'd be the issue here. Also download mode now shows a count of 1 and says I'm running custom. I'll try pushing it again and see what happens. Thanks again for the help.
 
The root procedure in post #232 is going to be transferred into my sticky tutorial later today. It is meant to complement the one Britton already has in the stickies as well. This thread I am posting on has been removed from the stickies to avoid confusion due to outdated info; feel free to keep responding here for now, but the goal is to have threads like this kind of slip down from the top of the list so new users of the forums don't use the info in the OP inadvertently when more current info is available in the stickies. Also, and this goes for anyone and everyone, I will always respond to a PM if you don't feel comfortable posting because you feel you have a dumb question. My responses in a PM are identical in tone to what I post publicly, so there will be no belittling just because nobody else can see it, just as much help as I can possibly give!
 
I did have the box unchecked.. this is my final odin screen:

odin.png
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hm22b42fpksk13r/odin.png

F.reset seemed to get checked on it's own during the process. The only thing I may have done differently from the instructions is maybe I had the battery pulled too long? I was probably at 15-20 seconds but I wouldn't think that'd be the issue here. Also download mode now shows a count of 1 and says I'm running custom. I'll try pushing it again and see what happens. Thanks again for the help.

Pic didn't show up just FYI. Keep us posted, I definitely want you to succeed and will brainstorm all I can to make that happen.
 
It worked this time, I think it may have had something to do with the timing of me pulling the battery last time perhaps.

In the effort to make the final tutorial as clear as possible, I'd like to add that maybe it should be noted that when you're trying to put the phone into download mode that it needs to be unplugged from USB. Not that it was a pain to find that information but just for the sake of everything being in one place. Thanks again for your help :)
 
Thank you and glad it's working! Will get the USB part added for sure, thanks for catching that.

Edit: It was already there in step 8, but just a brief mention. I will emphasize the need for the unplugging of the USB cable before pulling battery when I update my tutorial.
 
I was actually talking about just before step 6. My phone wouldn't go into download mode while the usb cable was plugged in and others seemed to have the same problem. It just flashes the warning about custom OSes then goes black.
 
I was actually talking about just before step 6. My phone wouldn't go into download mode while the usb cable was plugged in and others seemed to have the same problem. It just flashes the warning about custom OSes then goes black.

Cool, didn't know that, thanks for clarifying. I have plugged my phone in at various stages and had no problems, so didn't know otherwise. Just updated my sticky thread, more updates to come throughout the evening, but will clarify that particular point right now. Thanks again!
 
So I rooted my phone in August using the instructions on page one and I was wondering how I can factory restore my phone. Its been going a little slow and I just want to wipe it clean and start from scratch.
Is this recommended? If not is there a different solution to get a new rom on there. Im tired of constantly seeing messages asking me to do an OTA upgrade.
 
You won't be able to get the OTAvupdate if you're rooted. If you want the Knox, flash an odin tar of MG2(or even MD7), to get you back completely stock unrooted, with stock recovery, and let it update on its own. If you want a normal life without the frustration of Knox and the possibility of gooning up your phone by bricking, voiding the warranty, etc, flash a Knox free 4.3 build(like the one lordimage suggested lol)
 
I noticed this tutorial is out dated. I just got my virgin mobile s iii yesterday and it has 4.1.2 on it. and model SPH-L710. Baseband = L710VPAMG2. I only have Linux to work with, but have XP Pro installed on VirtualBox on the Linux Machine if needed. Should I go ahaead and follow this tutorial for Linux or should I get the 4.3 OTA update and follow the new tutorial?

Thanks
 
I noticed this tutorial is out dated. I just got my virgin mobile s iii yesterday and it has 4.1.2 on it. and model SPH-L710. Baseband = L710VPAMG2. I only have Linux to work with, but have XP Pro installed on VirtualBox on the Linux Machine if needed. Should I go ahaead and follow this tutorial for Linux or should I get the 4.3 OTA update and follow the new tutorial?

Thanks

Currently my suggestion would be reject the update until you decide

The 4.3 update includes Knox, there's a whole thread called truth and myths about Knox if you'd like some info on it

Besides that with 4.1 you'd still be perfectly able to load custom Roms and root it although your first steps may differ from someone who started with 4.3, but I'm unsure there as I started with 4.3 lol

There are many many friendly and knowledgeable ppl here that I'm sure will chime in with more details for ya on different aspects to help ya along

My only suggestion is don't be afraid to ask, especially before you do something, asking first could save everyone trouble down the road
 
ok... Maybe I jumped the gun.
followed the instructions for Linux. Heres my results.

[HIGH]vinnie@vinnie-MS-7309:~/Desktop/motochopper > sudo sh run.sh
[sudo] password for vinnie:
[*]
[*] Motochopper: Android root exploit (Linux/OS X version)
[*] v1.1
[*] by Dan Rosenberg (@djrbliss)
[*]
[*] Tested on the Motorola Razr HD, Razr M, Razr Maxx HD, and Atrix HD.
[*] Supports lots of other devices as well. ;-)
[*]
[*] Before continuing, ensure that USB debugging is enabled and that
[*] your phone is connected via USB.
[*]
[*] WARNING: This will likely void the warranty on your device. I am
[*] not responsible for any damage to your phone as a result using this
[*] tool.
[*]
[*] Press enter to root your phone...
run.sh: 39: read: Illegal option -n
[*]
[*] Waiting for device...
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
[*] Device found.
[*] Pushing exploit...
4017 KB/s (1283460 bytes in 0.312s)
[*] Pushing root tools...
3503 KB/s (366952 bytes in 0.102s)
3967 KB/s (1867568 bytes in 0.459s)
3121 KB/s (1578585 bytes in 0.493s)
pkg: /data/local/tmp/Superuser.apk
Success
[*] Rooting phone...
[+] This may take a few minutes.
[-] Failure.
[*] Cleaning up...
[*] Exploit complete. Press enter to reboot and exit.
run.sh: 83: read: Illegal option -n
vinnie@vinnie-MS-7309:~/Desktop/motochopper >[/HIGH]

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
ok... Maybe I jumped the gun.
followed the instructions for Linux. Heres my results.

[HIGH]vinnie@vinnie-MS-7309:~/Desktop/motochopper > sudo sh run.sh
[sudo] password for vinnie:
[*]
[*] Motochopper: Android root exploit (Linux/OS X version)
[*] v1.1
[*] by Dan Rosenberg (@djrbliss)
[*]
[*] Tested on the Motorola Razr HD, Razr M, Razr Maxx HD, and Atrix HD.
[*] Supports lots of other devices as well. ;-)
[*]
[*] Before continuing, ensure that USB debugging is enabled and that
[*] your phone is connected via USB.
[*]
[*] WARNING: This will likely void the warranty on your device. I am
[*] not responsible for any damage to your phone as a result using this
[*] tool.
[*]
[*] Press enter to root your phone...
run.sh: 39: read: Illegal option -n
[*]
[*] Waiting for device...
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
[*] Device found.
[*] Pushing exploit...
4017 KB/s (1283460 bytes in 0.312s)
[*] Pushing root tools...
3503 KB/s (366952 bytes in 0.102s)
3967 KB/s (1867568 bytes in 0.459s)
3121 KB/s (1578585 bytes in 0.493s)
pkg: /data/local/tmp/Superuser.apk
Success
[*] Rooting phone...
[+] This may take a few minutes.
[-] Failure.
[*] Cleaning up...
[*] Exploit complete. Press enter to reboot and exit.
run.sh: 83: read: Illegal option -n
vinnie@vinnie-MS-7309:~/Desktop/motochopper >[/HIGH]

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Ive never used Linux before so I'm of no help there, and also I noticed this guide suggests cwm recovery and most ppl here use philz recovery

Hopefully someone here has some experience with this method and can help ya out just keep in mind we all arnt in the same time zones so it may take some time for ppl to see the post
 
Ok... got it all sorted out. I just followed the updated tutorial and accomplished it using xp pro running in VirtualBox on Linux.

Thanks
 
Back
Top Bottom