Database Info

[Q] How do I UNROOT Backflip?

So I got all excited and rooted my Motorola Backflip. Following this guide:
(I have lurked a long time and only just signed up so I can't post URLs)
YOUTUBE ?v=YZkZoPbRCvE
(too long;don't watch: rage against the cage forked processes and magically gave me su access)
and then I downloaded Titanium Backup and made a backup of the apps I wanted to uninstall. And then using Titanium Backup I uninstalled AT&T Radio and Yahoo Search and a few other non-essentials I didn't want. Now I'm thinking I may need some warranty work done on the phone and went back to Titanium Backup. Apparently you can't restore a backup if you uninstalled the app.
Oh noes.
So I'm curious if anyone knows a way to load the stock image back on this Backflip. I have searched pretty hard and found a dump here:
forum . xda-developers . com /showthread.php?t=642684
but I am not sure if that is what I need or what that will do to my phone (since he says he doesn't have boot.img or recovery.img??)
I haven't loaded a different kind of ROM or anything like that, it's running just your regular stock Motorola Backflip minus a few of the prepackaged apps.
Is it possible to restore them using my Titanium Backup files and I'm just not using them correctly? Can I find APKs of these packaged apps and sideload them? Is there an update.zip containing just the stock image and I can use that to do a recovery on that phone?
Thank you in advance to anyone willing to help out. Please let me know if there are any questions I can answer.

To restore your Backflip to OEM go to the following link:
Oops - as a newbie here they won't let me post links, so here are the instructions, copied and pasted from attdroids forum (add the dot com):
Restoring your Backflip back to OEM (NAND re-flash) So some people, me included, had some issues with the first time through the rooting process. Some, like me, have had radio issues come up. Some have said they deleted one too many of the stock Moto apps, or have removed parts of Blur that now makes the device unusable... So here are the instructions on how to go back to stock, or just like you first took it out of the box.
**Please note (!) this will delete all user data stored on the internal NAND memory, but will leave your SD untouched. So whatever you feel you might need to back up, do it if you can before performing this.
Also, neither me nor the attdroid forums can be held responsible for any loss of personal data, or if your cat decides to chew on your USB cable while flashing.
**Some people are having issues with RSD Lite, in which case, look HERE to find other versions. 4.5.7 is the minimum version that's safe to use though. Also, the 13.37 restore image that is linked below is for ATT branded backflips only, and don't flash anything below whatever version you're currently running as installing an older version will cause several bootup issues and some other problems. For other variations on the MB300/Motus please look in THIS thread at ModMyMobile to download the appropriate carrier firmware for your device.
•You need to download these things...
•RSD Lite 4.5.7
•AT&T Stock Android 1.5 - Blur v.13.37 - Original SBF by Skrilax_CZ @ ModMyMobile
•And if you're doing this and haven't attempted root yet, or would just like to wipe your device through and through, HERE are the Moto USB drivers. Make sure to get the correct installer for x86 or x64.
1.Install your USB Drivers (if you haven't already)
2.Install RSD Lite
3.Turn off your backflip
4.Plug the USB cable into the phone and computer
5.Open the keyboard and press J+D+Power simultaneously and let up when you see the blue recovery screen with the black moto batwings. In the bottom left corner of the screen it will say in white letters "USB init mode"
6.Now when the phone boots to the recovery screen, Windows will begin installing a driver for the MSM720x flash recovery mode.
7.After the driver has successfully installed, open RSD Lite
8.Upon opening RSD Lite, you should notice ONE connected device in the table below. If not, post what you did exactly and we can help
9.Now that the device is showing in RSD Lite, click the "..." browse button to point to the Android 1.5 Blur 13.37 image you downloaded earlier
10.Once that's selected, press start to start flashing your phone.... DO NOT UNPLUG UNTIL IT'S FINISHED.
11.Once finished, it will reboot itself and you should be presented with the Android Setup after a minute or two.
Now, you've wiped the slate clean. Now you can try to root a basically untouched device.

I have Backflip AT&T dan already rooted, now I want to Unroot, btw why I can't connected when bootloader mode, when adb-shell no problem
In RSD-Lite V 4.8 at Device Property N/A , but in Status : Connected
At the icon Motoconnect status : phone usb mode not supported. please change to supported mode
Why ?

see my guide: [UNROOT] Unroot al android devices which was also posted on the front page. BTW, I used a backflip while creating this procedure

The Complete Guide 2 Return Rooted Phone Back 2 Stock for Vodafone Australia Warranty

---Update Jan 31st 2011---
I have now included my own backups of the original HBoot and Recovery images from a newly replaced (stock Vodafone) Desire HD. I have edited the guide to include these image files.
--The reason for this guide is that when I tried to restore my phone to it's original state for warranty purposes I found that each of the 4 or more threads or guides I read on XDA and elsewhere had parts missing, weren't complete and seemed to trail on with questions about how to actually get the whole job done (with no one clear answer). After finally getting it all to work I decided it may be a good idea to put everything together in 1 complete guide.--
This is a complete, no nonsense guide to restore your HTC Desire HD back to it's original state for warranty purposes. This guide is for restoring to Vodafone Australia stock ROM version 1.32.178.5. This guide also covers restoring the corresponding radio version 12.28b.60.140eU_26.03.02.26_M. To the best of my knowledge this this is the correct ROM & radio versions as shipped at the end of December 2010 by Vodafone. This guide will also complete the process of putting back radio s-on, eng s-on, original hboot and unroot. This guide is aimed to include everything so the beginner could do it, in that sense I apologise if there are too many unnecessary details for the rest of you, please skip through to the important parts. Please note all Unix commands (such as those after you type "adb") are case sensitive. Be sure to put the exact upper case and lower case for the the file names you have chosen. Be sure your phone battery is well charged. If you can, use a laptop with the battery in and running on AC power or a desktop PC with a UPS, this is just to reduce any chance of your computer or phone powering off during flashing. Lastly the normal disclaimer you see everywhere, that procedures here could brick your phone or brick your phone if not carried out correctly, basically this should all work like it did for me but I can't be held responsible if your phone is reduced to a paper weight.
INSTALL ANDROID SDK
Firstly you need to have the Android SDK installed. If you don't follow this link: http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing.html
Make sure to follow the section on installing optional components as you need to install the USB driver components once Android SDK is installed. If you don't have Java SDK installed, trying to install Android SDK will let you know it needs this before it will install. One issue I found here is with Windows 7 64-bit the Android SDK 2.3 version will not install on to Java SDK 64-bit version, so make sure you download and install the Java SDK that says for "Windows" and not the 64-bit version. It is also a good idea to install the HTC MySync software that comes straight from the HTC website for your phone, this has USB drivers too.
HAVE INSTALLED FULL ROOT ACCESS & HBOOT
(CLOCKWORK RECOVERY, CUSTOM HBOOT, ENG S-OFF & VISIONARY+)
Most of you will already have all this done. Just check this easy guide and make sure you have already done all of these steps from where is says Method 1 to the end of the page: http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/desire_hd_installing_roms
I make reference back to this step later in the guide so you will need to do this again.
MAKE A BACKUP
Seeing as this procedure will wipe everything from your phone you may want to backup everything for one easy restore after phone warranty/replacement. To make a Nandroid backup enter bootloader (power off phone then whole holding volume down press power button once to power on). Select recovery then backup/recovery and start a backup. It will be saved under a folder clockworkmod/backup/xxxxxxxxx/ on your micro SD card. One you get your phone back from warranty you follow the same procedures to restore just make sure you complete the One click Radio S-Off as linked to below and also install the full root access and hboot as described above. For restoring the backup, once in the bootloader and Recovery again (I'd recommend choosing factory wipe in the bootloader) just choose restore and select the following folder from the backup you made above.
IF LOCKED OUT USING 1.72.405.3 THEN USE THE DOWNGRADE PROCEDURES
Now if you are using 1.72.405.3 (or higher) or a custom ROM based on 1.72.405.3 it is quite likely you from the added HTC security features in these ROMS you have lost root access, custom hboot or the ability to change radio back to s-on with stock CID. If this is the case then follow this downgrade first by jkoljo: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=905003
After the downgrade is complete make sure to remove file "PD98IMG.zip" from your micro sdcard and then follow the link above to carry out the full root procedures & hboot again.
INSTALL STOCK VODAFONE (AU) ROM
Follow this link to download Kazuroka's Vodafone Australia Stock Branded ROM 1.32.178.5: http://depositfiles.com/files/3x1c6v6hj
Create a folder on you micro SD card such as "stockrom" as follows: "/clockworkmod/backup/stockrom/" then copy the zip file there. Enter bootloader as described above. Choose recovery, then wipe/factory reset, choose backup/restore, then restore and select the zip file from the folder you just copied to your MicroSD card. After everything is done it will ask you to reboot. If so some reason when you select the option at the end to reboot and you just get a blank screen, wait for a while and be absolutely sure your phone your phone won't turn on then just remove and replace battery and then turn on.
CHECKING / INSTALLING STOCK RADIO
This stock ROM you just installed in the last step does not in my experience reload this stock radio. Here's how to check... At the home screen press menu, settings, About phone, Software Information and look under Baseband version to check which radio version you have installed. The stock radio that ships from Vodafone that matches this ROM is I believe 12.28b.60.140eU_26.03.02.26_M. If you have any other numbers here it means you have a different radio version installed than the one that came with the phone. I would suggest you follow this guide to install the stock radio version back if you have a different one installed. You will need to redo everything in the link above that was for titled installing full root access & hboot. Now download the stock radio file (thanks to Drakknar) from this link: http://www.multiupload.com/EUAUJCXGPN
Now if you've installed full root access & hboot as in the link above you will have a folder on your PC where you extracted fastboot. For me it is "C:\fastboot\". Open the radio zip file you just downloaded on your PC and copy the "radio.img" to the folder you have containing fastboot. Reboot phone into the bootloader as described above. Connect your phone via the USB cable to your PC. Make sure you've selected fastboot on your phone. It will display something like fastboot USB connection. On your PC open a the command prompt (Windows key + R to bring up the run box then type cmd and press ok). Go to the folder where fastboot is. For me without the "" marks I type:
"cd\fastboot"
then to install the radio I type:
"fastboot-windows flash radio radio.img"
This should all finish well then you can reboot your device and close command prompt. Sometimes flashing the radio can result in a line across the screen on the first time booting up but in my case it goes away the next time I restart the phone. Now once started up check in settings again to be sure you now have the the right radio version installed.
PUTTING BACK STOCK CID & RADIO S-ON
Reboot into the bootloader and check what it says under system info. If you have CID-11111111 it means you have super CID and radio s-off. You may have used jkoljo's One Click Radio S-Off to do this, no matter even if you haven't this is the easiest way restore it back also. Follow this link (thanks to jkoljo) for his One Click Radio S-Off: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=857537
In his 2nd post you will see the link to download "Easy Radio tool v2_2.zip". Connect phone to PC using USB cable. Select charge only on phone and also make sure USB debugging is selected in settings, apps. Extract the zip file to a folder on your PC somewhere. Run "Desire HD easy radio tool_V2_2". While running make sure phone does not sleep and the screen stays on as it will pop up with a superuser request you will need to select yes to. On the Desire HD Radio Tool select Stock CID then put in "VODAP021" without the "" marks. Making sure the first "O" is the letter and the second "0" is the number zero. Click Do it! and be sure it all finished without any error displayed. Next select Radio S-On and click Do it!. Close program and restart phone. Check system info in bootloader and you should now see CID-VODAP021.
PUTTING BACK STOCK HBOOT & ENG S-ON
--edit Thanks to dazweeja for pointing this out. I've been told replacing the hboot and the recovery image to stock have quite a risk of bricking your phone if anything goes wrong. I'd suggest extra caution making sure you type the commands correctly.--
Tell tale signs your phone is modded are ENG S-OFF on the top line of entering the bootloader and also when you click on recovery it goes though to another list saying Clockwork Recovery. You will also want to remove root (superuser access) during this proccess. Now to remove root you can either run Visionary+ and select Unroot Now or what I did is just redo the step above that was to flash Kazuroka's Vodafone Stock ROM. After reflashing you only need to install a file browser from the market such as Astro or Androzip and then use it to install Visionary+ from you micro SD card. The only option you need to select in Visionary+ is Temproot now. This means root access will be gone after reboot. Now to remove Eng S-Off and put back the stock hboot & recovery image. Download my backup of the original recovery image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=504042&stc=1&d=1296394732
Also download my backup of the original HBoot from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=504041&stc=1&d=1296394732
Extract the two zip files "Original_VHA_HBoot.zip" and "Original_VHA_Recovery_Image.zip" and you will get "recovery_orig0.bin" and "hboot_orig0.bin". Connect your USB cable to your phone and select "Disk drive, Mount as disk drive" and select "Done". The MicroSD card will now pop up as a drive in Windows. Copy the two files "recovery_orig0.bin" and "hboot_orig0.bin" to the new drive that popped up which is your MicroSD card on your phone. Make sure you copy these two files to the root folder of your MicroSD card (root folder means the base not a folder named "root"). After copying these two files, then on your phone, pull down the status menu sliding your finger from the top down. It should say "Ongoing" and underneath Select "Disk drive" now choose "Charge only" then select "Done" and make sure USB Debugging is on (in Menu, Settings, Applications, Development, USB debugging). On your computer open a command prompt and go to the "platform-tools" folder of your Android SDK installation. For me its:
"cd\program files (x86)\android\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools\"
then type
"adb shell"
"su" (if you get permission denied, you have to do run Visionary+ and select temproot now)
"busybox dd if=/sdcard/recovery_orig0.bin of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p21"
"busybox dd if=/sdcard/hboot_orig0.bin of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18"
"sync" (wait 10 seconds then after that, you can close the command prompt)
Power off phone and then re-enter bootloader. If everything worked you will now see:
ACE PVT SHIP S-ON
HBOOT-0.85.0007
Also you'll notice that System Info is gone and also if you do select RECOVERY it will no longer go to Clockwork Recovery list but instead to a screen showing a picture of a phone with a red exclamation mark. Selecting Recovery means you'll need to pull the battery to reboot your phone. If you don't want to pull the battery, don't select RECOVERY but instead select FASTBOOT then POWER DOWN.
REMOVE VISIONARY+ (AND OTHER APPS) AS WELL AS CHECK FOR UNROOT
As described in the last section to check your device is unrooted... Make sure you've rebooted since you last did a temproot in Visionary+. Open a command prompt and go to the "platform-tools" folder of the Android SDK. Make sure phone is connected to PC with charge only and USB Debugging. Type:
"adb shell"
"su"
If you get permission denied then all good, your phone is unrooted, you can close command prompt. At the home screen go into apps then hit the menu button and select remove app. You will see a list of apps on the left tab that are downloaded apps. For me the apps I uninstalled were Visionary+, Superuser, and Androzip. Choose clear data, force stop, and uninstall for each app. Now depending on if you are going to keep your MicroSD card or send it in with the phone for warranty, will depend on if you need to to backup and wipe the MicroSD card. If you do need to send it in, connect the phone to your PC with the USB cable and select Disk drive Mount as disk drive and done. In windows you'll need to make sure you can see hidden files & folders. In Windows 7 open explorer (Windows Button + E) then select Organise, Folder and search options and select the View tab. Make sure you have selected Show hidden files, folders, and drives. Make a folder on your hard drive such as "phonecard backup". Go to your phone memory card for example "removable disk f:" or whatever the drive letter may be, select everything (ctrl + A) and then holding ctrl drag and drop everything into the "phonecard backup" folder on your hard drive. Once finished In Windows right click the taskbar icon and select eject removable disk. On your phone, remove the usb cable. Under settings, SD & phone storage, select Unmount SD card, then select Format SD card, Erase everything. The other optional thing you can do is a factory reset. On talking to HTC regarding warranty or repairs they asked if I'd done a factory reset. They also said this was the first thing they would do to try and resolve my issue. I figure it's a good step to do and you can tell them you've done a factory reset without it resolving your issue. In the same menu, SD & phone storage, select Factory data reset, reset phone, erase everything.
DONE! YOUR PHONE SHOULD NOW BE BACK TO STOCK & READY TO TAKE BACK FOR WARRANTY IF NEEDED!
--Note I have put together this guide from the works of a number of XDA members. Full credit for all the files, guides, tools (and help) I used here go to, jkoljo, sfjuocekr, Drakknar, Kazuroka, dazweeja, OzJD and leith51. Thank you--

Well done, Yoshi. This guide will be very useful for the many people who've been asking for it. I followed a very similar procedure when I returned my phone for warranty so your instructions look very solid to me.
Just a small point, the clockwork recovery mod *is* the custom image you flash to the recovery partition so it's still present after flashing the Voda nandroid/clockwork backup. In your instructions, you overwrite it with "busybox dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p21" but you just as easily use fastboot to flash the stock recovery image while you're flashing the radio, eg. "fastboot-windows flash recovery recovery.img". Either way works but fastboot is safer because you're more likely to be warned if something goes wrong. There's no way around using 'dd' to flash hboot though (like you suggest). I held my breath at this point because if you get this part wrong, it's an instant brick. Luckily everything went smoothly.
Again, great work.

Actually if you just flash the vodaphone stock rom completely, you get rid of eng s-off, new radio and clockworkmod in a single shot
Also instead of android sdk you could use the radio flash guide attachment, because it has all the required files for adb.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

jkoljo said:
Actually if you just flash the vodaphone stock rom completely, you get rid of eng s-off, new radio and clockworkmod in a single shot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no RUU available for Vodafone Australia branded ROMs unfortunately, only a nandroid/clockwork backup. I guess you could just run the stock 1.32.405.6 HTC RUU, install clockwork mod, flash Vodafone AU clockwork backup, temproot with Visionary, dd stock recovery, and then unroot. It's a little simpler but I was a bit hesitant to try it though as the Vodafone AU ROM is 1.32.178.5 so some of the other eMMC partitions overwritten by the 405.6 RUU might differ from Voda ROM. It would probably still work but Voda might be able to tell if they cared to look (for warranty).

Nice work mate
Cheers

I had to send one back, and it took me a while to gather all the info, so many thanks for the single shot guide.
As an aside, my returned device was in fact returned to me as
"Uneconomical to Repair" due to liquid Ingress
So the first contact was... "tough matey, it's not covered, your screwed"
I 'pushed' them as this was not acceptable and in the end *2 hours and 4 people later* I got a replacement.
The phone they sent back wasn't working, no response off the screen, so I took a 'look' at it, turned out, all the missed was connecting the screen back up correctly.
I did this for them and lo and behold it worked, so I spent the next two weeks whilst my new one arrived, getting to know how to flash/mod/change the thing, when I returned it to them, I re-disconnected the screen ;-) for them.
Not sure if they have tools to tell other obvious things, but date stamps and versions would be a clear indication that you have been playing
But judging by the standard of the return I had, I would not be concerned after following this guide.

dazweeja said:
There's no RUU available for Vodafone..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I see
Nice guide!
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

silashack, that's crazy! Well I'm glad I cought this before my 28days are up so holpefully as HTC have said so far they should just completely replace the phone if they find the same problems I've found. They would make me nervous about repairing my phone if that's their standard here in Aus.
silashack, I'm interested to know how did you open up the phone without tearing all those little void stickers on the screws? I would love to see a disassembly guide. I have looked but found nothing on the net so far... did you take any photos? Did you find any water sensors in this phone (ie the white litmus paper or some kind of paper that changes colour permanently on moisture and voids the warranty)??
I'm guessing DHD will have water sensors like other HTC models. I just don't like this idea. I mean I don't know how sensitive this paper stuff is but these are the current scenarios I am afraid of voiding my warranty idea because of stupid water sensors... having the phone with me on a rainy day, replacing the screen protector with the water method, having my phone with me at a rave or nightclub and getting sweaty pockets from a night of dancing.

Originally Posted by dazweeja
There's no RUU available for Vodafone Australia branded ROMs unfortunately, only a nandroid/clockwork backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once I get my replacement phone back from HTC & Vodafone (and before I start modding the crap out of it again ) I was wondering if there is a way to create a full backup that would include the radio version, be completely unmodified and not have clockwork recovery, modified hboot, eng s-off ect? If there is a way and someone would be kind enough to explain it then I'd be happy to do it and post up the backup ROM so others have a 1 shot method to return their phones to stock 4 warranty for Vodafone (AU).

Thanks alot for this info, its good to know my voided warranty can be unvoided. I'd like to thank you but I can't seem to see a thank button, I'll try again on my desktop tonight...

Props Yoshi!!
Man this will help a few people for sure.

Yoshi_523 said:
silashack, that's crazy! Well I'm glad I caught this before my 28days are up so hopefully as HTC have said so far they should just completely replace the phone if they find the same problems I've found. They would make me nervous about repairing my phone if that's their standard here in Aus.
silashack, I'm interested to know how did you open up the phone without tearing all those little void stickers on the screws? I would love to see a disassembly guide. I have looked but found nothing on the net so far... did you take any photos? Did you find any water sensors in this phone (ie the white litmus paper or some kind of paper that changes colour permanently on moisture and voids the warranty)??
I'm guessing DHD will have water sensors like other HTC models. I just don't like this idea. I mean I don't know how sensitive this paper stuff is but these are the current scenarios I am afraid of voiding my warranty idea because of stupid water sensors... having the phone with me on a rainy day, replacing the screen protector with the water method, having my phone with me at a rave or nightclub and getting sweaty pockets from a night of dancing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tell me about it, don't get me started on the 'support' issues so far
When the phone was returned, I saw no void stickers on the screws as such.
I to could not find a tear down on the HD, but watching a normal Desire gave me the confidence to examine the HD, for all intentional purposes this thing was classified as dead by them not me, so nothing to loose. I did not take any pictures, which is not my normal style, I tend to do that for my own pedantic reasons on all my projects, but as this was DOA I did not bother, sorry
As for a water sensor... The single sheet of paper that came back with the phone describes the possible reasons for "Liquid Ingress" by Vodafone something like:-
Use in a steamy bathroom
On the Train
In a humid climate
In your pocket
You get the gist, all pretty normal day to day possibilities, so I not only didn't consider any sensors, I couldn't care less, it was a pathetic list, will try and find it and post on here.
The flat cable that connects the screen to the device wasn't seated right, using a small jewellers flat blade, I lifted it , blew it clean with compresses air and then reseated it.
The removal of screws was easy, but there is something about the way the top end is connected, for the life of me I could not remove the fascia at all, I ended up with it slightly off the device but still connected, I did not push this as it looked like it could bend the fascia where the speaker grill area was, so when I put it back together, I could see a slight gap at the top right between the case and the screen, less than a mm but enough that it would have bugged me.
I have since bought a gel case for my new one, but in light of the pathetic reasons given for possible liquid ingress I am concerned about the sticky residue that occurs when you hold it for any length of time, if this is transferred to the inside of the case during our summer months... I can see a few people getting warranty denied for this.
I also was NOT aware of the ridiculously short period of manufacturers warranty, and considered the need for insurance as pointless due to the advertising by vodafone about 24 month repair warranty, covers jack **** to their benefit
As for any 'offers' made by HTC or Vodafone, make sure you have that in either writing, or confirm the conversation has been recorded (if support on 1555)
When I deal with them, my last two questions are
1. Could you please repeat your name and how to spell it?
2. Can you please confirm that THIS call HAS been recorded
Allegedly, all calls are recorded, so you can use this to get them to go back and confirm any agreement or discussion/decisions that transpired between you.
All this seems a little harsh, but having dealt with them (and still dealing with them and the TIO) these are steps you need to take to get things moving how they should and not be treated like a third rate citizen, fobbed off with lame support and excuses.

jkoljo said:
Ah, I see
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it seems every other country/carrier has a leaked RUU. You think we Aussies would have one too - after all we produced Julian Assange

I think i am the only one cant solve this problem, hopefully u can guide me.

Yoshi_523 said:
"busybox dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p21"
"busybox dd if=/sdcard/DHD/hboot_orig.bin of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I've read this properly, it doesn't look like you've given the steps to actually copy the recovery.img and hboot_orig.bin files to the SD card before trying to re-write them.

^^ Oh sh*t! Sorry about that... Thanks matm for the picking that up! I've just rewritten that part so it now says to copy recovery.img and hboot_org.bin to the sdcard folder of the MicroSD card rather than to the Android SDK folder (which would have been useless).
Ok so as of today the 23rd of January the guide should be okay on that.
By the way guys I just got my new phone today from Vodafone. They didn't even look at it they just replaced it on the spot. I was within the 28day of purchase. I've noticed reception is showing more bars especially when I put in the 3 SIM card compared to before. I've also noticed there is a problem quite noticeable when I hold my left hand covering the bottom MicroSD & Sim card cover plate. This is most noticable with the Vodafone SIM in which holding it makes it go from 3 bars to 1 or zero bars. The position I'm holding the phone is pretty much identical to the "death grip" that messes with the iphone 4. As soon as I move my hand so it is not touching the bottom cover the reception bars come back. Strangely using a gel cover doesn't fix this.

I think that's a known problem. Mine does the same and has from day one.

Also change this line:
"busybox dd if=/sdcard/DHD/hboot_orig.bin of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18"
to
"busybox dd if=/sdcard/hboot_orig.bin of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18"
Because in your instructions, you say to copy the files to your sdcard, not copy the hboot to a folder on your sdcard named 'DHD'.

^^ Oh Sh*t. Sorry about that. Fixed the guide again. Thanks again guys. If any more problems with the guide please let me know. I don't want to "root" peoples phones (Aussie slang for "f*ck"). I want to "unroot" them. heh heh
Also if you wanna see some video's I put together on the Desire HD "death grip" reception issue. Have a look at this link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=10842571#post10842571

I should have also said before, that this is an awesome guide!
It always makes me feel better to know someone has already done this before I try.

[STICKY]NEW Showcase Newbie Guide

After bdemartino wrote his AWESOME thread for the Mesmerize it seemed only fitting that the Showcase get their very own... And since his Thread was Flawless, with his permission I'm mostly copy/pasting word for word. as I am copying most of this from elijablake . . . so thanks this thread needs some editing, and I will be working on that in the future . . . . specifically the CWM / ROM manager which will not work. I could use some assistance in rewriting that part. TY!
BEST. ADVICE. EVER. #samsung-mesmerize on irc.freenode.net
<3<3<3<3<3
Also, read the Glossary for definitions and such. I was not the sharpest tool in the shed and it took me a while to find this . . .
Disclaimers
CSOUTH IS RELEASEING 2.2 UPDATE THIS WEEK (6/26). You may just want to wait for that to be released. This thread will be updated when the release occurs as how to flash recovery that you can flash roms with etc.
Keep in mind there are many variations to each step, this is what worked for me the easiest. READ ALOT BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANYTHING!!
There is always the disclaimer that attempting any of this can and will make your phone dysfunctional and or possibly bricked beyond repair (but most likely just dysfunctional which is a pain in the arse to deal with) if you do not follow steps completely (and of a trustworthy source such as xda - ehm and in the appropriate forum ).
Steps to get to 2.2 (EB11) on your phone:
**Please note that the links were removed by CSouth for copyright (COPY WRONG *****ES) reasons. So if you can find the files somewhere (ahem . . . ) then you can follow these steps. THIS GUIDE IS PURELY FOR EDUCATIONAL VALUE, I DO NOT ADVOCATE BREAKING COPYRIGHT LAW.
I highly recommend using Heimdall rather than Odin. Don't ask me why . . . maybe because it has a command line utility and it is cross platform. So my instructions will be for using Heimdall.
After you have the downloaded files (from wherever you might have gotten them, you bad bad person) unzip and look for the following files:
-factoryfs.rfs
-modem.bin
-recovery.bin
-zImage
1) Put your phone in download mode by powering down your device, removing the battery, connecting the USB to your computer, and holding the volume down button. It shouldn't take long. You should see a little Android with a shovel.
2) In Heimdall, if using the GUI, put all of the files in their obviously appropriate spots. Don't worry if not everything is filled, just use the files that you have. (You should be using the repartition with the .pit file, the zImage with the Kernel, the recovery, and the modem)
If using the command line utility, cd to the directory where you unzipped the files and
Code:
heimdall flash --repartition --pit atlas_v2.2.1.pit --factoryfs factoryfs.rfs --kernel zImage --modem modem.bin --recovery recovery.bin
Wait for the process to finish, your phone will reboot at the end.
3. That is all, now your phone is updated to 2.2.1. Put the battery back in and boot your new shiny toy!
DO NOT DISCONNECT USB DURING THIS PROCESS AS IT COULD BE POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS!!! DON'T EVEN TOUCH IT AS I HAVE FOUND THE USB CONNECTION TO BE A BIT FLAKY!
Also, it is ok if it takes your phone what seems like forever to boot. This happens whenever you install a new kernel, just be patient.
If you have gotten the most updated batch of files, you should have the proper recovery to begin flashing. If not, well seek help . . . You should have RED RECOVERY!
See here for more information about CWM or go on irc.
To access recovery, you can use the three finger method. (Hold down the volume up and down keys and the power button all at the same time when you're turning your phone on) Once you see the Samsung splash screen you can remove your finger from the power button, but keep holding down both volume keys.
You should then go here to check out themes and mods.
Steps For Rooting either 2.1 or 2.2.1
Basically all this means is gaining the ability to give programs/apps and yourself SuperUser access (equivalent of being admin in windows) and also the ability to flash roms via recovery, detailed below.
**NOTE: most custom roms come rooted, so if you are installing a custom rom in 2.2.1, you most likely don't have to go through these steps. Just flash to the ROM you want . . . ***
The easiest way to root is through the z4root.apk. (an application that will run right on your phone)
Download Here
After download, put z4root.apk on your SD card root directory
Then make sure in Settings->Applications that the "Unknown sources" box is checked.
If you don't have a file manager, download a free one from the market, using the file manager navigate to the z4root.apk and select to install it. Note: If you need help at this step, no offense I would suggest getting someone with more experience to help you continue on. I'm serious here
Reboot your phone
After it boots, open the z4root app and press root. At this point it is going to hang, give it 2 minutes and pull the battery. Count to 10, put it back in and turn it on. - This is normal
After your phone boots open z4root again and click root, this time it will run no problems and phone will reboot.
NOTE**IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH z4root: "give Super One Click a try. It's a package you have to download to your computer, but you get to see more of what's actually going on so you know where it's at in the process. I have only used up to version 1.5.5, and I know that version is very capable for the Showcase. It is located here."-This Information provided by phidelt82**
Once you are rooted (you will see the superuser icon in your apps, it will show apps you've given that permission to... eventually) you will need to make sure you have a file manager that can request root permissions (read/write) before you will be able to complete the next step. Search the market for "root file manager" and pick one to download and install.
I use Root Explorer
It's a few bucks, but there's hardly a day that goes by when I don't use it.. (Well worth the money)
THE ECLAIR SECTION IS REMOVED AS CSOUTH IS RELEASING UPDATE THIS WEEK (6/27)

Hehmmmm....

nice write-up!

Upgraded the Showcase to 2.2.1 build EE25 with Samsung Kies this morning. Also had no issue rooting with superoneclick.

cpflow said:
Upgraded the Showcase to 2.2.1 build EE25 with Samsung Kies this morning. Also had no issue rooting with superoneclick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kies has 2.3 out now =)

Kies Mini have 2.3.5 out now for generic cdma showcase.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
*Edit*
It seem everyone forgot about the Samsung Showcase Galaxy S Generic CDMA.
I managed to Root it flash CWMR and flash TSM TW 4.0 ROM. but then try to go back to stock and lost 3G. So I returned it and get a new one. No more mods for me I'm done no one cares about Generic CDMA.

Can someone provide directions to install a custom rom for a Showcase running stock 2.3.4? I don't have root. I'd really appreciate any help!

[IMPORTANT][GUIDE] What to do after you have bought your Galaxy S3 4G GT-I9305?

Ok these steps are very important but before anything I also have to thank Lyriquidperfection & Ausdim for setting up their important parts of the instructions inside the links below:
So before you flash anything, or start playing with your gem, follow these important steps below to get all the important parts backed up and safe, so that you will not have to return your device back to samsung broken. Believe me I have seen it happen PLENTY of times in this forum, so read carefully
Make sure you have a Good USB cable and a stable PC and that don't get any power outages or surges, you dont want to be half way through something and you loose power or get a bad connection.
1st: Install Samsung Kies on your PC this will then Install the Samsung USB drivers you will need to connect your device to your PC OR you can get the samsung drivers on there own from the Link in 2nd step, but I recommend you install kies as it may be useful to you in the future.
2nd: Now as your IMEI number is like the heart of your device lets back it up right now: Follow only part of these steps in this link, you will finish the rest of the backups at the end when your rooted. I have copied and bolded the parts you will need to do right now, once finished this section of the backup you should be left with a *.qcn file which is roughly around 250kb of size.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33048706&postcount=1
*Setting up QPST with your PC:*
*Backing Up IMEI / NV Data:*
*Restore USB Settings after Backup / Restore:*
Now keep that page open because you will return here in step 6 once you are rooted to complete the backup process.
3rd: Now Install Odin V3.04 - You can get the link for odin in the 4th step link, So you may aswell just continue on to 4th step as the instructions inside that link advice you to install Odin aswell.
4th: Now you must Root your device and install CWM recovery , Follow these steps carefully > http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=32235061&postcount=1
5th: Once you have root I recommend you instantly make a full backup of your device also known as a Nandroid backup. You must go into recovery mode to do this with the CWM recovery you have just installed in 4th step above. (In recovery mode just click backup/restore and then choose backup, after its done your backup will be placed on your ext sd card , if you dont have ext sd card then choose backup onto internal sd card.)
6th Now lets finish the backup process since we are now rooted, I am going to say this again, this is VERY important incase something goes wrong and you loose your Imei and Data, you need to back it all up. By doing this it will save you returning your device back to samsung like many have done previously because they have not done this, Remember where you left off in 2nd step above? Well now you can go back and complete the partition backup of the efs folders. You should be left with 4 backup files for this final section of the backup process >>> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33048706&postcount=1
--------====FINISHED====--------
Congratulations you now have your Imei/Nv data backed up , You are rooted and Nandroided. Now you can play around but off-course DO NOT be reckless make sure you know what you are playing with
Peace
PS: Only trust what you see in this I9305 XDA forum, as i have been following the device from day one and I can only recommend the information you see here.

can't find step 4..

Sorry I just fixed all the links

stuck on whether to install the I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5 software and what I risk
EDIT: thread Readers please note. I was a NOOB and I initially and accidentally credited "Lyriquidperfection" (who has also been very considerate in assisting) for the thread when "btemtd" was the original thread creator. "btemtd", I have edited to show appropriate. I am sorry please forgive my oversight.
**
Dear "btemtd"
*Note the following pre-install procedures and verifications confirmed:
1) My phone is NOT bricked and is running stock OEM i9305 installed software with details for the device posted at the end of this reply.
2) prior to doing ANYTHING I verified I can Dial *#7284# on phone and can see the 'Qualcomm USB Settings' button
3) KIES drivers installed and i9305 to PC works in KIES application and drag and drop modes
4) I have downloaded the Param_Bin_I9305.tar.md5 file in case I need it.
5) I have downloaded the I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5 file for use when I install the CWM.
6) I have downloaded the CWM-SuperSU-v0.96 application but have not yet installed it and have not yet learned about how to operate it (I will study and follow your instructions prior to doing so)
7) I have read this entire thread and all replies.
8) I have also read the entire thread and all replies to: [WARNING! + GUIDE] Backup and Restore IMEI / NV Data Procedure for GT-I9305
9) I don’t care about losing any of the media or pictures or applications (whatsapp) installed on my phone as these can all be reinstalled later on.
I have successfully executed the following so far:
1) I installed QPST v2.7.378 program on my PC and backed up a .qcn file. I then restored the .qcn file back to the i9305 and it accepted the restoration without problem. I can see my IMEI number by dialing Dial *#06#
2) I DID NOT back up any of these files below because I was NOT rooted and I DO NOT have a terminal emulator application (I can learn the emulator application if it is necessary and if someone can provide a link to where to get it). IF it is required for me to back up these files PRIOR to proceeding using ODIN please direct me to do so. I would prefer to not have to learn the emulator program unless it is required.
m9kefs1 - Located at: '/dev/block/mmcblk0p4'
m9kefs2 - Located at: '/dev/block/mmcblk0p5'
m9kefs3 - Located at: '/dev/block/mmcblk0p6'
3) I installed ODIN version Odin3 v3.04 (but I still have no clue how to operate this software)
*
This is where I stopped. Why? Well, after reading the instructions "btemtd"provided in thread I became concerned. My primary objective is to first save a backup of my phone. Since I am such a noob I don’t even know what a backup file extension is named (for example a backup for PC might be named xxxxx.img). I suspect that the backup extension file might be named xxxxx.tar.md5 but I still don’t know.
*
As I read "btemtd"instructions further I became concerned about the following items:
1) "btemtd"states in the In the 4th that one should “Now you must Root your device and install CWM recovery”. Well, since I am still such a noob I don’t know how I should root my device. Ideally, I want to make a backup of my phone (I think that will eventually be called a “nandroid”) as quickly as possible so if I inadvertently damage something during an install I will have an original source file to revert to (and hopefully be able to restore). I have a few questions:
A) Is there a special “rooting” software I should be using it or is “rooting” just a process name (like “flashing” a drive for example)? It might help me if I could have some noob instruction on how to root an i9305 without bricking it.
B) If I “root” my phone at this stage (without having made any backups other than the xxxx.qcn file) do I risk bricking my phone and not being able to revert to the stock OEM i9305 software?
2) Another area of concern was as follows. "btemtd"advocates installing the CWM (I presume that is short for clockwork module) application and provides a hyperlink for it (which I read). In this instruction it advocates downloading the file named “I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5”. This is where things get a little murky and hence the advance questions (which hopefully will help other noobs beyond myself and allow "btemtd"to concentrate on the i9305 problems I couldn’t solve in a lifetime). My critical question is as follows: IF I follow the instructions that "btemtd" hyperlinked to (these instructions were posted by senior member “ausdim”) and IF I install the CWM (install via ODIN) file named “I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5” WILL I be replacing my stock i9305 OEM software with this new one created as “I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5”? Could you please apprise on this instruction (remember, my first goal is to make a full backup of my existing stock i9305 OEM software on the i9305 so that I can restore if I late noobify any of the instructions). I want to confirm that by proceeding with the procedures kindly laid out by audsim I will NOT be wiping out my OEM software on the i9305 supplied when the phone was new. IF the answer to that question is “YES, you will be essentially replacing the stock OEM software for the i9305” with the new one created under “I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5.”” then I might have to consider the implications of losing all of the factory OEM software that came on the phone. Please note that I am hoping that this procedure will result in the phone OS changing from:
FROM: stock OEM i9305 software
TO: stock OEM i9305 software + CWM module
*
This post is lengthy, yes, but I hope accurate and hopefully it will provide some clearance, comfort, or guidance to other noobs looking to backup their phone prior to risk bricking it on more risky adventures.
Thanks in advance and donations to "btemtd" for his hard and thankful efforts.
DEVICE MODEL BUILD is as follows:
Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE Hong Kong Version
Model number:GT-19305
Android version: 4.1 .1
Baseband version: 19305ZHALl1
Kernel version
3.0.31-177985
[email protected] #1
SMP PREEMPT Thu Sep 20 23:04:05 KST 2012

First of all I am the one who made this guide with all the links to the appropriate places, You cannot see this? LOL
Anyways.... You asked
" Is there a special “rooting” software I should be using it or is “rooting” just a process name (like “flashing” a drive for example)? It might help me if I could have some noob instruction on how to root an i9305 without bricking it.
B) If I “root” my phone at this stage (without having made any backups other than the xxxx.qcn file) do I risk bricking my phone and not being able to revert to the stock OEM i9305 software?"
A)There is no special rooting software, its basically a file which you flash onto your phone which gives you the root access. If you follow the instructions 100% and nothing on your side fails well then you should not brick your device, reason people brick is becuase they have done the wrong thing or have flashed the wrong thing or it could be bad flash files. But I can confirm none of these files are bad as they have all been used with success.
B) we would hope that the qcn is enough, but maybe not. Only because we have not seen it happen yet, everyone who has lost imei so far has made the mistake and not made any type of backup, But lyriquid says JUST TO MAKE SURE you should also backup those partitions after u root just incase it comes to the point where you need them.
You want a Noob instruction on how to root without bricking it? ummmm What the hell is that! LOL Mate this guide is almost as NOOB as it gets, and OF COURSE if you follow this guide and all the links you wont brick it.
Reason you want root is this will then allow you to further back up the partitions and also allow you to make a nandroid (FULL BACKUP) of your current software/ROM
Only way to do this FULL BACKUP is by having CWM installed:
CWM is NOT firmware it is only recovery module, CWM will only replace your stock recovery module it is Only 7mb. it will NOT replace your stock firmware. Also this recovery module has much more capabilities then your stock recovery. It will also allow you to flash Mods, tweaks,roms if you wish to do so in the future.
Even if you do all of this you can still even return it back to OEM with stock recovery firmware and UNROOT. anything is possible. So my recommendations if you want to start flashing software and want to backup your rom is to follow my steps fully in this thread and click on the links and follow those guides as well. Each link will guide you as well. Once you have root and CWM installed and you want to make a FULL BACKUP of your OEM Softwareall you need to do is boot into recovery mode, then choose Backup/restore and then >>> Backup Thats it very simple which is why i didn't include it in the thread because as soon as you go into recovery mode you will be able to figure it out yourself
By the end of all this procedure you will have
Rooted Stock OEM software + CWM REcovery
EDIT: I reccomend you do what the full guide says, and install a terminal emulator because you dont need to learn code Lyriquidperfection has written down exactly what you type inside the terminal and thats IT your done. Its that easy!!!

For now you type the commands anyway. I am working on updating EFS Pro to have Qualcomm support so you can back up all NV Items from there and also backup and restore other important partitions just with a few clicks. I'll keep everyone updated when something good enough for a beta develops.
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

lyriquidperfection said:
For now you type the commands anyway. I am working on updating EFS Pro to have Qualcomm support so you can back up all NV Items from there and also backup and restore other important partitions just with a few clicks. I'll keep everyone updated when something good enough for a beta develops.
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would be awesome. must say

Thanks btemtd, great post!
I am also a recent convert (from iphone) to a galaxy s3 and have an i9305T model. I have been doing a bit of research in order to prepare myself to safely root my phone and was stoked to see such a helpful post. I will admit that I am also a noob with this sort of stuff but still do my best to learn what I can.
I just wanted to confirm that the process you have listed will support my aforementioned phone model with telstra as the carrier? I only ask because I remember a previous rooting guide that was only applicable to Optus phones and just want to make sure.
Thanks again for your help

Yes this will work on all i9305 models. No probs bro i was starting to get amazed on how many ppl were flashing the wrong stuff and braking there imei lol so i thought this may come handy
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app

nvmd, stupid noob
Sorry about this post. Misread something between steps 4 and 5.
Now fully rooted. Thanks for the great post. Very helpful to someone entirely new to this daunting process. Makes jailbreaking a walk in the park xD

Unroot
"btemtd" Thanks for you above tutorial.
Is it possible to add and process on how to unroot the GT-i9305, if required

Thanks btemtd, I am working on a YouTube Video, to help noobs like me to root their I9305. Would I be able to pm you just incase I need some help on anything regards to rooting and roming?

bleepsake said:
Thanks btemtd, I am working on a YouTube Video, to help noobs like me to root their I9305. Would I be able to pm you just incase I need some help on anything regards to rooting and roming?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes offcourse you can PM me.. Thats a good Idea I might add your video to this guide if you dont mind, this will make it totally complete!!...

FOR NOOBS only
This is written by a noob for other noobs. It contains a set of very detailed instructions and is compilation of varies inputs from lyriquidperfection, audsim, btemtd, and nnnevvv. Without them I would be nowhere. I hope this guide, despite being very detailed, can help others so they don't have to hunt and pester devs for answer. This guide is only an expansion and extrapolation of this post which was kindly created by btemtd.
*
It also involves other work from the developers I credited above.
*
This guide is NOT for you if you have:
1) Bricked your phone
2) have an i9300
3) lost your IMEI
4) installed a custom ROM
5) already have CWM or SU installed.
*
Please remember it is only an expanded set of instructions built upon btemtd original work. Its only intention is to help get it done, right, without using up other's time. If the thread creator or OP ed suggests I amend or remove anything please let me know.
*
Pre-install instructions:
1) Your device is NOT bricked and is running stock OEM i9305 installed software with details for the device posted at the end of this reply.
2) Prior to doing ANYTHING you can Dial *#7284# on device and can see the 'Qualcomm USB Settings' button
3) KIES drivers installed and i9305 to PC works in KIES application OR you have verified that USB drivers work fine for PC to device
4) You have downloaded on to your PC the Odin3 v3.04. application.
5) You have downloaded the I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5 file to your PC.
6) You downloaded the CWM-SuperSU-v0.96. zip file and stored it on the device’s internal memory card. You can store it directly on the device’s INTERNAL SD card (don’t worry, CWM will allow you to navigate to it).
7) You don’t care about losing any of the media or pictures or applications (whatsapp) installed on my device as these can all be reinstalled later on.
8) Battery is charged to 80 percent or more
9) Solid dual use power and data cable tested and working.
10) Back up all of the contacts to SIM Card in case Data wipe.
11) You are okay with warranty being void and binary counter reset being added
Installation procedure
1) Get coffee
2) Install the latest version of Samsung KIES and check that complete cable communication works and that all drivers on the PC are installed. Confirm that KIES communicates with device on PC. DO NOT update your device using KIES to the latest Samsung or Android software.
3) install QPST v2.7.378 program on your PC. The QPST software is a qualcomm product and is a diagnostic tool that has a variety of subtools that you can use to test, manage and edit the form factor device. Click the setup.exe file and follow instructions. This is a qualcomm product and it is not complicated. A user manual (in case you feel like exploring) is available in .pdf.
4) Dial *#7284# on your device to access DeviceUtil and select 'Qualcomm USB Settings' at the bottom. Now scroll down and select 'RNDIS + DM + MODEM' and press 'OK' to return to the previous screen. Now press your 'Back' key to exit DeviceUtil. Your device is now in DIAG Mode.
5) Connect your device to PC via USB. Note, it may showing “loading drivers” on your PC. Wait for USB drivers to load and install.
6) Find the QPST application on your PC and navigate to the 'QPST Configuration' menu. Select it and navigate to the 'Ports' tab. Press 'Add New Port...' button. Select the COM Port that has 'USB/QC Diagnostic' next to it, change the Port Label name (if you wish to) to 'Samsung GT-I9305 diagnostic” then press 'OK'. You should now see your device listed in the 'Ports' tab and the 'State' should indicate 'Enabled'. Close this QPST application.
7) The next step will help you to BACK UP the IMEI/NV Data.
8) Go back to the QPST application Folder and navigate to the 'Software Download' application and then select the 'Backup' tab. You will need to select and name the file. I chose “i9305-qcn-back-up-file.qcn”. Press the 'Browse' button and select a Save Location for your QCN File. Press the 'Start' button and wait for it to finish. DON’T TOUCH YOUR DEVICE during this process. This will back up all your devices NV Items and save them to the QCN Backup File you just named. The resulting QCN Backup File should be about 250KB in size. The QPST application will show the backup has been completed. Verify that the file was actually backed up by looking in the directory to where you selected to store it. Then close the program.
9) The next step will help you to check to RESTORING IMEI / NV Data:
10) Go back to the QPST application Folder and navigate to the 'Software Download' application and then select the ‘Restore’ tab. Press the 'Browse' button and search for the QCN Backup File you created (remember I named mine “i9305-qcn-back-up-file.qcn”). Press the 'Start' button and wait for it to finish. This will restore all your devices NV Items from the QCN Backup File. Your IMEI / NV Data should now be fully restored. Dial *#06# on your device's keypad to check your IMEI is restored. It should show your 17 digit long IMEI number on screen. Write it down and store for future purposes in case you need to recall it one day.
11) The next step is to Restore the USB Settings after you have performed the above QPST Backup / Restore procedure. Dial *#7284# on your device to access DeviceUtil and select 'Qualcomm USB Settings' at the bottom. Now select 'MTP + ADB' and press 'OK' to return to the previous screen. Now press your 'Back' key to exit DeviceUtil. The device will reboot as you ask it to save and reset. Your device is now back to default USB operation.
12) Exit the QPST application.
13) The next step is to install ODIN which you will use to flash the CWM files from your PC to the device.
* Note that ODIN packages can be device specific. For the GT-i9305 I used “Odin3 v3.04.exe”. Navigate to where you have stored the ODIN application and select “Odin3 v3.04.exe” file and double click. ODIN will open.
NOTE: ODIN will not self install on your computer like a standard-install.exe folder. You will need to run the “Odin3 v3.04.exe” file every time to open ODIN up. Forgive my noobness for not knowing what the name of this procedure it.
14) Search for the ‘ I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5 ‘ file you have downloaded previously in the “pre-install” instructions. For logistics purposes you may wish to drag and drop this file from its current storage location over the ODIN folder directory.
15) If KIES is running shut it down or suppress it on your PC.
16) The next step will involve “installing” the ‘ I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5’ file. Actually, this is just a “module” that is intended to “replace” the stock recovery module. To do this, you will need to first set up your device to boot in what is called the “download” mode. To do this you must: POWER off the device first. Then after power is completely off, PRESS and HOLD the ‘power’ + ‘volume down’ + ‘home’ buttons all at the same time. I suggest that you start by pressing the “volume” + “home” buttons first instead of pressing the “power” button as you may inadvertently just power the device up (instead of booting it up into “download” mode). If you did it right you will boot up in “download” mode and Android will then ask if you if you “want to download a custom OS”. You will confirm “continue” by pressing the volume up key.
NOTE: it’s possible your PC computer may want to install device driver software. If so, just let it install and wait for it to finish.
NOTE: to navigate the menus in “download” mode (and also in “recovery” mode) you should use the VolUp / VolDown to go “up” or “down” the menu. Press the “power” button to select items (kind of like a “go” or “enter” function).
17) Now Connect your device (make sure battery is at least 80% charged) to your PC ( it is preferable to connect directly to the computer and not through a USB HUB or port replicator).
18) Open the ODIN application by navigating to the Odin3 v3.04.exe file . Make sure your device is detected and you should see a blue (older models may show yellow color) square in the top left corner.
NOTE: Make sure only the “auto-reboot” and “f reset time” boxes should be checked in the ODIN Application.
19) Click on the box next to “PDA”. And then click the “PDA” and navigate to the area where the ‘ I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5’ file is stored. Select it and it will auto populate into the ODIN application. Then, on the ODIN application, press “start”. You will see a series of command actions showing in the ODIN Application which should show the status. Upon completion it should show that CWM was installed in the ODIN application. You may have to repeat this process once again as CWM may not “stick”.
20) There has been considerable debate about different units requiring the battery to be pulled due to the fact that some factory units have been shown to reboot back into its own factory state and therefore exclude the CWM file that you just tried to install in the previous steps. I read of many users who were experiencing this problem. See For further reading please see: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=32235061&postcount=1 to show how to deal with and manage this problem. I, along with another user that I confirmed with, DID NOT have to do the battery pull method. Why? Well, I think that some factory models require this process and others do not. My device (specifications at end of post) did not require it. Also, the problem may have been created by user’s updating their device software through the KIES application which I recommend not doing until the device has been rooted and CWM and SU installed in this process.
21) After instructing ODIN to install the ‘ I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5’ onto the device the device should reboot. If it does not reboot after awhile you can power down your device. What will happen? Well, you have either successfully installed the ‘ I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5’ file or your device has reverted back to the factory restore option. You shouldn’t have much risk of bricking the device during this step. The key is to get the ‘ I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5’ file to stick during the “download” process. If it does not stick you will need to refer to the thread For further reading please see: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=32235061&postcount=1 as to how to employ the “2 different battery pull during the reboot process” methods he suggested (again, fortunately I did not need to do this).
22) Now you need to put the device in “recovery mode”. Unplug the device from the USB Cable attached to the PC. To put it in recovery mode you must: POWER off the device and the PRESS and HOLD the ‘power’ + ‘volume up’ + ‘home’ buttons all at the same time. Again, I suggest that you start by pressing the “volume” + “home” buttons first instead of pressing the “power” button as you may inadvertently just power the device up (instead of booting it up into “recovery” mode). If you did it right you will boot up in “recovery” mode and you will clearly see the words “CWM-based Recovery” written in white on the top line. If you don’t see that then your installation of the ‘ I9305_CWM_Recovery.tar.md5’ did not work and you will need to repeat the steps above until you get it right.
23) Next you will be installing the SUSuperuser module while your device is in "recovery mode". Remember you should have stored the “CWM-SuperSU-v0.96.zip” (DO NOT unzip it yourself) on the Device’s internal memory card. Using the volume up/down keys and the “power” button for enter/go you should scroll down and select menu option "install zip from SD card"
select menu option "choose zip from internal SD card"
scroll down to the “CWM-SuperSU-v0.96.zip file and select that using the “power” button. It will then ask you “if you are sure you want to install, it can’t be done”. Scroll down to the “YES” and then select the power button to confirm. It will then mount and install it. Once it is done installing you will then need to scroll to the “go back” choice on the menu. Then go back to the “reboot” device and select that. It will reboot.
24) Your device should reboot and you should be able to confirm that SUSuperuser is installed by looking at the apps page on your device. You should be able to see a little blue Android with a red cape. If you see it, you have successfully installed.
25) Once you have root and CWM + SU installed and you want to make a FULL BACKUP of your settings and software. Using the same methods above, boot into “recovery mode”, then choose Backup/restore (select it with the “power button”). Then, it will begin the “back up” process which will take about (7 ) minutes (it takes longer if you are backing up lots of items). Note that the program will back up the backup items onto the EXTERNAL SD Card in a folder named “2012-11-07.10.57.45 (“time stamped”) and it will contain 6 items including boot image, recovery image, nandroid.md5, and 3 others. Mine was about 1.17 gb in size and DID NOT include any music, videos, or pictures. MAKE SURE that your external SD Card has enough free space to store the CWM back up folders. I suggest that you then copy the entire back up folder over to another secure location on your PC (which you can copy over to the SD card anytime) in the event your current external SD card or device goes whacky.
26) Well, it was not brief but it was detailed and concise and I hope it helps other noobs like myself to successfully install and execute this process as it will lead to further dev opportunities to trying out other ROM’s while being able to reverse the process if things goes really wrong.
27) If I was of help just say “thanks”. Will try to answer PM if you have them but I am just a noob and may be of little use. This was written by a noob and for other noobs. Hope I haven’t annoyed anyone else in the process.
*
Model number:GT-I9305
Android version: 4.1 .1
Baseband version: I9305ZHALI1
Kernel version
3.0.31-177985
[email protected] #1
SMP PREEMPT Thu Sep 20 23:04:05 KST 2012
Build number: JRO03C.I9305ZHALI7

Woahh thats alot of writing, but thanks for your time, I didnt know that myself and the guides in the links that LyriquidPerfection and Ausdim created were that hard to understand But i guess I dont know how a PURE noob thinks, Even though I was a noob in August this year i kind of know my way around a computer but I still think i am a noob compared to these programming devs, Maybe I am not the Noobiest noob anymore if thats a word LOL oh well the more information in this thread the more valuable. I think they should get this entire thread Stickied, I have already asked

btemtd said:
yes offcourse you can PM me.. Thats a good Idea I might add your video to this guide if you dont mind, this will make it totally complete!!...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks buddy. Of course I dont mind you adding the video to this thread. I want to make a few videos actually that you might be able to help with. =)
working on a pm now.
Sent from my Beautiful GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

Ok I will reply when I wake up thanks
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app

hey droid!
This is awesome, I hope I can use this for my youtube guide for iOS refugees like me.
Sent from my Beautiful GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

bleepsake, can't wait to see your video.
Is unrooting unique per phone or is it the same? When I search unroot, I've seen guides to unroot only for certain phones.

mrbarbz said:
bleepsake, can't wait to see your video.
Is unrooting unique per phone or is it the same? When I search unroot, I've seen guides to unroot only for certain phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mrbarbs all you need to do to unroot is use odin and flash Official samsung firmware over the top of what you have. Done... its that easy no need for a guide lol
this will also get rid off CWM and put the stock original recovery back in and also stock kernel.... as a matter of fact stock EVERYTHING

[Q] Sidekick 4G Woes

Argh! Pulling my hair out over this one. I've been flashing custom ROMs and rooting my phones for years now, since my old HTC G1. Even had KitKat running on my HTC Desire 4G!
... but this Sidekick is proving another matter. I've been through forum after forum, all saying the same things on how to root/flash this thing, but I haven't managed to get anything to work! So, here's step-by-step of what I just did and the result I get every single time, no matter the initial method:
1: Fired up ODIN3.
2: Wiped the user data and cache from the stock recovery (Android System Recovery (3e)).
3: Connect USB cable, reboot phone into download mode (using the battery-pull method).
4: Successfully flash to stock ROM, reboot.
5: Sign in with Google, enable WiFi.
6: Run SuperOneClick, reboot.
7: Grab ES File Explorer from the Market, after it updates.
8: Attempt to replace "recovery" in /system/bin with custom
... and here's where things break. Doesn't matter what version of SuperOneClick I use (and I've tried from 1.9.1 through 2.2.3), nor does it matter what exploit I select. What happens? Well... aside from everything on-screen claiming to be okay, and everything claiming it's working, once the rooting is "successful", I reboot like it says, see that SuperUser is in the applications, it shows me an su binary version...
... but anything that tries to run super-user (ES File Explorer included) that gets added to the super-user list simply does not work. I can't over-write the recovery, can't delete or muddle with anything that requires elevated privileges, and the ROM Manager for sure won't work because I can't get CWR installed.
I love my phones with keyboards. I really do. I'd love to keep this thing, but the stock firmware is driving me up a wall (especially that stupid media scanner). So if anyone has any ideas to throw at me, care to offer some? Haven't a clue at this point what I'm doing wrong.

Hey buddy!
I feel your pain, this is one of the last nicely built hardware keyboard phones, first time rooting it is a bit strange
See post #27 (or so) here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221030
I ran through the manual steps there and have links for needed files
If you get stuck let me know, I'll be around

demkantor said:
Hey buddy!
I feel your pain, this is one of the last nicely built hardware keyboard phones, first time rooting it is a bit strange
See post #27 (or so) here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221030
I ran through the manual steps there and have links for needed files
If you get stuck let me know, I'll be around
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! I'll give this a go once I'm all done with today's activities and see if it works.
Well, apparently I have root access for the moment, but it is denying my replacing of /system/bin/recovery - in adb shell, it states "Filesystem is read-only", so I re-mounted /system -rw and no dice. Going to attempt to try again in a moment, after a reboot.

Okay, so since there's a problem with all of this, I'm going to try that second ROM (KD2 I think it was) - but as I recall, it was on a very slow server. Plus I have a load of things to do tomorrow, so it probably won't be until tomorrow evening sometime when I'll be able to flash it. Once I've used Odin to re-flash, I'll get back to you.

Well, I had to dissect "t839-Sidekick4G-UVKG2-One-Click.jar" and remove the xml file from within it, but I acquired the necessary package to upgrade to KG2 from KD1 through Odin3. Took a while to figure out just how to deal with it, and I was successful in flashing... and I even replaced the recovery file after rooting it again!
... however, now it just sits there at the "T Mobile Sidekick 4G" start-up screen when I attempt to boot into recovery, so now I'm preparing to re-flash it again to recover the stock recovery. So... still more on this, later.
EDIT: Also, I named the tar file "KG2OdinHeimdall.tar", since I basically ripped it right off the "HeimdallPackage.tar" file from the Heimdall one-click thing. Turns out, it apparently works just fine if you remove the .xml file from the original tar.

Finally!
I ended up having to use my own method to get the KG2 update installed because the one-click program kept crashing on me when selecting "Show all devices", and I opted to use AntTek Explorer (all you have to do is go into the program's options and it'll attempt to acquire admin privileges, if the device is rooted) to copy the recovery file to /system/bin - but your post worked for everything else, once I got past not being able to copy the recovery file.
I opted for the CM6 package and it's quite fast! Thank you loads, demkantor!

Nice! I'm glad all worked out well for you!
If you get a chance try out the one gingerbread ROM, its cool to see it running but there are still driver issues so keyboard is borked, really makes it pointless to have on this phone...
But there are a few nice froyo ROMs ready to be played with, someday development will hopefully pick up again
Until then, happy flashing!