How to root Smasung Galaxy S3 I9300, I9305 ?

Samsung Galaxy S3 I9300                                              Samsung Galaxy S3 I9305
Disclaimer: I am not responsible if anything bad happens to your device during the process of following the steps.

DO NOT attempt any of these if you are not comfortable with modifying the stock firmware. The files in this post will work ONLY for the i9300 and i9305 variant of S3 and i9505 variant of S4. Flashing any of these files onto other variants/models would result in brick.

UPDATE (26 Jun 13) - The following guide applies for the S4 (GT-i9505) as well. However, it is important that you download the correct files meant for your device.

What is root and why root your device?

Think about this analogy: when you buy a PC from Acer, Asus, Samsung, etc., it comes preloaded with a bunch of software, many of which you do not use. Eventually, you can and will uninstall them. The same goes for mobile phones. However, there is an added level of restriction on android devices. System apps that come preloaded with the ROM such as Youtube, Facebook, S Voice and other S utilities from Samsung cannot be uninstalled and will seat in the memory even when you are not using. This often results in high battery drain and/or drop in performance.

Rooting is a process of gaining administrator access to the phone, same as the administrator account in Windows PC. In linux language, it is sometimes known as Superuser access. With root, you can almost do anything to your phone: remove unwanted system apps, over/underclock (DANGER !!!), install custom recovery, install custom ROMS, etc.

What do you need to root?

*Samsung Galaxy S3 (i9300) OR Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE (i9305) OR Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE (i9505)
*Windows PC OR Mac running Bootcamp with Windows
*Samsung Kies
*Odin3 v3.07
Download from tinyurl.com/lzv8nn4
*CF Auto-Root (.zip) file
i9300: download.chainfire.eu/229/CF-Root/CF-Auto-Root/CF-Auto-Root-m0-m0xx-gti9300.zip
i9305: download.chainfire.eu/232/CF-Root/CF-Auto-Root/CF-Auto-Root-m3-m3zh-gti9305.zip
i9505: download.chainfire.eu/316/CF-Root/CF-Auto-Root/CF-Auto-Root-jflte-jfltexx-gti9505.zip
*Provided USB cable

Considerations before rooting

After you have applied the following steps to root your S3/S3 LTE, your binary counter may increase and your warranty will be voided. That means if you bring your phone back to Samsung, they will refuse warranty even if you are still within warranty period.

How to root?
When you root, there MAY be a possibility of factory reset. Backup all important data (apps, call logs, sms, contact, etc.) as a precaution before continuing. I rooted my i9305 and all data/apps remained intact; not sure if the same happens for the i9300 or the i9505[/CENTER]

1. Install Samsung Kies

2. Extract the CF Auto-Root (.zip) file to any convenient location to get a ".tar.md5" file. DO NOT extract any further.

3. Open Odin3. Make sure only "Auto Reboot" and "F. Reset Time" are checked. DO NOT change any other settings.

4. Enable Developer options and turn on USB debugging. Power off the phone and reboot into download mode (Press and hold Home, Vol Down and Power button at the same time). Press up to continue at the warning screen.

5. Connect phone to PC using USB cable.

6. In Odin3, under "ID:COM", it should show 0:[COM?] where ? is any number. This means that the phone is properly connected and Odin3 is able to detect it.

7. Check PDA and select the ".tar.md5" file.

8. Click Start. The flash will take only a short while. After that, phone will auto reboot and will enter into recovery to install the root files.

9. After phone has rebooted, check that SuperSU has been installed. Install Root Checker (from Google Play Store) to confirm root status.

Custom recovery: What is it?

After rooting, the next logical step would be to install a custom recovery. Samsung devices come with their stock recovery (accessed by pressing and holding Home, Vol Up and Power button at the same time) which is limited in functionality. With custom recovery, you can install ROMs, themes, make full backup of your phone (Nandroid), etc.

CWM or TWRP?

There are many custom recoveries out there. ClockworkMod (CWM) recovery is the most common and has been around for quite some time. Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP) is the latest and greatest recovery (in my opinion) for the S3/S3 LTE and other similar Samsung devices. It has several advantages such as touch interface, ability to charge your phone while in recovery, md5 generation for backups, faster backups, etc. In this guide, I will be showing how to install TWRP recovery on the S3/S3 LTE/S4 LTE.

What do you need to install TWRP?

*Rooted S3/S3 LTE/S4 LTE
*TWRP file
i9300: techerrata.com/browse/twrp2/i9300
i9305: techerrata.com/browse/twrp2/i9305
i9505: techerrata.com/browse/twrp2/jfltexx
Scroll to the bottom of page for the latest version and download the .tar file.
*Windows PC OR Mac running Bootcamp with Windows
*Odin3 v3.07 (Download from tinyurl.com/lzv8nn4)
*Provided USB cable

How to install TWRP?

1. Open Odin3. Make sure only "Auto Reboot" and "F. Reset Time" are checked.

2. Power off the phone and reboot into download mode (Press and hold Home, Vol Down and Power button at the same time). Press up to continue at the warning screen.

3. Connect phone to PC using USB cable.

4. In Odin3, under "ID:COM", it should show 0:[COM?] where ? is any number. This means that the phone is properly connected and Odin3 is able to detect it.

5. Check PDA and select the .tar file.

6. Click Start. The flash will take only a short while. After that, phone will auto reboot to home screen.

7. Power off phone. Reboot into recovery (Press and hold Home, Vol Up and Power button at the same time) The recovery should now be TWRP instead of stock recovery.

8) To update to the latest recovery, simply download the latest .tar file and repeat the steps 1 to 7 again.

Complete Nandroid with TWRP

It is always a good habit to make backup of your current working ROM (stock or custom), so that you always have a working ROM in case of an emergency.

1) Boot into TWRP recovery.

2) Select "Backup".

3) Slect Boot, Data, System and EFS (If applicable). It is not necessary to backup Cache as it will rebuild itself the next time you boot up your phone. Recovery is optional.

4) Choose a backup name. Default will the date of backup.

5) Check "Enable compression"

6) Uncheck "Skip MD5 generation". This will ensure the integrity of the files you backup.

7) Choose a backup location (Internal storage, SD card, USB OTG).

8) Swipe to backup. The backup will be in a TWRP folder of the chosen backup location