Manually installing Android 4.3 on the Samsung Galaxy S3

A phased roll out of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean is currently underway for the Samsung Galaxy S3 and if you’re a Vodaphone subscriber in Ireland, chances are you’re already aware. For those of us not lucky enough to be Irish, the XXUGMJ9 build is available as a manual install and offers a slew of new features, including compatibility with Samsung’s recently released smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear.

As always, DroidReport assumes no liability for the firmware installation, so if your phone gets bricked, it’s on you.

Before Getting Started

Before you get started, ensure that your Galaxy S3 is the factory unlocked GT-I9300 model and is rooted.

As always, you want to backup your device and charge it to at least 80 percent.

Finally, enable USB Debugging mode by navigating to Settings -> Developer Options.

Updating Samsung Galaxy S3 (I9300) to Android Jelly Bean 4.3.1 CM10.2

1) Download the Android 4.3 XXUGMJ9 build, as well as Odin3 v3.09, available here and here.

2) Extract the firmware file, which will end in .tar.md5.

3) Run Odin on your computer.

4) Boot your phone into Download mode by shutting the device off, then pressing the Volume Down, Power and Home buttons together until a warning prompt appears. Next, press Volume Up to enter Download mode.

5) Connect your phone to your computer using the original USB cord.

6) Within Odin, press the AP button and select the file extracted earlier with a path ending in tar.md5.

7) Navigate to the Option submenu and check Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time. Re-Partition should be unchecked.

8) Press Start and Odin will begin installing the firmware. This will take a few minutes. Do nothing until the process completes.

9) When the firmware is finished flashing to your Galaxy S3, a PASS message will appear on the screen. Once you see this prompt, you are officially running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and it is safe to unplug your phone. Kudos.