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How To Unroot Samsung Galaxy S3 to Go Back to Normal

ByJagdish Purohit

Did you just root your Samsung Galaxy S3 and are not comfortable with a rooted phone? Are you tired of flashing custom ROMs and want to go back to stock ROM? Do you want to update your phone directly through the OTA updater like you used to before rooting your phone? If you answered yes, then continue reading to find out how you can unroot Samsung Galaxy S3.

The Galaxy S3 might be really old, but it is still a great Android smartphone even without root access. However, rooting can make Android devices a lot more awesome.

If you feel that rooting didn’t bring any benefits to your Galaxy S3, then you might be interested in reading about the 10 best ROMs for Galaxy S3 before finalizing your decision on unrooting the device.

Why Unroot Galaxy S3?

You’ll find many guides on rooting the Galaxy S3 along with the benefits of rooting, but you won’t find many benefits for unrooting the phone. That being said, unrooting does have some advantages.

  • Send your phone for repairs under warranty. If you send your phone to Samsung in order to claim warranty, they’ll refuse to repair your phone if it’s rooted or if there is a custom ROM installed. Unrooting alone will not fix it and you’ll have to reset the flash counter. I’ll show you the steps for resetting the flash counter in this guide as well.
  • Sell your phone to someone else. If the buyer of your phone finds out that you rooted your phone or if the phone doesn’t have its original firmware, he/she may refuse to buy it.
  • Install regular Over The Air updates. Once you’re unrooted and back on stock ROM, you’ll be able to install OTA updates like you used to before rooting your phone.

What You Need To Do Before Unrooting Your Samsung Galaxy S3

Resetting the flash counter and unrooting the phone are both risky processes which is why you should only attempt them at your own responsibility. If you’ve made up your mind to unroot Galaxy S3, then follow the tips mentioned below.

  • Charge your Samsung Galaxy S3 at least 70% in order to avoid your phone running out of power during the unrooting process.
  • Backup your phone. Feel free to read our list of the best backup apps for Android.
  • Sync your Galaxy S3 with your Google account so that you can get some of your data back when logging into your Google account after unrooting the device.

How To Reset The Flash Counter

This is an optional process before unrooting your Galaxy S3. This basically resets your flash counter. If you’ve flashed custom firmwares on your Galaxy S3 and you want to send it for repairs under warranty, then you’ll need to reset the flash counter.

Step 1 – Download Triangle Away

Go to this XDA forum thread and download the TraingleAway APK file from Attached Files. Also, make sure that your Galaxy S3 variant or model number is supported from the Supported devices list in the same thread. The app is also available on the Google Play Store, but it costs $2.49.

Download on Google Play

Step 2 – Transfer The APK File To Your Phone

Once you’ve downloaded the APK file, transfer it to your phone.

Step 3 – Enable Unknown Sources

Go to Security in Settings and enable the Unknown sources option.

unknown sources s3

Step 4 – Install The App On Your Galaxy S3

Go to your file manager and install the TriangleAway APK file.

Step 5 – Launch Triangle Away

Make sure that your internet connection is enabled and working. Open the Triangle Away app and tap on Grant if you get a Superuser request popup. Tap on Continue and press the Download button. Wait for the download process to complete.

Step 6 – Press Reset Flash Counter

Once the download process is complete, tap on Reset flash counter and press the Continue button.

triangle away reset

Step 7 – Reset The Flash Counter On Your Galaxy S3

Your phone will now boot into a new screen with a Triangle warning sign. Press the Volume Up button once to reset the flash counter. Your phone will now reboot. That’s it!

How To Unroot Galaxy S3

Follow the steps mentioned below in order to unroot your Galaxy S3. The entire process is not that difficult and you’ll be able to unroot your phone in just several minutes.

Step 1 – Download Odin

Download Odin on your PC. You can get it through this link. Once downloaded, extract the ZIP folder on your PC.

Step 2 – Download Your Firmware

Download your phone’s stock firmware. This is a vital step. Make sure that you get the right firmware for your Galaxy S3 variant. There are various sources for downloading firmwares and two popular ones are sammobile.com and samsung-updates.com.

Step 3 – Extract The ZIP File

Once you’ve downloaded the firmware, extract the ZIP file on your PC. The file should have a .tar.md5 extension.

Step 4 – Install Samsung Kies

Download and install Samsung Kies if you don’t have it installed on your PC. You can get it through this link.

Step 5 – Enter Into Download Mode On Your Galaxy S3

Press and hold the Volume Down, Home and Power buttons simultaneously until your Galaxy S3 reboots and shows a warning screen. Press the Volume Up button once to enter into Download mode.

s3 download mode

Step 6 – Connect Your Galaxy S3 To Your PC

Launch the Odin app on your PC and connect your Galaxy S3 to your PC using a micro USB cable while your phone is in Download mode.

Step 7 – Select Firmware In Odin

Click on the PDA button in Odin and select the firmware .tar.md5 file that you downloaded and extracted earlier.

odin PDA

Step 8 – Check Options In Odin

Make sure that only the Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time options are checked under the Option tab.

Step 9 – Click On Start

Click on the Start button and wait for the process to complete.

Step 10 – Wait For Your Phone To Reboot

Once the process is complete, you’ll see a PASS message in Odin. Wait for your Galaxy S3 to reboot and this might take a while. That’s it! You have successfully unrooted your Samsung Galaxy S3.

odin pass

Conclusion

Rooting is a process that opens up many possibilities on Android devices, from custom ROMs to installing third party apps that require root access. If you have rooted your Galaxy S3 and you’re not comfortable with it, then you can easily unroot your phone using the method mentioned above.

Please do this only at your own risk and make sure that you follow all the instructions properly. If you miss something, you might brick your Galaxy S3. If you have any questions about how to unroot Samsung Galaxy S3, feel free to ask them in the comments area below.

Jagdish is an Android troubleshooter who loves talking tech and discussing technology's impact on humanity. He is passionate about writing and fond of technology—with a zeal for Android problem-solving. When Jag isn't writing or discussing tech and marketing, he'll be smashing cricket balls or shooting hoops on the basketball court.

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40 Comments

  1. I’m trying to unroot my galaxy S3 (SCH-R530M) with android 4.3, but cannot find the stock firmware. Does anyone know where I can get it?
    Thank you.

    Reply

    1. hello Baiju… did u get the firmware of GT -I9300… I’m also looking for the same.My handset is also made from Vietnam with same configuration of yours.
      If you have the firmware site details please share it.

      GT-I9300
      fcc id :-A3LGTII9300A
      SSN:-I9300GSMH

      *Does anyone know where I can get it?Please help me

      Reply

  5. I’ve tried this several times without success. Odin keeps saying the following:

    Enter CS for MD5..
    Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
    Please wait..
    KIES_HOME_T999VVLDMF2_T999VYVLDMF2_CL1189444_REV04_user_low_ship.tar.md5 is valid.
    Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
    Leave CS..
    All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 0)

    Can you help?? Any ideas why it doesn’t load?

    Reply

  8. I had rooted my s3 but did not install a different os. I performed your unroot instructions and everything seemed to work. Custom Binary Download: No, Current Binary : Samsung Official, System Status: Official . However nothing else changed. Triangle away is still there and Astro & Root Explorer still work. Also Kies does not work with my phone,SCH-R530U, tried 2.6 & 3. Any thoughts on why?

    Reply

    1. Hi David,
      Root explorer and Astro will of course still work, they are file explorers. They just won’t have root privileges. But the proper unroot for most Samsung phones is to download the most recent stock .tar for your specific model and flash using Odin with a PC. If you did that, then it is no longer rooted. If that app (triangle away) is still there, uninstall it. Hope this helps. Thanks for commenting. =-)

      Reply

  10. hey I just want to ask how long is “a while” (the last reboot)….because i am waiting an hour already and it is still rebooting

    Reply

    1. Hi Shafi,
      No, a factory reset won’t unroot state of your phone. You should still have 1) the custom recovery partition installed, 2) the su program, and 3) the SuperUser app, and 4) whatever custom ROM you installed (unless you did an in-place root). Have you tried any of the methods above? =-)

      Reply

        1. boot the phone into recovery mode by holding down Volume Up, Power and Home until the boot logo of the phone would appear. This starts the recovery mode. Run the following two commands (using Volume up and down to navigate and power to select):

          Wipe data / factory reset
          Wipe cache partition
          After that select reboot.

          Reply

  13. Hey, I made sure I followed all the steps but I’m getting a “FAIL” response. I have a SGH-I747 model. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Thank you!!!!

    Reply

  14. I tried to follow your instructions, but msgBox shows and says that: triangle away could not locate hidden partition. Are you not running ICS? So, i have a question: what to do to make this work?

    Reply

  16. Hi everyone i have rooted my Samsung Galaxy S3 AT&T SGH I747 but i am not satisfy with this root now i wana unrooting my phone what to do kindly guide me did my phone will be unrooted?

    Reply

  17. Sometime my phone also hang up and no keys and touch works i am very confused kindly tell me how to unroot my device as well build no KOT49UCUFNE4.

    Reply

    1. did anything happen to the phone? it sounds like it may have gotten wet or dropped and something is affecting the screen.

      Reply

  18. Nice Post Tho’..I Have Been Having Network Problem Ever Since A Friend Of Mine Rooted My Phone. .Will The ” Unroot ” Process Fix It Or….It’s Just Something Else? ..Just Wondering.

    Reply

    1. did you just root it or did you change the ROM or change settings too? Rooting, in itself wont really change much. It mostly unlocks the access to the root of the system. You can definitely try the unroot if you didn’t flash a new ROM. it should be pretty straightforward.

      Reply

  19. Hi I am looking for the this firmware to unroot my cell phone, but the web is not available to download. Anyone has this file?

    Model name GALAXY S Ⅲ
    Country

    Version Android 4.3
    Changelist 2713958
    Build date Wed, 16 Jul 2014 08:28:54 +0000
    Security Patch Level N/A
    Product code VIA
    PDA I9300XXUGNG3
    CSC I9300VIAGNG1

    Reply

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