Changing the firmware on a parallel imported S3

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Forums › Android › Changing the firmware on a parallel imported S3

BuffyNZ

241 posts

Master Geek

#109304 17-Sep-2012 17:01

Hi Folks,

I purchased a parallel imported S3 that seems to have come from SF in France...

It has a whole lot of branded apps, which I have disabled, but the biggest headache is that the default mail app is disabled, and I can not seem to enable it.

This is a problem as I can't get access to exchange email sync.

So I am looking at changing the firmware, and am seeking advice on what to do for.

I am after stability more than anything else.

Any recommendations?

Recursion: See recursion.
--
“It is important not to let the perfect become the enemy of the good, even when you can agree on what perfect is. Doubly so when you can't. As unpleasant as it is to be trapped by past mistakes, you can't make any progress by being afraid of your own shadow during design.”

--Greg Hudson, Subversion developer

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nzgeek

618 posts

Ultimate Geek

#687680 18-Sep-2012 12:38

The best way to de-brand your phone is to flash an official stock firmware for another region. This requires a copy of the Odin software, and a copy of the firmware package you want to flash.

For the I9300, I'd recommend either a generic Euro firmware or the Vodafone NZ firmware. There is a Telecom NZ firmware, which should work ok, but you may not get as good of a signal.

Have a look at this thread on XDA for flashing instructions and a copy of Odin.

This is slightly different than what Jeff posted above. The link he posted is for customised firmware packages, which are usually based on the stock firmware but with apps added/removed and changes to the theme. My links keep the stock firmware, they only change which region's firmware you have on the phone.

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