Flashing an SIII from Vodafone AU to Vodafone NZ

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04fuxake

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Topic # 139138 29-Jan-2014 08:28

My wife got a good deal on an SIII from TradeMe although we found it was actually a I9300T which is a Vodafone Australia version. It's running the latest JB 4.1.2 as deployed by Voda AU. However, her TouchWiz is different to mine and she has a bunch of VF AU bloatware which she doesn't need.

Can I download the Voda NZ 4.1.2 ROM and flash it to get hers the same as mine?

Her details (if it helps):
AP: I9300TDUEMC1
CP: I9300TDUEMB1
CSC: I9300TVAUEMB1

The VNZ ROM I have downloaded is I9300XXEMC2 which is the same as my SIII.

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Reply # 976421 29-Jan-2014 08:31

Be careful with T version if I remember correct something different about it

kiwitrc

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Reply # 976466 29-Jan-2014 09:40

Nice nick by the way :)

jeffnz

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Reply # 976545 29-Jan-2014 11:09

There was a lot of discussion at the time about the differences but not anything really conclusive about hardware changes but certainly couldn't find any reports that flashing an international firmware cause problems.

The software differance is that it was optimised for use with the 850 bandwidth for use on Telecom here. I had one and flashed a custom Rom from the start and the 'T' disappeared, tried it with a Vodafone Sim and worked fine.

If it was me I'd be more inclined to flash a custom Rom, basically your phone is out of manufacturers warranty and although a small risk of bricking you get latest Roms, less bloatware and an all round better experience. Your choice really

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04fuxake

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Reply # 976550 29-Jan-2014 11:14

If it was me I'd be more inclined to flash a custom Rom, basically your phone is out of manufacturers warranty and although a small risk of bricking you get latest Roms, less bloatware and an all round better experience. Your choice really

Yeah, although if I brick it, my wife will kill me.

jeffnz

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Reply # 976551 29-Jan-2014 11:17

04fuxake:
If it was me I'd be more inclined to flash a custom Rom, basically your phone is out of manufacturers warranty and although a small risk of bricking you get latest Roms, less bloatware and an all round better experience. Your choice really

Yeah, although if I brick it, my wife will kill me.

yes that would be a fate not to tempt however do some reading and whilst it can be quite scary in the beginning its quite an easy process and all you need to do is follow instructions.

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04fuxake

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Reply # 976553 29-Jan-2014 11:20

jeffnz:
04fuxake:
If it was me I'd be more inclined to flash a custom Rom, basically your phone is out of manufacturers warranty and although a small risk of bricking you get latest Roms, less bloatware and an all round better experience. Your choice really

Yeah, although if I brick it, my wife will kill me.

yes that would be a fate not to tempt however do some reading and whilst it can be quite scary in the beginning its quite an easy process and all you need to do is follow instructions.

Yeah I've done a lot of reading but it's hard to work out the current thinking when you have posts dating back to 2012 :-)

So, you took an I9300T to a custom rom without any trouble? Did you gave to change the CSC or anything like that?

bradstewart

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Reply # 976556 29-Jan-2014 11:29

The difference between T and non-T versions is that the T's are 'optimised' for 850Mhz networks and adhere to different RF regulations in Aus.

You can flash the latest VFNZ i9300 software onto it without any issues.

johnr

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Reply # 976557 29-Jan-2014 11:31

We have 4.3 on the way for the S3 i9300 and the i9305 that will enable HD voice as well,

Just waiting on Samsung Korea to push it out

04fuxake

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Reply # 976558 29-Jan-2014 11:33

johnr: We have 4.3 on the way for the S3 i9300 and the i9305 that will enable HD voice as well,

Just waiting on Samsung Korea to push it out

So, would that mean if I flashed the I9300T to the VFNZ firmware, I'd get 4.3 on it when Samsung push it out to VFNZ customers?

I read somewhere that the CSC (currently "VAU") has to be correct or the phone won't get updates through Kies or OTA.

04fuxake

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Reply # 976559 29-Jan-2014 11:34

bradstewart: The difference between T and non-T versions is that the T's are 'optimised' for 850Mhz networks and adhere to different RF regulations in Aus.

You can flash the latest VFNZ i9300 software onto it without any issues.

Good to know :-)

ajobbins

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Reply # 976565 29-Jan-2014 11:41

I had a VFAU i9300T that I flashed with non-T firmware no worries, as well as Cyanogenmod.

If you grab the VFNZ rom from sammobile.com and flash it using Odin, you shouldn't even lose any data (but do a back up in case)

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04fuxake

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Reply # 976568 29-Jan-2014 11:44

ajobbins: I had a VFAU i9300T that I flashed with non-T firmware no worries, as well as Cyanogenmod.

If you grab the VFNZ rom from sammobile.com and flash it using Odin, you shouldn't even lose any data (but do a back up in case)

Brilliant, exactly what I wanted to hear.

ajobbins

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Reply # 976968 29-Jan-2014 23:11

Also, if you want to avoid telco bloat ware, you could consider installing a generic version, such as the Australia XSA firmware. This was for S3's sold in AU independently of carriers and therefore has no carrier bloat ware.

The advantage of a carrier version matching your actual carrier however is you may see some tweaks specific to that network that will give you better performance/battery life.

http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/1/?model=GT-I9300&pcode=XSA#firmware

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johnr

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Reply # 976969 29-Jan-2014 23:13

No Telco bloat on the VFNZ ROM

04fuxake

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Reply # 976975 29-Jan-2014 23:37

Just flashed the phone with the VFNZ rom and it worked perfectly. The Vodafone boot logo and VFAU bloatware have gone too.

Wife is happy that she now has the same phone as me

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