***The Official Samsung Galaxy S III Thread***

Myshra said:
Kies pushes it over USB, the update button under device is only for over-the-air updating (which it appears, is probably disabled).
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It does look like Orange and T-Mobile branded handsets have this option disabled. Damned annoying, it's one thing sticking bloat on a phone, but this is another level.
Myshra - what do you reckon to flashing a stock Samsung ROM using ODIN3 - is it possible? Easy? I reckon this is a good option, as my daughter got her S3 a few weeks ago via the same Orange Upgrade route, and hers is unlocked and unbranded, and has the Software Update option, so Orange probably won't be any the wiser...
If I'm going to flash a stock ROM I'd rather do it now than wait until my wife has customised her phone to death! Not bothered about rooting and custom ROMS yet, just want a stock S3...

[Edit] - Just connected the phone to my laptop and launched Kies - says I have the latest firmware - PDA: LE4 / PHONE: LE4 / CSC: LE4 (ORA) - definately Orange then!
Is this the only way to update the FW on an Orange branded phone now then?
 
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Nexus18 said:
I personally still think it is a gimmick :p, thought it was pretty cool at first though as in a gimmick kind of way :p, but after using it for a day the "coolness" wore off :o :p, uninstalled that app after 1 day of use. If only the front cameras could see our faces/eyes when in dark conditions then it would be more useful but for now the screen time out (15 seconds) or/and manually locking the mobile does the job just fine :p
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I think SmartStay is unecessary... just get Screebl. 100% reliable and much more elegant a solution imo. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keyes.screebl.full&hl=en
 
Frenzy said:
Smart stay doesn't work very well for me. I have glasses, I've tried without and the result seems to be the same. I would be looking at the screen and suddenly an eye pops up and the screen dims and goes off :( I was really looking forward to this feature!
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Yeah, I would imagine Glasses could break the program, same as background noise breaks Siri / S Voice.

Difficult to describe anything like this as anything other than a gimmick IMO.
 
kitch9 said:
Yeah, I would imagine Glasses could break the program, same as background noise breaks Siri / S Voice.

Difficult to describe anything like this as anything other than a gimmick IMO.
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Gimmick?

It works perfectly for me and solved a huge issue I had with every other handset I have owned which was having a low screen timeout for battery savings but it going off when I was reading from the screen.

In some adverse conditions it does not work (Very dark or not directly looking at the screen) but for 9 out of 10 times it works as advertised. Something I could not live without on a device now.
 
Sin_Chase said:
Gimmick?

It works perfectly for me and solved a huge issue I had with every other handset I have owned which was having a low screen timeout for battery savings but it going off when I was reading from the screen.

In some adverse conditions it does not work (Very dark or not directly looking at the screen) but for 9 out of 10 times it works as advertised. Something I could not live without on a device now.
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1000x this.

It is on of my favourite features on the phone. It does still work in very low light conditions as well which is impressive.
 
Credo said:
It does look like Orange and T-Mobile branded handsets have this option disabled. Damned annoying, it's one thing sticking bloat on a phone, but this is another level.
Myshra - what do you reckon to flashing a stock Samsung ROM using ODIN3 - is it possible? Easy? I reckon this is a good option, as my daughter got her S3 a few weeks ago via the same Orange Upgrade route, and hers is unlocked and unbranded, and has the Software Update option, so Orange probably won't be any the wiser...
If I'm going to flash a stock ROM I'd rather do it now than wait until my wife has customised her phone to death! Not bothered about rooting and custom ROMS yet, just want a stock S3...

[Edit] - Just connected the phone to my laptop and launched Kies - says I have the latest firmware - PDA: LE4 / PHONE: LE4 / CSC: LE4 (ORA) - definately Orange then!
Is this the only way to update the FW on an Orange branded phone now then?
Click to expand...


It is easy enough to flash a generic firmware and change the CSC (product code - yours is currenty ORA, generic UK is BTU). I did this when I got my phone. It was unlocked and unbranded on Vodafone but had a few vodafone apps installed. You just need to keep a note of your current firmware version and CSC (dial *#1234# and make a note of what comes up, and as I said your current CSC code is ORA).

There is a thread in the general S3 forum on XDA with links to all the firmwares, you want the generic UK LF2 firmware. Flash it with kies, then there is a code you can type in the dialer to choose the CSC code (it is *#272*IMEI# obviously replacing IMEI with your phones one).

If you ever need to go back to the original firmware for whatever reason, you can find it in the thread on XDA and flash it in ODIN much the same way as above then replace the CSC code back to ORA using the code above too. This is great as flashing official firmwares via ODIN doesn't change the custom flash counter on the phone, nor does it mark your phone as modified.

G.
 
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Grahame said:
It is easy enough to flash a generic firmware and change the CSC (product code - yours is currenty ORA, generic UK is BTU). I did this when I got my phone. It was unlocked and unbranded on Vodafone but had a few vodafone apps installed. You just need to keep a note of your current firmware version and CSC (dial *#1234# and make a note of what comes up, and as I said your current CSC code is ORA).

There is a thread in the general S3 forum on XDA with links to all the firmwares, you want the generic UK LF2 firmware. Flash it with kies, then there is a code you can type in the dialer to choose the CSC code (it is *#272*IMEI# obviously replacing IMEI with your phones one).

If you ever need to go back to the original firmware for whatever reason, you can find it in the thread on XDA and flash it in ODIN much the same way as above then replace the CSC code back to ORA using the code above too. This is great as flashing official firmwares via ODIN doesn't change the custom flash counter on the phone, nor does it mark your phone as modified.

G.
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I didn't realise I could flash using Kies. I'm not 100% confident in Kies, it seems to take an age to do anything, and has trouble connecting to the phone at times. Is ODIN3 going to do the same thing?

I'm poised to do this I think - I have 'GT-I9300_BTU_I9300XXALF2_I9300OXAALF2_I9300XXLF2.tar.dm5' and ODIN 3.04 ready to go.

That seems to be the correct ROM - can anyone verify? There's a blummin' lot to choose from!

Do I have to do the *#272*IMEI# thing after flashing with ODIN? Not seens that in any instructions...
 
Robbo said:
I haven't got it yet, still no blue available. I had a good play with one though.
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U likey??. Have to say im thoroughly impressed with the SGS3, much more than i was with the One X. Love the fact that TW is so nicely integrated with the hardware and is pretty damn smooth where i found the One X after a few hrs would start to get a tad laggy.

The only thing i really miss from the One X is the Sense weather widget, ive tried a few out that were supposedly ported over but they didnt really do the job well enough. The standard weather widget on the SGS3 is pretty decent, if you add more than one city, it will scroll through them all on your home screen...but again its not as pretty as the One X weather widget. Also finding that my home location on the SGS3 weather widget doesnt update :/...dunno if that has anything to do with with me being rooted as since then i havent had any location changes and even manually doing it doesnt solve it.

All in all much more happier with the SGS3 than i was with the One X.
 
Yas786 said:
U likey??. Have to say im thoroughly impressed with the SGS3, much more than i was with the One X. Love the fact that TW is so nicely integrated with the hardware and is pretty damn smooth where i found the One X after a few hrs would start to get a tad laggy.

The only thing i really miss from the One X is the Sense weather widget, ive tried a few out that were supposedly ported over but they didnt really do the job well enough. The standard weather widget on the SGS3 is pretty decent, if you add more than one city, it will scroll through them all on your home screen...but again its not as pretty as the One X weather widget. Also finding that my home location on the SGS3 weather widget doesnt update :/...dunno if that has anything to do with with me being rooted as since then i havent had any location changes and even manually doing it doesnt solve it.

All in all much more happier with the SGS3 than i was with the One X.
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http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=22214210&postcount=9529

I likey. :p
 
Just got off the phone with Vodafone upgrades and they say they are fixed on prices for the S3, and can't do me any better than £31 a month for 300 mins, Ultd texts and 500MB internet, which seems a bit off really. I've seen £26 for the same with a £49 upfront on mobilephonesdirect.co.uk, but they are unwilling to match it. Is there any technique for dealing with these places?

The guy even seemed happy to give me my PAC code! I was expecting some attempt to keep me with Vodafone after 4 years.
 
If I want to stay stock whats the best firmware to use? I'm on LF2 but I've seen LF6 banded about albeit not for the UK. Is there a LF6 I can install and a UK CSC?
 
Finally gave up with trying to haggle with Vodafone as their upgrade deals weren't too impressive. Gonna go on a pay monthly with 3 instead and I bought a 32gb Blue one last night. Works to a similar price but gives me freedom at least... finally!

The phone's been delivered to my house this morning and I CAN'T WAIT to get back and have a play!!! :D
 
Credo said:
I didn't realise I could flash using Kies. I'm not 100% confident in Kies, it seems to take an age to do anything, and has trouble connecting to the phone at times. Is ODIN3 going to do the same thing?

I'm poised to do this I think - I have 'GT-I9300_BTU_I9300XXALF2_I9300OXAALF2_I9300XXLF2.tar.dm5' and ODIN 3.04 ready to go.

That seems to be the correct ROM - can anyone verify? There's a blummin' lot to choose from!

Do I have to do the *#272*IMEI# thing after flashing with ODIN? Not seens that in any instructions...
Click to expand...


Sorry I never mentioned it but I meant that all this is done with ODIN. That is the correct firmware. You will still have to change the CSC after the flash as it doesn't do it manually. Do the CSC change as soon as you have flashed and are running the new firmware as a CSC change will also factory reset the phone so no point setting up anything until that's changed and you reboot.

EDIT: The reason why you chould change the CSC to BTU is that on this product code, you are just on generic UK firmware so your phone will then find OTA firmware updates as and when they are ready (i.e. it doesn't rely on ORA firmware being released by orange, which doesn't always happen. The BTU CSC code will get you the OTA updates straight from Samsung as they are released :)

G.
 
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