A rumour has been going around revealing that the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini is about to get an official update from Samsung and it has created a buzz in the tech industry.
Today, the rumours are coming true as Samsung went public and unveiled the Android 4.3 Jellybean for the international version of the S3 Mini bearing the device number, GT-I9300.
As a matter of fact, the S3 Mini users in New Zealand are already enjoying the OTA update. If you’ve yet to get this JellyBean update, you can also manually do so via the Samsung Kies servers. Simply follow the instructions below to do so.
Pre-requisites
1. Install USB Drivers for Samsung Galaxy S3 to connect the Android device with the computer.
2. Enable USB Debugging Mode on phone to connect it with the computer and use Android SDK with it.
3. As the tutorial is likely to wipe out all data of the phone, create a backup. If the device is having any custom recoveries such as CWM/TWRP then backup data using the same.
4. If the Android phone powers off due to lack of battery while the installation process, it could damage the device. Therefore, the Galaxy S3 should have charge above 80% battery charge.
5. The device should be factory unlocked and not locked to a particular carrier.
6. The phone will lose custom ROM with the installation of official firmware. Also, the custom recovery will be replaced by the stock version.
7. The device will no longer belong to a rooted version with the installation of official firmware.
8. I9300XXUGNB4 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean official firmware works only with Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-I9300. As flashing this on any other variant might brick the device, verify the model number of Galaxy S3 by navigating to Settings>> About device>> Model number.
Download files
I9300XXUGNB4 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean [Alternative link]
Odin v3.07
Flashing Instructions
1. Extract the downloaded firmware zip using winrar/7zip/winzip or any other extracting tool to get a .tar.md5 file with few other files, which are optional
2. Extract the Odin zip to get Odin3 v.3.07.exe with few other files
3. Switch off Galaxy S3
4. Place the phone into Download Mode by pressing and holding Volume Down, Home and Power buttons together until a construction Android robot icon with a warning triangle appears on the phone screen. Now press the Volume Up button to enter Download Mode
5. Run Odin3 v3.07.exe as Administrator [To do so, right click on Odin.exe file then click on Run as administrator from context menu.]
6. Connect the Galaxy S3 to computer using USB cable while it is in Download mode. Wait for some time until Odin detects the device. When the phone is connected successfully an Added message will appear under Odin. Also, the ID: COM box in Odin will turn light blue with COM port number, indicating successful connection
Note: If the Added message does not appear, then try to re-install USB derivers or change the USB port on the computer.
7. Select these files extracted from I9300XXUGNB4 folder
a) Click the PDA button and select the .tar.md5 file
b) Click the Phone button and select file with MODEM in its name
c) Click the CSC button and select file with CSC in its name
d) Click the PIT button and select the .pit file
Note: Ignore the last three steps (step-b, c and d) if such files do not exist.
8. In Odin enable Auto Reboot and F.Reset Time checkboxes. Click the Re-Partition checkbox if a .pit file has been chosen in the previous step
9. Verify everything and click the Start button in Odin. The installation process should begin now and take about few minutes to complete
10. When the installation process is completed, the phone will restart automatically and soon a PASS message with green background will appear in the extreme left box at the very top of Odin. Disconnect the phone from the computer
If you encountered a loop during booting, simply redo steps 1 to 10. After all, executing the update properly will certainly make it work. If it still fails, do make sure you meet all the requirements.
