Develop Bugs

[Q] No ROMs taking, keep getting no MD5 message, phone close to bricked.

I apologize in advance if any of this makes you roll your eyes at my stupidity.
Good Afternoon
I have an ATT samsung galaxy s3, Because of the glitches with 4.3 I was experiencing I decided to install custom software on my phone. So I looked up guides and got everything I needed. I did manage to get root access, and verified with super user. I also installed TWRP and CWM because each kept giving me errors when I tried to install CM 11 onto my phone. I tried CWM first, and when that didn't work I tried TWRP. It says there was no MD5 information found when I try to install any mod. how ever I have used the md5 file checker program and the MD5 matches up to what was listed in this one for example.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2518998
Download:
CM 11.0 Unofficial Beta 7 for d2tmo and d2att
MD5: ef93957db1e6704f23f9015231a82826
So the MD5 matches, yet when I try to install it keeps giving me errors. I also tried other versions of CM that I found on here via links. Right now my phone has no OS as another guide I read some where also said to wipe system data (sorry if that was stupid, I was just following a guideline) And even more stupid, no I don't have a backup because in my naivety and stupidity I didn't think I'd need one as it seemed so simple from all the guides and videos I'd seen.
Yesterday a friend of mine knowledgeable with tech stuff took one of the original stock Image ROMs I'd downloaded and using linux and some program he managed to do some crazy stuff I can't even describe on here. All I saw was a lot of typing of command lines and it got my phone working again, how ever it wasn't exactly the stock image I guess because the phone would not make or receive calls/texts.
Since my phone was powering on again and the android OS was loading I figured I could connect it to my computer and use KIES to download the official latest update so my phone would be back on the legit software. But trying to do that...well broke my phone again. So I'm at a loss now of what to do. Right now I can still get to download mode on my phone, but when I try to get into recovery mode I get an error that "firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in KIES & try again." Which I've tried, and every time I try it gives me an error message.So I'm at a loss of what to do next.
So I'd like to get a working OS on my phone asap so I can get calls and texts.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. And being new I'm sorry if I broke any taboos or did not give some information that is typically given when describing a problem.

gvazquez82 said:
I apologize in advance if any of this makes you roll your eyes at my stupidity.
Good Afternoon
I have an ATT samsung galaxy s3, Because of the glitches with 4.3 I was experiencing I decided to install custom software on my phone. So I looked up guides and got everything I needed. I did manage to get root access, and verified with super user. I also installed TWRP and CWM because each kept giving me errors when I tried to install CM 11 onto my phone. I tried CWM first, and when that didn't work I tried TWRP. It says there was no MD5 information found when I try to install any mod. how ever I have used the md5 file checker program and the MD5 matches up to what was listed in this one for example.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2518998
Download:
CM 11.0 Unofficial Beta 7 for d2tmo and d2att
MD5: ef93957db1e6704f23f9015231a82826
So the MD5 matches, yet when I try to install it keeps giving me errors. I also tried other versions of CM that I found on here via links. Right now my phone has no OS as another guide I read some where also said to wipe system data (sorry if that was stupid, I was just following a guideline) And even more stupid, no I don't have a backup because in my naivety and stupidity I didn't think I'd need one as it seemed so simple from all the guides and videos I'd seen.
Yesterday a friend of mine knowledgeable with tech stuff took one of the original stock Image ROMs I'd downloaded and using linux and some program he managed to do some crazy stuff I can't even describe on here. All I saw was a lot of typing of command lines and it got my phone working again, how ever it wasn't exactly the stock image I guess because the phone would not make or receive calls/texts.
Since my phone was powering on again and the android OS was loading I figured I could connect it to my computer and use KIES to download the official latest update so my phone would be back on the legit software. But trying to do that...well broke my phone again. So I'm at a loss now of what to do. Right now I can still get to download mode on my phone, but when I try to get into recovery mode I get an error that "firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in KIES & try again." Which I've tried, and every time I try it gives me an error message.So I'm at a loss of what to do next.
So I'd like to get a working OS on my phone asap so I can get calls and texts.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. And being new I'm sorry if I broke any taboos or did not give some information that is typically given when describing a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same error happened to me yesterday and spent the whole day figuring it out. get into download mode. boot up ODIN and reflash your preferred custom recovery. after that, i couldn't find anything else to restore my phone with so i installed 4.3 leaked from here. doesn't matter which one you select. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2498233. place it on your sd card and head into recovery mode, wipe data/factory reset and cache. head to install zip from sd card and select the 4.3 zip you downloaded. reboot system and it should work. the at&t boot screen takes a while so be patient

MrHaPpY66 said:
same error happened to me yesterday and spent the whole day figuring it out. get into download mode. boot up ODIN and reflash your preferred custom recovery. after that, i couldn't find anything else to restore my phone with so i installed 4.3 leaked from here. doesn't matter which one you select. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2498233. place it on your sd card and head into recovery mode, wipe data/factory reset and cache. head to install zip from sd card and select the 4.3 zip you downloaded. reboot system and it should work. the at&t boot screen takes a while so be patient
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all thank you for trying to help me, I hope you are having a good Thanks Giving.
I used the thread you linked to, and downloaded the version with out knox. I followed the instructions
transferred ROM and flashed kernel file to SD card
used odin to flash TWRP,
used twrp to flash rom and kernel file.
and it takes the file thankfully, there's only one issue. My phone can't make or receive calls/texts. Is yours able to?

I messed up and was playing with things That I had no business playing with and decided that I should do a restore of a backup (TWRP) I made as soon as I rooted the 4.3 OTA. well it has soft bricked my phone. it was a TWRP 4.3 Nandroid and has me messed up a little.
so far I tried My nandroid (no dice now a soft brick) cleared cache and dalvik, It was booting as far as the white at&t spinning thing,
Factory reset same on booting,
Tried a format of the internal sd this is where it gets sketchy it now goes as far as the second samsung screen(the one that says Samsung GALAXY S III)
4.3 OTA .zip (no dice TWRP wont flash it) same on the booting 2nd samsung boot screen
Tried the files in the link above and got a Hard brick
Used the debricking .IMG file and got TWRP and download mode back
Any suggestions?
Looks like I might need a JTAG/RIFF BOX for this one. If nothing else I spent many Hours of darkness discovering the darkness of android 4.3
If I get recovered from this and with a different rom like 4.1.2 I will be happy. the 4.3 OTA was very stable but I did miss wifi tether and the whole hardbrick thing was kind of a bummer. it would be real nice to have an ODIN file to fix this (AHEM samsung) or atleast perhaps stopped the progression of it to a hard brick.
New update
I got my phone booting up again however there is a catch. That unbrick.img file on my 16GB sd card is still required to boot the phone and I have no cell service what so ever. Tried to check apn settings because at home I sometimes get poor service and I run net10 so I was going to fix my apn and it says insert sim??? the sim is properly inserted???
Next Update
the bootloader I flashed apparently flashed to the external sd card? I flashed another one and it is booting from the internal sd. I had to flash a different modem the one in the bootloader/modem file I flashed from the link above didnt take? I got most everything sorted out, but im getting tired, it has been an all night adventure. its 08:23 est now
sorry for the delay in updating this I had to get some rest.

theramsey3 said:
I messed up and was playing with things That I had no business playing with and decided that I should do a restore of a backup (TWRP) I made as soon as I rooted the 4.3 OTA. well it has soft bricked my phone. it was a TWRP 4.3 Nandroid and has me messed up a little.
so far I tried My nandroid (no dice now a soft brick) cleared cache and dalvik, It was booting as far as the white at&t spinning thing,
Factory reset same on booting,
Tried a format of the internal sd this is where it gets sketchy it now goes as far as the second samsung screen(the one that says Samsung GALAXY S III)
4.3 OTA .zip (no dice TWRP wont flash it) same on the booting 2nd samsung boot screen
Tried the files in the link above and got a Hard brick
Used the debricking .IMG file and got TWRP and download mode back
Any suggestions?
Looks like I might need a JTAG/RIFF BOX for this one. If nothing else I spent many Hours of darkness discovering the darkness of android 4.3
If I get recovered from this and with a different rom like 4.1.2 I will be happy. the 4.3 OTA was very stable but I did miss wifi tether and the whole hardbrick thing was kind of a bummer. it would be real nice to have an ODIN file to fix this (AHEM samsung) or atleast perhaps stopped the progression of it to a hard brick.
New update
I got my phone booting up again however there is a catch. That unbrick.img file on my 16GB sd card is still required to boot the phone and I have no cell service what so ever. Tried to check apn settings because at home I sometimes get poor service and I run net10 so I was going to fix my apn and it says insert sim??? the sim is properly inserted???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into Settings, About Phone, Status and check to see if your IMEI and Serial Number are present. If you only lost your IMEI there's a guide on how to inject it back (I'm not sure where the guide is). However if you've lost your serial number and don't have a Nandroid that can restore it I don't know what to do.

spongdangly said:
Go into Settings, About Phone, Status and check to see if your IMEI and Serial Number are present. If you only lost your IMEI there's a guide on how to inject it back (I'm not sure where the guide is). However if you've lost your serial number and don't have a Nandroid that can restore it I don't know what to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have my serial number showing but no IMEI number. So is that all that's needed for me to be able to call and text again?

gvazquez82 said:
i have my serial number showing but no IMEI number. So is that all that's needed for me to be able to call and text again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated my post above and showed my soultion. I simply had to flash a new modem and almost everything was kosher. I also had to flasah a different kernel but that was for preference not because things werent working.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47817339&postcount=23 Modem download
I used that modem, flash it and see if your problems go away. I use Net10 so after I flashed the Modem I had to create an APN aswell, but that is nothing new for me.

theramsey3 said:
I updated my post above and showed my soultion. I simply had to flash a new modem and almost everything was kosher. I also had to flasah a different kernel but that was for preference not because things werent working.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47817339&postcount=23 Modem download
I used that modem, flash it and see if your problems go away. I use Net10 so after I flashed the Modem I had to create an APN aswell, but that is nothing new for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will give that a shot, but what's an APN, sorry. And how do I create one, and is it needed for me to do so?

gvazquez82 said:
i have my serial number showing but no IMEI number. So is that all that's needed for me to be able to call and text again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should be, I'm working right now so I don't have time to fine the guide on how to inject your IMEI. If I remember correctly it involves using QPST. If you have an old (or any) working Nandroid backup that should fix the problem.
FYI, make sure you don't use the guide for the international S3 as it has different hardware and folder structure/contents.
As for the APN, it should automatically fill itself in since it reads it off the SIM Card (I might be wrong).

theramsey3 said:
I updated my post above and showed my soultion. I simply had to flash a new modem and almost everything was kosher. I also had to flasah a different kernel but that was for preference not because things werent working.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47817339&postcount=23 Modem download
I used that modem, flash it and see if your problems go away. I use Net10 so after I flashed the Modem I had to create an APN aswell, but that is nothing new for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it and it work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
67 texts just came in. Sir, I thank you oh so kindly. You have made this gloomy rainy day oh so joyous.

No problem. Glad I could help you.
The real credit should go to -Mr.X-, loserskater and anyone else(no disrespect there were alot of files) whose stuff I tried to flash lastnight thank you all in the dev community who contribute.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

So I guess the next question, do I try again to install kit kat on my phone.
I've already made bucks of my existing working phone haha....but I'd still like to have kitkat in place. I believe the issue of my phone not reading MD5 confirmations would still be in place, does anyone know how to remedy that situation?
At the same time I'm more than happy to leave my phone as is.

gvazquez82 said:
So I guess the next question, do I try again to install kit kat on my phone.
I've already made bucks of my existing working phone haha....but I'd still like to have kitkat in place. I believe the issue of my phone not reading MD5 confirmations would still be in place, does anyone know how to remedy that situation?
At the same time I'm more than happy to leave my phone as is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure you can turn off MD5 checks in TWRP. Probably in CWM too. Sorry if this has been mentioned. Didn't have time to read the whole thread. Just skimmed through.
2nd, there is a major difference between an IMEI that reads 0 and an IMEI that shows unknown. If it shows an unknown simply reflash your ROM and modem and you will be good to go. Sometimes a reboot is all you need. If your IMEI is showing a 0 on the other hand its gone and will require that it be injected back in which is a messy situation that usually results in tour phone being stuck on EDGE.
3rd, as someone mentioned on the previous page, restoring a working nandroid will NOT reinject your IMEI if it shows up as 0. No amount of flashing anything will get it to come back. Not even stock. It needs to be reinjected manually.

flexfulton said:
Pretty sure you can turn off MD5 checks in TWRP. Probably in CWM too. Sorry if this has been mentioned. Didn't have time to read the whole thread. Just skimmed through.
2nd, there is a major difference between an IMEI that reads 0 and an IMEI that shows unknown. If it shows an unknown simply reflash your ROM and modem and you will be good to go. Sometimes a reboot is all you need. If your IMEI is showing a 0 on the other hand its gone and will require that it be injected back in which is a messy situation that usually results in tour phone being stuck on EDGE.
3rd, as someone mentioned on the previous page, restoring a working nandroid will NOT reinject your IMEI if it shows up as 0. No amount of flashing anything will get it to come back. Not even stock. It needs to be reinjected manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you know of a good stable kit kat like ROM I could use for the s3? And any speculation as to why the ROMs werent taking for me?

[Q] Bricked my phone... Need Help.

Like I'm sure this topic hasn't come up before, but I've searched for hours and I'm probably just making things worse. I also just accidentally deleted this post halfway through. It's too late and I'm too tired and I have no working phone.
Bought an SGH-I747 on E-Bay. Got a Straight Talk SIM card kit, activated it, so far so good.
Rooted it with CF-Auto-Root. Worked pretty well, took a lot of reboots, upgraded the SU from the Play Store and it got rid of Knox. So far so good. Got everything all set up the way I like it. Happy.
It was running 4.4.2. I'm assuming it was the release prior to the November 12th OTA release, but I can't say for sure.
Phone downloaded and installed an upgrade automatically. Now, it won't boot. I get the SAMSUNG logo, then the Samsung Galaxy S III logo then nothing.
I retried the CF-Auto-Root, no change.
I booted into recovery (volume up, home and power on), did factory reset, no change.
Started looking around for a way to return it to stock. Found an upgrade43.zip file somewhere (I'm sorry I can't find where I got that now). Put it on the sdcard card and tried installing it with the recovery and it fails part way through.
At this point, I think I probably need to completely overwrite everything with something stock. I just don't know how to do that. I see posts on such subjects but they all have warnings that make me think I'm going to totally brick the phone, so I'm hoping someone can point me the right way. I'm not all that Android savvy, as you can tell.
Help.

Since your phone was running 4.4.2, do not attempt to flash any ROMs using that attempt to downgrade your bootloader to anything prior to 4.4.2.
Try this to get your phone up and running:
download the latest CM11 for the d2lte and save it to an external SD card: https://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=d2lte
dowload the latest tar.md5 version of Philz Touch for the d2lte from here: https://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/d2lte/
boot phone in download mode, open Odin 3.07, do not check anything except f.reset.time, flash Philz via PDA box, remove USB cable when you see the word Reset appear in the status window, remove battery, replace battery, boot into recovery, format system, Dalvik, data, and cache, flash cm11, and reboot.

Thank you for your reply. There are a few things in there I don't quite understand, but I think I can figure it out.
I was going to attempt this...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658486
In fact, I did attempt it with TWRP last night after I posted here and new I still wasn't going to sleep. I kept getting an error about a bad ZIP file.
Is that stock restore a bad idea?

Do not attempt to flash an older bootloader. The mjb bootloader is from 4.3 and attempting to flash it could hard brick your phone.
I suggest doing what I suggested so you can confirm the bootloader and modem installed on your phone.

OK. Thanks. Probably a good thing I couldn't get it to work then.

Thank you so much. I have a working phone again. Now I just have to get it all set back up the way I like it.
I have to say, and it's probably words straight from the devils mouth, that I kind of wish I could have restored the Samsung stock software. It's just what I'm used to. But I will take what I can get.
A few questions. I like having root. But root is what got me in trouble in the first place. Is this going to be rooted now, or will I have to do that or am I better off just leaving it alone.
Second, I'm probably going to have questions since this is so different than what I'm used to (like I already can't find the Play store). Where is the best place to ask?

If you want root, one of the easiest ways to get it is to flash supersu from your custom recovery. Most ROMs are pre-rooted.
Many custom ROMs do not include Gapps. Just download and install the Gapps version for your ROM.
If you like the TW look, flash a TW-based ROM. Check out the development threads for different ROMs.

here is a thread for Q's that has some pretty good/friendly helpers on it if you need.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2257421
"all i can really do , is stay out of my own way and let the will of heaven be done"

How to save in to external SD card
How do you save the file into the external SD card? I am having the same brick issue with my GS3.

To save a file to an external SD card, just put the card into a card reader and save the ROM to the SD card.

[Q] Phone dead, need new ROM wth hotspot asap

So I've been happy for a couple of years with previous ROM. Installed Airdroid and it totally killed it. Just bootlooping now.
I'm going on a trip tomorrow and need the hotspot. Can anyone point me to a ROM that is stable and has the hotspot rolled into it. Data, and roaming required, working bluetooth would be good too. .
I've been reading for hours as usual (it's 3:30am and I'm running out of time), but am not sure the current state of the development of the ROMs for a phone this old.

syco123 said:
So I've been happy for a couple of years with previous ROM. Installed Airdroid and it totally killed it. Just bootlooping now.
I'm going on a trip tomorrow and need the hotspot. Can anyone point me to a ROM that is stable and has the hotspot rolled into it. Data, and roaming required, working bluetooth would be good too. .
I've been reading for hours as usual (it's 3:30am and I'm running out of time), but am not sure the current state of the development of the ROMs for a phone this old.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WickedX and Wicked S5, both have it. If you want AOSP, most if not all have it as well

Thank for the reply,
The one click update update to ND8 is hanging (odin not responding).
The original Blue Kuban Files I installed are 404 and the backups I had stored on my PC were lost when the PC died.
I don't need the latest greatest version of anything, I just need a working phone. Even the hotspot is optional at this point. I run my own business and the voicemails are backing up hence the ASAP request for help.
Any help anyone can give me to make this quick and easy would be appreciated. Thread lengths for these are now in the 1000s of pages so reading all isn't practical. Particularly when each page leads to another, and another, and another, which after a couple of hours of reading, then has dead file links.

syco123 said:
Thank for the reply,
The one click update update to ND8 is hanging (odin not responding).
The original Blue Kuban Files I installed are 404 and the backups I had stored on my PC were lost when the PC died.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't like using the one clicks, use regular Odin from here:
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23501681358547889
Make sure you download all the necessary files before you start this
Download NJ2 stock to update bootloader and modem from this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=58297282
Once it is flashed, Odin Philz Recovery from here:
https://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/d2lte/philz_touch_6.48.4-d2lte.tar.md5
put it in the PDA or PA slot unchecked auto reboot, after flash pull battery and manually go into recovery.
Then from within Philz Recovery flash Wicked S5 from this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=57728620
It says you need to be on ND8/NDC, but that is what you need as a minimum, NJ2 is newer than both of them.
NONE of these are my work, I just searched around for you to get you what you need, let me know if you need more help or have questions.

I did kind of dig myself out of the hole today and got Gummy installed. Had to update CWM and install following this page http://galaxys3root.com/galaxy-s3-roms/gummy-rom-for-galaxy-s3-4-4-4asop/ Tried open garden hotspot but Gummy kept crashing so was very glad to see your post.
mattzeller said:
I don't like using the one clicks, use regular Odin from here:
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23501681358547889
Make sure you download all the necessary files before you start this
Download NJ2 stock to update bootloader and modem from this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=58297282
Once it is flashed, Odin Philz Recovery from here:
https://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/d2lte/philz_touch_6.48.4-d2lte.tar.md5
put it in the PDA or PA slot unchecked auto reboot, after flash pull battery and manually go into recovery.
Then from within Philz Recovery flash Wicked S5 from this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=57728620
It says you need to be on ND8/NDC, but that is what you need as a minimum, NJ2 is newer than both of them.
NONE of these are my work, I just searched around for you to get you what you need, let me know if you need more help or have questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Followed your awesome instructions. This message coming to you via the hotspot on the Wicked ROM.
Thank you mattzeller, you Sir are a gentleman!

Glad I could help get you back up and running. Remember DO NOT try to flash any lower bootloaders via any flavor of Odin, if you will brick your device. You can flash any ROM you like, be it a JB, KK, or LP as they do not contain bootloader.

SGH-T999 Custom ROM with working 4G

Greetings,
I really don't want this to be a repeat post, so I have spent many days now searching for this answer, not just here on XDA if I was honest, I have links to prove it
The aim is to give a little new life to my old phone, and get off the 4.1 build it is on.
With that said, in summary, I have tried a few different custom ROMs; Cyanogenmod 11 - 13, stable to nightly. PAC MAN ROM for Lollipop, some other roms for KitKat I found else where, but in all these I have not been able to get 4G to work. I understand about updating the Modem, and got the latest version from DocHoliday77's post for the Galaxy S3, in point of fact I tried every modem version for 4.3+ on there
But for all this, and it's been time consuming I never managed to actually get 4G to work as stated
I tried playing with settings in Test Mode (*#*#4636#*#*), changed preferred settings, added APN's, rebooting during certain phases of the moon ... but somehow it all avails me diddly.
Finally I have genuinely tried searching for info on if this just isn't going to happen and that's how it is, but somehow I found lots of posts about other models or networks that made it work more than something saying this won't work (putting aside the info on CM 11 that states it's a known issue and won't work on some build I forget).
Which leads me to this post: I wondered if anyone could point me in either the direction of a 4.4+ custom ROM or other ROM, compatible for SGH-T999 (T-Mobile Galaxy S3), that has working 4G. Or how I can get 4G to work on one of the ROMs I have already tried, kind of partial to a nice CM but I am willing to venture.
Also happy to just hear other input about giving new life to the phone so any feedback welcome
Thanks for your time!
NOTES
======
Using TWRP 3.x for flashing
Phone is rooted
IMEI is visible & fine on custom ROM
4G works on stock ROM
not experienced at this but willing to read
Edit: something I had not noticed before, I install Gapps for most of my tests but never use it. I just tried to download from Play Store, it acts as though I have no connection; waiting to download appears, then eventually it says waiting for network. Yet I am able to browse the net fine with the phone floating between 3G & H+. I don't know if that might help, so figured I should add it.

Is the phone running the latest bootloader and modem? Maybe both are needed to properly get 4g on all Roms?

audit13 said:
Is the phone running the latest bootloader and modem? Maybe both are needed to properly get 4g on all Roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a really good question, let me see if I can find out how to get my bootloader info and I'll get back to you.
May I ask what the latest bootlader is for the SGH-T999, or where I could find this so I can compare it? I couldn't seem to find it, though the most resourceful post I did find related was T999 UVDMD5 Firmware / Bootloader by mnasledov, though it is also a little outdated it appears, I haven't read my entire way through it yet sorry, I also know the phone is a little outdated too .

So that wasn't too bad to find out
I don't have the latest bootloader if that should match the baseband I install.
Where after a ROM install I get my baseband to T999UVUEOH1, but the bootloader stays on T999UVDLJA.
I haven't quite found where to get the latest bootloader just yet, though I did really spend the last few minutes discovering about the bootloader; if you or someone could find the time to point me in that direction that would be awesome

Simplest way to make sure you have the latest would be to flash the most recent stock rom from sammobile.com in Odin.

Thank you very much @audit13, I do appreciate the time you took out to help me and I also appreciate the point in the direction of what next.
I'll go dig into that for a while and see what to do to be sure, before I start
Looks like this is the latest one, so I will give this a shot : PDA T999UVUEOH1 & CSC T999TMBEOH1, version 4.3.
So just as a quick question, since I've never upgraded the bootloader in this fashion etc., from what I have read this is a one way street correct? And since I am upgrading to stock, then I guess will I lose root, which I will have to go back down the path of for a reinstall, or could I flash my old back up over this from TWRP and in that fashion have the latest bootloader, but keep everything I have for the moment as I investigate a ROM that will offer 4G.
I guess what I am getting at is even if having the latest bootloader and some other ROM with the latest baseband doesn't give me 4G still, can I go back in terms of the OS version to my 4.1.1 and keep things as is with a newer bootloader?
I will investigate this myself too, I just always preferred some additional input when discovering things where possible.
I do appreciate your time, thanks again!

No, you cannot run stock 4.1.1 on a 4.3 bootloader unless it is a custom 4.1.1 rom based on a stock touch wiz rom.
I do not think it is a problem to run the latest bootloader and modem as the latest custom ROMs often require an updated bootloader and modem.
Once on a 4.3 bootloader, you can't downgrade to something older.

Thanks again @audit13, that matches what I have read, I appreciate the confirmation!
Looks like I will be undergoing a re-root etc. so I'll get my information together, have a little more read, see what I need to back up and then jump down the rabbit hole
I'm grateful for your time and help.

If you decide to run a custom rom, just flash a stock rom, then immediately flash twrp via Odin, then install the rom and gapps. No need to root before hand.

Ahh ok, that would have made the most sense. However I didn't have an opportunity to check back on this thread until now so even though you had awesome speedy reply I missed it.
I did manager to successfully flash the stock ROM from Sam's. It did also update the bootloader so THANK YOU very much for that.
I had to fiddle a little to get Odin to recognize the my Galaxy S3 in the end it was simple: after I installed Kies to get the drivers on, I disabled WI-Fi (I use it for my dev work, and then it didn't try to spend time getting other drivers and it all went great. But that's just a note incase maybe one day someone else reads the thread and wonders how, this might help.
I'm just actually restoring a couple f things on the stock ROM, I figured I would have it ready in the event a custom ROM doesn't suit immediately, as I find one I like, then I have a back up of the stock ROM on 4.3 to revert to. Incidentally I just used TWRP manager from Google play store to install TWRP, hopefully it's the same as the flash, except now I know I rooted when I didn't have to
@audit13 Thanks, I know I keep saying that but I appreciate your time the same way I would hope someone else appreciated mine.
Incidentally once ready I will post an update here about the success of getting 4G on Cyanogenmod 12 or even 13 maybe, or someone of the other custom ROM I try, to share that info.

So just an update, I can confirm even with both an updated bootloader and matching updated baseband there is still no 4G on Lollipop Cyanogenmod 12, haven't quite tried any other yet, that was the one I liked the most but I will carry on and get a list as I have time then update here.
If there are any further suggestions I'm all open to them
Thanks [email protected]

Do you get 4G on a stock ROM? You have an LTE capabale sim? You get 4G on another phone with the same sim card?

Right, this SIM gets 4G on 2 other phones it's been in, on this phone on stock ROM it gets 4G too. Reverting back to stock backup in TWRP, from CM12 looks like it tripped knox I think it is, so now the warranty bit is 1 oops. But I managed to Odin back to 4.3 stock, so now I also need to see if I can try to flash maybe to CM 11, which is 4.4.x, or if maybe I'm stuck here. If I can find out I certainly will update the result of 4G testing.
You've been really patient & helpful thanks!

First let me say I'm a noob. I've rooted and jailbroken devices but I admit it's all from falling instructions. I rooted my s3 a while ago and installed twrp 1.0.8.7 yesterday. I did a full wipe including system and all catches and installed the latest nightly of cm13. Everything is running great. I don't know if this helps but maybe it's your process. Good luck!
Sent from my Amazon Jem using Tapatalk

Shack70 said:
First let me say I'm a noob. I've rooted and jailbroken devices but I admit it's all from falling instructions. I rooted my s3 a while ago and installed twrp 1.0.8.7 yesterday. I did a full wipe including system and all catches and installed the latest nightly of cm13. Everything is running great. I don't know if this helps but maybe it's your process. Good luck!
Sent from my Amazon Jem using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's really helpful thanks @Shack70, since updating to 4.3 I have only tried CM 12, I can certainly give 13 a shot, & you have 4G working then please?
incidentally I have actually recorded every step I performed, in the event I repeat this again or I had to explain it. But my process maybe at fault I agree; I rooted my phone with towelroot. Installed TWERP manager (3.0.2 something, maybe I should try 1.0.8?), rebooted into recovery & first thing was take a full backup on stock. Then I did a factory wipe, & advanced wipe. Then installed the ROM, wiped dalvik/cache. Installed Apps, wipe dalvik/cache, reboot
Hopefully that's not too much? I just wonder if any of those steps raise alarm?
Edit: mind if I throw a few questions on here at you please @Shack70?
what do you wipe from the options please?
after the install, do you run any other wipes please?
how did you get TWRP on your phone? Not sure if that or version matters but I'm willing to try

Morrigon said:
That's really helpful thanks @Shack70, since updating to 4.3 I have only tried CM 12, I can certainly give 13 a shot, & you have 4G working then please?
incidentally I have actually recorded every step I performed, in the event I repeat this again or I had to explain it. But my process maybe at fault I agree; I rooted my phone with towelroot. Installed TWERP manager (3.0.2 something, maybe I should try 1.0.8?), rebooted into recovery & first thing was take a full backup on stock. Then I did a factory wipe, & advanced wipe. Then installed the ROM, wiped dalvik/cache. Installed Apps, wipe dalvik/cache, reboot
Hopefully that's not too much? I just wonder if any of those steps raise alarm?
Edit: mind if I throw a few questions on here at you please @Shack70?
what do you wipe from the options please?
after the install, do you run any other wipes please?
how did you get TWRP on your phone? Not sure if that or version matters but I'm willing to try
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In twrp I wiped system and all caches before installing the rom and gapps. I installed an older version of twrp using Odin and updated it to 2.0.8.7 using the twrp app in the play store. Yes I have 4g/lte. I've seen it switch from lte to h+ to 3g depending on my location so I'm sure it's working correctly. The camera and Bluetooth also work fine. I hope this helps, I'm still learning and most of what I've done is just by following others instructions here at XDA.
Sent from my Amazon Jem using Tapatalk

I definitely appreciate the reply thanks!
I gave the latest nightly CM 13 a shot just now, 7/31/16 version essentially. Not finding any issues with the ROM, can't get 4G to show up no matter what though , even with changes and attempts to APN settings etc. None the less maybe to give my phone a rest I'll just stick with this a while and decide if a newer nightly comes out I want to try, or better yet a stable version at some point. Then I can verify how much I really miss my 4G I guess.
All the previous attempts, including this one always results in 3G to H+ network with no issue, it's just that 4G that never shows up for me.
Incidentally without a serious search around I couldn't even find TWRP 2.0.8.7, it's not on the TWRP manager version I have so curious, I ended up just going with 2.8.0.7, thinking maybe it was a typo?
Otherwise I basically run the same type of install you mention, I also clean dalvik, cache, system & data in my case. Just to confirm that.
I have a slightly off topic question here, if I decide to go back to to stock I was wondering, if i went from UVUEOH1 4.3 JB build, to the previous UVUENC2 4.3 JB build; because I've seen this available as a clean route 66 version, is this still considered a downgrade and a bad idea? I'd be flashing with Odin from @DocHoliday77 post here.
@Shack70, thanks for the input, thanks for the guide on your steps, glad I've confirmed I'm doing the same even if I can't get my 4G, hopefully someone on a Galaxy S3 T-Mobile, went through this found a solution, and maybe will let me know what they did too, not sure if you are on T-Mobile or not. 
 @audit13, also thanks, you've been replying plenty too and I appreciate that also!

One small thing I just came across looking over the logs of the install.
When flashing CM 13 with TWRP, I noticed it said the Target: samsung/d2tmo/d2tmo:4.3/JSS15J/T999UVUEMJC:user/release-keys.
Is it normal and OK for it the be referencing a different baseband/bootloader than what I actually have on my phone?
UVUEMJC vs the UVUEOH1? Where the one as named by TWRP flash is 2 versions older than what I have installed? Not necessarily stating this is an issue, just asking please if this is normal, and I also understand it could be something I have overlooked in my reading, it's been a lot of reading

I would not worry about the referenced baseband as flashing CM13 does not change the bootloader or baseband during the flash process.

audit13 said:
I would not worry about the referenced baseband as flashing CM13 does not change the bootloader or baseband during the flash process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes sense thanks @audit13, just a few of the questions I had building up.
So that my previous question doesn't get lost, and although I know it's a dying phone for users hopefully this might get some visual
if I decide to go back to to stock I was wondering, if i went from UVUEOH1 4.3 JB build, to the previous UVUENC2 4.3 JB build; because I've seen this available as a clean route 66 version, is this still considered a downgrade and a bad idea? I'd be flashing with Odin from @DocHoliday77 post here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

New to flashing/upgrading

Hi folks,
I'm after some information. My Nexus 4 is about kaput now with the battery lasting about 4 hours or so with a full charge so I am looking to move over to my S4 mini for a while before buying an upgrade.
However i don't fancy rolling back to 4.4.2 from 5.1.1 as have got accustomed to it now. so there for I am looking to upgrade/flash it or whatever.
I am quite the novice and have not done this on any phone before so I am looking for a bit of help,
I have looked over xda and read some bits but think someone just telling me would be better, i'm not a tech dunce but I am not 100% confident in this at the moment as there seems to be more than one way of doing this.
What do i need to do first and foremost to make the process go as planned?
I take it I need to "root" the phone first (what does this do ? give me access to the firmware level? is that it?) using a "recovery tool" as they are called (is that right?)
Then after I have done that I can install a fresh ROM onto the phone and basic app's etc.
I have seen these guides:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2364980
and
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...i9190-i9195-cyanogenmod-13-0-s4-mini-t3276141
Is it just a matter of following them or are there other things I need to do first, in between or after?
I am not bothered about anything being saved on the s4 mini it can be wiped clean and start a fresh, I don't need any of my data on it backed up
A quick bullet guide or acknowledgement of the two threads above or pointing me towards some better ones would be great and any pointers or descriptions of the acronyms or places in menu's which may have had their names changed or have been moved.
Many thanks Everyone,
Dahools

Hi!, you dont need to worry about anything, the only thing that you need is follow these guides, but make sure if you have the correct variant.

First Install Kies and connect your phone to it( For correct phone drivers). And after phone connect wells, Close kies from task manager.
You Need Odin to install a recovery software in your phone(TWRP, Clock Recovery, Philip). I only used twrp now.
Here is link below with instruction. Download recovery for your variant(i9190,i9192 or i9195 base on your model).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2678420
Suppose if you install TWRP. Boot into recovery, And click Wipe, Do a factory reset , Clear Devil cache, Then go back and install your Firmware(cm12.1 or cm13 for your intended model). And flash Gapps as well. Then reboot. And you are done.
I have tried TWRP for both i9190 and i9192 model. and installed custom roms. Work fine.
Good Luck.

thanks fellas
I went for it with the original links and it worked. (eventually) A bit of user error on my part missing recovery mode on reboot first time and thinking it was done when it wasn't. Only putting the first bit in (root kit v2) then not realising how to flash the next parts. A bit of persistence paid off.
I have a I9195 model and rooting with that clockwork worked then loading the CM13 and then the Gapps. All one after the other in one go finally worked for me! so so far so good, just getting used to Android 6 now I think everything is working though, not put my sim in yet. will do that tomorrow.
If anyone was to follow what I did the big tip I would say is copy everything onto the SD card before you start anything, not as I did at first just putting the first bit on then thinking I can copy the next bit on later . . .