Update Galaxy S3 I9300 to Android 4.1.2 XXEMF1 Official Firmware

Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 has something important coming its way: Android 4.1.2. Since an update was due, let’s find out how you can get this OS on your handset with XXEMF1.

The new firmware came out in June this year for Ireland (Vodafone), France (Orange) and Austria; a version for Romania (Orange) and United Kingdom came out a month later. Apart from our tutorial, you can choose to upgrade the Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 with Samsung’s KIES because the versions for France, Austria and Romania come with an activated KIES logo. Be careful: if you select this method, your device should sport a stock ROM.

For the version released for Ireland you can opt for OTA (via the Software Update button under Settings menu) if you don’t want to use today’s guide. For either method, make sure you only use the Galaxy S3 GT-I9300; in case your smartphone is a totally different variant, the upgrade will end up bricking your device.

The novelties

The features that will grace your smartphone as soon as the upgrade is over are the following: sync and connect email updates, triple buffering all share, touch anticipation, pop up play, group cast, extended Vsync timing, an automatic adjustment for the size of widgets, a fixed frame of 60 fps, Google Now, a bunch of mini apps, free style widget and a brand new keyboard.

As with all new firmwares installed on a handset, the following will happen should your Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 be rooted: the root access will be revoked and the system partition is going to be deleted. But as always, you will be able to keep all of the important data and the internal/external SD cards will not be affected. Galaxy-S3-GT-i9300

Requirements

Prerequisites:

  • make sure the battery of your device is fully charged;
  • be sure your laptop has Windows already on it;
  • create a regular backup (using these tips) and also a full NANDroid one, using these instructions;
  • be sure your handset has USB Debugging turned on;
  • turn off each of the the security programs that are running on the handset and the laptop;
  • download USB drivers compatible with the phone on your notebook.

Step by step instructions

  1. You can now start the upgrade by performing these actions for the first step: download Odin from this page and the Jelly Bean 4.1.2 XXEMF1 stock firmware (the Ireland Vodafone version from , the France Orange version , the Austria version from , the and the Romania version ) on the laptop. The UK versions are here: , and .
  2. Follow this up by extracting them and then booting the handset in Download Mode. To enter this mode, you should press and hold Home, Volume Down and Power together and a screen of warning will come up, so that you will need to press Volume Up.
  3. Then go to the notebook, locate the Odin and launch it as Admin.
  4. Move on by doing this: establish a connection between the Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 and the laptop by using the phone’s USB cord, then, when the screen has an ID:COM in yellow together with a message reading “Added!!”, you will be able to move on to the other step. If there’s no successful plugging going on, time to use another USB port or flash the USB drivers for the second time on your laptop.
  5. The next step we mentioned needs you to do this: click on PDA first, opt for a file with CODE in the name afterwards, then tap Phone, opt for a file with MODEM in the name, click on CSC, choose a file sporting CSC in the name, click on PIT and choose a file with .pit extension in the name.
  6. Now do the following: activate Re-partition, F. Reset Time and Auto Reboot. You will then have to tap “Start” to make sure that the new firmware starts to flash itself on your smartphone.
  7. [sc name=”banner-jos”]When approximately 5 minutes have passed, the XXEMF1 firmware will be on your handset. The device is going to restart and, when you see a “Pass” message on the display, you will know that the last step has arrived. So do this: unplug the devices from one another and see what the new tool has to offer by going to it via this method: tap Settings and then About Phone.

If that’s the case, you should use the NANDroid backup file to revoke the whole update procedure and have the old ROM restored on the Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 if the new official firmware doesn’t impress you.

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