The Galaxy S3 Mini GT-I8190 was released back in October 2012 as an economy phone with high-end features. It is a stripped down version of Samsung’s best-seller the Galaxy S3. The S3 Mini features 4.0-inch WVGA (480×800) capacitive touchscreen display, 1 GHz dual-core processor, 5 MP Auto Focus rear camera, 1GB RAM, and a 1,500 mAh battery. The device was released with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean firmware out of the box and was later treated with Android 4.1.2.
Despite its popularity, quite surprisingly the Galaxy S3 Mini has failed to attract due attention from our developers. As a result, even after months of its release, the device has not got the official CF-Root. If you happen to be an owner of this mini powerhouse and want to root it, here is an easy guide that will help you in achieving this goal. Usually, when we write a rooting tutorial, we post links to a rooting package and flashing it to a phone would root it. But here the procedure we are going to describe involves installing the complete official firmware with a twist. The firmware posted below is pre-rooted, that means it has SuperUser app injected inside.
Rooting your phone using this method has one great advantage- it does not give you a yellow triangle. The flash counter is not increased and thus your phone’s warranty remains intact.
Update:
Now we have a full-fledged tutorial for rooting all 3 variants of the Galaxy S3 Mini and installing CWM and TWRP recovery on it.
How to Install the Pre-rooted Firmware on Galaxy S3 Mini:
If you have ever flashed the stock firmware on your phone using the Odin tool, the method given below will very easy to you. However, if you are a novice, just follow the simple steps to upgrade your Galaxy S3 to Android 4.1.2 I8190XXAMA2 firmware and root it at the same time.
- Download the firmware file in zip and extract it on your desktop.
- Download the Odin firmware flasher and extract the zip: Odin3_v3.04.zip.
- Charge your phone and backup your phone’s contacts, messages, call log, apps, etc. Backup your contacts, call-logs, messages, APNs, bookmarks, calendar, apps & games using these nice free backup apps for Android.
- Go to phone Settings and turn on USB Debugging Mode from Developer Options.
- Put your phone in Download Mode: Turn off the phone. Press and hold Volume Down+Home buttons and then long press the Power key for a few seconds till the screen turns. Press the Volume Up key when prompted to enter the Download Mode.
- This is a no wipe firmware. Therefore, it will not delete any data from your phone.
- Run the Odin program by double clicking the Odin3_v3.04.exe file.
- Connect your phone to the computer using the USB Cable.
- When the ID:COM port at Odin turns blue, click on PDA button and select the .tar.md5 file inside the firmware folder.
- When you are sure that everything has been done properly, click on the Start button on Odin and wait till the installation finishes. And when it is over, you will see Pass! message on Odin and your Galaxy S3 Mini will reboot automatically.
The first boot after flashing the new firmware might take up to 5 minutes, so a little patience is required. Cheers! you have not only updated your phone’s firmware to Android 4.1.2 but also rooted it. Do not forget to share with us how it went for you.
Does this work on S3 mini I8190XXAMA1?
Yes, it’ll work.
does it work if samsung on 4.1.1 ?! to 4.1.2 ?
Try this easier method: https://www.droidviews.com/root-almost-all-android-devices-with-the-kingroot-tool/
yes , it work thank you 🙂
Thanks for this Guide.
great , phone is stuck in loop reboot
Do a data factory reset. See this: https://www.droidviews.com/how-to-perform-data-factory-reset-and-wipe-cache-on-samsung-galaxy-devices/
CWM doesnt want to boot into recovery and i tried flashing a wipe
hi this tutorial is working on samsung s3 mini made in korea i8190xxama2 ?
if not pls give me some tutorial to update my phone…
thnks
Works on all S3 Minis with model number GT-I8190.
Does this work safely with S3 mini I8190XXAMA2?
Does this work safely with S3 mini I8190XXAMA2?
Yes.
After rooting can I still use Dutch language?
Just wait for an hour. I am writing a separate tutorial for rooting S3 Mini.
Hi,
See this article to root your device: http://droidviews.com/2013/root-and-install-cwm-recovery-on-samsung-galaxy-s3-mini-gt-i8190-gt-i8190n-gt-8190l/
Now you need not install a full firmware.
i have trouble with my s3 mini, i used the filmware and it was normaly booted and passed… but when mobile restart, it go into the Sumsang Galaxy s III mini GT-I8190 and stay there, i think its frozen… coz i let it more than 30 min.. and nothing…
ok i think i found the problem i used the root again for PARAM_I8190.tar … and now its open… thnx m8 for the rooting… +1
Does it work if you Samsung already on 4.1.2?
Yes.
Is this unlocked sim free
Firmware
? And can ve update later to new android ?
Yes. It does not increase the flash counter of your phone so may be you get the OTA. Not sure!
does this rom has el multiscreen option ?
Galaxy S3 Mini has not received multi-window officially and it is an official firmware with root.
I fleshed this rom yesterday and didn’t see any new features. Is this because it is not supported or is something with this rom?
Btw, nice blog many useful things!
going to 4.1.2 to from 4.1.1 will not show you many discernible differences. Most features are related to performance.
It seems that I only noticed 3 changes;
-Ability to capture a screenshot while playing a video.
-Improved File Manager
-edit lockscreen shortcut
You can discover more as you delve deeper.
I did have ability to edit lock screen shortcut also in 4.1.1, but now in 4.1.2 i loose the water effect on swipe screen (or how it is call).
And i can add that for now it work very fine, i didn’t notice any problems.
You will find more changes as you spend more time with your device.