How to SIM unlock your Samsung Galaxy S3

[nikosbab28]

I cannot be held responsible for anything that happens to you or your phone

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VIDEO GUIDE:

Part 1 (A-E) - http://youtu.be/P1H2yUyQ4J8

Part 2 (1-25) - http://youtu.be/uAVbYx68WI4

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Things to do before starting:

A - Make sure your S3 is rooted

B - Make a backup copy of the /efs folder on your PC.

C - Also backup your EFS using mskips ToolKit ([sAMSUNG GALAXY S3 TOOLKIT V5.0] Drivers, Backup, Root, CWM, BusyBox + MORE [GSM] - xda-developers)

D - Get a Hex Editor (I used Notepad++ with this plugin: Download Notepad++ Plugins from SourceForge.net (just put the dll in the plugins folder of Notepad++)).

E - Install Root Explorer on your phone.

Now for the actual process:

1 - Using Root Explorer, copy the file nv_data.bin file from your phones /efs folder to your PC and open it in Notepad++.

2 - Scroll down and find address 00181460, modify the 01 to 00.

3 - Save the file.

4 - Copy the modified nv_data.bin from your computer back to your phones /efs folder using Root Explorer.

Make sure you keep a copy of this modified file for step 15

5 - Once copied to the phone, open Root Explorer and long press on the nv_data.bin file till the menu pops up and select 'Permissions'.

6 - Make sure ONLY the Read, Write and Execute boxes for Owner are ticked, and press OK.

7 - Then again, long press on the nv_data.bin file till the menu pops up, and select 'Change owner'.

8 - Change Owner and Group to 1001-Radio and press OK.

9 - Restart your phone.

10 - Once restarted dial *#7465625#, check Network Lock is ON and press OK.

11 - Using Root Explorer, copy the file nv.log from your phones /efs folder to your PC and open it.

12 - You should see something like:

Mon Jun 18 23:34:32 2012: MD5 fail. orignal md5 'e1493854d4d62ff4e123040855f8b2a9' computed md5 'd29d791b193de8b6711445231fb7d427' (rild)
Mon Jun 18 23:34:32 2012: backup NV restored.

Your numbers may differ

13 - Copy the file nv_data.bin.md5 from your phones /efs folder to your PC and open it.

You should see the first number listed in step 12 (in my case e1493854d4d62ff4e123040855f8b2a9

14 - Copy the second number in step 12 (in my case d29d791b193de8b6711445231fb7d427) and put in the nv_data.bin.md5 file, so it is the only number in there. Now save the file.

15 - Now copy the modified nv_data.bin file (from step 4) and the modified nv_data.bin.md5 (from step 14) back to your /efs folder on your phone.

16 - Once copied, long press on the nv_data.bin file till the menu pops up and select 'Permissions'.

17 - Make sure ONLY the Read, Write and Execute boxes for Owner are ticked and press OK.

18 - Then again long press on the nv_data.bin file till the menu pops up and select 'Change owner'.

19 - Change Owner and Group to 1001-Radio and press OK.

20 - Now, long press on the nv_data.bin.md5 file till the menu pops up and select 'Permissions'.

21 - Make sure ONLY the Read, Write and Execute boxes for Owner are ticked and press OK.

22 - Then again long press on the nv_data.bin.md5 file till the menu pops up and select 'Change owner'.

23 - Change Owner and Group to 1001-Radio and press OK.

24 - Restart your phone.

25 - Once restarted dial *#7465625# and check Network Lock is OFF and press OK.

UPDATE :

After flashing to I9300XXBLG8 this method does not seem to work anymore and you have to do this:

-Flash via odin lf6

-Root with cf root

-Unlock with voodoo sim unlock

-Install root explorer from market

-Download efs.zip and ktool.apk

-Back up efs with ktool and save to pc

-Transfer nv_core.bak and nv_core.bak.md5 from efs.zip gfan to internal sdcard

-Enter on system efs...mount ro on root explorer and replace this tho file and changed permision exactly have been original file(first three boxes tiked)

-Reboot phone

-Done !

Edited September 25, 2012 by nikosbab28

[Shin]

Salve! E testata metoda sau doar copy/paste de pe net?

[submit]

Thanks for the post..Went through the whole post..and I would like to add my experience in unlocking my Samsung Galaxy S3,I am not comfortable in using tools to unlock and hence rely on unlock codes to remove the network lock.I got the unlock service from trusted vendor Simpleunlocking.com and followed the free unlock instructions from Mobileunlockguide.com which aided me in the unlocking process.