In a disappointing turn of events, Verizon has officially put an end to Samsung’s policy of leaving the bootloaders on their Android devices unlocked by locking the bootloader on the Verizon Galaxy S3 (now we know what caused delays in shipping out the Verizon S3). This means that performing hacks such as rooting or installing a custom recovery on the device aren’t as straightforward as on other devices, even though Samsung devices are usually the most easy to root or perform other hacks on.

But of course, the expert developers in the development community never sit idle, and a procedure to root the Verizon Galaxy S3 has already been released, by XDA Senior Member invisiblek. The procedure is almost the same as the other variants, but requires a few additional steps thanks to the locked bootloader, and the guide below will walk you through the required steps.

Read on to find out how you can root your Verizon Galaxy S3.

Compatibility

This hack and the guide below are compatible only and only with the Verizon Galaxy S3, model number SCH-i535. It’s not compatible with other US variants or other devices. Check your device’s model number in: Settings » About phone.

Warning!

The methods and procedures discussed here are considered risky and you should not attempt anything if you don’t know completely what it is. If any damage occurs to your device, we won’t be held liable.

How to Root Verizon Galaxy S3

  1. [Optional] Just to be safe, backup all your apps, data and settings.  Backup your Apps and important data — bookmarks, contacts, SMS, APNs (internet settings), etc. This Android backup guide would help you.
  2. Download and install the drivers for the phone on the computer.
    Download Drivers
  3. Download Odin 3.07, the software that we will use to flash root.
    Download Odin  |  Filename: Odin307.zip
  4. Extract the Odin307.zip file to a convenient location on the computer to get a folder named Odin307 with 4 files inside.
  5. Download the following files needed for achieving root which will be flashed using Odin:
    1. Blank System.img  |  Filename: blank.system.img.tar
    2. Rooted System.img  |  Filename: rooted.system.img.tar 
  6. Turn off your phone. Then boot into download mode. To do so, hold down the Volume Down, Home and then the Power buttons together until a Warning!! message is displayed on the screen. Here, press Volume Up to enter download mode. A green Android and the text Downloading will be displayed on the screen.
  7. Now, open Odin by clicking on the Odin3 v3.07.exe file in the Odin307 folder which you obtained after extracting Odin307.zip in step 4.
  8. Then, connect the phone to the computer with the USB cable and wait for Windows to finish installing drivers. Odin will say Added!! in the message box on the bottom left if the phone is detected successfully. If not, make sure the drivers are installed and also try using a different USB port – preferably a USB port on the back if using a desktop computer.
  9. In Odin, click on the PDA button, then select the blank.system.img.tar file that you downloaded in step 5.1. Do NOT touch any other option in Odin. Make sure Re-partition option is NOT selected.
  10. Now, hit the START button to start flashing the blank.system.img file on the phone. When the flashing is complete, your phone will automatically reboot — and when you see the Samsung logo, you can safely unplug the cable. Plus, you’ll get a PASS message (with green background) in the left-most box at the very top of Odin.
    What to do if Odin gets stuck: If ODIN gets stuck and doesn’t seem to be doing anything, or you get a FAIL message (with red background) in ODIN, disconnect the phone from the PC, close ODIN, remove battery, re-insert it, then repeat the procedure from step 7.
  11. IMPORTANT! After the phone reboots after successfully flashing, it will get stuck at the Samsung Galaxy S III logo, which is normal, so don’t panic. When it gets stuck, remove the battery on the phone, re-insert it, then boot into download mode again as explained in step 6. Then, connect it to the computer.
  12. Close Odin if it is open, then reopen it. Then, click on PDA but this time select the rooted.system.img.tar file downloaded in step 5.2.
  13. Click on START to start flashing the rooted.system.img.tar file on the phone. When the flash is successful and the phone reboots, you can again disconnect the cable.
  14. This time the phone will boot up properly and you will have a rooted Verizon Galaxy S3.
Your Verizon Galaxy S3 is now rooted and ready to be used with any root apps. Let us know how it works for you, in the comments below.

Link to Install Clockworkmod Recovery on Verizon Galaxy S3