A new official Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0 firmware – version UVALH2 – has come out for the T-Mobile Galaxy S3 and is available for manual flashing. While the list of changes isn’t known as is the case with any Samsung firmware, it’s an update nevertheless which are always welcome.

The guide below will help you flash the firmware on your phone. Those uncomfortable with flashing manually should preferably get the update over the air on their device or from Kies, though the procedure below is simple enough for everyone.

You can also try out a few unofficial custom Jelly Bean ROMs on your phone → here.

Let’s take a look at how the UVALH2 Android 4.0 firmware can be installed on the T-Mobile Galaxy S3.

Compatibility

This guide below is compatible only and only with the T-Mobile Galaxy S3. It’s not compatible with any other Galaxy S3, it only works for T-Mobile variant. Check your device’s model 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 Update to UVALH2 Firmware on T-Mobile Galaxy S3

  1. This method might need you to wipe data, so 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 3.04, the software that we will use to flash recovery.
    Download Odin  |  Filename: Odin3-v3.04.zip
  4. Extract the Odin3-v3.04.zip file to a convenient location on the computer.
  5. Download the UVALH2 firmware.
    Download UVALH2  |  Alternate Link  |  Filename: T999UVALH2_T999TMBALH2_TMB.zip 
  6. Extract the T999UVALH2_T999TMBALH2_TMB.zip file to get a file named T999UVALH2_T999TMBALH2_T999UVALH2_HOME.tar.md5. This is the firmware file that needs to be flashed.
  7. 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.
  8. Now, open Odin by clicking on the Odin3 v3.04.exe file which you obtained after extracting Odin3-v3.04.zip in step 4.
  9. 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.
  10. In Odin, click on the PDA button, then select the T999UVALH2_T999TMBALH2_T999UVALH2_HOME.tar.md5 file that you obtained in step 6.
  11. Important! Do not touch any other button or make any other changes in Odin except selecting the required file as given in step 10.
  12. Now, hit the START button to start flashing the firmware 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.
  13. [Important] After you get the PASS message and the phone reboots, the phone might get stuck at the booting animation. If that happens, perform the following steps to make it boot. Remember that these steps will wipe your personal data like contacts, apps, messages, etc.
    (NOTE:If your phone has already booted, skip these steps, your phone has been updated successfully):
    1. Boot to recovery mode — for which, first power off phone (by removing battery and reinserting it), wait for 5-6 seconds, and then press and hold Home + Volume Up + Power keys together till the screen turns on, then let them go to boot into recovery. Once you are in recovery mode, use volume keys to move the selection up and down and home/power key to select the option.
    2. Go to Wipe data/Factory Reset and select it. Select Yes on next screen.
    3. Then, select reboot system now to reboot the phone, which will now boot properly.
  14. If you encounter any roadblocks while flashing the firmware, let us know and we’ll help you out.

Your T-Mobile Galaxy S3 has been successfully updated to the UVALH2 Android 4.0 firmware. Let us know how it works!