Last Updated on May 31, 2019 by Mathew Diekhake

Want to know why to install a custom recovery on the Samsung Galaxy S3? You will need the features a custom recovery environment offers if you want to install a custom ROM. Just like replacing a stock ROM with a custom ROM, you can replace the stock recovery with a custom one. Both of them work well with one another but not so great if you try to mix them up. You can do all the same jobs from a custom recovery as you can with a stock version. However, the custom option has more features and some of those you need. There are several reasons for that. The most common reason is to upload the custom ROM zip files. Another reasons is you constantly need to wipe data, wipe cache partitions and factory reset in between flashing new custom ROMs. The NANDroid backup feature is great for that and is exclusively to a custom recovery only.

Samsung Galaxy S3

The Files You Need

  1. Download the Odin file you need from here.
  2. Download the ClockworkMod recovery file you need from here.
  3. Download the Samsung USB Drivers for mobile phones from the Samsung Developers page here.

Installing CWM Recovery on the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S3 SGH-T999

  1. Download both of the files mentioned above to the computer and move them over to the desktop. You should have no worries clicking and dragging both files over to the desktop from their locations.
  2. Right-click over the Odin file and choose the extract here option.
  3. Double-click that Odin executable file and the tool will now run on your computer.
  4. Do the same thing with the CWM recovery and right-click over the file and select the extract here option.
  5. Now just leave that CWM recovery file for a minute.
  6. Boot the Samsung Galaxy S3 in download mode. You can do that by pressing the Volume Down + Home + Power keys after a reboot. It must start with the device off or else it won’t work.
  7. Once you have the S3 in download mode ,connect it to the computer using the USB cable.
  8. Wait for the ID: COM port to change color; this means the USB drivers are working.
  9. Click the PDA or AP button and upload the CWM recovery file to here. It must be the extracted version.
  10. Click the Start button in Odin.
  11. Your device will now get flashed with that custom recovery file; it can take some minutes until it completes.
  12. You should eventually notice a pass message on the galaxy’s display and your device will reboot for you.
  13. Once those tasks are done, you can unplug it from the computer.
  14. Boot the Samsung Galaxy S3 into the custom recovery mode by pressing the Volume Up + Home + Power keys after rebooting. It must be done with the device off to start.

Now you can learn how to boot the Samsung Galaxy S3 into custom recovery mode and use the recovery.