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I'd like to get Google Now on my (rooted) Verizon Galaxy S3 without flashing Jelly Bean on my phone. Is this possible?

Although I'd love to have Jelly Bean, I want to avoid flashing ROMs (and unlocking my bootloader), because I don't want to lose all of my apps and settings every time I do an upgrade. So I'd like to continue to receive stock OTA updates so that I can keep my settings intact while upgrading.

I did find this method, but I'm not sure I understand the implications. It mentions flashing a Google Now ROM to your phone. Does that mean I would lose my current settings? Does it mean I would have trouble later doing an OTA upgrade to Jelly Bean? Would I need to unlock my bootloader?

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    You would have to unlock your bootloader, get root and replace your ROM (operating system). This will almost certainly void your warranty. Know this before continuing; there's plenty of guides around the web on how to install custom ROMs on your S3.
    – pzkpfw
    Commented Oct 3, 2012 at 21:43

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If you follow the method found in the LifeHacker article, you would indeed need to root your phone, which would mean that you wouldn't be able to receive OTA updates, unless you were to later un-root your phone, going back to the stock firmware (ROM).

You wouldn't necessarily lose your current settings, but you would have trouble upgrading to Jelly Bean via an OTA upgrade unless you un-rooted, as mentioned above.

I'm sure you would have to unlock your bootloader as well, prior to rooting, although I'm not really familiar with your particular model of phone.

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  • Thanks! I previously bricked my phone, and unbricked it by flashing a rooted stock ROM (forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1840030). I guess that means I'm going to have trouble going to Jelly Bean OTA anyway?
    – Eric
    Commented Oct 3, 2012 at 21:58
  • If you're back on a Stock ROM (albeit rooted), you still may be able to flash an OTA update, but you will likely need to reset your binary counter. Being rooted won't necessarily keep you from getting OTA updates, but you will most likely lose root when the update is applied. See link below for information regarding the binary counter. link
    – Tyson Phalp
    Commented Oct 4, 2012 at 18:38
  • I just wanted to make this clear. I didn't intend for you to follow the instructions in the link I posted. I posted it because it explains rather well how Samsung uses the binary counter. Don't follow the instructions, because they are not for the S3. :)
    – Tyson Phalp
    Commented Oct 4, 2012 at 18:49

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