Reddit reviews SainSonic Micro USB Dongle Jig for Samsung Galaxy S Captivate / Vibrant

I see a lot of confusing answers so I wanted to put mine in that are detailed and explain complicated sections.

>[1] How can I change the text vibrate, I don't see anything that lets me do it.

Go to the message app. Press the menu button > Settings. Go down to Notifications and there is a vibrate option or it should. I'm using a custom rom with stock Android so it's hard for me to remember.

>[2] Is there any way to show notifications, texts, and emails from the lockscreen (rather than just the bubbles that show up)?

The notification bar is accessible from the lockscreen. This is possible from ICS and forward. As for displaying texts and emails in the lockscreen like in text, that would require a custom app or lockscreen. The notification bar works well for it anyways.

>[3] What exactly can I do with a bootloader or ROM? I know they can customize stuff, but what exactly can they do? Keep in mind I am coming from an iPhone, so the most I know of is jailbreaking.

Unlocking the bootloader is not needed on most phones and when you do it you most likely won't know you're doing it. A ROM is the phone's operating system. on http://forum.xda-developers.com/ you can go to your Galaxy S III model [http://forum.xda-developers.com/index.php?tab=top] MAKE SURE TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT MODEL. There is a difference between Galaxy S III International, Korea, verizon, ATT, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Click on the Android original Development for that phone section.

Rooting your phone is what we call our jailbreaking, but default system access to our phones are still much higher than iOS. Rooting the Galaxy S III is really easy.

Putting a custom ROM on is harder but still simple to do. The instructions for the XDA threads are easy to follow and I promise your Galaxy S III will not brick. It's very hard to do so messing around with ROMs is easy, safe, and enjoyable.

IF YOU HAVE A QUALCOMM BASED GALAXY S III (North American) get this awesome tool: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1746665

This has a semi graphical user interface for you to use to automatically root the phone, put clockwork mod recovery on it, and put busybox on the device to prepare it for putting your custom ROM on from a stock device.

Clockwork mod recovery is the tool you will use to install your ROMs. It's accessed by booting up into it from the phone being off. holding the volume up and down plus power button for the Galaxy S III takes you into it.

To recover from a failed install or your phone is not booting right, you can flash the phone with odin, which you'll find the the XDA guide thread in the forum. You put your phone into download mode by a few ways. physically by pressing volume down, home button, and power button (I think), via a command sent from your computer in adb, or use a jig [http://www.amazon.com/SainSonic-Dongle-Samsung-Captivate-Vibrant/dp/B0053H73JQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347595972&sr=8-1&keywords=Samsung+jig] I recommend you get one of these for the future.

To flash a ROM make sure you do the following. Root the phone, install clockwork mod recovery. Boot into clockwork mod recovery and do a nandroid backup. This is in the backup section and it will do a 100% backup of your phone's operating system and apps. Now move the ROM zip to the phone's storage and boot up into clockwork mod again and go to install, choose a zip, use the up and down volume keys to navigate btw, and use the power button to select the item you're on. Find the file and install it like that. Some roms have custom install directions.

Cyangenmod 10 is a good rom to start out on. Safe, reliable, Cool, and easy to install: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1778270 THAT LINK IS FOR THE ATT GALAXY S III ONLY. Find your CM10 rom for your GS III version.

>[4] What is Kies? Is that needed? Is it comparable to what iTunes did for the iPhone?

Kies is just an updating tool for the stock rom. But it also provides the necessary drivers for the phone for you to connect your phone and do things to it via the computer.

>[5] When I am texting, the texts come out of order, because my phone is one minute off from the other person. So I send something and the text they send ends up before it. How can I fix this?

I don't think there is a fix for this because the time stamp is from their phone and the message will organize it self by went created. The person who is texting you needs to fix their phone's time.

>I hope this helps a lot, if you have more questions feel free to contact me.

Okay, to start with, don't panic! This can be fixed, everything is going to be fine. You can find some relatively simple instructions for using ODIN to flash your note back to stock here, download links are on that page for the stock rom, ODIN, etc. You already have KIES installed I assume, as you attempted to flash the update, so you should already have the appropriate USB drivers installed.
If you can't get the phone to accept the download, or be detected, from that droid screen, you may need a JIG (Really, any owner of a samsung android phone should have one regardless.. just in case). If you're in the US or Canada, you can get one quickly from amazon here. Just plug the JIG into the phone's USB port while it is powered off, and it should cause the phone to boot to download mode. From there, you can flash with ODIN.

Once your phone is returned to stock, you can attempt the update again. Good luck!

Buy a jig

Have you tried one of these? I don't have a Captivate anymore, but I soft-bricked it once and this little thing was a lifesaver.

I have a Samsung Fascinate and am very happy with it. Its free with most contracts or upgrades. The rooting community for it is amazing. It is also "unbrickable" that is to say the worst thing that could happen if you root it is you have to buy this $10 plug to reset it (from an unwritable chunk of memory). http://www.amazon.com/SainSonic-Dongle-Samsung-Captivate-Vibrant/dp/B0053H73JQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330881727&sr=8-1
I would definately buy a phone from the list within that site (unbrickable samsungs) after my experience with my fassy. It would be a Galaxy S II or another fassy.

Get a Jig. It will put you directly in to Download mode. But make sure you get a good one. As long as there is something on your screen, you'll be fine. Samsung's are nearly impossible to hard brick. This is the jig I use. Works every time.

Found one on Amazon for like 10 bucks. Here's the link.

When you plug it in to charge, does the led come on (red)? If it does, you need a jig to get it into download mode so you can flash a new rom. If not, then it's toast forever and nothing you can do.

Here is a jig http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B0053H73JQ

Found this on Amazon, it doesn't list the GN specifically but from what I've heard it should work. Samsung has this functionality on pretty much all of their smart phones to allow their service people to reset bricked phones.

That said, I haven't used one, but if you pull the battery and plug it in then replace the battery, it should put you into download mode and allow you to re-install stock image. If that doesn't work, it will definitely need a factory repair because there is most likely a hardware problem.