Feb 2, 2013: Version 1.3 has been released

• We now support all stock firmwares up to *at least* VRBLK3 with this new release of OTA Blocker.

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About:

OTA Blocker is an Android utility for owners of the Verizon Wireless Samsung Galaxy S III (S3/SIII) that allows users to block Verizon's automatic over-the-air (OTA) updates.

• Blocking OTA updates is very advantageous:
  • Verizon may try to revoke root rights on your phone.
  • Future updates may further restrict the Galaxy S3's lockable bootloader. As of today, part of the bootup process is locked.
  • Worse, Verizon may be able to automatically push updates to your phone without your consent. Using OTA Blocker today will provide immediate protection against this threat.
• OTA Blocker is better than other methods:
  • The legacy/"normal" techniques of "Freezing" or deleting your phone's system files is not usually enough. It can also break your phone.
  • OTA Blocker was designed with safety, system stability, and effectiveness all in mind:
    • We use advanced techniques to actually intercept system requests to initiate OTA updates from Verizon and the user interface.
    • We ensure system stability when OTA updates are attempted: If you try the old methods such as freezing/deleting system files, you will notice that your phone will freeze and crash when the update process is selected. OTA Blocker prevents this.
    • OTA Blocker addresses these issues. Through our research, we identified the key components of the OTA process which we then tackled: A specially crafted application within OTA Blocker will properly receive requests for OTA updates and then safely block them without causing your phone to become unstable.
    • Even if you perform a factory reset on your user data, OTA Blocker's protection will persist. (To disable OTA Blocker, you simply need to reinstall it and elect to remove OTA Blocker protection.)

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Contact:

• bitrifle {at} gmail.com
• The BitRifle team is always pleased to assist you with any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, etc.
• Please feel free to email us about anything related or just strike up an informal conversation with the team.

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Prerequisites:

• OTA Blocker only works on the Verizon Wireless Samsung Galaxy S III (S3/SIII)
• Your phone must be rooted
• If you have already tried to tamper with the OTA update process (such as freezing the file FWUpgrade.apk), then you must revert any changes: OTA Blocker will always attempt to ensure your phone's system stability, and will refuse to operate if it detects that the files it will override are not place in order to ensure safety.

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Safety In Mind:

• The developers of OTA Blocker have made every effort to ensure your phone's safety and integrity. If it detects any potentially missing, corrupt, or unexpected file modifications then OTA Blocker will notify you and refuse to make any changes that could harm your phone.
  • One exception: OTA Blocker will always allow you to attempt a fix/repair. This means that under all circumstances OTA Blocker provides you the option to return your phone's OTA update capabilities back to their factory condition if possible.

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Terms of Use and Policy:

• The software OTA Blocker temporarily requires superuser ("root") permission in order to modify the functionality of your system image. During this time, OTA Blocker makes every effort to ensure your phone's safety. At no point are any original system files deleted as backups are always kept. OTA Blocker uses its root access to also add one software package to your system's ROM. The purpose of this additional package is to respond to OTA update requests, put up a visual notification where applicable, and to prevent OTA updates from occuring until you return to OTA Blocker and remove this functionality.
• OTA Blocker does NOT require any additional permissions on your phone, except for the superuser access temporarily.
• The authors have tried their best to limit any unintended consequences. As such, this software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages arising from the use of this software.
• OTA Blocker does NOT view, modify, or transmit any personal information. In fact, it requires no additional "android permissions" other than to request temporary superuser rights for purposes of modifying your system image.
• OTA Blocker provides the user with the option to both block OTA updates as well as unblock them at a later time. It is NOT OTA Blocker's intention to permanently modify a device such that the user can not later revert the changes. We believe in choice, and OTA Blocker provides you with the option to control your device how you choose, as well as undo changes initiated by OTA Blocker.