If you are on Verizon Wireless you could shell out almost $600 to purchase a Developer Edition Samsung Galaxy S III with an unlocked bootloader. Or you could follow this guide which shows you how to unlock the bootloader on the regular Samsung Galaxy S III for Verizon.

Disclaimer: This guide is intended as a helpful “how to”. dotTech and its writers are not responsible for any gain or loss (including but not limited to bricked devices) incurred as a result of following this guide. Root your device at your own risk. Rooting may void your warranty. Unlock bootloader of your device at your own risk. Unlocking the bootloader may void your warranty.

Requirements

This guide is for Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III. There are no specifics available for what version of Android but it should at least work for Ice Cream Sandwich. Proceed at your own risk.

Before We Begin

Before you proceed further please realize that once you unlock the bootloader you should never accept over-the-air Samsung updates because it may lead to potential bricked devices. Rather, to get Galaxy S III updates, either run a custom ROM or manually flash updates using Odin.

That said, you need the following to proceed:

• Java installed on Windows, Mac, or Linux. Install it if it isn’t already installed.
• The one-click unlock bootloader and root tool. Download it. It is a JAR file — no need to extract anything, you will run it directly.
• Samsung USB drivers for Windows, if you are running Windows, or the drivers for Mac or Linux if you are running those. Install the drivers if you haven’t installed them already.

How To Unlock Bootloader and Root Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III

To unlock the bootloader on your Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III, do the following:

• Make sure your Galaxy S III has USB debugging enabled under Settings -> Developer options.
• Connect the Galaxy S III to your computer via USB cord.
• Find the one-click tool you downloaded earlier (the JAR file). Double-click it to run it.
• When the file opens, look for a drop-down menu at the bottom. From that menu select ‘Flash Unsecure Aboot’ and hit ‘Do It’.
• Wait for it to do its thing.
• Restart your phone.
• Done!

To root your Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III, do the following:

• Make sure your Galaxy S III has USB debugging enabled under Settings -> Developer options.
• Connect the Galaxy S III to your computer via USB cord.
• Find the one-click tool you downloaded earlier (the JAR file). Double-click it to run it.
• When the file opens, look for a drop-down menu at the bottom. From that menu select ‘Root GS3 With DebugFSRoot’ and hit ‘Do It’.
• Wait for it to do its thing.
• Restart your phone.
• Done!

The following is a video that shows the bootloader unlocking in action:

Conclusion

Enjoy a rooted Verizon Galaxy S III with an unlocked bootloader! Now you can do things such as block ads or deny apps Internet access and install custom ROMs, such as CyanogenMod.

[via XDA-Developers]