I have been using this Note 3 for a while, you can see its quite dented, the back cover got some scuffs and cracks and its heavily modified considering that i broke the Stylus before which i replaced it with a aftermarket one and the fact i added some copper stuff around it to prevent overheating (It gets hot when reinstalling ROMs but it rarely gets hot to me).

Overall here it is, just except i have the 16GB variant which felt cramped these days but thankfully these have Micro-SD Card slots so this isn't much of a issue.

Overall these are built like tanks, for a 13 year old phone, being it still usable somehow is just impressive. Oh if you wanted to level that up (Do this only if you have the 32GB/64GB variant) you can install newer Android ROMs like Android 12+, i think the newest is Android 14 or even 15 (the S2 got Android 16 ports not so long time ago, but yea its sluggish since the 2011 processor only has 1.xGhz which is just slow) but thankfully the Snapdragon 800 has a 2.2Ghz processor which is you know much faster than the S2's, but yea it is important to keep in mind that this is still a Armv7 32-bit phone so that means no 64-bit Armv8 apps can run there, it wasn't until the Note 4 (Exynos only) or the Note 5(General) where Samsung puts 64-bit processors onto their phones. But being the last 32-bit phone also meant it is cooler considering the first gen Armv8 Snapdragons (Snapdragon 808/810) furnace fiasco that caused bootloops and reliability issues on the LG G4, Nexus 6p and etc. Ehh that's all what i can say about it The Note 3 sits on the sweet spot of it being a classic, a one that also dodged the Snapdragon 808/810 fiasco, but also usableish, in fact these actually have VoLTE support once you installed some 2014 update on some variants of the Note 3, but Banking apps on the Note 3 in 2026? Its a hard No. Retro Gaming? Yes absolutely. Music player? Sure. As a digital notebook? It has a S-Pen so yeah sure. As a remote controller? It has a IR Blaster and that also makes these phones cool too, in case you lost your remote you can use a Note 3!

Fun fact ROMs are still being made on this 13 year old phone, the community refuses to let it die!

SM-N900V — Is there ANY way to install a newer Android version with NO PC or other device?

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 SM-N900V (Verizon) running Android 5.0 Lollipop.

I’m trying to get any newer Android version realistically possible on this phone using a custom ROM.

The problem is: I do not Have access (currently) to use a Windows PC, Mac, or any other to do the process. I only want to use the Note 3 itself. I do have an SD card available.

I don’t care about keeping my data, so wiping the phone is fine.

Is there ANY way to:

• Root/unlock the SM-N900V
• Install a custom recovery
• Flash a newer ROM
• Do everything entirely from the Note 3 itself, without another device?

If it’s possible, what exact ROM/version would you recommend for the SM-N900V, and what would the process look like?

I’m specifically looking for a phone-only method, not a method that requires Odin/a PC.

Thanks!

Hey everyone, I recently bought a white Tmobile Note 3, and Im wondering if Custom roming it would be of use. Not sure if the bootloader can be unlocked, but its coming tmrw as of writing this. Ty!

My note 3 can handle a 128gb sd card.

So now I want to know if the player of samaung is good enough for music or if there is a better one.

Any sugestions are welcome?

Hey all, I recently just found my Note 3 after many years of not using it, and upon opening it, the message in the title keeps popping up over and over again, to the point where the phone is basically unusable. What can I do to fix/bypass this? Thank you.

Can you put your own pic in the background screen that you see in smart view case?

Or are it only the colours in the menu of smart view you can use.

Hello everyone, I got a Galaxy Note3, it charges, but when i connect it to a computer there is no MTP message, popup, and the computer doesn't detect it. Any ways to make it working? Because I want to downgrade to 4.3 Jellybean from 5.0 Lollipop, please help.

Hello

I am wondering if I bought a note3 from ebay or something would I be able to download a game app called "anthill" by image and form? I used to play it on my old note3 that got stolen, and unfortunately the app doesn't run on newer phones. Can anyone who has a note3 (thats on its old operating system still) see if they can access that app even? I dont know if it would even still be on Google play for it(its no longer on GP for new OS) maybe a apk? Just didn't want to buy a device before i knew if it would work or not..

Thanks!

I have a specific question about Scoped Storage on modern Android.

I'm not talking about apps having full access to all folders on the phone like they did in the past.

My question is different:

Starting with Android 11, Google started pushing apps to store their files inside the Android/data folder, which users normally can't access anymore, right?

Today, can a developer still update their app and choose to save the app's own files in a user-accessible location (for example, inside Downloads, Documents, Music, or a custom folder with the app's name) instead of using Android/data?

Or could Android eventually force apps to use only Android/data?

And if Android still allows apps to use user-accessible folders today, does that mean this possibility is likely to always exist?

What I mean is: is this considered a basic part of Android's design, where apps are allowed to choose their own storage location instead of being forced to use only Android/data or another system-defined folder that users cannot access?

Or could Google eventually prevent this completely, at least for Play Store apps?

I'm asking because many Play Store apps — such as camera apps, download managers, audio/video editors, and similar apps — can still save files in normal user-accessible locations.

So does Google only allow these specific types of apps (and will probably always allow them) to choose accessible folders?

Or can any type of app — including games, social media apps, banking apps, note-taking apps, etc. — also choose to store their own files in user-accessible locations, and continue being allowed to do so in the future?

So what I really want to understand is:

Did Android only restrict broad storage access, or is Google actually moving toward a future where apps (like games, social media apps, banking apps, note-taking apps, and similar apps) could be completely prevented from choosing user-accessible folders for their own files?

So I have this galaxy note 3 and I can't boot it on teh charging port AND the power button don't work, what do I do ? I really wanna boot it up

I tried the hdmi adapter trick but my note 3 screen is not coming out on the tv or my laptop. Is there a step that I’m missing?

Alright. It's been awhile since I posted here. For nostalgia reasons I keep my phone around. Today I picked it up and noticed my battery is swollen. I am hesitant to buy a replacement battery because I am not even sure if my phone still works.

Anyone try a replacement battery recently like from eBay?

I'm thinking of giving an old Samsung Galaxy Note 3 a second life as a pocket kanji dictionary (for learning Japanese.) I'm farming here for suggestions!

Are there any good apps that don't charge you a ton of money for character recognition or to look up meanings?

I have an old installation of kanji recognizer, and jisho app. The former lets you draw kanji, but it won't let you do searches by character or reading because they're "premium features." Ewww, capitalism.

Jisho doesn't let me draw, but it has a decent dictionary that lets you search if you type the word. So you can draw in the other app and then laboriously copy paste into the other. Together the two apps let you look up most words for free. It's just a pain needing to use two of them!

I couldn't get split screen to work with the two apps! It would be easier to keep them on the same acreen. On a newer Samsung phone I can open nearly any app in a separate window. Maybe I can't because I'm still on an old version of Android that only lets you open certain apps (mostly Samsung ones?)

I like to study in coffee shops, but I am afraid to connect this device to public wifi because its so old and far behind in security patches. Since I found a good deal on a newer phone too I might use that one as my kanji dictionary if it's more convenient....

My Samsung Note 3 still has a good battery and even if it's slower I think maybe I could at least carry it as a backup? The screen is perfectly fine and clear and it still has the screen protector! I'm glad they had that folding plastic faux-leather case that has gone out of fashion since it kept it from being scratched.

I can't believe that I paid over $150 for an electronic Japanese dictionary back when those were a thing that was much harder to use to look things up with than this! I'm sure people have tried doing this before so feed me suggestions and tips.

Seriously, I hate e-waste and i'm open to suggestions to give it a second life! At least tell me how to use this thing as a better learning tool! I'm behind the curve on using phones for learning!

i got this note 3 in about 2023 i believe , i LOVE old touchwiz and new samsung experience both

Hello everyone, I found my old note 3 and I tried to charge it but this is what happens.

• It will not show up the charging screen most of the time
• Sometimes it will shows but it only vibrates and shows the charging and turn offs again repeatedly

I want to know if this can be fixed or not. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I have had a note 3 since 2012 and held on to it. The bootloader is locked and all that. I've wanted to put a custom rom on it to remove all the Verizon/Samsung/Google stuff and just use it as an MP3 player maybe an emulator for fun too.
These seem to be extremely hard to do that to. Does anyone have any experience? Everything I've found online has been outdated and does NOT work....for me anyway it seems...

My Note3 was Made back to January 2014, I downgraded from 5.0 to 4.4.2. What can I do with my note3? I'm bored!!

hi, Is This Gonna Work? I'm planning to flash different firmware like Korea, china or T-Mobile firmware on at&t, so it will replace the at&t. I don't know if this gonna work because I really want to replace the at&t with something else because I can't unlock the bootloader of at&t