Be careful :changes like lagfix... - Galaxy 3 Android Development

Well I am happy for the work That is being done by the XDA 15800 forum members esp rex,sahil,sazby,gsm101 , brave buddy , addicted and others...
However I just wish to draw people's attention to actually understanding how things like lagfix works so that they dont face the problems that I faced...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9745695&postcount=40
Just chck out the final piece of code of UN-lagfix that u run to undo i5800 lagfix:
echo "Cleaning /data"
cd /data
busybox rm -r *
echo "Removing auto boot support"
busybox mv /system/bin/playlogosnow /system/bin/playlogos
echo "All done! Rebooting device so that the EXT2 Loopback device is freed."
reboot
chck out the bold part. so what the lagfix does is create a ext2 partion in your internal memory, and whenever your device boots , it is automatically directed to that ext2 chunk.
Now if your phone is working correctly, then no problem.
However IF your phone crashes while u still have lagfix enabled... well I guess after that people will be stuck onto their boot screen staring at i5800 logo for days to come....
morever whatever firmware u flash, since the command makes changes in the mbr, it cant be resolved by usual flashing via odin.
You actually need to restore the proper boot partition which can be done via adb . But then ADB can be used only when the phone is on and in debugging mode..
more reasons why you should be careful with these fixes is
1) i5800 is a relatively new phone. We still don't have the stock kernel, stock recovery with us. For other phones like galaxy s that is available for download.
2) The odin for i5800 is meant mainly for flashing(its not yet advanced). However it lacks the repartition option that is present in galaxy s odin.
3)No clockwork mod recovery for i5800 . Nandroid backup not there.
This post is not meant to be disrespectful to others. I have immense respect for people who work hard and take risks to bring new features to our phones But still it is better to understand something before we do it.. I have learned it the hard way.
anyway for those who have an indian i5801, might want to know that only 2 firmwares out there to solve the issues. so any issues you face do keep a copy of both in your pc, esp datafs and zimage..
ddj5/ddj6
first you flash only the boot kernel, ie zimage, and then again u flash ddj6 . If you are lucky it will boot correctly.

you can backup like this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9778992&postcount=8
what is indian i5801 stock firmware ?
be the way if you flash or stay in the boot screen
is the MULTI CSC fimrware make this bug
efs is not flash by odin,and the product code and imei is in nv_data.bin
if the stock efs only have one csc ,flash to MULTI CSC firmware
like I5801DKATGY(HONGKONG),only have one csc
flash I5800XWJH2 is ok,if flash XXJP8 JP9 JPA MULTI CSC firmware
that stay in the boot screen
==========================================
Previously Samsung used code *#272*HHMM# (HH being hour and MM minute, = current time) to access the Preconfiguration menu.

Saka911 said:
Well I am happy for the work That is being done by the XDA 15800 forum members esp rex,sahil,sazby,gsm101 , brave buddy , addicted and others...
However I just wish to draw people's attention to actually understanding how things like lagfix works so that they dont face the problems that I faced...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9745695&postcount=40
Just chck out the final piece of code of UN-lagfix that u run to undo i5800 lagfix:
echo "Cleaning /data"
cd /data
busybox rm -r *
echo "Removing auto boot support"
busybox mv /system/bin/playlogosnow /system/bin/playlogos
echo "All done! Rebooting device so that the EXT2 Loopback device is freed."
reboot
chck out the bold part. so what the lagfix does is create a ext2 partion in your internal memory, and whenever your device boots , it is automatically directed to that ext2 chunk.
Now if your phone is working correctly, then no problem.
However IF your phone crashes while u still have lagfix enabled... well I guess after that people will be stuck onto their boot screen staring at i5800 logo for days to come....
morever whatever firmware u flash, since the command makes changes in the mbr, it cant be resolved by usual flashing via odin.
You actually need to restore the proper boot partition which can be done via adb . But then ADB can be used only when the phone is on and in debugging mode..
more reasons why you should be careful with these fixes is
1) i5800 is a relatively new phone. We still don't have the stock kernel, stock recovery with us. For other phones like galaxy s that is available for download.
2) The odin for i5800 is meant mainly for flashing(its not yet advanced). However it lacks the repartition option that is present in galaxy s odin.
3)No clockwork mod recovery for i5800 . Nandroid backup not there.
This post is not meant to be disrespectful to others. I have immense respect for people who work hard and take risks to bring new features to our phones But still it is better to understand something before we do it.. I have learned it the hard way.
anyway for those who have an indian i5801, might want to know that only 2 firmwares out there to solve the issues. so any issues you face do keep a copy of both in your pc, esp datafs and zimage..
ddj5/ddj6
first you flash only the boot kernel, ie zimage, and then again u flash ddj6 . If you are lucky it will boot correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quite an interesting post these things are surely of importance and we people will have to start from scratch and either make other work tweaked for our purpose or have to build new one.
I will be looking into the details and first thing of importance is to have a backup plan when things go wrong because ppl who buy this phone buy it mostly because they cant afford more expansive ones or 2 phone so safety should be the first and foremost concern here.....
Happy coding...

god_md5 said:
you can backup like this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9778992&postcount=8
what is indian i5801 stock firmware ?
be the way if you flash or stay in the boot screen
is the MULTI CSC fimrware make this bug
efs is not flash by odin,and the product code and imei is in nv_data.bin
if the stock efs only have one csc ,flash to MULTI CSC firmware
like I5801DKATGY(HONGKONG),only have one csc
flash I5800XWJH2 is ok,if flash XXJP8 JP9 JPA MULTI CSC firmware
that stay in the boot screen
==========================================
Previously Samsung used code *#272*HHMM# (HH being hour and MM minute, = current time) to access the Preconfiguration menu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well the default firmware for Indian i5801 is
july ddj5
august ddj6
and yeah it is a multi-csc firmware( csc corresponds to area and apns)
but the problem is that the version of ddj5 and ddj6 hosted on sam firmware are leaked builds...
the original build should be ddj2/3 (4 is unlucky in korean)
p.s. If any indianforum member who is reading this has an untouched(never rooted,never flashed) new i5801, then we can try and extract stock kernel , bootloader , ziimage and boot.bin from there so that we have a safety net in future.
regards,
aka.

addicted2088 here.. The two threads that I've started don't mess with the system files at all. Nothing can go wrong because of them..
Just letting people know that any bricked phones are not because of my instructions, but can be because of the work done by the other members named above. But since the work they're doing is good, we all gotta take some risks. I know I do..
No disrespect to those whose names have been mentioned in this thread. Appreciate the great work that you guys are doing..

I have the indian ddjg6 version of galaxy 3...but i rooted the device by z4root but nothing else is done like flashing...and all...
-Devilgod (United Devils)

Hello ..
So, in theory, the lagfix i had ported doesn't change at all the partition scheme of the i5800, since it's a LOOPBACK device in the /data partition: If you prefer, a partition in the partition. So, it can't, at all, brick your phone, since you ALWAYS can flash again with Odin (As i said before, you should remove the battery while not in USB/AC).
And you HAVE TO flash a datafs.rfs if something went wrong. I say it again.

Gsam101 said:
Hello ..
So, in theory, the lagfix i had ported doesn't change at all the partition scheme of the i5800, since it's a LOOPBACK device in the /data partition: If you prefer, a partition in the partition. So, it can't, at all, brick your phone, since you ALWAYS can flash again with Odin (As i said before, you should remove the battery while not in USB/AC).
And you HAVE TO flash a datafs.rfs if something went wrong. I say it again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hello, Thanks for the feedback...
I just created the thread so that we can make a repository of the stock kernel, boot etc. so that in future it will be useful when we go for nandroid backup or kies update

so does this lagfix work??? after all????
or not?
i have seen someone brick his phone....

Saka911 said:
hello, Thanks for the feedback...
I just created the thread so that we can make a repository of the stock kernel, boot etc. so that in future it will be useful when we go for nandroid backup or kies update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this makes absolutely no sense to me... in that case you´d need to change the thread title and also content of first post, which makes all other posts obsolete what again makes the whole thread obsolete.
however, this lagfix is confirmed working multiple times but it surely needs some work to be done, and in my opinion is not really needed. my girlfriends G3 opens contacts even faster than my SGS (this however could have to do with her having 120 contacts versus me having 800+) despite my SGS runs on custom kernel with ext4 for data partition. Also Lagfixes though a loop device are always a little risky to loose data when doing an unpropper shutdown.
But what the op stated is just untrue, the lagfix does not resist a firmware flash if that firmware contains a datafs.rfs file.

Related

[CUSTOM] I5800XXJPB prerooted/light

Hello .
I just made a simple custom rom for our phones (Just in order to try to make a custom rom for the i5800 ) which is rooted (and with busybox installed too ), and in which i have removed all third party software which is originally bundled and which i don't use (you can still install them using market or using a apk from the original rom )
It doesn't contains boot.bin nor Sbl.bin, but contains datafs.rfs (so it will wipe all your personal data as always)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VI1YM01Z
any problems so far?
Gsam101 said:
Hello .
I just made a simple custom rom for our phones (Just in order to try to make a custom rom for the i5800 ) which is rooted (and with busybox installed too ), and in which i have removed all third party software which is originally bundled and which i don't use (you can still install them using market or using a apk from the original rom )
It doesn't contains boot.bin nor Sbl.bin, but contains datafs.rfs (so it will wipe all your personal data as always)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VI1YM01Z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you prepared a GPS for european region ? or do we have to switch on / off and make many customizations ? Thanks
you should at least give some instructions on how to flash... is this a odin package or does one need to flash it through update.zip in recovery?
"It doesn't contains boot.bin nor Sbl.bin, but contains datafs.rfs (so it will wipe all your personal data as always)"
So odin...
Has anyone tried to flash this ? .. i am still waiting for my replacement unit from samsung
It's just a proof of concept . Yes you should flash it with odin, since it's a tar file.
Flashed, and for now this rocks! Root WORKS!
You're my new hero ;-)
EDIT: Would like to add that the firmware is afflicted by lag...luckily your (ported) lagfix solved that as well!
One more thing: when tring to access to gpssetup2 using the key combination *#*#321489065#*#*, just doesn't work :-(
Would be nice if you could give some infos how you did it, so other people could learn how to cook their own roms and the community starts to gain momentum.
FadeFx said:
Would be nice if you could give some infos how you did it, so other people could learn how to cook their own roms and the community starts to gain momentum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's coming .
FLaSHEd but missin Removed Apps
hey.. flashed with this ROM. looks and feels nice till now
please give a list of removed apps...
i found that "All Share" and "Write and Go" are not on the market..
please make their apk available.. wud be Great
Is it possible to make a list of all the apps that are removed?
And did you apply any other tweaks to the rom? Like including the lagfix in the rom? Would be very nice in my opinion.
Gsam101 said:
Hello .
I just made a simple custom rom for our phones (Just in order to try to make a custom rom for the i5800 ) which is rooted (and with busybox installed too ), and in which i have removed all third party software which is originally bundled and which i don't use (you can still install them using market or using a apk from the original rom )
It doesn't contains boot.bin nor Sbl.bin, but contains datafs.rfs (so it will wipe all your personal data as always)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VI1YM01Z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And don't you hear a click during the call ? Does it make sense to work with JPB ? I appreciate your efford, could you please leave the FM radio in it and prepare GPS for european region with OCTYs fix with JPA or (in future JPC) -
Have you resolved the click problem somehow in JPB ? Thaks
bad rom.
dude. after flashing ur rom.. i tried flashing back to orignal jpb... to my surprise.. i couldnt.. stuck at screen saying "samsung"... it did not happened with me before. . not even once...
now i m on eclair DDJG6 with which the phone orignally came with and its not even flashing other eclair roms aswel. same stuck on samsung...
now. wat could be done about this...
same thing happened to me..except i tried to use the custom JPA posted in this forum..after that i tried to flash a JPB with a different modem.bin (DDJG6) now i can flash everything but it gets stuck at samsung logo..except with the stock eclair..is this a datafs.rfs problem? coz JPB doesn't have that and eclair firmware does? Weird thing is i installed JPB once and then couldn't root it, it said toolbox not installed..i figured the only solution was reflashing.
Now i am on the stock rom..trying to get to froyo...without bricking my phone.
any help would be appreciated.
Also when i was on the JPA..i tried lagfix and then unlagfixed it..could that have caused a problem?
Reply Gsam
Hey gsam... Me and AJ facing same problem... So this is not a coincidence... This did not happened to us before flashing your ROM... And now reply what can be done... Does this mean we are stuck on this JPB or stock eclair... YOU need to answer... !!!
and all is well in the world..
okay here is how i solved..i did what i could..that is i flashed the stock I5801DDJG6 rom..then hard reset the phone from recovery...then flashed the XXJPB (minus the boot files boot.bin and sbl.bin you don't wanna lose your bootloader), this time without my sim inserted ( a superstition, i don't know?!?!) this XXJPB has the XXJP2 baseband which has the clickety click problem..last time i flashed with an older modem.bin i couldn't root coz it kept saying toolbox was missing, so none of the adb commands worked (like ls, chmod)...back then even reflashing didn't help..( I still don't know what did this, my guess is either the lagfix i tried or a unclean data partition which was fixed when i flashed the stock rom)
after flashing the XXJPB, once again hard reset and checked that adb was working and i could run all the commands..which meant i could root..flashed the phone with just the DDJG6 modem file..(separately this time) and checked again..everything was fine..so..rooted with superoneclick 1.5.5 and now all is well in my android world..i have a seemingly bugfree rooted JPB for now.. (the only bug is that in status the signal strength is shown as 0 dbm and 0 asu, although i do have full signal though, and i checked the gsm status using the code *#0011# working fine at 900, the only problem was clickety click which is now gone)
Model No.GT-I5800
Firmware Version-2.2
Baseband: I5801DDJG6
Kernel version 2.6.32.9
Build: FROYO.XXJPB
Just go back to your stock rom (for I5801 DDJG5/6 work), hard reset..and then flash whichever rom you are trying to..
hope this can help anyone..
a little quess brother..
okay.. when u went back to ddjg6.. and rested..
did u have the boot screen saying i5800 or i5801? ? i mean did u touched the bootloader.. i have the one which says i5800 do i need to flash the i5801 or the i5800 one will do? ????
plz give details
u removed boot.bin and sbl.bin from the xxjpb package... did u add anythin to it?
coolzarjun said:
okay.. when u went back to ddjg6.. and rested..
did u have the boot screen saying i5800 or i5801? ? i mean did u touched the bootloader.. i have the one which says i5800 do i need to flash the i5801 or the i5800 one will do? ????
plz give details
u removed boot.bin and sbl.bin from the xxjpb package... did u add anythin to it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had lost the I5801 bootscreen when i flashed XXJPB for the first time over the stock DDJG6,
then i restored the bootscreen, thanx to someone who uploaded the I5801 bootloader on the forum..Now not to repeat the same mistake twice, i removed the boot.bin and sbl.bin from the XXJPB.tar file..and no i didn't add anything to it...
there is the click bug in JPB..so i flashed the modem.bin from DDJG6 after i had first flashed the XXJPB..
Now i have the I5801 bootscreen, with FROYO.XXJPB build and DDJG6 baseband.
I don't think it matters if you have I5800 bootscreen or I5801 except for warranty purposes..
And since flashing bootloader is risky business (not to scare you, but it can brick your phone if something goes wrong with odin while flashing the bootloader) I think its best to avoid it..i have done it once successfully, now there is no need, so i remove the boot files(boot.bin and sbl.bin) from the firmware tar.
coolzarjun said:
hey.. flashed with this ROM. looks and feels nice till now
please give a list of removed apps...
i found that "All Share" and "Write and Go" are not on the market..
please make their apk available.. wud be Great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has been done . On "Themes/Apps" there is a topic .

[Q] samsung galaxy player 50

My sister have a Galaxy Player 50 with eclair...this PMP seems to be the same as the galaxy 3 (same resolution...and some other things) so can I flash lestatious or other rom on it ?
This hardware is not a phone...but maybe ?
Maybe I can try to flash...but if the pmp become soft bricked...it's over since i can't found an galaxy's 50 firmware...
Darius, I'm stuck with a brick galaxy player. I can try to flash with a galaxy 3 firmware if you want
Do you know how to make a dump of your device so you can share with me the original firmware?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=14493414
I don't know...but I'll try to find
Thanks!
I tried the firmware of galaxy 3, but didn't work
I dont think that its possible, first of all, despite being an android device, it doesnt have radio features, gsm 3g etc, only wifi, there are features that our phone does not support
Anyone found a solution for this yet? Not being able to test this device to it's full potential is really frustrating. Games are laggy and apps just do not run smooth on this one.
Has anyone tried z4root on this? I did and it freezes at "acquiring root shell".
@fedeff: how did you brick it?
Darius_AWS said:
My sister have a Galaxy Player 50 with eclair...this PMP seems to be the same as the galaxy 3 (same resolution...and some other things) so can I flash lestatious or other rom on it ?
This hardware is not a phone...but maybe ?
Maybe I can try to flash...but if the pmp become soft bricked...it's over since i can't found an galaxy's 50 firmware...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First root using One click root.
Give these commands in Terminal emulator
su
mount
Check for system partition.Suppose it is stlx (x=6,7,8 etc depending on system partition)
give this command to dump system...
dd if=/dev/block/stlx of=/sdcard/factoryfs.rfs
Copy it from sdcard and upload. I need to check it then i can help u out.
arunmcops said:
First root using One click root.
Give these commands in Terminal emulator
su
mount
Check for system partition.Suppose it is stlx (x=6,7,8 etc depending on system partition)
give this command to dump system...
dd if=/dev/block/stlx of=/sdcard/factoryfs.rfs
Copy it from sdcard and upload. I need to check it then i can help u out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd gladly try it as long as Samsung gives me firmware, don't want to end up with a nice looking little brick here.
Is there any way that that an installer/firmware file could be saved in the device for backup purposes or something?
anon3524 said:
I'd gladly try it as long as Samsung gives me firmware, don't want to end up with a nice looking little brick here.
Is there any way that that an installer/firmware file could be saved in the device for backup purposes or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
factoryfs.rfs is ur firmware backup....
@arunmcops: Thanks for the instructions. If someone try this and upload it'd be great for me.
@anon3524: I accidentally reseted the device to factory, trying to fix a problem with wifi (it suddenly stopped working one day).
arunmcops said:
factoryfs.rfs is ur firmware backup....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I am down to do this process you just explained as long as you or anyone explains to me how to recover the device with this "factoryfs.rfs" in case it gets bricked. You'd have to explain with detail how to grab this file and what to do with it etc. Also, if you could give further details on the initial process, that'd be great since a few things are unclear (to a brave noob like me).
Other than that, I am willing to try it to see the results.
BRING IT OON! *warface*
@arunmcops - I've got one of these, so have uploaded the file you wanted here - sorry, not allowed to post links yet:
dl.dropbox.com/u/6491656/Samsung/factoryfs.tar.gz (please don't flash this, its not a full rom)
I haven't made any changes to the base firmware other than renaming a couple of the phone.apk's to .old (cell standby was eating battery, and this device doesn't have a sim).
For fun, i've also uploaded a dmesg log
dl.dropbox.com/u/6491656/Samsung/dmesg.log
One other thing, i think the partition layout might be slightly different on this (might be wrong, don't have the phone) in that the internal sd card is mounted as /sdcard and the external one is /sdcard/sd.
Hope this helps!
Chris
@ctaylr Thanks for uploading the file.
I tried to load it using Odin, but it get stuck while uploading the file. The device is detected, but I think it's not transfering anything.
Is it possible to restore it form sd card?
fedeff said:
@ctaylr Thanks for uploading the file.
I tried to load it using Odin, but it get stuck while uploading the file. The device is detected, but I think it's not transfering anything.
Is it possible to restore it form sd card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi...thats probably because it isn't intended as a flashable rom. Its just a dump of the stock firmware so that arunmcops asked to see to see if it had any resemblance of the galaxy 3 f/w, to see what we'd have to do to get a working custom ROM on this device..
Please don't attack it with any kind of Norse God ...especially until there is a confirmed route back to stock. All thats contained in the files is what you have on your device already - so there is also absolutely no point (for now).
If your having trouble with your device now, you could try doing a factory reset or playing about in Kies - i've fixed my device once after I got curious and flashed a custom ROM on here (which fyi completely messed it up - something like E:multi_csc: error: open /efs/imei/mps_code.dat because we dont have an IMEI code on this device) and then got it back working again - unfortunately i can't remember exactly what I did. Otherwise if this doesn't work I'll see if i can make a working stock package for Odin.
@ctaylr, yes I'm having problems with my device. It got soft bricked. I couldn't make it work using Kies. The only thing I can do is to start it in Download mode. If you can make a working package for oding that'd be great
This might help
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9515709&postcount=14
Thanks!
@fedeff Ok. i'll have a look over the weekend and see if i can make something that flashes.
Quick questions
1) do you have the 8gb or 16gb version?
2) have you tried going into recovery utils and doing a "wipe data/factory reset?" - you can do this by holding down home, volume down and volume up while turning the unit on - i seem to remember this fixed it for me, but it probably depends on how far Odin got while flashing. If your unit is already bricked, i can't see it doing much further harm
Thks
ctaylr said:
@fedeff Ok. i'll have a look over the weekend and see if i can make something that flashes.
Quick questions
1) do you have the 8gb or 16gb version?
2) have you tried going into recovery utils and doing a "wipe data/factory reset?" - you can do this by holding down home, volume down and volume up while turning the unit on - i seem to remember this fixed it for me, but it probably depends on how far Odin got while flashing. If your unit is already bricked, i can't see it doing much further harm
Thks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) I have the 8gb version
2) By doing "wipe data/factory reset" is how I got it soft bricked. (the device wifi suddenly stopped working, and I thought that would help) After that it kept entering in the recovery mode. Then I tried to flash it with odin, now the only thing I can do is enter the download mode
Thanks again for helping me!
News?
Hi! I also like the others I am interested because my Galaxy player has 50 brick and I need someone to do dump the firmware so I can flash through odin! Please would you be my salvation and many other who have this player and would like to fix without waiting for the assistance of a month
Waiting for an answer I greet and thank all users who want to help me
sorry if English is not correct, but I'm using google translator (I'm Italian)
EDIT:
listen to me: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=726673 This is the guide on how to get the dump of your fimrware if someone kindly did this process with its galaxy player 50 and then upload the file . tar obtained would help all
I don't think it is as simple as that.
If you fully read that topic above, it tells you. That will ONLY tarball the files in the /system folder. It doesn't dump the the bootloaders, efs or produce the initrd, which is also part of the firmware.
In fact that backup is exactly what i linked to earlier here, and doesn't flash properly through Odin. I don't know Odin very well (i use a ZTE Blade and clockworkmod normally ) but i'm going to take an educated guess it needs all of this information to successfully flash the player, and trying to flash without all of that probably won't work so well.
If i'm wrong, please let me know and i'll do what i can to help.
ctaylr said:
I don't think it is as simple as that.
If you fully read that topic above, it tells you. That will ONLY tarball the files in the /system folder. It doesn't dump the the bootloaders, efs or produce the initrd, which is also part of the firmware.
In fact that backup is exactly what i linked to earlier here, and doesn't flash properly through Odin. I don't know Odin very well (i use a ZTE Blade and clockworkmod normally ) but i'm going to take an educated guess it needs all of this information to successfully flash the player, and trying to flash without all of that probably won't work so well.
If i'm wrong, please let me know and i'll do what i can to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok then I'm sorry I read the topic in a hurry and did not realize that you can not do what I say but re-reading now I understand!
ctaylr what do you advise me to do then? wanted to try an get into recovery and restore but I think the 3 keys are disabled enters only download ..
Google traductor sorry

Have an SGH-T959W on Wind? Don't worry, it is exactly the same as the SGH-T959V!

Hello Canadian users with SGH-T959W!
I spent some time the last few days comparing the kernel source for SGH-T959W and SGH-T959V, and found they are exactly the same (plus a few fixes for us on SGH-T959V from the SGH-T959W source!)!
This is good for you, because we have unofficial cm7, cm9, aokp, et alii... ports for the SGH-T959V.
Maybe a forum admin could update the Samsung Galaxy S 4G forum to also say: SGH-T959V & SGH-T959W
Technically, the only real difference is that the stock roms for the SGH-T959W will have different pre-installed software. The hardware of the SGH-T959W is the same as the SGH-T959V.
Enjoy!
Read this stuff to continue:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28566711#post28566711
BTW, if anyone has an odin or kies tarball, please PM me!
This way I can verify if the bootloaders are different or not, and if they are different, I can make you guys custom Heimdall OneClick and Odin packages.
bhundven said:
I spent some time the last few days comparing the kernel source for SGH-T959W and SGH-T959V, and found they are exactly the same (plus a few fixes for us on SGH-T959V from the SGH-T959W source!)!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to bump this thread, but out of curiosity, what were the fixes you were able to implement after seeing the kernel source for the 959W?
If it's something you'd rather not explain and will just be rolling out in future kernels, no big deal; just curious.
Thanks.
fingolfin14 said:
Sorry to bump this thread, but out of curiosity, what were the fixes you were able to implement after seeing the kernel source for the 959W?
If it's something you'd rather not explain and will just be rolling out in future kernels, no big deal; just curious.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hardware is exactly the same. There is still a problem with the OTA Assert, meaning, how the rom knows if it is able to install on the phone or not during install from cwm. Also how it identifies itself to the play store.
I'm fixing this in the next cm9 unofficial release (coming soon, eta... a few hours, maybe).
The only real difference between SGH-T959V and SGH-T959W is the pre-installed/bundled software on the phone.
Everything else is one-to-one.
I'm still paranoid about bootloaders. So I'm still waiting for someone to post Kies or leaked tar.md5 for the SGH-T959W so that I can diff the bootloaders. If they are different, I will create new Heimdall OneClicks for SGH-T959W so that it is simple for you to go back to stock. See my current Heimdall OneClick thread to get an idea of what I mean.
On the other hand, we have some issues with our SGH-T959V bootloaders, and I have Unbrickable Mod on my phone. So, if the bootloaders are different, I would like to try flashing the SGH-T959W bootloaders to see if they work any better.
Also, there are a few fixes in the SGH-T959W kernel source that I will be incorporating into the current unofficial CM7 and CM9 ports I work on. Not having these fixes shouldn't have any negative impact on SGH-T959W.
I hope this info is informative. If not, ask more!
I have a SGH-T959W which seemed to have a bad flash already (from before.. and I am trying to revive it) on it (seems stuck on the cwm screen, and the system partition doesn't seem to have all the data that it needs to). Is there any way of getting the original ROM for this phone? Even if I install a cm build for the T959V, I don't get errors but its stuck in a cwm loop (keeps coming back to cwm).
When I try any of the one-clicks for the T959V, it succeeds on the kernel upload but always fails on the modem upload.
Where would you look for the Kies tar for this phone? Any possible way of getting the original ROM from a brand new phone? (any instructions for these would be great)
bhundven said:
The hardware is exactly the same. There is still a problem with the OTA Assert, meaning, how the rom knows if it is able to install on the phone or not during install from cwm. Also how it identifies itself to the play store.
I'm fixing this in the next cm9 unofficial release (coming soon, eta... a few hours, maybe).
The only real difference between SGH-T959V and SGH-T959W is the pre-installed/bundled software on the phone.
Everything else is one-to-one.
I'm still paranoid about bootloaders. So I'm still waiting for someone to post Kies or leaked tar.md5 for the SGH-T959W so that I can diff the bootloaders. If they are different, I will create new Heimdall OneClicks for SGH-T959W so that it is simple for you to go back to stock. See my current Heimdall OneClick thread to get an idea of what I mean.
On the other hand, we have some issues with our SGH-T959V bootloaders, and I have Unbrickable Mod on my phone. So, if the bootloaders are different, I would like to try flashing the SGH-T959W bootloaders to see if they work any better.
Also, there are a few fixes in the SGH-T959W kernel source that I will be incorporating into the current unofficial CM7 and CM9 ports I work on. Not having these fixes shouldn't have any negative impact on SGH-T959W.
I hope this info is informative. If not, ask more!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
phaedrus81 said:
I have a SGH-T959W which seemed to have a bad flash already (from before.. and I am trying to revive it) on it (seems stuck on the cwm screen, and the system partition doesn't seem to have all the data that it needs to). Is there any way of getting the original ROM for this phone? Even if I install a cm build for the T959V, I don't get errors but its stuck in a cwm loop (keeps coming back to cwm).
When I try any of the one-clicks for the T959V, it succeeds on the kernel upload but always fails on the modem upload.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is annoying, sorry you are going through this. It sounds like something dorked your param.lfs.
I've had this happen to me, and it always appends 'bootmode=2' to the kernel command line. Only way to fix it is to flash a new param.lfs from the stock image...
phaedrus81 said:
Where would you look for the Kies tar for this phone? Any possible way of getting the original ROM from a brand new phone? (any instructions for these would be great)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...which brings me to this part. Someone told me that they have this image, but when I asked them to post it somewhere, I got no response.
Bug Wind and Samsung for a kies mini or a stock image that you can flash to the phone. Samsung is probably not going to be as helpful as Wind, so I'd try bugging the crap out of Wind.
Hopefully someone will get me the tar.md5 soon, and we can get you guys a one-click with bootloaders (which includes the param.lfs).
If you feel bold/brave, you can try flashing the bootloaders from my Stock oneclick in my signature.
Since it should be the same hardware it should work the same. Granted after flashing your phone will now be a SGH-T959V and not an SGH-T959W.
I hold no guarantee that it will work, and/or that it won't try to shoot you at your favorite new 3d film. <.< ... >.>
Thanks for the info about what might be causing the cwm loop issue
I think I will the one-click with bootloaders a try (will update this thread with the results). At this point I think I have exhausted all other options to revive the device.
bhundven said:
This is annoying, sorry you are going through this. It sounds like something dorked your param.lfs.
I've had this happen to me, and it always appends 'bootmode=2' to the kernel command line. Only way to fix it is to flash a new param.lfs from the stock image...
...which brings me to this part. Someone told me that they have this image, but when I asked them to post it somewhere, I got no response.
Bug Wind and Samsung for a kies mini or a stock image that you can flash to the phone. Samsung is probably not going to be as helpful as Wind, so I'd try bugging the crap out of Wind.
Hopefully someone will get me the tar.md5 soon, and we can get you guys a one-click with bootloaders (which includes the param.lfs).
If you feel bold/brave, you can try flashing the bootloaders from my Stock oneclick in my signature.
Since it should be the same hardware it should work the same. Granted after flashing your phone will now be a SGH-T959V and not an SGH-T959W.
I hold no guarantee that it will work, and/or that it won't try to shoot you at your favorite new 3d film. <.< ... >.>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
phaedrus81 said:
Thanks for the info about what might be causing the cwm loop issue
I think I will the one-click with bootloaders a try (will update this thread with the results). At this point I think I have exhausted all other options to revive the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, just to make sure you have tried different cables and computers.
Not being able to flash the modem sounds like a cable/computer issue.
If you have that issue while flashing bootloaders, you could hard-brick your phone.
The first time you flash with the oneclick, it will not flash bootloaders. The second time, the option to flash bootloaders opens up, but you still have to enable it.
Don't forget to read all the documentation in my thread before doing anything.
If you have any questions, ask before you do.
The Root Doesn't work. I follow the step and it damaged my phone! T959W
bhundven said:
Hello Canadian users with SGH-T959W!
I spent some time the last few days comparing the kernel source for SGH-T959W and SGH-T959V, and found they are exactly the same (plus a few fixes for us on SGH-T959V from the SGH-T959W source!)!
This is good for you, because we have unofficial cm7, cm9, aokp, et alii... ports for the SGH-T959V.
Maybe a forum admin could update the Samsung Galaxy S 4G forum to also say: SGH-T959V & SGH-T959W
Technically, the only real difference is that the stock roms for the SGH-T959W will have different pre-installed software. The hardware of the SGH-T959W is the same as the SGH-T959V.
Enjoy!
Read this stuff to continue:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28566711#post28566711
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I try your root process for my T959W now My phone Can't turn on . It turn on and off with the glaxy S 4G logo and T-Mobile . HELP PLS i tried to unroot It does work and It . PLS HELPPPP!!!!!
GMK63 said:
I try your root process for my T959W now My phone Can't turn on . It turn on and off with the glaxy S 4G logo and T-Mobile . HELP PLS i tried to unroot It does work and It . PLS HELPPPP!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please be more specific as to which 'process' you followed and what you did.
Sorry I've been delayed in responding!
Again, if you can be more specific as to exactly what you did, I will be better prepared to help you.
It does look like it could be a cable/computer issue. I tried different cables and some of them didn't get as far as the modem (failed the kernel upload as well). Haven't got a cable which succeeds in the modem flash yet.
All of the driver stuff on windows makes me nervous though. Is there any way to flash this on linux. Does the one-click package work with fastboot or can fastboot be used to flash the individual pieces?
bhundven said:
Also, just to make sure you have tried different cables and computers.
Not being able to flash the modem sounds like a cable/computer issue.
If you have that issue while flashing bootloaders, you could hard-brick your phone.
The first time you flash with the oneclick, it will not flash bootloaders. The second time, the option to flash bootloaders opens up, but you still have to enable it.
Don't forget to read all the documentation in my thread before doing anything.
If you have any questions, ask before you do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
phaedrus81 said:
It does look like it could be a cable/computer issue. I tried different cables and some of them didn't get as far as the modem (failed the kernel upload as well). Haven't got a cable which succeeds in the modem flash yet.
All of the driver stuff on windows makes me nervous though. Is there any way to flash this on linux. Does the one-click package work with fastboot or can fastboot be used to flash the individual pieces?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These phones do not have fastboot, but they have download mode.
Yes, you can do this from: Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X
If you still have problems with multiple cables, I highly recommend trying a different computer. I've had this problem myself before. It drove me nuts until I got a friends laptop and everything worked perfectly. My laptop's usb ports had gone bad for some unexplainable reason.
Check out the wiki pages we have written:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S/SGH-T959V
Steps I followed
managed to get my Wind SGH-T959W rooted and up and running with a unofficial CM9 build, but it took a bit of work.
Firstly, I tried just about every one-click solution out there, to no avail. It's possible SOC 1.7 with rattlethecage works, but I didn't have the patience to find out whether I simply had to wait a bit longer.
I followed this guide(whilst clenching every clenchable muscle I could consciously control):
http://www.galaxyforums.net/forum/of...ngerbread.html
The gist is, Odin 1.7, stock+voodoo for T959V, plus some update that I'm not qualified to describe. That should get you rooted and if that's all you're looking for, you'll have to suffer through a little T-Mobile branding on startup.
Once you got it all rooted, you'd think it'd be a good idea to toss sgs-ics on there, right? Well, no. After installing the 4G variant, it promptly set off into a boot loop which I'm again, unqualified to diagnose. The obvious solution was to try another team's version of ICS, which I indeed found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1730954
Barring some missing features, it sounds like a good alternative to sgs-ics. Though I had to go through one additional step, which I really, honestly assure you I was under-qualified to execute. When I tried to load Team Acid's CM9 r3 it gave me an assert on the updater-script, since the hardware didn't match up. Easy. Unzip the package, open up META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script, remove the first check. You know it's the same hardware, you don't need some stinkin' script to tell you it won't work.
So all said and done, I now have a Wind Mobile SGH-T959W running ICS 4.0.4 courtesy of bhundven, the Odin folks, Team Acid, and likely a slew of other contributors.
Thanks folks, and enjoy!
PS, if you want that tarball bhundven, send me a PM with some brief instructions, and hopefully you can help my fellow Winders.
.......(---------THAT WHAT I FOLLOWED .
But I did the first part and They said i should get the stuff I store on my SD Card to pull out a file (``12) In CWM, use your volume up/down positions to navigate, scroll down to "Install Zip From SDcard". Select with a click of the power button. Navigate to where you put sms-T959V-KJ6-v0.1.1-rc1-unsigned-update.zip (in the root of your SDcard) and select with the power button. Confirm you want to install.
``)
but it doesn't give me the option to go get it on my SDcard and Now my Phone just turns on and off with the samsung galaxy S logo plus T-mobile exclusive logo . The only possitive thing about all the damage is that I can still put my phone on dowload mode and I just think if someone knows how to get my phone back to it state they will need me to put it on download mode. :crying:
:fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed:
Thank you in advance for your Help, for replying and offering to help.:highfive:
I appriciate it. My phone is Mobillicity carrier just like wind .
GMK63 said:
.......(---------THAT WHAT I FOLLOWED .
But I did the first part and They said i should get the stuff I store on my SD Card to pull out a file (``12) In CWM, use your volume up/down positions to navigate, scroll down to "Install Zip From SDcard". Select with a click of the power button. Navigate to where you put sms-T959V-KJ6-v0.1.1-rc1-unsigned-update.zip (in the root of your SDcard) and select with the power button. Confirm you want to install.
``)
but it doesn't give me the option to go get it on my SDcard and Now my Phone just turns on and off with the samsung galaxy S logo plus T-mobile exclusive logo . The only possitive thing about all the damage is that I can still put my phone on dowload mode and I just think if someone knows how to get my phone back to it state they will need me to put it on download mode. :crying:
:fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed:
Thank you in advance for your Help, for replying and offering to help.:highfive:
I appriciate it. My phone is Mobillicity carrier just like wind .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, this is really simple. I've explained it in quite a few threads in the Galaxy S 4G forums in General, Q&A, and the Dev forum. I'm going to explain this, but in a way to be more general. So I'm being verbose in case anyone else with a T959W happens to run across this and has not tried anything yet.
Again, I'm not good with windows at all, and I prefer it that way.
If you're on windows, check out our wiki:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S/SGH-T959V
There is tons of help there for setting up heimdall on windows with all the right drivers and such.
Once you have heimdall setup get AntonX's latest cwm zip for his kernel.
This kernel is a BML kernel, and this guide I am giving you right now will help you get cm9 installed which is an MTD kernel. You can find out more about BML vs. MTD here.
Once you have downloaded AntonX's kernel, extract the zImage from it and open up the terminal/cmd prompt and navigate to the directory you extracted the zImage to.
Put your phone into Download Mode and type the following in the command prompt:
Code:
heimdall flash --kernel zImage
The heimdall program will flash this kernel+initramfs to the kernel partition and reboot the phone. Do not unplug the usb cable until you see the "Galaxy S" screen. When you see that screen, unplug the usb cable and remove the battery from the back.
Assuming you downloaded CM9 and put it on your sdcard already, you can get into recovery by holding the vol+ and vol-, then pressing the power button to turn the phone on. When you see the "Galaxy S" screen, let go of the buttons, and you should be in the recovery now.
This is where things get a little tricky. If you have not tried to do anything to your phone yet. This would be a great time to use the "Backup and Recovery" menu on CWM. Do a full backup.
The "assert 7" error that the previous person got was because the cwm install script (the updater-script) checks the already installed /system/build.prop's data against the "to be installed" build.prop to verify this rom can be installed. If it doesn't exist, then it moves forward.
So the first order of business is to wipe the /system partition. Go to "Mounts and Storage" and format the system partition.
Now go back to the main screen and do "Factory Reset/Wipe Data".
Now go "Install zip from sdcard" -> "choose zip from sdcard" -> and use the volume keys to select the zip file.
After the rom is installed, navigate back to the main screen and "Reboot the system now" if it doesn't reboot by itself.
When the phone reboots, because it is going from BML to MTD, it obviously can't just install the files to what would be an MTD partition if the kernel knows nothing about MTD. So it boots into the newly installed MTD kernel and continues the installation, which in the end will also reboot again.
The first boot is very slow. It is building a cache of all the pre-installed system applications. Let it sit for a while. I know it's tempting to go play with your phone right away, but resist if you can.
The next CM9 release will be on a different kernel, and albeit a much better rom.
I will also be adding OTA Asserts for SGH-T959W so that you will not have to wipe /system before installing the rom, but I do that still just for good measure. But this also means that your phone will work properly with the google play store.
If this still does not work, please let me know what went wrong and I will be happy to assist!
-Bryan
Confused
bhundven said:
Ok, this is really simple. I've explained it in quite a few threads in the Galaxy S 4G forums in General, Q&A, and the Dev forum. I'm going to explain this, but in a way to be more general. So I'm being verbose in case anyone else with a T959W happens to run across this and has not tried anything yet.
Again, I'm not good with windows at all, and I prefer it that way.
If you're on windows, check out our wiki:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S/SGH-T959V
There is tons of help there for setting up heimdall on windows with all the right drivers and such.
Once you have heimdall setup get AntonX's latest cwm zip for his kernel.
This kernel is a BML kernel, and this guide I am giving you right now will help you get cm9 installed which is an MTD kernel. You can find out more about BML vs. MTD here.
Once you have downloaded AntonX's kernel, extract the zImage from it and open up the terminal/cmd prompt and navigate to the directory you extracted the zImage to.
Put your phone into Download Mode and type the following in the command prompt:
Code:
heimdall flash --kernel zImage
The heimdall program will flash this kernel+initramfs to the kernel partition and reboot the phone. Do not unplug the usb cable until you see the "Galaxy S" screen. When you see that screen, unplug the usb cable and remove the battery from the back.
Assuming you downloaded CM9 and put it on your sdcard already, you can get into recovery by holding the vol+ and vol-, then pressing the power button to turn the phone on. When you see the "Galaxy S" screen, let go of the buttons, and you should be in the recovery now.
This is where things get a little tricky. If you have not tried to do anything to your phone yet. This would be a great time to use the "Backup and Recovery" menu on CWM. Do a full backup.
The "assert 7" error that the previous person got was because the cwm install script (the updater-script) checks the already installed /system/build.prop's data against the "to be installed" build.prop to verify this rom can be installed. If it doesn't exist, then it moves forward.
So the first order of business is to wipe the /system partition. Go to "Mounts and Storage" and format the system partition.
Now go back to the main screen and do "Factory Reset/Wipe Data".
Now go "Install zip from sdcard" -> "choose zip from sdcard" -> and use the volume keys to select the zip file.
After the rom is installed, navigate back to the main screen and "Reboot the system now" if it doesn't reboot by itself.
When the phone reboots, because it is going from BML to MTD, it obviously can't just install the files to what would be an MTD partition if the kernel knows nothing about MTD. So it boots into the newly installed MTD kernel and continues the installation, which in the end will also reboot again.
The first boot is very slow. It is building a cache of all the pre-installed system applications. Let it sit for a while. I know it's tempting to go play with your phone right away, but resist if you can.
The next CM9 release will be on a different kernel, and albeit a much better rom.
I will also be adding OTA Asserts for SGH-T959W so that you will not have to wipe /system before installing the rom, but I do that still just for good measure. But this also means that your phone will work properly with the google play store.
If this still does not work, please let me know what went wrong and I will be happy to assist!
-Bryan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have Window 7 and I went on wiki. I don't know what rom or what I am suppose to download to get heimdall . Plus the steps is not for T959W.
GMK63 said:
I have Window 7 and I went on wiki. I don't know what rom or what I am suppose to download to get heimdall . Plus the steps is not for T959W.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:facepalm:
Then send your phone back to Mobillicity. Tell them that you don't know what a smart phone is and did something stupid to it. Go get yourself a nice clamshell phone.
I gave you explicit instructions that work for SGH-T959V and SGH-T959W. As a matter of fact, these instructions work on any "Galaxy S" phone, but you shouldn't flash just any other phone's rom to any other phone.
It just so happens that the SGH-T959V and SGH-T959W are the same exact hardware, just pre-packaged with different software and sold in different regions.
THEY ARE THE SAME PHONE!
With that, I am done with this thread. It was not meant for support! It was merely an announcement.
If you need any more help, please check out the Galaxy S 4G forums.
You can find plenty of directions that will work on either SGH-T959V or SGH-T959W on the wiki.
If you are looking for general information, look at the General forum.
If you need help or are asking a question, look at the Q&A (Questions and Answers) forum.
If you are looking to provide constructive feedback and/or logs to help development of ROMs and Kernels, check out the Developer forum. (Note, do not ask questions in the developer forum).
Don't forget the XDA Forum Rules

[GUIDE] how to fix EFS Damaged on samsung devices [EASY!]

Edited in 2022 to make it look a bit better!
*WARNING* *TAKE A NANDROID BACKUP OF EFS AND BASEBAND BEFORE STARTING*
Hello people, first I want to say that this is my first guide so it doesn't really look professional but I am doing my best to be clear as possible.
In this guide I will be showing you how to repair your IMEI for free/without Z3X box
So lets get into it.
Its better to start fresh in stock rom
So flash the stock rom first
Now we are really starting,
Step 1) flash TWRP and flash Magisk (if you weren't rooted yet)
Step 2) now search for a custom rom for your phone download it before doing something or just download on pc and move it later
Step 3) now go to mount and select efs or else your efs will be empty at the next step
Step 4) now go to file manager and goto /EFS
Just delete everything in it OR YOU CAN LEAVE Privo data and factory app, you have a backup anyways. *WARNING: DO NOT DELETE THE EFS PARTITION IT SELF, IT WILL MAKE YOUR PHONE NOT BOOTING ANYMORE ONLY DELETE THE FILES INSIDE OF IT SO DELETE ALL FILES*
Step 5) now flash the custom rom for s7 edge i would recommend kingrom, do full wipe at the aroma. You may try to skip this step. There have been comments saying that this guide also works without this step.
Step 6) now reboot your phone, first reboot may take 5-10/15 minutes please be patient and make sure you put your phone in the charger if your battery is low now when your phone is in the welcome screen look or your signal is returned if not just setup your phone sometimes it may take a while for the signal to appear. If your signal is returned then go to phone app and dial *#06# and look or the IMEI matches the IMEI of the box of your phone (make sure you have the original box if you don't have this then open the back of your phone (if you can), there is a sticker label with your s/n and IMEI. If you cannot open the back of your phone, then you will have to trust that the IMEI is right. If everything is functional then you're done with this guide. The next steps are more ''checking'' if everything is alright.
Step 7) If your s/n is ok skip to step 8 if its not right then download a root explorer and go to /efs/factoryapp and edit the serial no file with a text editor and enter your s/n there now save it and IMEI and s/n should be alright
Step 8) Now, for IF the IMEI is correct and everything is fully functional, then delete the earlier made backup of EFS and baseband and make a new one with the working partition, then save it somewhere safe on an external drive, the cloud or on an USB, or just a pc that you will never reset or wipe its data.
Congratulations on getting past step 8. I hope this guide has helped you and that it worked for you. If not then I'm sorry for not being able to assist you. This guide is just me sharing what I did to solve this issue. Good luck on solving your problem if this guide did not work.
If the IMEI is not correct or this guide doesn't work then I can't help you any further except for if you have any questions, however I found a guide for the Samsung galaxy s7/Edge (if you have s8 then click same link because the thread has a link to s8) by Cubz (thanks to Cubz for his guide)
Link: https://www.google.com/amp/s/forum....ow-to-fix-check-drk-imei-issues-t3379516/amp/
S7/E/8 only and some other models as long its an s7 (edge) or s8/+
******* Some tips when you follow the guide*******
1) When you flash combination firmware and it gives you errors then dial *#1234# and look at the cp it should have UX in it (X could be 1,2 or 3 download the correct firmware with the correct bootloader version. You can upgrade from u1 to u2 and u2 to u3 but not downgrade from 3 to 2 or 2 to 1
2) If it didn't work then flash back to stock and fully delete everything in efs folder then retry (this is actually just guide B) its better to follow the guide above
3) If you got bootloader exception error then keep tapping the home button fast until it reboots then just manually reboot and enter download mode
The first method was tested and worked on SAMSUNG GALAXY S7 EDGE SM-935F it may work on other Samsung devices and maybe other android devices but I cannot guarantee that it works on your device
** I take no responsibility for any damaged device, make sure you take a back up so you can go back to the state before you started following this guide!**
If the device gets bricked then always flash back to stock, if you cant enter download mode then just wait until your battery drains and then when you put it in the charger it may start up automatically so enter download mode fast or if you got bootloader exception error then keep tapping the home button fast until it reboots then just manually reboot and enter download mode
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy flashing and please confirm in the comments below if it worked for your device or not
Guys please comment or it works on your device or not!
It works for me. But I have to manually change CSC on my phone after original rom flash to fix Network. TGP rom have that option.
I followed your guide and my model name changed from G930F to G930FD and my IMEI is just bunch of zeroes wtv
SOLVED AT LAST - MISSING IMEI and EFS DAMAGED SOLUTION
Hi Guys,
First off, please take GOOD note - I am NOT a techy, just an old boring flashaholic who works in an office and likes pyjamas more than partying. This is my account of me fecking up my phone and finally reaching a solution after three days and most of two nights to a missing IMEI, messed up EFS and non-working phone - hoping that it might help anyone as desperate as I was. You do what you do with your phone and that's your business and I'm not responsible if you mess it up, but my hope is that you have have a brain (that's all I have) and you get some helpful piece of info here as I did from a whole ton of posts I read that finally led me to this.
Next - I am not sure what landed me in this mess. I've seen Superman Rom mentioned a couple of times..I didn't use that but I did use Batman Rom which is by the same Dev. It was great to use, too, so I'm not faulting the Dev by any means. What did happen, though, is that when I flashed other ROMS, maybe 3 or 4 of them following, the Batman splash screen was always there before the new ROM's boot sequence, so there were clearly some residual things of it in there ...so perhaps the same coding is in there and could have had something to do with it, I don't know. The breaking point came when I flashed Sac23 Rom hoping to get Pie on my phone. It was cool but I decided to revert to Resurrection Remix - always my favourite overall - and all of a sudden I get errors.
What should have been a routine "Restore" of my backed up RR ROM via TWRP gave "Error mounting EFS". Reboot, wipe, retry. No joy, same again. A couple of tries to restore the EFS from the backup in TWRP didn't work either.
Next go to is flash "original firmware" (more on this wording later). I had that on my PC (not a phone backup, just the firmware so it's clean copy with no data).
Get Odin out, download mode, correct files in correct boxes, all that standard stuff you can find guides on most places - no joy.
Error showing was "Fail at pm.bin" or something like that. Install aborted.
Try again. This time "Fail at cm.bin" Install aborted. Reboot from recovery also fails. Oh sh1t.
Several more attempts made. I have five different Odin vers. I have seven different firmware vers. I have two USB ports and about 8 Samsung cables. Not a single combination I tried worked.
The XDA heroes will know what to do, I thought. I read and read. And read. And CubZ (who is a hero even if he IS from Lancashire ), says MAKE SURE YOUR PHONE IS RUNNING ORIGINAL SOFTWARE. Well...I kinda did that mostly already...but maybe I need to go RIGHT back to the rubbishy 6.0.1 version that came actually ON my phone when I got it....almost 2 years ago? Who remembers that stuff?? I'm about 18 ROMS down the line now. I was desperate. I'm telling you...I even got out my bank statements to trace when my first payment to my current provider was...I read about firmware numbers and country codes, and I chose one from Sammobile with a build date, country code, unbranded code (which my phone always was) and correct phone model (of course!) as I needed. And it WAS .."the ORIGINAL" firmware.
This time I swear Odin failed me a second BEFORE I pressed the start button! No joy.
Have a flask of coffee and a few valium sandwiches and off I go back to XDA again. I read a loooong series of "Missing IMEI" stuff and there's CubZ again with an IMEI/EFS fix guide guide...brilliant! And it WAS brilliant, and clearly he helped tons of people (kudos, man). But I had messed up MY phone in the time-honoured "right royal" way - worse than his guide could help me. My IMEI was Unknown, my EFS was empty, My SIM wasn't being recognised, no network info or signal...nothing. But genius that he is, he CubZ DID post a Combination file that gave me a base to keep trying on when firmware after firmware had failed almost immediately with errors either of pm.bin/abort or cm.bin/abort.
I almost wore the print out on CubZ guide, I read it so much and tried so many times. Then...I see people saying things about U1, U2 and U3 firmwares. Turns out you shouldn't mix the two. I got that snippet from CubZ too. More research and the little coffee-fuelled connections in my brain are like.....ok....
My ORIGINAL firmware has in its name "U1" and there are similar ones with "U2". Might that be it? My phone has been screaming "DEVICE 2 FIRMWARE 1" (or something like that) at every aborted 'original firmware' installation via Odin and download mode that I've tried, including the EXACT firmware that was on my phone the day it was unwrapped and I danced happily round the room with it.
So if DEVICE 2....FIRMWARE should be 2 maybe? Back to Sammobile. There are firmwares with the same model number, country code, branding info as mine..but with a "U2" where mine said "U1". But...they were Oreo and Nougat where mine was "originally" Marshmallow.
It's now day three in the Big Mother House. My valium and coffee and running out and my communication with the outside world has ceased. I've had about five hours sleep, my food is running low and I cannot call for takeaway cos I ficked my phone up good and proper. I even....get this....start looking up PAID services to fix this. I KNOW, right!!??
I pick up a Nougat firmware from Sammobile...careful to match model, country, branding AND U2 - wondering if I can match it up with CubZ's Combi file as a base to appease Odin......and then maybe revert to my 'original' stock from that to start another attempt at the IMEI/EFS thing.
It loaded. Odin was pleased with my sacrifice. And lo and behold, it had restored the whole lot WITHOUT me having to go any further with stock ROM reversions. It frickin' worked. I got my signal back. My SIM card was detected. My phone number was showing. My IMEI was showing. My E-Frickin-S was mended. I feel like Judd Nelson at the end of Breakfast Club.
So here's the semantic bit that I hadn't known and that is unclear in many many posts. My phone is now working 100% on stock firmware....but is is NOT REALLY the ORIGINAL software - it's the MODEL......COUNTRY......BRANDING.....LANGUAGE - specific firmware but it is Nougat where my original was Marshmallow, and it is a U2 firmware where my original FW was U1. THAT was the killer difference, it seems. Thanks to all of you who posted anything - many many of you - who helped me get this. It's a compatibility issue detail I've never seen or had issues with before.
I now have G930FXXS2DRDI_G930FXEU2DRB5_XEU
Where G930F is the model number, XEU is the country code for UK and Ireland (even though UK is a nation and not a country - just sayin' ) and the U2 sits there hiding in the middle of the second section of the name.
Which gives unzipped files as follows: NOTE - THESE ARE NOT LINKS.
AP_G930FXXS2DRDI_CL12365438_QB17789072_REV00_user_low_ship_meta.tar.md5
BL_G930FXXS2DRDI_CL12365438_QB17789072_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.md5
CP_G930FXXU2DRB6_CL648265_QB8952207_SIGNED.tar.md5
CSC_XEU_G930FXEU2DRB5_CL13061583_QB16917099_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.md5
HOME_CSC_XEU_G930FXEU2DRB5_CL13061583_QB16917099_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.md5
It's Nougat, but that's okay for now; I got my IMEI, EFS, SIM, BIN, probably ENT, RAC, SUV and BMX too, everything
And now, with my working phone, I am gonna phone the local Chinese Takeaway for food, answer all my emails that popped and binged and tinkled at me when it became resurrected, and leave CubZ with huge thanks and all of you guys with the hope that this helps somebody out there.
And maybe look at backing this sucker up and reverting to my Oreo RR ROM I love so much..... I HATE Touchwiz!!!!
Good luck!
:good::good::good:
I was also on similar problem and i lost my efc
Baseband unkwn
Imel null
No signal
I was on s9 port rom by teamexykings and when i update i did dirty flash and my phobe stuck on samsung logo somehow it was boot but it was keeps rebooting than i boot my phone in twrp
When i was trying to wipe system data and dalvic cache
In wipe menu i was shocked to see that it showed internal storage 0mb
I had this problem 1st time
And i have to format my phone to boot properly
U know my big mistake is that i haven't taken a back up of my all apps and my data
After 10-15 min latter it boots
But 2nd shocked was that
I lost my signal my imei my baseband vesrsion unknown
I was so scared to lost my imei
Than i searchon google and i have read lot of articals about restoring efc partition
And than i found similar thread like u have explained
It's really work for me
And this article will help most of device of samsung
And xda user
What i have done
In twrp i mount efc partition
Than in advance menu
File manager
Efc
And i have deleted all of file in efc
(Remember not efc partition it self)
Except privo
Privo data and factory app
Than reboot
After boot my phone i got signal back
I was so happy that it was very easy to do
Your guide will help for many device
shabbir143 said:
I was also on similar problem and i lost my efc
Baseband unkwn
Imel null
No signal
I was on s9 port rom by teamexykings and when i update i did dirty flash and my phobe stuck on samsung logo somehow it was boot but it was keeps rebooting than i boot my phone in twrp
When i was trying to wipe system data and dalvic cache
In wipe menu i was shocked to see that it showed internal storage 0mb
I had this problem 1st time
And i have to format my phone to boot properly
U know my big mistake is that i haven't taken a back up of my all apps and my data
After 10-15 min latter it boots
But 2nd shocked was that
I lost my signal my imei my baseband vesrsion unknown
I was so scared to lost my imei
Than i searchon google and i have read lot of articals about restoring efc partition
And than i found similar thread like u have explained
It's really work for me
And this article will help most of device of samsung
And xda user
What i have done
In twrp i mount efc partition
Than in advance menu
File manager
Efc
And i have deleted all of file in efc
(Remember not efc partition it self)
Except privo
Privo data and factory app
Than reboot
After boot my phone i got signal back
I was so happy that it was very easy to do
Your guide will help for many device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You deleted all files and folders from EFS Mounted partition? how is it possible working?
You are awesome man!
I just deleted the files in EFS, restarted without installing custom rom and my IMEI was fixed.
I'm definitely donating. How to donate to you?
Thanks for your great work!
cisekpro23 said:
You deleted all files and folders from EFS Mounted partition? how is it possible working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think samsung phones are capable of regnerating their efs. But its not working for me on samsung galaxy s6. Guess I am screwed.
Hey everyone, I'm sorry for not responding to anyone in this thread. I've been inactive for a long time. I want to thank everyone for trusting the guide and I hope it has worked for you if you tried following the steps. If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
Also I have edited my guide to improve the reading experience because I see my English was absolutely horrible at the time when I wrote the guide.
oh no. i accidentally deleted the efs partition and it can't mount anymore what im gonna do now. im fvcked up please somebody help me
vigilante said:
Edited in 2022 to make it look a bit better!
Hello people, first I want to say that this is my first guide so it doesn't really look professional but I am doing my best to be clear as possible.
In this guide I will be showing you how to repair your IMEI for free/without Z3X box
So lets get into it.
Its better to start fresh in stock rom
So flash the stock rom first
Now we are really starting,
*WARNING* *TAKE A NANDROID BACKUP OF EFS AND BASEBAND BEFORE STARTING*
Step 1) flash TWRP and flash Magisk (if you weren't rooted yet)
Step 2) now search for a custom rom for your phone download it before doing something or just download on pc and move it later
Step 3) now go to mount and select efs or else your efs will be empty at the next step
Step 4) now go to file manager and goto /EFS
Just delete everything in it, you have a backup anyway *WARNING: DO NOT DELETE THE EFS PARTITION IT SELF, IT WILL MAKE YOUR PHONE NOT BOOTING ANYMORE ONLY DELETE THE FILES INSIDE OF IT SO DELETE ALL FILES*
Step 5) now flash the custom rom for s7 edge i would recommend kingrom, do full wipe at the aroma
Step 6) now reboot your phone, first reboot may take 5-10/15 minutes please be patient and make sure you put your phone in the charger if your battery is low now when your phone is in the welcome screen look or your signal is returned if not just setup your phone sometimes it may take a while if your signal is returned then go to dialer and dial *#06# and look or the imei matches the imei of the box (make sure you have the origional box if you dont have this then open the back of your phone, there is a sticker label with your s/n and imei if imei is not good then skip to step 9
Step 7) now if your s/n is ok skip to step... if its not right then download a root explorer and go to /efs/factoryapp and edit the serial no file with a text editor and enter your s/n there now save it and imei and s/n should be alright
Step 8) Now, for IF the IMEI is correct and everything is fully functional, then delete the earlier made backup of EFS and baseband and make a new one with the working partition, then save it somewhere safe on an external drive, the cloud or on an USB, or just a pc that you will never reset or wipe its data.
Step 9) now for if the IMEI is not correct or this guide doesn't work then I can't help you any further except for if you have any questions, however I found a guide for the Samsung galaxy s7/Edge (if you have s8 then click same link because the thread has a link to s8) by Cubz (thanks to Cubz for his guide)
Link: https://www.google.com/amp/s/forum....ow-to-fix-check-drk-imei-issues-t3379516/amp/
S7/E/8 only and some other models as long its an s7 (edge) or s8/+
******* Some tips when you follow the guide*******
1) when you flash combination firmware and it gives you errors then dial *#1234# and look at the cp it should have UX in it (X could be 1,2 or 3 download the correct firmware with the correct bootloader version you can upgrade from u1 to u2 and u2 to u3 but not downgrade from 3 to 2 or 2 to 1
2) if it didn't work then flash back to stock and fully delete everything in efs folder then retry (this is actually just guide B) its better to follow the guide above
3) if you got bootloader exception error then keep tapping the home button fast until it reboots then just manually reboot and enter download mode
The first method was tested and worked on SAMSUNG GALAXY S7 EDGE SM-935F it may work on other Samsung devices and maybe other android devices but I cannot guarantee that it works on your device
** I take no responsibility for any damaged device, make sure you take a back up so you can go back to the state before you started following this guide!**
If the device gets bricked then always flash back to stock, if you cant enter download mode then just wait until your battery drains and then when you put it in the charger it may start up automatically so enter download mode fast or if you got bootloader exception error then keep tapping the home button fast until it reboots then just manually reboot and enter download mode
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Please donate and like this thread if you found this helpful, I have experienced this problem my self and it costed me €60! I said NO its too expansive so then I found this solution and now I am sharing it to the world, I could have let this guide cost €61 but my guides and solutions are free a support would be great for finding this out
Happy flashing and please confirm in the comments below if it worked for your device or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh no. i accidentally deleted the efs partition and it can't mount anymore what im gonna do now. im fvcked up please somebody help me
bamcarpio123 said:
oh no. i accidentally deleted the efs partition and it can't mount anymore what im gonna do now. im fvcked up please somebody help me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you created a back up of your efs partition? I have clearly written it in the guide with all caps. If you haven't made a back up, please do so to avoid getting into this situation in the future.
*WARNING* *TAKE A NANDROID BACKUP OF EFS AND BASEBAND BEFORE STARTING*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyways, I'm sorry to hear you got your self in this situation. Even though it has been a long time since I did this kind of stuff, I still remember that it's possible to fix this issue. I am sure that I have been in this situation before my self and that I somehow managed to get it back. Try to back up all your data, then flash stock rom with CSC file and not Home CSC
vigilante said:
Have you created a back up of your efs partition? I have clearly written it in the guide with all caps. If you haven't made a back up, please do so to avoid getting into this situation in the future.
Anyways, I'm sorry to hear you got your self in this situation. Even though it has been a long time since I did this kind of stuff, I still remember that it's possible to fix this issue. I am sure that I have been in this situation before my self and that I somehow managed to get it back. Try to back up all your data, then flash stock rom with CSC file and not Home CSC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry for being so stupid because I continued without performing a backup in TWRP, I forgot to back up the EFS, and when I panicked because I was already screwed up, I deleted the efs folder—which is incorrect. I deleted the efs partition before I saw this thread. And now it always says, "failed to mount /efs (invalid argument)" and I've done everything, and it seems like everything is done, I have no idea what to do. I haven't slept for four days and there is still no hope. but my phone is still okay with the stock firmware, but it always restarts. I did almost everything but still nothing
My phone's current csc code is THL (Thailand), but the original is XTC (Philippines), which is my nation, thus I'm curious why THL? of course I flash the right firmware which is the csc is XTC but if I check the CSC the CSC is still THL. I tried to change the csc using tools, but it cannot be change. There may be no hope. I'm worried about losing my phone, yet I'm to blame.
If I lose my IMEI, it won't matter. But the thing is my phone is always restarting every minute.
(can someone know how to disable auto-reboot so i can still use my phone even the EFS is damaged?)
ALSO THANKYOU FOR YOUR REPLY! I APPRECIATE IT!
EDIT: OH I FIX THE EFS PARTITION. NOW MY PROBLEM IS HOW TO GET OUT FROM THIS DARKNESS. HOW CAN I FIX THE IMEI AND BASEBAND WHAT EVER? HMM. BUT I WON'T GIVE UP
bamcarpio123 said:
My phone's current csc code is THL (Thailand), but the original is XTC (Philippines), which is my nation, thus I'm curious why THL? of course I flash the right firmware which is the csc is XTC but if I check the CSC the CSC is still THL. I tried to change the csc using tools, but it cannot be change. There may be no hope. I'm worried about losing my phone, yet I'm to blame.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to download this tool if you haven't already: https://samfirmtool.com/
I like to use this tool when flashing stock rom because I can download specific versions of stock ROMS and also enter the correct region in it. And to top it off the download is really quick (depending on your download speed of course)
Enter your device model number and at region enter the csc you need. It should download the correct files with the right csc. However, I did find this thread saying it is impossible to change your csc to XTC, but it is always worth a try.
If the CSC is XTC then try to follow this guide again to fix your EFS.
If it is not XTC then try to install a custom rom for your phone that has an aroma installer that allows you to pick a CSC, it might also help with the EFS problem but I am not sure.
EDIT: OH I FIX THE EFS PARTITION. NOW MY PROBLEM IS HOW TO GET OUT FROM THIS DARKNESS. HOW CAN I FIX THE IMEI AND BASEBAND WHAT EVER?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you have mentioned that your EFS partition is fixed, try to follow the guide again but correctly this time. Maybe it will work this time.
Can you tell me how you checked what your CSC is? And which phone do you have? In case this didn't work.
.
.
vigilante said:
Try to download this tool if you haven't already: https://samfirmtool.com/
I like to use this tool when flashing stock rom because I can download specific versions of stock ROMS and also enter the correct region in it. And to top it off the download is really quick (depending on your download speed of course)
Enter your device model number and at region enter the csc you need. It should download the correct files with the right csc. However, I did find this thread saying it is impossible to change your csc to XTC, but it is always worth a try.
If the CSC is XTC then try to follow this guide again to fix your EFS.
If it is not XTC then try to install a custom rom for your phone that has an aroma installer that allows you to pick a CSC, it might also help with the EFS problem but I am not sure.
Since you have mentioned that your EFS partition is fixed, try to follow the guide again but correctly this time. Maybe it will work this time.
Can you tell me how you checked what your CSC is? And which phone do you have? In case this didn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone is Samsung Galaxy J8. Before i start to flash custom rom, I took a snapshot of the device's hardware information and discovered that the csc is really XTC. I have completed all the necessary steps. I did everything right, but nothing actually changed. I'm so exhausted that I might just give up. I appreciate your assistance.
If I can't retrieve the imei, it's fine, but unfortunately my phone is always restarting
EDIT: MY PHONE IS NOW FIXED. THE SIMS ARE NOW WORKING, THE SIGNAL IS BACK AND I FEEL SO HAPPY. HOW DO I FIX? WELL I USED THIS METHOD, I DELETE ALL THE FILES FROM EFS FOLDER (NOT THE PARTITION JUST THE FILE INSIDE OF IT) THEN I FLASH THE LATEST STOCK ROM WHICH IS ANDROID 10 BUT THE CSC FILE IS FROM ANDROID 9 AND AFTER THAT I USED TFT SAMSUNG MODULE WHICH IS VERY HELPFUL AND LEGIT TOOL AND ITS 100% FREE!. THEN I FIX THE IMEI AND BASEBAND USING THAT TOOL AND YES THAT SOFTWARE IS A BEAST. AND NOW ITS WORKING PROPERLY. IT TOOK ME 2 WEEKS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM BUT IN REALITY ITS VERY SIMPLE HAHAHA! IT SAVES ME FROM SPENDING MONEY JUST TO SAVE MY PHONE BUT I DO NOT KNOW THAT I AM THE ONE WHO WILL FIX MY PHONE HAHA HOW COOL IS THAT. JUST DON'T GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS!
#FVCKTHATZ3XBOX
THANKS TO THIS METHOD AND TO SIR VIGILANTE.
EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE JUST DONT GIVE UP EVEN YOU'RE TIRED.

[OTA / UPDATE GUIDE WHILE MAGISK ROOTED] UPDATE FIRMWARE *WITHOUT LOSING DATA* (for stock Samsung ROM users)

** PLEASE DO YOUR PART AND READ / SEARCH / RESEARCH BEFORE POSTING AND/OR ATTEMPTING ANY MODIFICATIONS TO YOUR DEVICE. THIS GUIDE ASSUMES YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW TO OR HAVE ALREADY UNLOCKED YOUR BOOTLOADER, ALREADY ROOTED YOUR DEVICE, HOW TO FIX KG STATE ISSUES, HOW TO USE ODIN, 7-ZIP, LZ4 TOOL, ETC. THIS POST IS SIMPLY MY OBSERVATIONS AND STEPS TO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE WHILE ROOTED WITH MAGISK, WITHOUT LOSING DATA / REQUIRING A WIPE. MODIFYING YOUR DEVICE COMES WITH INHERENT RISKS, AND IT'S NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU LOSE YOUR DATA. THE STEPS I SHARE HAVE WORKED WITHOUT FAIL FOR ME, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU MAY NOT RUN INTO PROBLEMS. BACKUP YOUR DATA.**
The reason I decided to write up this guide is because of the extremely large amount of misinformation, as well as general noob-ness (no offense to anyone, just my observations to be completely honest), that I seem to come across when it comes to the Samsung sub-forums around here. I've seen many people state that updating the firmware on this particular device (Galaxy Tab S6 LITE) will REQUIRE a data wipe, which is simply not true in my experience. However, I will admit that the procedure is extremely bass ackwards when it comes to this particular device, so maybe that's why people have been claiming this.
This guide only applies to stock Samsung firmware users.
Spoiler: Boring Backstory (click to read):
I ditched Samsung a long time ago, after the Galaxy S5 (not TAB, but the phone) days, when they really started locking up the bootloaders on the USA variants. Only T-Mobile was excluded on that particular model, but from what I understand, pretty much all Snapdragons since then have been completely locked down, across all carriers. So first of all, F*CK Samsung for being dickholes. Other than that, I recently decided I wanted to start using an Android tablet again, so at first I bought a Galaxy Tab S6 Lite several months ago. Eventually I got the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, after hearing (and it's true) that the S7 series tablets actually kept Widevine L1 status after unlocking bootloader / rooting. Heck yeah.
Anyway, my Tab S6 Lite just gathered dust over the last few months, but now that I'm donating it to a friend of mine who's in school, I reloaded it with stock firmware, but rooted and heavily modified (he's an art student, so having all the stock Samsung / S-Pen integrations will be very useful for him). I finally decided to take some rough notes (written and mental, lol) about the process of updating the firmware WITHOUT losing data. As in updating your device as if like taking a standard OTA, but needing to do it manually because we're rooted and modified.
Unfortunately, like I said this device is freaking weird. Not sure if it's because it's Exynos (it's my first Exy device) or what, but it doesn't follow the same procedure as I've been used to back in the Galaxy phone days, other Tabs I've come across, nor with the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus I now own... Which is to literally follow the instructions as the creator of Magisk himself, @topjohnwu, published on his Github (see the Samsung section): https://topjohnwu.github.io/Magisk/install.html
But following those official Magisk instructions will result in this particular device not being able to boot, and you will need to wipe and start over. tl;dr - normally for sammy devices, you need to patch the full AP file in Magisk Manager and flash that in the AP slot in Odin because it also patches vbmeta to work around AVB. But for this device, this doesn't seem to be the case. At least in my experience.
Spoiler: Technical Rantings; Still Worth A Read IMO (click to read):
For some reason, on this particular device, you can't just patch the entire AP file. That will result in your device not booting, and eventually requiring a clean (wipe it all) Odin flash. Instead you need to flash the full, unmodified AP file (which normally would screw you over and is completely advised against), and then some extra steps... Anyway, I've outlined those steps below, as well as some preparation you'll need to do beforehand, which really just involves patching the boot image itself and placing in a .tar archive, which I would hope you already know how to do to be perfectly honest.
Not sure WTF is going on, as on other Samsung devices, you want to patch the entire AP file because Magisk will also automatically patch the vbmeta image thus working around AVB restrictions. It's really freaking weird to me because normally failing to patch vbmeta should normally result in inability to boot and subsequent SOL situation where you need to wipe... but with this device, it's ass backwards. And Magisk does indeed patch the vbmeta image when patching the full AP for this device... Why instead you need to skip patching the full AP file and flash just the patched boot image separately (thus skipping patching vbmeta) makes little sense to me. Not sure why this tablet is different, but again I'm not usually a huge fan of Samsung anyway so I really don't give AF. But they make the best Android tablets, so now that I've recently bought them (though I won't have this model S6 Lite for much longer), well I wanted to share with you guys; here are my working update instructions for the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, without losing data. At least it works for me.
FOLLOW THIS GUIDE AT YOUR OWN RISK! AND BACKUP YOUR CRAP BEFORE ATTEMPTING, JUST IN CASE.
I'm not responsible for any problems you incur, etc. etc. blah blah.
(BTW, this is for the SM-P610 - WiFi USA version. Not tested on LTE, and if you try on LTE, you'll also have a CP file to flash, fyi. I have no experience with the LTE model either). This guide assumes you already have your bootloader unlocked, know how to use Odin, aren't a complete noob, and can at least restore back to stock if crap goes sideways.
Below are some bonus resources anyway, to hopefully clear up some silly questions before they come up.​
* Please thank the devs and OP's of these posts if you find them helpful and/or use their tools. It's the least you can do! *
[FRIJA] USE THIS TO DOWNLOAD THE LATEST FIRMWARE: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/tool-frija-samsung-firmware-downloader-checker.3910584/
[ODIN *PATCHED*] I RECOMMEND VERSION "Odin3 v3.14.1_3B_PatcheD": https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/patched-odin-3-13-1.3762572/
[LZ4 TOOL] DECRYPTS LZ4 EXTENSION'D FILES: https://github.com/lz4/lz4/releases
[BL WARNING TEXT REMOVAL] TO REMOVE UGLY WARNING TEXT AT BOOT: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...tock-firmwares-modded-bl-warningtext.4195829/
* Please thank the devs and OP's of these posts if you find them helpful and/or use their tools. It's the least you can do! *
***************************** STEPS TO UPDATE FIRMWARE: *****************************​
Use Frija (download thread provided above), or download firmware from somewhere like samfw.com
Open / unzip the firmware, and then open the AP archive and pull boot.img.lz4.
Using LZ4 tool (download thread provided above), decrypt boot.img.lz4 to boot.img
* you can just simply drag and drop the boot.img.lz4 file over the lz4.exe binary in Windows explorer
Copy boot.img to your tablet. Open Magisk (Manager) and patch the file.
Copy the Magisk Patched boot file back to your PC. Rename it as boot.img
Create .tar file (tar file name doesn't matter) containing ONLY boot.img - do not use compression (if using 7-Zip, add the boot.img to archive, select archive format as "tar", and use compression level as "Store"). While the .tar file name doesn't matter, IT SHOULD ONLY CONTAIN A SINGLE FILE - boot.img
Reboot to download mode. Hook up your tablet to your PC.
**IT MAY GET SCARY HERE ON SOME STEPS, BUT CONTINUE FOLLOWING THIS EXACTLY**
(Use Odin3 v3.14.1_3B_PatcheD, link provided above)
Flash new stock firmware, using BL / AP / HOME_CSC (must use HOME_CSC to not wipe data, DO NOT USE THE REGULAR CSC FILE OR IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY WIPE). If you have LTE version, also flash the CP file in CP slot. WiFi version does not have CP file.
Using default Odin options is fine (F. Reset Time, Auto Reboot). In fact, I would recommend it for the sake of following this guide.
It'll be scary, but it will reboot a few times and eventually boot into recovery mode. Don't interrupt the process and let it eventually settle on its own into recovery mode (after a few seemingly failed boot attempts).
It'll make you think you're screwed and must factory wipe the device. DON'T FREAK OUT. Options will be:
Try again
Factory data reset
View recovery logs
While USB cable is still plugged into the tablet and computer, select Try again (tap power button, but don't hold the button down) and then immediately hold down volume up and down at the same time so that and until it goes back to download mode. As prompted, press volume up to continue.
Using Odin, flash ONLY the magisk patched boot image tar file (uncheck BL / CSC boxes if Odin is still open from before). Also you can flash the modified bootloader splash tar as well at this time, might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Again, you can just leave default options enabled (F. Reset Time, Auto Reboot).
Again, this will be very scary. It won't boot to system, but rather bootloader again. Probably an error at the bottom, something like "failed to load locales from the resource files" / "failed to compare" / whatever. However, the normal recovery options should now be available.
YOU WILL ONLY WIPE CACHE PARTITION (scroll down to "Wipe cache partition", and then confirm yes. Then select "Reboot system now".
It will take a while to boot, but this time you should eventually get to the lone "SAMSUNG" boot logo (this is a great sign), and then eventually get the "Tablet is updating..." box which shows the progress as it re-optimizes all of your apps.
That's it, and once it finishes optimizing your apps, should continue to load to your lockscreen! If so, congratulations, you've now updated to the latest firmware while retaining root without losing your data!
**********************************************************​
Even with a heavily modified tablet, this has worked over several months, including the jump from A10 to A11. SafetyNet still passes (using kdrag0n's module), YouTube Vanced (my module), LSposed with Firefds kit and GravityBox R, and a bunch of other Magisk modules.
I'm very much aware you can save time by tweaking the above process, but this was the very safest exact procedure I could think of, so I recommend following it exactly as I wrote above.
Good luck, I hope it works for you, and enjoy your tablets!
just in case
and another
Damn, thanks dude. I'd just about given up clean flashing and thought I'll give your suggestion a go and it worked like a Boss! Im using the LTE version and not a single hiccup. Thank you for saving me a huge hassle. Only things i didn't follow was use frija, paid$2.99 and got the firmware. Everything else was exactly what you did. Worked man! Thank you so much again.
If anyone wants the latest. ACR firmware for SM-P615, lemme know and I'll share my drive link with you.
Cheers! Kudos. On latest may update now.
Didn't do the 2 birds one stone thing, was scared. I'm gonna do that later. Again, just to clarify, i run Magisk only for and root level file brousing, does it really matter if i don't pass the test? Everything runs as it should, just curious if there was a benefit to it.
Thanks a lot for this detailed guide!
It worked perfectly on my Galaxy tab S7, I updated it successfully with magisk already installed.
didnt work for me on the CUH2 update
sunmybun said:
didnt work for me on the CUH2 update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually just tried it and it does still work for CUH2. I am happy for this firmware as I was having a weird system reboot every time I unlock with PIN.
shattacrew said:
I actually just tried it and it does still work for CUH2. I am happy for this firmware as I was having a weird system reboot every time I unlock with PIN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it mightve not worked for me because i decrypted my data partition by factory reset and disabling the system to encrypt and check the partition before booting.
one of the tablets is encrypted and is using the KOO firmware, and the updating steps doesnt work either.
Ive flashed the tablets that were originally XAR firmware to KOO firmware.
im giving my inputs with my situation.
if anyone can find a way for my situtation, let me know =)
So I haven't updated my rooted tablet since the September 2020 update. Can I still jump to the latest version and still root or do I need to do some additional steps first?
still hasnt worked for me. I even went back to the tablet being encrypted.
for people who updated to DUL9 and rooted. please tell me the steps because it doesnt work for me
Can you specify the process of creating the TAR file? I patched the boot file from AP in Magisk already.
I used WinRar to make a .zip containing boot.img, then renamed it from AP-SLOT.zip to AP-SLOT.tar. Don't know if that's acceptable. I also used the "Store" compression method.
Afterwards what slot in Odin do you upload the .tar file to? I tried the AP slot but it hangs at "File analysis.....". It seems like it want a .tar.md5 file
TheCoryGuy said:
Can you specify the process of creating the TAR file? I patched the boot file from AP in Magisk already.
I used WinRar to make a .zip containing boot.img, then renamed it from AP-SLOT.zip to AP-SLOT.tar. Don't know if that's acceptable. I also used the "Store" compression method.
Afterwards what slot in Odin do you upload the .tar file to? I tried the AP slot but it hangs at "File analysis.....". It seems like it want a .tar.md5 file
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you cant just rename from zip to tar. you have to use a diff program like 7zip to make into .tar
Great instruction. Everything is up and running and that stupid splash screen is gone. Great job, @i5lee8bit.
Late for the party...
I've found a python utility to download Samsung firmware at full speed.
It's quite easy to use:
SamLoader
[Tool] Samloader (SamFirm / Frija replacement)
Hello, I recently wanted to download some firmware for my Samsung device, but I realized that there is no 100% open source program to do so. In fact, all the tools that claim to do so require a library that is packed by Themida (so it is...
forum.xda-developers.com
Thank you @i5lee8bit this worked like a charm.
One question though, using a patched Odin is a not a requirement, is it?
Thank you @eddiefive for samloader link.
I just completed this to upgrade to Android 13 on my Tab S6 Lite. It worked perfectly. Thanks so much. I'm always amazed at the community support here.
awtompson said:
I just completed this to upgrade to Android 13 on my Tab S6 Lite. It worked perfectly. Thanks so much. I'm always amazed at the community support here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had successfully used this method to update to Android 12 (SM-P610_2_20221024120141_tk8omuwosv_fac)
I just tried updating to Android 13 (SM-P610_3_20230118120131_f9h5nltlpa_fac) and after wiping the cache step and rebooting to system, it goes into bootloop.
I tried twice, and in fact I re-downloaded everything and did all the steps just in case there was any corruption in any step or I missed something. Same thing. bootloop.
Had to re-apply Android 12 to recover the tablet.
I used Odin3 v3.14.1_3B_PatcheD
Any ideas?
badabing2003 said:
I had successfully used this method to update to Android 12 (SM-P610_2_20221024120141_tk8omuwosv_fac)
I just tried updating to Android 13 (SM-P610_3_20230118120131_f9h5nltlpa_fac) and after wiping the cache step and rebooting to system, it goes into bootloop.
I tried twice, and in fact I re-downloaded everything and did all the steps just in case there was any corruption in any step or I missed something. Same thing. bootloop.
Had to re-apply Android 12 to recover the tablet.
I used Odin3 v3.14.1_3B_PatcheD
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really. I did not use the patched Odin but I don't think that'st the problem. The boot after wiping cache did take long time, but no boot loops. The trickiest part is getting it to reboot into download mode after the "Try again" step. Wish I could be more help.
awtompson said:
Not really. I did not use the patched Odin but I don't think that'st the problem. The boot after wiping cache did take long time, but no boot loops. The trickiest part is getting it to reboot into download mode after the "Try again" step. Wish I could be more help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, rebooting to download was easy for me, but the damn thing almost immediately would go into bootloop after the wipe, no long wait.

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