Related
Hey guys! After flashing to xxkpe, the phone and csc both showed "unknown". After repeated flashes the csc problem was fixed but even after flashing 5 times the phone still showed unknown and it wont recognize the sim card. any suggestions???
what did you flash? more details please...
Oh sorry i forgot to add i flashed XXKPE!!!
Is your IMEI visible
No IT IS NOT. I flashed back to xxkp9 and same problem!
Open phone and dial *#06#
If it doesn't show the imei number and you don't have the back up, your only option is samsung service center
Sent from my GT-I9003 using XDA App
1. Try flashing XXKPE twice. Use the latona file before the first flash only. Then factory reset after flashing the firmware for the first time. You probably placed the files wrong.
2. You can always try to use someone's nandroid backup of CWM and restore on your phone and test and check.
3. Service center.
how to make the back up of IMEI
tarunagg said:
how to make the back up of IMEI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Backup IMEI
Basically the method is almost alike. Just flashing it is an issue that I don't know how.
I think you post in wrong forum
I just used Root Explorer and copied my "/efs" folder to my external SD card (i.e copy "/efs" folder as a whole to "/mnt/sdcard/external_sd/backup").
But it sounds like you hadn't done this backup before you flashed. I think the only option is to go to the service centre and have them recover it for you. Before you go, take a Nandroid backup using CWM and a backup using TitaniumBackup. Make sure all the backups from Titanium go to the external SD card.
Also it is probably best to flash back to your original firmware (or something close from here) before giving it to them, and try to act innocent (---> "What's a firmware!?! I flashed who?!?!")
BTW @ Misledz: Here is the original post. Also contains a compressed efs attachment. Do you think it would be too complex to modify that and flash it (find the IMEI from the box and manually input)?
Cherio!
Can anyone please upload a copy of the efs folder?
Hi guys,
One miraculous day, my efs folder became corrupt, when it just so happened to be the week after the hard drive on my computer took a dump! What a week this has been.. I was wondering if it is possible for someone to zip their EFS folder and send it to me to see if I can't get this phone to connect back to the network again. I honestly think there are applications on androids marketplace that will wipe things if you have superuser installed.. because it was like BAM, one morning I wake up and my efs folder was deleted the day after I had installed some new apps.
So my question is - Will someone send me a backup of their EFS? If that won't conflict with their phone of course -- I would send it back to Samsung, but their 3rd tier support has no idea what I'm talking about - they just hear root and think I'm a piece of trash.
Any help would be greatly appreciated - I have not seen anything about trying someone elses efs so I thought it could be a bit experimental as well.. Thanks
-Brett
Salmiery said:
Hi guys,
One miraculous day, my efs folder became corrupt, when it just so happened to be the week after the hard drive on my computer took a dump! What a week this has been.. I was wondering if it is possible for someone to zip their EFS folder and send it to me to see if I can't get this phone to connect back to the network again. I honestly think there are applications on androids marketplace that will wipe things if you have superuser installed.. because it was like BAM, one morning I wake up and my efs folder was deleted the day after I had installed some new apps.
So my question is - Will someone send me a backup of their EFS? If that won't conflict with their phone of course -- I would send it back to Samsung, but their 3rd tier support has no idea what I'm talking about - they just hear root and think I'm a piece of trash.
Any help would be greatly appreciated - I have not seen anything about trying someone elses efs so I thought it could be a bit experimental as well.. Thanks
-Brett
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an interesting request, Brett.
I thought the efs.rfs file contains one's phone imei number/network id etc.
idk for sure...
I thought using someone else's imei is kinda like "let me borrow your ss# so i can check the ss office to see if mine is working.
I didn't know if you found this link and tried it?
http://forum.samdroid.net/f28/complete-imei-restore-how-1817/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=882039
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=953436
Fortunately for me, I had a efs backup on my hd.
I think I also saw scripts in Zeus and Doctor ROM that backs up efs also prior to flash..
good luck
I wasn't trying to steal anyone's IMEI.. I just have tried multiple techniques, but I have not tried the first link..
I've been having trouble getting a shell with adb, does it need to be in download mode?
I was trying to see if it were possible to copy someone's existing files, and use a hex editor to change things, but reading into it, the IMEI is not able to be edited easily without knowing the encyrption type.
I'm just frustrated and have been back and forth with both at&t and also samsung (Their support is a joke, no one I spoke with even knew what the EFS folder was..)
I will try this technique and will report back later when I get home from work tonight. I've been reading a lot of similar issues with the null/null IMEI in the infuses and the guy at the AT&T store said that this was the reason they stopped selling the phone in their store.
Thanks for the help, I'll let you know what happens.
-Brett
Goodluck.
From the tone of your post, I didn't suspect any malice...I had a gist of what you were trying to do.
From reading some of links, there may be some method of recovery.
I hope that you're able to get it back.
I posted one a while back. I think it was in the q&a section. I won't be at my computer for a couple of days or I'd upload it for ya. Try searching or scrolling thru there.
Edit: I just uploaded an EFS.zip, unzip and flash the included efs.tar thru Odin or heimdall.
I had the same problem but i fixed it through Odin. There is an option in odin where you can click on the side (sorry i just reformated the comp so i dont have odin installed) that says something about the EFS. Try that, it fixed it for me.
On a related note. I thought I read somewhere that typical backups such as tibu and nandroid do NOT back up the efs folder. Is this correct? Should we all be doing this manually to protect against corruption?
Try searching here or on market. I remember there was this app called "nitrality" something. This app backs up EFS that we can restore in case we mess it up.
diablo009 said:
Try searching here or on market. I remember there was this app called "nitrality" something. This app backs up EFS that we can restore in case we mess it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did try to dl that app and ran it. It didn't work for me. The app hung up the system until you fc it.
If you're versed in linux or Term emu, you can use script to back up your efs.
If you had flashed zeus or doctorz, there are scripts build in that backs up your efs.
if you had root explorer, you can find efs folder in your root. long press on the folder allows you to create zip or tar of this as well.
Any harm in just copy/paste the whole folder to external SD with root explorer? Then copy paste to windows over USB? Will permissions get messed up?
I think I've already backed it up but there have been a couple threads on this. Wonder if it should be part of superthread or a sticky...do this first :...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
rxnelson said:
Any harm in just copy/paste the whole folder to external SD with root explorer? Then copy paste to windows over USB? Will permissions get messed up?
I think I've already backed it up but there have been a couple threads on this. Wonder if it should be part of superthread or a sticky...do this first :...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no problem with copy/paste that I know of.
Being cautious, I have a zip, a tar, and the whole folder on my PC, USB and box.net.
Hypothetically,
I have access to another Infuse on the same family plan at that, if i were to copy the efs folder to mine what would that do?
I want to make sure not to have the same IMEI number on the network though, but this could save me a lot of hassle...
any thoughts?
Read the threads on the links I provided...you will get more understanding.
I have multiple times, but the first post that seemed like it would be the best fix, I have to get him to send me a fixed nv_data file and he seems to be unresponsive at the moment.
I think I'm going to root the 2nd infuse, back up her efs folder (MULTIPLE times lol) and fix it so it's generic and not an exact replica of hers..
Do you see any problems there? I'm definitely not an expert at all with this.
Salmiery said:
I have multiple times, but the first post that seemed like it would be the best fix, I have to get him to send me a fixed nv_data file and he seems to be unresponsive at the moment.
I think I'm going to root the 2nd infuse, back up her efs folder (MULTIPLE times lol) and fix it so it's generic and not an exact replica of hers..
Do you see any problems there? I'm definitely not an expert at all with this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In order to see what is on the root of a phone, you may need to root it.
Once rooted, you can look for the efs folder.
I haven't used z4root in a while on an unrooted phone, I don't know if this program will let you see the root folder or not. It's possible.
The efs on my phone shows several programs and folders.
One of the folder is /imei. I suppose this is where the unique id is located.
read the thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1372455
as you can see, the efs contains unique id...i'm not sure of even how to make up a different imei file from using someone else's efs folder.
if your phone boots up but does not connect, if you go to settings/about phone/status
does it list the imei?
if it does, are you able to use a script in terminal emulator to back it up?
if you can't find the script, you can try flashing doctor or zeus rom, they have scripts to back up your efs folder. then try locating it on your phone.
the other thought i had was for you to call your provider to see if they can give you your previous imei number.
I'm only reasoning from what I have read...these are new territory to me.
Right, I have rooted my phone and for whatever reason the EFS folder is completely empty... The folder is there, but completley empty.
I have the IMEI number, its on the back of the phone as well as AT&T gave it to me.
The fact that my entire folder is empty, and I hadn't backed anything up because I never flashed the kernel or rom makes me think that the android marketplace does have malicious code that simply says:
if(phone==rooted){
wipe efs foler
}
continuing to pull my hair out and attempt new things, if anyone has any ideas let me know.
Salmiery said:
continuing to pull my hair out and attempt new things, if anyone has any ideas let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out Post # 5, I just edited my post.
its not simply a folder its actually a partition, on Linux you can mount drives/partitions however you like so it can appear to be under another directory and be an entirely different device.
you can make a .rfs image from the dd command through adb or terminal emulator.
if it is corrupt you "may" be able to salvage it through options of the dd command.
I gotta look up the device path and whatnot but if there is anything on there, visable or not, you might be able to recover the unique files and paste them over the files from someone else's efs backup. if not I have heard but never tried it, but I heard that fromatting the partition will cause the system to generate a generic efs, but I don't know for sure.
edit: the device location is /dev/block/stl3
you can dump it to the SD card with
dd if=/dev/block/stl3 of=/sdcard/efs.rfs bs=4096
if there are bad blocks I think but not quite sure you can add noerror to the end
dd if=/dev/block/stl3 of=/sdcard/efs.rfs bs=4096 noerror
but if the information has actually been deleted unless it was overwritten it is mostly intact. it is not well known that delete doesn't actually delete the data, even after a format data can be recovered with the right program. if the dumps come up empty there is also dd_rescue and foremost but I don't know if those commands are available on android, but you may be able to loop mount the dump on a Linux box or in cygwin and try the ddrescue or foremost commands.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/learn-the-dd-command-362506/
hopefully you can recover something. and learn something along the way. this is also useful for recovering deleted files and securely deleting stuff you want gone for real.
i remember I lost my efs on my captivate. There are tools in the forum to get it back.
Salmiery said:
Hi guys,
One miraculous day, my efs folder became corrupt, when it just so happened to be the week after the hard drive on my computer took a dump! What a week this has been.. I was wondering if it is possible for someone to zip their EFS folder and send it to me to see if I can't get this phone to connect back to the network again. I honestly think there are applications on androids marketplace that will wipe things if you have superuser installed.. because it was like BAM, one morning I wake up and my efs folder was deleted the day after I had installed some new apps.
So my question is - Will someone send me a backup of their EFS? If that won't conflict with their phone of course -- I would send it back to Samsung, but their 3rd tier support has no idea what I'm talking about - they just hear root and think I'm a piece of trash.
Any help would be greatly appreciated - I have not seen anything about trying someone elses efs so I thought it could be a bit experimental as well.. Thanks
-Brett
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh, NO than you. My EFS folder has nothing to do with yours. Don't know how that would work...
What is it? Because I want to download the mokeeOS, but the installation is confusing me, so I wanna know if the efs matters
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA
1. Yes efs matters a lot
2. I don't know a whole lot but it holds the network info, imei number, and alot of other really important things
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium
Although there is a way to make sure you have a backup, flash this file in cwm
sourceforge.net/projects/teamacid/files/fb/cwm/cm7-efs-backup.zip/download
And there will be two files in the root of your sd card
Efs-backup.tar and efs-backup.tar.md5 ( I suggest save it to your computer, it saved my ass )
And you can restore this backup at anytime by flashing this
sourceforge.net/projects/teamacid/files/fb/cwm/cm7-efs-restore.zip/download
Good luck
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium
Efs is the files system that holds the unique identifiers for your device. Without it, your phone is basically useless. You won't be able to connect to any network properly do things like phone calls, internet, texting, are all degraded, if they even work at all... Make sure you know what you are doing before messing with it. Fb created a vet good guide on the wiki. Follow it to a T!
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA
I would suggest using a root browser to copy the EFS folder to somewhere safe on your PC and copy a 2nd back-up to your SD card. I lost IMEI going from CM7 to moKeeOS but was able to easliy restore it with a back-up and a root browser.
The flashable EFS back-up/restore from FB should still be used, but with EFS/IMEI I don't think you can be too careful and backing it up manually as previously stated is a good idea.
Yeah, I keep multiple copies of it on my PC. The reason being is that I copy it whenever I do a backup before a flash. So I have a directory with the date with 3 folders: efs, nandroid, and sdcard. I used adb to copy them:
Code:
cd efs
adb pull /efs/
Probably overkill, but better to be safe than sorry, eh?
Ok, but once you lose IMEI and don't have a backup (I received this phone for repair), then what can I do?
serialteg said:
Ok, but once you lose IMEI and don't have a backup (I received this phone for repair), then what can I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's pretty much screwed without the OEM Samsung/Tmo software. You would have to send it to Samsung for repair, or you might get lucky and get an engineer to hook you up, but that is unlikely...
thomas.raines said:
It's pretty much screwed without the OEM Samsung/Tmo software. You would have to send it to Samsung for repair, or you might get lucky and get an engineer to hook you up, but that is unlikely...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the answer. that OEM software isn't available in the forums or anywhere else for us? because I swear I flashed something OEM'ish without root with heimdall.
also, the imei is on the battery part of the phone, can't i fix it?
i read somewhere that you could use a phone just fine without imei on the about phone.
you can use the phone without imei, but it doesn't function as well as it would with it. Also, i was using titanium backup and it said my device's id was changed, and it showed my actual imei. If i were to restore it, would that fix the imei?
EFS help on the SGH-T959V
Basically, I've had a hell of a time with some EFS drama this weekend, made a total noob mistake, but in a stroke of luck I was able to "recover" so to speak my EFS even after it was supposedly "wiped."
After some thorough research and READING and bit of thought, I realized that the PIT mapping layouts between BML and MTD are indeed different, and that in theory if one remaps to BML (in layman's terms a stock partition map) then the EFS data originally on the phone gets correctly remapped (at least in my case it did).
To reiterate:
1. I did a nandroid backup. Basic ****. I hope to god you at least did this step too.
2. I used the cm7-efs-backup.zip script to backup my EFS. This was my first mistake. In my case, I don't know why I'm still researching, this script failed to make a backup .tar on my sdcard or anywhere else for that matter. It didn't throw any error messages either on the screen in the process. Not trying to attack the authors of that script, I'm just saying it didn't work for me this time.
3. I pushed the TWRP boot.img with Heimdall
4. I used the cm7-efs-restore.zip script which also "succeeded" but did nothing to restore any sort of EFS obviously because there was no backup to begin with.
5. I flashed R11 unofficial cm7 and booted up. Everything was fine but the IMEI was corrupted and I confirmed that the new MTD EFS partition was empty. On T-Mobile I could place no calls and only got sporadic and intermittent data access.
It was at this point I was sure I had ruined my phone.
After some more careful reading I realized that the original EFS was still present on the firmware, however the new MTD layout I flashed (wisely) stores its EFS partition in a different physical location. In theory, I thought if I reverted to BML and a stock ROM then I would recover the original EFS. In my case, this was successful.
1. I accessed the most recent "boot.img" file from my most recent nandroid and pushed that back to the device with Heimdall
2. At this point you have to flip your USB drivers back to USB Composite Device.
3. I then used a Heimdall one click to return to a rooted stock KJ6 "Gremlin Remover"
4. Upon restart, everything was fine (sigh of relief)
At this point, I'm still trying to determine why my EFS cannot be backed up with a few automatic tools. I made a backup of the file structure, but even lyriquidperfection's EFS Pro 1.4.7 can't make a backup of the EFS. It can access the ADB Server, but the backup 'fails'.
I'll check back in after I figure out why.
Hopefully this info will help anyone else who has switched to MTD and has a missing EFS.
nick.tansy said:
At this point, I'm still trying to determine why my EFS cannot be backed up with a few automatic tools. I made a backup of the file structure, but even lyriquidperfection's EFS Pro 1.4.7 can't make a backup of the EFS. It can access the ADB Server, but the backup 'fails'.
I'll check back in after I figure out why.
Hopefully this info will help anyone else who has switched to MTD and has a missing EFS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had similar issues yesterday. If your trying to install the twrp and then downgrade to the version with wifi dont flash the boot.img with heimdall. Follow the instructions for installing via cwm.
Just install the zip that has twrp in it. But follow the directions for normal cwm installation.
Also when trying to make a backup of your efs, make sure system is mounted. I initially did not have any problem but I was on antonx's kernel and when you flash with that recovery it would mount properly. What is happening is system isnt getting mounted. So its making a null backup.
The most important thing to do is when you are trying to make a backup of your efs is mount system!
Hi have you tried the updated EFS Pro v1.7.13? It can now automatically detect the mount point of the '/efs' folder for back up and restore. Also many many bug fixes and new code to communicate with adb.exe alot more quickly and efficiently.
Head over to the forum and check it out.
I already solved this problem, but this would seem useful other people with the same problem. But what forums are you exactly referring to?
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA
mierkat09 said:
I already solved this problem, but this would seem useful other people with the same problem. But what forums are you exactly referring to?
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=18524176
I can't really take credit for this, but I just restored my IMEI without a backup of the efs folder. Keep in mind that I actually deleted my efs folder by accident, so I didn't even have the original efs folder.
The original thread I referenced is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=31771228#post31771228
FYI, this method will restore your phone to stock Gingerbread.
Here is what you do:
1.)
A) Download and unzip the Gingerbread unbrick package here from (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27286083#post27286083):
w/ root - http://d-h.st/ewu
w/o root - http://d-h.st/G6g
B)
Download and unzip the efs zip here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1152914&d=1340558510
2.) Place phone in download mode.
3.) If needed, install latest Samsung USB drivers by installing Samsung Kies from HERE.
4.) Open the included Odin exe.
5.) If phone is detected, the window under ID:COM will turn yellow.
6.) Click on "PIT" to browse to and select infuse_gb.pit. Make sure that Re-Partition is selected.
7.) Click on "PDA" to browse to and select PDA_UCLB3.tar.md5.
8.) Click on "PHONE" to browse to and select PHONE_UCLB3.tar.md5.
9.) Click on "CSC" to browse to the efs.tar
10.) Click the Phone EFS Clear checkbox
11.) Click on "Start", and allow Odin to flash the phone. Do not unplug or power off the phone until Odin is finished.
12.) When the Odin dialogue reads "PASS!", the phone should reboot into the stock UCLB3 Setup Wizard. For me this step just proceeded to install an update and the reboot the phone.
Once the phone reboots, if your SIM card is installed you should be good to go, otherwise you will get an alert about your SIM card which means you need to power off and pop in the SIM card.
Thanks to the original thread author for this one.
It works perfect for me even without the .nv_data file. Before this i only get simbols instead the imei number. You save my phone!
recovered IMEI by just flashing the CM10 base
I dunno if it's just me or what. I lost my IMEI on Slim Bean.. so I had this thought. I hadn't had this issue with the CM10 rom, so I decided to do the standard flashing procedure. Once CM10 was installed my IMEI came back. I had full signal and all is good. I decided to go back to Slim Bean to see if it would fix the IMEI issue. I flashed it just like the OP stated and walah! I had my IMEI back and everything worked without having to go back to GB, ICS and then JB again. I don't know if this will help anyone, but just wanted to note other people about it. Why did this work for me?
will this mess up my phone more?
I am running froyo 2.2.1 ,I guess it is stock, as I pick this phone up in pawn shop, and it was already rooted. I was doing the command line argument dd and a bunch of stuff, to get some file to get my unlock code. I didn't get no bak file copy, gave up put my sim card back in and that's when I noticed my imei was gone, then I had go launcher installed, so my screen goes blank I end up having to do the three finger data wipe, then I see I got no wifi either. Then I get this phone, DL some apk files, try to reinstall busy box, no go, teller me it don't think it has su permission after I gave it through that super user program, then it say it cant install into /dev/sh/ what ever, so all I got is a really nice looking video player.
So now that I got all that out of me.
2 questions, will flashing gingerbread overtop of froyo, will not make it worse?
Why do one have to flash in the first place, why can't one just copy over the old-time files, or someone find which file goods the imei number then just to in isinglass a file manager open that file, as it should be just what is caller a flat file, meaning no special formating like a Word file.
Then just save it. I am not an expert at android wse (whatsoever) but I have played with copying over top of files, or deleting the old-time one then replacing it with a new one. Why Doesn't that work, has anyone player around just opening there files to see what they look like and figure out where they stick the imei number?
Seems to me should be an easy manner of doing, but now that I don't have an individual showing I am not even sure which file I should try to type that number in to to see what will happen as I don't want to make this phone completely useless.
Any commentary, ideas, anything?
Thanks
MikieD
mikied12 said:
I am running froyo 2.2.1 ,I guess it is stock, as I pick this phone up in pawn shop, and it was already rooted. I was doing the command line argument dd and a bunch of stuff, to get some file to get my unlock code. I didn't get no bak file copy, gave up put my sim card back in and that's when I noticed my imei was gone, then I had go launcher installed, so my screen goes blank I end up having to do the three finger data wipe, then I see I got no wifi either. Then I get this phone, DL some apk files, try to reinstall busy box, no go, teller me it don't think it has su permission after I gave it through that super user program, then it say it cant install into /dev/sh/ what ever, so all I got is a really nice looking video player.
So now that I got all that out of me.
2 questions, will flashing gingerbread overtop of froyo, will not make it worse?
Why do one have to flash in the first place, why can't one just copy over the old-time files, or someone find which file goods the imei number then just to in isinglass a file manager open that file, as it should be just what is caller a flat file, meaning no special formating like a Word file.
Then just save it. I am not an expert at android wse (whatsoever) but I have played with copying over top of files, or deleting the old-time one then replacing it with a new one. Why Doesn't that work, has anyone player around just opening there files to see what they look like and figure out where they stick the imei number?
Seems to me should be an easy manner of doing, but now that I don't have an individual showing I am not even sure which file I should try to type that number in to to see what will happen as I don't want to make this phone completely useless.
Any commentary, ideas, anything?
Thanks
MikieD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is either a joke or a joke.
Many Thanks
zackdjones said:
I can't really take credit for this, but I just restored my IMEI without a backup of the efs folder. Keep in mind that I actually deleted my efs folder by accident, so I didn't even have the original efs folder.
The original thread I referenced is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=31771228#post31771228
FYI, this method will restore your phone to stock Gingerbread.
Here is what you do:
1.)
A) Download and unzip the Gingerbread unbrick package here from (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27286083#post27286083):
w/ root - http://d-h.st/ewu
w/o root - http://d-h.st/G6g
B)
Download and unzip the efs zip here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1152914&d=1340558510
2.) Place phone in download mode.
3.) If needed, install latest Samsung USB drivers by installing Samsung Kies from HERE.
4.) Open the included Odin exe.
5.) If phone is detected, the window under ID:COM will turn yellow.
6.) Click on "PIT" to browse to and select infuse_gb.pit. Make sure that Re-Partition is selected.
7.) Click on "PDA" to browse to and select PDA_UCLB3.tar.md5.
8.) Click on "PHONE" to browse to and select PHONE_UCLB3.tar.md5.
9.) Click on "CSC" to browse to the efs.tar
10.) Click the Phone EFS Clear checkbox
11.) Click on "Start", and allow Odin to flash the phone. Do not unplug or power off the phone until Odin is finished.
12.) When the Odin dialogue reads "PASS!", the phone should reboot into the stock UCLB3 Setup Wizard. For me this step just proceeded to install an update and the reboot the phone.
Once the phone reboots, if your SIM card is installed you should be good to go, otherwise you will get an alert about your SIM card which means you need to power off and pop in the SIM card.
Thanks to the original thread author for this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just wanted to thank all of you who have contributed your brain power to the xda forums. This advise worked great and after a lot of self doubt I now consider myself a semi-noob. Thanks again.
A J
Thanks on this. I had a backup of my EFS folder, but the tool I used to create it made a .img file and once I got it into JB, the tool didnt work. UGH.
Just want to say thank you for posting this. I have a friend who had her Infuse stop getting calls, texts, etc. Turns out her IMEI was all question marks and other invalid characters. ATT wouldn't help her at all and either did a full reset.
thank you, this method really works!! finally my imei is back...no more symbols, now is time for a efs back up
Since when do phones lose their imei's? That's a new one on me.
sholsten said:
Since when do phones lose their imei's? That's a new one on me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It happened for me twice on two separate phones when using MIUI. Basically the ROM managed to corrupt the system partition, specifically the efs folder.
I don't know the specifics of why, but it happens to a lot of people. That's why I always now make sure I have a backup of the efs just in case.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
zackdjones said:
It happened for me twice on two separate phones when using MIUI. Basically the ROM managed to corrupt the system partition, specifically the efs folder.
I don't know the specifics of why, but it happens to a lot of people. That's why I always now make sure I have a backup of the efs just in case.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This method didn't work for me :\ Any other ways to solve this issue?
can i use this Efs on galaxy R to repair unknown baseband & Blank imei????
Thank you very much. This is what I need
worked great. thank you.
zackdjones said:
I can't really take credit for this, but I just restored my IMEI without a backup of the efs folder. Keep in mind that I actually deleted my efs folder by accident, so I didn't even have the original efs folder.
The original thread I referenced is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=31771228#post31771228
FYI, this method will restore your phone to stock Gingerbread.
Here is what you do:
1.)
A) Download and unzip the Gingerbread unbrick package here from (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27286083#post27286083):
w/ root - http://d-h.st/ewu
w/o root - http://d-h.st/G6g
B)
Download and unzip the efs zip here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1152914&d=1340558510
2.) Place phone in download mode.
3.) If needed, install latest Samsung USB drivers by installing Samsung Kies from HERE.
4.) Open the included Odin exe.
5.) If phone is detected, the window under ID:COM will turn yellow.
6.) Click on "PIT" to browse to and select infuse_gb.pit. Make sure that Re-Partition is selected.
7.) Click on "PDA" to browse to and select PDA_UCLB3.tar.md5.
8.) Click on "PHONE" to browse to and select PHONE_UCLB3.tar.md5.
9.) Click on "CSC" to browse to the efs.tar
10.) Click the Phone EFS Clear checkbox
11.) Click on "Start", and allow Odin to flash the phone. Do not unplug or power off the phone until Odin is finished.
12.) When the Odin dialogue reads "PASS!", the phone should reboot into the stock UCLB3 Setup Wizard. For me this step just proceeded to install an update and the reboot the phone.
Once the phone reboots, if your SIM card is installed you should be good to go, otherwise you will get an alert about your SIM card which means you need to power off and pop in the SIM card.
Thanks to the original thread author for this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1stly thanks a lot for this thread. Really millions of thanks.
Now one silly question:- I unzipped the efs file attached and it says "efs.rfs" but your instructions above says "efs.tar" needs to be selected under CSC option. Am I missing something?
Punnyabrata said:
1stly thanks a lot for this thread. Really millions of thanks.
Now one silly question:- I unzipped the efs file attached and it says "efs.rfs" but your instructions above says "efs.tar" needs to be selected under CSC option. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange things are happening to me.
About 2 weeks back this problem started and today when I reconnected the SIM and restarted the phone everything was back to normal. Phone is picking up signal/3G etc.
Surprised is the word. Leads me to believe some app must be responsible for all of this.
Thanks,
PC
It is showing invalid mds sum...what I do?
At the end of the task odin shows blue screen and show fail.
Now my phone doesnt get start..what I do?
sachinppatel16 said:
At the end of the task odin shows blue screen and show fail.
Now my phone doesnt get start..what I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried Odin as administrator ? that's might be the problem
Hi, I have a t959v and I have been trying to restore my IMEI (that's because I was able to backup my /efs partition).
However, after I flash CM 10.1 for my device, my IMEI is gone, or has turned to 0000000.... or has turned to ASCII characters that I couldn't even read. I tried restoring my nv_data.bin file, done everything I could(googled and tried so many posts, I've lost count already.) and ended up with still, a corrupted/missing IMEI. Well after tinkering with my device, I've found out that the reason why my nv_data.bin (5.2 Mb) corrupts as I transfer it to the /efs partition--it's because my /efs partition is a little bit small, that's why my nv_data.bin ends up in an incompleted transfer state(corrupted file). From 5.2Mb, it falls to around 3-4Mb. No, it's not compressed or anything, it's cut-off, or "cropped" if it's the right term(which I doubt). Now, the my question is, is it possible to resize or grow my /efs partition? If yes, then how? First of all, thanks for spending some time in reading my post. Now, could anybody help me? or if it's such a pain to do, is there an alternative to CM 10.1 that has minimal glitches or bugs? 'Coz it's a pity if I couldn't upgrade from GB. The hardware of this phone is good enough, but the firmware is kinda frustrating(slow, freezes, and worst of all, GB), don't get me wrong, I don't hate GB but for the hardware of this phone, it's too good to just stay in GB. Thanks again!
Reflash back to gingerbread. That should restore your ieme number. Than try again.
Sent from my BNTV250A using XDA Free mobile app
cryzone77 said:
Hi, I have a t959v and I have been trying to restore my IMEI (that's because I was able to backup my /efs partition).
However, after I flash CM 10.1 for my device, my IMEI is gone, or has turned to 0000000.... or has turned to ASCII characters that I couldn't even read. I tried restoring my nv_data.bin file, done everything I could(googled and tried so many posts, I've lost count already.) and ended up with still, a corrupted/missing IMEI. Well after tinkering with my device, I've found out that the reason why my nv_data.bin (5.2 Mb) corrupts as I transfer it to the /efs partition--it's because my /efs partition is a little bit small, that's why my nv_data.bin ends up in an incompleted transfer state(corrupted file). From 5.2Mb, it falls to around 3-4Mb. No, it's not compressed or anything, it's cut-off, or "cropped" if it's the right term(which I doubt). Now, the my question is, is it possible to resize or grow my /efs partition? If yes, then how? First of all, thanks for spending some time in reading my post. Now, could anybody help me? or if it's such a pain to do, is there an alternative to CM 10.1 that has minimal glitches or bugs? 'Coz it's a pity if I couldn't upgrade from GB. The hardware of this phone is good enough, but the firmware is kinda frustrating(slow, freezes, and worst of all, GB), don't get me wrong, I don't hate GB but for the hardware of this phone, it's too good to just stay in GB. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting...
champ1919 said:
Reflash back to gingerbread. That should restore your ieme number. Than try again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, but that doesn't answer the original question. Going back to BML (which was on Gingerbread, of course) will restore the original /efs partition. This is because all of the MTD installs do not overwrite the original BML /efs partition.
Now, the concerning issue is that the nv_data.bin shouldn't be getting any bigger then the original (I don't have my sgs4g on hand to verify), but what may have happened is yaffs2 partition options in the kernel may not be the same or formatting may have added more partition data to the filesystem layout that makes the available free space on the partition less. (does this paragraph not make sense? If so, ask and I'll go into more detail)
So, let me ask you to do a test.
WARNING!!! Make sure you backup the EFS partition while on GB before emptying the directory!
Backup EFS (do this from recovery with adb shell):
Code:
su -
mount /efs
mount /sdcard
cd /
tar cf /sdcard/efs-backup.tar /efs
Go back to stock GB. There are Cne-Clicks I made to do this. Root the install and post the output of:
Code:
su -
rm -rf /efs/* /efs/.*
df /efs
Restore EFS (again, from recovery, adb shell):
Code:
su -
mount /efs
mount /sdcard
cd /
tar xf /sdcard/efs-backup.tar
Next, do the same for cm-9.1.0.
After that, do the same with which ever cm-10 or 4.4.x kernel you're using.
Post all of the values here and lets debug that way. I'll bet you that the available free space and total size are DIFFERENT when the partition is empty.
You don't need to restore the EFS on MTD installs, but MAKE VERY SURE you restore the EFS on the BML (Gingerbread) install!!!
Maybe also try different CM10.x and 4.4.x kernels and see if there is a difference. For each test, note which kernel, which rom. Also for each test, flash back to Gingerbread (bml, from the oneclick) before flashing a new rom!
All the nv_data.bin files I have are 262.1kB.
The tar backups the installtion script creates for you should be 700kB or less.
It sounds like something went seriously wrong with the nv_data.bin file you are trying to restore, so I recommend you follow the advice @champ1919 gave you and go back to gingerbread an flash your ROM again.
After you flash make sure that the nv_data.bin file under /efs/root/afs/settings/nv_data.bin is exactly 262.1kB. If that's the case then save the efs backup the install script made for you in a safe place.
Mine from froyo are 256.0 KB for locked and 260 for unlocked., weird..
champ1919 said:
Mine from froyo are 256.0 KB for locked and 260 for unlocked., weird..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. I think all the ones I got were from phones built at around the same time since they have similar text in the nv_data files.
The locked/unlocked files should be the exact same file size every time. All the tends to change is a single 1 in the file becomes a 0 to unlock it.
I had stored them in Dropbox. I betcha one is from the vibrant I lost, but, I thought I deleted it so I would not goof. As soon as I can get to a PC, I'll dig into it somemore. I wonder who wrote that guide years a go on how to hexedit that file. I should give them another thanks.
bhundven said:
Interesting...
Sure, but that doesn't answer the original question. Going back to BML (which was on Gingerbread, of course) will restore the original /efs partition. This is because all of the MTD installs do not overwrite the original BML /efs partition.
Now, the concerning issue is that the nv_data.bin shouldn't be getting any bigger then the original (I don't have my sgs4g on hand to verify), but what may have happened is yaffs2 partition options in the kernel may not be the same or formatting may have added more partition data to the filesystem layout that makes the available free space on the partition less. (does this paragraph not make sense? If so, ask and I'll go into more detail)
So, let me ask you to do a test.
WARNING!!! Make sure you backup the EFS partition while on GB before emptying the directory!
Backup EFS (do this from recovery with adb shell):
Code:
su -
mount /efs
mount /sdcard
cd /
tar cf /sdcard/efs-backup.tar /efs
Go back to stock GB. There are Cne-Clicks I made to do this. Root the install and post the output of:
Code:
su -
rm -rf /efs/* /efs/.*
df /efs
Restore EFS (again, from recovery, adb shell):
Code:
su -
mount /efs
mount /sdcard
cd /
tar xf /sdcard/efs-backup.tar
Next, do the same for cm-9.1.0.
After that, do the same with which ever cm-10 or 4.4.x kernel you're using.
Post all of the values here and lets debug that way. I'll bet you that the available free space and total size are DIFFERENT when the partition is empty.
You don't need to restore the EFS on MTD installs, but MAKE VERY SURE you restore the EFS on the BML (Gingerbread) install!!!
Maybe also try different CM10.x and 4.4.x kernels and see if there is a difference. For each test, note which kernel, which rom. Also for each test, flash back to Gingerbread (bml, from the oneclick) before flashing a new rom!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the fast response bhundven and the rest...
i apologize for not being able to reply as soon as you posted.
going back... i tried reflashing to stock and backed up my efs... however, when i looked at how big it was as a tar(ive tried making an rfs then put it into a tar. this is from the commands cat /dev/block/stl3 > /sdcard/efs.rfs or something like that. im sure that code came from a post here in xda too.) its size is 6.2mb.
and also... i have the log files of my cm10.1 upgrade attempt. posting it in case it would help...
also tried reflashing to stock ang flashing slimkat but the problem persists.
thanks for giving your time in helping me. i will try to reply as soon as i can. thanks again.
Q: is t959v the same as vibrant? been googling but posts are really confusing.. XD
cryzone77 said:
thanks for the fast response bhundven and the rest...
i apologize for not being able to reply as soon as you posted.
going back... i tried reflashing to stock and backed up my efs... however, when i looked at how big it was as a tar(ive tried making an rfs then put it into a tar. this is from the commands cat /dev/block/stl3 > /sdcard/efs.rfs or something like that. im sure that code came from a post here in xda too.) its size is 6.2mb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, that does not work. That is also not what my directions said to do.
cryzone77 said:
and also... i have the log files of my cm10.1 upgrade attempt. posting it in case it would help...
also tried reflashing to stock ang flashing slimkat but the problem persists.
thanks for giving your time in helping me. i will try to reply as soon as i can. thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You kinda buggered up the Quoting of the post, kinda hard to follow. So I removed what I wrote and only quoted what you said so it makes sense. But even after that, I can't really make sense of what you are doing and why you can't follow my directions?!?
cryzone77 said:
Q: is t959v the same as vibrant? been googling but posts are really confusing.. XD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not confusing at all. SGH-T959V (VibrantPlus) is not the same as SGH-T959 (Vibrant). They are not compatible, and flashing roms between the two will lead to bricks. Make sure that under the battery it says: SGH-T959V
The only thing these two devices have in common is their original provider: T-Mobile
Otherwise, go to the right forum for your phone before following any directions in this forum.
champ1919 said:
Reflash back to gingerbread. That should restore your ieme number. Than try again.
Sent from my BNTV250A using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply!
Well, the reason why I was trying to flash CM10.1 is to upgrade from GB so if I were to reflash to GB then I would've defeated my purpose.
But, I did try that, and backed up my EFS so as to restore it later on after I have flashed CM10.1 but to no avail.
cryzone77 said:
Thanks for the quick reply!
Well, the reason why I was trying to flash CM10.1 is to upgrade from GB so if I were to reflash to GB then I would've defeated my purpose.
But, I did try that, and backed up my EFS so as to restore it later on after I have flashed CM10.1 but to no avail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which phone model do you have?
Im running the new slimkat with no issue. Fb's cm11 was just as good. I bounce between those and back to GB when I need tv out with no issues.
Sent from my BNTV250A using XDA Free mobile app
bhundven said:
Nope, that does not work. That is also not what my directions said to do.
You kinda buggered up the Quoting of the post, kinda hard to follow. So I removed what I wrote and only quoted what you said so it makes sense. But even after that, I can't really make sense of what you are doing and why you can't follow my directions?!?
It's not confusing at all. SGH-T959V (VibrantPlus) is not the same as SGH-T959 (Vibrant). They are not compatible, and flashing roms between the two will lead to bricks. Make sure that under the battery it says: SGH-T959V
The only thing these two devices have in common is their original provider: T-Mobile
Otherwise, go to the right forum for your phone before following any directions in this forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im sorry for the messed up reply sir, and thanks again for your reply,
Just to confirm, my device is INDEED T959V.
I did the cat > /sdcard/efs.rfs bla bla bla thing in the hope to make an ODIN flashable "fix" in the hope of getting my IMEI and baseband fixed.
And, just as you said, it didn't work. I also tried erasing the /efs by erase_image then mkdir -p /efs and then cd /efs then tar xf /sdcard/efs.tar but that also produced a "cropped" nv_data.bin. Im sorry I can't try your directions as of now because I'm currently using my phone for work, however, I will do as you said as soon as I can free up my device.
Q: Do I need to take my backup before I flash a custom kernel? or is it ok if back it up while using a custom kernel?
Q: So T959V is VibrantPlus, is it the same as Samsung Galaxy S 4G?
Q: So if T959V is VibrantPlus, should I look for ROMs with the naming convention of <rom name>-vibrantplusmtd?
champ1919 said:
Which phone model do you have?
Im running the new slimkat with no issue. Fb's cm11 was just as good. I bounce between those and back to GB when I need tv out with no issues.
Sent from my BNTV250A using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a T959V.
I tried the SlimKat and SlimSabre but I still got no IMEI even after manual restore. I also tried the CM11 and still have the same problem.
So, when you go back to gingerbread, your number is still hosed?
Sent from my BNTV250A using XDA Free mobile app
cryzone77 said:
Im sorry for the messed up reply sir, and thanks again for your reply,
Just to confirm, my device is INDEED T959V.
I did the cat > /sdcard/efs.rfs bla bla bla thing in the hope to make an ODIN flashable "fix" in the hope of getting my IMEI and baseband fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no clue where you got those directions.
cryzone77 said:
And, just as you said, it didn't work. I also tried erasing the /efs by erase_image then mkdir -p /efs and then cd /efs then tar xf /sdcard/efs.tar but that also produced a "cropped" nv_data.bin. Im sorry I can't try your directions as of now because I'm currently using my phone for work, however, I will do as you said as soon as I can free up my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here it sounds like you are mixing up directions.
cryzone77 said:
Q: Do I need to take my backup before I flash a custom kernel? or is it ok if back it up while using a custom kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go back to stock gingerbread with my oneclick. Read all of the directions here first.
cryzone77 said:
Q: So T959V is VibrantPlus, is it the same as Samsung Galaxy S 4G?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes
cryzone77 said:
Q: So if T959V is VibrantPlus, should I look for ROMs with the naming convention of <rom name>-vibrantplusmtd?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, we don't call it vibrantplus, because it cause so much confusion with vibrant. we call it galaxys4g for bml or galaxys4gmtd for mtd.
champ1919 said:
So, when you go back to gingerbread, your number is still hosed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to know the answer to this as well. Good question!
bhundven said:
I have no clue where you got those directions.
Here it sounds like you are mixing up directions.
Go back to stock gingerbread with my oneclick. Read all of the directions here first.
Yes
No, we don't call it vibrantplus, because it cause so much confusion with vibrant. we call it galaxys4g for bml or galaxys4gmtd for mtd.
I'd like to know the answer to this as well. Good question!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I've tried many posts about restoring nv_data.bin but none of them seems to work. I even tried to edit nv_data.bin by hex. That's how desperate I am to upgrade. XD
By hosed, you mean corrupted or invalid? I use OneClick Heimdall by sir bhundven I believe..
and to answer the question, I get my IMEI and baseband back everytime I flash the OneClick. It's when I try to upgrade to CM++ that I get the null baseband and IMEI.
and to clarify, I got that backup process directions from this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=859914
cryzone77 said:
Well I've tried many posts about restoring nv_data.bin but none of them seems to work. I even tried to edit nv_data.bin by hex. That's how desperate I am to upgrade. XD
By hosed, you mean corrupted or invalid? I use OneClick Heimdall by sir bhundven I believe..
and to answer the question, I get my IMEI and baseband back everytime I flash the OneClick. It's when I try to upgrade to CM++ that I get the null baseband and IMEI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so you go back to gingerbread and get your imei back.
cryzone77 said:
and to clarify, I got that backup process directions from this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=859914
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO This is not the right place to look for help. Although the 'Galaxy S 4G' is a 'Galaxy S' based-device, it is VERY different from the i9000!!!
Do not use instructions from other device forums!!!
We have documented a lot for this phone in this device forum and on our wiki
As I mentioned before (in this thread) instructions on backing up your efs, and restoring it. Use my instructions and let us know in this thread if you have any problems!
bhundven said:
Ok, so you go back to gingerbread and get your imei back.
NO This is not the right place to look for help. Although the 'Galaxy S 4G' is a 'Galaxy S' based-device, it is VERY different from the i9000!!!
Do not use instructions from other device forums!!!
We have documented a lot for this phone in this device forum and on our wiki
As I mentioned before (in this thread) instructions on backing up your efs, and restoring it. Use my instructions and let us know in this thread if you have any problems!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1st, YES I got my IMEI and baseband back, but its a shame if I can't upgrade to CM++(because I don't get my IMEI and baseband after flashing meaning I can't use my phone for work.) because it's a cool rom, it has everything I'm looking for in a custom rom.
AND yeah, I wasn't aware that they were THAT different. Anyways, thanks for pointing that out.
Q: Is there an upgrade path or something that I need to do aside from the standard flashing procedure for these roms?
Bhundven's modified kernel should give you root. You could skip that step of using the oneclickroot and use the heimdall one click (of his kernel) and get cwm & root in one step. It's linked in the link he gave you.
After you install cwm, is that when you loose the imei number? Are you letting the phone fully boot? How were you getting cwm in order to flash the cm?
champ1919 said:
Bhundven's modified kernel should give you root. You could skip that step of using the oneclickroot and use the heimdall one click (of his kernel) and get cwm & root in one step. It's linked in the link he gave you.
After you install cwm, is that when you loose the imei number? Are you letting the phone fully boot? How were you getting cwm in order to flash the cm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry,
What I meant by OneClick is using Heimdall in flashing the purely stock GB rom. After that, I root using Framaroot(successful) then I flash a custom kernel(bhundven's blastoff...IMEI and baseband still ok after this), then I flash CM++ ROM, this is where it gets ugly--I lose my IMEI(null) and baseband(also null). and YES I let the phone fully boot, I even wait around 15mins and try to turn the radio on and off to see if I got my IMEI and baseband back, I also tried taking out the battery and letting the phone loose all it's power and then turning it on, again, to no avail. And to answer the other question, I get CWM through the blastoff kernel.