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[Q] Does CWM 5.0.2.0 backup save phone "setup"? ( Answered )

Hi everyone!
First of all I would like to thank all the people of this incredible community!
Been reading lots of great stuff around here for a while , before get hands to the work, and thanks to all blessed knowledge here I was able to root my Nexus S I9020t .( Had some issues, but that's for another post...)
Read somewhere about ppl losing IMEI and other phone's unique data while messing whit it , so I was wandering if the CWM 5.0.2.0 recovery file that I had created right after rooting my phone(2.3.6) has saved that info's too? Or how can I backup this? Does it save also Kernel and Baseband?
Luv!

It does save the kernel, but not the baseband. (just make a note of your baseband somewhere just in case, because you can flash other radios to see if it improves the reception)
Clockwork mod does not save your efs folder contents (where your encrypted IMEI I'd stored) but you could flash TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project) which does. Or you could make a backup of your efs folder manually.
Different radios are available in the dev section, and some custom ROMs include automatic efs backup, for example brainmaster's MIUI.
Obscurely referenced from the fifth dimension on my Nexus S

Many thanks Bedalus for all the info!
Just to finish, I readied in some places that I can just copy /efs trough root explorer/File Expert , but some said that doesn't work, and that is some kind of bug when doing this , and the right way to doing this would be with ADB /Debug mode... Is that true or can I copy it trough root explorer?

You can copy with root explorer! ADB PULL would just copy the folder contents to your computer directly.
With root explorer copy your efs folder to your sdcard then you can mount USB and copy to your computer.
Obscurely referenced from the fifth dimension on my Nexus S

Best way to backup the EFS folder

So what is the best way to back it up?
Please don't tell me to copy and paste it with a file manager

I hate to tell you this. Copy it with a file manager then transfer it to your computer. It's how you do it.

Honestly I've never had success backing up the efs folder. Every time I tried with any file manager it always failed to copy the IMEI.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda app-developers app

cpkelley94 said:
Honestly I've never had success backing up the efs folder. Every time I tried with any file manager it always failed to copy the IMEI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Super Manager. I've restored mine with it before.

tar or cpio -- Using zip or anything related to Windows, especially a text editor, is just asking for trouble.
# cd /efs
# tar cvf /sdcard/my_efs_backup.20120816.tar .
then copy my_efs_backup.20120816.tar off your microSD and put it somewhere safe

Jeff... I'm not a Linux guy more of a Windows guy but am I suppose to put that in the terminal on the phone? And hechoen aren't there folder permissions involved when you put back the file?
I know there are apps that backup your efs but can I use them? Also somewhere in a thread there is a flash able zip that backups your efs, can it work with ics

I spent a few bucks and bought root explorer...no problems.

Shortbus-Driver said:
I spent a few bucks and bought root explorer...no problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah and it also seems that its the only file explorer without the bloat. Its pretty expensive for a simple file explorer.

But well worth it

I find adb a lot easier than the terminal on the phone. It's useful for pushing a file or two to the phone or vice versa without unmounting the microSD. Free too!
Posted from my AOKP-ified SGS4G

Any rom that installs with my aroma installer like most gb roms and a few ics roms make an efs backup in /sdcard/aroma-backup for you.
Also any ics rom that has used the cm9 update.sh script team acid made will back it up for you during the rom install (cm9/aokp).

But how about that flash able zip file from cm7 that backs up your efs folder?

FBis251 said:
Any rom that installs with my aroma installer like most gb roms and a few ics roms make an efs backup in /sdcard/aroma-backup for you.
Also any ics rom that has used the cm9 update.sh script team acid made will back it up for you during the rom install (cm9/aokp).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason I want to back it up is because I want to flash back to stock using heimdall and there are those times that something could go wrong.

th3controller said:
And hechoen aren't there folder permissions involved when you put back the file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. The folder already has the correct permissions. All you need to do is stitch the system to read/write then paste it back in place. I have used this method so I know it works. I do agree with Jeff though. If you know how to use adb it's a sure fire way to go. Just most users are clueless about it.

hechoen said:
Nope. The folder already has the correct permissions. All you need to do is stitch the system to read/write then paste it back in place. I have used this method so I know it works. I do agree with Jeff though. If you know how to use adb it's a sure fire way to go. Just most users are clueless about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lumins guide to using heimdall uses adb right? So can I backup my efs and flash heimdall afterwards correct?

This is the easiest way to make a backup:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/teamacid/files/fb/cwm/cm7-efs-backup.zip/download
Thank FB.

lumin30 said:
This is the easiest way to make a backup:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/teamacid/files/fb/cwm/cm7-efs-backup.zip/download
Thank FB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the one I'm talking about! And isn't there another zip to restore the efs folder?
And does it work with ics galaxy s beam?

th3controller said:
That's the one I'm talking about! And isn't there another zip to restore the efs folder?
And does it work with ics galaxy s beam?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just want to say... it is okay to test things out on your own. That is how you learn.

lumin30 said:
I just want to say... it is okay to test things out on your own. That is how you learn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you at least please provide the thread that the flash able zip is which is both the efs back up and restore.

Try looking at the url I posted above and see if you can figure out - on your own - how to back in to the folder FB posted both the backup and restore zips.

How to backup efs folder?

Tried efs pro not work
As i know cwm do not backup efs folder
Tried nitrality did not work
We need to backup efs folder just to be safe while flashing as it contains imei and serial number etc and if lost we will lose connection both wi fi and 3g and our tab will be like a big ipod touch even without wifi (only media no internet or connection at all)
Mohamed Selim

Mohamedselim said:
Tried efs pro not work
As i know cwm do not backup efs folder
Tried nitrality did not work
We need to backup efs folder just to be safe while flashing as it contains imei and serial number etc and if lost we will lose connection both wi fi and 3g and our tab will be like a big ipod touch even without wifi (only media no internet or connection at all)
Mohamed Selim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I did on my Galaxy S2 long ago. Use both the backups created by the different commands specified in clean and raw section
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068193&highlight=efs+command
Disclaimer: I have never had to recover from this backup, so you might want to do your own research to make sure you got a good backup. The thread I link to might be a good starting point

AnDruid, I've backed up my SGS 1 's /efs folder using the "tar zcvf /sdcard/efs-backup.tar.gz /efs" command, once rooted, which had all the nv files etc all nicely backed up as explained @ http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068193&highlight=efs+command
However, I never did the RAW section ... Never did need to revert back though .. or yet. Though I do not see myself ever going back from Jelly (Helly) Bean, only forward. An interesting "fix" I noticed once the SGS got a little "slow", was to boot into CWM and wipe the Dalvic cache and Cache partition.
Once the phone started up again, it did it's "reconfiguration" and once again worked like when I originally upgraded to Helly.
What I expect Mohamed is experiencing though, is the problem I currently have with my Galaxy TAB 2 P5100 which I've rooted as per http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1957165 then using Terminal Emulator by Jack Palevich (available from the market), the TAB 2 states that "tar" and "busybox" commands is not available ....
Since I simply can't "yum install tar" or "yum install busybox", I'm a little lost.
Which does raises the question : Mohammed, how did you get past this issue ? Did you backup your TAB 2's (P5100) /efs folder and if so, please advise how.
Though I could "zip" the /efs folder with ES File Explorer, the .zip file does not contain the nv files, which I believe defeats the idea of the backup.

Well, would you believe it's as simple as installing "busybox" from the Play Store ...
Then the "tar" command is available :laugh:

If your tab is rooted you could use Es File Explorer to manually copy/paste the /efs folder into the /sdcard folder and then copy this onto your computer

[Q] Can you restore a nandroid backup on a different device?

I shattered my screen and have a replacement phone on the way. Can I do a nandroid backup on my current device and restore it on my new one?

ohtanya said:
I shattered my screen and have a replacement phone on the way. Can I do a nandroid backup on my current device and restore it on my new one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Provided they are the exact same model phone, yes you can just transfer the nandroid backup file from your old phone to your new phone once you get it. For the time being you can just transfer the nandroid backup to your computer and store it there until your new phone comes then just transfer it to your new phone, boot into CWM restore the backup and you should be all set .

If it's a previous ROM you backed up on your gs3, then yes you can. Make sure you root, unlock bootloader, flash recovery once replacement comes of course
Samsung Galaxy S3

I just did this over the weekend. I was able to restore a nandroid to my warranty replacement with no problem at all. I expected there to be some issues with some apps giving me a hard time, but everything worked great. The only things I lost were on the internal sdcard (my phone was hard bricked, so I couldn't back that up).
Like was already said, I had to root the new phone, unlock the bootloader, and install a custom recovery before I could restore the nandroid.

If using TWRP after root make a backup to establish a new backup folder with corresponding serial number to match new phone. Open old backup folder and serial # folder to get to actual backup files. Transfer these files to to new serial# folder.

prdog1 said:
If using TWRP after root make a backup to establish a new backup folder with corresponding serial number to match new phone. Open old backup folder and serial # folder to get to actual backup files. Transfer these files to to new serial# folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I guess this is good reason to get my gf the same phone.

prdog1 said:
If using TWRP after root make a backup to establish a new backup folder with corresponding serial number to match new phone. Open old backup folder and serial # folder to get to actual backup files. Transfer these files to to new serial# folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This worked great, here's what I did.
1. Made a quick backup to generate the proper folder structure and the correct directory name needed for my new phone.
2. Copied the folder that contained the backup I intended to use from my old Hercules S2 to my replacement Hercules S2's TWRP backup directory.
3.Copied the name of the folder of the backup I made in step 1 to the clipboard.
4. deleted the folder I created in step 1.
5. renamed the folder I imported by pasting the name from the clipboard.
6. restored the backup.
Done.
Sweet.
Thanks.

nandroid backups are awesome

Hello,
Can you please help me here. i have a system which got screwed while playing and I am on a screen with no os installed. I just got a nandroid backp file from one of the friendly users on the forums. However on going into TWRP recovery, it does not recognize the backup. it is the same model and service provider as mine.

comeonamit said:
Hello,
Can you please help me here. i have a system which got screwed while playing and I am on a screen with no os installed. I just got a nandroid backp file from one of the friendly users on the forums. However on going into TWRP recovery, it does not recognize the backup. it is the same model and service provider as mine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because the folder containing the backup is named with the serial number of the old phone. The fasters way to set things up is to make a nandroid backup of the new phone, then move the old backup to the new folder and it will be recognized. Just as a user said previously in this thread.
P.S. Sorry for being so late.

J3:16 said:
Because the folder containing the backup is named with the serial number of the old phone. The fasters way to set things up is to make a nandroid backup of the new phone, then move the old backup to the new folder and it will be recognized. Just as a user said previously in this thread.
P.S. Sorry for being so late.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey guys,
Here are silly but important questions:
1. Can I use the nandroid backup from PhilZ touch recovery and restore it with TWRP?
2. To which folder do I have to put the nandroid backup file?

Help The Peace said:
Hey guys,
Here are silly but important questions:
1. Can I use the nandroid backup from PhilZ touch recovery and restore it with TWRP?
2. To which folder do I have to put the nandroid backup file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt that it will work. I have seen several reports that restoring a CWM recovery using TWRP doesn't work, and since Philz is based on CWM I am making the presumption that it will likewise fail. ( I seem to recall that nandroids from older TWRP versions won't reload from newer versions; along the lines of a 2.4.x.x TWRP nandroid using 2.8.x.x TWRP. )

dawgdoc said:
I doubt that it will work. I have seen several reports that restoring a CWM recovery using TWRP doesn't work, and since Philz is based on CWM I am making the presumption that it will likewise fail. ( I seem to recall that nandroids from older TWRP versions won't reload from newer versions; along the lines of a 2.4.x.x TWRP nandroid using 2.8.x.x TWRP. )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's clear now. You cannot recover a PhilZ touch recovery from TWRP. :/
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Panamon said:
This worked great, here's what I did.
1. Made a quick backup to generate the proper folder structure and the correct directory name needed for my new phone.
2. Copied the folder that contained the backup I intended to use from my old Hercules S2 to my replacement Hercules S2's TWRP backup directory.
3.Copied the name of the folder of the backup I made in step 1 to the clipboard.
4. deleted the folder I created in step 1.
5. renamed the folder I imported by pasting the name from the clipboard.
6. restored the backup.
Done.
Sweet.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sweet as!!

prdog1 said:
If using TWRP after root make a backup to establish a new backup folder with corresponding serial number to match new phone. Open old backup folder and serial # folder to get to actual backup files. Transfer these files to to new serial# folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I messed up my phone lg g3 sprint ls990 vbc and i have another one same thing thats all stock can we do it in reverse. I made a nandroid but did not know wht i was doing and it says cant back it up because its read only :/ so can i root this one and make a nandroid then some how load it into the other phone ? And when i did make the backup on the messed up one i could of sworn the name of it was like the time n date i thought something like 2001604031117 i just made that up but i thought i seen 20016 on the name.... Well i do have both boxes with serial numbers if anything if its posible slightly point me in the right direction thank u

Please help me Guys!
I have made an nandroid backup from LG G4 H815 with Android 5.1
Now i've got a new LG G4 H815 with Android 20g
Questions:
1. If i restore backup with Lollipop, to phone with Marshmallow - will 20G be overwritten and i will end with Lollipop on new G4?
2. what will happen with IMEI; will it be changed?
Or should i use only some of partions from the old G4?
Should the TWRP installed on new G4 be the same version as on old G4 (2.8.07)? Or i can install the latest 3.02 on the new one
I have following partitions:
boot, system, system image, Data, Cache, Recovery, EFS

nixuspix said:
Please help me Guys!
I have made an nandroid backup from LG G4 H815 with Android 5.1
Now i've got a new LG G4 H815 with Android 20g
Questions:
1. If i restore backup with Lollipop, to phone with Marshmallow - will 20G be overwritten and i will end with Lollipop on new G4?
2. what will happen with IMEI; will it be changed?
Or should i use only some of partions from the old G4?
Should the TWRP installed on new G4 be the same version as on old G4 (2.8.07)? Or i can install the latest 3.02 on the new one
I have following partitions:
boot, system, system image, Data, Cache, Recovery, EFS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're in the wrong forum, post your question in the G4 forum, this is Verizon S3.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

This is great news!!!
I've been having constant issues with my SIM card connection lately, even though I've replaced the tray. So it must be a MotherBoard issue.
Already got my Nandroid backup sorted which I update every now and again, so now I just have to search for how to root it again, since it was years ago when I last did.

prdog1 said:
If using TWRP after root make a backup to establish a new backup folder with corresponding serial number to match new phone. Open old backup folder and serial # folder to get to actual backup files. Transfer these files to to new serial# folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx works

Restoring twrp backup

Using a rooted nexus 5 running stock 4.4.4. And twrp 2.8.x.x
(I searched for a twrp support thread but could not find one).
I want to restore an old twrp backup I had made some time ago (with an earlier version of twrp) and moved to my pc. So I copied that backup from my pc to the twrp folder in the nexus 5. But when I reboot into TWRP, twrp lists other backups, but not the one I just copied back into its folder.
How can I get twrp to see and restore that nandroid backup?
Thank you.

My first thought is - is it the same device? I had a similar problem when I got a replacement phone, and the solution was simply to rename the old backup with the new device's id.

Yes, the same device, but different versions of twrp.

SOLVED.
Entirely my fault. I needed to move the backup file down to the next subfolder. Once I got it into the correct subfolder TWRP found it fine.

can u tell the correct folder name to place the old backup file. thnks in advance....
maybeme2 said:
SOLVED.
Entirely my fault. I needed to move the backup file down to the next subfolder. Once I got it into the correct subfolder TWRP found it fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can u tell the correct folder name to place the old backup file. thnks in advance....

The path is:
sdcard
...> TWRP
........> BACKUPS
............> ZG16775GGD5 (your device id)
................> backup file(s)

device id
dahawthorne said:
The path is:
sdcard
...> TWRP
........> BACKUPS
............> ZG16775GGD5 (your device id)
................> backup file(s)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thkss for hlp, can u tell how to get device id... thnks in advnc

Settings/About phone/Status/Serial number