Gerenal flashing question - General Questions and Answers

Hey all, I'm in the process of flashing a custom rom to my phone for the first time but always get apprehensive about such things and have a question about the process that may seem pretty elementary but has always made me wonder.
Since the process generally requires the phone's owner to wipe the system clean before flashing to avoid complications, I'm wondering how the data stored on the phone that lets it communicate with the providers cell towers and ultimately tells the phone what phone number is assigned to it doesn't get wiped away as well. Is such data at a much lower level then what is formatted and stays with the phone no matter how many times it's wiped, factory reset, etc? Is it something server-side that uses the IMEI number on the phone to keep track of such things? Just want to make sure I dont somehow someway lose the same number I've had for 10 years now just because I flashed to a custom rom. Can someone elaborate/put my mind at ease? Thanks.

Don't worry about your number - that's on your sim-card. I rooted and flashed around a couple of devices - and IMEI is still the same ! Check out the tutorials for your device, read everything related and then you are ready to flash. Spent this time !!! It's really important to know wkat you are doing - the best guarantee for success !

barni42 said:
Don't worry about your number - that's on your sim-card. I rooted and flashed around a couple of devices - and IMEI is still the same ! Check out the tutorials for your device, read everything related and then you are ready to flash. Spent this time !!! It's really important to know wkat you are doing - the best guarantee for success !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man, I probably should have mentioned though that my phone is CDMA and has no sim card, but I guess there's something else internal like a sim where the number is stored for cdma phones too?

Bump?

Related

Remote task29 as security

Hi Guys
Is there a application that could execute a remote task29 if phone gets stolen?
Most of theves are dump so would not know how to put the OS back on.
The normal way of IMEI blocking does not work, some networks will not care to block, some will not communicate to others so it will be blocked for example on O2 but not t-mobile... We all also know that you just need to sell a IMEI blocked unit abroad.
Two functions would need to be present:
Function 1 a remote wipe so you send a txt message.
Function 2 is to wipe the phone if new sim is inserted and password is not provided. Such software would need to be able to cook itself in to rom.
Second possibility for Function 2 is each time new sim is inserted a txt message is sent on pre-arranged mobile number and then use remote wipe.
lookout mobile security has that feature of remote wipe.
www.mylookout.com
antivirus, remote wipe, and gps locator all work.
nrfitchett4 said:
lookout mobile security has that feature of remote wipe.
www.mylookout.com
antivirus, remote wipe, and gps locator all work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not even remotely the same as even if you do wipe the device it is still usable, there is just you data erased. I am talking OS erased so phone does not work, so you can get it to bootloader and only if you know how.
ruscik said:
It is not even remotely the same as even if you do wipe the device it is still usable, there is just you data erased. I am talking OS erased so phone does not work, so you can get it to bootloader and only if you know how.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
considering you cannot even task29 unless you are synced to a computer, how do you suppose this can be accomplished???
nrfitchett4 said:
considering you cannot even task29 unless you are synced to a computer, how do you suppose this can be accomplished???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not a software developer but I would say a app that works just before OS boots.
TBH task29 seems like the best idea as if you were to get the phone back you could get it back online but any app that would brick the phone remotely is what one needs.
I am quite certain something like that could be done.
why not have it flash a bricking radio from sd card or within the rom, if the command is send?
how about an app then makes the phone transform into a plane and fly back to you?
its impossible what you are asking for afaik
davidgk said:
how about an app then makes the phone transform into a plane and fly back to you?
its impossible what you are asking for afaik
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bolox I can flash radio or OS from SD card. All a app would need to do is get phone to bootloader on command and have, as suggested, a bricked rom for radio on SD card. A bricked radio rom would not need to be big in size so a cab installer would work.
Its a very good idea, hope some1 can do it..
my hats off to you sir, a very good idea!
Now if there is only a developer skilled enough to realise it!
ruscik said:
Bolox I can flash radio or OS from SD card. All a app would need to do is get phone to bootloader on command and have, as suggested, a bricked rom for radio on SD card. A bricked radio rom would not need to be big in size so a cab installer would work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but what does this achieve for you???
A phone wiping program would wipe personal data.
What would bricking the phone do except make the phone unusable?
You'll still be out a phone...
nrfitchett4 said:
but what does this achieve for you???
A phone wiping program would wipe personal data.
What would bricking the phone do except make the phone unusable?
You'll still be out a phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might be so, but if knowledge gets around that more and more phones can (and will) be bricked remotely once stolen, why steal?
I think it would be a very useful feature on any phone.
So I agree with the question for such an app.
Regards,
nrfitchett4 said:
but what does this achieve for you???
A phone wiping program would wipe personal data.
What would bricking the phone do except make the phone unusable?
You'll still be out a phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well why do you fit a alarm on a car when it is gone it is gone, why do you put alarm in a house when they come they come.
Something odd with this statement. Why would you think it is ok for some one who stole my phone to use it when I had to work for it?
For me best solution would be to have it wired with C4 and 5s in to first phone call boom!!!
As that would be illegal second option brick the phone.
ruscik said:
Well why do you fit a alarm on a car when it is gone it is gone, why do you put alarm in a house when they come they come.
Something odd with this statement. Why would you think it is ok for some one who stole my phone to use it when I had to work for it?
For me best solution would be to have it wired with C4 and 5s in to first phone call boom!!!
As that would be illegal second option brick the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since when does a car alarm or home alarm burn down my house or car? That is essentially the same thing. If someone breaks into my house and steals my 60" dlp, I can't remote detonate it either.
I'm guessing that I don't understand. Maybe it is my long history with cdma phones that had esn's that could be blocked making the phones worthless (usually) once stolen.
Ill build it .... i just need a few beta testers?
Any takers?
jk.. i actually like the idea of disabling my phone if i knew it was gone for sure. .but i dont think i would be comfortable running around with this bomb in my phone unless i knew how to fix it.. and a bricked radio (easiest remote detonate solution) is obviously unfixable.
you know I was hoping this topic was headed in a different direction. like the phone company or microsoft running ras commands. like injecting and changing your files around so when you go to flash the seed will be planted for later execution. but dude if your phone gets stolen beat the punk bastards ass. or make sure you have handset protection. stupid topic. its just gonna add to the bricked my phone posts but not before they go on a couple of paragraphs of how they know what there doing but this and but that. wow then its gonna keep spreading like a ****ing plauge of dumb ass questions instead of keeping their cocksucker shut and read and learn. if your not f-ing it up, then your not learning.
i remember the sony ericsson p910, p990, and p1i could have set a sim password that works the same way the bios password works on most laptops with this feature... once the sim changed or the phone is flashed, the password must be entered to boot into the OS, personally i think this should be standard on every mobile OS...
and regardless how much times you reinstall windows, flash the bios, or remove the bios battery, the password remains, kinda annoying but at least it works
There are already some really good apps available for if your phone is lost or stolen. I don't know the names off the top of my head but I did some help on development on one 2 years ago and it was quite advanced and will send you silent text containing the new IME number if changed and the GPS location. Rendering the phone useless would be stupid in my opinion if you intend on retrieving it. let the security software do it's job and be happy to get your phone back.

[Q] Back to Stock

Please forgive me, as I have not searched the forum extensively for an answer, but I'm in a bit of a time crunch as I am leaving on a trip tonight and need to get back to some semblance of a working phone.
Some time ago I flashed some rom (I think Paranoid Android; I don't remember. I liked it enough to keep it, then I didn't worry about it again after that.) Little by little it started getting slower and buggier, but for the most part it worked fine, so I ignored it. For the last couple of weeks it started losing signal and data constantly, with no change to the phone. I kind of just lived with it because I could usually restart my phone and I would regain signal, but as of a couple of days ago, it would just drop off and not come back until it wants to.
I had the day off to prepare for my trip, so I decided I would try to go back to stock; there's almost nothing that I do that requires a custom ROM and I had no data issues on stock, nor does my wife on her Note. I looked around for a bit for instructions to restore my phone, and found some, but out of the handful of pages I went to, each one had at least one link that was dead, rendering the method useless, to me, a layman, at least.
I then decided I would just find a Stock Rom, thinking that might be the next best thing. I found Clean Rom on here and decided to try to flash that. I made a backup of my system, wiped everything, and then flashed it. Except something is wrong with the zip and keeps giving me an error message. I then tried to restore my back up that I had just made to try something else, but something happened to that, and it also wouldn't open. I tried the backup before then (quite old, as I haven't done any tinkering with my phone for quite some time) and it worked, but it tells me that my sim card is disconnected, so I have no data or signal. As it is an old restore, I'm not sure what the name of the ROM is, but I can provide all of the information needed, if someone needs that to figure it out.
Anyway, long story slightly shorter: I need to fix this today, and like as soon as possible. I will give ten dollars, count them TEN DOLLARS, to the first person who can provide a set of working links and very straightforward instructions as to how to get back to stock (or if there is a good working ROM that will give me FULL functionality with no flares that would be easier to do. Easy and fast are the key components to this request). I'm not dumb, but I am no longer immersed in the lingo of this community, as it has been a few phones back that I really cared about actually experimenting much with my phone, so non-technical language would be nice. I know what flashing and wiping means. Most of the rest, probably assume I don't.
Thanks.
Your best (easiest) option is probably to flash another stock ROM, or stock-ish ROM. There are quite a few options in the Android Development section. There are a couple of stock rooted at&t ROMs in the first couple pages, also a stock rooted Telstra ROM.
You didn't mention which carrier you're with, whether your phone is branded, or any of your important details, like your firmware/hboot details and whether you're s-on or not. If you wanted to go back to completely stock, I'd need to know those details. Going completely stock can/will be a longer process though.
Sent from my Evita
Okay, I'll try another one. I'm not sure why Clean Rom didn't work, but if another one or two don't work I'll come back here and I'll have you talk me through getting back to stock and I'll throw you a digital Hamilton.
Thanks.
Well, I tried another couple of ROMs. They installed correctly, but it says that I have no sim card, so I still have no signal. Maybe I some how deleted my radio when I did a system wipe while trying to install one of the ROMs? I'm not sure.
Anyway, for "more details" I'm on AT&T, I'm not sure what you mean by branded, but it's the HTC One X, the current ROM is 4.1.1. I haven't done S-On/S-Off, or anything like that other than unlocking the bootloader a long time ago. The kernel version says 304010-g240d4d5, the baseban version is 0.17.32.09.12_10.86.32.08L The Build number is 3.17.707.1 CL134054 release-keys.
I'm not sure which of that information is relevant or not, but that's everything I can tell you.
Never mind that last post. When I said in the first post that I'm not dumb, apparently I lied. My phone fell off a table this morning, and I guess it knocked the sim card loose, but it coincided with doing the factory reset stuff, so I thought they were connected. I pushed it back in, restarted, and now the stock ROM I'm using works great.
Thanks/Sorry!
Well, it turned out to be an easy solution (Occam's Razor FTW yet again).
But this thread made me think . . . why the heck does it seem so many people lately flash ROMs without doing a nandroid first? Its a no brainer to me. If you are trying new ROMs, and not sure how they will perform, why would you not give yourself an easy way to simply revert to your last known good config?
I couldn't agree more, but there's plenty of not-so-smart practices on here, so I'm not at all surprised.
Sent from my Evita
Yea. Nandroid ftw
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

Any security concerns about data recovery?

Pretty soon, I plan to sell my current phone, and some old tablets, in order to make money towards the new Nexus devices. I'm wondering, though, are there any security concerns for someone potentially being able to recover my data if I sell my phone off? Obviously, this is a big deal to me, because I have all my Google accounts (my primary one being the one I use my credit card through) connected to me phone. Being that my devices all have TWRP installed, my primary thought would be to use that to wipe the internal storage, and do a factory reset. But is it possible someone could still manage to recover my data somehow?
I hear people talk about this for PCs, and hard drives, about how if someone really wanted to, they could theoretically recover your data even if you reformat your computer. Is that possible on smartphones as well, or is it different, due to phones using what I assume is flash memory (or whatever type of memory, that's different from a computer HDD)?
I just want to make sure I take every precaution before I sell my phones off. Granted, I already use two-step authentication on all my Google accounts, anyway, but still. I don't want any risk of something bad happening.
Just make sure to flash a stock ROM on each of them a few times and you will be fine. Can it be done? Yes only if the space has not been over written. That is the reason for the extra Flash's.
zelendel said:
Just make sure to flash a stock ROM on each of them a few times and you will be fine. Can it be done? Yes only if the space has not been over written. That is the reason for the extra Flash's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So how many flashes should be enough to be safe? And do you have to boot up the phone in between flashes? Or could I just sit in TWRP, flashing the ROM over and over and over again?
mrw1215 said:
So how many flashes should be enough to be safe? And do you have to boot up the phone in between flashes? Or could I just sit in TWRP, flashing the ROM over and over and over again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would just flash a few times in recovery. No real reason to reboot.
So "a few" would be what? 3? 5? 10+? What's a safe number?
mrw1215 said:
So "a few" would be what? 3? 5? 10+? What's a safe number?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3 To 5 times should be enough. This is the same thing a DOD wipe does. It over writes the system a bunch of times so any data in unrecoverable.
Okay, thanks for the info.
I guess, alternatively, I could just change all the passwords to my stuff while I'm in between phones, because then, even if someone was able to recover my data, they wouldn't be able to log in since the passwords would have changed, eh?
I dunno. That's going to be so much work, but I'm super paranoid about keeping my data safe, so I'm not sure I can put my faith in making my data unrecoverable by flashing a ROM multiple times. I was kind of hoping that phone memory worked differently than a computer HDD, in that regard, and that it wouldn't have been an issue, but...
mrw1215 said:
Okay, thanks for the info.
I guess, alternatively, I could just change all the passwords to my stuff while I'm in between phones, because then, even if someone was able to recover my data, they wouldn't be able to log in since the passwords would have changed, eh?
I dunno. That's going to be so much work, but I'm super paranoid about keeping my data safe, so I'm not sure I can put my faith in making my data unrecoverable by flashing a ROM multiple times. I was kind of hoping that phone memory worked differently than a computer HDD, in that regard, and that it wouldn't have been an issue, but...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could but ill be honest. Anything that would be needed to recover any real useful info like passwords or such would take a level of skill most people do no posses. The easiest thing to recover are pic and such as that is stored on a different partition then the info your trying to protect.
I am also super careful when I sell old devices. So a simple couple of extra min in recovery is worth it. I also make sure to return the device to stock before I let it go. Just to be sure.

Lost Oneplus One ... afraid if data can be stolen

Hello everyone.
Due to some circumstances I lost my oneplus one.
It was snatched from me by two guys
I was already using some other phone and kept Oneplus One as reserve.
My question is what are the chances to extract data from that phone.
TWRP was already there
(1) Dalvik cache, System, Cache Data and Internal Storage was wiped through twrp
http://www.technobuzz.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/TWRP-Wipe-Cache-and-Data-System.jpg
(2) Data was formatted
http://cloud.addictivetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/TWRP-Recovery-Format-Data.jpg
(3) Fresh rom was installed using USB-OTG
(4) Complete internal storage was filled with dummy data and deleted it
(5) Then I was using that phone for emails and gaming purpose only.
Phone was not encrypted
Do data which were stored in that mobile before wiping and fresh installation of rom can be recovered by those culprits?
Hello Experts,
Please provide your valuable views
As you know with TWRP you can bypass and access files. However if you only used it for email and gaming purposes last. I don't think you have much to worry about.
It really sucks that there's such low people out there. I wish all phones came with the 'kill switch' feature by default.
forid200 said:
As you know with TWRP you can bypass and access files. However if you only used it for email and gaming purposes last. I don't think you have much to worry about.
It really sucks that there's such low people out there. I wish all phones came with the 'kill switch' feature by default.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi forid200
Thanks for reply.
Before I was using it as my primary phone.
As I already have one more cellphone, I'd kept Oneplus One as spare.
Before keeping it ,below procedure has been done :-
TWRP was already there
(1) Dalvik cache, System, Cache Data and Internal Storage was wiped through twrp
http://www.technobuzz.net/wp-content...ata-System.jpg
(2) Data was formatted
http://cloud.addictivetips.com/wp-co...ormat-Data.jpg
(3) Fresh rom was installed using USB-OTG
(4) Complete internal storage was filled with dummy data and deleted it
In such case is there still chances for old data to be stolen?
hoppingpanda said:
Hi forid200
Thanks for reply.
Before I was using it as my primary phone.
As I already have one more cellphone, I'd kept Oneplus One as spare.
Before keeping it ,below procedure has been done :-
TWRP was already there
(1) Dalvik cache, System, Cache Data and Internal Storage was wiped through twrp
http://www.technobuzz.net/wp-content...ata-System.jpg
(2) Data was formatted
http://cloud.addictivetips.com/wp-co...ormat-Data.jpg
(3) Fresh rom was installed using USB-OTG
(4) Complete internal storage was filled with dummy data and deleted it
In such case is there still chances for old data to be stolen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm seriously not seeing what you're worrying about, you barely had any data on that phone and when people steal a phone they want to sell it 99% of the time not get your personal data. Unless you're a very influential/famous person in your country whose data is extremely important hence more valuable than the phone itself, which I highly doubt you are. Whether there's a chance or not is irrelevant at this point, the phone is gone what happens to it is out of your control. Get a new phone and enjoy your life
Renosh said:
I'm seriously not seeing what you're worrying about, you barely had any data on that phone and when people steal a phone they want to sell it 99% of the time not get your personal data. Unless you're a very influential/famous person in your country whose data is extremely important hence more valuable than the phone itself, which I highly doubt you are. Whether there's a chance or not is irrelevant at this point, the phone is gone what happens to it is out of your control. Get a new phone and enjoy your life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's very bluntly said, however, it is true. The phone is gone, the thieves are probably more interested in selling it rather than looking through your porn collection. There's a few things you can try and do, you can try wiping it through Android device manager. Truthfully, if the sims out and the phone has no data connection. It will fail.
You can report it to the carrier/police and get the devices IMEI blocked. If you kept your OnePlus box like I have, you will see a small sticker with the devices IMEI written on it. This will render it useless as a mobile.
I know how annoyed you must feel, losing your device, data. And I understand that after you have a phone for a while, it starts to have slight 'sentimental' value to you, you could say. Thieves attempted to rob me a few times (here in London), I nearly got sprayed with corrosive acid, I nearly got stabbed, I put up a good fight and they couldn't get anything from me. But it did get me to think, how much is a device worth to you man? Is it worth more than your life?
These people robbing, they have no heart, no soul, they don't give a ****. I think cellphone manufacturers should all become more responsible and start building in kill switches.
My best advice to you is the above, these thieves will be out there. And it can happen, the OnePlus One is pretty old now. So I guess it should hurt less, get yourself a OnePlus 3, or as you said, it was your spare device. So just use whatever you have.
forid200 said:
That's very bluntly said, however, it is true. The phone is gone, the thieves are probably more interested in selling it rather than looking through your porn collection. There's a few things you can try and do, you can try wiping it through Android device manager. Truthfully, if the sims out and the phone has no data connection. It will fail.
You can report it to the carrier/police and get the devices IMEI blocked. If you kept your OnePlus box like I have, you will see a small sticker with the devices IMEI written on it. This will render it useless as a mobile.
I know how annoyed you must feel, losing your device, data. And I understand that after you have a phone for a while, it starts to have slight 'sentimental' value to you, you could say. Thieves attempted to rob me a few times (here in London), I nearly got sprayed with corrosive acid, I nearly got stabbed, I put up a good fight and they couldn't get anything from me. But it did get me to think, how much is a device worth to you man? Is it worth more than your life?
These people robbing, they have no heart, no soul, they don't give a ****. I think cellphone manufacturers should all become more responsible and start building in kill switches.
My best advice to you is the above, these thieves will be out there. And it can happen, the OnePlus One is pretty old now. So I guess it should hurt less, get yourself a OnePlus 3, or as you said, it was your spare device. So just use whatever you have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Thanks a lot for nice reply which really made my day.
I was only afraid for my old personal scanned documents and family photographs.
Any how, your words have provided me potency and ray of light that let bygones be bygones
I'll try to search that box and request for IMEI block.
Thanks you so much
hoppingpanda said:
Hi,
Thanks a lot for nice reply which really made my day.
I was only afraid for my old personal scanned documents and family photographs.
Any how, your words have provided me potency and ray of light that let bygones be bygones
I'll try to search that box and request for IMEI block.
Thanks you so much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to have helped you out! Sorry for the late reply. If you need anything feel free to PM, or just join my WhatsApp group for faster reps from other OnePlus power users.

Backing up EFS/IMEI partition

Hi there
I can only apologize for having to ask this question, and I do feel a complete n00b for having to ask, but I actually can't afford to get this wrong, so need some help from people who know what they are doing
I've just defected from my Apple iPhone 6+, as Android phones are the only ones that are listed as 100% compatible with my Tobii I12 eyegaze communication device. Using this device I can make calls, texts, Facebook, pretty much anything I want to without needing physical access to the phone.
Now, I also have a Samsung Tab 2 (SM-T700) which I rooted, installed recovery, custom ROM etc some time ago, as it was only a cheap tablet and if it all went wrong, I could afford to wait and mess around to try and fix it.
The thing is, it's more essential my S8+ is working, as I use it with my communication aid to get through to the outside world.
OK, so what do I want to do? Obviously, I'm hoping to achieve root, and one of the reasons for this is because I paid full price for my S8+ (not a network upgrade), the full >£700. This in turn means that I get the privilege of being punished by not being able to use Three WiFi Calling. The signal at my house is a bit shaky, and I read that with a CSC (Country Specific Code) I might be able to get VoWifi working It'd also be nice to know my phone had the capability of running what I want it to....
So, I know that rooting is going to trip knox & warranty void. Not an issue. Having a device that does what I ask it to is more important than some stupid warranty.
However, I have read that before doing ANYTHING, I should make sure I have a backup of this EFS/IMEI partition. Because once it's gone, it's gone for good.
Now I never did anything like this for my tablet, so now I'm just a bit scared I'm going to wipe this partition and completely hose my phone in the future.
So, can somebody please let me know what I should be doing? I really can't afford to be without my phone, but I really need Wifi Calling to work!
Sorry if this is a n00b question that has been answered before. Thanks in advance
Never mind.....
Did a bit more reading today and it makes more sense now.... EFS partition is just a partition on the device; and there are many tools that can backup partitions.... with root, I could even just 'dd' it
Going to take it slowly, but hopefully I can start contributing soon instead of just asking questions
Thanks again
I'm kinda curious about this too, this will be my first attempt at rooting a Samsung and I've seen horror stories about losing the EFS partition in the past.
Incidentally, if you're based in the UK, tripping knox doesn't void your warranty.

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