Database Info

[HOWTO]Comprehensive IMEI/EFS Backup

Update 9/1/2012: A user has successfully restored with this method! Continue to "Testimonials" for more info!
Update 9/2/2012: TrevE has now come up with a way to leverage Samsung's built-in restore to your advantage! Read below for more!
Update 9/3/2012: Changed adb commands to reduce Operation not permitted problems.
Thanks to the efforts of some great developers, there is now *possibly* a more comprehensive method to backup your IMEI. While I have not personally tested a restore using this method, a user in IRC has done a manual NVRAM wipe and restored it using this method, without the roaming issues caused by a occasionally-bungled QPST restore or manual IMEI injection. In addition, posts in this thread indicate a successful restore from an actual occurrence of the problem, all without the use of QPST and also without any roaming issues!
Before I go any further, the same old disclaimer still applies; you accept all responsibility for what you do to your own device!
Theory:
The theory is that the S3 has, in the boot process, a routine which is "tripped" when it detects an error condition. This routine is designed to "save" your IMEI by restoring images from two built-in backup blocks. The problem is, it actually does the opposite; for whatever boneheaded reason, the default backup blocks contain dummy images with an IMEI of 0 and no carrier identification. This is why your phone forgets what carrier it's on and what its IMEI number is; the restore routine actually overwrites the phone's only copy of the IMEI data with a dummy. Because much more data is lost than just the IMEI, this is also why a QPST injection (not a QCN restore) persistently leaves you on roaming.
In an initial attempt to solve this problem, users have attempted to "dd", or create an image of, a single block supposedly containing the IMEI when the phone is still in a good state. This is the efs.sbn method that you may have seen. However, upon further inspection, it turns out the IMEI data is actually spread across five different block devices, hence why the efs.sbn method is either ineffective or leaves you on roaming! After the block devices were identified, a SynergyROM team member created an easy-to-use recovery zip that allows you to image these five blocks, allowing you to reflash them should the Samsung boot process overwrite your IMEI! Re-flashing these blocks after they've been crapped up virtually ensures your phone has been fully restored to its pre-IMEI-loss condition, thereby preventing roaming or data issues seen consistently with a manual injection, or intermittenly with a QPST restore. You do not need SynergyROM to use this tool; I've done it from full stock.
But wait: there's more. About a week after the development of this tool, several unused boot entry points were discovered that revealed a way to control Samsung's built-in "safety" feature and actually make it work properly! Two backup blocks were put in by Samsung themselves; "fsg" and "backup". The great news is that, although these images may contain dummies by default, you can instruct the bootloader to write your good NVRAM data to them so that the good data is what's written to NVRAM in the event of an error. That is, instead of restoring a dummy image over your good IMEI...it restores a good backup instead and you don't lose a thing! How awesome is that?
Developers are now recommending a new IMEI backup regimen, leveraging Samsung's built-in IMEI backup and SynergyROM's manual backup, together with an optional QCN backup you can do for good measure. Of course I can't make any guarantees, but doing this backup should leave you in such a good spot that almost nothing can total your IMEI or leave you in a roaming state. Here are the new instructions on how to backup your IMEI, iron-clad. Do Parts A and B, in order, C is optional but will give you added peace of mind.
Backup:
Part A (Samsung's built-in backup):
1. If your phone does not have Terminal Emulator installed, you will need to use ADB. Download and install the Android SDK platform-tools for your platform. This is a bit non-trivial as it requires the installation of the Android SDK, however, you can find a guide for installing adb here. After installing, open a command prompt and navigate to the "platform-tools" folder within the SDK, where adb is stored. If you need additional help on this, simply ask in this thread.
If your phone is rooted and has Terminal Emulator installed, you don't need to do any of this. Simply open up the Terminal Emulator and go to step 2.
2. For ADB: Connect your phone to the computer and ensure it is in "Debug Mode" (Settings->Developer Options->USB debugging). Then. in the command prompt, type the following:
Code:
adb reboot nvbackup
For Terminal Emulator: The actual "beef" of the command is the "reboot nvbackup" line. Therefore, if you have Terminal Emulator installed, you can just run the command straight off your phone. Enter these two commands from the app:
Code:
su
reboot nvbackup
3. Your phone will reboot and copy the contents of two IMEI partitions to the two built-in backup blocks. You may see tiny blue text on the bootloader screen indicating that it is copying.
4. Allow it to finish and then reboot back into Android. The "fsg" and "backup" block devices now contain your IMEI information as they should have in the first place.
Part B (SynergyROM's "Plan B" manual backup):
1. Download the attachment at the bottom of this post. This is an update ZIP you can run right from recovery.
2. Reboot into recovery. On stock this can be done by turning off the phone and then turning it back on while holding UP and HOME.
3. CWM: Use VOL UP and VOL DOWN together with HOME to select "install zip from sdcard" then "choose zip from sdcard". Navigate to the folder you downloaded it to (most likely Download/). Select the zip you just downloaded to "flash".
TWRP: Touch "install" and navigate to the folder you downloaded the zip to (most likely Download/). Swipe to confirm flash.
4. Allow the backup to complete successfully. "Flash" is a bit of a misnomer; this is actually just a script that will safely backup your EFS and radio information to /sdcard/synergyrom/backup without touching your ROM at this point. When the script completes, reboot.
Part C: Backup with QPST:
Once the gold standard of IMEI backup, this method (in my opinion) should now be done only in the event of an unlikely complete catastrophe where neither Samsung's built-in restore nor SynergyROM's restore works. Simply follow the instructions here for extreme peace of mind; you don't need to do this if you don't want to, but I personally did.
Restore:
Do not do this unless your IMEI has been lost!
Performing Part A of the backup should ensure that you never lose your IMEI in the first place; the theory being that the Samsung built-in backup now has a good image to restore itself, as opposed to a dummy image. However, things may still happen. If you've still lost your IMEI, perform each of these methods in order of priority, "A" being the first.
Restore Plan A:
Run the following command from adb, just like when you backed up (have Android SDK installed, connect phone, and ensure USB debugging is enabled):
Code:
adb reboot nvrestore
This method triggers Samsung's built-in IMEI restore; except this time, you got good images on your side. Simply allow the phone to restore and reboot itself when completed. NEVER PERFORM THIS COMMAND WITHOUT DOING PART A OF "BACKUP" FIRST; THIS WOULD RESTORE THE DUMMY IMAGES INSTEAD AND WIPE YOUR IMEI!
Restore Plan B:
Sometimes a fluke happens and the nvrestore does not work. That's why this one is Plan B and not Plan A. Good thing you did Part B of "Backup"! Rather than instructing Samsung's bootloader to restore your NVRAM, this method will do so manually from recovery using a manually done backup.
It's just like when you backed up, except now you want to flash the zip containing your NVRAM info that the other zip built for you. This zip is located in /sdcard/synergyrom/backup. Simply navigate to this path and flash the zip beginning with "keybackup"; this will write images to 5 block devices from a time when your IMEI was all good. Reboot the phone; if all went well, you now have your IMEI back with no roaming!
Restore Plan C:
Both methods above may fail you in extremely unlikely circumstances. At this point, you'll need to try using QPST to get your IMEI back. If you did Part C in "Backup", you can follow instructions in that same thread to get you back up and running. In most QPST restores, you shouldn't have any issues with data or roaming.
Restore Plan D:
The planets have lined up, the Cubs have won the World Series, and all three above methods have failed you in what is surely a sign of the apocalypse. Far more likely, though, is that you didn't have a backup of anything and your IMEI is gone for good. The good news is that you can still get your phone working; the bad news is that you'll be stuck on roaming and may have problems with data. You'll need to perform an "IMEI injection" which is a kludgy last-resort restore method that manually writes the IMEI to NVRAM; the link I provided in Part C of "Backup" will tell you how to do it.
Testimonials:
This method has been tested good by the following users in this thread!
amaury48 said:
Just flashed CM10 09-01 nightly and lost data, confirmed I lost my IMEI. I had used the process in the OP a while ago to backup my IMEI. Just would like to confirm that I just flashed the backup it created and happy to report all is well again. Thanks for the post of this tool........saved my butt......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
alee said:
I'll join the club. Lost my IMEI while doing the latest CM10 nightly. Restored and was back in action in no time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nght12 said:
Hey, used your backup method and ended up having to use it later in the day. It works. I'd reply but I can't yet due to being a new member here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please continue to let everyone know if this restore has worked for you after an IMEI loss!
Happy flashing!

TrevE said:
The other trickery we ran into is partitions do not like to be written to for whatever reason outside of package_extract_file right outa the zip. dd'ing directly back failed over and over, I have no clue why, poor esc must have flashed 100 zips before I gave up looking into it. So the updater zip restore uses only package_extract_file, actually writing partitions out properly. I have high hopes that it will actually work, but until tested otherwise do as many types of backups as you can
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your restore dd commands won't work.

con247 said:
Your restore dd commands won't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good catch. I'll revise the guide appropriately.

So will this work on any ROM?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Yeah I'm on stock rom just rooted an cwm. Can I flash this zip an since I don't have synergy, where will the backup be stored?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Worked on CM10.

I'm all for redundancy of backups, so here's hoping this method fully works when restoring. I have not experience a loss of IMEI myself, but I definitely want to be safe. I know the original efs backup method was proven to be an incomplete backup, but I thought the QPST NV backup method was proven to work? Are you saying that restoring with tthe QPST method (where you have an NV backup before you lose IMEO) does not work and will still having roaming issues?
At any rate, it will be interesting to see if this is the "one true backup" to rule them all for IMEI. So basically, you flash the zip in recovery and it creates another zip with the backed up contents. And in the event of an IMEI loss, you just flash the new zip and should be good to go? At least, that's the theory, right?

Travisimo said:
I'm all for redundancy of backups, so here's hoping this method fully works when restoring. I have not experience a loss of IMEI myself, but I definitely want to be safe. I know the original efs backup method was proven to be an incomplete backup, but I thought the QPST NV backup method was proven to work? Are you saying that restoring with tthe QPST method (where you have an NV backup before you lose IMEO) does not work and will still having roaming issues?
At any rate, it will be interesting to see if this is the "one true backup" to rule them all for IMEI. So basically, you flash the zip in recovery and it creates another zip with the backed up contents. And in the event of an IMEI loss, you just flash the new zip and should be good to go? At least, that's the theory, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You nailed it!

Nice, I'm assuming this is similar to what the Synergy ROM team is now including?

nyjumpman said:
Nice, I'm assuming this is similar to what the Synergy ROM team is now including?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its the same. Just a standalone version.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Confirmed successful backup using CWM.
I can confirm this backup method works using CWM.
I first tried it with TWRP via Goo Manager and the script didn't execute properly.
I tried flashing the file while still in TWRP and I couldn't even find the zip file anywhere, user error I'm guessing.. lol.
So I flashed CWM over TWRP via ROM Manager PRO and flashed the zip file with CWM via ROM Manager PRO and the zip script executed nicely. I found the backed up zip file where the OP said it would be.
Here's to hoping I never have to use the backed up file, but it's good to know I have it there if needed.
Thanks again OP!

xCHPx said:
So will this work on any ROM?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This should work regardless of ROM as it is a recovery zip. I've tested it with CWM: I've never used TWRP so I don't know how well it would work in TWRP.
tu3218 said:
Yeah I'm on stock rom just rooted an cwm. Can I flash this zip an since I don't have synergy, where will the backup be stored?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tested a backup successfully on full stock, rooted. The backup will be stored in a folder called "synergyrom" but this just the name the tool gives to the directory (as the tool was created by the Synergy team) and has no impact on function or dependency on SynergyROM.
Travisimo said:
I'm all for redundancy of backups, so here's hoping this method fully works when restoring. I have not experience a loss of IMEI myself, but I definitely want to be safe. I know the original efs backup method was proven to be an incomplete backup, but I thought the QPST NV backup method was proven to work? Are you saying that restoring with tthe QPST method (where you have an NV backup before you lose IMEO) does not work and will still having roaming issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
QPST method is not perfect; it is better than a simple IMEI injection, but the boot bug writes crap over much more than just the IMEI. This is why either method may leave you on roaming (althogh a QPST restore only sporadically causes roaming). In addition, various DRM keys may be erased as well, leaving you potentially unable to play back HDCP/PlayReady titles; QPST does not restore these.
At any rate, it will be interesting to see if this is the "one true backup" to rule them all for IMEI. So basically, you flash the zip in recovery and it creates another zip with the backed up contents. And in the event of an IMEI loss, you just flash the new zip and should be good to go? At least, that's the theory, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's correct. When you "flash" the backup zip, nothing actually is written to the ROM as far as I can tell; it runs just like a script/batch file and saves your backup zip to /sdcard/synergyrom. The tool itself creates a new flashable zip in this directory, one that does modify your unit, which you can then use only in the event that the bootloader craps up the NVRAM.

Just did this on cm10. Backed up without issue and I see the folder it created. Thank you. I've done qpst as well so now I feel very safe
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

hopesrequiem said:
Just did this on cm10. Backed up without issue and I see the folder it created. Thank you. I've doneSame. Thanks for the info.ll so now I feel very safe
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

So this requires an unlocked bootloader? I just did this but it skipped because my bootloader is still locked. Is that correct in that it needs to be unlocked for this backup process to work?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Just did this, thanks!
I now have 3 different types of backups. I feel safe now if I ever lose it.
Safe-r, I should clarify.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Made my back up on unofficial cm10 0816. Thanks.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

tu3218 said:
So this requires an unlocked bootloader? I just did this but it skipped because my bootloader is still locked. Is that correct in that it needs to be unlocked for this backup process to work?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no excuse to not be unlocked at this point.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

tu3218 said:
So this requires an unlocked bootloader? I just did this but it skipped because my bootloader is still locked. Is that correct in that it needs to be unlocked for this backup process to work?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol ur still locked???
here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1839791
enjoy bro. now you got no excuces

Stryker1297 said:
lol ur still locked???
here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1839791
enjoy bro. now you got no excuces
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know i know lol I've been hesitant because of the IMEI issue and the phone is pretty damn good as is. But I'm slowly leaning towards flashing custom roms to get rid of the bloat, and since there are more ways now to hopefully restore the IMEI in case its deleted.

[TOOL][SCRIPT] AndSync - Synchronize Backup and Restore Android Devices

AndSync v1.3
About AndSync
This script helps you to:
- Synchronize applications if you have multiple android devices.
- Backup and Restore applications in batch.
- Un-install applications in batch.
- Backup and Restore application data on rooted and non-rooted (only for ICS and above) devices.
- Use your PC or Laptop to perform full backups. There is no need to first backup on SD card and then copy to your PC.
Why did I develop this?
1. I own multiple android phones with about 200 apps installed (I have no idea why ) and it has become difficult to manage application updates from Play Store on these devices.
2. I needed a quick and easy way to backup applications directly to my computer and restore them after I do a full re-flash.
What are the prerequisites for this script?
Android SDK (ADB shell)
Perl v5.10.1 (Any latest version of Perl would also be fine)
Note: I used these versions, it may work on older versions as well but I have not tested those.
Installing prerequisites
- Install Perl from here
- Install Zip for Perl (Ubuntu Users) - sudo apt-get install libarchive-zip-perl
- Install adb using instructions from here
On which Desktop/Laptop OSes will this tool work?
It is a Perl script and so it should work on all OSes that can run Perl. Of course Android SDK port (at-least for adb) should exist.
For which versions of Android will this tool work?
I have come across 'adb backup' and 'restore' commands but that is not available for older/all devices. Using this tool you can perform backup and restore of devices with Android Gingerbread and above. (I have only tested using GB and JB). Froyo devices are not supported in the current version.
Where can you find this tool?
Here is the link [AndSync]. You can just download the Perl script 'AndSync.pl' and execute it if you have Perl installed.
From AndSync v1.3 the script can be updated automatically from Settings->'Update this script'.
Known Issues
- Some operations spit out too much information on console.
- Does not support Froyo devices at the moment.
If you have issues with market links try:
Settings->Applications->Manage Applications->All->Google Play Store->Force Stop & Clear Data
Please share your thoughts and suggestions for improvement. Please open issues on Github so that it can be tracked.
Enjoy Android !!

Feature Requests:
DONE
1. Warn before over writing old backups. (Done)
2. Restore market links? (Please try the solution in the main post)
PENDING
1. Selective Backup and Restore.

Updated to AndSync v1.1

Updated to AndSync v1.2

Great tool, thanks!

Looks interesting, will try it out over the weekend.
Thanks
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

do you think i can restore a system app with it....will try this week end on huawei honor u8660...thx
can you upload Perl v5.10.1 please....

Trying this out. I wonder how the speed compares to Titanium in terms of speed.
EDIT: As of right now, it doesn't recognize my 3VO running Gangnam Style CM10. Will test again after flashing Sense 4.1.

orb3000 said:
Great tool, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your review!
desalesouche said:
do you think i can restore a system app with it....will try this week end on huawei honor u8660...thx
can you upload Perl v5.10.1 please....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can restore system apps if your phone is rooted. Currently all operation are done in batch there is no option to restore only a selected app (you can delete all unwanted apps (keep the only one you want to restore) from the Backup directory and get it done).
thebeastglasser said:
Trying this out. I wonder how the speed compares to Titanium in terms of speed.
EDIT: As of right now, it doesn't recognize my 3VO running Gangnam Style CM10. Will test again after flashing Sense 4.1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for trying out this tool. I have not done any comparisons yet. I had tested it on Motorola Defy with CM10. For ICS and up there is an alternate backup restore support as well.
Please post your suggestions for improvement.

awesome... multiple devices? very nice... my brother in law was just wanting me to reset his phone to factory so he can take the latest update... and with my gnex... can't wait to give try this out

[
cant get it work
1)downloaded perl 5.16.1 and extracted to d:
2)downloaded andsync files and copied to a folder in d:
3)adb already in d:
tried your command from all the places. din't work. please some more guidance i'm sure there are more ppl like me
thanks for your help. i'm on win7 and One X already connected through usb debuging

jacktackle said:
[
cant get it work
1)downloaded perl 5.16.1 and extracted to d:
2)downloaded andsync files and copied to a folder in d:
3)adb already in d:
tried your command from all the places. din't work. please some more guidance i'm sure there are more ppl like me
thanks for your help. i'm on win7 and One X already connected through usb debuging
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to add adb and/or perl to your path variable:
Find the directory you installed perl and/or adb to, and add it to your path variable using this guide:
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000549.htm
to check if its working properly (optional):
open up cmd (press win+r, then type cmd and press enter)
type adb
if it outputs info, then adb is working
type perl -v
if it outputs info, then perl is working
if you get
Code:
'<command>' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
Then andsync script wont be able to find the needed programs
if this is in place, you should be able to double click the file or type perl <path>\AndSync.pl from within cmd prompt :highfive:

Great work

Wizwin, great script! :good:
I would like to request that the script gives a warning, or even the choice to make multiple backups when backing up for a second time
i did it twice in a row to test, and it just overwrote the first backup without warning - this could result in very unfortunate things for some people
Also, handling of multiple backups would be neat

paccer said:
Wizwin, great script! :good:
I would like to request that the script gives a warning, or even the choice to make multiple backups when backing up for a second time
i did it twice in a row to test, and it just overwrote the first backup without warning - this could result in very unfortunate things for some people
Also, handling of multiple backups would be neat
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Sure I will add that as an enhancement in the next release. I was waiting for requirements to come up.

Just tried it out, works well - thank you.
On a Le Pan TC970 tablet, running CM7 Beta 6.1 Gingerbread.

Please note: This apparently currently breaks android market links
I used titanium backup pro to restore them
Without, i guess there's no updates etc. for the restored applications (someone confirm?)
"recover android market links" would be a nice feature

hy!how can I use in windows 7 32 bit??

im sort of a newbie when it comes o scripts like this. I am running OSX Lion 10.7,5 and i have adb setup. Can i use this? Shiiiid how do i use this??
NVM: Too much work

paccer said:
Please note: This apparently currently breaks android market links
I used titanium backup pro to restore them
Without, i guess there's no updates etc. for the restored applications (someone confirm?)
"recover android market links" would be a nice feature
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have seen/used this feature in TB, let me check if something needs to be done to provide this feature.
acultr said:
hy!how can I use in windows 7 32 bit??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes! you can run it on any Desktop OS with Perl installed.
treyweez11 said:
im sort of a newbie when it comes o scripts like this. I am running OSX Lion 10.7,5 and i have adb setup. Can i use this? Shiiiid how do i use this??
NVM: Too much work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Open a Terminal on Mac, change the directory to the path where you placed the 'AndSync.pl' script and type in 'perl AndSync.pl'. I have executed it on a Mac but not tested it completely but I guess it would work fine if you have setup Perl and adb.

[Q] Any Alternative to root ICS?

I just OTA'ed to ICS, and the current root isnt working . I know that one of the prerequisites is to wipe data and cache to get it working, but i want to keep my data, and was hoping that there may be a way to either root the phone and then use titanium backup, or find some other way to back it up. I have tried ADB backup, that finishes in less than a second and creates a backup file that's 1kb big, so thats obviously not working, and suggestions would be helpful (With adb backup, i use the command "adb backup -all -nosystem -apk -f F:/backup.ab")

What method did ya use? This? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1742879 I was able to root ma ics with that!

I Also rooted using Lifehacker7's linked post.
May be you are connecting phone in 'mass storage mode', when I rooted, it was in 'MTP Mode'.
May be you need to reinstall Motorola drivers.

NHS2008 said:
I Also rooted using Lifehacker7's linked post.
May be you are connecting phone in 'mass storage mode', when I rooted, it was in 'MTP Mode'.
May be you need to reinstall Motorola drivers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reinstalled, and also tried in every USB mode (Surprisingly camera also worked).

Version: 6.7.2_GC-220-EDS-3-65
this rom can't be root by "http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1742879" method.
On the gfan forum they found another method by replacing boot.img "http://bbs.gfan.com/android-5201783-1-1.html"
I'm not sure if this method can be used in other ICS roms or not.

Maeur1 said:
I just OTA'ed to ICS, and the current root isnt working . I know that one of the prerequisites is to wipe data and cache to get it working, but i want to keep my data, and was hoping that there may be a way to either root the phone and then use titanium backup, or find some other way to back it up. I have tried ADB backup, that finishes in less than a second and creates a backup file that's 1kb big, so thats obviously not working, and suggestions would be helpful (With adb backup, i use the command "adb backup -all -nosystem -apk -f F:/backup.ab")
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this method as laid out in the following link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1779968
MAKE SURE THE MD5 MATCHES.
This SHOULD work. :laugh:

how to tell if bootloader is unlocked after rooting...

followed this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2046439 yesterday to root my samsung galaxy s3 and unlock the bootloader, but i am unsure if it worked 100%. i know it is rooted because i dl'ed titanium backup and it works, but how do i tell if my bootloader is unlocked or not? did a search, couldn't find an answer, so i am asking here.

There's not really a concrete way to tell however if you reboot and the Samsung logo flashes by in a second then you're unlocked. Typically it sits for three to five seconds on this screen but once unlocked, this screen just flashes by.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

considering we all use the same unlocked aboot.img, it's pretty easy to concretely verify that you're bootloader is unlocked.
but im too stupid to write a script, and no one wants to do it because it's a bit longer than timing the samsung boot logo (which when you compare time-invested to information given, is pretty reliable)
basically involves comparing the md5 of the aboot.img of your phone to the known unlocked aboot.img (will try to find the terminal/adb shell commandsi posted before)
found it:
The unlocked md5 is: 0ba9ad45fc15cf3d62af7dd363686b3f
So if you pull a copy of your current aboot partition and save it to your sd card.
Run the following in ADB shell or terminal. Make sure you run it as superuser:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 of=/storage/sdcard0/aboot.img
That command will save an aboot.img to your internal sd. Check it's md5 and see if it matches.
Can run in adb:
md5 /storage/sdcard0/aboot.img
or
use any of the many md5 checking apps out there

SlimSnoopOS said:
There's not really a concrete way to tell however if you reboot and the Samsung logo flashes by in a second then you're unlocked. Typically it sits for three to five seconds on this screen but once unlocked, this screen just flashes by.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, cool, thanks! so it looks like the root took, but the bootloader didn't unlock. the samsung logo took 3 seconds to pass by. so what do i need to do now to unlock it? should i repeat the steps from what i did yesterday?

corbn89 said:
considering we all use the same unlocked aboot.img, it's pretty easy to concretely verify that you're bootloader is unlocked.
but im too stupid to write a script, and no one wants to do it because it's a bit longer than timing the samsung boot logo (which when you compare time-invested to information given, is pretty reliable)
basically involves comparing the md5 of the aboot.img of your phone to the known unlocked aboot.img (will try to find the terminal/adb shell commandsi posted before)
found it:
The unlocked md5 is: 0ba9ad45fc15cf3d62af7dd363686b3f
So if you pull a copy of your current aboot partition and save it to your sd card.
Run the following in ADB shell or terminal. Make sure you run it as superuser:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 of=/storage/sdcard0/aboot.img
That command will save an aboot.img to your internal sd. Check it's md5 and see if it matches.
Can run in adb:
md5 /storage/sdcard0/aboot.img
or
use any of the many md5 checking apps out there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm gonna bookmark this cuz this is a really good explanation. I don't ever suggest dd methods (nor memorize them) cuz I know a single typo could brick the device.
a.demarco said:
ok, cool, thanks! so it looks like the root took, but the bootloader didn't unlock. the samsung logo took 3 seconds to pass by. so what do i need to do now to unlock it? should i repeat the steps from what i did yesterday?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just sideload EZ Unlock v1.2 and press the unlock button. You'll hear an audio confirmation and boom, unlocked.

ok, so now i am confused. i have the correct supersu+bootloader on the sd card, and the supersu app on the phone, but the samsung logo still takes a while to disappear.
edit: nevermind, got it working, samsung logo now just flashes by. thanks again for all your help!

SlimSnoopOS said:
I'm gonna bookmark this cuz this is a really good explanation. I don't ever suggest dd methods (nor memorize them) cuz I know a single typo could brick the device.
Just sideload EZ Unlock v1.2 and press the unlock button. You'll hear an audio confirmation and boom, unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, it's pretty straightforward. I tested my unlocked bootloader with this. Haven't had a chance to tested while locked though (will have to wait till my next odin to stock).
But yeah, as long as no one switches the "if" and the "of" it should be safe (aka accidentally pasting something into the normally inaccessible partition rather than copying out to the sd)
---------- Post added at 10:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:29 AM ----------
a.demarco said:
ok, so now i am confused. i have the correct supersu+bootloader on the sd card, and the supersu app on the phone, but the samsung logo still takes a while to disappear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sometime that image doesn't take for whatever reason. just use the app slimsnoop os linked to, should do the trick

a.demarco said:
ok, so now i am confused. i have the correct supersu+bootloader on the sd card, and the supersu app on the phone, but the samsung logo still takes a while to disappear.
edit: nevermind, got it working, samsung logo now just flashes by. thanks again for all your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! Just so you know, you can uninstall EZ Unlock (if you installed it that is) and never use it again. You will not need it again unless you do the following which which will re-lock your bootloader:
1) take a Verizon OTA
2) Odin flash a stock image
Make sure to do a nandroid and happy flashing!

SlimSnoopOS said:
Great! Just so you know, you can uninstall EZ Unlock (if you installed it that is) and never use it again. You will not need it again unless you do the following which which will re-lock your bootloader:
1) take a Verizon OTA
2) Odin flash a stock image
Make sure to do a nandroid and happy flashing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
still learning all about this, i will have to search what a nandroid is. i am doing a backup currently using titanium backup (free version right now), and it seems to be working well.
i want to flash either the cm 10.1 or jellybeans v.15 i think, just gotta read more about them.

a.demarco said:
still learning all about this, i will have to search what a nandroid is. i am doing a backup currently using titanium backup (free version right now), and it seems to be working well.
i want to flash either the cm 10.1 or jellybeans v.15 i think, just gotta read more about them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh, you'll see a lot of terms thrown around like that haha here's a glossary of common terms taken from DroidStyle's guide in the dev section.
Basically a nandroid is a complete system or rom backup akin to a computer backup. You perform a nandroid in custom recovery (CWM or TWRP) however its labeled as "Backup" in both recoveries. "Nandroid" is just the common name for it. The reason you perform a nandroid is to have a safe point to restore your phone to if you flash a rom, kernel, or mod and your phone begins to misbehave. Before flashing your first rom, it's highly recommended that you perform a nandroid in your custom recovery and even save a copy on a computer so you always have that in two places. It may take about 1.5-2 GB's of space per backup so I wouldn't keep too many on your phone at a time.

SlimSnoopOS said:
Ahh, you'll see a lot of terms thrown around like that haha here's a glossary of common terms taken from DroidStyle's guide in the dev section.
Basically a nandroid is a complete system or rom backup akin to a computer backup. You perform a nandroid in custom recovery (CWM or TWRP) however its labeled as "Backup" in both recoveries. "Nandroid" is just the common name for it. The reason you perform a nandroid is to have a safe point to restore your phone to if you flash a rom, kernel, or mod and your phone begins to misbehave. Before flashing your first rom, it's highly recommended that you perform a nandroid in your custom recovery and even save a copy on a computer so you always have that in two places. It may take about 1.5-2 GB's of space per backup so I wouldn't keep too many on your phone at a time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good to know... should i bother with titanium backup at all? or just boot into cwm and do a nandroid from there?

a.demarco said:
good to know... should i bother with titanium backup at all? or just boot into cwm and do a nandroid from there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perform both actually. Backup apps with TB so when you flash a rom you can restore apps at once if you actually like the rom. I typically restore a few apps when trying new roms then if I like the rom, I'll restore more apps. Backup with CWM so that in case you dislike the rom you flash, you can completely restore to your previous rom. They serve two similar functions yet distinctly different as well.

SlimSnoopOS said:
Perform both actually. Backup apps with TB so when you flash a rom you can restore apps at once if you actually like the rom. I typically restore a few apps when trying new roms then if I like the rom, I'll restore more apps. Backup with CWM so that in case you dislike the rom you flash, you can completely restore to your previous rom. They serve two similar functions yet distinctly different as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
awesome, thank you for the help. doing the nandroid backup right now through cwm, backing it up to the external sd card so i can then save it to the computer.
so i should only use the tb to back up the apps? oops, i backed everything up on it, was wondering why it took so damn long!

a.demarco said:
awesome, thank you for the help. doing the nandroid backup right now through cwm, backing it up to the external sd card so i can then save it to the computer.
so i should only use the tb to back up the apps? oops, i backed everything up on it, was wondering why it took so damn long!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem! Yea, TB is useful for a lot once you have a grasp of the basic functions. Only backup user apps and do not backup/restore system apps. Depending on the number of apps and their storage size, backup time varies. You can always delete the previous TB backup files cuz its stored in the Titanium Backup folder of your internal or external sdcard. Doesn't hurt to copy that to a computer every once in awhile too.

corbn89 said:
considering we all use the same unlocked aboot.img, it's pretty easy to concretely verify that you're bootloader is unlocked.
but im too stupid to write a script, and no one wants to do it because it's a bit longer than timing the samsung boot logo (which when you compare time-invested to information given, is pretty reliable)
basically involves comparing the md5 of the aboot.img of your phone to the known unlocked aboot.img (will try to find the terminal/adb shell commandsi posted before)
found it:
The unlocked md5 is: 0ba9ad45fc15cf3d62af7dd363686b3f
So if you pull a copy of your current aboot partition and save it to your sd card.
Run the following in ADB shell or terminal. Make sure you run it as superuser:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 of=/storage/sdcard0/aboot.img
That command will save an aboot.img to your internal sd. Check it's md5 and see if it matches.
Can run in adb:
md5 /storage/sdcard0/aboot.img
or
use any of the many md5 checking apps out there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So when I start up terminal emulator, next to where it says "[email protected]:/ $" I type in su right? Then hit enter? Then on the following line I type: "dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 of=/storage/sdcard0/aboot.img"
After I type this a copy of aboot.img will be saved to my external memory card and from there I can match it up with the unlocked md5 and if it matches this garuntees that my bootloader is unlocked. Is this correct?
I'm a noob, please forgive me.

jricks said:
So when I start up terminal emulator, next to where it says "[email protected]:/ $" I type in su right? Then hit enter? Then on the following line I type: "dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 of=/storage/sdcard0/aboot.img"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct.
After I type this a copy of aboot.img will be saved to my external memory card and from there I can match it up with the unlocked md5 and if it matches this garuntees that my bootloader is unlocked. Is this correct?
I'm a noob, please forgive me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will save to your internal sdcard. sdcard0 = internal storage, sdcard1 = external sdcard.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Much appreciated my friend.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Let us know what your results are and which method you used to unlock.
I confirmed it on my phone that used the ez unlock app but multiple trials by others would be beneficial. Thanks

SlimSnoopOS said:
Correct.
It will save to your internal sdcard. sdcard0 = internal storage, sdcard1 = external sdcard.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did everything mentioned above and it saved to my internal card however im unable to view it. What program do i to install to view it.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

You don't need to view it. You just need to run the file through a md5 checksum app or check the md5 with terminal or adb using the command I posted earlier

Cant delete backups / Memory Full

Hi, Im new to this device but right after I got it I did the right thing and voided my warranty Rooted and installed a custom recovery. The recovery has been a bit of a pain but that is a story for another thread.
The problem I am having is that when I try to take a backup from recovery it errors (I forget the error, sorry. ) however the backup is still right there in the backup directory. I tried a second attempt at a backup (to see if it would error again) and these two backups filled my remaining memory. lI of course used my file explorer to delete these extraneous backups-- only to see that they are not deletable. I also tried on the PC. The folder lists read and write in the permissions. I am kind of at a loss as to what to do. IIRC correctly from a while back with this issue the answer lies somewhere in CHMOD, but I cant quite seem figure it out. CD to the directory in a terminal emulator and then CHMOD 777? Thanks for your help in advance.

knoober said:
Hi, Im new to this device but right after I got it I did the right thing and voided my warranty Rooted and installed a custom recovery. The recovery has been a bit of a pain but that is a story for another thread.
The problem I am having is that when I try to take a backup from recovery it errors (I forget the error, sorry. ) however the backup is still right there in the backup directory. I tried a second attempt at a backup (to see if it would error again) and these two backups filled my remaining memory. lI of course used my file explorer to delete these extraneous backups-- only to see that they are not deletable. I also tried on the PC. The folder lists read and write in the permissions. I am kind of at a loss as to what to do. IIRC correctly from a while back with this issue the answer lies somewhere in CHMOD, but I cant quite seem figure it out. CD to the directory in a terminal emulator and then CHMOD 777? Thanks for your help in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are using TWRP, It is not possible to delete twrp backup images using normal ways. Either you can install esfile explorer and navigate to device/data/media/0/twrp/backups/ and delete from there. Or use file manager in TWRP to delete the backups. I think there is also another option in twrp to view or delete backups.
Sent from my Moto G using Tapatalk 2

Ill check out the other things you said, but Im actually getting this problem in ESfile... Ill report back if I can get at it through the recovery.
Edit: ESfile works. I followed the path you laid out ad got there just fine I didnt realize Id have to take such a roundabout path. Thank you.