[Q] IMEI of 0 after TWRP restore - Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I shattered the screen on my Nexus 5 so I ordered a replacement from Google and before switching to the new one, I made a nandroid backup using TWRP.
I put my SIM in the new Nexus, transferred my nandroid backup, and restored it to my new phone.
Now, I cannot connect to AT&T due to my IMEI showing as 0.
I think I have narrowed down the problem to restoring the EFS partition on the new phone when I wasn't supposed to? So far, I have tried restoring the phone to stock (from this guide). I even tried manually changing the IMEI to the correct number (but it doesn't stick, just reverts to 0).
Is there something else that needs to be wiped in the stock restore process that's not covered in that guide? What am I missing? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Sounds like you're gonna need another replacement
sent from my HAMMERHEAD neXus

You're hosed. You can't transfers the imei to another phone

CRIME INC. said:
Sounds like you're gonna need another replacement
sent from my HAMMERHEAD neXus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ouch....
Is there anything I should have done differently? Just not flash the EFS partition? I normally setup from scratch but I loved how I had my other setup and just wanted to retain that configuration.

jd1639 said:
You're hosed. You can't transfers the imei to another phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't intending on transferring the IMEI. I just want to get the phone's IMEI corrected so it works.

qwen3579 said:
I wasn't intending on transferring the IMEI. I just want to get the phone's IMEI corrected so it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By restoring the efs partition you did try. It's contained in there. That's where things went wrong and there isn't anything you can do about it

jd1639 said:
By restoring the efs partition you did try. It's contained in there. That's where things went wrong and there isn't anything you can do about it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great.... SO there is no way to reset the EFS partition, I'm guessing?

Just goes to show if you don't know what you're doing you should stay well clear!
You're going to have to buy a new one as there's no way Google are going to RMA it
---------- Post added at 01:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:54 PM ----------
qwen3579 said:
Great.... SO there is no way to reset the EFS partition, I'm guessing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not unless you backed up the new one first, no

EddyOS said:
Just goes to show if you don't know what you're doing you should stay well clear!
You're going to have to buy a new one as there's no way Google are going to RMA it
---------- Post added at 01:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:54 PM ----------
Not unless you backed up the new one first, no
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I thought. I usually back up everything before doing anything. I just got in a rush....

EddyOS said:
Just goes to show if you don't know what you're doing you should stay well clear!
You're going to have to buy a new one as there's no way Google are going to RMA it
---------- Post added at 01:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:54 PM ----------
Not unless you backed up the new one first, no
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speed kills
---------- Post added at 08:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:01 AM ----------
qwen3579 said:
That's what I thought. I usually back up everything before doing anything. I just got in a rush....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speed kills

Thanks for the help guys. Luckily, I still have my old with the cracked screen. I'm just going to have to take the screen off the new one and put it on my old one..which is what I was trying to avoid.
Beats having to buy another one due to my screw up.

jd1639 said:
Speed kills
---------- Post added at 08:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:01 AM ----------
Speed kills
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL...says the guy with a Porsche!

qwen3579 said:
That's what I thought. I usually back up everything before doing anything. I just got in a rush....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a harsh lesson

Alright, so I swapped the motherboards of the phones, booted up my new phone, restored from nandroid (avoiding the EFS this time, just in case) and I'm back up - crack free.
Thanks for the info guys, lesson learned.
"What do we do when we fall"?

qwen3579 said:
Alright, so I swapped the motherboards of the phones, booted up my new phone, restored from nandroid (avoiding the EFS this time, just in case) and I'm back up - crack free.
Thanks for the info guys, lesson learned.
"What do we do when we fall"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you got something working

Yea. All guides need to make sure to post a warning and a link to the EFS backup thread. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2514095
First thing I did was make a backup of mine and store it away in a safe place as well as on the phone. I've flashed two friend's N5's with CM as well, and I did the same with their EFS just in case something happens.
One other route you could try is restoring the phone to factory default, relock the bootloader so the mod trip isn't set, and send it back saying it wont connect to cell network, and take your chances RMAing it. However the display swap may be easier. Either way once you swap your display back, do a EFS backup with that link and save the files it makes in a safe place.

qwen3579 said:
I shattered the screen on my Nexus 5 so I ordered a replacement from Google and before switching to the new one, I made a nandroid backup using TWRP.
I put my SIM in the new Nexus, transferred my nandroid backup, and restored it to my new phone.
Now, I cannot connect to AT&T due to my IMEI showing as 0.
I think I have narrowed down the problem to restoring the EFS partition on the new phone when I wasn't supposed to? So far, I have tried restoring the phone to stock (from this guide). I even tried manually changing the IMEI to the correct number (but it doesn't stick, just reverts to 0).
Is there something else that needs to be wiped in the stock restore process that's not covered in that guide? What am I missing? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somewhere in xda there is a guide to create an imei,i don't have the link to the thread, I'll see if i can find it for you or you may Google it
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Juansegovia20 said:
Somewhere in xda there is a guide to create an imei,i don't have the link to the thread, I'll see if i can find it for you or you may Google it
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I found a guide CATing the IMEI to /dev/pttycmd1 - that didn't work. Most are hesitant with sharing info on changing IMEIs, which is understandable. It's just frustrating knowing what the problem is and not being able to fix it.

Related

Question before I start flashing

Ok I made a backup of my stock rom,question is what if my memory card gets corrupted how would I be able to restore my factory rom
Thanks
Macklessdaddy said:
Ok I made a backup of my stock rom,question is what if my memory card gets corrupted how would I be able to restore my factory rom
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Transfer it to your computer so you will always have it available.
If that is not something you want to do there will always be a RUU available for your phone
copy your backup to a hdd or something to keep it safe just-in-case
i even got 3 instances of my backup. just to be sure as im always flashing. you never know, something might happen.
all I need to copy is the backup from cwm correct?
Macklessdaddy said:
all I need to copy is the backup from cwm correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, and make sure you dont change the folder/file names or anything otherwise it'll affect the md5 check. There are ways to get around that... but don't make life harder!
KAwAtA said:
yep, and make sure you dont change the folder/file names or anything otherwise it'll affect the md5 check. There are ways to get around that... but don't make life harder!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure don't want to change the md5 check(whatever the hell that is lol)thanks bro
Once you flash CM7 your life will be so much better
you can also email it to yourself...... just sayin
or dropbox it lol
Before you flash a ROM, try and find the RUU so should the worst happen you can always go back to stock.
---------- Post added at 01:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:00 PM ----------
sergeybrin said:
Once you flash CM7 your life will be so much better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think we get the idea that YOU think CM7 is good. If it was THAT good everyone would be running it, no?
Also, any chance you can change your font colour? It's a nightmare to read!
EddyOS said:
Before you flash a ROM, try and find the RUU so should the worst happen you can always go back to stock.
---------- Post added at 01:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:00 PM ----------
I think we get the idea that YOU think CM7 is good. If it was THAT good everyone would be running it, no?
Also, any chance you can change your font colour? It's a nightmare to read!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm confused now,I thought the backup I made prior to rooting was stock,no?well what did I backup then?
You've backed up your ROM as it is NOW, an RUU can be used to go back to a 100%, out-the-box state. Always worth getting it in case your backup becomes corrupt.
What software version are you running on at the moment?
I'm running ARHD 3.6.2
So you have no idea what software version you were on out the box?

Help restoring efs? i have backup with toolkit

hi, i have a working efs backup through the infuse toolkit. problem is i dont know how to restore the back up...can anyone help?
i believe im supposed to flash the efs.tar with odin but i dont know which section it should go under...
do i put the efs.tar under pit, bootloader, pda, phone, or csc?
i dont want to put it in the wrong spot!!!
i spent the last half hour searchng for my answer, but all i could find was how to make a backup, or to just flash efs.tar with odin...but it would never say which section to put it under
(i lost efs with cm10, i also read that going back to stock should restore it, but why go back to stock if i already have a backup?)
I believe it is PDA but I should check real quick
Sent from my Nice 'n' Stock-y Infuse 4G
---------- Post added at 07:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:11 PM ----------
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1729838
This here says CSC, but I just skimmed might wanna take a one over yourself...hope this helps man
Sent from my Nice 'n' Stock-y Infuse 4G
---------- Post added at 07:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:20 PM ----------
Also if I'm not mistaken you can restore efs within the toolkit
Sent from my Nice 'n' Stock-y Infuse 4G
isaiahe97 said:
I believe it is PDA but I should check real quick
Sent from my Nice 'n' Stock-y Infuse 4G
---------- Post added at 07:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:11 PM ----------
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1729838
This here says CSC, but I just skimmed might wanna take a one over yourself...hope this helps man
Sent from my Nice 'n' Stock-y Infuse 4G
---------- Post added at 07:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:20 PM ----------
Also if I'm not mistaken you can restore efs within the toolkit
Sent from my Nice 'n' Stock-y Infuse 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! the csc worked...and i looked in the toolkit and never found an option to restore efs...only backup...i probably just missed it though
mike591 said:
Thanks! the csc worked...and i looked in the toolkit and never found an option to restore efs...only backup...i probably just missed it though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you able to restore the efs in jb, Mike?
Can you go thru all the steps in detail?
I'm sure it will help someone else out later.
How?
mike591 said:
Thanks! the csc worked...and i looked in the toolkit and never found an option to restore efs...only backup...i probably just missed it though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, can you please tell up what steps you took? I lost my efs folder upgrading to JB-CNA Rom. My IMEI is just gibberish now. Like you, I followed the advise of using Infuse-Toolkit to backup my EFS partition. Now I have backups, but I can't figure out how to restore them. There's a lot of information to sift through!
canislupus01 said:
Yes, can you please tell up what steps you took? I lost my efs folder upgrading to JB-CNA Rom. My IMEI is just gibberish now. Like you, I followed the advise of using Infuse-Toolkit to backup my EFS partition. Now I have backups, but I can't figure out how to restore them. There's a lot of information to sift through!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes mike, it would be nice to know what you did...
as for you canislupus01 did you make your backups before your imei problems...or after? cause if you did it after...well then i dont think your backups are gonna have any luck with your backups...
Truthfully...i kinda wish we never switched to mtd...creates so many imei problems...like with my aosp build, the efs folder is still there and looks normal...but my aosp build will never recognize my imei...itll just stay blank, for me flashing back to cm10 or just going back to stock will fix the imei...but thats cause its not actually corrupted
canislupus01 said:
Yes, can you please tell up what steps you took? I lost my efs folder upgrading to JB-CNA Rom. My IMEI is just gibberish now. Like you, I followed the advise of using Infuse-Toolkit to backup my EFS partition. Now I have backups, but I can't figure out how to restore them. There's a lot of information to sift through!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not tried to restored efs while on JB.
But from my experience, if you used Heimdall or Odin back to stock, IMEI will be restored without any other extra steps.
From stock GB, you need to flash to ICS and then to CM10.
mg2195 said:
Truthfully...i kinda wish we never switched to mtd...creates so many imei problems..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking the same here, mg.
mg2195 said:
Yes mike, it would be nice to know what you did...
as for you canislupus01 did you make your backups before your imei problems...or after? cause if you did it after...well then i dont think your backups are gonna have any luck with your backups...
Truthfully...i kinda wish we never switched to mtd...creates so many imei problems...like with my aosp build, the efs folder is still there and looks normal...but my aosp build will never recognize my imei...itll just stay blank, for me flashing back to cm10 or just going back to stock will fix the imei...but thats cause its not actually corrupted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did all my backups before. I just wasn't having any luck restoring them.
I actually eventually got it working using EFS Pro to restore the efs.tar created in Infuse-Toolkit, despite EFS Pro throwing array-out of-bounds errors. I had tried EFS Pro, and given up on it, then tried Odin, and realized I'd have to go back to stock, just for a silly IMEI.
Determined to avoid another flash... I tried manually restoring it with root explorer, to no avail. I also tried a couple of other things, before going back to EFS Pro, and giving it one more shot. It wasn't seeing my .tar files before (Pretty sure my USB cable is flaky) but now it saw one. I quickly copied a good image over to the /sdcard and viola! (After clicking continue through a couple of .NET error dialogs)
Disabled SIM
Hello.
Same thing happened to me after my battery was drained at all. I tried several solutions, without success.
My problem was solved with just trying to send a text message (SMS), this allowed me to have my SIM enabled again and automatically the data network.
I hope this answer will be helpful to someone else.
Greetings.

Flashed blaze modem to sk4g, Lost imei.

I for the life of me can not figure out how to get my imei back, nor do I know how to rewrite in in hex editor. I am current running GO V2 rom. I did the blaze flash yesterday now my phone is basically junk. I can no longer receive mms/pic's, my qik video app wont work, no imei. Its really aggravating me to know end, has caused noting but trouble for me. Can some one please help me to fix my imei so my phone will work properly again?
I already have hex editor on my phone and superuser access, root explorer, and all that other stuff. I just need help. I also have my imei handy as well.
I forgot to mention, I odined back to factory image, then rerooted with superoneclick, did the whole recovery in the system/bin thing, put the update.zip in root of sd card, installed quick boot and then followed flash instructions on GO V2 page. I have done this 4 times already and am getting faster at it lol. Not a good thing. So I have been through all that already.
So, you went ahead and restored the clockworkmod backup recovery image that you regularly archive to your sdcard and that didn't fix the problem?
---------- Post added at 07:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 AM ----------
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1264021
Guaranteed to work.
You may have to expand your horizons in the process... But, it will work.
orange808 said:
So, you went ahead and restored the clockworkmod backup recovery image that you regularly archive to your sdcard and that didn't fix the problem?
---------- Post added at 07:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 AM ----------
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1264021
Guaranteed to work.
You may have to expand your horizons in the process... But, it will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly, I have tried everything he listed to do. Im scared I will never be able to fix it lol. The bad part is, I dont have the money to buy another phone right now either so Im kinda screwed both ways.
txzx6r said:
Sadly, I have tried everything he listed to do. Im scared I will never be able to fix it lol. The bad part is, I dont have the money to buy another phone right now either so Im kinda screwed both ways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, you have the Android SDK installed and you managed to get through the instructions at the command line?
Don't get upset with me, I just need to establish that you really completed the steps.
orange808 said:
So, you have the Android SDK installed and you managed to get through the instructions at the command line?
Don't get upset with me, I just need to establish that you really completed the steps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im not upset with you, im actually happy someone decided to chime in. I am currently odin'ing back to stock with the clear efs option checked. Its my last resort.
at the command line, it told me no such file or folder, so i was at a dead end on that one. It was however, a good try/suggestion.

[Q] No Radio Signal on Nexus 5 32 gb after restoring from TWRP back up from 16gb N5

I did a TWRP nandroid backup on my nexus 5 16gb model. I then transferred it to my 32gb Nexus 5 model and tried restoring from TWRP. Now my phone has no signal. Help please?
I think it might have something to do with the parition of the IMEI? Any help would be great thanks!!!
Did the nandroid include the efs partition? If it did you're screwed
Unless he manually checked efs he should be okay.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 07:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:51 PM ----------
Valdeck said:
Unless he manually checked efs he should be okay.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also would flashing a factory image redo the era?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Hi so I cut my losses and did a RMA. For future reference if I do a TWRP nandroid backup and I DON"T CHECK EFS box and i transfer the back up to my new nexus 5 phone. It should be okay?
khoadpham said:
Hi so I cut my losses and did a RMA. For future reference if I do a TWRP nandroid backup and I DON"T CHECK EFS box and i transfer the back up to my new nexus 5 phone. It should be okay?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, just backup data
So leave all the boxes that are default unchecked, UNCHECKED?
jd1639 said:
Yes, just backup data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and uncheck system and boot
Atta boy, make your problem google's.
good day.
chopper the dog said:
Atta boy, make your problem google's.
good day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed
Quick question, could you explain to me what is backed up when system and boot is checked, please?
khoadpham said:
Hi so I cut my losses and did a RMA. For future reference if I do a TWRP nandroid backup and I DON"T CHECK EFS box and i transfer the back up to my new nexus 5 phone. It should be okay?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U can back up efs just dont restore efs from one device to another in the radio thread there are many ppl with this problem.
Why are people messing with EFS backup to begin with?
Seems like the need to backup EFS is causing more dumbass errors than anything these days....
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Well its really user error. If you don't know what something is, learn about it before messing something up.
Would a factory image restoration fix a device with messed up efs partition?
I never had efs issues with my galaxy nexus, but I'd like to know the answer.
Sent from my Xiaomi MI2S
Well dees troy said in the twrp tread that you have to change the serial code of the backup to restore on a deferent device so I don't really feel sorry for ppl doing this I would never restore from another device that's just asking for trouble. @_jordan_ no there's no way to fix it
Yeah no kidding. Its a user inflicted problem.
Sent from my MI 2SC

[Q] Corrupt Data Partition.

Does anyone out there have any new knowledge about repairing a corrupt data partition? I've received help from several of the Dev's out there but I'm still corrupt and bound to ROM's that don't touch my data partition. Ruu doesn't do the trick or anything else I've tried. It would be nice if I could flash a GPE ROM and some of the other stuff out there. Thanks! It's been a while since I brought this up so I thought I would give it another shot. I found this link interesting. Any thoughts?
I assume you've tried the partition fix zip and or repair in twrp?
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2
Duckman_UF said:
Does anyone out there have any new knowledge about repairing a corrupt data partition? I've received help from several of the Dev's out there but I'm still corrupt and bound to ROM's that don't touch my data partition. Ruu doesn't do the trick or anything else I've tried. It would be nice if I could flash a GPE ROM and some of the other stuff out there. Thanks! It's been a while since I brought this up so I thought I would give it another shot. I found this link interesting. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If twrp doesn't do it..I have more manual methods that work too.
In twrp, go to wipe, advanced. Select data and hit the repair file system option.
If that doesn't work pm me.
Thanks Dottat. I should have linked my previous help threads to this post. Yes, I've tried TWRP's repair feature and nearly everything you can imagine on this. It's been this way for a while now. I'll pm you when I get off work later and maybe figure something out. I'm thinking it's going to be something similar to the link in my post because I've tried nearly everything else via yours, Scott's, TT, DH and everyone else in the world lol! Appreciate it.
bill3508 said:
I assume you've tried the partition fix zip and or repair in twrp?
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes...Thanks man
Duckman_UF said:
Thanks Dottat. I should have linked my previous help threads to this post. Yes, I've tried TWRP's repair feature and nearly everything you can imagine on this. It's been this way for a while now. I'll pm you when I get off work later and maybe figure something out. I'm thinking it's going to be something similar to the link in my post because I've tried nearly everything else via yours, Scott's, TT, DH and everyone else in the world lol! Appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you can boot to TWRP (for ADB purposes) we can perform a manual fix (note that this will wipe data and system). Are you able to backup anything at all now?
I can teamviewer it if you need help.
dottat said:
As long as you can boot to TWRP (for ADB purposes) we can perform a manual fix (note that this will wipe data and system). Are you able to backup anything at all now?
I can teamviewer it if you need help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I can backup whatever I have running. I'm running the latest Skyfall rightnow. One of the few I can flash because it doesn't mess with my data partition. I'm going to PM you. Thanks !
Duckman_UF said:
Yes, I can backup whatever I have running. I'm running the latest Skyfall rightnow. One of the few I can flash because it doesn't mess with my data partition. I'm going to PM you. Thanks !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What time are you available tomorrow ? Unless you are ready soon
bill3508 said:
I assume you've tried the partition fix zip and or repair in twrp?
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where do you find the partitionfix.zip?
Here.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4aago54h78ftnfm/partition_fixer.zip?dl=0
---------- Post added at 09:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:44 AM ----------
You can also try the repair partition in twrp, but in the end you may have to format partition and start from stretch.
bill3508 said:
Here.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4aago54h78ftnfm/partition_fixer.zip?dl=0
---------- Post added at 09:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:44 AM ----------
You can also try the repair partition in twrp, but in the end you may have to format partition and start from stretch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you test this zip on this phone?

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