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[SOLVED] Efs?

What is it? Because I want to download the mokeeOS, but the installation is confusing me, so I wanna know if the efs matters
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA

1. Yes efs matters a lot
2. I don't know a whole lot but it holds the network info, imei number, and alot of other really important things
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium

Although there is a way to make sure you have a backup, flash this file in cwm
sourceforge.net/projects/teamacid/files/fb/cwm/cm7-efs-backup.zip/download
And there will be two files in the root of your sd card
Efs-backup.tar and efs-backup.tar.md5 ( I suggest save it to your computer, it saved my ass )
And you can restore this backup at anytime by flashing this
sourceforge.net/projects/teamacid/files/fb/cwm/cm7-efs-restore.zip/download
Good luck
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium

Efs is the files system that holds the unique identifiers for your device. Without it, your phone is basically useless. You won't be able to connect to any network properly do things like phone calls, internet, texting, are all degraded, if they even work at all... Make sure you know what you are doing before messing with it. Fb created a vet good guide on the wiki. Follow it to a T!
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA

I would suggest using a root browser to copy the EFS folder to somewhere safe on your PC and copy a 2nd back-up to your SD card. I lost IMEI going from CM7 to moKeeOS but was able to easliy restore it with a back-up and a root browser.
The flashable EFS back-up/restore from FB should still be used, but with EFS/IMEI I don't think you can be too careful and backing it up manually as previously stated is a good idea.

Yeah, I keep multiple copies of it on my PC. The reason being is that I copy it whenever I do a backup before a flash. So I have a directory with the date with 3 folders: efs, nandroid, and sdcard. I used adb to copy them:
Code:
cd efs
adb pull /efs/
Probably overkill, but better to be safe than sorry, eh?

Ok, but once you lose IMEI and don't have a backup (I received this phone for repair), then what can I do?

serialteg said:
Ok, but once you lose IMEI and don't have a backup (I received this phone for repair), then what can I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's pretty much screwed without the OEM Samsung/Tmo software. You would have to send it to Samsung for repair, or you might get lucky and get an engineer to hook you up, but that is unlikely...

thomas.raines said:
It's pretty much screwed without the OEM Samsung/Tmo software. You would have to send it to Samsung for repair, or you might get lucky and get an engineer to hook you up, but that is unlikely...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the answer. that OEM software isn't available in the forums or anywhere else for us? because I swear I flashed something OEM'ish without root with heimdall.
also, the imei is on the battery part of the phone, can't i fix it?
i read somewhere that you could use a phone just fine without imei on the about phone.

you can use the phone without imei, but it doesn't function as well as it would with it. Also, i was using titanium backup and it said my device's id was changed, and it showed my actual imei. If i were to restore it, would that fix the imei?

EFS help on the SGH-T959V
Basically, I've had a hell of a time with some EFS drama this weekend, made a total noob mistake, but in a stroke of luck I was able to "recover" so to speak my EFS even after it was supposedly "wiped."
After some thorough research and READING and bit of thought, I realized that the PIT mapping layouts between BML and MTD are indeed different, and that in theory if one remaps to BML (in layman's terms a stock partition map) then the EFS data originally on the phone gets correctly remapped (at least in my case it did).
To reiterate:
1. I did a nandroid backup. Basic ****. I hope to god you at least did this step too.
2. I used the cm7-efs-backup.zip script to backup my EFS. This was my first mistake. In my case, I don't know why I'm still researching, this script failed to make a backup .tar on my sdcard or anywhere else for that matter. It didn't throw any error messages either on the screen in the process. Not trying to attack the authors of that script, I'm just saying it didn't work for me this time.
3. I pushed the TWRP boot.img with Heimdall
4. I used the cm7-efs-restore.zip script which also "succeeded" but did nothing to restore any sort of EFS obviously because there was no backup to begin with.
5. I flashed R11 unofficial cm7 and booted up. Everything was fine but the IMEI was corrupted and I confirmed that the new MTD EFS partition was empty. On T-Mobile I could place no calls and only got sporadic and intermittent data access.
It was at this point I was sure I had ruined my phone.
After some more careful reading I realized that the original EFS was still present on the firmware, however the new MTD layout I flashed (wisely) stores its EFS partition in a different physical location. In theory, I thought if I reverted to BML and a stock ROM then I would recover the original EFS. In my case, this was successful.
1. I accessed the most recent "boot.img" file from my most recent nandroid and pushed that back to the device with Heimdall
2. At this point you have to flip your USB drivers back to USB Composite Device.
3. I then used a Heimdall one click to return to a rooted stock KJ6 "Gremlin Remover"
4. Upon restart, everything was fine (sigh of relief)
At this point, I'm still trying to determine why my EFS cannot be backed up with a few automatic tools. I made a backup of the file structure, but even lyriquidperfection's EFS Pro 1.4.7 can't make a backup of the EFS. It can access the ADB Server, but the backup 'fails'.
I'll check back in after I figure out why.
Hopefully this info will help anyone else who has switched to MTD and has a missing EFS.

nick.tansy said:
At this point, I'm still trying to determine why my EFS cannot be backed up with a few automatic tools. I made a backup of the file structure, but even lyriquidperfection's EFS Pro 1.4.7 can't make a backup of the EFS. It can access the ADB Server, but the backup 'fails'.
I'll check back in after I figure out why.
Hopefully this info will help anyone else who has switched to MTD and has a missing EFS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had similar issues yesterday. If your trying to install the twrp and then downgrade to the version with wifi dont flash the boot.img with heimdall. Follow the instructions for installing via cwm.
Just install the zip that has twrp in it. But follow the directions for normal cwm installation.
Also when trying to make a backup of your efs, make sure system is mounted. I initially did not have any problem but I was on antonx's kernel and when you flash with that recovery it would mount properly. What is happening is system isnt getting mounted. So its making a null backup.
The most important thing to do is when you are trying to make a backup of your efs is mount system!

Hi have you tried the updated EFS Pro v1.7.13? It can now automatically detect the mount point of the '/efs' folder for back up and restore. Also many many bug fixes and new code to communicate with adb.exe alot more quickly and efficiently.
Head over to the forum and check it out.

I already solved this problem, but this would seem useful other people with the same problem. But what forums are you exactly referring to?
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA

mierkat09 said:
I already solved this problem, but this would seem useful other people with the same problem. But what forums are you exactly referring to?
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=18524176

[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.

Restore backup from other Nexus 5?

I received my Nexus 5 a week ago, and after setting it all up how I like it, I noticed dead pixels. I ordered a replacement which has arrived today. and I'm wondering if I can make a TWRP backup on my old phone, and then restore it on the new one? Both have the same SKU number - LG-D821.AAU3WH.

iPWNtehNOOB said:
I received my Nexus 5 a week ago, and after setting it all up how I like it, I noticed dead pixels. I ordered a replacement which has arrived today. and I'm wondering if I can make a TWRP backup on my old phone, and then restore it on the new one? Both have the same SKU number - LG-D821.AAU3WH.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but DO NOT BACKUP OR RESTORE EFS!!!!!!

Absolutely. The trick to this is to make a quick backup on the new phone (backup cache, or something small) so that it creates a folder with your new device's serial number. TWRP looks in /sdcard/TWRP/BACKUPS/<DEVICE's SERIAL NUMBER>/ to find backups.
So, once TWRP has created a folder for the new device's serial number, you can transfer over the backup files from the previous device. You'll need to ADB PULL the directory to a computer from the old device, then PUSH them back to the new one.
It works like a charm. My wife dropped her first N5 during a walk in a park and shattered the screen -- when her new one came, we made it a perfect "clone" of the first this way.
Good luck!

rootSU said:
Yes but DO NOT BACKUP OR RESTORE EFS!!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bcgaynor82 said:
Absolutely. The trick to this is to make a quick backup on the new phone (backup cache, or something small) so that it creates a folder with your new device's serial number. TWRP looks in /sdcard/TWRP/BACKUPS/<DEVICE's SERIAL NUMBER>/ to find backups.
So, once TWRP has created a folder for the new device's serial number, you can transfer over the backup files from the previous device. You'll need to ADB PULL the directory to a computer from the old device, then PUSH them back to the new one.
It works like a charm. My wife dropped her first N5 during a walk in a park and shattered the screen -- when her new one came, we made it a perfect "clone" of the first this way.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent, thanks gents! So backup and restore EVERYTHING but EFS, or just Data?

iPWNtehNOOB said:
Excellent, thanks gents! So backup and restore EVERYTHING but EFS, or just Data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll need to restore /system and /data if you want it exactly the same. I do not know what modifications / differences between the /system on your old and new phone are, so if in doubt, do both.

You should also do a backup of the EFS partition of the new phone since it's fresh, and keep it in a handy place. You never know when you might need it.

Further information from Dees_troy.

isn't EFS something samsung specific? can't find it on my N4

prulleman said:
isn't EFS something samsung specific? can't find it on my N4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Here is a thread for N5.

Primokorn said:
Nope. Here is a thread for N5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thanks didn't know that. good info awaiting my N5

prulleman said:
ok thanks didn't know that. good info awaiting my N5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One of the first things you should do after root
TWRP has also a built-in feature as you may know.

prulleman said:
isn't EFS something samsung specific? can't find it on my N4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They all have efs but only some phones implement it as a dedicated partition or mounted filesystem.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Clone 2 N5 Phones

So i broke the glass on my n5 but it's working ok, recently i manged to buy a cheap new white one, and basically have 2 working phones.
I want to transfer all my stuff from the old > new, i'm wondering, apart from the usual Titanium path, is there any google service or other method that will make a copy of my old phone on the new one?
What would be the best approach here, if Titanium, are there any shortcomings?
ty

Why not backup in TWRP (make sure NOT to backup EFS) and then restore (once again, WITHOUT EFS) on the other phone? Everything will be exactly the same.
Also make sure they're both on the same bootloader/baseband.

You forget the content of your /sdcard. Use adb pull/push to transfer your favorite folders/files to your new device.

Tnx gents! I was thinking of nandroid, but wasn't sure it can work between phones.
They have the same baseband, by the same bootloader you mean the same version/build number?
Of course i will transfer sdcard by other means.
btw. it's strange google doesn't offer simple backup/restore to new phone

invisibles said:
Tnx gents! I was thinking of nandroid, but wasn't sure it can work between phones.
They have the same baseband, by the same bootloader you mean the same version/build number?
Of course i will transfer sdcard by other means.
btw. it's strange google doesn't offer simple backup/restore to new phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that,since I asked Google to replace my phone due to abattery charging problem. I installed same bootloader same radio same twrp version on both phones,backup all the "SD card" with a PC,and then made a nandroid backup. Now if you export the whole nandroid folder on the new phone ,you will not be able to install it because the folder name is related to the phone serial (if you look at the nandroid folder is named with many random charters). To solve this I created a nandroid backup on the new nexus 5 ,and renamed the backup of the old one with the name of the new one. This worked for me . I don t know if now you have to do the rename stuff no with last versions, but was like this 8 months ago (don't remember twrp version).
Don t backup efs partition and restore on the new one,it contains the imei and other stuff,and don't try to flash a 32gb nandroid backup on a 16gb model, I don't know if it will work

It worked, i also found out you can migrate stuff from the old nexus using google tap&go through nfc, don't know how much that restores..
Ty all for the help

[Completed] Revisit Accessing a .backup file on windows for lost information.

My original post was closed before I could respond...
Below the original is a response I received.
Hi Im not a developer and dont know much about android i just don't know who to ask for this particular problem.
I had a ZTE Obsidian phone that wont get past the Metropcs boot screen so I did a system restore menu by holding power and the up vol button.
After going to boot menu I created a backup to my sdcard. userdata_20150101_003623.backup this is the file name I was given. To make sure I created another one and the only diffrence is trhe file extension saying backup1.
I then factory reset the phone and tried to reboot but it still has the same problem. I purchased a new phone the asus Zenfone3. I then tried to do the same thing here but restore the phone using the same backup from the ZTE but I received an error saying the backup is out of date. The zte was running on lollipop and the asus on marshmellow.
Im on windows 10. I was hoping to find away to extract my contacts and possibly the app color note with the notes I wrote in it from the backup.
Is this possible can I extract these files from a .backup to my windows 10 desktop some kind of way or can I get another zte phone and create a clone of my last one from the backup file
Greetings and welcome to assist. Do you know what format the backup was saved in ? Where you using twrp or cwm? You could use titanium backup to extract from the backup on your phone if you have root or I think assayed kitchen has the option to extract from a back up here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/che...tchen-t3410545
Good Luck
Sawdoctor
Do you know what format the backup was saved in ?
No I dont know what format the file is saved in. The file extension just says .backup
Where you using twrp or cwm?
Im a novice at android and developing. I dont know what these are. I used my no rooted phone from Metro Pcs (ZTE Obsidian Z820) before I factory rest it I created a backup using the factory restore system on the phone. I did not use a computer or third party apps to do this.
You could use titanium backup to extract from the backup on your phone if you have root or I think assayed kitchen has the option to extract from a back up here.
The phone was from metro pcs and not rooted. I have also downloaded the (Assayed Kitchen) program but have no idea how to use it to access the .backup file. There are no instructions for some one of my limited knowledge on android phones.

JollyDangerous said:
My original post was closed before I could respond...
Below the original is a response I received.
Hi Im not a developer and dont know much about android i just don't know who to ask for this particular problem.
I had a ZTE Obsidian phone that wont get past the Metropcs boot screen so I did a system restore menu by holding power and the up vol button.
After going to boot menu I created a backup to my sdcard. userdata_20150101_003623.backup this is the file name I was given. To make sure I created another one and the only diffrence is trhe file extension saying backup1.
I then factory reset the phone and tried to reboot but it still has the same problem. I purchased a new phone the asus Zenfone3. I then tried to do the same thing here but restore the phone using the same backup from the ZTE but I received an error saying the backup is out of date. The zte was running on lollipop and the asus on marshmellow.
Im on windows 10. I was hoping to find away to extract my contacts and possibly the app color note with the notes I wrote in it from the backup.
Is this possible can I extract these files from a .backup to my windows 10 desktop some kind of way or can I get another zte phone and create a clone of my last one from the backup file
Greetings and welcome to assist. Do you know what format the backup was saved in ? Where you using twrp or cwm? You could use titanium backup to extract from the backup on your phone if you have root or I think assayed kitchen has the option to extract from a back up here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/che...tchen-t3410545
Good Luck
Sawdoctor
Do you know what format the backup was saved in ?
No I dont know what format the file is saved in. The file extension just says .backup
Where you using twrp or cwm?
Im a novice at android and developing. I dont know what these are. I used my no rooted phone from Metro Pcs (ZTE Obsidian Z820) before I factory rest it I created a backup using the factory restore system on the phone. I did not use a computer or third party apps to do this.
You could use titanium backup to extract from the backup on your phone if you have root or I think assayed kitchen has the option to extract from a back up here.
The phone was from metro pcs and not rooted. I have also downloaded the (Assayed Kitchen) program but have no idea how to use it to access the .backup file. There are no instructions for some one of my limited knowledge on android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Greetings ans welcome again. It is unusual for a stock recovery to be able to make a back up that is the problem, it is only normally possible to make a backup using a custom recovery like cwm or twrp so I assumed you had done this. You can not restore a backup from a different model of phone as it is incompatible, if you copy your back up to your pc and right click it to get properties it should tell you what file extension was used. You won't be able to restore the back up to a different model of phone but may be able to extract contacts, messages, photos etc
Regards
Sawdoctor

sawdoctor said:
Greetings ans welcome again. It is unusual for a stock recovery to be able to make a back up that is the problem, it is only normally possible to make a backup using a custom recovery like cwm or twrp so I assumed you had done this. You can not restore a backup from a different model of phone as it is incompatible, if you copy your back up to your pc and right click it to get properties it should tell you what file extension was used. You won't be able to restore the back up to a different model of phone but may be able to extract contacts, messages, photos etc
Regards
Sawdoctor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea thats what I thought but wanted to verify it. Im currently trying to find the same model phone online so I can use the files.
When I click the properties button the file type is listed as "BACKUP (.backup)". I dont think there is a program that can actually read this file type at least I cant find one that does.
If there is one I would like to be able to get that kind of info off of it.