Database Info

[Q] Recovering/Replacing the IMEI number

So I just received a replacement phone via warranty from T-Mobile.
I have upgraded to Gingerbread 2.3.6 and am rooted.
I just realized now that the IMEI number in Android is 00000000.
I'm not sure if it was like this before I started tinkering with it or if it happen as a result of the root/upgrade.
Anyways, I have the sticker that gives me the IMEI number under the battery, I just need to know if/how I can get this back into my phone. I've read something involving a HEX editor? But I don't know what or how.
Any advice and links would be greatly appreciated.

A little more information. I originally noticed that the IMEI was set at 0000000 because I tried to install Swype beta and it says cannot install on an android emulator. Further googling of this lead me to realize that swype wasn't recognizing my phone as a legit android OS because the IMEI number was missing...so yea. This is where I am now.

CoBfan1987 said:
A little more information. I originally noticed that the IMEI was set at 0000000 because I tried to install Swype beta and it says cannot install on an android emulator. Further googling of this lead me to realize that swype wasn't recognizing my phone as a legit android OS because the IMEI number was missing...so yea. This is where I am now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you make any backups before upgrading to Gingerbread 2.3.6?
ADD: Here is a quote off another thread with this problem:
I got my IMEI back. I had my nv_data.bin.md5 and nv_data.bin backed up when I unlocked my phone after I got the new one from Samsung. I just coppied them the the efs folder and my IMEI is back."
Hope it helps! And hope you have a back up... maybe even from your other phone?? Or before you upgraded the phone you have.

Should they be in this directory?:
/efs/root/afs/settings
because those are the only ones i can find
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

CoBfan1987 said:
Should they be in this directory?:
/efs/root/afs/settings
because those are the only ones i can find
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
10char

So I have the nv_data.bin and nv_data.bin.md5 files from my old phone and from my new phone. Sorry, I wasn't thinking enough to make a backup of these files when I upgraded to Gingerbread using Samsung Kies.
So now, with these two sets of files. Do I want to take the old (and good) files from my old phone and replace the files on my new phone. Won't that transfer the old phone's IMEI though?

CoBfan1987 said:
So I have the nv_data.bin and nv_data.bin.md5 files from my old phone and from my new phone. Sorry, I wasn't thinking enough to make a backup of these files when I upgraded to Gingerbread using Samsung Kies.
So now, with these two sets of files. Do I want to take the old (and good) files from my old phone and replace the files on my new phone. Won't that transfer the old phone's IMEI though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First - Is your phone working?
Second - Have you tried a factory reset if your phone is working?
Third - Try a factory reset and reflash a stock rom.
Fourth - If you phone is not working give it a shot and let us know

Yes the phone is working fine. Just with the IMEI missing, I can't get Swype beta to install (I'm assuming that is the problem)(That the only problem I've found so far). Would a factory reset restore the bin files and IMEI number then?

CoBfan1987 said:
Yes the phone is working fine. Just with the IMEI missing, I can't get Swype beta to install (I'm assuming that is the problem)(That the only problem I've found so far). Would a factory reset restore the bin files and IMEI number then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I have read is a factory reset or reflashing a ROM (or both if all else fails) should restore your IMEI. I have also read flashing the original ROM that came on the phone has worked. You may try that if the factory reset does not restore it.
Since your phone is working don't copy the files over from your other phone
Do let us know your progress.

How do I obtain the original rom, is it posted here in the forum?

CoBfan1987 said:
How do I obtain the original rom, is it posted here in the forum?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you do the factory reset yet?

resetting as we speak. Report back in a sec

okay reset is done and IMEI is still 0000000000

CoBfan1987 said:
okay reset is done and IMEI is still 0000000000
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try doing the factory reset again and flashing back to froyo
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1106822
assuming the was what came with the phone?

I'm hitting the same very disgruntling problem that I did in the past when I tried to use CWM. When I try apply update from sdcard and I choose my update.zip file I just get E:signature verification failed and I can't proceed from there....

CoBfan1987 said:
I'm hitting the same very disgruntling problem that I did in the past when I tried to use CWM. When I try apply update from sdcard and I choose my update.zip file I just get E:signature verification failed and I can't proceed from there....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What color is your recovery?

blue
"Android system recovery <3e>
Samsung Recovery Utils
- for BML -"

CoBfan1987 said:
blue
"Android system recovery <3e>
Samsung Recovery Utils
- for BML -"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need a custom kernal to flash from CWM. That is why you are getting that error. Let me look for an odin flash back to froyo stock for you.
On a side note - I have read taking your battery out for 10 mins has worked for some. Since your phone is working you may try that while we continue to look for a fix.

Sucks that this kind of problem would happen from following these instructions. I figure it would all automated and such...
http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-1810
and my battery is out now.

CoBfan1987 said:
Sucks that this kind of problem would happen from following these instructions. I figure it would all automated and such...
http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-1810
and my battery is out now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I say before going back to froyo try raver's ROM-ODIN-2.3.6-Gingerbread Offical Maybe a stock reflash will work. I have read a thousand ways that have work for different people now. You have done a few. Try this as it is easier than going back to froyo for now. Let your battery charge first.
Maybe kies just f-ed up your imei. And where are the big dog's when you need them? bhundven/FBis251?
Did you just root? Or did you use an app to unlock your phone as well?

[Q] Invalid IMEI after installing ROM

Hello guys,
I just installed 4.1.2 Android from 4.2.2 and now My phone can't read my SIM card. When I'm trying to unlock my phone with GalaxSim Unlock it says "Warning: invalid IMEI. Restoring an EFS backup before unlocking is advised." The IMEI code on *#06# and on my phone's box are different. I have no ideas what I can do because I have never had this problem before after ROM installing. How I can solve this problem?

did you backup you umei/efs before at ant time?
Cruzin' tha Galaxy SIII via Obsessed Rom / "INAPPROPRIATE" Kernel

bbolton_98 said:
did you backup you umei/efs before at ant time?
Cruzin' tha Galaxy SIII via Obsessed Rom / "INAPPROPRIATE" Kernel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I did not. Is there an other way to solve it?

check out below thread. hope you'd get it back!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1852255

thats the best way (link in above post) if you happen to of installed synergy rom at any time it would have asked about making one for you. also nandroid manager can backup it also so check and see if any of your nandroids have a efs partition saved. if not read post in link more than once before doing anything.
Cruzin' tha Galaxy SIII via Obsessed Rom / "INAPPROPRIATE" Kernel

Is terminal emulator download available in Google play store??

bbolton_98 said:
thats the best way (link in above post) if you happen to of installed synergy rom at any time it would have asked about making one for you. also nandroid manager can backup it also so check and see if any of your nandroids have a efs partition saved. if not read post in link more than once before doing anything.
Cruzin' tha Galaxy SIII via Obsessed Rom / "INAPPROPRIATE" Kernel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed all steps but there is some problem in Restore. My phone is rooted and I have Terminal Emulator. When I write "su reboot nvbackup' it works and my phone reboot. But when I write "adb reboot nv restore" it says "device not found". Could you help me? I cannot reply on that thread.
http: //i39.tinypic.com/x513yc.png
Delete the space in this link because I cannot post any links until I do not have 10 post.

Edvinas1602 said:
I followed all steps but there is some problem in Restore. My phone is rooted and I have Terminal Emulator. When I write "su reboot nvbackup' it works and my phone reboot. But when I write "adb reboot nv restore" it says "device not found". Could you help me? I cannot reply on that thread.
http: //i39.tinypic.com/x513yc.png
Delete the space in this link because I cannot post any links until I do not have 10 post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to reread the directions in the Comprehensive IMEI thread. You'll see why it's failing. I will say this though, "adb" is primarily a computer command so it's unnecessary on mobile.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

I still do not get this. It says that I do not need ADB if I have Terminal Emulator and my phone is rooted. I just need to restore it in a some way.

Edvinas1602 said:
I still do not get this. It says that I do not need ADB if I have Terminal Emulator and my phone is rooted. I just need to restore it in a some way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll ask you this now before I explain to you the command, does your IMEI in Settings/About Phone match what's on your Verizon GSIII retail box? Cuz restoring your IMEI will not work right now if its the wrong one. What you just backed up could be the "broken" IMEI and restoring it will do you more harm than good.
twistedillutions said:
Is terminal emulator download available in Google play store??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For clarity purposes, yes. Although, I see you posted this question in the Comprehensive IMEI thread and received an answer there as well.

SlimSnoopOS said:
I'll ask you this now before I explain to you the command, does your IMEI in Settings/About Phone match what's on your Verizon GSIII retail box? Cuz restoring your IMEI will not work right now if its the wrong one. What you just backed up could be the "broken" IMEI and restoring it will do you more harm than good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMEI codes are different. Now the IMEI code is 004999010640000. On my box the IMEI code is very different that one.

Edvinas1602 said:
IMEI codes are different. Now the IMEI code is 004999010640000. On my box the IMEI code is very different that one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aight, second question. Are you absolutely sure that you have a Verizon Galaxy SIII (d2vzw aka SCH-i535)? If so, proceed to read.
if you just performed this IMEI backup with the improper IMEI then the restore command will only reinsert this same wrong IMEI. You want your "proper" IMEI which is on the box to be backed up before you ever attempt an IMEI restore. If you have a CWM or TWRP rom backup then you should try restoring that THEN check if your IMEI is correct or wrong.
Do not post your proper IMEI. If it returns if/when you restore your rom in CWM or TWRP then just say "my IMEI is correct" or something like that. If you don't have a CWM or TWRP backup or don't know what I'm talking about then you're going to need a Windows computer and you'll need to Odin flash stock VRALF1 or VRAGL1 firmware tar. Make sure to unzip the file before using Odin, Odin flashes "tar" and "tar.md5" files only. If your IMEI is not restored at that point, then you'll need to reprovision your LTE sim card with the following code. It will erase your phone's storage. The dialer code only works o ICS software (so you'll need absolutely need VRALF2 or VRALG1):
Open the dialer and enter *2767*3855#
I'm stepping out for an hour or so. If you have any questions, hopefully someone else can provide input. If someone else things what I wrote above is unnecessary, please say so.
Edit: For clarity as well, I do not know if the VRALF2 or VRALG1 tar files format your internal storage (let's reasonably assume they do wipe /sdcard), so backup whatever important data you have on the phone to your computer or external sdcard.

Actually I have got SGS3 i9300. When I created this thread I didn't see that here is a subforum for i9300. Thanks for the help I will try it and let you know.

SlimSnoopOS said:
I'll ask you this now before I explain to you the command, does your IMEI in Settings/About Phone match what's on your Verizon GSIII retail box? Cuz restoring your IMEI will not work right now if its the wrong one. What you just backed up could be the "broken" IMEI and restoring it will do you more harm than good.
For clarity purposes, yes. Although, I see you posted this question in the Comprehensive IMEI thread and received an answer there as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i posted both places up late last night ill stay over there for answers thnz for the response

SlimSnoopOS said:
Aight, second question. Are you absolutely sure that you have a Verizon Galaxy SIII (d2vzw aka SCH-i535)? If so, proceed to read.
if you just performed this IMEI backup with the improper IMEI then the restore command will only reinsert this same wrong IMEI. You want your "proper" IMEI which is on the box to be backed up before you ever attempt an IMEI restore. If you have a CWM or TWRP rom backup then you should try restoring that THEN check if your IMEI is correct or wrong.
Do not post your proper IMEI. If it returns if/when you restore your rom in CWM or TWRP then just say "my IMEI is correct" or something like that. If you don't have a CWM or TWRP backup or don't know what I'm talking about then you're going to need a Windows computer and you'll need to Odin flash stock VRALF1 or VRAGL1 firmware tar. Make sure to unzip the file before using Odin, Odin flashes "tar" and "tar.md5" files only. If your IMEI is not restored at that point, then you'll need to reprovision your LTE sim card with the following code. It will erase your phone's storage. The dialer code only works o ICS software (so you'll need absolutely need VRALF2 or VRALG1):
Open the dialer and enter *2767*3855#
I'm stepping out for an hour or so. If you have any questions, hopefully someone else can provide input. If someone else things what I wrote above is unnecessary, please say so.
Edit: For clarity as well, I do not know if the VRALF2 or VRALG1 tar files format your internal storage (let's reasonably assume they do wipe /sdcard), so backup whatever important data you have on the phone to your computer or external sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm actually considering doing this today. I lost my IMEI/ERI and restored them with the forbidden software but the problem I'm having is on some roms my google play store won't connect and it's been kinda frustrating and I don't know what else do, I've cleared store cache and data, plus every other fix I could find online. Plus it might be good practice for me if I have to send my phone back in the future as I bought my S3 rooted and unlocked.

TheAfroSamurai said:
I'm actually considering doing this today. I lost my IMEI/ERI and restored them with the forbidden software but the problem I'm having is on some roms my google play store won't connect and it's been kinda frustrating and I don't know what else do, I've cleared store cache and data, plus every other fix I could find online. Plus it might be good practice for me if I have to send my phone back in the future as I bought my S3 rooted and unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might as well give it a try, not much at risk you know?

SlimSnoopOS said:
Might as well give it a try, not much at risk you know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing I can chalk it up to is maybe there was something still wonky because I didn't Odin back and used the Repair Tool. I'm off today and not really interested in the football game tonight so I got time. I'll Odin back, reprovision and reroot, unlock and see what happens with play store after that, thanks for all your help. Learned alot from your posts dude...:good:

TheAfroSamurai said:
I'm actually considering doing this today. I lost my IMEI/ERI and restored them with the forbidden software but the problem I'm having is on some roms my google play store won't connect and it's been kinda frustrating and I don't know what else do, I've cleared store cache and data, plus every other fix I could find online. Plus it might be good practice for me if I have to send my phone back in the future as I bought my S3 rooted and unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you restore your IMEI? What software did you use?

Edvinas1602 said:
How did you restore your IMEI? What software did you use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was before I found the Samsung Repair Utility so you may not need QPST and you can just use the repair utility.
1) I restored my IMEI using this guide here: http://droidmodderx.com/galaxys3/?page_id=79
2) Please note that since I hadn't found the repair utility you may not need to do step one, the repair utility does both IMEI/ERI
3) Go here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=44871571&postcount=3
4) We don't want to get XDA in trouble so I can't link the repair utility or have a mirror for it. I can only put you on the block and you have to find the house....
5) Once everything is ok flash your modem back up to whatever current modem you were using.
6) Also it may be best to just Odin back as I'm having issues with Play Store on certain roms.

TheAfroSamurai said:
This was before I found the Samsung Repair Utility so you may not need QPST and you can just use the repair utility.
1) I restored my IMEI using this guide here: http://droidmodderx.com/galaxys3/?page_id=79
2) Please note that since I hadn't found the repair utility you may not need to do step one, the repair utility does both IMEI/ERI
3) Go here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=44871571&postcount=3
4) We don't want to get XDA in trouble so I can't link the repair utility or have a mirror for it. I can only put you on the block and you have to find the house....
5) Once everything is ok flash your modem back up to whatever current modem you were using.
6) Also it may be best to just Odin back as I'm having issues with Play Store on certain roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is the version of your Android? When I write *#7284# I don't see something like "Qualcomm USB Settings"

IMEI=0 - how to enter working IMEI?

Hi everyone & thanks for reading this!
I bought 2 new, unused Nexus 5 as presents for my sisters for Christmas (not via playstore, but via a reseller. Still: new, sealed, unused.)
I unlocked, installed a custom recovery, rooted both devices without problems, then set up one in a smartphone-newbie-friendly way, which took quite some time. Then, to save me some time, I fear I made quite a big mistake: I made a nandroid-backup of the newly-setup device and restored/installed it on the second nexus (so I wouldn't have to change all the settings again, install apps, etc).
Unfortunately, this seems to have erased the IMEI on the second device (it shows as IMEI=0), so I can't connect to any cell service. Some googling leads me to believe that this might be due to a corrupt/missing EFS-folder, which, second mistake, I did NOT make a backup of beforehand. I know, it's my own fault - my thinking was: why backup, there's nothing backupworthy on the device *yet*.
FML. :crying:
I am not sure if the phone is still in warranty (and even if it was - I guess I voided that by unlocking/rooting?!). I want to re-iterate that I own both devices LEGALLY, I have the bill, I have the original sticker with the original IMEI - I just need a way to re-enter it. Any dialer-code for that? Any modify-able EFS-backups? Any other way?
Thanks in advance!
PS: tried so far & found useless: other simcard (not working) & simcard in other phone (working), so it's a device-issue; factory-reset;

Try fastboot flashing the cache.img from the factory image.

jd1639 said:
Try fastboot flashing the cache.img from the factory image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the super-quick reply jd1639!
to make sure I understand you correctly:
I can use the factory image from
https://dl.google.com/dl/android/aosp/hammerhead-kot49h-factory-02006b99.tgz
(nexus 5, android 4.4.2), extract the cache.img from there & flash that via fastboot? (or would it have to be a factory image of this very device - which I do not have, unfortunately)
and, just for my understanding: how does that restore the imei? I mean, the factory image itself (or it's cache) can't really contain MY imei. does this just delete the invalid imei & force the phone to get it's original imei from some other, not yet overwritten source? e.g. hardware?

Yes fastboot flash the cache.img from the factory image is a known fix for this issue. Something has corrupt your cache causing the imei to not display properly
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Thank you for clarifying, rootSU - that gives me hope.
I will try tomorrow & hopefully report success

Just tried this (twice) - unfortunately no success, IMEI is still 0
downloaded factory image, verified md5, extracted cache.img, flashed in fastboot; every step successful - final result is still IMEI=0. Tried again, this time erasing cache beforehand for good measure - still IMEI 0.
What else can I try?
PS: this seems to be the only issue - no hw-problems or similar. directly after boot, the device seems to connect to a mobile network for a second, then gets kicked out (due to missing/invalid IMEI, I suppose).

RogerG said:
Just tried this (twice) - unfortunately no success, IMEI is still 0
downloaded factory image, verified md5, extracted cache.img, flashed in fastboot; every step successful - final result is still IMEI=0. Tried again, this time erasing cache beforehand for good measure - still IMEI 0.
What else can I try?
PS: this seems to be the only issue - no hw-problems or similar. directly after boot, the device seems to connect to a mobile network for a second, then gets kicked out (due to missing/invalid IMEI, I suppose).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you use TWRP for the original nandroid backup that you restored on the new one? If so, you may have backed up, and consequently flashed the EFS from the original N5 to the new one. If so, I hate to say this, but I don't think there's any hope of getting the IMEI back on the new one...

RogerG said:
Just tried this (twice) - unfortunately no success, IMEI is still 0
downloaded factory image, verified md5, extracted cache.img, flashed in fastboot; every step successful - final result is still IMEI=0. Tried again, this time erasing cache beforehand for good measure - still IMEI 0.
What else can I try?
PS: this seems to be the only issue - no hw-problems or similar. directly after boot, the device seems to connect to a mobile network for a second, then gets kicked out (due to missing/invalid IMEI, I suppose).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a problem with my phone IMEI (Nexus 4) before. It would say unknown. The reason why was I flashed a bad radio and boot loader version. So what I did was find a thread on the N4 section for the right radio and bootloader. I'm not exactly sure if this will work on your part, but I don't think it'll hurt to try. Oh and maybe reflash the factory image.
Sent from a potato
---------- Post added at 12:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:44 AM ----------
Sorry for double post. Check this link out and go to the second post talking about IMEI. Idk if this will help you out. Good luck
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2510966
Sent from a potato

charesa39 said:
Did you use TWRP for the original nandroid backup that you restored on the new one? If so, you may have backed up, and consequently flashed the EFS from the original N5 to the new one. If so, I hate to say this, but I don't think there's any hope of getting the IMEI back on the new one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, that's precisely what I did.
That's why I had little hope of restoring the original IMEI and was instead asking in my original post for a way to enter it anew (since I KNOW what it should be).

CellPhish said:
I had a problem with my phone IMEI (Nexus 4) before. It would say unknown. The reason why was I flashed a bad radio and boot loader version. So what I did was find a thread on the N4 section for the right radio and bootloader. I'm not exactly sure if this will work on your part, but I don't think it'll hurt to try. Oh and maybe reflash the factory image.
Sent from a potato
---------- Post added at 12:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:44 AM ----------
Sorry for double post. Check this link out and go to the second post talking about IMEI. Idk if this will help you out. Good luck
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2510966
Sent from a potato
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks I will try this (even though I think my problem is not related to radio/bootloader and I am generally skeptical about my chances of "restoring" IMEI, as opposed to "manually entering/modifying it"). Still, willing to try anything, thanks for the idea!

RogerG said:
thanks I will try this (even though I think my problem is not related to radio/bootloader and I am generally skeptical about my chances of "restoring" IMEI, as opposed to "manually entering/modifying it"). Still, willing to try anything, thanks for the idea!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If all fails you can try to contact LG service and tell them your situation. Though its not good to lie, just tell them you got the IMEI=0 problem, they'll say its a hardware problem and will replace the motherboard(if your device is on warranty)
Sent from a potato

You'll probably have a hard time here finding anyone to help you manually entering or modifying the imei.

rootSU said:
Yes fastboot flash the cache.img from the factory image is a known fix for this issue. Something has corrupt your cache causing the imei to not display properly
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The IMEI is stored in the EFS partition, not the cache partition.
RogerG said:
yes, that's precisely what I did.
That's why I had little hope of restoring the original IMEI and was instead asking in my original post for a way to enter it anew (since I KNOW what it should be).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you turned the phone into a $400 paperweight. TWRP backs up and restores the EFS partition by default, and each device has a unique EFS partition, which contains the IMEI among other things. I don't know of a way of manually restoring the EFS data. This is unfortunately a $400 lesson for people who tinker without first doing their homework.

Hey guy. Let's not be so judgemental. There's always a risk of the imei being corrupted when you flash a ROM. As a matter of fact just before I even unlocked my nexus the imei got corrupted and I had to factory flash my phone to save it. Its scary but op, if you manage to get your phone working again make a backup and store it on your PC and or email yourself the backup.

BirchBarlow said:
The IMEI is stored in the EFS partition, not the cache partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha ha thanks! Can't believe you think I don't know that :/
Actually the "EFS partition" is 2 partitions..
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modemst1
And...
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modemst2
That doesn't change the fact that reflashing the cache.img is a known fix for missing IMEI. Corrupt cache can make the imei appear as 0 even when the EFS imei is in tact so reflashing the cache.img can resolve this.
Unfortunately though, I didn't read the OP fully. I just elaborated on an earlier response for the OP
jd1639 said:
You'll probably have a hard time here finding anyone to help you manually entering or modifying the imei.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Modification is illegal however many mobile repair shops have equipment that can rewrite the existing imei and are legally allowed to. In the UK, this costs about £20. That said, i'm not aware of anyone having it done on the nexus 5. The galaxy s3 with a single /EFS partition could be done easily by a professional
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

rootSU said:
Modification is illegal however many mobile repair shops have equipment that can rewrite the existing imei and are legally allowed to. In the UK, this costs about £20. That said, i'm not aware of anyone having it done on the nexus 5. The galaxy s3 with a single /EFS partition could be done easily by a professional
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but all talks about how to change it in any way are not allowed here. Legally the only people that are allowed to do so is the OEM. You can look at international news reports of cellular dealers that are doing so are being closed down and arrested.
That is why it is well know to back up the efs before you do anything.
Bat cave One

My newly bought Nexus 5 shows IMEI 0 also
RogerG said:
thanks I will try this (even though I think my problem is not related to radio/bootloader and I am generally skeptical about my chances of "restoring" IMEI, as opposed to "manually entering/modifying it"). Still, willing to try anything, thanks for the idea!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just update my newly bought nexus 5 from initial 4.4.2 to 4.4.4 which is appear at update section but then my IMEI appear =0 .. dont understand what to do..
if your problem solved, pls tell me the detail procedure to recover my IMEI no.

RogerG, did you ever get this working? I'm on 6.0 and having the same problem, flashing cache.img also does nothing.
Thanks.

Help to restore IMEI

Hello guys my efs partion is corrupted ad my IMEI number is not showing. How can I restore my IMEI

biku123 said:
Hello guys my efs partion is corrupted ad my IMEI number is not showing. How can I restore my IMEI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless you made a efs backup, you are SOL. only oneplus can help out.

Did you make a backup of modem1 and modem2?

Try to use Msmdownloadtool first

Aoitoori_Android said:
Try to use Msmdownloadtool first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WON'T work. No img we get our hands on will ever fix efs. the efs partition is unique to every android phone. Know two efs is the same.

Ouch ! OnePlus support is your last hope.. I'm sure they can fix it. Don't forget to back your IMEI next time, & store it under your bed & on the cloud.

9 out of 10 people. should do the six P's (Proper planning prevents piss poor performance.)

How to backup IMEI?

nitinvaid said:
How to backup IMEI?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in twrp, backup, check all done or just efs stuff done. store in safe place

efs backup is the first thing everyone should do when you mod or flash roms.

try this if it help : https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-3/how-to/fix-empty-imei-unknown-baseband-sim-t3480781

MrSteelX said:
Unless you made a efs backup, you are SOL. only oneplus can help out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no backup

daleski75 said:
Did you make a backup of modem1 and modem2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no backup

biku123 said:
no backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are ways of getting it back but it's incredibly tricky with a risk that you'll totally brick the phone which cannot be restored and there is no guarantee that it would even work on this phone.
I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE YOU DO TO THE PHONE WHEN TRYING TO FIX YOUR IMEI AND YOU TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS.
Try this first.
I found a way, you need to have "EFS PROFESSIONAL" its free! https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...ol-updated-09-06-14-efs-professional-t1308546
1. flash combination files.
2. in IMEI option type +#0808# select DM+MODEM+ADB then leave the modem option showing next, then restart phone.
3. open EFS Professional, select Qualcom option, then your phone should show on com ports, then tap connect, Secure OPs, tap send password and the imei should show, right there you can change it or restore it from the original. tap write to phone. disconect and then turn phone off.
4. check imei +#06#
https://www.digitbin.com/restore-lost-imei-number-android/
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/how-to-restore-lost-imei-t2936696

biku123 said:
Hello guys my efs partion is corrupted ad my IMEI number is not showing. How can I restore my IMEI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Restore any version from this fastboot flashable ROM they will restore al your partition along with efs.
Just only use 'flash all' bat command
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6/how-to/rom-stock-fastboot-roms-oneplus-6-t3796665

daleski75 said:
There are ways of getting it back but it's incredibly tricky with a risk that you'll totally brick the phone which cannot be restored and there is no guarantee that it would even work on this phone.
I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE YOU DO TO THE PHONE WHEN TRYING TO FIX YOUR IMEI AND YOU TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS.
Try this first.
I found a way, you need to have "EFS PROFESSIONAL" its free! https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...ol-updated-09-06-14-efs-professional-t1308546
1. flash combination files.
2. in IMEI option type +#0808# select DM+MODEM+ADB then leave the modem option showing next, then restart phone.
3. open EFS Professional, select Qualcom option, then your phone should show on com ports, then tap connect, Secure OPs, tap send password and the imei should show, right there you can change it or restore it from the original. tap write to phone. disconect and then turn phone off.
4. check imei +#06#
https://www.digitbin.com/restore-lost-imei-number-android/
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/how-to-restore-lost-imei-t2936696
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will it work on oneplus 6t my imei is showing 0.

w69 said:
Will it work on oneplus 6t my imei is showing 0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did it work?

MrSteelX said:
in twrp, backup, check all done or just efs stuff done. store in safe place
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everyone has always asked why I check all the boxes...

MistRee said:
Did it work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. But fixed it with umt dongle.

I have a question guys. Do I need both or just the efs Partition?

SIM Card not working after Flashing Official Stock ROM(Read below for important note!)

Actually I bricked my device and I was trying to flash the stock ROM again using SP Flash tool. Unfortunately while flashing it shows sec_aut_mismatch ( or something like this) for the file called cust.img in the stock rom and says please disable verified boot. What I did now is "why don't I try letting it go?" I unchecked it. I flashed rom without this file. it got flashed, works fine everything except SIM Cards. The phone detects sim cards but no signal. SIm cards are fine Physically. Do you believe that this not flashing cust.img could be a cause?
MAIN THING: Flashed Stock Rom without CUST.IMG
Secondly I tried to flash the cust.img using fastboot now, but still no luck. I don't know what this file does. PLEASE HELP ME. I AM IN TROUBLE

That's most likely an EFS problem. Do you have some backup?

dedq said:
That's most likely an EFS problem. Do you have some backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a little backup taken through twrp. But it has only some files starting with boot, bootloader and recovery. Total 9 files. Can you explain more about EFS please?

mottaM said:
Actually I bricked my device and I was trying to flash the stock ROM again using SP Flash tool. Unfortunately while flashing it shows sec_aut_mismatch ( or something like this) for the file called cust.img in the stock rom and says please disable verified boot. What I did now is "why don't I try letting it go?" I unchecked it. I flashed rom without this file. it got flashed, works fine everything except SIM Cards. The phone detects sim cards but no signal. SIm cards are fine Physically. Do you believe that this not flashing cust.img could be a cause?
MAIN THING: Flashed Stock Rom without CUST.IMG
Secondly I tried to flash the cust.img using fastboot now, but still no luck. I don't know what this file does. PLEASE HELP ME. I AM IN TROUBLE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A thing I forgot is that cust.img flash is successful in fastboot mode

mottaM said:
I have a little backup taken through twrp. But it has only some files starting with boot, bootloader and recovery. Total 9 files. Can you explain more about EFS please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EFS is something responsible for your IMEI which is connected to the signal and SIM.
You cannot have phone signal if you don't have IMEI number which you could have lost. Can you check if you have IMEI? If not, the problem is probably in modem and I would be happy if you had backed that up.

dedq said:
EFS is something responsible for your IMEI which is connected to the signal and SIM.
You cannot have phone signal if you don't have IMEI number which you could have lost. Can you check if you have IMEI? If not, the problem is probably in modem and I would be happy if you had backed that up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see any IMEI numbers. A little research tells me that I must have nvdata.bin and nvram.img in the backup. If this is correct then I don't have such a backup. Is there any way to fix it up without backup?

dedq said:
EFS is something responsible for your IMEI which is connected to the signal and SIM.
You cannot have phone signal if you don't have IMEI number which you could have lost. Can you check if you have IMEI? If not, the problem is probably in modem and I would be happy if you had backed that up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One more thing I notice is that when I enter Recovery mode, It says "nvdata corrupt" in red. More information you may want to know is:
My device is redmi 6a
Wifi works fine
Baseband version present
When I insert sim cards, it detects them(icons get updated on the notification area) it also says getting sim info.
When I enter phone information, it says signal strength in those numbers when sim is inserted
I believe that hardware is fine thus. I really regret my step of trying to change OS. I just want to get sim working somehow

mottaM said:
I don't see any IMEI numbers. A little research tells me that I must have nvdata.bin and nvram.img in the backup. If this is correct then I don't have such a backup. Is there any way to fix it up without backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never had that kind of problem and only had problems with EFS.
I think flashing stock ROM would fix your problem. I don't know what else could be.

mottaM said:
Actually I bricked my device and I was trying to flash the stock ROM again using SP Flash tool. Unfortunately while flashing it shows sec_aut_mismatch ( or something like this) for the file called cust.img in the stock rom and says please disable verified boot. What I did now is "why don't I try letting it go?" I unchecked it. I flashed rom without this file. it got flashed, works fine everything except SIM Cards. The phone detects sim cards but no signal. SIm cards are fine Physically. Do you believe that this not flashing cust.img could be a cause?
MAIN THING: Flashed Stock Rom without CUST.IMG
Secondly I tried to flash the cust.img using fastboot now, but still no luck. I don't know what this file does. PLEASE HELP ME. I AM IN TROUBLE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should know that EFS ( NVRAM ) is a partition on your Android device that stores all the important data associated with your phone. For instance, these data include the IMEI number, Mac address of Wireless devices, important files of internet and product code, etc. Moreover, this data is so important that without this, you would not be able to use your Android phone. And it is very important to keep this partition safe and backed up in case things go south.
My guess is because you were flashing custom ROMs and/or modded apps that you have lost this important EFS ( NVRAM ) partition on the device.