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(SOLVED) Help Restore Lost IMEI & Serial No (SM-G920FD)

Hi, can someone guide me as to how I can restore my lost IMEI - Serial No back to stock? using SM-G920FD (duos)
Kindly refer below to the details of my problem and actions done.
How the issue happened
1. I'm currently on stock firmware of SM-G920FD (COH8). (Local copy of COH8 flashed via ODIN)
2. I received an OTA update (COI9) and installed it. Phone works perfectly fine.
3. After doing some tests on some kernel (arters97's kernels), I have decided to revert back to stock firmware since the kernel uses Note 5 gpu driver (not knowing that someone has prepared a flashable zip for S6 flat/edge) :crying:
4. I use my local copy of COH8 and flashed via ODIN. The flash failed thru sboot.bin - that tells me the bootloader is outdated on my phone *ugh.
5. I downloaded COI9 firmware from samfirmware site and flashed it via odin.
6. It is now stucked at first samsung logo. After going to recovery it says cannot mount /efs
Fixes I made
1. I dont know much stuff with efs thingy, that's why I didn't do a backup for it.
2. First fix, (this is the worst step I ever made - that costs me into this big trouble) I installed a "something" application that requires me to format the efs partition. Well done to myself, the app successfully wipe it all without backing up efs .
3. Now the phone is stucked to samsung first logo. Period. Even Reflashing stock via odin failed. Realizing the efs files are all messed up.
4. Now, after searching thru forums, Ive come into this adb command by running this, .
/system/xbin/su
mke2fs /dev/block/sda3
mount -t ext4 /dev/block/sda3
After doing this, Ive been able boot into device, I have a working WIFI, a valid ip address.
a. no bluetooth address
b. no imei for both sim 1 and sim 2
c. Incorrect Serial Number
d. No network of course
After deep searching thru xda, Ive come across with nv_data.bin editing thru Hex Editor. It could probably return my IMEI and Serial No back to normal(i still have the imei no & serial at the back of my phone ).
Perhaps, the only way to fix this will be on a repair shop to fix my imei. I doubt my samsung warranty would help since Im constantly flashing stuffs on my phone.
Can someone share me their full EFS folder zipped with Galaxy S6 SM-G920FD / G920F (probably a single sim will do) so I could compare and edit my own imei that would be a great help and I'll give a feedback asap.
Hoping someone can help me on this. Thank you

Anyone?
37 views of galaxy s6 owner and no one dares to share their efs

There is loads of information on the forums to recover lost IMEI. Did you try flashing a modem and bootloader update. This should generate the efs folder with nv_data.bin. You still may not have the correct IMEI and serial in the nv_data.bin, but at least you can edit it.
Search the forums I have seen loads and loads of tutorials for this problem.
Not many people are quick to give out there IMEI.

bahmonkeys said:
There is loads of information on the forums to recover lost IMEI. Did you try flashing a modem and bootloader update. This should generate the efs folder with nv_data.bin. You still may not have the correct IMEI and serial in the nv_data.bin, but at least you can edit it.
Search the forums I have seen loads and loads of tutorials for this problem.
Not many people are quick to give out there IMEI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, modem and bootloader flashing does nothing.
I do already have a pre-generated-stock nv_data.bin from my efs folder.
Can you give me an example of a working thread that requires editing of nv_data via editor that works?
The problem is that their issue has worked specifically on their device, none of the Galaxy S6 users were able to do that afaik. Almost a week since i started searching for answers but to no avail.
For example this, the thread below says that I should goto this address [offset] 00188008 but in my Galaxy S6 nv_data.bin, the file is only up to 000FFFF0 offset?? That's why I need help from others to at least share their fixes or comparison of this thread below with their nv_data.bin file. If there is similarity. Forget sharing your imei to me, but maybe you can consider how am I supposed to do that fix on the other thread.
Thanks
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881162

Or if someone can find their IMEI code in nv_data.bin, kindly share to me the offset (location) of the IMEI in hex editor. That would be a good start. Thanks

batuzai04123 said:
No, modem and bootloader flashing does nothing.
I do already have a pre-generated-stock nv_data.bin from my efs folder.
Can you give me an example of a working thread that requires editing of nv_data via editor that works?
The problem is that their issue has worked specifically on their device, none of the Galaxy S6 users were able to do that afaik. Almost a week since i started searching for answers but to no avail.
For example this, the thread below says that I should goto this address [offset] 00188008 but in my Galaxy S6 nv_data.bin, the file is only up to 000FFFF0 offset?? That's why I need help from others to at least share their fixes or comparison of this thread below with their nv_data.bin file. If there is similarity. Forget sharing your imei to me, but maybe you can consider how am I supposed to do that fix on the other thread.
Thanks
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881162
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't remember exactly the offset location but I have seen it on my phone a few weeks back. I do remember seeing a few tutorials on YouTube. I will take a look tomorrow and if you haven't it solved by then I will help you fix it....

Thanks, hoping you could help me on that.
Something is weird on how efs is generated. I backed up the messed up nv data from efs folder. Then I deleted the contents of whole efs folder then reboot.
When phone booted, to my surprise I notice that it still generated the contents of efs. Then I compared the Newly generated nv_data to my backedup nv_data. No difference -_-. Still incorrect imei was given to me. 350000000000006 format both for sim 1 and sim 2.
Phone Info app says that my imei info (www.imei.info) was from an apple device rofl.
Since its giving me same and same imei and no product code/serial code
I suspect that my IMEI was generated from embedded hardware/chip??? But i think its not possible to mess any of the hardwareparts from flashing custom roms/zips/stock firmwares alone?

Hmm I think there's no chance for it to recover? since it is always giving me Generic Imei
One user says that it could be the hardware is somewhat corrupted or cant be modified blah blah
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30292696&postcount=185

Forget the EFS
Forget the NV
〔You should try to write cert〕!!!!!!!
Only in this way your phone will be working properly
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---------- Post added at 12:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:39 PM ----------
batuzai04123 said:
Anyone?
37 views of galaxy s6 owner and no one dares to share their efs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my modified IMEI case success

china chenli said:
Forget the EFS
Forget the NV
〔You should try to write cert〕!!!!!!!
Only in this way your phone will be working properly
---------- Post added at 12:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:39 PM ----------
This is my modified IMEI case success
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You showed your edited IMEI on your phone, but you didn't share how ?
I think this is what Im looking for, but HOW???
1. What is that cert file? Can it be installed via phones system files?
2. Does it need third party app and a toolbox hardware to buy and install? It smells like its for technician part already :|
3. Since it needs key cert, how can I generate this? Thru the 3rd party also?
But FYI, Im not into modifying IMEI as it illegal, what I wanted to do is to restore my device's IMEI found at the back of my phone.

batuzai04123 said:
I think this is what Im looking for, but HOW???
1. What is that cert file? Can it be found via phones system files?
2. Does it need third party app and a toolbox hardware?
3. Since it needs key cert, how can I generate this? Thru the 3rd party also?
But FYI, Im not into modifying IMEI as it illegal, what I wanted to do is to restore my device's IMEI found at the back of my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have now lost the IMEI
If you still have flash the firmware is invalid
I think no way to restore the original IMEI
If change IMEI is illegal in your country, it would be a sad thing

ugh. Based from your pictures, you used 3rd party hardware tool and app something like octopus box and the likes.
You're telling me to give this to technician, as it is the only way to fix my issue?

china chenli said:
You have now lost the IMEI
If you still have flash the firmware is invalid
I think no way to restore the original IMEI
If change IMEI is illegal in your country, it would be a sad thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps were not on the same page
What I wanted to do is to change my IMEI to stock IMEI (printed on my phone) so that it can connect legally to my network provider. If your way is good, maybe you can help me how to change my IMEI
Changing IMEI i.e., frying someones IMEI to hacked/stolen/blocklisted phones are definitely illegal.
Back to my issue, did you send your phone to technician/ did you have the box tool to flash cert files to your phone?
Hope you can help me thanks

batuzai04123 said:
ugh. Based from your pictures, you used 3rd party hardware tool and app something like octopus box and the likes.
You're telling me to give this to technician, as it is the only way to fix my issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the octopus can do it
------------------------------------------------------------------
My English really bad, I speak a little bit more simple
If you don't have a backup EFS and your mobile phone and lost IMEI.
The solution is to use the BOX to write a new IMEI so that you will get a new IMEI
You write a new IMEI may and other mobile phone to repeat After doing this You will forfeit the warranty In addition to Will not affect the normal use of your phone
Samsung CERT is unique And only CERT must be the truth

china chenli said:
Yes the octopus can do it
------------------------------------------------------------------
My English really bad, I speak a little bit more simple
If you don't have a backup EFS and your mobile phone and lost IMEI.
The solution is to use the BOX to write a new IMEI so that you will get a new IMEI
You write a new IMEI may and other mobile phone to repeat After doing this You will forfeit the warranty In addition to Will not affect the normal use of your phone
Samsung CERT is unique And only CERT must be the truth
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get it. But this cant be done without using the box tools? Am I right?

batuzai04123 said:
I get it. But this cant be done without using the box tools? Am I right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you need a BOX and a clean CERT

Well still thank you for the replies, only repair via technician is the only way . Requesting for mod to close the thread. No way the imei can be reverted back via EFS - NV way, flashing stock modem, backing and restoring efs, mke2fs thingy, flashing stock firmware and so on.
There is part on the chip of the phone that literally erases the phone info for my s6.
If any can give other ways before I let go HAHAHA, but please refrain from efs,nv_data,flashing stock stuff, as the firmware doesn't have to do with restoring efs. Only the hardware device stores efs info for our phone.

batuzai04123 said:
Well still thank you for the replies, only repair via technician is the only way . Requesting for mod to close the thread. No way the imei can be reverted back via EFS - NV way, flashing stock modem, backing and restoring efs, mke2fs thingy, flashing stock firmware and so on.
There is part on the chip of the phone that literally erases the phone info for my s6.
If any can give other ways before I let go HAHAHA, but please refrain from efs,nv_data,flashing stuffs, as the firmware doesn't have to do with restoring efs. Only the hardware device stores efs info for our phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your phone is KNOX 0 x0
Then you can look for samsung to solve for you
I wish you good luck, my friend

Thanks , haha but my knox is 0x1 already

Tried to bring it to a legit 3rd party technician and they assigned a new IMEI for my phone and its working fine now.
imo I brought it first to Samsung and tells me that my warranty is void, but they can fix it via hardware replacement and would cost me at around $350. Lol no way!!!
For those who tried to do anything when all methods do not work, frustrations etc. This is the quickest way to restore it.
But thanks for the info I got from XDA members, now Ive learned that the first rule should be applied whenever possible before its too late.
To all other Explorers/newbies/Risk taker out there. Remember this one word.
BACKUP!!!!
Thanks.
To Mod:
Requesting for mod to close this thread thank you

[Completed] [HELP] Lenovo a606 uknown baseband/invalid imei mtk6582 nothing works

I got this phone (Lenovo A606) about a month ago with the following problems:
1) Modem (the one with the SIM card) doesn't work, status in the about section shows "invalid IMEI" and "unknown baseband". SIM card settings are greyed out in the settings.
2) Wi-fi works fine, but i always have an additional SSID in wifi menu that says 0x010 something error
According to previous owner, it went bad after bad flash or update, but he might have been lying and modem is physically dead due to some reason.
3) Serial number is also a blank
So far i've tried:
1) Flashing different stock firmwares with full flash format and DA DL flags checked/unchecked in SP Flash tool
2) Fixing nvram/trying to restore IMEI and SN through numerous tools of different versions: Maui Meta 3g, SN Writer tool, SN Station Writer tool, infinity box CM2MTK, etc - every one of tools that i've tried (i've also tried different versions of the same tools) show me different errors, best solutions online for which are "check your drivers, change usb cable or change computer" all of which i've obviously tried with the exact same result
3) Fixing nvram by deleting nvram folder in /dev/nvram
4) Replacing MP0B_001 in the nvram folder (rather putting it in, the target folder is empty after stock flashing)
5) Using nvram fixes through both custom and stock recovery menus prepared by the poor bastards like me, but with more knowledge about this stuff
6) Flashing nvram from a donor working phone through SP Flash tool
And since i'm making this post nothing of the above has worked.
So far i've came up with two possibilities:
1) The modem is physically dead and i lost in total 72 hours of my life on a goose chase. If this case is true, how can I make sure of it? Is there a low-level recovery menu or a factory mode that can confirm/deny it?
2) I'm doing something wrong and there is a simple fix for it. In this case, I ask for help guide me in the right direction, if possible with exact instructions.

fdxcd said:
I got this phone (Lenovo A606) about a month ago with the following problems:
1) Modem (the one with the SIM card) doesn't work, status in the about section shows "invalid IMEI" and "unknown baseband". SIM card settings are greyed out in the settings.
2) Wi-fi works fine, but i always have an additional SSID in wifi menu that says 0x010 something error
According to previous owner, it went bad after bad flash or update, but he might have been lying and modem is physically dead due to some reason.
3) Serial number is also a blank
So far i've tried:
1) Flashing different stock firmwares with full flash format and DA DL flags checked/unchecked in SP Flash tool
2) Fixing nvram/trying to restore IMEI and SN through numerous tools of different versions: Maui Meta 3g, SN Writer tool, SN Station Writer tool, infinity box CM2MTK, etc - every one of tools that i've tried (i've also tried different versions of the same tools) show me different errors, best solutions online for which are "check your drivers, change usb cable or change computer" all of which i've obviously tried with the exact same result
3) Fixing nvram by deleting nvram folder in /dev/nvram
4) Replacing MP0B_001 in the nvram folder (rather putting it in, the target folder is empty after stock flashing)
5) Using nvram fixes through both custom and stock recovery menus prepared by the poor bastards like me, but with more knowledge about this stuff
6) Flashing nvram from a donor working phone through SP Flash tool
And since i'm making this post nothing of the above has worked.
So far i've came up with two possibilities:
1) The modem is physically dead and i lost in total 72 hours of my life on a goose chase. If this case is true, how can I make sure of it? Is there a low-level recovery menu or a factory mode that can confirm/deny it?
2) I'm doing something wrong and there is a simple fix for it. In this case, I ask for help guide me in the right direction, if possible with exact instructions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Greetings and welcome to assist. Changing IMEI numbers is illegal and can not be discussed on xda so we have to be careful. If you have the original IMEI number it may be possible to restore it with an octoplus box or something similar but we are limited to what can be discussed on xda
Regards
Sawdoctor

sawdoctor said:
Greetings and welcome to assist. Changing IMEI numbers is illegal and can not be discussed on xda so we have to be careful. If you have the original IMEI number it may be possible to restore it with an octoplus box or something similar but we are limited to what can be discussed on xda
Regards
Sawdoctor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never tried to change it, since there wasn't any imei in the firmware to begin with. I only fruitlessly trying to return sim functionality

NVData / EFS issue / already created backup, verify image?

Hi,
I have a note 3 neo, 7505 and i updated the firmware. It was all working good for a week then i was listening to soundcloud to sleep and the phone restarted, since then the phone doesn't have an imei and says to insert sim card, and of course unknown modem..
Anyway, i created a backup of the efs using twrp, i have tried gazillion ways to restore the backup and gazillion manual ways too. Going to stock recovery... trying to copy manually the nvdata and all but it doesnt resolve. The files are placed there, i can see it in the shell but the thing just wont work!
i don't know how to proceed to this, i don't know if its a hardware fault, had it been that, shouldnt have i gotten the efs corrupted or some issue? could it be that the hardware itself is damaged all of a sudden? i dont think so, i pretty much think its the efs and yet i cant restore it?
should i attach my efs folder if someone can look through hex editor or logs to suggest a possible solution?
Thanks a lot and also i have search through and proceeded with many solutions and after that created a thread. hope someone can help.
P.S. I just noticed the serial number can be seen in phone status, so apparently its reading NVdata? or is it getting it from elsewhere? how to test if its a hardware fault?

penandweb said:
Hi,
I have a note 3 neo, 7505 and i updated the firmware. It was all working good for a week then i was listening to soundcloud to sleep and the phone restarted, since then the phone doesn't have an imei and says to insert sim card, and of course unknown modem..
Anyway, i created a backup of the efs using twrp, i have tried gazillion ways to restore the backup and gazillion manual ways too. Going to stock recovery... trying to copy manually the nvdata and all but it doesnt resolve. The files are placed there, i can see it in the shell but the thing just wont work!
i don't know how to proceed to this, i don't know if its a hardware fault, had it been that, shouldnt have i gotten the efs corrupted or some issue? could it be that the hardware itself is damaged all of a sudden? i dont think so, i pretty much think its the efs and yet i cant restore it?
should i attach my efs folder if someone can look through hex editor or logs to suggest a possible solution?
Thanks a lot and also i have search through and proceeded with many solutions and after that created a thread. hope someone can help.
P.S. I just noticed the serial number can be seen in phone status, so apparently its reading NVdata? or is it getting it from elsewhere? how to test if its a hardware fault?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The point is that TWRP creates faulty EFS backups on many devices which can't be restored properly.
There are different backup solutions (e.g. EFS Pro) confirmed working which may help you prevent future issues. I prefer the manual backup using adb shell or terminal emulator:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0pXX of=/storage/SdCard/efs.img bs=4096
(XX needs to be replaced with the model specific partition number as they use different partition tables)
Restore:
dd if=/storage/SdCard/efs.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0pXX bs=4096

thanks LS.xd, but i guess i have a pretty solid backup as i did create backup various ways, some were corrupt, but one that i working with has nvdata and every other file along with imei pretty intact....
i can open it up with winrar, and open the nvdata with hexeditor, i was wondering if i could confirm some way that the back up is actually 100% solid?
wondering if the partition's aren't aligned. I don't know for sure if EFS folder in the root directory is the same as being pointed by /mmcblkp03/platform/by-name/EFS ?
i mean they should be the same thing, its just a redirection right?
what should i be doing now? the baseband is unknown and the imei wont just work, waste the phone? or it could be done via some boxes or some other process?

there must be a starting point? isn't there some way i could use a generic imei and just any modem? then i could replace nvdata may be? right now, i'm installing various versions of stock firmware and repeatedly placing old efs data in various ways and i kind of turning hopeless. first i lost a nexus then i bought a g4 last month, gave me a bootloop just a week after, gone dead. then i bought the n3n and now this..... i mean 3 phones in a row..... i really hope this could work..

penandweb said:
there must be a starting point? isn't there some way i could use a generic imei and just any modem? then i could replace nvdata may be? right now, i'm installing various versions of stock firmware and repeatedly placing old efs data in various ways and i kind of turning hopeless. first i lost a nexus then i bought a g4 last month, gave me a bootloop just a week after, gone dead. then i bought the n3n and now this..... i mean 3 phones in a row..... i really hope this could work..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you got some non TWRP made EFS backup, too? You can list your partitions using shell:
[email protected]:/ # cat /proc/emmc
You can use the dd command once you know the layout. Backups not generated manually may only be restored with the specific app/version and are probably not compatible using other restore methods. For my OnePlus 3 EFS backup can generated fine using TWRP but restoring it screws up the partition. Manually created image works fine. As I don't have a Note 3 Neo I don't know how it behaves for your device.

any idea how would i go on about inspecting the nvdata.bin? i'm in hex editor trying to see something resembling imei but its just so much garbage except a few lines.
i can't be sure whether its corrupt or not...
in efs -> imei -> a file called mps_code.dat i open it up in hex editor, and it has only 3 characters.....
is it possible i could initially use a generic imei and modem and later on populate it with actual somehow or just keep using generic one for now until i find a better solution, using hex editor or something...?
there are some tutorials on qualcom.. none for exynos but it should happen the same way, somewhere in nvdata, you place the imei ... and it would be generic method for most exynos devices...
i wish someone could guide me to that...
also can it be restored via "boxes"?

penandweb said:
any idea how would i go on about inspecting the nvdata.bin? i'm in hex editor trying to see something resembling imei but its just so much garbage except a few lines.
i can't be sure whether its corrupt or not...
in efs -> imei -> a file called mps_code.dat i open it up in hex editor, and it has only 3 characters.....
is it possible i could initially use a generic imei and modem and later on populate it with actual somehow or just keep using generic one for now until i find a better solution, using hex editor or something...?
there are some tutorials on qualcom.. none for exynos but it should happen the same way, somewhere in nvdata, you place the imei ... and it would be generic method for most exynos devices...
i wish someone could guide me to that...
also can it be restored via "boxes"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After 3 years I had to retire my HTC One S. I flashed roms and firmwares up to 3-4 times a week without having any issues. One sunny day some update bricked then nvdata. I spent a bunch of hours trying to restore it in different ways, extracted data from stock firmware as well as using dumps from other user's phones, as some users reported this error fixed doing so. Even when the files was identical it just did not work for me. Changing the mainboard was the only possible solution so I decided to get a new device.
All I want to say is try to restore a valid backup in a way confirmed working. If you don't have a usable backup ask in your device's forum for somebody may upload it. Or spend 100 hours messing around with hex editors until you reach then point where you realize its cheaper to switch the device as wasting a year's holidays browsing the internet for some solution.

I am in TROUBLE! Help me for GOD, Redmi 6a!!!

Anyone left with some humanity is requested to PLEASE HELP ME if you have a Redmi 6a device or know a guy with redmi 6a device.
I actually bricked my device unintentionally and did found a way to get out using SP Flash Tool, However the thing I am stuck in right now is worse than bricking a phone.
Both SIM Cards are not working. I did a lot of research and found that I need two files:
[nvdata.img] [nvram.bin]
Unfortunately I don't have any backup for this. Now what I am looking for is some kind hearted person who can take a backup of their [nvdata] [nvram] partition and give it to me and I'll replace all their data like IMEI numbers etc with my own. I have my IMEI numbers ready to be feeded. I did a lot of try using those engineering ROMS and Tools. NOTHING WORKS!
I regret my decision of jumping in something I don't know about. I want you to please have pity on me so that I don't have to live without my phone.
==============CURRENTLY ON NEGHBOURS WIFI WHO CAN CHANGE PASSWORD ANYTHIME IF HE GETS TO KNOW THAT I HAVE HIS PASSWORD BEFORE HE DOES THIS PLEASE GET ME OUT OF THIS SO THAT I CAN USE MY OWN PHONE FOR INTERNET. I AM COMPLETELY DEPENDENT ON CELLULAR DATA!===============
====YA I AM THIS MUCH POOR!!!==== NO MONEY FOR A NEW PHONE====I AM NOT STEALING ANYONE'S IMEI====PLEASE HELP!=====PLEASE HELP FOR HUMANITY

Edit : root your phone, and then follow this page https://forum.hovatek.com/thread-25458.html it worked for me

Tab E said:
Edit : root your phone, and then follow this page https://forum.hovatek.com/thread-25458.html it worked for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it but it still shows imei unknown. What device is your fixed mobile phone? xiaomi or some other?

IMEI gets added to mobile device when it's built. It's stored in device's /EFS and/or /NVRAM partition. If you haven't backed up this partition before you flashed a new ROM then you have lost unless the IMEI is printed on the box in which device has been delivered.

jwoegerbauer said:
IMEI gets added to mobile device when it's built. It's stored in device's /EFS and/or /NVRAM partition. If you haven't backed up this partition before you flashed a new ROM then you have lost unless the IMEI is printed on the box in which device has been delivered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have both imei numbers on the phone's box, Thank God, but the problem is how to have them working in the phone

Look inside here:
(2023) How To Change IMEI Number of Android Phones (Latest)
Latest tricks to change the IMEI number of android phones easily without rooting your android phone. so change a serial number of your android device in 2023.
itechhacks.com

is it possible to us majisk without factory resetting?

i'm trying to recover data (mostly folders in my internal storage such as screenshots, screecaptures, etc.) but the programs i am using need my phone to be rooted. My phone runs on android 9 and needs it's bootloder to be unlocked but i need to know if there is a way to d this without factory resetting which may overwrite the lost data which i cannot recover when doing so.

A Factoy Reset only wipes files what means it deletes their entries in Android's inode-table , it doesn't overwrite them. The diskspace previously allocated by the now wiped files becomes orphaned, thus can get reused.

Use ADB pull to extract user-data files where a rooted Android isn't needed.
See also here:
How to Download Files to the Computer with ADB Pull - KrispiTech
You can actually copy and download files from your Android smartphone to the PC using some simple ADB Pull commands as long as you enabled USB Debugging.
krispitech.com

so i can still recover files i deleted prior to a factory reset needed to unlock my oem?

please reply

To recover deleted files Android must be rooted and a special commercial forensic software must be used. GIYF ...

xXx yYy said:
To recover deleted files Android must be rooted and a special commercial forensic software must be used. GIYF ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you know any that i should use?

Your device is encrypted with FDE. the same answer applies. One can't recover data after factory reset. encryption key is gone forever, and so is your data.
edit: if you haven't done factory reset yet, device might still encrypted with same crypto-footer. this leads you to hypothetical option to obtain temporary root shell and pull decrypted block partition /dev/block/dm-0 (or whatever)
assuming you found vulnerability/exploit and managed to get raw dump, still your chances to recover deleted files are low, because of the way android flash translation controller handles eMMC flash storage.

aIecxs said:
Your device is encrypted with FDE. the same answer applies. One can't recover data after factory reset. encryption key is gone forever, and so is your data.
edit: if you haven't done factory reset yet, device might still encrypted with same crypto-footer. this leads you to hypothetical option to obtain temporary root shell and pull decrypted block partition /dev/block/dm-0 (or whatever)
assuming you found vulnerability/exploit and managed to get raw dump, still your chances to recover deleted files are low, because of the way android handles eMMC flash storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if only i have discovered these posts sooner...
so those recovery apps are useless?

most of the data recovery tools / one-click-rooting apps aren't working anymore since marshmallow. there are however some companies like cellebrite claiming they can still hack. maybe they got somehow access to Samsungs OEM signing keys idk

Don't know if I got you right, you haven't factory reset your device, yet?
This app might help you to find existing files and thumbnails of deleted files. To my understanding it won't undelete anything but some users claim different. It will search for hidden trash can in gallery, maybe you are lucky...
FindMyPhoto – Recover Photos o - Apps on Google Play
A truely free app to recover deleted photos on Android devices.
play.google.com

aIecxs said:
Don't know if I got you right, you haven't factory reset your device, yet?
This app might help you to find existing files and thumbnails of deleted files. To my understanding it won't undelete anything but some users claim different. It will search for hidden trash can in gallery, maybe you are lucky...
FindMyPhoto – Recover Photos o - Apps on Google Play
A truely free app to recover deleted photos on Android devices.
play.google.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did factory reset...
i should probably give up and move on, shouldn't i?
the app looks really promising, but it has alot of one star reviews

just another useless app..
better root your device, factory reset again and disable encryption. this way you are prepared next time

aIecxs said:
just another useless app..
better root your device, factory reset again and disable encryption. this way you are prepared next time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you actually used the app, seen the reviews, or both?

Best Cellebrite Alternatives & Competitors
Compare the best Cellebrite alternatives in 2023. Explore user reviews, ratings, and pricing of alternatives and competitors to Cellebrite.
sourceforge.net
Besides Cellebrite is there an alternative
Besides Cellebrite is there an alternative to capturing data from a cell phone on the physical side (ie deleted items)? In addition to bypassing the ...
www.forensicfocus.com
https://www.reddit.com/r/computerforensics/comments/a1j43j
These links have cellebrite alternatives and one person said that they use odin + twrp. I hope some of them are freeware/ have free trials. Can someone help me verify if these are legit?

moutsu said:
have you actually used the app, seen the reviews, or both?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
another user suggested this app. but only helpful to find existing pictures in trash can. read full discussion here
https://android.stackexchange.com/q/231132

moutsu said:
These links have cellebrite alternatives and one person said that they use odin + twrp. I hope some of them are freeware/ have free trials. Can someone help me verify if these are legit?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
once you factory reset device NOTHING can help you - it's gone. well, technically spoken that's not true, but next to impossible. forensic lab might partially recover old crypto-footer from the lower emmc firmware, and spend some years bruteforcing missing bytes.
TWRP is completely useless for samsung encryption, samsung encryption not supported, yet (although it's possible just a matter of time)
consider: all these tools might still work on quite a few older devices, from the days where exploiting was possible or encryption wasn't hardware-backed. They mainly offer breaking into lock screen and maybe can recover deleted files. They can by-pass locked bootloader, let android do it's work and pull (decrypted) partition image from root shell (for further analysis). They can break into TEE and extract encryption master key for chip-off bruteforce. But none of these tools ever claimed to recover data after factory reset. except for scams (like wondershare Dr. Fone) I don't know anything about iPhone I am talking about Android only.
conclusion:
- if a company offers you JTAG or chip-off they are trying to scam you.
- recovery of deleted files is not the same as recovery after factory reset. encryption is the showstopper here.
Demystifying Android Physical Acquisition
Numerous vendors advertise many types of solutions for extracting evidence from Android devices. The companies claim to support tens of thousands of models, creating the impression that most (if not all) Android devices can be successfully acquired using one method or another. On the other side o
blog.elcomsoft.com

aIecxs said:
once you factory reset device NOTHING can help you - it's gone. well, technically spoken that's not true, but next to impossible. forensic lab might partially recover old crypto-footer from the lower emmc firmware, and spend some years bruteforcing missing bytes.
TWRP is completely useless for samsung encryption, samsung encryption not supported, yet (although it's possible just a matter of time)
consider: all these tools might still work on quite a few older devices, from the days where exploiting was possible or encryption wasn't hardware-backed. They mainly offer breaking into lock screen and maybe can recover deleted files. They can by-pass locked bootloader, let android do it's work and pull (decrypted) partition image from root shell (for further analysis). They can break into TEE and extract encryption master key for chip-off bruteforce. But none of these tools ever claimed to recover data after factory reset. except for scams (like wondershare Dr. Fone) I don't know anything about iPhone I am talking about Android only.
conclusion:
- if a company offers you JTAG or chip-off they are trying to scam you.
- recovery of deleted files is not the same as recovery after factory reset. encryption is the showstopper here.
Demystifying Android Physical Acquisition
Numerous vendors advertise many types of solutions for extracting evidence from Android devices. The companies claim to support tens of thousands of models, creating the impression that most (if not all) Android devices can be successfully acquired using one method or another. On the other side o
blog.elcomsoft.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
aww
to let anyone know about how i ended up into this rabbit hole of recovery apps and finding out about xda, heres a backstory: some, if not all, of the folders were deleted in the storage/emulated/0 file directory after possibly me deleting them after they have popped up in an app that accessed your files. this is why i've been asking questions and doing research on how to recover them. i had to root my device according to the answers, but i didnt want to unlock the bootloader but i had to unlock it eventually. i really regret doing that. if this happens to someone in the future, i would ask anyone if it is possible to recover the files in storage/emulated/0 after they were deleted.

aIecxs said:
once you factory reset device NOTHING can help you - it's gone. well, technically spoken that's not true, but next to impossible. forensic lab might partially recover old crypto-footer from the lower emmc firmware, and spend some years bruteforcing missing bytes.
TWRP is completely useless for samsung encryption, samsung encryption not supported, yet (although it's possible just a matter of time)
consider: all these tools might still work on quite a few older devices, from the days where exploiting was possible or encryption wasn't hardware-backed. They mainly offer breaking into lock screen and maybe can recover deleted files. They can by-pass locked bootloader, let android do it's work and pull (decrypted) partition image from root shell (for further analysis). They can break into TEE and extract encryption master key for chip-off bruteforce. But none of these tools ever claimed to recover data after factory reset. except for scams (like wondershare Dr. Fone) I don't know anything about iPhone I am talking about Android only.
conclusion:
- if a company offers you JTAG or chip-off they are trying to scam you.
- recovery of deleted files is not the same as recovery after factory reset. encryption is the showstopper here.
Demystifying Android Physical Acquisition
Numerous vendors advertise many types of solutions for extracting evidence from Android devices. The companies claim to support tens of thousands of models, creating the impression that most (if not all) Android devices can be successfully acquired using one method or another. On the other side o
blog.elcomsoft.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so there IS a way? if it's not impossible then it is possible!

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