I guess I've been spoiled by @Funk Wizard Guides... Those were great when switching to a new device. How do you make an EFS backup on the 8T? I guess I should ask in the same thread just in case about restoring?
Ok I got my 8T a couple days ago, just been busy and haven't had time to mess with it so it's been sitting on my desk. I'm not finding many guides dedicated to the 8T, so perhaps someone can verify this. I've tested these on some other devices and they seem to work as long as the devices are rooted:
Run from an ADB Shell:
This backs up the persist partition:
dd if=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/persist of=/sdcard/persist.img
This backs up the EFS (Modems):
dd if=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/modemst1 of=/sdcard/modemst1.bin
dd if=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/modemst2 of=/sdcard/modemst2.bin
One thing I've noticed is the modemst1.bin files from my other OnePlus devices are different than my original backups? I'm assuming these just get updated with firmware / software updates or something?
I am by no means an expert. But I think that is the ones that is important to backup, especially the persist partition.
Qnorsten said:
I am by no means an expert. But I think that is the ones that is important to backup, especially the persist partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know on previous OP devices the EFS (modems) stuff was backed up because that is where your IMEI (both in this case) was stored. If this got corrupted, you lost cell functionality. I think it's separate of the persist partition?
Hey dudes, is there another way to backup the EFS folder? I'm trying to copy it with root explorer pro but it doesn´t let me. I have a SM-G780F (S20 fan edition 4g)
Related
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
So I did something stupid without researching it.
I have a factory replacement nexus 5. I though I could just make a backup of my old phone and flash it onto my new one. So I did that. However, I ticked the box for EFS backup, and then I restored my old EFS onto my new phone, which has essentially bricked it.
Before I did that, though, I created a backup of the new phone including its EFS. So as you may have guessed, I'm currently busting my ass trying to recover the data that has been erased. I'm attempting to use this guide
I understand most of what it's attempting to do. I've checked the location of busybox, I've entered these commands hundreds of times now. My issue seems to be dd commands are not working.
For instance,
adb shell
su
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p10 of=/dev/null
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
returns nothing. I have a cygwin terminal open right now that has been sitting after my last input for 20 minutes. It appears that no dd commands work at all, and I am not sure what the issue could be. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I figured it out. My issue with this method was a combination of a non-compatible version of netcat, and an incorrect path to the block/partition which I was trying to mirror.
The correct path to /userdata/ for Nexus 5 devices is /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/mmcblk0p28 in case anyone in the future has the same issue.
Yeah careful with this stuff. You were lucky I guess that 10 was rpmb and you couldn't do anything with it.
I've listed all "partitions" here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2534010
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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.
Recently, I corrupted my /EFS partition when I tried to change my MAC address. I don't have any backups of the partition and now my wifi doesn't work. Basically, my last option is to flash someone else's /EFS and hope for the best. Can someone send me their TWRP backup of this partition? It would help a lot. Thank you.
DJsushi123 said:
Recently, I corrupted my /EFS partition when I tried to change my MAC address. I don't have any backups of the partition and now my wifi doesn't work. Basically, my last option is to flash someone else's /EFS and hope for the best. Can someone send me their TWRP backup of this partition? It would help a lot. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't just use somebody else's EFS partition on your phone, as the data it holds is unique to each device. First, read what EFS actually is:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/general/guide-efs-partitions-how-to-lost-t3307793
The only way (that I've found) of making your phone run properly again is to use a UMT dongle (do some research on how it works first) and input your IMEI back manually (it's written somewhere on the box the phone came in), but that dongle is a bit costly. If you do not want to deal with that, you should just reach out to OnePlus support.
I'm curious, why would you change your MAC address? Android 10 already has a MAC randomizer.
But yeah, EFS and Persist partitions are device specific and containing low level stuff that I don't think transferring it from one device to anther would work. First thing you could try is flashing stock ROM using MSM Download Tool.
McAwesomePL said:
You can't just use somebody else's EFS partition on your phone, as the data it holds is unique to each device. First, read what EFS actually is:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/general/guide-efs-partitions-how-to-lost-t3307793
The only way (that I've found) of making your phone run properly again is to use a UMT dongle (do some research on how it works first) and input your IMEI back manually (it's written somewhere on the box the phone came in), but that dongle is a bit costly. If you do not want to deal with that, you should just reach out to OnePlus support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read somewhere that it could work... And thanks, I know what the EFS partition is... However, is it a problem if I end up with someone else's IMEI? Also, I already did a backup of the current corrupted EFS so if the EFS from another phone won't work then I can just flash my old EFS back.
Also, my IMEI is intact. I haven't lost it. Only the MAC address is probably changed and that creates the problem. But I can't restore the original MAC address because the wlan0 interface doesn't show up in custom OS's. Only in OOS.
Edit: lol I actually already read the exact same article you've sent a link to.
freezingfox said:
I'm curious, why would you change your MAC address? Android 10 already has a MAC randomizer.
But yeah, EFS and Persist partitions are device specific and containing low level stuff that I don't think transferring it from one device to anther would work. First thing you could try is flashing stock ROM using MSM Download Tool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it? I couldn't find it there... I know that OOS has a MAC randomizer but i don't know if other custom OS's have it. Also, could you please verify if i'm using the right tool? This is the link: https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6/how-to/tool-msmdownloadtool-v4-0-international-t3798892
Because it's OOS 5.1.5 and that's faaaar from the newest one...
DJsushi123 said:
Does it? I couldn't find it there... I know that OOS has a MAC randomizer but i don't know if other custom OS's have it. Also, could you please verify if i'm using the right tool? This is the link: https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6/how-to/tool-msmdownloadtool-v4-0-international-t3798892
Because it's OOS 5.1.5 and that's faaaar from the newest one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The latest one is here containing 10.3.5 https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6/how-to/op6-collection-unbrick-tools-t3914109
Android has had MAC randomisation since Oreo.
I have a Moto G7 Power XT1955-5 . I recently went on a ROM flashing spree to try out CrDroid, Havoc, Pixel Experience Plus, and LineageOS for the G7 Power.
During the course of installing/ fooling around I ended up formatting my persist. I have a backup on TWRP, but it looks like TWRP touch-screen is inaccessible when persist gets trashed... or one of the random things I have done to the poor phone in the last week.
Fortunately, Orange Fox works just fine. Other than no mobile network, I am currently running LineageOS without issue.
I am already aware of this solution: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=81805225&postcount=15
I am more interested in learning about persist & how to use TWRP backups with Orange Fox.
Here are my questions:
OrangeFox lists the partitions as /persist1 and /persist2, but TWRP backup lists as /persist and /persist2... does this represent incompatible partition naming conventions? If so, fixing seems as easy as changing the name in a copy of the backup (WIN/ .tar) file, or in worst case just push the archive contents to the partition via adb.
What is the format for OrangeFox backups? Are they also .tars? So should I just be selecting restore backup from a zip archive, or do I need to extract/ compress to .zip?
What is the purpose of /persist vs /persist2 - I can see the contents are different, but can someone explain functional differences? It feels like boot slots so maybe I can just restore one, then copy over?
If anyone has any good reading on /persist I would appreciate it. There's no way that persist isn't programmatically generated, but I can imagine manufacturers and carriers don't want people to start messing with it. This is the stuff I did find (not including outside links from Motorola).
https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5-plus/how-to/dev-fixing-baseband-t3806064
https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5-plus/how-to/fix-persist-resolve-imei0-explanation-t3825147
humanWithAPhone said:
I have a Moto G7 Power XT1955-5 . I recently went on a ROM flashing spree to try out CrDroid, Havoc, Pixel Experience Plus, and LineageOS for the G7 Power.
During the course of installing/ fooling around I ended up formatting my persist. I have a backup on TWRP, but it looks like TWRP touch-screen is inaccessible when persist gets trashed... or one of the random things I have done to the poor phone in the last week.
Fortunately, Orange Fox works just fine. Other than no mobile network, I am currently running LineageOS without issue.
I am already aware of this solution: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=81805225&postcount=15
I am more interested in learning about persist & how to use TWRP backups with Orange Fox.
Here are my questions:
OrangeFox lists the partitions as /persist1 and /persist2, but TWRP backup lists as /persist and /persist2... does this represent incompatible partition naming conventions? If so, fixing seems as easy as changing the name in a copy of the backup (WIN/ .tar) file, or in worst case just push the archive contents to the partition via adb.
What is the format for OrangeFox backups? Are they also .tars? So should I just be selecting restore backup from a zip archive, or do I need to extract/ compress to .zip?
What is the purpose of /persist vs /persist2 - I can see the contents are different, but can someone explain functional differences? It feels like boot slots so maybe I can just restore one, then copy over?
If anyone has any good reading on /persist I would appreciate it. There's no way that persist isn't programmatically generated, but I can imagine manufacturers and carriers don't want people to start messing with it. This is the stuff I did find (not including outside links from Motorola).
https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5-plus/how-to/dev-fixing-baseband-t3806064
https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5-plus/how-to/fix-persist-resolve-imei0-explanation-t3825147
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go here and ask your question. https://t.me/joinchat/TQ2SyFRyFn7uJe_DLANr_A