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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
Hey all,
Ive been flashing things since early HTC Hero days and never had this issue before. I flashed a new kernel (Uber nightly if that matters) the other day and the IMEI is now 0, no network signal, cannot connect to services, random reboots, etc. Tried completely clean flash stock rom using guide at beginning of general thread running bat file (by windows), still nothing. The file seems to be corrupt until I can reenter the numbers so device recognizes and can get network. Went completely back to stock yet still have unlocked bootloader. Tried looking over the internet for some solutions, only found Octoplus IMEI repair but do not know if I need the box or not in order for it to work. Any alternatives or if anyone knows if the software works without having to buy the box. Want to avoid sending back to Google or LG. Links and suggestions are appreciated.
EDIT: no previous backup had been made to the file.
Did you backup your imei?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
havy15 said:
Did you backup your imei?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, didnt previously make the backup of the file. I know it exists on the phone back and other places Ive seen but I need to inject that number back into system files so the phone recognizes it again. I didnt know of this issue before this but I wont be making this mistake again.
This probably won't help you after the fact, but I'll link this thread right here http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/development/modem-nexus-5-flashable-modems-efs-t2514095 and check the EFS Backup section.
You basically have to figure out a way to manually input the IMEI back into the EFS Somehow, the thread I linked might point you in the right direction.
{Mod edit: Quoted post has been deleted}
Do you know how to get the tool to recognize the device, etc on how to use it. I downloaded demo to look into this yet no luck thus far on how or where device is to write to. I have drivers ,ADB, etc installed.
{Mod edit: Quoted post has been deleted}
Even after reading, still no idea on how the program recognizes the Nexus. Still blank unless you know how
RevelationOmega said:
Even after reading, still no idea on how the program recognizes the Nexus. Still blank unless you know how
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For now I would keep trying re-flashing factory images again, this time using the long method 2.
I have had this issue. It happened to me on November when I got the phone and wiped cahe. I fixed just Reformating cache on twrp and flashing a CM Rom. It returned my IMEI
Other solved cases http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/help/lost-imei-please-help-t2529103
..... http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/help/efs-backup-imei-lost-t2703948
try flashing a new bootloader for the device. i take no responsibility for what happens to your device after you flashed the new bootloader.
But wasn't changing imei illegal?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
{ESO} said:
But wasn't changing imei illegal?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is
{ESO} said:
But wasn't changing imei illegal?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is illegal to change it for another one. but the issue Op has is something about recovering his own withing allowed parameters.
RevelationOmega said:
Hey all,
Ive been flashing things since early HTC Hero days and never had this issue before. I flashed a new kernel (Uber nightly if that matters) the other day and the IMEI is now 0, no network signal, cannot connect to services, random reboots, etc. Tried completely clean flash stock rom using guide at beginning of general thread running bat file (by windows), still nothing. The file seems to be corrupt until I can reenter the numbers so device recognizes and can get network. Went completely back to stock yet still have unlocked bootloader. Tried looking over the internet for some solutions, only found Octoplus IMEI repair but do not know if I need the box or not in order for it to work. Any alternatives or if anyone knows if the software works without having to buy the box. Want to avoid sending back to Google or LG. Links and suggestions are appreciated.
EDIT: no previous backup had been made to the file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey did you get a solution for your problem...Me too lost my IMEI and didn't have the EFS backup. Can we inject the IMEI? if yes, can you please provide the steps?
rajvernekar said:
Hey did you get a solution for your problem...Me too lost my IMEI and didn't have the EFS backup. Can we inject the IMEI? if yes, can you please provide the steps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly, no. The imei number file is specific to the phone and to get it "injected" was considered illegal since people who steal the phone could, by theory, inject the new imei to sell a phone as new. There is things out there (sort of) on this yet nothing good can be done. I use TWRP now since the back up allows EFS folder as well, versus CWM that didn't. I haven't had the problem since on nexus 6 or lg g3. The only way I know how to "solve" it was warranty through Google for nexus 5, they sent a new one to me and took the bad one. Only they (the manufacturers LG and Google) can legally inject the phone back to working condition. In all, had to get new one because no real true fix out there (legally) since even recovering it may be an attempt at stealing, the manufacturers cannot distinguish one person from another. Wish I had better news. Hope that helps and you can get it resolved.
There is an app on*******. IT'S ILLEGAL TO CHANGE A PHONES IMEI NUMBER!!
You can't take a number of am old phone and put it on a new, even if you have both. I can't see its wrong to put the original number back though. I've started a thread and asked the powers that be to rule on giving out the apps name, etc.
Sorry if I revived this post...
I know how you feel.
If you message me I will send you a link to a blog I wrote on this subject, I didn't think it was possible to fix but you can.
I know it's illegal. But google supports custom roms and rooting. So they must understand that this can happen.
Uhhh, I think all of you are incorrect. You may want to check your facts or your phones. If you have the manufacturer's firmware, in my case it is a Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G, you can use the manufacturer's (or other) method to flash the firmware and the IMEI numbers will be reinstalled. I was required to login to their site, but that's why you should register electronics with the manufacturer when you purchase them. It might not even need a registered product. And, after I was able to recover the lost IMEI numbers, I noticed that I can freely change them if I desire. Soooo, maybe I'm breaking the law? I suppose that would all depend on my location because this phone is mine, I bought it, rooted it, put a custom ROM on it, then did the dumb a$$ move of arbitrarily deleting files that "just didn't look right". One of those was a key component. Keep in mind, possession is 9/10th of the law. I possess this phone so no matter what, they can only charge me with 10% of a crime.
Hi,
can anyone enlighten me as to what is the most up to date software.
Is it the "fix" software distributed by Oneplus
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/fix-stuck-at-boot-logo-boot-loop-random-reboot.160199/
Or s it the Cyanogenmod Factory fastboot images here
https://cyngn.com/products/oneplusone/
I have examined the contents and much of the content seems to be the same (img files have same name and size) but there are exceptions such as boot.img
What is the most up to date boot .img to use?
Any ideas?
I dont have any of the problems listed and my OPO is spot on, but I still want to know what the most up to date "stock" software is.
I have asked the same question to oneplus but have not yet received a response.
would like to know as well.
jeffrey1027 said:
would like to know as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully, if there is anything new in the OPlus fix it will be released as a new image by Cyanogenmod soon. That way we have a decent reference point.
They are essentially the same, the "Fix" has the ColorOS partitions included (Persist.img & Reserve4.img) which alleviates some problems which some has experienced. But the software is the exact same version. I can tell you that the "Fix" version is a VERY easy way of updating your phone, as its a series of only 3 files you have to run compared to quite a number of fastboot commands for the Cyan Factory images version. In the end though both are 38R.
S M G said:
They are essentially the same, the "Fix" has the ColorOS partitions included (Persist.img & Reserve4.img) which alleviates some problems which some has experienced. But the software is the exact same version. I can tell you that the "Fix" version is a VERY easy way of updating your phone, as its a series of only 3 files you have to run compared to quite a number of fastboot commands for the Cyan Factory images version. In the end though both are 38R.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will the the 'fixes' remove unlock and root?
JeffDC said:
Will the the 'fixes' remove unlock and root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YES, it will wipe your device entirely leading to loss of root and it re-locks your bootloader. If you are already on 38R i don't see any advantages for you to flash this "FIX"
Thanks for the info. Appreciated. Any more detail on what the reserve4 and persist IMG do, can they be flashed on top of an existing install (38r factory).
What is the supported boot.IMG?
JeffDC said:
Will the the 'fixes' remove unlock and root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
zaphodbeeb said:
Thanks for the info. Appreciated. Any more detail on what the reserve4 and persist IMG do, can they be flashed on top of an existing install (38r factory).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YES, they can be flashed on top of a currently installed 38R without any data lost etc. AFAIK both persist and reserve4 are ColorOS specific partitions which somehow become corrupted during CyanogenMod software updates. This leads to all kinds of issues e,g, Lost IMEI,Boot Loops,CM Lockscreen FC etc. Any by simply erasing them and re-flashing them fixes many of the above if not all.
Tested the new "fix"
Does not fix my wif issue where it turns orange after idling.
After numerous reinstallations CM and other roms I caught a strange bug.
Now I is not working WiFi and BT, fm radio. it does not matter at what firmware. on miui or custom rom. also after the installation of any version of miui version puts custom it is not work... black screen(
MAC address blank in the information about phone.
Are there any ideas how to deal with it and how to fix the phone?
I use fastboot and twrp for install rom. not use mi recovery
to @sharan.nyn There is a special version of tvrp that makes backups of absolutely all partitions. You can do it and send me?
Can you tell me how to take backup and what exactly will be the file size. I think it would big files.
sharan.nyn said:
Can you tell me how to take backup and what exactly will be the file size. I think it would big files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, they are big, but probably can not backup such as the cache systems date. then the backup will be small.
Oh damn. I have a very limited bandwidth. It would take me hours or even days to upload such a file. I hope someone with a better bandwidth can help you
sharan.nyn said:
Oh damn. I have a very limited bandwidth. It would take me hours or even days to upload such a file. I hope someone with a better bandwidth can help you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByzOayL0qwKaa0UwMFlkaG1XNEE/view?usp=sharing
It tvrp backup for all sections.
Make a backup without system, Dalvik cache, data, cache. Maybe he will not be big, and you can upload it. I have no one else to ask.
Where did you get the recovery image? And is it compatible with our device? I think it must be compiled for our device for it work.
This changed magdag twrp recovery. It is fully compatible. it makes a full backup.
backup size ~100-150mb without system cash data dalvikcash
PavelPerm said:
This changed magdag twrp recovery. It is fully compatible. it makes a full backup.
backup size ~100-150mb without system cash data dalvikcash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry dude I didnt get a notification for the quote. I have backed up. It was about 30 partitions and its 380MB. I'll try to upload it ASAP and send you the link.
Update: Haha compressed it with winrar 5. Used the best compression and got it to be 30MB.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4UT4dU4LpjJMExhSlJtVE9FeUk
Thank you man! I will test it tonight or tomorrow!
PavelPerm said:
Thank you man! I will test it tonight or tomorrow!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok great. Keep us posted on the status
sharan.nyn said:
Ok great. Keep us posted on the status
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PavelPerm said:
Thank you man! I will test it tonight or tomorrow!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would advise you not to flash ALL PARTITIONS of one device on to another. This is due to the fact that it includes EFS partition which is unique in a way that it contains your IMEI # and other details which are unique to every device. This can brick your phone permenantly. A flash without ESF partition can be great.
Good luck !
Usually BT, WiFi, Radio trouble occurs it you have messed up with your motherboard hardware values. Try going back to the ROM you were before on and make sure you haven't flashed any wrong radio for your device. ( like your radio was meant for India and you flashed China or any other firmware. )
Do quote back in case you expect an answer!
after installing a full backup does not run the sim card. If you load Fail ESF from its own backup, the SIM card is starting to work, but the WiFi did not work. From this it follows that mi4i imei stored somewhere else and booting phone compares it imei. The question is, where are still kept IIMEI files?
PavelPerm said:
after installing a full backup does not run the sim card. If you load Fail ESF from its own backup, the SIM card is starting to work, but the WiFi did not work. From this it follows that mi4i imei stored somewhere else and booting phone compares it imei. The question is, where are still kept IIMEI files?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a similar problem to you : after a hardbrick, my IMEI files are uknown. How did you manage to install the backup given by sharan.nyn ?
BTW, when you backup the EFS with Mi4i toolkit, two files are shown : /dev/block/mmcblk0p20 and mmcblk0p21. I don't know what to do with that, but I'm pretty sure they have IMEI in them.
i am facing similar issue but my sim is not detecting on first slot but it is detecting on second slot
even my imei is showing correctly should is go for replacement coz i bought it few days back
I was trying to unlock the sim-lock on my OnePlus 9 T-Mobile and somewhere read that it can be done by deleting modemst1, modemst2, and persist partitions. So, I deleted them, but it didn't work. Instead, the WI-FI also stopped working.
After trying different MSM Download Tools for weeks, somehow modemst1 and modemst2 partitions were restored, but still cannot restore the persist partition. Without persist partition sensors are not working. For example, it does not auto-rotate, brightness auto-adjustment does not work, etc.
Can anyone help me with this?
Thank you!
c0d3f0rc37 said:
I was trying to unlock the sim-lock on my OnePlus 9 T-Mobile and somewhere read that it can be done by deleting memst1, memst2, and persist partitions. So, I deleted them, but it didn't work. Instead, the WI-FI also stopped working.
After trying different MSM Download Tools for weeks, somehow memst1 and memst2 partitions were restored, but still cannot restore the persist partition. Without persist partition sensors are not working. For example, it does not auto-rotate, brightness auto-adjustment does not work, etc.
Can anyone help me with this?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So in essence you broke your device. You probably have lost fp scanner,wifi,nfc,rotation. I really don't know what to tell you other than msm your device back to stock. And you didn't back up persist . This partition is device specific. If you do get it fixed properly I'd leave it the hell alone.
You can't just delete critical partitions
So, there's no way to fix this? I can assume that the phone is wasted?
c0d3f0rc37 said:
So, there's no way to fix this? I can assume that the phone is wasted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try and contact OnePlus and get a remote session. One of their techs will get you on correct MSM and get phone fixed.
c0d3f0rc37 said:
So, there's no way to fix this? I can assume that the phone is wasted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The persist partiton can only be fix by oneplus in factory or spending money for someone that has the hardware required to fix it.