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Looking for ROMs for LG VS890/FX3

Hi, folks,
After many, many attempts, I finally was able to root my Verizon LG Enact/VS890/FX3, using NewKingrootV4.50_C120_B220_xda_release_2015_07_22_105243.apk, which I got from this forum about a week ago... for which I heartily thank Zero Sparks. Finally able to uninstall a lot of the crapware I didn't want, and to install several root-only apps which I did want.
The thing I'm having trouble with now, is finding custom ROMs for the phone. It's running KitKat, so it's not ancient, and if I can't use anything but the stock ROM, so be it. But I'm dying to try flashing Lollipop or even Marshmallow. It has to be a very specific ROM for that phone, because of the slide-out QWERTY keyboard... the wrong firmware wouldn't function properly. And there are a lot of bogus sites out there which want you to "complete a survey" or "sign up for one of these offers", but they never give you the download, it's just an endless circle of phishing sites... with lots of malware for my system, I'm sure. I'd much rather trust you folks on here, if you have anything.

I'm in the same boat, would love to upgrade off of 4.1.2 but can't find anything to use.
Additionally, a previous owner (bought off ebay) apparently unlocked the bootloader and replaced the stock recovery with something I don't recognize. When holding down power and vol down I see this:
Rooted
*********************************************
FACTORY HARD RESET
*********************************************
Permanently Erase User Data & Reset Settings?
Press Power key to confirm, and Volume Down or Up key to cancel
So not only can't I find a ROM to use, I can't even upgrade the stock ROM due to it not passing the root check. And I can't use stock recovery since it was replaced by the above. Anyone see this before?
I wish there was better support for the VS890 around, but I can't even find the original recovery / ROM image to flash.

UsualNoise said:
I'm in the same boat, would love to upgrade off of 4.1.2 but can't find anything to use.
Additionally, a previous owner (bought off ebay) apparently unlocked the bootloader and replaced the stock recovery with something I don't recognize. When holding down power and vol down I see this:
Rooted
*********************************************
FACTORY HARD RESET
*********************************************
Permanently Erase User Data & Reset Settings?
Press Power key to confirm, and Volume Down or Up key to cancel
So not only can't I find a ROM to use, I can't even upgrade the stock ROM due to it not passing the root check. And I can't use stock recovery since it was replaced by the above. Anyone see this before?
I wish there was better support for the VS890 around, but I can't even find the original recovery / ROM image to flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my research, I could have sworn I came across a site that had the original "stock" LG software for download, but I can't find it now. The closest I come is this LG link that will give you the firmware -- and the VS890 is on their list: http://www.mylgphones.com/latest-lg-phones-firmware-update-model-version-date
I don't know if that might restore your stock recovery, at least. But have you tried doing the "factory reset" they offer, in this recovery app? Typically, this often restores the phone to whatever it was shipped with... which in your case, is just what you want. And there might be a method out there to un-root, I've seen that option in some of the better apps, like the "LG One-Click Root" found here. Then (if you're on Verizon, anyway), you could snag the OTA upgrade to 4.4.2, like I have... and root it again with the method I found.
ADDED LATER: Look in SuperSU, you should find an option for Permanent UnRoot.

Mr2nSmith said:
But have you tried doing the "factory reset" they offer, in this recovery app? Typically, this often restores the phone to whatever it was shipped with... which in your case, is just what you want. And there might be a method out there to un-root, I've seen that option in some of the better apps, like the "LG One-Click Root" found here. Then (if you're on Verizon, anyway), you could snag the OTA upgrade to 4.4.2, like I have... and root it again with the method I found.
ADDED LATER: Look in SuperSU, you should find an option for Permanent UnRoot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for responding. Unfortunately my issue isn't the rooting of the OS (which I can undo, and have), it's the fact that the bootloader was unlocked and original recovery was replaced with that custom one I listed above. And yes, I did the 'factory reset', which reset everything to the original state of 4.1.2 ... but it didn't remove the custom recovery. Because of that, I can't ever upgrade via normal means (get the 0x13 error when I try).
Same deal with SuperSU, unrooting simply removes root access in the 4.1.2 OS, doesn't affect recovery. And, since there is no CMW / TWRP custom recovery option for VS890 I can't even attempt replacing the existing recovery. I'm stuck at this point unless someone figures out 1) where the stock recovery and firmware are located, and 2) a method to safely flash it to the phone. It sucks, I like this phone but it has some severe limitations. It also won't work with my Pebble watch, which is what prompted this whole endeavor in the first place (trying to upgrade to KitKat).

UsualNoise said:
Thanks for responding. Unfortunately my issue isn't the rooting of the OS (which I can undo, and have), it's the fact that the bootloader was unlocked and original recovery was replaced with that custom one I listed above. And yes, I did the 'factory reset', which reset everything to the original state of 4.1.2 ... but it didn't remove the custom recovery. Because of that, I can't ever upgrade via normal means (get the 0x13 error when I try).
Same deal with SuperSU, unrooting simply removes root access in the 4.1.2 OS, doesn't affect recovery. And, since there is no CMW / TWRP custom recovery option for VS890 I can't even attempt replacing the existing recovery. I'm stuck at this point unless someone figures out 1) where the stock recovery and firmware are located, and 2) a method to safely flash it to the phone. It sucks, I like this phone but it has some severe limitations. It also won't work with my Pebble watch, which is what prompted this whole endeavor in the first place (trying to upgrade to KitKat).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried simply finding and uninstalling the custom recovery? I know you said it was unfamiliar to you, but it has to be in there somewhere, under some name. And once it's removed, the phone would revert to its stock recovery. This is a great little phone, even if you can only get it to KitKat, don't give up.

Mr2nSmith said:
Have you tried simply finding and uninstalling the custom recovery? I know you said it was unfamiliar to you, but it has to be in there somewhere, under some name. And once it's removed, the phone would revert to its stock recovery. This is a great little phone, even if you can only get it to KitKat, don't give up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The bad news: I would have no idea how to 'find' the custom recovery unfortunately.
The good news: I solved my problem! Although I couldn't update the OS via normal means (network) or via PC connection, I was able to manually flash KitKat (4.4.2) myself successfully. Here's what I did:
1) I downloaded the drivers for the phone from LG's site and installed them.
2) Connected the phone, it went into 'install' mode first where a drive appeared in my computer that contained the Verizon Upgrade Assistant.
3) Ran the upgrade assistant, it found the phone and downloaded the new firmware (.cab file). The upgrade assistant would not apply the update, unfortunately. I don't know if it was because of my bootloader issue or not, but I was at a dead end. Temporarily.
4) Tried following the procedure here but it didn't work with the current LG tools available. However it did point me in the right direction for
5) I found the LGFlashTool. I followed the instructions on that site. First went into download mode (powered off, removed battery, inserted battery, held vol up and down while plugging in the USB cable - *make sure it's a good cable!!*), then in the flash tool dialog itself I entered the .cab file name, selected [ CDMA, Diag, 33000 ], left what was auto-filled in version (but deleted the .cab extension) and hit the CSE Flash button. Next dialog I tried reading phone info, but it crashed (didn't fill me with confidence). Restarted, got back to that dialog, hit START. Next dialog, selected my country and language, hit OK. Then it popped up a new LG update window that actually did the update / flash.
Shockingly, it successfully worked. I was preparing myself for a bricked phone, but it worked ... AND fixed my bluetooth connection issue with my Pebble watch.
I have no idea if this procedure would work for custom ROMs or not (and I'm not going to press my luck and try), so I can't recommend it for non-stock stuff, but at least it's a way to flash a known working ROM for the LG Enact. Hopefully this helps someone else down the road. This was the first firmware flashing endeavor I've undertaken where I didn't already know someone else did it successfully first. Thus, my trepidation.

UsualNoise said:
The bad news: I would have no idea how to 'find' the custom recovery unfortunately.
The good news: I solved my problem! Although I couldn't update the OS via normal means (network) or via PC connection, I was able to manually flash KitKat (4.4.2) myself successfully. Here's what I did:
1) I downloaded the drivers for the phone from LG's site and installed them.
2) Connected the phone, it went into 'install' mode first where a drive appeared in my computer that contained the Verizon Upgrade Assistant.
3) Ran the upgrade assistant, it found the phone and downloaded the new firmware (.cab file). The upgrade assistant would not apply the update, unfortunately. I don't know if it was because of my bootloader issue or not, but I was at a dead end. Temporarily.
4) Tried following the procedure here but it didn't work with the current LG tools available. However it did point me in the right direction for
5) I found the LGFlashTool. I followed the instructions on that site. First went into download mode (powered off, removed battery, inserted battery, held vol up and down while plugging in the USB cable - *make sure it's a good cable!!*), then in the flash tool dialog itself I entered the .cab file name, selected [ CDMA, Diag, 33000 ], left what was auto-filled in version (but deleted the .cab extension) and hit the CSE Flash button. Next dialog I tried reading phone info, but it crashed (didn't fill me with confidence). Restarted, got back to that dialog, hit START. Next dialog, selected my country and language, hit OK. Then it popped up a new LG update window that actually did the update / flash.
Shockingly, it successfully worked. I was preparing myself for a bricked phone, but it worked ... AND fixed my bluetooth connection issue with my Pebble watch.
I have no idea if this procedure would work for custom ROMs or not (and I'm not going to press my luck and try), so I can't recommend it for non-stock stuff, but at least it's a way to flash a known working ROM for the LG Enact. Hopefully this helps someone else down the road. This was the first firmware flashing endeavor I've undertaken where I didn't already know someone else did it successfully first. Thus, my trepidation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good for you! See, you don't give up, and you get a happy ending.

It's a shame no roms for ours enact, its a cute qwerty android phone...please Can someone tell me how to enter recovery mode ? I bought this phone 2 day's ago but i haven't signal i want to do a wipe cache.. .sorry for my English.. .

Androide3 said:
It's a shame no roms for ours enact, its a cute qwerty android phone...please Can someone tell me how to enter recovery mode ? I bought this phone 2 day's ago but i haven't signal i want to do a wipe cache.. .sorry for my English.. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wish I could help you, but I never could do that on mine... had to use a sideload tool to do it from my PC. BUT -- I have two suggestions for you. First, download and install the KingRoot tool, to root the phone... it's called NewKingrootV4.50_C120_B220_xda_release_2015_07_22_105243.apk, and I think there is a link earlier in this thread which you can use to find and download it. You'll have to install it manually, then run it. (Don't bother with the "Purify" portion, you don't need that for now.) Your phone will now be rooted, by the only method that ever worked for me. Next, go to the Play Store, and download an app called "Quick Reboot", from Phong IT. This is a root-only app (hence the need to root, first) which includes a "Recovery" option. Try that out, and see what happens.

UsualNoise said:
The bad news: I would have no idea how to 'find' the custom recovery unfortunately.
The good news: I solved my problem! Although I couldn't update the OS via normal means (network) or via PC connection, I was able to manually flash KitKat (4.4.2) myself successfully. Here's what I did:
1) I downloaded the drivers for the phone from LG's site and installed them.
2) Connected the phone, it went into 'install' mode first where a drive appeared in my computer that contained the Verizon Upgrade Assistant.
3) Ran the upgrade assistant, it found the phone and downloaded the new firmware (.cab file). The upgrade assistant would not apply the update, unfortunately. I don't know if it was because of my bootloader issue or not, but I was at a dead end. Temporarily.
4) Tried following the procedure here but it didn't work with the current LG tools available. However it did point me in the right direction for
5) I found the LGFlashTool. I followed the instructions on that site. First went into download mode (powered off, removed battery, inserted battery, held vol up and down while plugging in the USB cable - *make sure it's a good cable!!*), then in the flash tool dialog itself I entered the .cab file name, selected [ CDMA, Diag, 33000 ], left what was auto-filled in version (but deleted the .cab extension) and hit the CSE Flash button. Next dialog I tried reading phone info, but it crashed (didn't fill me with confidence). Restarted, got back to that dialog, hit START. Next dialog, selected my country and language, hit OK. Then it popped up a new LG update window that actually did the update / flash.
Shockingly, it successfully worked. I was preparing myself for a bricked phone, but it worked ... AND fixed my bluetooth connection issue with my Pebble watch.
I have no idea if this procedure would work for custom ROMs or not (and I'm not going to press my luck and try), so I can't recommend it for non-stock stuff, but at least it's a way to flash a known working ROM for the LG Enact. Hopefully this helps someone else down the road. This was the first firmware flashing endeavor I've undertaken where I didn't already know someone else did it successfully first. Thus, my trepidation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did as you said, but I'm still on 4.1.2:crying:

Revive Soft Bricked Device through Identical 2nd? (LG l21g Destiny Tracfone)

Long story short:
How do i get my current working android device to revive an identical soft-bricked device. More challenging than you think: there is no boot menu accessible in the devices. Which means the only other choice is to use a usb connection to a PC to perform all tasks, i.e. create a rom system image backup of the working device, then use that to restore the system onto the soft-bricked one.
So is there a way to revive the s/bricked device with a rom image of the working twin?
The long story:
After using the super-sume app, my device got softbricked. Phones of my type are uncommon and are therefore not worked on by the android hacker community as much as flagship devices are. And little is known or discovered about them. So after doing more research, i've sadly come to know that there are other users here and there, having suffered the same problem as I. But enough about that.
As far as i've read and come to understand, i would need to re-flash the firmware to bring it back from it's softbrick issue easiest/safest way.
Though am not sure how the android platform would work. With PCs, i could restore a messed up system from a cloned image. What i need to confirm is if the firmware is separate from the OS (roms i believe) the same way device drivers are separate from the windows OS on PCs.
So am not sure if flashing firmware is enough and would need to stock rom too. Or is the rom considered both firmware and OS all in one?
I mentioned "restore from a clone image backup" because I have another, exact same model of my softbricked device, that functions still properly.
So i wonder if there is a way that i could use my working device to revive the soft-bricked one. In the sense that i would need to make a system image copy of my working one, to restore onto the s/bricked one.
What the problem looks like when starting the phone:
As for the softbrick appearance, the phone boots into the LG logo screen and is frozen there. It doesn't quite look like it's boot looping since the screen Never fades to black quickly just to come right back. It's just frozen there. This recovery mode screen is the only other thing i can get to besides the frozen LG screen: https://wcrates.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/lg-g3-recover-mode.jpg
I've come to learn (but may need correction on) that Tracfone devices are deliberately handicapped in a way i've never seen before. That is, their devices have no other boot type of menu besides the Recovery Menu (found before os begins boot) that is basically a factory reset. It just deletes all user data and resets system settings so that the phone works like it would at first when right out of the box. For the s/bricked device, that screen can be accessed, though executing that just resorts to the frozen boot screen again. If there is a boot menu to backup/restore from, clear cache, install from zip and what not, then please enlighten me. Because as i've tried everything, the tracfone-devices have nothing compared to non-tracfone-devices
So in order to install an updated rom, i may need to get into a type of system boot menu from where i would be able to select the option to install a rom or update it and what not. To some degree i assume that connecting the device through USB to a computer, one may do the same rom installation action through the PC, but it's in cases like these where i would need the help of and expert's first hand experience with such things or ways.
I don't mind if you want to leave a link to some tutorial some other guy has made that may closely related to (if not exactly) to help solve this issue. But i do prefer to get into contact with someone who i can report to with how the solution process is progressing. Mostly because me being a noob at this point of my android experience, but am confident since i've done this with pc's a lot.
I'm still trying to figure out what most of the android community speaks of when it comes to methods of backing up their stock roms and what kinds of software on PC or apps on the device are needed to accomplish a worthy backup. I do realize i'd need ADB and what other LG device compatible PC software out there. Here is a link where i think firmware files can be found, but since it's all in Chinese, i'm not sure how reliable the site is/can be. It's been about a month since i contacted some of their users. At this point it seems like they're no hope:
http://mobile.gaodi.net/Firmware-669539-1-1.html
I hope that i can find success so that i can post it up to help others who are in the same situation as me, and also for the many more who may yet fall into this situation.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Device: LG l21g (aka lgl21g) Destiny (model) by TracFone
Android: 5.0.1

[GUIDE] how to fix EFS Damaged on samsung devices [EASY!]

Edited in 2022 to make it look a bit better!
*WARNING* *TAKE A NANDROID BACKUP OF EFS AND BASEBAND BEFORE STARTING*
Hello people, first I want to say that this is my first guide so it doesn't really look professional but I am doing my best to be clear as possible.
In this guide I will be showing you how to repair your IMEI for free/without Z3X box
So lets get into it.
Its better to start fresh in stock rom
So flash the stock rom first
Now we are really starting,
Step 1) flash TWRP and flash Magisk (if you weren't rooted yet)
Step 2) now search for a custom rom for your phone download it before doing something or just download on pc and move it later
Step 3) now go to mount and select efs or else your efs will be empty at the next step
Step 4) now go to file manager and goto /EFS
Just delete everything in it OR YOU CAN LEAVE Privo data and factory app, you have a backup anyways. *WARNING: DO NOT DELETE THE EFS PARTITION IT SELF, IT WILL MAKE YOUR PHONE NOT BOOTING ANYMORE ONLY DELETE THE FILES INSIDE OF IT SO DELETE ALL FILES*
Step 5) now flash the custom rom for s7 edge i would recommend kingrom, do full wipe at the aroma. You may try to skip this step. There have been comments saying that this guide also works without this step.
Step 6) now reboot your phone, first reboot may take 5-10/15 minutes please be patient and make sure you put your phone in the charger if your battery is low now when your phone is in the welcome screen look or your signal is returned if not just setup your phone sometimes it may take a while for the signal to appear. If your signal is returned then go to phone app and dial *#06# and look or the IMEI matches the IMEI of the box of your phone (make sure you have the original box if you don't have this then open the back of your phone (if you can), there is a sticker label with your s/n and IMEI. If you cannot open the back of your phone, then you will have to trust that the IMEI is right. If everything is functional then you're done with this guide. The next steps are more ''checking'' if everything is alright.
Step 7) If your s/n is ok skip to step 8 if its not right then download a root explorer and go to /efs/factoryapp and edit the serial no file with a text editor and enter your s/n there now save it and IMEI and s/n should be alright
Step 8) Now, for IF the IMEI is correct and everything is fully functional, then delete the earlier made backup of EFS and baseband and make a new one with the working partition, then save it somewhere safe on an external drive, the cloud or on an USB, or just a pc that you will never reset or wipe its data.
Congratulations on getting past step 8. I hope this guide has helped you and that it worked for you. If not then I'm sorry for not being able to assist you. This guide is just me sharing what I did to solve this issue. Good luck on solving your problem if this guide did not work.
If the IMEI is not correct or this guide doesn't work then I can't help you any further except for if you have any questions, however I found a guide for the Samsung galaxy s7/Edge (if you have s8 then click same link because the thread has a link to s8) by Cubz (thanks to Cubz for his guide)
Link: https://www.google.com/amp/s/forum....ow-to-fix-check-drk-imei-issues-t3379516/amp/
S7/E/8 only and some other models as long its an s7 (edge) or s8/+
******* Some tips when you follow the guide*******
1) When you flash combination firmware and it gives you errors then dial *#1234# and look at the cp it should have UX in it (X could be 1,2 or 3 download the correct firmware with the correct bootloader version. You can upgrade from u1 to u2 and u2 to u3 but not downgrade from 3 to 2 or 2 to 1
2) If it didn't work then flash back to stock and fully delete everything in efs folder then retry (this is actually just guide B) its better to follow the guide above
3) If you got bootloader exception error then keep tapping the home button fast until it reboots then just manually reboot and enter download mode
The first method was tested and worked on SAMSUNG GALAXY S7 EDGE SM-935F it may work on other Samsung devices and maybe other android devices but I cannot guarantee that it works on your device
** I take no responsibility for any damaged device, make sure you take a back up so you can go back to the state before you started following this guide!**
If the device gets bricked then always flash back to stock, if you cant enter download mode then just wait until your battery drains and then when you put it in the charger it may start up automatically so enter download mode fast or if you got bootloader exception error then keep tapping the home button fast until it reboots then just manually reboot and enter download mode
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy flashing and please confirm in the comments below if it worked for your device or not

Guys please comment or it works on your device or not!

It works for me. But I have to manually change CSC on my phone after original rom flash to fix Network. TGP rom have that option.

I followed your guide and my model name changed from G930F to G930FD and my IMEI is just bunch of zeroes wtv

SOLVED AT LAST - MISSING IMEI and EFS DAMAGED SOLUTION
Hi Guys,
First off, please take GOOD note - I am NOT a techy, just an old boring flashaholic who works in an office and likes pyjamas more than partying. This is my account of me fecking up my phone and finally reaching a solution after three days and most of two nights to a missing IMEI, messed up EFS and non-working phone - hoping that it might help anyone as desperate as I was. You do what you do with your phone and that's your business and I'm not responsible if you mess it up, but my hope is that you have have a brain (that's all I have) and you get some helpful piece of info here as I did from a whole ton of posts I read that finally led me to this.
Next - I am not sure what landed me in this mess. I've seen Superman Rom mentioned a couple of times..I didn't use that but I did use Batman Rom which is by the same Dev. It was great to use, too, so I'm not faulting the Dev by any means. What did happen, though, is that when I flashed other ROMS, maybe 3 or 4 of them following, the Batman splash screen was always there before the new ROM's boot sequence, so there were clearly some residual things of it in there ...so perhaps the same coding is in there and could have had something to do with it, I don't know. The breaking point came when I flashed Sac23 Rom hoping to get Pie on my phone. It was cool but I decided to revert to Resurrection Remix - always my favourite overall - and all of a sudden I get errors.
What should have been a routine "Restore" of my backed up RR ROM via TWRP gave "Error mounting EFS". Reboot, wipe, retry. No joy, same again. A couple of tries to restore the EFS from the backup in TWRP didn't work either.
Next go to is flash "original firmware" (more on this wording later). I had that on my PC (not a phone backup, just the firmware so it's clean copy with no data).
Get Odin out, download mode, correct files in correct boxes, all that standard stuff you can find guides on most places - no joy.
Error showing was "Fail at pm.bin" or something like that. Install aborted.
Try again. This time "Fail at cm.bin" Install aborted. Reboot from recovery also fails. Oh sh1t.
Several more attempts made. I have five different Odin vers. I have seven different firmware vers. I have two USB ports and about 8 Samsung cables. Not a single combination I tried worked.
The XDA heroes will know what to do, I thought. I read and read. And read. And CubZ (who is a hero even if he IS from Lancashire ), says MAKE SURE YOUR PHONE IS RUNNING ORIGINAL SOFTWARE. Well...I kinda did that mostly already...but maybe I need to go RIGHT back to the rubbishy 6.0.1 version that came actually ON my phone when I got it....almost 2 years ago? Who remembers that stuff?? I'm about 18 ROMS down the line now. I was desperate. I'm telling you...I even got out my bank statements to trace when my first payment to my current provider was...I read about firmware numbers and country codes, and I chose one from Sammobile with a build date, country code, unbranded code (which my phone always was) and correct phone model (of course!) as I needed. And it WAS .."the ORIGINAL" firmware.
This time I swear Odin failed me a second BEFORE I pressed the start button! No joy.
Have a flask of coffee and a few valium sandwiches and off I go back to XDA again. I read a loooong series of "Missing IMEI" stuff and there's CubZ again with an IMEI/EFS fix guide guide...brilliant! And it WAS brilliant, and clearly he helped tons of people (kudos, man). But I had messed up MY phone in the time-honoured "right royal" way - worse than his guide could help me. My IMEI was Unknown, my EFS was empty, My SIM wasn't being recognised, no network info or signal...nothing. But genius that he is, he CubZ DID post a Combination file that gave me a base to keep trying on when firmware after firmware had failed almost immediately with errors either of pm.bin/abort or cm.bin/abort.
I almost wore the print out on CubZ guide, I read it so much and tried so many times. Then...I see people saying things about U1, U2 and U3 firmwares. Turns out you shouldn't mix the two. I got that snippet from CubZ too. More research and the little coffee-fuelled connections in my brain are like.....ok....
My ORIGINAL firmware has in its name "U1" and there are similar ones with "U2". Might that be it? My phone has been screaming "DEVICE 2 FIRMWARE 1" (or something like that) at every aborted 'original firmware' installation via Odin and download mode that I've tried, including the EXACT firmware that was on my phone the day it was unwrapped and I danced happily round the room with it.
So if DEVICE 2....FIRMWARE should be 2 maybe? Back to Sammobile. There are firmwares with the same model number, country code, branding info as mine..but with a "U2" where mine said "U1". But...they were Oreo and Nougat where mine was "originally" Marshmallow.
It's now day three in the Big Mother House. My valium and coffee and running out and my communication with the outside world has ceased. I've had about five hours sleep, my food is running low and I cannot call for takeaway cos I ficked my phone up good and proper. I even....get this....start looking up PAID services to fix this. I KNOW, right!!??
I pick up a Nougat firmware from Sammobile...careful to match model, country, branding AND U2 - wondering if I can match it up with CubZ's Combi file as a base to appease Odin......and then maybe revert to my 'original' stock from that to start another attempt at the IMEI/EFS thing.
It loaded. Odin was pleased with my sacrifice. And lo and behold, it had restored the whole lot WITHOUT me having to go any further with stock ROM reversions. It frickin' worked. I got my signal back. My SIM card was detected. My phone number was showing. My IMEI was showing. My E-Frickin-S was mended. I feel like Judd Nelson at the end of Breakfast Club.
So here's the semantic bit that I hadn't known and that is unclear in many many posts. My phone is now working 100% on stock firmware....but is is NOT REALLY the ORIGINAL software - it's the MODEL......COUNTRY......BRANDING.....LANGUAGE - specific firmware but it is Nougat where my original was Marshmallow, and it is a U2 firmware where my original FW was U1. THAT was the killer difference, it seems. Thanks to all of you who posted anything - many many of you - who helped me get this. It's a compatibility issue detail I've never seen or had issues with before.
I now have G930FXXS2DRDI_G930FXEU2DRB5_XEU
Where G930F is the model number, XEU is the country code for UK and Ireland (even though UK is a nation and not a country - just sayin' ) and the U2 sits there hiding in the middle of the second section of the name.
Which gives unzipped files as follows: NOTE - THESE ARE NOT LINKS.
AP_G930FXXS2DRDI_CL12365438_QB17789072_REV00_user_low_ship_meta.tar.md5
BL_G930FXXS2DRDI_CL12365438_QB17789072_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.md5
CP_G930FXXU2DRB6_CL648265_QB8952207_SIGNED.tar.md5
CSC_XEU_G930FXEU2DRB5_CL13061583_QB16917099_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.md5
HOME_CSC_XEU_G930FXEU2DRB5_CL13061583_QB16917099_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.md5
It's Nougat, but that's okay for now; I got my IMEI, EFS, SIM, BIN, probably ENT, RAC, SUV and BMX too, everything
And now, with my working phone, I am gonna phone the local Chinese Takeaway for food, answer all my emails that popped and binged and tinkled at me when it became resurrected, and leave CubZ with huge thanks and all of you guys with the hope that this helps somebody out there.
And maybe look at backing this sucker up and reverting to my Oreo RR ROM I love so much..... I HATE Touchwiz!!!!
Good luck!
:good::good::good:

I was also on similar problem and i lost my efc
Baseband unkwn
Imel null
No signal
I was on s9 port rom by teamexykings and when i update i did dirty flash and my phobe stuck on samsung logo somehow it was boot but it was keeps rebooting than i boot my phone in twrp
When i was trying to wipe system data and dalvic cache
In wipe menu i was shocked to see that it showed internal storage 0mb
I had this problem 1st time
And i have to format my phone to boot properly
U know my big mistake is that i haven't taken a back up of my all apps and my data
After 10-15 min latter it boots
But 2nd shocked was that
I lost my signal my imei my baseband vesrsion unknown
I was so scared to lost my imei
Than i searchon google and i have read lot of articals about restoring efc partition
And than i found similar thread like u have explained
It's really work for me
And this article will help most of device of samsung
And xda user
What i have done
In twrp i mount efc partition
Than in advance menu
File manager
Efc
And i have deleted all of file in efc
(Remember not efc partition it self)
Except privo
Privo data and factory app
Than reboot
After boot my phone i got signal back
I was so happy that it was very easy to do
Your guide will help for many device

shabbir143 said:
I was also on similar problem and i lost my efc
Baseband unkwn
Imel null
No signal
I was on s9 port rom by teamexykings and when i update i did dirty flash and my phobe stuck on samsung logo somehow it was boot but it was keeps rebooting than i boot my phone in twrp
When i was trying to wipe system data and dalvic cache
In wipe menu i was shocked to see that it showed internal storage 0mb
I had this problem 1st time
And i have to format my phone to boot properly
U know my big mistake is that i haven't taken a back up of my all apps and my data
After 10-15 min latter it boots
But 2nd shocked was that
I lost my signal my imei my baseband vesrsion unknown
I was so scared to lost my imei
Than i searchon google and i have read lot of articals about restoring efc partition
And than i found similar thread like u have explained
It's really work for me
And this article will help most of device of samsung
And xda user
What i have done
In twrp i mount efc partition
Than in advance menu
File manager
Efc
And i have deleted all of file in efc
(Remember not efc partition it self)
Except privo
Privo data and factory app
Than reboot
After boot my phone i got signal back
I was so happy that it was very easy to do
Your guide will help for many device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You deleted all files and folders from EFS Mounted partition? how is it possible working?

You are awesome man!
I just deleted the files in EFS, restarted without installing custom rom and my IMEI was fixed.
I'm definitely donating. How to donate to you?
Thanks for your great work!

cisekpro23 said:
You deleted all files and folders from EFS Mounted partition? how is it possible working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think samsung phones are capable of regnerating their efs. But its not working for me on samsung galaxy s6. Guess I am screwed.

Hey everyone, I'm sorry for not responding to anyone in this thread. I've been inactive for a long time. I want to thank everyone for trusting the guide and I hope it has worked for you if you tried following the steps. If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
Also I have edited my guide to improve the reading experience because I see my English was absolutely horrible at the time when I wrote the guide.

oh no. i accidentally deleted the efs partition and it can't mount anymore what im gonna do now. im fvcked up please somebody help me

vigilante said:
Edited in 2022 to make it look a bit better!
Hello people, first I want to say that this is my first guide so it doesn't really look professional but I am doing my best to be clear as possible.
In this guide I will be showing you how to repair your IMEI for free/without Z3X box
So lets get into it.
Its better to start fresh in stock rom
So flash the stock rom first
Now we are really starting,
*WARNING* *TAKE A NANDROID BACKUP OF EFS AND BASEBAND BEFORE STARTING*
Step 1) flash TWRP and flash Magisk (if you weren't rooted yet)
Step 2) now search for a custom rom for your phone download it before doing something or just download on pc and move it later
Step 3) now go to mount and select efs or else your efs will be empty at the next step
Step 4) now go to file manager and goto /EFS
Just delete everything in it, you have a backup anyway *WARNING: DO NOT DELETE THE EFS PARTITION IT SELF, IT WILL MAKE YOUR PHONE NOT BOOTING ANYMORE ONLY DELETE THE FILES INSIDE OF IT SO DELETE ALL FILES*
Step 5) now flash the custom rom for s7 edge i would recommend kingrom, do full wipe at the aroma
Step 6) now reboot your phone, first reboot may take 5-10/15 minutes please be patient and make sure you put your phone in the charger if your battery is low now when your phone is in the welcome screen look or your signal is returned if not just setup your phone sometimes it may take a while if your signal is returned then go to dialer and dial *#06# and look or the imei matches the imei of the box (make sure you have the origional box if you dont have this then open the back of your phone, there is a sticker label with your s/n and imei if imei is not good then skip to step 9
Step 7) now if your s/n is ok skip to step... if its not right then download a root explorer and go to /efs/factoryapp and edit the serial no file with a text editor and enter your s/n there now save it and imei and s/n should be alright
Step 8) Now, for IF the IMEI is correct and everything is fully functional, then delete the earlier made backup of EFS and baseband and make a new one with the working partition, then save it somewhere safe on an external drive, the cloud or on an USB, or just a pc that you will never reset or wipe its data.
Step 9) now for if the IMEI is not correct or this guide doesn't work then I can't help you any further except for if you have any questions, however I found a guide for the Samsung galaxy s7/Edge (if you have s8 then click same link because the thread has a link to s8) by Cubz (thanks to Cubz for his guide)
Link: https://www.google.com/amp/s/forum....ow-to-fix-check-drk-imei-issues-t3379516/amp/
S7/E/8 only and some other models as long its an s7 (edge) or s8/+
******* Some tips when you follow the guide*******
1) when you flash combination firmware and it gives you errors then dial *#1234# and look at the cp it should have UX in it (X could be 1,2 or 3 download the correct firmware with the correct bootloader version you can upgrade from u1 to u2 and u2 to u3 but not downgrade from 3 to 2 or 2 to 1
2) if it didn't work then flash back to stock and fully delete everything in efs folder then retry (this is actually just guide B) its better to follow the guide above
3) if you got bootloader exception error then keep tapping the home button fast until it reboots then just manually reboot and enter download mode
The first method was tested and worked on SAMSUNG GALAXY S7 EDGE SM-935F it may work on other Samsung devices and maybe other android devices but I cannot guarantee that it works on your device
** I take no responsibility for any damaged device, make sure you take a back up so you can go back to the state before you started following this guide!**
If the device gets bricked then always flash back to stock, if you cant enter download mode then just wait until your battery drains and then when you put it in the charger it may start up automatically so enter download mode fast or if you got bootloader exception error then keep tapping the home button fast until it reboots then just manually reboot and enter download mode
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please donate and like this thread if you found this helpful, I have experienced this problem my self and it costed me €60! I said NO its too expansive so then I found this solution and now I am sharing it to the world, I could have let this guide cost €61 but my guides and solutions are free a support would be great for finding this out
Happy flashing and please confirm in the comments below if it worked for your device or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh no. i accidentally deleted the efs partition and it can't mount anymore what im gonna do now. im fvcked up please somebody help me

bamcarpio123 said:
oh no. i accidentally deleted the efs partition and it can't mount anymore what im gonna do now. im fvcked up please somebody help me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you created a back up of your efs partition? I have clearly written it in the guide with all caps. If you haven't made a back up, please do so to avoid getting into this situation in the future.
*WARNING* *TAKE A NANDROID BACKUP OF EFS AND BASEBAND BEFORE STARTING*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyways, I'm sorry to hear you got your self in this situation. Even though it has been a long time since I did this kind of stuff, I still remember that it's possible to fix this issue. I am sure that I have been in this situation before my self and that I somehow managed to get it back. Try to back up all your data, then flash stock rom with CSC file and not Home CSC

vigilante said:
Have you created a back up of your efs partition? I have clearly written it in the guide with all caps. If you haven't made a back up, please do so to avoid getting into this situation in the future.
Anyways, I'm sorry to hear you got your self in this situation. Even though it has been a long time since I did this kind of stuff, I still remember that it's possible to fix this issue. I am sure that I have been in this situation before my self and that I somehow managed to get it back. Try to back up all your data, then flash stock rom with CSC file and not Home CSC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry for being so stupid because I continued without performing a backup in TWRP, I forgot to back up the EFS, and when I panicked because I was already screwed up, I deleted the efs folder—which is incorrect. I deleted the efs partition before I saw this thread. And now it always says, "failed to mount /efs (invalid argument)" and I've done everything, and it seems like everything is done, I have no idea what to do. I haven't slept for four days and there is still no hope. but my phone is still okay with the stock firmware, but it always restarts. I did almost everything but still nothing
My phone's current csc code is THL (Thailand), but the original is XTC (Philippines), which is my nation, thus I'm curious why THL? of course I flash the right firmware which is the csc is XTC but if I check the CSC the CSC is still THL. I tried to change the csc using tools, but it cannot be change. There may be no hope. I'm worried about losing my phone, yet I'm to blame.
If I lose my IMEI, it won't matter. But the thing is my phone is always restarting every minute.
(can someone know how to disable auto-reboot so i can still use my phone even the EFS is damaged?)
ALSO THANKYOU FOR YOUR REPLY! I APPRECIATE IT!
EDIT: OH I FIX THE EFS PARTITION. NOW MY PROBLEM IS HOW TO GET OUT FROM THIS DARKNESS. HOW CAN I FIX THE IMEI AND BASEBAND WHAT EVER? HMM. BUT I WON'T GIVE UP

bamcarpio123 said:
My phone's current csc code is THL (Thailand), but the original is XTC (Philippines), which is my nation, thus I'm curious why THL? of course I flash the right firmware which is the csc is XTC but if I check the CSC the CSC is still THL. I tried to change the csc using tools, but it cannot be change. There may be no hope. I'm worried about losing my phone, yet I'm to blame.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to download this tool if you haven't already: https://samfirmtool.com/
I like to use this tool when flashing stock rom because I can download specific versions of stock ROMS and also enter the correct region in it. And to top it off the download is really quick (depending on your download speed of course)
Enter your device model number and at region enter the csc you need. It should download the correct files with the right csc. However, I did find this thread saying it is impossible to change your csc to XTC, but it is always worth a try.
If the CSC is XTC then try to follow this guide again to fix your EFS.
If it is not XTC then try to install a custom rom for your phone that has an aroma installer that allows you to pick a CSC, it might also help with the EFS problem but I am not sure.
EDIT: OH I FIX THE EFS PARTITION. NOW MY PROBLEM IS HOW TO GET OUT FROM THIS DARKNESS. HOW CAN I FIX THE IMEI AND BASEBAND WHAT EVER?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you have mentioned that your EFS partition is fixed, try to follow the guide again but correctly this time. Maybe it will work this time.
Can you tell me how you checked what your CSC is? And which phone do you have? In case this didn't work.

.

.

vigilante said:
Try to download this tool if you haven't already: https://samfirmtool.com/
I like to use this tool when flashing stock rom because I can download specific versions of stock ROMS and also enter the correct region in it. And to top it off the download is really quick (depending on your download speed of course)
Enter your device model number and at region enter the csc you need. It should download the correct files with the right csc. However, I did find this thread saying it is impossible to change your csc to XTC, but it is always worth a try.
If the CSC is XTC then try to follow this guide again to fix your EFS.
If it is not XTC then try to install a custom rom for your phone that has an aroma installer that allows you to pick a CSC, it might also help with the EFS problem but I am not sure.
Since you have mentioned that your EFS partition is fixed, try to follow the guide again but correctly this time. Maybe it will work this time.
Can you tell me how you checked what your CSC is? And which phone do you have? In case this didn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone is Samsung Galaxy J8. Before i start to flash custom rom, I took a snapshot of the device's hardware information and discovered that the csc is really XTC. I have completed all the necessary steps. I did everything right, but nothing actually changed. I'm so exhausted that I might just give up. I appreciate your assistance.
If I can't retrieve the imei, it's fine, but unfortunately my phone is always restarting
EDIT: MY PHONE IS NOW FIXED. THE SIMS ARE NOW WORKING, THE SIGNAL IS BACK AND I FEEL SO HAPPY. HOW DO I FIX? WELL I USED THIS METHOD, I DELETE ALL THE FILES FROM EFS FOLDER (NOT THE PARTITION JUST THE FILE INSIDE OF IT) THEN I FLASH THE LATEST STOCK ROM WHICH IS ANDROID 10 BUT THE CSC FILE IS FROM ANDROID 9 AND AFTER THAT I USED TFT SAMSUNG MODULE WHICH IS VERY HELPFUL AND LEGIT TOOL AND ITS 100% FREE!. THEN I FIX THE IMEI AND BASEBAND USING THAT TOOL AND YES THAT SOFTWARE IS A BEAST. AND NOW ITS WORKING PROPERLY. IT TOOK ME 2 WEEKS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM BUT IN REALITY ITS VERY SIMPLE HAHAHA! IT SAVES ME FROM SPENDING MONEY JUST TO SAVE MY PHONE BUT I DO NOT KNOW THAT I AM THE ONE WHO WILL FIX MY PHONE HAHA HOW COOL IS THAT. JUST DON'T GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS!
#FVCKTHATZ3XBOX
THANKS TO THIS METHOD AND TO SIR VIGILANTE.
EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE JUST DONT GIVE UP EVEN YOU'RE TIRED.

Security concern - please help! Does a ROM clean my phone?

Hi xda!
So a few days ago, late at night and yes i know this probalby was one of the most idiotic things i've ever done, i tried to recover some deleted messages on my phone.
I guess it was one emotional, spur of the moment action and i came accross "dr fone" ...
Bought it on the googly play store, it had about 5M downlaods, 3 stars, so i tought maybe people couldn't recover what ever. So i installed it it than asked me to also install some software on my PC, so i did without thinking. It told me the phone will be rooted because then i can search better so i did. Please remember it was a emotional/without thinking moment, I guess my gut told me it is stupid but i just wanted the messages back. I really hate myself for this i really do and ...
It wasn't able to recover the messages a few minutes later i kind of freaked out, removed the app from my phone, uninstalled the the app from pc and did go to bed with a very bad feeling but i tried telling myself its fine. Next morning i woke up immediately rememberd, frist thing i did was completely wipe my pc (new windows installation, hope that did the trick for the pc) and tried to factory reset my phone.
I noticed kind of a weired message something like "could not find correct software version" (cant recall it right now). Anyway I did make the factory reset and ...
I couldn't stop thinking about this message, at least what i figured out is that its probably because the phone was rooted right?
So i did some further investigations and realized after rooting a phone they would have had full access to the OS and could have done some modifications and a factory reset just clears data from phone but does not reset the OS and ROM. So if they put something bad there it wouldn't be reseted and further now i may not retrieve further updates and so on...
So my conclusion after sleeping a day or two about it is to put a new ROM on my phone because this wipes it clean right?
So i have following questions:
1. Is it possible the bootloader on my phone is hacked and how likely is it? (If likely what can i do about it?)
2. Does putting a new ROM on my phone wipe it clean?
3. I saw that there are Samsung stock roms out there are they legit should i use them? I'm also thinking about Lineage OS, since my phone is ****ed anyway and i might get no further samsung updates. - What are your toughts about this?
4. Guess i can figure this out myself (the other questions are bigger concerns to me) but some pointers for installing the ROM? (guess just watch a guide or so and do it with odin?)
I really really hope you guys can help me/ provide me with some background knwoledge.
Really appreciate your help!
Also thanks in advance (im really concerned)

android_rookie123 said:
So i have following questions:
1. Is it possible the bootloader on my phone is hacked and how likely is it? (If likely what can i do about it?)
2. Does putting a new ROM on my phone wipe it clean?
3. I saw that there are Samsung stock roms out there are they legit should i use them? I'm also thinking about Lineage OS, since my phone is ****ed anyway and i might get no further samsung updates. - What are your toughts about this?
4. Guess i can figure this out myself (the other questions are bigger concerns to me) but some pointers for installing the ROM? (guess just watch a guide or so and do it with odin?)
I really really hope you guys can help me/ provide me with some background knwoledge.
Really appreciate your help!
Also thanks in advance (im really concerned)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing a full manufacturers ROM with a full wipe will clean your phone. Flashing a custom ROM or only part of manufacturers won't. You don't say what manufacturer your phone is but I assume it's a Samsung since you mention Odin & Samsung so you want the full 4 files firmware to flash with Odin from a trusted source eg sammobile. com

Samsung Galaxy S6 G920V | Accidentally factory reset, need help recovering photos

Hi, I'm having a lot of troubles. My old Samsung S6 was accidentally factory reset and I did not have photo backup through google enabled. My mother died last April and this phone has many photos of her that I have not backed up anywhere else. I've been trying for days to figure out what to do, but I can't make heads or tails of a lot of the information. Some places say the phone can be rooted, some say not, and there are a lot of dubious websites offering the tools needed to root them. I don't know what to do, my phone model is SM-G920V, hardware version is G920V.07, and the build number is MMB29K.G920VVRU4CPF4.
I saw one tool, CF-Autoroot that generated a file set for me to root the phone, but it also said that the bootloader being locked could result in the phone being flashed. Can anyone please help me understand what my options are? If it's complicated, I will learn how to do it, I just need a definite direction to move in. Otherwise, I think I will keep the phone turned off and hope that someday the data can be recovered. I'm very distraught, I used this phone for a long time and a great period of memories will be lost if I cannot restore it. Photorec will not recognize the phone in either Windows or Linux, I assume because I do not have root.
EDIT: Android Version 6.0.1, security patch level June 1st, 2016, Kernel Version 3.10.61
EDIT 2: I've seen some threads talking about downgrading from 6.0.1 to 5.1.1 and then getting root with Odin and TWRP recovery. What's the likelihood any of the photos would be recoverable after all that using Photorec? I'm just looking for any way to get any of the photos. I definitely need root to get Photorec to recognize the phone at least, right? Or is there another program that would work better maybe? I've had good luck with a scrambled flash drive and Photorec in the past so I feel like that's my best option.

I think it only needed adb access if it OEM Unlocked
I have restored using only ADB from Linux
Edit: I don't know about factory reset would have permanently erase the files, I don't know..
But if you erase phone from Odin it is permanent. That is what I know