Develop Bugs

[Q] RSA Keys

Ok I have been hearing these stories about people ****ing up their 4G radios. I want to know if I am ok. I rooted my phone when it was at 3.29 and then I decided to go back to stock by running the RUU. Since the RUU completely wipes the device are my 4G keys gone as well? I have no way to check because I am not in a 4G zone (don't even have 3G . I can't use the SDK method either.

you are fine....
No you are fine. The problem comes with people that make a nandroid backup of their phone with AmonRA 1.8 (which backs up the keys) and then they try and restore that backup on another phone. It overwrites the keys and screws up your 4G radio.
You are fine - just don't use a backup from one phone on another one. They only way you can do it is by erasing the key backup then restoring.
If you use clockwork you have nothing to worry about since it does not back up the RSA keys for the 4G radio.
Hope that helps.

Thanks. Phew that has taken a load off of my mind.

That is not true. I didn't flash another update from another phone and I lost my RSA keys. Its from flashing WIMAX updates. I guess some DEV's went based on their phones and either erased their RSA keys so when it comes to us it is null or it writes their information onto our phones. Maybe that is why everyone ends up with the same damn MAC addresses.
You could quite possibly lost your RSA keys. You won't know for sure unless you turn your 4G on and go through a connection loop (not sure if it works in non 4G areas), your MAC address is listed as the one everyone is getting when you turn on 4G, or you go through the SDK ADB method. Either way, if you lost 4G, you won't be able to go in for service or insurance claims till 4G comes to your area. Unless you actually go to a Sprint store at a 4G City, you won't be able to do much.

yup sekigah84 is correct....
best way to check is to follow the instructions in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=797337
a little adb shell commands and you can find out.

Yes, but his question was with installing custom ROMS and going back to the original one. He said nothing about flashing new radios. That is why my response answered his question.
What you guys added is great extra info - but does not effect him as he was asking what happened when he wipes the phone - simple answer is nothing, unless he restores using a backup that has the RSA keys from another phone.
So again - no worries kid. Your wipe and reinstall of the ROM did nothing to wipe your phones RSA keys.

mikesousa said:
Yes, but his question was with installing custom ROMS and going back to the original one. He said nothing about flashing new radios. That is why my response answered his question.
What you guys added is great extra info - but does not effect him as he was asking what happened when he wipes the phone - simple answer is nothing, unless he restores using a backup that has the RSA keys from another phone.
So again - no worries kid. Your wipe and reinstall of the ROM did nothing to wipe your phones RSA keys.
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Touche. I misread along with your post that made me pass a brain fart. I apologize lol.
Although there is now a thread going around about Amon Ra not backing up RSA keys -.-
I hope to God it does cause I rather not have to root then unroot and then have to get a replacement from Sprint again.
To OP: Just don't flash WIMAX radio updates till its confirmed what is causing people to lose RSA keys and JUST IN CASE, use Amon RA and make a Nandroid Backup.

mikesousa said:
Yes, but his question was with installing custom ROMS and going back to the original one. He said nothing about flashing new radios. That is why my response answered his question.
What you guys added is great extra info - but does not effect him as he was asking what happened when he wipes the phone - simple answer is nothing, unless he restores using a backup that has the RSA keys from another phone.
So again - no worries kid. Your wipe and reinstall of the ROM did nothing to wipe your phones RSA keys.
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Indeed good call lol...but always good to check the adb commands and make sure he didnt mess something up in the process.

No prob guys. I wasnt trying to make a fuss, I just didnt want to confuse him. Thanks for all the input!

Restore RSA Keys from backup

So here goes. I lost my RSA keys while flashing to a new rom and updating my radio, wimax, pri, etc. I didn't use the newest version of Clockwork, but instead 2.5.0.01 or something similar. I tried to update beforehand with Rom Manager, but it errored a few times. I did however backup my RSA keys to a text file using this method http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=887900
How can I restore them? I've searched and searched and read and searched and read. Tons of information on backing them up, ZERO information on using that backup that was said to be so important.
From what I understand, I should've backed up my wimax.img as well, but I don't think my old version of clockwork did that. Can that be replaced? Do the RSA keys just get added into the wimax.img somehow?
Any help would be greatly appreciated... especially since this is for a friends Evo, not mine!

jirafabo said:
So here goes. I lost my RSA keys while flashing to a new rom and updating my radio, wimax, pri, etc. I didn't use the newest version of Clockwork, but instead 2.5.0.01 or something similar. I tried to update beforehand with Rom Manager, but it errored a few times. I did however backup my RSA keys to a text file using this method http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=887900
How can I restore them? I've searched and searched and read and searched and read. Tons of information on backing them up, ZERO information on using that backup that was said to be so important.
From what I understand, I should've backed up my wimax.img as well, but I don't think my old version of clockwork did that. Can that be replaced? Do the RSA keys just get added into the wimax.img somehow?
Any help would be greatly appreciated... especially since this is for a friends Evo, not mine!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still don't understand why anyone would backup RSA Keys, use your own brains...
If you were wanting to test the WiMax feature for Cyanogen Mod ROM, I think you would backup your RSA Keys in case a trouble or problem occurs and it seems like most of the new players here on the EVO 4g phones are backing up their RSA Keys for no reason whatsoever... *Hence I have not backup my RSA Keys or done anything yet, and I still have a good phone thank god.
Ouch, maybe. I hope your issue gets resolved someway somehow, good luck, all I can say for you. ;/

alekosy said:
I still don't understand why anyone would backup RSA Keys, use your own brains...
If you were wanting to test the WiMax feature for Cyanogen Mod ROM, I think you would backup your RSA Keys in case a trouble or problem occurs and it seems like most of the new players here on the EVO 4g phones are backing up their RSA Keys for no reason whatsoever... *Hence I have not backup my RSA Keys or done anything yet, and I still have a good phone thank god.
Ouch, maybe. I hope your issue gets resolved someway somehow, good luck, all I can say for you. ;/
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I backed up my RSA keys because thats what i was told to do. Funny that on that entire RSA page it didn't say a word about backing up your wimax.img. Not to mention the OP has no clue how to restore the backups. Pretty much gave me a false sense of security. But I understand it's at my own risk.

jirafabo said:
I backed up my RSA keys because thats what i was told to do. Funny that on that entire RSA page it didn't say a word about backing up your wimax.img. Not to mention the OP has no clue how to restore the backups. Pretty much gave me a false sense of security. But I understand it's at my own risk.
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+1 for that thought, most players of the EVO 4g playing around with the WiMax or RSA Keys should be extra careful.

alekosy said:
+1 for that thought, most players of the EVO 4g playing around with the WiMax or RSA Keys should be extra careful.
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Problem is, all I did was update his root with unrevoked3, wipe, flash a new rom, and update via the all in one radio/wimax/pri zip. Next thing I know 4g was gone and my rsa didn't check out correctly via adb. Been rooting/flashing evo's and epic's since day one and now all of a sudden we have this new problem? where was that problem before? i dont get it.

Why would anyone want to do a backup? To have it just incase something happens.
Too many people have lost their RSA keys from flashing. Why would you not want to have a backup? Once you lose your RSA keys, the only way (short of actually restoring the backup you made which no one has any idea how to do) is to return it to Sprint for a new phone.
And yes. I do agree it is pretty dumb that there is no restore method for the RSA backup.

So basically those RSA keys are useless?

Unrevoked has had a reputation for wiping 4g since the beginning. Did you ever do a backup with amon ra? If so you can use the wimax.img from that to restore the entire partition.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

xHausx said:
Unrevoked has had a reputation for wiping 4g since the beginning. Did you ever do a backup with amon ra? If so you can use the wimax.img from that to restore the entire partition.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Never did an amon ra backup. Only a clockwork, and it was the older version of clockwork. The wimax.img would be it's own item inside the nandroid backup folder correct? It's not there.
Now, I know the RSA keys are matched with each phone, but how bout the WiMax image? Can I use another WiMax.img and just replace with the correct RSA keys?

jirafabo said:
Never did an amon ra backup. Only a clockwork, and it was the older version of clockwork. The wimax.img would be it's own item inside the nandroid backup folder correct? It's not there.
Now, I know the RSA keys are matched with each phone, but how bout the WiMax image? Can I use another WiMax.img and just replace with the correct RSA keys?
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I'm pretty sure there is much more to 4g then just the keys. You'll need your own certificates and everything. Toast our shinzul would be the ones to ask though, I'm not that familiar with the internal workings of 4g.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

xHausx said:
I'm pretty sure there is much more to 4g then just the keys. You'll need your own certificates and everything. Toast our shinzul would be the ones to ask though, I'm not that familiar with the internal workings of 4g.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Kinda what I was afraid of. Not sure why people are pushing the backup of RSA keys if they're useless on their own. It's the wimax.img that is needed.
I'd like to complain and point fingers but I understand it's at my own risk.

nandroid restore to new phone without losing rsa keys?

if I get a new phone hardware and I do a nandroid restore using clockwork mod from my old phone I shouldn't lose rsa keys because clockwork doesn't touch these, correct?

I dont think it does but you can check your nandroid file for a wimax.img

You should not restore a Nandroid between phones for a number of reasons, including the fact that some software's license binds it to a phone's serial number.
Just use Titanium Backup to restore apps and their data, and manually restore settings. Don't Nandroid between phones.

Would you trust an image of one windows system restored on another system - image of a dell on a hp? If the chipset is similar, it may work, but you will likely run into weird issues. Same thing here.
Set up from scratch is best. Backup along the way so you have some thing to fall back on when your tweaking fails. TB is very useful in this case.
If you do restore a backup from your old device, let us know how well your 4g works..

Don't listen to these people. I've done it and it works fine. Just make sure you remove the wimax.img before. And you'll have to change the htc folder inside of the nandroid to match the new phones serial.
I made the mistake of not removing the wimax.img. am now stuck using a friends

freeza, until they're comfortable with the technology, they really shouldn't nandroid between phones.
creyc, there's a lot of reasons you shouldn't flash nandroids between phones and until you understand and feel comfortable with what freeza said, just don't do it. If you lose those rsa keys you won't get them back. I highly suggest backing them up before you make an attempt at flashing nandroids between phones. There's guides posted that'll help you do that.

If it were me, I would backup the wimax partition from the new phone. I would search how to do that, and then doit.
That would allow a complete nandroid restore including wimax from the old phone-to the new, then a simple #flash wimax /sdcard/newsavedwimax (on the new phone)
Just saying..

freeza said:
Don't listen to these people. I've done it and it works fine. Just make sure you remove the wimax.img before. And you'll have to change the htc folder inside of the nandroid to match the new phones serial.
I made the mistake of not removing the wimax.img. am now stuck using a friends
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Click to collapse
I don't agree with this. There's other settings besides those in wimax.img that may cause conflicts. The kernel is part of the backup too, and depending on the level of tweaking, your new device may not support the settings that worked fine in the old phone. Finally, can you say with utmost certainty there no account related parameters (meid, etc) are stored in the backup?

gpz1100 said:
I don't agree with this. There's other settings besides those in wimax.img that may cause conflicts. The kernel is part of the backup too, and depending on the level of tweaking, your new device may not support the settings that worked fine in the old phone. Finally, can you say with utmost certainty there no account related parameters (meid, etc) are stored in the backup?
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Click to collapse
If you are overclocking, you may want to remove SetCPU before the backup or even after through ADB, other than that, it is completely safe. I've been running on a nandroid from a previous backup since September, with updates to the software obviously, but essentially the same. I didn't feel like starting over, and I had over 200 apps that I would have had to redownload. Not to mention all the settings, tweaks, etc. I gave it a try and it worked out just fine.
I think the only thing besides the wimax partition you have to worry about, is the PRL/profile update. It will no longer work, because those contain the previous MEID/ESN in /data/data/ in a text file. A simple edit would fix it though, or even removing that text file will cause Android to create a new one upon reboot. Other than that, everything works fine. ESN/MEID information are contained somewhere in the radio and is completely different from any of the partitions that nandroid backs up/restores.

Good to know. I'll keep that in mind if I ever have the phone swapped. I may have 10-20 apps on here at best, so setting up from scratch isn't that big of a deal. Still a pain none the less.
Coming from a windows platform, at the end of the day, it's usually better to start over from scratch than to migrate an existing installation onto a new system... From what you describe, that isn't entirely applicable here though.

gpz1100 said:
Good to know. I'll keep that in mind if I ever have the phone swapped. I may have 10-20 apps on here at best, so setting up from scratch isn't that big of a deal. Still a pain none the less.
Coming from a windows platform, at the end of the day, it's usually better to start over from scratch than to migrate an existing installation onto a new system... From what you describe, that isn't entirely applicable here though.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, for the most part I agree. But since Android phones are so simple in comparison to Windows and its registry, I figured "Why not?"
For the most part all you're doing is copying what's in /data to make your phone the way it was before anyway.
Since most, if not all of /system remains unchanged by phone specifics, you could really extract your system.img, make a "ROM" out of it, and have everything you had before, minus settings/etc.
/data is where things get interesting and is comparable to the Windows Registry. However, /data is so small in comparison, that most of the time, it's not a big deal to poke around in there.
Swype FC ring any bells? Why? Since the 3.70 adds Swype and its LIB into /system/lib instead of /data/data/, you get two instances of Swype's LIB, assuming you're installing the beta alongside your already included Swype. This leads to FC. All one would have to do is remove the lib in /system/lib, possibly Swype in /system/app to get their beta Swype working again.
Anyway, if anything were to not function correctly from restoring a nandroid from a different phone, all it would take is a look in /data/data, find the troublesome program, poke around in its folder, possibly clear its cache/cache folder, and maybe edit a text file inside of /data/data and you'd be fine.

Never restore from an old phone two a new phone you may brick it
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

So, say hypothetically...one didn't read this thread before he nandroid restored to his replacement EVO today. Well, at first it failed to restore the boot so he went in and individually restored each option besides boot and including wimax. He had no 3G before but 4G would wokr. Now he has no 3G/4G after going through and individually restoring each option, just 1X. He checked his RSA keys using WiMAX RSA Key Checker and the RSA key is present.
Is there still anything he could do to get back his 3G/4G if this hypothetical situation were to be true? RUU work maybe?
So, say hypothetically...one didn't read this thread before he nandroid restored to his replacement EVO today. Well, at first it failed to restore the boot so he went in and individually restored each option besides boot and including wimax. He had no 3G before but 4G would wokr. Now he has no 3G/4G after going through and individually restoring each option, just 1X. He checked his RSA keys using WiMAX RSA Key Checker and the RSA key is present.
Is there still anything he could do to get back his 3G/4G if this hypothetical situation were to be true? RUU work maybe?
UPDATE: I used unrevoked's S-On tool and then did the most current RUU. I then updated PRI/Profile and then made a nandroid since 3G/4G was working. I then flashed CM7nightly23 and now I don't have 3G again. 4G is working and 1X when i cut it off? Any insight on this problem? Thanks

He checked his RSA keys using WiMAX RSA Key Checker and the RSA key is present.
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Its present, but its the wrong key.
Is there still anything he could do to get back his 3G/4G if this hypothetical situation were to be true? RUU work maybe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're pretty much out of luck. Call Asurion and pony up the 100 bucks to get a replacement. Lesson learned.

The Wimax keys are you unique to each phone, and can't be recovered or "given" a new one. He'll have to claim it via insurance, pay the deductible, or live without 4G.

Well I thought I updated the post before y'all commented, but I did use unrevoked S-On and then did the latest RUU and booted up and everything was working. I then used unrevoked and I nanroid backup the stock ROM rooted. I wiped/data/cache and flashed CM7 nightly 23 and only have 4G and 1X now?

Under wifi connections, or mobile data is on?

teh roxxorz said:
Under wifi connections, or mobile data is on?
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Click to collapse
Yes, and i have toggled it a few times to check. I have also toggled data sync and stuff like that as well.

There might be hundreds of thread about this

but i lost my RSA keys. Is it true the only way you can get them back is by getting a new evo? or is there another way to get them back?

you can steal rsa keys from another evo, but then they cant both be on 4g at the same time.
other than that, none at all. its built into the hardware. there is 1 key per 1 evo in the world, so once it is gone, you cant just write a new one.

unless you have a RA backup or a recent cwm backup from 2.6.0.1 or the 3xxxx series then they are lost and a new phone is required

Wimax keys lost question, RA backup

Somewhere along the lines, I lost my wimax keys and only realized it when I was in an area that actually has 4g (my hometown doesn't). I tried Flashing one my number of backups created in Amon 2.3 thinking I may have backed up the Wimax, but no luck, none of them had the backup. At one point, I remembered creating a backup using Clockwork, not sure which method. I found the backup in a Clockwork folder on my sd card and see there is a wimax image file that is over 12,000 kb in size. I was stoked thinking my keys were found! However, I recovered that ROM backup image through Rom Manager but Wimax checker says my keys are still missing?? Question is, if Clockwork created the wimax image, shouldn't the keys be there when I recover that backup? Is there anyway to see if that wimax image contains the keys? Someone please tell me there is hope! I have a feeling 4g will be coming to my area soon and don't want to have to lie to Sprint to get a new phone

I think if you have the actual key, there is a manual way to program them back into the device. Do you have the original key somewhere (AKA on box, etc.)

Follow the instructions here to check your wimax keys.

Ok, I looked manually at my sd card as well and see one of my nandroid backups also contains a wimax.img, but this one is only just over 2,000 kb. In both cases, restoring those backups didn't work. I will try the method you listed to see what I get. Should I do it from one of those images I backed up?

hmm.. curious... what version CWM are you using?
i'm thinking you might have to revert back to an older version like 2.6 or below to get it to work.

dougjamal said:
Follow the instructions here to check your wimax keys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed the instructions listed and yielded results as they did. I got a firmware version and it listed my mac address. Now what? It says OK next to everything and doesn't show any signs of error. My Wimax tag passes, it reads the wimax partition ok,etc. says my firmware version is R4623-evo-kddi. I am wondering though, would my backups that have the wimax.img not be recover that portion since I have upgraded my wimax radio since those backups were made?? Perhaps downgrading my wimax radio to an earlier version would correct it? Help please!!!

SquallLHeart said:
hmm.. curious... what version CWM are you using?
i'm thinking you might have to revert back to an older version like 2.6 or below to get it to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what version I used when I created the backup. Are you suggesting restoring the image in an earlier version of CWM will get it to work?

Bump...

Easy fix
Get your wimax.img the one that's larger, put it in the root of your sdcard, open terminal ( get one if you don't have it) gain root permission by typing su
Then type
flash_image wimax /sdcard/wimax.img
Then reboot

Ok, i tried this from terminal and it returned the following error:
mtd: not writing bad block at 0x00260000.
So, what the hell does that mean? A bad image or a bad part of my sd card? Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it!

You have a bad memory block in your WiMAX partition,
3 options
First, continue to flash the img in terminal until success.
Second, give up and accept defeat understanding no mo fo gee.
Third, get another Evo

Ok, so for ****s and giggles, I did the said method only this time with the smaller 2000 kb wimax.img. It flashed fine, I rebooted, and now wimax keychecker says my key is there!! I wont be in a 4g area until next week to verify,but it should work now, correct? When I turn the 4g radio on, it says turning on and then scanning! Thanks for all the help, its much appreciated!
Sent from my Evo, with renewed 4g!

If key checker said good, your golden

so, let me get this straight. If I never nandroid backed up my phone w/ stock rom on it, shot a 3g only rom, my 4g wimax key could be gone and I'll never be able to get 4G again?
question still stands, but I found the backup the wimax rsa key thread and it seems by phone had its keys still intact

Flashing a 3g only Rom doesn't wipe your keys, making a backup then will still back them up.

OK, so tonight I was in Minneapolis and tried to connect to 4g but couldn't. I verified my wimax keys are in place but still won't connect. It says turning on, then scanning, then connecting to Sprint, tries to connect but then back to scanning, connecting to sprint, over and over. I updated profile and prl and tried again, but still won't connect. What's next to check?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Just to be clear, keychecker says my wimax keys are present, I have verified my mac address is correct and the 4g radio turns on. However, I know I was in a strong 4g area in Minneapolis but it wouldn't get past the connecting to sprint line. I am running Fresh Rom 3.5 and have flashed the most recent wimax radio, updated profile and prl. Any ideas? Please help!

Bump...;-)
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

help
NewZJ said:
Easy fix
Get your wimax.img the one that's larger, put it in the root of your sdcard, open terminal ( get one if you don't have it) gain root permission by typing su
Then type
flash_image wimax /sdcard/wimax.img
Then reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when i put that it says ...flash_image partition file.img.....did i mess up or is this correct

wimax key
I lost my keys probably months ago I purchased 4 evos and still have one of the boxes.Its not mine I was curious if the wimax keys are specific to each phone or can I use a wimax key from another phone? Our is the box and wimax code completely useless?
thanks
charles