Let me start off by saying I was one of the people who were kind of scared about this myth when it first came to light. But then I used a bit of common sense in the matter and now i'm 100% sure this doesn't exist, at least on the Galaxy S III. Let me explain why:
The current myth is: Your NFC/Secure Element will cease to function properly if you don't wipe Google Wallet settings before flashing a ROM.
Let's just say you're on a stock ROM, and you happen to do a factory reset, which is about half the same as flashing a ROM. The same goal is accomplished, your /data partition gets wiped so that you can start over. The only difference being that /system doesn't get touched when doing a factory reset from a stock OR custom ROM. Flashing a ROM in recovery however will usually wipe your /system partition. Data wiping is still left up to YOU. Now that we know factory resetting and flashing a new ROM are almost the same, in that they both usually end up with you wiping your data, let's move along.
I'm sure Google and various OEMs wouldn't make the NFC chip or your secure element that easy to break from a "factory reset." This is a function that's available on every Android phone, and people do it all of the time.
Most ROMs will only wipe /system. Now you have to ask yourself what /system has to do with the NFC chip/Secure Element. Especially if in Stock situations the /system partition is R/O (read only). Are there NFC specific files for your particular device stored on your /system partition? No. But then again, those who have had issues with Google Wallet after a flash I can only assume either flashed a ROM that made other changes to the phone, or that particular phone had NFC issues to begin with.
Now, I'm not discounting the probability of this issue being present on the Galaxy Nexus, as I don't own that phone or know how its NFC chip operates or how sensitive it is. However, this issue does NOT exist on the Galaxy S III. Being a 'developer' of ROMs has of course made me have to flash numerous times to test things out on my ROM, all of which have been done with a wiping of /data and none of them have been done with a wiping of Google Wallet data. Now before you say "Well, you've been flashing the same ROM over and over again." This is true for the most part. However, I DID try CM9 and CM10 for a short time as well and my Google Wallet functions just fine, and with the latest update, I just added all of my current credit cards and debit card. I have purchased numerous things from CVS and McDs between the time I first bought my phone (stock) and now (rooted and flashed a lot of times). So those of you who are scared you're going to forget wiping your Google Wallet settings, don't be. It will have no effect on your ability to use NFC in the future.
That is all!
Excellent Write Up.
I'm really glad you cleared this up. I was difinitely one of the ones scared I was gonna for get to clear my wallet before I flash because I do flash so often and use wallet a lot.
Happy now yousefak.
gaunt_let said:
I'm really glad you cleared this up. I was diffiantly one of the ones scared I was gonna for get to clear my wallet before I flash because I do flash so often and use wallet a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y.com/
Happy now yousefk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i lol'd
The data that the old versions of Google Wallet kept were stored on the secure element. The secure element has its own OS; it is separate from Android. Right now, only Google Wallet has access to the secure element (perhaps some other Google-approved applications, too, and perhaps adb commands, though I'm not 100% on that one).
You also seem to be assuming that flashing a ROM or wiping your phone without resetting wallet will result in a locked secure element 100% of the time. This is not the case. I too had flashed my Galaxy Nexus without resetting Wallet many times back in November; nothing happened. We're not 100% certain of the conditions that cause the secure element to self-destruct, but it definitely happens. The Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S3 use the same NFC chip, so, if your galaxy S3's secure element believes it's being tampered with -- as is the case sometimes when people flash without resetting Wallet (leaving residual information behind) -- it too will destroy itself.
That's why people who are savvy with the issue advised the community to always reset Wallet before a flash or reset. We don't know the specific conditions that cause it, but it's better to be safe than having to get a new phone.
NFC Guy said:
The data that the old versions of Google Wallet kept were stored on the secure element. The secure element has its own OS; it is separate from Android. Right now, only Google Wallet has access to the secure element (perhaps some other Google-approved applications, too, and perhaps adb commands, though I'm not 100% on that one).
You also seem to be assuming that flashing a ROM or wiping your phone without resetting wallet will result in a locked secure element 100% of the time. This is not the case. I too had flashed my Galaxy Nexus without resetting Wallet many times back in November; nothing happened. We're not 100% certain of the conditions that cause the secure element to self-destruct, but it definitely happens. The Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S3 use the same NFC chip, so, if your galaxy S3's secure element believes it's being tampered with -- as is the case sometimes when people flash without resetting Wallet (leaving residual information behind) -- it too will destroy itself.
That's why people who are savvy with the issue advised the community to always reset Wallet before a flash or reset. We don't know the specific conditions that cause it, but it's better to be safe than having to get a new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this information. I wasn't aware that they used the same NFC chip. The reason why I believe that other things were at play and not just the flashing of ROMs is that a factory reset on a stock system would essentially accompilsh the same thing as flashing a new ROM. both ultimately wiping data. But I suppose with Stock, at least you're using the same version of wallet since /system doesn't get touched, where as other custom ROMs may use a different version of Wallet in their installs. This is the number one reason why I always remove Play Store installable apps from any ROM that I create. If you want them, you can download them yourself. Maybe that's one of the conditions that cause a secure element to believe it's being tampered with?
Outstanding edumacating going on here freeza and NFC guy. Had no clue nfc chips have their own is. This thread is the key reason I have been faithful to this place
I have read this twice, but am not sure I completely grasp the issue.
Right now I have wallet setup on my phone. I am on lg2 stock and rooted.
If I am reading this right, I can apply the LG8 update and modem through CMW, I will not have a problem with wallet?
There was just an article on Engadget (and I'm sure on other sites) that mention a new version of Google Wallet which allows for any card to be added as well as the secure element being moved to the cloud instead of locally on the device.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/01/google-wallet-moves-to-the-cloud-opens-up-to-all-credit-and-deb/
Does this mean that whatever state your secure element is in at this point won't matter (assuming the new Google Wallet app supports the device)?
Thanks for the write up, I also flashed several rom without resetting Wallet (by accident) and when I realized what I had done I was sweating bullets. I nandroided the first time I did that and Wallet worked.
The next time I flashed something I did not reset Wallet and decided to give it a try and it worked just fine. I never made a thread or told anyone that it was ok since I am no developer such as Freeza and others and I'm pretty sure I would have gotten the old XDA flaming if I did lol.
jbot said:
There was just an article on Engadget (and I'm sure on other sites) that mention a new version of Google Wallet which allows for any card to be added as well as the secure element being moved to the cloud instead of locally on the device.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/01/google-wallet-moves-to-the-cloud-opens-up-to-all-credit-and-deb/
Does this mean that whatever state your secure element is in at this point won't matter (assuming the new Google Wallet app supports the device)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was wondering the same thing
Bit of irony the wallet won't work at a Sprint Store.
I was on Clark's 0.7 rom and just flashed over to .8 as well as flashed a bunch of frameworks since i was trying to mod something. Of course I forgot to clear out my wallet but I just reinstalled it now and it seems to have set back up normal.
I had several flash scares where I would got between ICS and jelly I'd forget to clean wallet when I switch ROMs and reset. It all still worked sadly I can only get wallet to work at school but nowhere else
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
I can state that before the update that I received on August 1st for Google Wallet, I had my Citi Bank Mastercard in Google Wallet and performed a simple factory reset, since then I was unable to reload my card into Google Wallet. I exchanged my phone for a new one entered my CC information and within a minute Google Wallet was operating again with my Citi Bank Master Card.
The original phone was 1 week old, completely stock, never rooted, I even brought it to a Sprint corporate store that "re-flashed" the phone in an attempt to resolve the problem.
Now I don't know if the update to Google Wallet that I received on August 1st resolved the problem when performing a factory reset or not however the problem absolutely existed.
-TL
Time_Lord said:
I can state that before the update that I received on August 1st for Google Wallet, I had my Citi Bank Mastercard in Google Wallet and performed a simple factory reset, since then I was unable to reload my card into Google Wallet. I exchanged my phone for a new one entered my CC information and within a minute Google Wallet was operating again with my Citi Bank Master Card.
The original phone was 1 week old, completely stock, never rooted, I even brought it to a Sprint corporate store that "re-flashed" the phone in an attempt to resolve the problem.
Now I don't know if the update to Google Wallet that I received on August 1st resolved the problem when performing a factory reset or not however the problem absolutely existed.
-TL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good to know. now we need someone to bit the bullet on the post-update wallet.
freeza said:
Let me start off by saying I was one of the people who were kind of scared about this myth when it first came to light. But then I used a bit of common sense in the matter and now i'm 100% sure this doesn't exist, at least on the Galaxy S III. Let me explain why:
The current myth is: Your NFC/Secure Element will cease to function properly if you don't wipe Google Wallet settings before flashing a ROM.
Let's just say you're on a stock ROM, and you happen to do a factory reset, which is about half the same as flashing a ROM. The same goal is accomplished, your /data partition gets wiped so that you can start over. The only difference being that /system doesn't get touched when doing a factory reset from a stock OR custom ROM. Flashing a ROM in recovery however will usually wipe your /system partition. Data wiping is still left up to YOU. Now that we know factory resetting and flashing a new ROM are almost the same, in that they both usually end up with you wiping your data, let's move along.
I'm sure Google and various OEMs wouldn't make the NFC chip or your secure element that easy to break from a "factory reset." This is a function that's available on every Android phone, and people do it all of the time.
Most ROMs will only wipe /system. Now you have to ask yourself what /system has to do with the NFC chip/Secure Element. Especially if in Stock situations the /system partition is R/O (read only). Are there NFC specific files for your particular device stored on your /system partition? No. But then again, those who have had issues with Google Wallet after a flash I can only assume either flashed a ROM that made other changes to the phone, or that particular phone had NFC issues to begin with.
Now, I'm not discounting the probability of this issue being present on the Galaxy Nexus, as I don't own that phone or know how its NFC chip operates or how sensitive it is. However, this issue does NOT exist on the Galaxy S III. Being a 'developer' of ROMs has of course made me have to flash numerous times to test things out on my ROM, all of which have been done with a wiping of /data and none of them have been done with a wiping of Google Wallet data. Now before you say "Well, you've been flashing the same ROM over and over again." This is true for the most part. However, I DID try CM9 and CM10 for a short time as well and my Google Wallet functions just fine, and with the latest update, I just added all of my current credit cards and debit card. I have purchased numerous things from CVS and McDs between the time I first bought my phone (stock) and now (rooted and flashed a lot of times). So those of you who are scared you're going to forget wiping your Google Wallet settings, don't be. It will have no effect on your ability to use NFC in the future.
That is all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm proud and embarrassed for a number of reasons here, but mainly for Mr.Freeza posting here while being extra lucid and drunk. I'm not embarrassed for the truth Mr.Freeza is speaking.
He's a top notch developer, and he should be regarded and revered as such most of the time. Just don't take everything has says literally - even though he may be speaking gibberish, he's trying to make a valid point. Blame the alcohol, if you want... He speaketh the truth, and don't you forget it.
And even though my intention is to slightly discourage this epic programmer from letting alcohol running his life, I'm only here to explain what he meant to say and acknowledge his genius.
He says:
1) Wiping /data partition is used in "Factory Restore" function of any rom. So simply wiping /data in recovery or a recovery update script cannot be responsible for losing Wallet functions, or any official rom would have this problem also. Of course, the assumption here is that "factory restore" does no more than wiping the /data partition. But it is a very reasonable assumption, as many people have wiped /data and retained Wallet functions.
2) Wiping /system partition is used in many custom roms. So simply wiping /system in recovery or a recovery update script cannot be responsible for losing Wallet functions, or any custom rom would have this problem also. And of course, many custom roms, which wipe /system partition, don't have any Wallet problems.
In other words, we still don't know why people lose their Wallet functions... But this is not *directly* related to just rooting and flashing custom roms.
freeza said:
Let me start off by saying I was one of the people who were kind of scared about this myth when it first came to light. But then I used a bit of common sense in the matter and now i'm 100% sure this doesn't exist, at least on the Galaxy S III. Let me explain why:
The current myth is: Your NFC/Secure Element will cease to function properly if you don't wipe Google Wallet settings before flashing a ROM.
Let's just say you're on a stock ROM, and you happen to do a factory reset, which is about half the same as flashing a ROM. The same goal is accomplished, your /data partition gets wiped so that you can start over. The only difference being that /system doesn't get touched when doing a factory reset from a stock OR custom ROM. Flashing a ROM in recovery however will usually wipe your /system partition. Data wiping is still left up to YOU. Now that we know factory resetting and flashing a new ROM are almost the same, in that they both usually end up with you wiping your data, let's move along.
I'm sure Google and various OEMs wouldn't make the NFC chip or your secure element that easy to break from a "factory reset." This is a function that's available on every Android phone, and people do it all of the time.
Most ROMs will only wipe /system. Now you have to ask yourself what /system has to do with the NFC chip/Secure Element. Especially if in Stock situations the /system partition is R/O (read only). Are there NFC specific files for your particular device stored on your /system partition? No. But then again, those who have had issues with Google Wallet after a flash I can only assume either flashed a ROM that made other changes to the phone, or that particular phone had NFC issues to begin with.
Now, I'm not discounting the probability of this issue being present on the Galaxy Nexus, as I don't own that phone or know how its NFC chip operates or how sensitive it is. However, this issue does NOT exist on the Galaxy S III. Being a 'developer' of ROMs has of course made me have to flash numerous times to test things out on my ROM, all of which have been done with a wiping of /data and none of them have been done with a wiping of Google Wallet data. Now before you say "Well, you've been flashing the same ROM over and over again." This is true for the most part. However, I DID try CM9 and CM10 for a short time as well and my Google Wallet functions just fine, and with the latest update, I just added all of my current credit cards and debit card. I have purchased numerous things from CVS and McDs between the time I first bought my phone (stock) and now (rooted and flashed a lot of times). So those of you who are scared you're going to forget wiping your Google Wallet settings, don't be. It will have no effect on your ability to use NFC in the future.
That is all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha i remember this chat! Glad you made the write up. People need to know lol.
My suspicion (and only a suspicion) is that there is nothing wrong with the NFC "chip" but rather once you negotiate the security settings between Citi Bank and Google Wallet an encryption key is negotiated which is made out of a unique device identifier (NFC serial number?) and a pseudo random key. By issuing a factory reset on the phone it will in turn destroy the negotiated encryption key and that Citi Bank (or whoever holds the encryption key for the server) never destroys that key preventing any further authentication since the bank says that NFC # xyz's encryption key doesn't have what I have on file.
I'm guessing this will eventually be fixed but my past experience working with IT departments (as a vendor) at banks and other financial institutions tells me that they unless a current problem causes a security issue or allows fraud or theft, they are very slow to move and once a problem is positively identified it could easily take a year or more to provide a solution.
I don't have Google Wallet setup on my phone, I was just wondering how hard is it to actually clear all the settings in Google Wallet? If it's not that difficult and if you can always remember to clear it, wouldn't it be just easier to clear it before you flash? I guess that is if you can remember to clear it first!
Sometimes we get so excited about flashing a new ROM we don't always do what we're supposed too!
None-the-less, reading this still left me very confused on to do it or not to do it
What!
Can or should I install Google Wallet on a rooted phone?
No, we do not support Google Wallet on rooted phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so this may be old but I was probably one of the few that decided not to turn in my newly bought note 2 for a refurbished one just because my google wallet app wasn't working right. But I'm here to say there is a fix! Now I am no dev,and have no way to figure out exactly what fixed it but I can give you the steps I took. I actually was just upgrading to kitKat and accidently fixed it. So I deleted google wallet app and it's backup (in titanium backup)had my wallet account reset.(which google has to do, this alone did not fix the problem. Email them)I Waited two days, was flashing 4.3 roms while I waited. Coming from dirty unicorns3.8 I flashed the smrf tool and put Mk4 on my phone. Then used PA gapps 121513 4.4.2, cm11 121913, and plasma kernel for KitKat. Wiped everything besides external. EVERYTHING. Flashed the goods and did not restore any app data *.got dev tools enabled and changed run time to ART. wallet was installed with the gapps. I was about to delete it (like I always do)but I decided to our open it. And viola it is now up and working again. And just to recap I did have the secure element broken message for almost 5 months now. And without swapping my phone it now works. Hope this helps others like me who hung on to their notes when this happened to them.
I observed the exact same thing, but I do not believe any of the steps you outlined corrected the secure element issue. Kit kat now uses a different method that is software based to securely store Wallet information so the secure element is not needed/used. I decided to test that theory when I realized Wallet was working on CM11 by going back to stock rooted being careful to reset Wallet prior to the flashes. Sure enough on the stock rom, the secure element was still fried. Looks like for those of us wanting Wallet on a device with a non functioning secure element we will have to run a kit kat rom.
digida said:
I observed the exact same thing, but I do not believe any of the steps you outlined corrected the secure element issue. Kit kat now uses a different method that is software based to securely store Wallet information so the secure element is not needed/used. I decided to test that theory when I realized Wallet was working on CM11 by going back to stock rooted being careful to reset Wallet prior to the flashes. Sure enough on the stock rom, the secure element was still fried. Looks like for those of us wanting Wallet on a device with a non functioning secure element we will have to run a kit kat rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know. I was under the assumption the secure element was directly tied to Google and that was tied directly to your device. I didn't think a different version of android would fix it. I have tried reverting back to 4.1,4.2,and 4.3 and saw no difference but when trying 4.4 it did work but that was after trying everything I described.
Hey guys,
I've had this phone for a while; bootloader unlock/rooted a few months ago without any issues. I'm looking to sell the phone, and wanted to restore everything back to stock:
So I ODIN'd to stock CPF3. I noticed that the phone was suspiciously laggy, and found out that it's caused by spyware left behind by KingRoot, and is fixable by clearing the EFS folder from root.
So I went back to BPA1, unlcocked BL/rooted, and deleted everything from the efs folder. After reboot, phone was running good as new without any hitches.
The issue arised when I tried to ODIN flash the CPF3 full firmware provided by hsbadr. ODIN would go fine, but when the phone would reboot into the recovery, I'd get a dead Android bot saying "DRK is not installed. Please install DRK" or something along those lines. I ignored it, and the phone booted with no issues.
When I tried to factory reset from within the OS, however, I'd face the DRK and dm-verity verification failure when the phone would boot into the recovery, and it would'nt continue with the factory reset.
Now alarmed, I backed down to BPA1, and when the phone would boot back into recovery after a successful ODIN flash, the process would restart the phone when the progress bar would hit ~1/3 of completion (this happens in the recovery).
Rebooting into the recovery would show an orange "dm-verity failed," and when I try to OTA to CPD1 via external sd, It gives the "cannot update from external sd" error.
Googling the DRK keyword showed that it is KNOX being tripped that caused the issue. So far, neither Google nor the xda-forums have showed how to fix the issue on the 910-V.
I really want to restore the phone to as close-to-factory as possible, and removing this DRK issue would be a great help. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Edit #1: I have tried both this guide and this one to absolutely no avail. What am I missing? DM-Verity refuses to go away
EDIT #2: My brother also has a 910-v, and he hasn't cleared his EFS folder (stupid me for not making a back-up, eh?). Is it safe to clear mine again, and copy-paste his EFS folder into my phone? What are some adjustments I should make to avoid a corrupted IMEI? Any help is appreciated.
EDIT#3: I've tried this method, and it removes DM-verity on the first boot. It returns after factory reset. Currently trying a few different combos of flashing kernels/recoveries etc. to see if I can get it to stick. Permanently. Is it still OK to get by bro's EFS folder?
dm-verity and lagginess
HELP!!!!!!
It is annoying to see the dm-verity failed. The phone works fine but its just at the recovery boot. I am not sure what to do. I have a Galaxy S7 on Verizon. I rooted my phone using ODIN. I unrooted it already and it did not work. I did the Verizon recovery and it did not work either. However, I am not able to access to the recovery menu in my phone. I am rooted and the phone is working fine. It is just slow and it has some glitches on some apps like Snapchat... The video is so laggy it is not even funny. I am not sure if that has anything to do with the dm-verity but I need this 3 issues fixed ASAP. I will forever be grateful. I used my friends S7 that is not rooted and it was SO FAST! I am not sure if the root has anything to do with the lagginess but I doubt it because I have read here in XDA that root actually makes your phone faster.
1) Remove and fix the dm-verity
2) Fix laggy snapchat
3) Laggy phone overall.
My phone is Galaxy S7 on Verizon. SM-G930V
notsonerd said:
HELP!!!!!!
It is annoying to see the dm-verity failed. The phone works fine but its just at the recovery boot. I am not sure what to do. I have a Galaxy S7 on Verizon. I rooted my phone using ODIN. I unrooted it already and it did not work. I did the Verizon recovery and it did not work either. However, I am not able to access to the recovery menu in my phone. I am rooted and the phone is working fine. It is just slow and it has some glitches on some apps like Snapchat... The video is so laggy it is not even funny. I am not sure if that has anything to do with the dm-verity but I need this 3 issues fixed ASAP. I will forever be grateful. I used my friends S7 that is not rooted and it was SO FAST! I am not sure if the root has anything to do with the lagginess but I doubt it because I have read here in XDA that root actually makes your phone faster.
1) Remove and fix the dm-verity
2) Fix laggy snapchat
3) Laggy phone overall.
My phone is Galaxy S7 on Verizon. SM-G930V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might want to go to the verizon S7 forums for that. These are the 910-V forums. Sorry for not being able to help.
Look for how to ODIN flash full stock recovery/firmware in the S7 forums. That is all I can say.
SirLaughsalot said:
You might want to go to the verizon S7 forums for that. These are the 910-V forums. Sorry for not being able to help.
Look for how to ODIN flash full stock recovery/firmware in the S7 forums. That is all I can say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a vzw note 4 and I'm getting the dm verity verification failed when I try to a factory reset...been at this for a week so I'm pleading for help.
I posted on dr.cools attempt to fix this before I saw this post. sorry for double posting.
edit--I'm attempting the OP's number 3. will report back. Downloading BOG5 because that's what my version shows on the phonw
Question--Right now I'm stuck at BOG5. Do I need to do anything special to get to PA1 so I can start the root/unlock process again?
edit--just flashed firmware and modem and was able to do a factory reset...now back to rooting and bootloader unlock, hopefully.