Related
TO MINIMIZE THE CHANCE YOU LOSE YOUR IMEI, BE SURE AND ROOT/CWM USING THIS METHOD:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426
AND ONLY FLASH ROMS INTENDED FOR USE ON YOUR MODEL
**UPDATED 7/16/12**
questions we are trying to answer:
- what versions of clockworkmod, if any, are prone to causing IMEI problems?
- what rooting methods, if any, are prone to causing IMEI problems?
- what ROMs are causing imei issues, and on which models? is the rooting/cwm method related?
- where is the IMEI stored on the phone, and most importantly
- is it possible to back it up, and restore it once corrupt?
RESTORING AN /EFS BACKUP DOES NOT APPEAR TO RESTORE AN IMEI AT THIS TIME.
TO BE SAFE, USE THIS GREAT SCRIPT BROUGHT TO YOU BY DROTHENBERGER AND SFERNANDEZ:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28528532&postcount=38
You will need Cygwin (http://www.cygwin.com/) for the script.
Original post by sfernandez detailing the partitions: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28519596&postcount=39
IF YOU HAVE THIS ISSUE, PLEASE FILL THIS OUT AND POST. THANKS PINOYMUTT:
1. CARRIER VERSION:
(ATT, TMo, Sprint, Verizon, Bell, etc.)
2. ROOT METHOD:
Exact method you used to root, please link to the thread if possible
3. CWM INSTALLATION METHOD:
Again, please be specific. Examples include the ADB/DD method, flashing via ODIN, etc.
4. CWM VERSION:
Which CWM are you using -- the Sprint version or one of the Clockwork ones?
5. ROM(s) FLASHED:
Did you flash any ROMs after the above, and how did you flash it?
6. WHEN DID YOU FIRST NOTICE IMEI WAS GONE?:
It helps if you know which step may have caused the issue
7. OTHER NOTES:
RULES
1. Please READ THE ENTIRE THREAD BEFORE POSTING. There is way too much info in here for me to summarize.
2. ALWAYS READ THE THREAD BEFORE POSTING
3. If your phone is working properly and your IMEI is intact, and the method you used to root and install CWM has already been detailed by another member, WE DO NOT NEED TO KNOW IT ALSO WORKED FOR YOU. LET'S TRY AND KEEP THE THREAD CLUTTER DOWN
4. No arguing or bickering over stupid crap. Keep that to PMs.
5. READ THE THREAD BEFORE POSTING. THANK YOU.
original post:
If you have flashed a new ROM on your phone recently and have found difficulty or impossibility in getting cellular or data service, chances are you have corrupted or deleted the file that stores your IMEI. i'll try to answer a couple of common questions and detail methods i used, and why i think they failed
What is an IMEI?
your network identifies your phone by its IMEI. once i had "lost" mine, AT&T's network would not provide service to my device, even after getting a new sim card.
How can I check if mine is corrupted?
your IMEI is a 15-digit number under your battery. dialing *#06# should display the same number under your battery. if you get a different number or something like 0 / 00, you have corrupted your IMEI.
Changing the APNs
marginally effective at best. your phone is not registering on AT&T's network as a device it should send data to, so it doesn't matter what APN you use.
flashing to stock rom
did not work for me. probably because this probably doesn't effect the /efs partition, where the IMEI is stored.
use CWM / nandroid restore
from what I can tell, a standard backup does not back up the EFS partition. you need to use something like EFS pro to backup your /efs directory (where the IMEI is stored). restoring my phone to a previously stable and working save did not restore my IMEI
editing nv_data.bin
no one has been able to find this file on the SGH-i747
using a terminal / AT interface
it looks like the IMEI is encrypted and causes a stack overflow when you try to query it. notice how i can query my IMSI (edited) fine, but querying the IMEI causes a stack overflow. pic:
http://imgur.com/uZxZL
i probably tried a few more things i can't think of right now. moral of the story is... approach unstable roms with caution, and BACK UP YOUR EFS PARTITION!!!
anyone had any luck restoring a busted IMEI? :highfive:
EFS pro has not been updated to the correct partition for i747, so currently that method to backup/restore will not work.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
thanks for the info. will copying the entire /efs directory to my extsd using root explorer work?
It's not the EFS folder but the correct block partition in the dev folder.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
thanks for filling me in on this, still an android nub compared to you guys... did some digging and found this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-1689623.html
is that info still relevant/correct?
Not sure but cant hurt to do a full backup of all the blocks until someone can confirm that it's the same with the s4 version of the galaxy s3.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
can anyone confirm if using root explorer to backup /dev safely backs up your IMEI?
how can you do a backup of all the blocks on the phone?
I have not used this yet but you should read this thread and give it a try.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1746665
nunyabiziz said:
I have not used this yet but you should read this thread and give it a try.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1746665
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks ill check it out
On my older captivate backing up the efs folder worked. Then if you loose the imei, restoring the folder or nvdata file fixed it. I'd backup the efs folder just in case.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
EFS Pro DO work with the S3. (I haven't try restoring my EFS, but backup went fine)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1308546
What did you to loose IMEI? What ROM did you flash or what did you do wrong to cause this? Better to learn from somebody's else mistakes then your own.
When I had the problem on my Samsung Captivate, the EFS was wiped out when I converted from a CyangonMod rom to a standard Captivate based ROM. I didn't actually lock down what caused the issue (since I could easily fix it by restoring the nvdata.bin file - which I just kept handy on my external SD card and PC as well). I think it might have been when I ran a one-click ODIN to restore back to the RFS file system to install one of the custom Captivate ROMS. The only issue I ran into was the IMEI was different than what it should have been, but no usability issues at all. So moral of the story is, it's possible it can happen any time you flash a new ROM, backup your EFS folder and keep it in a safe place (I believe it's just the NVDATA.BIN file you need because that's all I restored), and enjoy the variety of custom ROMs these developers are building (because they are great!).
That's my $.02
EDIT: Oh and the Nandroid backups don't backup the EFS folder, so don't think a CWM backup will save you.
to those of you suggesting to back up nv_data.bin... just tell me where it is and i'll be glad to. i was no able to find it anywhere in /efs or /dev
artisticcheese said:
What did you to loose IMEI? What ROM did you f
flash or what did you do wrong to cause this? Better to learn from somebody's else mistakes then your own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am pretty use it happened when i flashed redruM onto my phone like a dumbass thinking [GSM Universal] meant it would work for my device
On the Captivate flashing a 1-click ROM would fix the issue. I have the issue too, but I really do not know what to do about it, I have looked all around the /efs partition, and I'm not sure where it could be.
DemonWav said:
On the Captivate flashing a 1-click ROM would fix the issue. I have the issue too, but I really do not know what to do about it, I have looked all around the /efs partition, and I'm not sure where it could be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't mean to discourage you, but i had to get a new device.
one thing that i wanted to try but could not was to take a stable EFS backup from an SGH-i747, locate the IMEI and change it to my own, and restore my /efs folder with those files. i'm not sure if decrypting the IMEI is possible, or if even getting to that point is possible.
if anyone has any ideas on how to extract an IMEI from an EFS backup feel free to PM me. i'm interested in experimenting on my personal backup (from my second device)
Ultimately if anyone should lose their IMEI or bork the EFS partition...these guys can fix it. They are very reputable and have fixed my Captivate back in the day....they now offer fixes for this device now. Its only 30 bucks and keep them in mind instead of paying 200 for insurance claims.
NO SPRINT OR CDMA models.
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/
Well I will be getting a new phone on the 10th, but until then I would really like to figure out how to restore the IMEI. Who knows, it might not be possible at this point. When I get the new phone I will definitely be backing up my /efs directory, first thing. I completely forgot to do it, and it cost me.
How are you guys backing up the efs partition? Just a simple folder copy? Or a complete cwm backup?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
First: I have searched... alot.... seriously alot of searching
Second: I would have posted in the appropriate forum ( AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III > AT&T Galaxy S III Android Development > [FIX/TOOL] Backup/Restore/Fix IMEI & Data Restore Tool v3.0 - Updated 11/01/2012!!!)
BUT I have less then ten posts so I guess I have to put it here.
I restored my IMEI via the instructions in the forum, that went ok, but when I try to load the .qcn backup file into SGS3 QCN Generator the .qcn backup cannot be found on my pc.
I made sure to put it in the correct bin folder and when I go into QPST Software Download the file shows up, but if you browse or even search for it outside of that application it cannot be found...
I'm sorry for posting this here I would rather posted this as a reply in the right forum but the ten posts thing, I guess I'm a noob but I have rooted and rom'd 4 phones now with 12 or 15 different roms and haven't had any issue like this.
any help would be much appreciated.
Phone is tmobile
SGH-T999
4.0.4
Baseband: T999UVLI6
Ok I flashed stock everything from odin, back to Baseband: T999UVLH2 and tried the whole process again and it worked, except I still don't have 4g data... so i could use some help if you know of a way to make my 4g come back pc also says it is unable to identify device when I connect via usb...
Only thing I can think of is when you restore your qcn backup, use the very first one you ever made. Dont know why, just that multiple members have reported that as working for them.
If it doesn't help, PM peoplearmy. I believe he has a file that should fix you right up. Or will at least know what to do.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
4G is back, apparently all it needed was another reboot and to sit about 10 min...
Thank you Doc for the reply, I didn't know what I was going to do if all of that didn't work.
If anyone has searched this problem and you have found this thread, please PM me and I will be glad to help you as best I can.
Before tinkering significantly with my T889V I did what any conscientious flasher would: backup my EFS.
I did so with the EFS Pro program, both the tar and image methods. The "usual" way, which would have done the trick on most recent Samsung devices. I could just as well have just done it with ADB, tar and dd instead. Update: The latest versions of EFS Pro now support the required NV item backups we need.
I started flashing modems, knowing that this sometimes led to trouble, but with the peace of mind that I had made backups... How wrong I was.
The absence /efs/nv_data.bin didn't click as unusual and I got myself in a bit of trouble.
The Note 2, as well as some other recent LTE-capable Samsung devices (North American SGS3 variants for one) have Qualcomm modems for which merely backing up the /efs partition on your phone is insufficient.
I finally got my phone back in operation after many attempts and more time than would have been necessary had I caught this before flashing.
Check these threads out for proper tools and procedures:
[TOOL/GUIDE] Full NV Backup and Restore [SIMPLE] [08-03-2012]
[WARNING! + GUIDE] Backup and Restore IMEI / NV Data Procedure for GT-I9305
[TOOL] Updated! 08/03/13 - EFS Professional v2.0.26 - With Qualcomm NV Tools!
The guides may mention using RMNET + DM + MODEM in the USB settings, which doesn't exist on the N2; any mode with DM (a.k.a. diagnostic mode) like RNDIS + DM + MODEM or DM + MODEM + ADB should work.
Goodbye,
Darkshado
Did you try flashing back to stock with odin. And reset flash count
http://www.andromods.com/unroot-loc...y-note-2-to-stock-rom-firmware-with-odin.html
Remember, the phone has to boot properly for Triangle Away to work in the first place. (A quick glance at my previous posts will tell you I'm familiar with many of the usual Samsung and Nexus procedures.)
With CWM I tried:
Restoring a Nandroid backup
Restoring my /efs tar backup
Restoring my /efs img backup
With Odin I tried:
Flashing back to stock
Flashing the I317M stock ROM (in case it would have accepted the EFS NV stuff there due to official LTE support)
The "Phone Clear EFS" toggle, which is usually a big no-no.
My latest lead is to get reacquainted with QPST and see where that goes. (Last time I used it was many years ago to get ringtones and J2ME games on my Bell Mobility, blue, CDMA, SPH-M510 flip phone.)
Darkshado said:
Remember, the phone has to boot properly for Triangle Away to work in the first place. (A quick glance at my previous posts will tell you I'm familiar with many of the usual Samsung and Nexus procedures.)
With CWM I tried:
Restoring a Nandroid backup
Restoring my /efs tar backup
Restoring my /efs img backup
With Odin I tried:
Flashing back to stock
Flashing the I317M stock ROM (in case it would have accepted the EFS NV stuff there due to official LTE support)
The "Phone Clear EFS" toggle, which is usually a big no-no.
My latest lead is to get reacquainted with QPST and see where that goes. (Last time I used it was many years ago to get ringtones and J2ME games on my Bell Mobility, blue, CDMA, SPH-M510 flip phone.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey man I used the qpst tool to try to backup my note 2 (bexause ot worked so well on the s3) however it didnt work.....on ly generated a 240kb file which is not correct.
However I did use mskip toolkit and backed up my efs partition and IT generated a 10 megabyte file I believe so I think that worked successfully.
Try it out and see what you think. Id like to hear back from you as well and see if you got similar file size to see if this process in the toolkit made proper backups.
We really need more people aware of backing up efs and they need to feel more comfortable by doing so. Therefore if we can nail down a good solid backup method and get it stickied it will save a lot of broken hearts.
The current fix it process here is to just refer them to another phones forum to read how to use qpst to back up efs. (S3 forums)
This isnt acceptable. Reason being it can confuse those that are already apprehensive about doing anything to their phones already! Case and point: Think of all the people that you see post threads struggling to decide whether or not to root. Like its going to blow their phone up!
But like I said I am suspicious that qpst is not making proper efs backup files.
I would like like to collect others thoughts ideas CRITICISM and suggestions about this matter.
Thanks in advance for helping others out!
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
I can't get to DIAG mode at this point...
The phone bootloops right after it shows the lock screen, but before adbd starts (even a wait-for-device reboot recovery command doesn't work). Or earlier than that now for reasons unknown.
So no logcat or ddms either to see exactly what causes it.
I would have tried toggling airplane more, but the bootloop is way too fast for that, and I am unaware of any way to toggle it from recovery.
I could possibly comment out some lines in init scripts and such via CWM, tried one or two but no luck so far.
I'm kicking myself for not paying attention to the fact there was no nv_data.bin in the /efs backup, it should have tipped me off...
Thanks for your help,
Darkshado
Darkshado said:
I'm kicking myself for not paying attention to the fact there was no nv_data.bin in the /efs backup, it should have tipped me off...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really not familiar with the whole process but can we just copy the efs folder using a program like root explorer?
k1ng617 said:
I'm really not familiar with the whole process but can we just copy the efs folder using a program like root explorer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No because it messes up the permissions when you copy for some reason...I couldnt get the thing back to normal
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 07:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:16 AM ----------
Can someone try to make a backup using mskips toolkit found in the original development forum? Efs is just so important.
Or better yet what should the permission s be set to?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
ssCISengineer: permissions could be fixed, from what I've gathered merely copying the /efs partition isn't enough this time around.
UPDATE : I followed guide you gave at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1946915 and backed up my phone nvram. I have a qcn file now.
I also checked my efs backup and there is no nv_data.bin in it.
I have following backups
1) TWRP stock backup with EFS
2) TWRP only EFS partition backup
3) Toolkit EFS backup.
4) Full efs directory copy.
If you are right then all that backup is useless and will not restore lost efs.
Questions
1) Did you figured out how to really take backup on this device.
2) What are options if efs cannot be recovered ..can samsung service centre do this with a fee ?
Here it's the question. Do we even know if the imei is in the efs folder. The us gs3 it wasn't. I've asked multiple people to try the method posted by but people won't do it it would be nice to have a definitive answer where the imei can backed up from??
Edit: here's the post. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1804123..... here so a link to the nv generator.exe from the post as the link to download is no good... BTW personal drop box.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
hkfan said:
UPDATE : I followed guide you gave at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1946915 and backed up my phone nvram. I have a qcn file now.
I also checked my efs backup and there is no nv_data.bin in it.
I have following backups
1) TWRP stock backup with EFS
2) TWRP only EFS partition backup
3) Toolkit EFS backup.
4) Full efs directory copy.
If you are right then all that backup is useless and will not restore lost efs.
Questions
1) Did you figured out how to really take backup on this device.
2) What are options if efs cannot be recovered ..can samsung service centre do this with a fee ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest with you ,i really dont know if qpst is even generating a viable backup, as I have no way to test it.
But, when i do try to make a qcn or a backup USING qpst (like we did for the galaxy s3) i get some absurdly small file, which leads me to believe that it is NOT a viable backup....like 110kb. Also once again i just dont have any way to check it, as this definetly isnt my area of expertise.
im going to try to run qpst today again, maybe i didnt select the correct com port
however how large are the QCN files you are generating using qpst? How large are the backup files you are generating using toolkit?
that will help me see if maybe its just something im doing that is wrong.
Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 11:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:58 AM ----------
deeznutz1977 said:
Here it's the question. Do we even know if the imei is in the efs folder. The us gs3 it wasn't. I've asked multiple people to try the method posted by but people won't do it it would be nice to have a definitive answer where the imei can backed up from??
Edit: here's the post. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1804123..... here so a link to the nv generator.exe from the post as the link to download is no good... BTW personal drop box.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly, a lot of these guys think that they are all backed up and start flashing some of those frankenstein buggy craptastic roms and come back crying to tmobile and samsung about a replacment handset. Id like to organize a guide that ACTUALLY does work to backup imei. Not send people to the GS3 forums just because thats the easiest way to do things, when it could be dead wrong (which i suspect it is) and disastrous. Remember that the GS3 i believe chipset is different from the exynos one and they had lots of problems tracking down that imei location.
UPDATE: after properly configuring com ports i NOW have a .qcn file that measures 268kb. This makes me feel a little better at it is more close to thie size i expected, but i still have no way to see what the file ACTUALLY contains....frustrated.
Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk 2
Did you try this tool to generate your IMEI ?
Mine is 268KB.....G3 forums says its 250 KB,...may be note 2 has more info so thats why liitle bit larger.
---------- Post added at 11:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:12 AM ----------
[/COLOR]
ssCISengineer said:
To be honest with you ,i really dont know if qpst is even generating a viable backup, as I have no way to test it.
But, when i do try to make a qcn or a backup USING qpst (like we did for the galaxy s3) i get some absurdly small file, which leads me to believe that it is NOT a viable backup....like 110kb. Also once again i just dont have any way to check it, as this definetly isnt my area of expertise.
however how large are the QCN files you are generating using qpst? How large are the backup files you are generating using toolkit?
that will help me see if maybe its just something im doing that is wrong.
Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 11:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:58 AM ----------
exactly, a lot of these guys think that they are all backed up and start flashing some of those frankenstein buggy craptastic roms and come back crying to tmobile and samsung about a replacment handset. Id like to organize a guide that ACTUALLY does work to backup imei. Not send people to the GS3 forums just because thats the easiest way to do things, when it could be dead wrong (which i suspect it is) and disastrous. Remember that the GS3 i believe chipset is different from the exynos one and they had lots of problems tracking down that imei location.
Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ssCISengineer said:
No because it messes up the permissions when you copy for some reason...I couldnt get the thing back to normal
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 07:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:16 AM ----------
Can someone try to make a backup using mskips toolkit found in the original development forum? Efs is just so important.
Or better yet what should the permission s be set to?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a backup using the toolkit, tell me what you need me to look at and I will check my backup. I have a Nandroid backup and a separate backup of efs as well. I am happy to help.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
yes I just now got a .qcn file that measures 268 kb. SO mine and yours are now exactly the same.
But how do we know that the information we need IS actually backed up in that file. That "backup " could be absolutely worthless for all we know!
see what i mean?
Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk 2
I think we have to wait for someone with all these backups to lose IMEI and and then try restore ...Now I don't feel like flashing any ROM
Has anyone been successful at restoring their IMEI using their toolkit backup? I haven't flashed any custom ROMS yet, this is the longest I've ever stayed with stock ROM. It's still too new and with all the talk of lost IMEI number and development still so limited I haven't been willing to take the risk.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
?
Ok, I'm getting paranoid reading all these cryptic posts about messed up IMEI numbers and bad backups. This is my first Samsung smartphone so I've got no idea what's really being discussed here. In short, are you guys saying that having a clockwork nandroid backup is essentially useless? What am I missing here. For the record, I haven't flashed a custom ROM on my Note 2 yet, only clockwork and root.
erickdj said:
Ok, I'm getting paranoid reading all these cryptic posts about messed up IMEI numbers and bad backups. This is my first Samsung smartphone so I've got no idea what's really being discussed here. In short, are you guys saying that having a clockwork nandroid backup is essentially useless? What am I missing here. For the record, I haven't flashed a custom ROM on my Note 2 yet, only clockwork and root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All that i can suggest is make all the backups.. Hopefully you wont need them. i lost my imei on my gs3 bcuz i did something stupid. so
There we go more headache http://www.s3forums.com/forum/galax...pst-backup-your-nv-data-imei-us-variants.html
Anyone will already lost IMEI ..try and see what happens
The nandroid backup has its purpose, but the NV items, aka cellphone radio settings aren't stored in anything that CWM handles on this device.
Many Samsung devices typically have an /efs partition that contains a file named nv_data.bin (among others) that contain all the juicy bits. As discussed earlier, a tar or dd backup is generally sufficient. This group includes most SGS, SGS II and the non-LTE, international SGS III. The N7100 also seems to be in there.
But Samsung LTE devices: NA SGS III, NA Note II, International LTE devices like the S III 9305 or the Note II 7105 are significantly different.
ok so i was doing a little reading and stuff and saw that doing a nvbackup was kinda important so i did it though adb via the "adb reboot nvbackup" and it did its thing. now is that all i should do? i saw a few tool threads that were listing off a bunch of other crap their tools backed up but none were for sprint and idk if i should be backing up something else or not. any info is appreciated since im getting more lost by the minute haha
edit: meant to go into q/a. wasn't paying attention.. my bad lol
PhxkinMassacre said:
ok so i was doing a little reading and stuff and saw that doing a nvbackup was kinda important so i did it though adb via the "adb reboot nvbackup" and it did its thing. now is that all i should do? i saw a few tool threads that were listing off a bunch of other crap their tools backed up but none were for sprint and idk if i should be backing up something else or not. any info is appreciated since im getting more lost by the minute haha
edit: meant to go into q/a. wasn't paying attention.. my bad lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that is all you do, and just hope you don't need it later
Anthraxed stock mb3...jealous
Questions go in Q&A
Thread moved
Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
PhxkinMassacre said:
ok so i was doing a little reading and stuff and saw that doing a nvbackup was kinda important so i did it though adb via the "adb reboot nvbackup" and it did its thing. now is that all i should do? i saw a few tool threads that were listing off a bunch of other crap their tools backed up but none were for sprint and idk if i should be backing up something else or not. any info is appreciated since im getting more lost by the minute haha
edit: meant to go into q/a. wasn't paying attention.. my bad lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That should be sufficient but you can go one step further and back up your efs. There is a flashable zip in the vzw gs3 section that will back that up for you. sorry I dont have the link handy. Another option, the one i used, is to flash synergy rom from the vzw section and itll backup your efs on install. Itll tell you where its backed up to. sdcard/synergy maybe? Then you can copy that to your computer. You can also use qpst to backup your nv items and all the instructions are here.
Wikd said:
That should be sufficient but you can go one step further and back up your efs. There is a flashable zip in the vzw gs3 section that will back that up for you. sorry I dont have the link handy. Another option, the one i used, is to flash synergy rom from the vzw section and itll backup your efs on install. Itll tell you where its backed up to. sdcard/synergy maybe? Then you can copy that to your computer. You can also use qpst to backup your nv items and all the instructions are here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i do not think the vzw flashable zip works (correctly) for SPH-L710.
i dont even think if you 'adb pull efs' works correctly on sph-l710.
to my understanding the sprint s3 is completely different then all the other S3 variants when it comes to the nv and efs areas.
i did do a 'adb reboot nvbackup' and i dont see any file or directory that has been created either on my extsdcard or intsdcard.
when i did that 'adb pull efs' it just seems like lots of stuff is missing like nv_data.bin.
i think all other S3's have this file but i think the Sprint S3 does not have it
anyhow if someone who knows what they are doing could explain this a bit more it would be great.
im on MD4 rom
just wanted to add one more thing
when using roms LJ7 and before i could enter the 16 digit password in DFS then use QPST EFS Explorer to read all the nv_items with no problem.
I could also make the "Backup" using QPST and i could read the areas that would normally say "access denied"
in the instructions for using qpst backup or any other tools people provide not including 'adb reboot nvbackup' how would those tools backup those areas correctly?
when you goto restore those .qcn backups you made good luck because almost all the important areas are not going to be working correctly if you did the backup and it was encrypted i believe
en11gma said:
i do not think the vzw flashable zip works (correctly) for SPH-L710.
i dont even think if you 'adb pull efs' works correctly on sph-l710.
to my understanding the sprint s3 is completely different then all the other S3 variants when it comes to the nv and efs areas.
i did do a 'adb reboot nvbackup' and i dont see any file or directory that has been created either on my extsdcard or intsdcard.
when i did that 'adb pull efs' it just seems like lots of stuff is missing like nv_data.bin.
i think all other S3's have this file but i think the Sprint S3 does not have it
anyhow if someone who knows what they are doing could explain this a bit more it would be great.
im on MD4 rom
just wanted to add one more thing
when using roms LJ7 and before i could enter the 16 digit password in DFS then use QPST EFS Explorer to read all the nv_items with no problem.
I could also make the "Backup" using QPST and i could read the areas that would normally say "access denied"
in the instructions for using qpst backup or any other tools people provide not including 'adb reboot nvbackup' how would those tools backup those areas correctly?
when you goto restore those .qcn backups you made good luck because almost all the important areas are not going to be working correctly if you did the backup and it was encrypted i believe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
anyone have info?
sorry for intruding, but doesn't "vzw" stand for Verizon? if so, why are we running it on a sprint phone.
tresveces said:
sorry for intruding, but doesn't "vzw" stand for Verizon? if so, why are we running it on a sprint phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Partitions are the same, and its also CDMA.
Currently, my Galaxy S3 is a Canadian variant (SGH-T999V) belonging to Wind Mobile, it is stock and unrooted. I am planning on rooting and flashing custom roms but I have concerns of the possibility of losing my IMEI as I am quite the noob when it comes to technology. I was wondering if somebody could enlighten me on how I could backup and restore my IMEI if anything were to ever happen (hopefully nothing like this will ever happen!), but I like taking precautions just to be safe. Also, does backing up with cwm or twrp offer the option of backing it up? Thanks for the help!
EFS backup option in TWRP
Don't restore it unless necessary, though.
Read this thread first.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1808408
Itll tell you how to back up IMEI. I dont think its stored on the EFS partition, so backing that up wont protect from imei loss.
If im remembering right. That thread should explaon better than I can.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
s44 said:
EFS backup option in TWRP
Don't restore it unless necessary, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Viewing this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1vMFb80WKg I do not see the option to backup EFS. Is that option only for the note II?
DocHoliday77 said:
Read this thread first.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1808408
Itll tell you how to back up IMEI. I dont think its stored on the EFS partition, so backing that up wont protect from imei loss.
If im remembering right. That thread should explaon better than I can.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That forum post that is on that link doesn't work for me D: . It says, "Invalid thread specified. This can happen for a variety of reasons-- most likely because the thread or post you are trying to view has been moved or deleted. Please return to the forum home and browse for another similiar post." Does it work for you?
link works for me... search in the dev thread nvrestore or an app in the play store like Andromizer... its been discussed about 100 times in these forums not hard to find info to help your self. Read stickies before asking more questions just in case they are already addressed.