Hey everyone,
I'm new to this phone, but not to rooting. I've owned about 9 other phones by various manufacturers in the past 3 years and rooted them all, but even after all that I'm kind of terrified to root this phone based on everything I've been reading. First of all, I'm not sure I understand the whole EFS thing. What are EFS settings, and why do they need to be backed up? What's a situation in which I would need to restore them? This seems like a highly brickable phone and I don't know if it's really worth it to go through the trouble. Thoughts?
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
maxpower7 said:
Hey everyone,
I'm new to this phone, but not to rooting. I've owned about 9 other phones by various manufacturers in the past 3 years and rooted them all, but even after all that I'm kind of terrified to root this phone based on everything I've been reading. First of all, I'm not sure I understand the whole EFS thing. What are EFS settings, and why do they need to be backed up? What's a situation in which I would need to restore them? This seems like a highly brickable phone and I don't know if it's really worth it to go through the trouble. Thoughts?
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EFS has to do with your data/signal. An example of the importance of backing that up is let's say you switch a rom, That rom may alter your EFS in some way, which will result in signal loss completely or data, or both. The backup is simply for in the event that happens to you, You can simply restore that and gain your signal/data back easily. It is suggested you get lgnpst setup for future use also, Not saying that lgnpst will be needed but just have it ready "just in case". Rooting is painless, If it didn't work the first time nothing to worry about just simply try again. The unlocking of the bootloader is fairly simple, An app is available for that.
maxpower7 said:
Hey everyone,
I'm new to this phone, but not to rooting. I've owned about 9 other phones by various manufacturers in the past 3 years and rooted them all, but even after all that I'm kind of terrified to root this phone based on everything I've been reading. First of all, I'm not sure I understand the whole EFS thing. What are EFS settings, and why do they need to be backed up? What's a situation in which I would need to restore them? This seems like a highly brickable phone and I don't know if it's really worth it to go through the trouble. Thoughts?
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing about EFS is most phones have internal backups, hard coded into the phone. That way if it gets messed up the phone can recover. On these device however as we've discovered there is no efs backups. EFS is embeded file system, it contains all of your network information. Without it you can't connect to a cell network. 99.99% of people won't ever have to worry about EFS, and we've solved the initial issues with AOSP and EFS. However because there is no backups on the phone we still make sure everyone know to back it up. Freegee backups it up automatically, as does flashing most AOSP roms, however one can never be too safe when it comes to something that would make their $500 device a wifi only device.
Besides EFS, this device is hard to brick, unless you are going out of your way. Don't flash nexus 4 kernel, because they aren't for our device, and you should be fine.
I was able to root the phone, which was basically the easiest thing I've ever done. I SBL unlocked first and then unlocked using Freegee, which was also pretty painless. No soft bricking issues at all. I'm still kind of wary about flashing roms at the moment, but I'm sure I'll come around. Thanks guys!
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
There seems to be an amazing amount of non-information about EFS.
My rooted LGOG running ZVB gave me a "DemiGod Modem Driver" BSoD the other week, and ever since I rebooted the phone I have had zero cell service.
My Phone's status info now says:
1) My Phone Number: 000-000-0000
2) MIN: 0000000000
3) MEID: 00000000000000
4) IMEI: 0
5) ICCID: Unknown
Did I spontaneously lose my EFS, even thought I don't know WTF it is?
Is there any way to recover after having lost your EFS?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2161498
Related
Title says it all.
I am new to the android world and the information you get from a google search is convoluted at best.
I have a desire that I rooted using UnRevoked3. I was however misled by all the research I did that I could make a backup of my system and data before the generic rom was flashed. I now have a rooted phone without any backup to revert back to.
My phone is Ntelos CDMA HTC Desire android 2.1
I do however have access to a non-rooted (same phone and network) phone if it is at all possible to recover the recovery and system partitions without rooting the phone my cousin will let me do so.
Can this be done? if so a detailed explanation of how to do it would be helpful.
waynestir said:
Title says it all.
I am new to the android world and the information you get from a google search is convoluted at best.
I have a desire that I rooted using UnRevoked3. I was however misled by all the research I did that I could make a backup of my system and data before the generic rom was flashed. I now have a rooted phone without any backup to revert back to.
My phone is Ntelos CDMA HTC Desire android 2.1
I do however have access to a non-rooted (same phone and network) phone if it is at all possible to recover the recovery and system partitions without rooting the phone my cousin will let me do so.
Can this be done? if so a detailed explanation of how to do it would be helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I understand correctly you want to "unroot" you phone. This is done by installing htc Sync and running the appropriate RUU from this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=695667.
Thre is no reason, besides the fact that you want to return your phone for warranty purposes and/or that you want to have stock system, for you to revert to stock.
Copying and pasting backups seems like a very bad idea since there might be subtle differences between phones which thus might generate more problems than it solves.
I'm not saying that it's not possible, it's not recommended. There are a bunch of other safer alternatives.
Yes I want to revert to stock rom which I no longer have. I just wanted to experiment a little. I never would have done in the first place had I known there would be no going back.
There are no stock roms availibe for my phone. I need a RUU from Ntelos not verison or USCC.
No need to, you can't backup a unrooted rom. Since you are already rooted just make a nandroid of that rom to revert to. Only when things go really wrong you need to use the ruu.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA Premium App
TheGhost1233 said:
No need to, you can't backup a unrooted rom. Since you are already rooted just make a nandroid of that rom to revert to. Only when things go really wrong you need to use the ruu.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No its just that nobody has sorted out how. I ran the US Cellular update on my phone and got a stock USSC non-root phone working on Ntelos network. I then ran root again to get my data back of course.
Their app runs on windows pc and doesn't require special access such as root. All the capability is there I'm sure. just under lock and key.
waynestir said:
No its just that nobody has sorted out how. I ran the US Cellular update on my phone and got a stock USSC non-root phone working on Ntelos network. I then ran root again to get my data back of course.
Their app runs on windows pc and doesn't require special access such as root. All the capability is there I'm sure. just under lock and key.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by getting your data back ? All your data is lost (contacts, apps, messages, etc) when you flash a new ROM. The only things that stay intact are those which you have saved on your SD.
There are plenty of ways to backup stuff from unrooted devices. However non of them provide any useful safety backup regarding rooting or flashing.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA Premium App
paul.c said:
What do you mean by getting your data back ? All your data is lost (contacts, apps, messages, etc) when you flash a new ROM. The only things that stay intact are those which you have saved on your SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from a backup that I had made prior to flash.
TheGhost1233 said:
There are plenty of ways to backup stuff from unrooted devices. However non of them provide any useful safety backup regarding rooting or flashing.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If there are ways then that is what I am looking for. I have no memory of Unix/Linux command line. I'm sure I have a text laying around somewhere and could refresh my memory. However I elect to ask those in the know to guide me.
I simply want to get a stock system rom from the same make and model phone on the same network without voiding the warranty on that phone. My service provider had very little bloat ware and didn't remove apps that I found missing in the verizon/US Cell stock roms. My phone being root or not is not the question. For that I don't care accept if I ever need warranty work done. And that is just my luck sometimes so.. better safe than sorry.
Just got an S3 and I absolutely hate the unpolished and laggy Samsung skinning of Android. I want to flash CM10, but would like to know what I should back up first in case some critical information gets lost. This is a virgin phone, no apps or user data need to be backed so no need to worry about that. However, I would like to know how to back up IMEI, device ID, etc. Is it enough just to back up the /efs partition? If not, what else should I be backing up?
Thanks in advance
loonieryan said:
Just got an S3 and I absolutely hate the unpolished and laggy Samsung skinning of Android. I want to flash CM10, but would like to know what I should back up first in case some critical information gets lost. This is a virgin phone, no apps or user data need to be backed so no need to worry about that. However, I would like to know how to back up IMEI, device ID, etc. Is it enough just to back up the /efs partition? If not, what else should I be backing up?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read this and this.
It was pretty overwhelming for me at first, but get through it best you can.
It's easier to do the preventative backup rather than the post repair.
themadproducer said:
Read this and this.
It was pretty overwhelming for me at first, but get through it best you can.
It's easier to do the preventative backup rather than the post repair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I've got experience flashing custom kernels and ROMs, so I should be ok. The only thing is that with every phone model what you need to back up is different, so I wanted to make sure I had the right stuff backed up from my stock S3 before I did anything to it.
So is an IMEI back up via QPST the only thing needed? What about device ID, and other details? Do those need to be backed up and how?
loonieryan said:
Thank you! I've got experience flashing custom kernels and ROMs, so I should be ok. The only thing is that with every phone model what you need to back up is different, so I wanted to make sure I had the right stuff backed up from my stock S3 before I did anything to it.
So is an IMEI back up via QPST the only thing needed? What about device ID, and other details? Do those need to be backed up and how?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as your IMEI is backed up you should be OK. When I first flashed CM10 I made a Nandroid and backed up my IMEI. I have not had any issues with my IMEI or anything but I know people that have.
WattB006 said:
As long as your IMEI is backed up you should be OK. When I first flashed CM10 I made a Nandroid and backed up my IMEI. I have not had any issues with my IMEI or anything but I know people that have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just so I'm clear, you:
1) Flashed CWM recovery
2) Did a Nandroid backup of the stock ROM and backed up IMEI
3) Flashed CM10
Right?
loonieryan said:
Just so I'm clear, you:
1) Flashed CWM recovery
2) Did a Nandroid backup of the stock ROM and backed up IMEI
3) Flashed CM10
Right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ever since i got my s3 never had to do anything do the IMEI... If you like wasting time i guess you can.. but if your smart with your phone you wont have to consider that extra step.. MAKE SURE U FLASH SGH-I747 roms only!!! and i mean ONLY... (tmo roms work too just make sure you change the apn settings) dont flash any other variants because they have different hardware. you will **** up the bootloader by flashing anyother variant.. Anyway back to the subject. I backup nandroid, then i use ultimate backup (like titanium backup just faster) its by jrummmy and thats it and im good to go to flash custom roms
amzi said:
Ever since i got my s3 never had to do anything do the IMEI... If you like wasting time i guess you can.. but if your smart with your phone you wont have to consider that extra step.. MAKE SURE U FLASH SGH-I747 roms only!!! and i mean ONLY... (tmo roms work too just make sure you change the apn settings) dont flash any other variants because they have different hardware. you will **** up the bootloader by flashing anyother variant.. Anyway back to the subject. I backup nandroid, then i use ultimate backup (like titanium backup just faster) its by jrummmy and thats it and im good to go to flash custom roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No Offense Amzi,
but I only flashed STOCK OTA rom upgrades and some mods SPECIFIC to my i747m and I lost my IMEI a few months ago. I have tons of Android Flashing experience, and I did a lot of reading before I did my first S3 flash. My heart sank when it happened. When it happens, you lose your data connection and that's what tipped me off. And from all I have read up till now...no one knows why it RANDOMLY happens. So I would HIGHLY ADVISE to backup those files as per the link(s) I provided.
I did the stupid mistake of flashing to a custom rom without backing up. Nowhere in custom rom instructions says to backup your /efs folder.
Now in "About device" Baseband version is "Unknown" IMEI is "Unknown". I've searched everywhere for a fix and nothing. I tried the following:
Flash stock rom
Format /data and /cache
On keypad, dial *#7284# ....But i dont get the "Qualcomm USB settings" option so i cant try IMEI repair tools
I tried flashing different kernels and different custom roms
Apart from the IMEI problem, the Device cant access the 16GB internal memory. The stock rom flashes with no error, but when i go to
settings > storage: under "Device memory" its full with only 182MB used by some apps. I thought the memory could be bad, but after flashing
Perseus kernel and swapping external sd card for internal memory I can use the 16GB as external memory. I cant find a fix for that either.
INTERNAL MEMORY UPDATE: it seems that internal memory is mounting read only. Still trying to find a fix
Im currently on "T889UVALK8_T889TMBALK8_TMB" rom with Perseus kernel and using "11extsd2internalsd_gs3_fat32" to swap internal to external memory.
Side note: I bought the phone from a friend 2 days ago. Its the Tmobile version and I used cellunlocker to unlock to use it with AT&T. That worked, until I started messing with ROMS. No warranty available. I am desperately looking on how to fix this since i have no spare phone. Any help is highly appreciated and thank you for your time
Eri version: Unknown???
I am having a similiar issue on t889 7105. ERI version "not available". Everything else is okay. Searched everywhere . . .not addressed. Which is strange.
this sucks
gregniel said:
I am having a similiar issue on t889 7105. ERI version "not available". Everything else is okay. Searched everywhere . . .not addressed. Which is strange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant believe this issue hasn't been addressed
Unfortunately sir their just isnt much that can be done for you. If you read about imei loss without a backup its just about incurable. Sorry.
And the remedy for imei restoration without a backup is hit and miss at best as to whether or not it actually will restore your number. Your best bet is to use the search function and try and experiment with different ways of fixing it. Its not like there is much more damage that can be done anyways. You already screwed the pooch and basically have a functional brick.
No one is going to post a step by step guide for you though if thats what youre waiting on. This is a complicated fix and most members wont devote the time to walking you through it
And to the member that said he searched and found no Information. Well thats just not true. Ive read tons of threads and posts about it and know about SEVERAL backup and restore methods.
crap
janjannsen99 said:
Unfortunately sir their just isnt much that can be done for you. If you read about imei loss without a backup its just about incurable. Sorry.
And the remedy for imei restoration without a backup is hit and miss at best as to whether or not it actually will restore your number. Your best bet is to use the search function and try and experiment with different ways of fixing it. Its not like there is much more damage that can be done anyways. You already screwed the pooch and basically have a functional brick.
No one is going to post a step by step guide for you though if thats what youre waiting on. This is a complicated fix and most members wont devote the time to walking you through it
And to the member that said he searched and found no Information. Well thats just not true. Ive read tons of threads and posts about it and know about SEVERAL backup and restore methods.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for confirming my fear, I was on denial. Im getting a new one on friday. How much do you think I can sell this one for, obviously as a tablet?
Developers need to take more responsibility around here with their threads. A simple "I'm not at fault" is sub par in my opinion. Users popping up with IMEI issues are becoming more a common thing. Didn't somebody make an app to back up your efs partition? Why is there not a link to said app in every ROM and kernel thread? This stuff blows my mind.
As there is a rampant influx of "noobs" watching YouTube videos about rooting their devices (most of which for the first time) with links to ROM threads, their needs to be an influx of responsibility taken by those who cook ROMs and feed them to the general public. The issues with the IMEIs being lost is not a small one. Your device is pretty much done for without a backup. Keep reading, keep trying, but since you had no idea that losing the ability to use your device's radios was even a possibility, not your fault.
Good luck. And sorry. You should have seen a link at the very top of the thread you downloaded your ROM from ... and this whole thing would have been avoided. Here is the link, which is always shared too late and after the fact. App is called andromizer forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2080009
This kind of thing shouldn't still be happening.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2080009
[DEV][APP][Andromizer] Android Customizing Tools (Note2 Specific Features Added)
Here's a link to one I used to backup mine. You have to pay to unlock the backup feature. It gives you way more piece of mind flashing
saseekutz said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2080009
[DEV][APP][Andromizer] Android Customizing Tools (Note2 Specific Features Added)
Here's a link to one I used to backup mine. You have to pay to unlock the backup feature. It gives you way more piece of mind flashing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you don't. The version I got here on xda, also same exact link I posted right before you -_- , allowed me to back up my efs partition with no issues
adam2508 said:
Thank you for confirming my fear, I was on denial. Im getting a new one on friday. How much do you think I can sell this one for, obviously as a tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well all is not lost. There have been reports of people restoring imei successfully.
Try and app called andromizer. If I remember right it had an efs backup and restore. Its an app
Second. Go to the tmobile galaxy s3 forum and find their thread about lost imei numbers. Use those tools and the method to try to write back your imei number. Ill try and find it
Edit. Heres the link. Try using those tools and those methods. THAT is the only method I have heard about to work AT ALL. So try it out
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1801997
cobraboy85 said:
No you don't. The version I got here on xda, also same exact link I posted right before you -_- , allowed me to back up my efs partition with no issues
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn.. Lol I was told wrong, my bad on the repost dude
Agreed
cobraboy85 said:
Developers need to take more responsibility around here with their threads. A simple "I'm not at fault" is sub par in my opinion. Users popping up with IMEI issues are becoming more a common thing. Didn't somebody make an app to back up your efs partition? Why is there not a link to said app in every ROM and kernel thread? This stuff blows my mind.
As there is a rampant influx of "noobs" watching YouTube videos about rooting their devices (most of which for the first time) with links to ROM threads, their needs to be an influx of responsibility taken by those who cook ROMs and feed them to the general public. The issues with the IMEIs being lost is not a small one. Your device is pretty much done for without a backup. Keep reading, keep trying, but since you had no idea that losing the ability to use your device's radios was even a possibility, not your fault.
Good luck. And sorry. You should have seen a link at the very top of the thread you downloaded your ROM from ... and this whole thing would have been avoided. Here is the link, which is always shared too late and after the fact. App is called andromizer forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2080009
This kind of thing shouldn't still be happening.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What would happen if i copied the /efs directory from the new one to this one?
Start a thread titled
Who has restored imei successfully
janjannsen99 said:
Start a thread titled
Who has restored imei successfully
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue being you can't restore it without a backup.
---------- Post added at 01:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:56 PM ----------
adam2508 said:
What would happen if i copied the /efs directory from the new one to this one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never done it. If you have a new one, just make a backup of the new one and don't mess with it. Now you know to make a backup
Curious
I would like to prevent myself from making this mistake in the future. Are you talking about the same type of back up you would do in TWRP or CWM? Like a nandroid? I've never heard about the backup your talking about, but I have been seeing a lot of people talking about losing their IMEI number and it sounds like really bad news.
Ill give it a try
janjannsen99 said:
Well all is not lost. There have been reports of people restoring imei successfully.
Try and app called andromizer. If I remember right it had an efs backup and restore. Its an app
Second. Go to the tmobile galaxy s3 forum and find their thread about lost imei numbers. Use those tools and the method to try to write back your imei number. Ill try and find it
Edit. Heres the link. Try using those tools and those methods. THAT is the only method I have heard about to work AT ALL. So try it out
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1801997
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try this tomorrow, i dont think that there is no fix at all. There is a fix for everything, just not yet discovered. Even though i will be getting a new phone, i still want to dedicate some time on fixing this one. If I find a fix, I might help someone else.
advice
Corrupt0387 said:
I would like to prevent myself from making this mistake in the future. Are you talking about the same type of back up you would do in TWRP or CWM? Like a nandroid? I've never heard about the backup your talking about, but I have been seeing a lot of people talking about losing their IMEI number and it sounds like really bad news.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dude, make sure you have a back up of everything. Especially of the /efs directory. I read a few posts about people having this problem even after restoring back from CWM. I will get into conclusions that CWM does not back up the /efs directory. Anyone wants to correct me or add to this?
A little clarification
adam2508 said:
dude, make sure you have a back up of everything. Especially of the /efs directory. I read a few posts about people having this problem even after restoring back from CWM. I will get into conclusions that CWM does not back up the /efs directory. Anyone wants to correct me or add to this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any chance you could tell me where to find this? If ever lost and you have the back up, how would you restore it?
I'll be really honest
Corrupt0387 said:
Any chance you could tell me where to find this? If ever lost and you have the back up, how would you restore it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After what happened to me I haven't messed with other roms. Andromizer can be found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2080009 to make a backup of your /efs. I have also used Nandroid, which you can just download from the "play store". Nandroid apparently does make a backup of everything including /efs and bootloader. As to how to restore from those backups I would like to never find out if it actually works. I have flashed the perseus kernel with clockworkmod recovery and also rooted which allows me to overclock to 1800MHz and im very happy with it. I dont have the urge to flash any roms that "promise" any speed improvements. I have also got rid of the bloatware with titanium backup pro. And of course i made backup with it too just in case i removed something i did not suppose to. All backups are in my external SD card and on dropbox. Call me paranoid but after what ive gone through i call it being safe.
adam2508 said:
I did the stupid mistake of flashing to a custom rom without backing up. Nowhere in custom rom instructions says to backup your /efs folder.
Now in "About device" Baseband version is "Unknown" IMEI is "Unknown". I've searched everywhere for a fix and nothing. I tried the following:
Flash stock rom
Format /data and /cache
On keypad, dial *#7284# ....But i dont get the "Qualcomm USB settings" option so i cant try IMEI repair tools
I tried flashing different kernels and different custom roms
Apart from the IMEI problem, the Device cant access the 16GB internal memory. The stock rom flashes with no error, but when i go to
settings > storage: under "Device memory" its full with only 182MB used by some apps. I thought the memory could be bad, but after flashing
Perseus kernel and swapping external sd card for internal memory I can use the 16GB as external memory. I cant find a fix for that either.
INTERNAL MEMORY UPDATE: it seems that internal memory is mounting read only. Still trying to find a fix
Im currently on "T889UVALK8_T889TMBALK8_TMB" rom with Perseus kernel and using "11extsd2internalsd_gs3_fat32" to swap internal to external memory.
Side note: I bought the phone from a friend 2 days ago. Its the Tmobile version and I used cellunlocker to unlock to use it with AT&T. That worked, until I started messing with ROMS. No warranty available. I am desperately looking on how to fix this since i have no spare phone. Any help is highly appreciated and thank you for your time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you did a NAND erase all in Odin. Flash back to stock, use triangle away, call samsung to fix it. I had the same issue and Samsung fixed it for free.
Free?
KillaHurtz said:
It sounds like you did a NAND erase all in Odin. Flash back to stock, use triangle away, call samsung to fix it. I had the same issue and Samsung fixed it for free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even without insurance? And what am I going to tell them?
So I just got a S4 from T-mobile yesterday, and am planning on putting some roms onto it some time down the road. I'm familiar with the actual installation process, but am just wondering if there's anything I should do before, on the stock rom. I'm aware that (correct me if I'm wrong) you could always return to it later with odin, but I'd like to take care of it first. Things like backing up your efs folder in case your imei changes (happened on my old AT&T captivate), unlocking, etc.
Thanks for your help.
The only way your imei number would change is you get a new phone or a new motherboard. My suggestions is read, read and read before doing anything.
☞Sent from here☜
Root it. Turn off everything you dont use (gestures, etc. ) and use titanium backup to freeze unused apps. Or use google to backup contacts before flashing.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
baseballfanz said:
The only way your imei number would change is you get a new phone or a new motherboard. My suggestions is read, read and read before doing anything.
☞Sent from here☜
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Captivate's imei changed solely from flashing custom roms though...
Food for thought. You can also use samsung keis to restore the stock firmware also tried and true. Just in case odin fail its always good to have two restore method's
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium HD app
I don't know how that's possible. For the imei to change from flashing roms. The imei changes when you get a new phones or a new motherboard when you get a replacement or a repair
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium HD app
Altair4 said:
So I just got a S4 from T-mobile yesterday, and am planning on putting some roms onto it some time down the road. I'm familiar with the actual installation process, but am just wondering if there's anything I should do before, on the stock rom. I'm aware that (correct me if I'm wrong) you could always return to it later with odin, but I'd like to take care of it first. Things like backing up your efs folder in case your imei changes (happened on my old AT&T captivate), unlocking, etc.
Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One of the few things that can only be done on the stock ROM is SIM unlock. So, that probably wouldn't be a bad idea to do before you go swapping ROMs whether you'd need it or not. It's definitely not required and I think can be done on the custom TouchWiz ROMs as well; just a thought.
Hi All,
Have just ran into something quite strange on my phone and would love to know if there is anyone else who has encountered this.
I have an N7105 running build DMB2 (Android 4.1.2). I rooted my stock ROM some time ago and everything has been travelling along nicely. With KitKat ROMs starting to show up now and my desire to avoid exposing my phone to the new stock 4.3 recovery with KNOX baked into it, I am considering flashing to a custom 4.4 and skipping 4.3 entirely.
This lead me to wanting to make an EFS backup after reading plenty of horror stories on how not doing so can ruin your day. I went and backed up my /efs folder and popped it on my PC. My natural allergy to simplicity then lead me to ask "Is it really that easy?" and found out that the nv_data.bin file stores all the important bits. My /efs folder DOES NOT HAVE an nv_data file of ANY description.
To cover bases: Yes I am rooted, I also tried 2 different file explorers (Solid Explorer and Root Explorer) to make sure it was not a visibility setting in one of them.
I always assumed that the EFS backup "apps" that you can get were just an automated means of copying the folder. Am I wrong in assuming this? Do they pull other data from elsewhere? Why is this supposedly super important file missing from my phone >.>.....
Cheers,
Sheik.
Nobody have any idea what the deal is here?
There is a thread on it somewhere. Because the n7105 has a separate chip for the lte the efs folder can't be backed up in the usual way. The thread had a tool to back up the nv_data bin. I think that's how I remember it
Sent from my GT-N7105 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Thanks for that. Nice to hear that its not some strange security trigger or me going crazy then. If anyone knows the post that sawdoctor is referring to I would love a link.
I am very hesitant to do any kind of custom ROM flashing without an IMEI backup. From what I have read, if I lose my IMEI data its possible that even flashing a factory image wont fix things is that correct? Even though I do have a Nandroid backup I am not 100% sure it contains the IMEI data in it because of the absence of a file. : \
I m using this thread to backup efs.
The only method works to back up N7105 efs.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2049155
Sent from the corner of this rounded earth (N7105 v4.3, powered by LionROM)
Thanks for confirming this. Was not sure if this would work for phones with the nv_data file missing. In the guide it does say "This will back up all your phones NV Items and save them to the QCN Backup File.". And theres a total absence of NV files on my phone. lol. But being its confirmed working by people I can only assume its looking in places that I cant/have not. Will test it after I have done all my various RL tasks for the day. If there is other people who have done a full backup and restore with this method and confirmed it functional I would love to hear from you.
Cheers.
Sheikx800 said:
Thanks for confirming this. Was not sure if this would work for phones with the nv_data file missing. In the guide it does say "This will back up all your phones NV Items and save them to the QCN Backup File.". And theres a total absence of NV files on my phone. lol. But being its confirmed working by people I can only assume its looking in places that I cant/have not. Will test it after I have done all my various RL tasks for the day. If there is other people who have done a full backup and restore with this method and confirmed it functional I would love to hear from you.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried to restore, and all there. But I tried on 4.1.2.
Has never tried to restore on 4.3
Sent from the corner of this rounded earth (N7105 v4.3, powered by LionROM)
Just to make it that little bit more interesting I am going to be restoring on 4.4 if I do at all....Will probably keep this thread posted with updates because there seems to be very little info about this.
7105 nv backup
The 7105 is not like the 7100 model it has a completely different
frame behind the screen
a different plastic intermediate case
a different mainboard
the 7105 device also stores data in internal NV RAM which is not accessable easily
it is thought that the Qualcom tools or NV-Ram backup tools can backup these internal areas
BUT
it is possible to erase or damage the NV-Ram so that you cannot talk to the Ram to RESTORE the data
even when you have a backup
as a result even when you have a full NV Ram backup there is not yet a solution which
will ensure that a damaged NV-RAM area can be 100 percent sorted back to working if you are unlucky
just make sure you NEVER clear NV-RAM from Odin on a 7105
This is the kind of thing I was afraid of. Thanks to fibreoptix for sharing that. I am just glad that there is some method for backing it up. No idea how these chip-specific tools get released to us because I have no doubt its not intentional. I am glad that there is people out there willing to take them out of the OEM space and pass them to us so we can protect ourselves from disaster.
I dont know enough about this stuff to do anything but make assumptions, but I assume that this NV RAM that you mention is physically located in the SOC and not on memory anywhere. So I doubt that this will ever get any easier in terms of achieving a backup on any upcoming devices either. I guess all we can do is pray that various individuals keep releasing these OEM tools to us. In terms of the RAM becoming physically inaccessible and broken its not that concerning providing you can flash back to stock and get a warranty job.