Develop Bugs

Clockwork Recovery

I have a question on restoring a stock rom with clockwork...
Im going to do a backup of my current stock rom (in case i want to go back from CM7 to what i have now, which is stock...havent even rooted yet)
My problem is that, while searching the forum, i came across this post, which scared me a bit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=838484
So, my question is, if i do a backup of my current situation, and then when i go back i just restore the said backup, do i have any chances of having the problem mentioned in the thread i posted above??
Thanks all in advance!

coldsun15 said:
I have a question on restoring a stock rom with clockwork...
Im going to do a backup of my current stock rom (in case i want to go back from CM7 to what i have now, which is stock...havent even rooted yet)
My problem is that, while searching the forum, i came across this post, which scared me a bit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=838484
So, my question is, if i do a backup of my current situation, and then when i go back i just restore the said backup, do i have any chances of having the problem mentioned in the thread i posted above??
Thanks all in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you're talking about is making and/or restoring a nandroid backup of your current system, what that thread is talking about is something entirely different. There's no problem restoring your stock nandroid, I've had to in the past when I've needed to pull some apps out of it.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

OriginalGabriel said:
What you're talking about is making and/or restoring a nandroid backup of your current system, what that thread is talking about is something entirely different. There's no problem restoring your stock nandroid, I've had to in the past when I've needed to pull some apps out of it.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks!!!
one more question though, just to have things clear... if i were to go back to the way i am now, and unroot and everything... i would have no problem in restoring the backup and then just unrooting?? simple as that?
thanks!

It would be slightly different. Firstly I can't imagine you needing to go back to stock unless for warranty cause there are stock rooted Roms available, but there are also instructions for unrooting around here somewhere

noneabove said:
It would be slightly different. Firstly I can't imagine you needing to go back to stock unless for warranty cause there are stock rooted Roms available, but there are also instructions for unrooting around here somewhere
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey, first things first, thanks for the answer
secondly, i do understand the procedure to be different, what i meant was, if i restore my own nandroid stock backup (the one i created myslef), once restored, i'll still be rooted, right? (with s-off and stuff)
thanks

Well considering you could only actually make the Nandroid backup with a rooted rom, yes it still will be when restored it took me awhile to get used to this too, when you do a restore, save for your SD, your phone will LITERALLY be EXACTLY the same as when you did the backup (also save for any corruption that could occur, but if it's an important backup then put it on your computer )

noneabove said:
Well considering you could only actually make the Nandroid backup with a rooted rom, yes it still will be when restored it took me awhile to get used to this too, when you do a restore, save for your SD, your phone will LITERALLY be EXACTLY the same as when you did the backup (also save for any corruption that could occur, but if it's an important backup then put it on your computer )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot!! really cleared stuff up!!

noneabove said:
Well considering you could only actually make the Nandroid backup with a rooted rom, yes it still will be when restored it took me awhile to get used to this too, when you do a restore, save for your SD, your phone will LITERALLY be EXACTLY the same as when you did the backup (also save for any corruption that could occur, but if it's an important backup then put it on your computer )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, i just have another question (total noob here, hehehe), is root the same as getting s-off? or are they completely different things?
Cause, if i just root (keeping s-on (if its even possible)) and do a nandroid backup, and then i do the s-off... when i restore, id have root, but s-on, right?? and wouldnt that be just the same problem as the one stated in the thread i posted in the first post??
sorry again, i know im probably making a big mess out of something relatively simple...
thanks in advance

No no, it's natural to be worried the problem that what you posted talks about its trying to install the official OTA rom while s-off which you won't be doing anyways and while s-off isn't the same as rooting I believe you need s-off to root.. I'll do a bit of research in the morning but in the mean time take a look an see what you can learn on your own

Great, thanks!!! if u find out anything else, please dont doubt in sharing!! everything is welcome!!

hi
no method for inistall clock work mod wihtout s off phone
my phone are dezair z .htc lookid all phone boot loodor and any apps for rooting not work on the htc phon.
i m very like inistall custom rom but can not let me my phone .
i am iranini citizen one body went help me i very tankou of this person
exuse me i not very best speak or whrit engilsh language . i m sorry of all frend this site active.

[CAUTION] Think you've got an EFS backup? Think again!

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.

[Q] Andromizer imei backup

Hi guys i was wondering if anybody has backed up their imei using andromizer? and if you restored that particular backup did it work fine?
I have read up on multiple different ways to backup your imei but i haven't really seen "Andromizer" mentioned and from what i've read it seems to be the simplest way any thoughts?

y0yerrj0sh said:
Hi guys i was wondering if anybody has backed up their imei using andromizer? and if you restored that particular backup did it work fine?
I have read up on multiple different ways to backup your imei but i haven't really seen "Andromizer" mentioned and from what i've read it seems to be the simplest way any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems easy... but quite a dangerous app for first timers/new users.. has a lot of options that need to be used with extreme care...

diablo009 said:
Seems easy... but quite a dangerous app for first timers/new users.. has a lot of options that need to be used with extreme care...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i really only used the imei backup tool but i just wanted to make sure the imei backup is actually good not corrupt or anything just to be safe before i flash something

IMEI and Internal storage problem

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
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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.
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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?
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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?
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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
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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.
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Even without insurance? And what am I going to tell them?

[Q] How do I backup and restore IMEI/EFS?

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.
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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
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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.