Develop Bugs

using another phone's backup

I played with the OEMName reg settings as posted here to tinker with the other oem apps, and it stopped all my applications from working, I had to hard reset to get any apps to function again. Luckily, I had saved my 7008 backup files and I used the method posted [url="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1060103&highlight=backup+file+locations+zune]here[/url] to revert my locked 7392 Focus to the 7008 backup. I had saved the backup. These are some observations:
- When I updated to 7390 and created the backup, my phone was already unlocked and prevent unlock was done, when I restored my backup, the unlock was preserved
- the unlock retained through my subsequent update to 7392 (expected, but nice to know)
- The sideloaded apps on the phone at the time of the 7008 backup also installed with the backup
Even with my phone on the pin lock, as soon as I connected it to the PC, Zune opened and synced and prompted for the update. Is this new bahavior?
I was able move the saved backup files into the Windows Phone Update folder after the phone was connected and synced.
Once I was back to 7008, I hard reset the phone and updated again without setting up my Live Account info to create a "pure" 7008 backup for the purpose of posting here for others to tinker with.
If there is interest, i will post the files when I get home.

That backup could be very handy to have around! Please post it!

Backup is for one phone only, not all around. I know, you can change the DeviceId, but it will fail when you try to restore to another phone. I guess a backup is useless for others.
The best backup is the firmware itself.

I do believe this will work. There are two .xml files in the restore point. Each of these has a deviceID field. I believe that if you change these fields to your own unique device id number and wait until after the phone is connected to zune to replace the files, you may be able to use someone else's backup files on your phone.
Also, I reverted my phone to 7008, but once there, I was unable to get the chevron unlock to work. I'm not sure why this is or what I did wrong.
Later tonight, I will try to restore my wife's phone using my restore point as a proof of concept

Proof of Concept failed...
this is what I did...
1. First, I located the existing backup files on my computer.
C:\Users\#USER#\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Phone Update
In this location, there is a folder with a long name that looks like this:
B12da62f - d8d2d122 – 81d60512 - 6aaa3f12
This folder holds your restore files. This number is your unique device ID number.
2. I copied this folder and its contents to a safe place in case I needed it later. I have made it a practice to make a backup copy of all my backups so I can restore to any point. Restoring your own backups definitely works. I’ve done this several times with many old and new backups. See this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1060103&highlight=backup+file+locations+zune for details on how
3. Next, I got a backup file that didn’t belong to my phone and I edited the .xml files
- in the properties folder, you’ll find properties.xml
- I opened this file using notepad and change the #’s in the DeviceUrlId field to my unique device ID number
<DeviceUrlId>zune-tuner://windowsphone/XXXXXXXX%20-%20XXXXXXXX%20-%20XXXXXXXX%20-%20XXXXXXXX</DeviceUrlId>
- in RestorePoint\5372F2DE-F333-4717-9CB8-1846BE19900E\Data there is Manifest.xml
- I alsoopened this file using notepad and change the X’s in the DeviceId field to my unique device ID number
<DeviceId>XXXXXXXX - XXXXXXXX - XXXXXXXX - XXXXXXXX</DeviceId>
4. I connected my Focus to the computer and opened and waited for Zune to open
- waited for it to finish syncing
- left my Focus connected and Zune open.
5. Then I replaced the authentic backup files with the edited files from the other phone.
- Opened the backup file location on your computer from step 1
- Delete the existing Properties and RestorePoint folders
- Copied the Properties and RestorePoint folders from step 3 into this folder
6. I returned to Zune, went into Settings, then go to Update
- Wait for Zune to finish looking for an update
- It indicated that I had a restore point
- I selected to restore and followed the prompts
- All appears to be going well
7. On Step 3: Restoring Backup, the phone restarts, the and the Backup fails
- It spits out error code 801812E0
- I can't find anything on this code anywhere
At the beginning of step 3 it must be checking something in one of the other files?
IDK...
I do think this could work if we knew what Zune was checking that gives it the fail.

A quick look at the data files suggests to me that they may be encrypted. This would make sense, since otherwise you could overwrite the OS at a very low level by modifying your backup and then "restoring" it.
I bet the encryption key is stored in the device somehow, though.

GoodDayToDie said:
A quick look at the data files suggests to me that they may be encrypted. This would make sense, since otherwise you could overwrite the OS at a very low level by modifying your backup and then "restoring" it.
I bet the encryption key is stored in the device somehow, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they are encrypted and sighed against your imei and CID from the sd card.
and it could be that it is sighed online when you are downloading the update (but I don't know that for sure)
but the main problem is that you can't use another his backup because the activation email adress is stored in the backup.
and it is way to complicated to get that out because it is stored on to many parts of the backup.
so if there was a way to hack the encryption you could only use it on your own phone.

ceesheim said:
they are encrypted and sighed against your imei and CID from the sd card.
and it could be that it is sighed online when you are downloading the update (but I don't know that for sure)
but the main problem is that you can't use another his backup because the activation email adress is stored in the backup.
and it is way to to get that out because it is stored on to many parts of the backup.
so if there was a way to hack the encryption you could only use it on your own phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think the email has anything to do with it.
I have tried all variables of restore files to phones with live activation set up and not set up.
With the false restore files, it fails the same regardless.
With restore files from the phone, it works the same, regardless of what live account is activated on the phone or in the restore.
Sent from my Focus using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

As I mentioned, it is not the way we can walk. One phone, one backup, another phone, another and so on. Sad but true.

well, FWIW, here are the 7008 backup files...
7008_Backup.zip
the file is 515 MB.
There is no Live account associated with the backup and I've already replaced the device ID info in the two xml files with X's

munkeyphyst said:
well, FWIW, here are the 7008 backup files...
7008_Backup.zip
the file is 515 MB.
There is no Live account associated with the backup and I've already replaced the device ID info in the two xml files with X's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would've spared you some time, I did it before you and it's not working. As ceesheim said, they are tied to hardware.
I'm looking now to patch Zune to bypass that.

Thanks, I didn't see that. I hope the "clean" 7008 restore files are of use.

Is there the possibility to extract specific files ie those related to SMS and use them in another backup?

efjay said:
Is there the possibility to extract specific files ie those related to SMS and use them in another backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not at the moment, as the backup files are encrypted. Different people (myself too) are working on various approaches, to try to access or unpack the rom files (from backups).

EnderPsp said:
Not at the moment, as the backup files are encrypted. Different people (myself too) are working on various approaches, to try to access or unpack the rom files (from backups).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply.

I wrote something about this topic overhere.

EnderPsp said:
It would've spared you some time, I did it before you and it's not working. As ceesheim said, they are tied to hardware.
I'm looking now to patch Zune to bypass that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it isn't zune that check it but the ULDR that validates it , so it doesn't bring you anywhere to patch ZUNE I think.

7008_Backup.zip
7008_Backup.zip multiuplood link please

ranya said:
7008_Backup.zip multiuplood link please
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no way (yet) to use another phone's backup so a link would not help you.

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but maybe all we would need to do is change the activeid and the folder, that goes 8-4-4-4-12 with random numbers. Is there another 7008 backup to compare that number with? maybe all you need is the activeid for your phone, if phones have seperate active ids.

[Q] Glide suddenly stopped recognizing any SD cards

Hi all!
I am having this issue with my AT&T i927 and I hope you guys can bring some light to the matter.
I was using OsiMood 2.2.14 (which is great!), for about a week, when out of nowhere I got a message saying that the SD was removed or something similar. I was just charging the phone, I wasn't using the phone at all when I got the message.
So far I tried:
1. Tested 3 different SD cards, whith no lucky.
2. Tried to restore only sd-ext under CWM (advanced option), but it did not work.
3. Restored the original AT&T settings that were backed up with CWM and the problem persisted.
Is there any way to mound the ext-sd with CWM or any other way to make sure that it's not a hardware issue?
I read about a so called "usb brick" on other Android phones, but couldn't find anything specific to our model. This may be the case?
Thank you!

Change the volds. fstab file from mmc1 to mmc2. That will redirect the kernels path to the external SD. Problem solved
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium

Thank you for the reply, but how exactly am I suposed to do that?

Seemingly, you must edit this file located at /system/etc/vold.fstab on your phone, with a text editor or if you prefer a shell.

Right, I have got to the following line:
dev_mount sdcard1 /mnt/sdcard/external_sd auto /devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.2/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1
Should I change it to the following?
dev_mount sdcard1 /mnt/sdcard/external_sd auto /devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.2/mmc_host/mmc2/mmc2
Another issue is that the file is read-only, how do I edit it? Also there is another identical file under /etc ... should I change the /system/etc one only?
Thanks!

/etc is a link to /system/etc, so this is exactly the same file.
You can edit it with a file manager like "ES File Explorer" which provides root access and write rights on mount.

Thank you. I've managed to change that line as in my previous post, but the issue persists.
By now, I've also flashed the original firmware with ODIN and also tried to flash the kernel only, but still no go.
Any other thoughts?

No ideas? Please guys, I haven't got my sd slot access back yet
Could someone please paste here the original vold.fstab so I can check if something is messed up there?
Thanks

After you flashed the firmware through odin, did you do the "Firmware Upgrade and Initialization" through kies, its under "tools"
(This will wipe your device)
After I did odin stock, I had problems untill I did this.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927 using XDA

Ok I will try that now as a last resort and I will post how it goes.
Well, maybe the real last resort would be the emergency recovery option, but it requires a code.
Fingers crossed...

Um, its been a while! How's it goin'?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927 using XDA

Thanks for the idea, but it didn't work. Still no SD card access.
Any other ideas? What about this emergency option on Kies, is it worth a try?
Any chances to be a hardware issue? like a sudden SD slot defect on the phone? There was no damage or falls or anything like that, for sure.

Well, now it's unrooted with stock recovery... take it to AT&T. They will test it and likely replace it right then. If they don't replace it they will mail you a replacement and you mail the defective one back.
We had to do this when my Dad's Atrix bricked from an ota from Motorola. (it was unmodified too, pure stock.)

Humm... I am afrraid it won't be possible as I livein Rio, and there's no ATT over here. I had to take the risks, as I need a physical keyboard (had a n900 before).
'There's samsung however, but my flash counter is not nil, and I am not sure that they would sort it here, as it's not sold here. To make things worse, I would need the purchase invoice from.US, not sure they sent me that.
Any thoughts are very welcome.

Humm... I am afrraid it won't be possible as I livein Rio, and there's no ATT over here. I had to take the risks, as I need a physical keyboard (had a n900 before).
'There's samsung however, but my flash counter is not nil, and I am not sure that they would sort it here, as it's not sold here. To make things worse, I would need the purchase invoice from.US, not sure they sent me that.
Any thoughts are very welcome.

Oh, that's a bummer. I really don't know, I'm sorry.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927 using XDA

Is there anyway for us to boot into fastboot mode? As I've found on google a way to restore sd brick, it's a fastboot command that you use on windows cmd, having the phone on the usb.
Any clues?

Had this happen to me the other day on my stock rom. Was fooling around in a game and got kicked back out to the home screen where it told me both the internal storage and the sd had been ejected. Took about an hour of turning the phone on and off, but I did manage to get it to work by booting with no sd card inserted, then inserting it after media scanner ran the first time.
Good luck hope this helps

Thank's for the advice men, I will try it and post the results here.

I tried what you said but id didn't work, so I put it back on stock using Odin and updated using Kies. So it was almost back to the original state (only the version was 2.3.5 rather than 2.3.6).
As I had tried everything, I was convinced it was a hardware issue, however, out of nowhere, it recognized the sd that was inside it.
I have no clue how I did it, so I could help other people. I only know that I have installed a animal sounds kids game, that had a counter and some ads and it apparently cleared the recent apps tab (if you hold the home key) and it was back to life then.
Anyone knows, what sort of command would clear the recent tab and in some way force the device to mount or unmount the ext sd?

Mobile Network wont work after root

Hi,
I just rooted my Galaxy Note 2, build nzo54k.n7100xxdmc3.
I rooted using this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2143479, method number 2. Now I cant use networking. There is a cross over where the network bars use to be. Everything else seem to be working fine. It rebooted a couple of times tho. Can anyone help me with this problem, how I can fix this. If I press "mobile networks" it tells me that I have to insert a simcard. I have the simcard in and tried to restart the phone several times.
I would appreciate any help that you guys can give me. Thank you!

mvattoy said:
Hi,
I just rooted my Galaxy Note 2, build nzo54k.n7100xxdmc3.
I rooted using this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2143479, method number 2. Now I cant use networking. There is a cross over where the network bars use to be. Everything else seem to be working fine. It rebooted a couple of times tho. Can anyone help me with this problem, how I can fix this. If I press "mobile networks" it tells me that I have to insert a simcard. I have the simcard in and tried to restart the phone several times.
I would appreciate any help that you guys can give me. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link you've attached is broken ,
Strange , Could you check if your device shows IMIE number or it shows null ?

aukhan said:
Link you've attached is broken ,
Strange , Could you check if your device shows IMIE number or it shows null ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It says IMEI: unkown. I can check under battery if you need me to? Can it have something to do with my service provider? Im from Norway

mvattoy said:
It says IMEI: unkown. I can check under battery if you need me to? Can it have something to do with my service provider? Im from Norway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems you've corrupted your EFS folder buddy, Have you rooted your phone ? After Root did you backup your phone EFS folder ??? Or any kind Of NAND backup

aukhan said:
It seems you've corrupted your EFS folder buddy, Have you rooted your phone ? After Root did you backup your phone EFS folder ??? Or any kind Of NAND backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know what a EFS folder is. I have rooted my phone using this guide, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2143479
I used method number two. I just rooted my phone so haven't done anything yet. I think I have rooted my phone, I got a "Superu" app but haven't tried doing anything yet.

mvattoy said:
I don't know what a EFS folder is. I have rooted my phone using this guide, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2143479
I used method number two. I just rooted my phone so haven't done anything yet. I think I have rooted my phone, I got a "Superu" app but haven't tried doing anything yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EFS file is where your Imei , Mac address and few more important files are stored as you phone doesnt have an IMIE it shows as unknown so that is the reason your unable to make calls or the Sim is not getting registered, What you could try is to Flash a Stock Firmware and check if the IMIE shows up or else will have to take it to Samsung Service Center and will have to Pay for the Service.
The Guide which you've Followed dont say that you will have to backup the EFS Folder i've informed to update it on OP any ways not your mistake .
Always remember 1step after Root is to backup EFS File
Getting to know your EFS folder on Samsung Devices
Common Files We Back up
I am sure you have heard of critical things you need to do when you mess with an Android device right? One of the things that always come up is to back up your devices.
Backing up data usually involves making sure those contacts, calendar entries, memos, messages and special media that you may have kept within the internal memory are kept safe. The general rule when flashing and rooting is that often times, you may have to end up wiping all your internal memory data.
Some people tend to take this further and back up the internal data of apps, which is only possible if you have root access on your device. This is especially useful for those who like to play games as well as flash custom ROMs.
There are those who would also recommend that you back up the entire image of your current ROM state by making a Nandroid backup so that you can get back that exact state of your ROM if you mess up with flashing a whole new one or if you didn’t like the new ROM you tried and wanted to get back.
For Samsung devices, there is one other thing you may want to secure in a back-up chest – your device’s EFS data.
What is an “EFS”?
EFS refer to a folder location called /EFS in Samsung’s Android devices. It is a very sensitive folder hidden within the deepest core of your smartphone’s internal file system and is very essential to the functions of our smartphones.
One of the very sensitive information you can find in this folder is the information regarding your phone’s unique IMEI number. As you may have guessed by now, it also contains other unique identifying numbers for your smartphone including the MAC address for your smartphone’s radios, as well as the MEID, ESN, as wells as the registered phone number for locked smartphones.
The Danger to EFS
Normally, the EFS folder is highly protected. Rooting and flashing ROMs normally do not touch this part of the device. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a controlled environment where everything goes according to plan in the real world. Sometimes, a process hits the EFS folder, or ends up corrupting the data within.
The EFS is also likely to be corrupted by users who like to unlock smartphones since it usually involves editing the data within the EFS folder. Once the data is corrupted, the only way to get it back to working order is to restore the data as is.
The loss of the EFS folder may cause your phone to no longer be recognized by your carrier or some of your radios may no longer work. This breaks the device as a whole no matter how many times you reinstall a ROM.
Even if you are not planning to modify the EFS folder itself, you can still accidentally corrupt that data. That is why even if the process of rooting and flashing ROMs does not require you to do so, it would be prudent to back up the folder. This would be a classic case of being “better safe than sorry”.
Why Modify the EFS
Messing with the EFS is what you would call some “high level stuff”. People normally don’t mess with this folder due to the high risk of making the smartphone unusable. The most common use of editing the EFS folder is to unlock the smartphone so it can be used on other carriers.
Most users usually steer clear of this folder. If you really want to mess with it, look for us tomorrow as we show you how to back-up your EFS folder.

aukhan said:
EFS file is where your Imei , Mac address and few more important files are stored as you phone doesnt have an IMIE it shows as unknown so that is the reason your unable to make calls or the Sim is not getting registered, What you could try is to Flash a Stock Firmware and check if the IMIE shows up or else will have to take it to Samsung Service Center and will have to Pay for the Service.
The Guide which you've Followed dont say that you will have to backup the EFS Folder i've informed to update it on OP any ways not your mistake .
Always remember 1step after Root is to backup EFS File
Getting to know your EFS folder on Samsung Devices
Common Files We Back up
I am sure you have heard of critical things you need to do when you mess with an Android device right? One of the things that always come up is to back up your devices.
Backing up data usually involves making sure those contacts, calendar entries, memos, messages and special media that you may have kept within the internal memory are kept safe. The general rule when flashing and rooting is that often times, you may have to end up wiping all your internal memory data.
Some people tend to take this further and back up the internal data of apps, which is only possible if you have root access on your device. This is especially useful for those who like to play games as well as flash custom ROMs.
There are those who would also recommend that you back up the entire image of your current ROM state by making a Nandroid backup so that you can get back that exact state of your ROM if you mess up with flashing a whole new one or if you didn’t like the new ROM you tried and wanted to get back.
For Samsung devices, there is one other thing you may want to secure in a back-up chest – your device’s EFS data.
What is an “EFS”?
EFS refer to a folder location called /EFS in Samsung’s Android devices. It is a very sensitive folder hidden within the deepest core of your smartphone’s internal file system and is very essential to the functions of our smartphones.
One of the very sensitive information you can find in this folder is the information regarding your phone’s unique IMEI number. As you may have guessed by now, it also contains other unique identifying numbers for your smartphone including the MAC address for your smartphone’s radios, as well as the MEID, ESN, as wells as the registered phone number for locked smartphones.
The Danger to EFS
Normally, the EFS folder is highly protected. Rooting and flashing ROMs normally do not touch this part of the device. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a controlled environment where everything goes according to plan in the real world. Sometimes, a process hits the EFS folder, or ends up corrupting the data within.
The EFS is also likely to be corrupted by users who like to unlock smartphones since it usually involves editing the data within the EFS folder. Once the data is corrupted, the only way to get it back to working order is to restore the data as is.
The loss of the EFS folder may cause your phone to no longer be recognized by your carrier or some of your radios may no longer work. This breaks the device as a whole no matter how many times you reinstall a ROM.
Even if you are not planning to modify the EFS folder itself, you can still accidentally corrupt that data. That is why even if the process of rooting and flashing ROMs does not require you to do so, it would be prudent to back up the folder. This would be a classic case of being “better safe than sorry”.
Why Modify the EFS
Messing with the EFS is what you would call some “high level stuff”. People normally don’t mess with this folder due to the high risk of making the smartphone unusable. The most common use of editing the EFS folder is to unlock the smartphone so it can be used on other carriers.
Most users usually steer clear of this folder. If you really want to mess with it, look for us tomorrow as we show you how to back-up your EFS folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your help.
I knew I could lose everything on my internal memory but diden't bother me. Can you link me to how I flash with custom rom?

mvattoy said:
Thanks for your help.
I knew I could lose everything on my internal memory but diden't bother me. Can you link me to how I flash with custom rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first recommend you to flash stock and try see if you've got you IMIE .

mvattoy said:
Hi,
I just rooted my Galaxy Note 2, build nzo54k.n7100xxdmc3.
I rooted using this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2143479, method number 2. Now I cant use networking. There is a cross over where the network bars use to be. Everything else seem to be working fine. It rebooted a couple of times tho. Can anyone help me with this problem, how I can fix this. If I press "mobile networks" it tells me that I have to insert a simcard. I have the simcard in and tried to restart the phone several times.
I would appreciate any help that you guys can give me. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1st flash a stock rom and see whether u get imei and baseband back or not.. if it didnt get recovered then service centers can only help you as u didnt make a backup of efs..

There is a slim chance its not his efs,
I did pretty much the same as he to get root thru the toolkit, and had no network, I found I had no APN configured
Perhaps check this.
Settings... more settings .. mobile networks... acess point names.
Make sure you have something here.
if not you will need to search for the settings for whoever your provider is.
good luck
A|c

damn urgent contacts lost

guys..its not exactly this forum kind of qsn..still asking..sorry to whomever finds it troubling...
i had galaxy y earlier...and nw m using grand as all u know...using and flashing roms from like hell of long time...i was testing vulpix 3.0 on my galaxy y first if it had any significancr...
but my rom was not stock based...so i installed hyperion rom first..a stock based rom....as i wanted to check will it work good or not so that i can try on galaxy grand too...
my bro was using that phone for extra but had damn important contacts...as hyperion demands mounting everything....system,data,cache and den wipe data....i did......i already had his contacts exported.....in sdcard...
now after flashing rom.....i had to again mount everything and wipe data......sdcard was forcefully mounted...so i mounted other three and wiped everything...
after that i started...and tryd to import contacts..worst part is that i had vcf..but it had only 117contacts out of 331 contacts..they were damn very important...
so i tried everything...but as earlier rom had bug of playstore...i he didnt synchd contacts at all...now as my vcf is short and my contacts are gone..pls suggest smthing.... ...i had also took backup in case...but after succesful install i deleted backup...and then i made new backup....
so that in future cud be safe.....of new rom i mean..
worst part is that it over writed the directory seems...and now even with recover files (pc app) ..it isnt showing those contacts..want help.....hope anybody help..

raghavsharmaxda said:
guys..its not exactly this forum kind of qsn..still asking..sorry to whomever finds it troubling...
i had galaxy y earlier...and nw m using grand as all u know...using and flashing roms from like hell of long time...i was testing vulpix 3.0 on my galaxy y first if it had any significancr...
but my rom was not stock based...so i installed hyperion rom first..a stock based rom....as i wanted to check will it work good or not so that i can try on galaxy grand too...
my bro was using that phone for extra but had damn important contacts...as hyperion demands mounting everything....system,data,cache and den wipe data....i did......i already had his contacts exported.....in sdcard...
now after flashing rom.....i had to again mount everything and wipe data......sdcard was forcefully mounted...so i mounted other three and wiped everything...
after that i started...and tryd to import contacts..worst part is that i had vcf..but it had only 117contacts out of 331 contacts..they were damn very important...
so i tried everything...but as earlier rom had bug of playstore...i he didnt synchd contacts at all...now as my vcf is short and my contacts are gone..pls suggest smthing.... ...i had also took backup in case...but after succesful install i deleted backup...and then i made new backup....
so that in future cud be safe.....of new rom i mean..
worst part is that it over writed the directory seems...and now even with recover files (pc app) ..it isnt showing those contacts..want help.....hope anybody help..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you haven't already, I'd suggest you stop using your sd card immediately. As you might know, the more you use your memory card now, there'll be a higher chance for your phone to overwrite the data/memory slots you are trying to recover.
You mentioned, you backed up your data before but ended up deleting it after a successful install. Was this folder in your extSd card? If yes, then this should be the main focus for your retrieval process. Which recovery software (the pc app) did you use to try to recover your files?
I would strongly recommend using EaseUS Data Recovery. I have personally used this software on more than a few occasions, and it was able to successfully recover formatted, deleted and to some extent overwritten data contents. I am asking you to consider this software because while recovering my recently lost data, I was able to recover files that I had deleted over two month ago and should have been lost for good.
EaseUS website - http://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/
If you do decide to give this software a try, during the wizard, select Complete Recovery option instead of Deleted Files Recovery. Complete Recovery option will scan your entire partition and show you everything it can recover from images, videos to random data files.
And no matter which software you end up using, expect certain corrupted data depending on how much memory spots have been overwritten since you deleted your backup.
For the future, I would recommend Super Backup Pro - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.idea.backup.smscontacts
If you give it a try, you'll see it offers an easy but comprehensive backup methods.
Hope you get your contacts back
EDIT : Forgot to mention, as far as I remember, the free version had only a limitation of 2GB data recovery I think, but you just need your backup so you should be good

Thanks alot..downloading now...will let u know soon
developers are like gods

Next time Sync your contact with your google account
Sent from my GT-I9082 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Haha thanks for info
BTW.. Thanks alott iceyhotguy for explanation.. Coz seems the ship is sailed.... I have overwritten over so many times!!.. thanks to you for time and help ....
Anantalawliet you too
developers are like gods

Question Should I spent time on recovering or it's not possible at all

Hello, there is my problem with OP9 Pro – phone was stuck with some bug and only way to fix it was Wipe Data. Now it's ok, but I do really need to restore photos and videos. Phone is NOT rooted.
After reading tons of information I'm not sure that it's possible to get data back. As I understand I need to follow next steps:
1. Unlock bootloader without wiping data again in order not to lose old structure.
2. Root device, or at least temporary root it.
3. Use some tools to search and restore photos.
But now I'm not sure that everything would be fine. Even the first step is not 100% guarantee that it's possible to avoid data wiping.
So, If there are someone who understand this better, could you please advice me what should I do? Should I waste tons of time or it's muck more likely impossible to do?
Thanks!

mrGenry said:
Hello, there is my problem with OP9 Pro – phone was stuck with some bug and only way to fix it was Wipe Data. Now it's ok, but I do really need to restore photos and videos. Phone is NOT rooted.
After reading tons of information I'm not sure that it's possible to get data back. As I understand I need to follow next steps:
1. Unlock bootloader without wiping data again in order not to lose old structure.
2. Root device, or at least temporary root it.
3. Use some tools to search and restore photos.
But now I'm not sure that everything would be fine. Even the first step is not 100% guarantee that it's possible to avoid data wiping.
So, If there are someone who understand this better, could you please advice me what should I do? Should I waste tons of time or it's muck more likely impossible to do?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are not bootloader unlocked right now. All hope is lost since unlocking will force a wipe of data that can't be stopped.

MrSteelX said:
If you are not bootloader unlocked right now. All hope is lost since unlocking will force a wipe of data that can't be stopped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just wiped phone and restored some latest backup (which did not contain media ofc). I was reading about scenario, when we can backup current system, patch it somehow, unlock bootloader and keep old data somehow in place. But it looks so unstable for me.

The folder structure was destroyed when the data was deleted. Although the files still exist -if- they haven't been overwritten, they would be completely juxtaposed. A vast sea of files that could only be sorted by size and file type. No associated time stamps, exif data, original file names and no way to restore it. Let that sink in for a moment.
Just recovering a flash card with a 100 images on it and then trying to sort them is a major headache unless you have a photographic memory. The files names are gone. The recovered images will have a new assigned number generated that is unrelated to the file's original name. Now imagine trying to do that with a 100gb jigsaw puzzle from hell.
Always redundantly backup critical data to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.

blackhawk said:
The folder structure was destroyed when the data was deleted. Although the files still exist -if- they haven't been overwritten, they would be completely juxtaposed. A vast sea of files that could only be sorted by size and file type. No associated time stamps, exif data, original file names and no way to restore it. Let that sink in for a moment.
Just recovering a flash card with a 100 images on it and then trying to sort them is a major headache unless you have a photographic memory. The files names are gone. The recovered images will have a new assigned number generated that is unrelated to the file's original name. Now imagine trying to do that with a 100gb jigsaw puzzle from hell.
Always redundantly backup critical data to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, thanks! Really, there is nothing critical, just default amount of family photos and videos (phone is my father's, I'm just investigating possibility of recovering).
And tons of different information is all across the web. Also, latest Android 12 is pretty new and I guess lots of articles are not suite for that phone.
So, I guess it's too overwhelmed even to try root phone and search files. Maybe, data value is lower that possibility to turn phone into a brick.

mrGenry said:
Yeah, thanks! Really, there is nothing critical, just default amount of family photos and videos (phone is my father's, I'm just investigating possibility of recovering).
And tons of different information is all across the web. Also, latest Android 12 is pretty new and I guess lots of articles are not suite for that phone.
So, I guess it's too overwhelmed even to try root phone and search files. Maybe, data value is lower that possibility to turn phone into a brick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want the best possible outcome take it to a data recovery specialist. That's all they do.
Don't use any apps like FoneDoctor, they will find stuff but encrypt the drive $o only that app can unencrypt it.

blackhawk said:
If you want the best possible outcome take it to a data recovery specialist. That's all they do.
Don't use any apps like FoneDoctor, they will find stuff but encrypt the drive $o only that app can unencrypt it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! A bit upset, but Im great to get useful information.

mrGenry said:
Thanks! A bit upset, but Im great to get useful information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Losing critical data is never pretty.
I've lost a database with decades of data on it. The only way to help prevent this is redundant backups.
Perhaps your father had backup them up deliberately or by happenstance to a PC or other device.