[Q] odd issue with i927r baseband and IMEI - Samsung Captivate Glide

hi everyone
at first I must say sorry for my bad english writing
well I've a galaxy glide i927r and I was using it with a none contracted sim card
it was unlocked already,suddenly it asked me to insert network unlock key and I inserted that so many times that there was no attempts left
so I took the phone to a repair store (unofficial) and it seems they flashed it with a 4.0.4 at&t rom without backing /efs folder up
so when I took it back I had no baseband,no imei and of course no signal !
I tried so many methods and still the problem is going on,BUT now when I go to /efs with root explorer and refresh that some time, at fisrt the folder is completely empty except a file named "essiv" and aftresh some refresh try, the nv_data and ... begin being created
so my base band comes back,my IMEI goes to 0049 ... (at first it is null/null) and the signal appears
but after the reboot, I had to repeat the steps (going to root explorer,/efs folder and refresh) to get every thing back
I just want to have the /efs data permanent even with 0049 serial number
P.S ; I have a stock 2.3.5 rom
P.S2: after flashing stock rom with odin and in CWM mount and storage menu, it says failed to mount /efs ( invalid argument)

up ..........

eefe said:
up ..........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you past your "mount" terminal command?
I think you rom couldnt mount /efs thats why its empty, its on ramfs.
Go to custom recovery, try mount efs, I suggest to backup EFS's block device, you may try to recovery files from the dump, then format /efs.
You can mount efs with one click in TWRP.
Run mount in adb shell should contain:
/dev/block/mmcblk0p1 on /efs type ext4 (rw,seclabel,relatime,user_xattr,acl,barrier=1,data=ordered)
You can make dump:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p1 of=/sdcard/backup.bin
you can format with ( only if you sure)
mkfs.ext2 /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
You can find many extfs recovery program, maybe you will be lucky.

Related

How to backup your modem.

There is a modem for the optimus G here:
http://downloads.codefi.re/houstonn/lgog/modem/E975_E977_E976
but it is from firmware 10b. You may want to try if it works better than your firmware. In this case, it is better if you make a backup of your current modem firmware, so you can go back to your version. Here I will write instructions to backup your modem, so you can restore it if you need.
Probably some of you know this already and feel like these are old news, but maybe we can build a modem firmware library.
You need root and a way to make an adb connection to your phone. If you cannot use adb, you can always use a terminal emulator on your phone, but this makes it a bit harder to type the commands. Also, this is for people who understand what they are doing. If after reading the tutorial you don't understand what the commands do, please don't try it. Or at least don't make me responsible if your phone bricks. Here we go.
NON NEEDED STEPS: This steps are here to show why this works.
1-Connect to your phone by adb.
2- On the terminal type :
Code:
mount
You'll see the following (amongst other things):
Code:
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modem /firmware vfat ro,context=u:object_r:radio_efs_file:s0,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,fmask=0337,dmask=0227,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro 0 0
This means that the partition containing the firmware is /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modem and it is mounted at /firmware.
NEEDED STEPS
1- Connect by adb
2- On the terminal type
Code:
su
Check if confirmation is needed on the phone screen. If needed, accept.
3-
On the terminal type:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modem of=/sdcard/modem.img
4-You will receive the following after some seconds:
Code:
131072+0 records in
131072+0 records out
67108864 bytes transferred in 29.959 secs (2240023 bytes/sec)
5-Type
Code:
exit
exit
adb pull /sdcard/modem.img
6-Now you have your backup.
HOW TO PACK THIS BACKUP FOR FLASH:
1-Download the file: cwm-lgog_e975-europe-10b_modem.zip from http://downloads.codefi.re/houstonn/lgog/modem/E975_E977_E976
2-Open the zip file and replace the existing modem.img with your file
3-Rename the file to something meaningful, like cwm-lgog_e975-europe-10f_modem.zip
After these steps, you should be able to flash any modem, knowing that you can go back to your old version.
You can upload the packed files here, so we can have a library. I will upload the modem from european 10f version here. I tested it and it works correctly, but I won't take any responsibility for what you do with this file.
Good luck.
All this info is obtained from examining the houstonn LGOG modem flasher from team codefire, so all thanks go to them. Thanks.
Very nice tutorial man. It will help newbies like me to back up and restore our modem.img, especially those who have F180* phones that wants or being converted to E975. Nice job. :good:
Nice,i'll add this to the Freaking Annoying Questions.
Sent from Asylum via LG E975/smart phones,dumb people.
Nice job.. Its work in e977 with 10a firmware?
Thx.
Sent from my LG-E975 using xda app-developers app
You should be able to backup your e977 modem following this tutorial.
renatonolo said:
Nice job.. Its work in e977 with 10a firmware?
Thx.
Sent from my LG-E975 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
could you please do the same thing for the misc partition and upload it somewhere?
I saw that freegee is touching this one so please mention if your phone was opened with freegee.
sonty said:
could you please do the same thing for the misc partition and upload it somewhere?
I saw that freegee is touching this one so please mention if your phone was opened with freegee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sorry, I am not going to upload my misc partition, as this partition contains my IMEI.
I can, however, tell you how to backup it:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/misc of=/sdcard/misc.img
Can I ask why you need that?
dapaua said:
I am sorry, I am not going to upload my misc partition, as this partition contains my IMEI.
Can I ask why you need that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had no idea the IMEI is also there. I asked for it because the baseband version is also stored there and it's kind of odd to know I'm flashing the modem from EU-10f and the displayed version is TW-10a. I'm still hoping to solve that issue.
Ah, OK. Tomorrow I'll check if the misc partition can be mounted, this would make editing it much easier.
dapaua said:
Ah, OK. Tomorrow I'll check if the misc partition can be mounted, this would make editing it much easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it is not possible to mount the misc partition.
“In any case, the misc partition isn't a "filesystem" partition as you are familiar with. It is actually just a simple data structure. In fact, only the system, cache, and userdata partitions are actually filesystem partitions, and the cache partition is only a filesystem partition part of the time -- during radio and spl updates, it also is used as a simple data structure with a header field and a payload field...”
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7254425&postcount=3
I was trying to find some additional info about this structure but without success so far.
On may F180K the misc partition has 16 777 216 Bytes. Some interesting offset:
0x8000 – 0x800E IMEI (15Bytes)
0x8800 – 0x8824 Baseband version (37Bytes)
0x9000 – 0x9024 Baseband version (37Bytes)
CyanogenMod display the last one data on the Settings->About phone->Baseband version
jumper8 said:
I think it is not possible to mount the misc partition.
“In any case, the misc partition isn't a "filesystem" partition as you are familiar with. It is actually just a simple data structure. In fact, only the system, cache, and userdata partitions are actually filesystem partitions, and the cache partition is only a filesystem partition part of the time -- during radio and spl updates, it also is used as a simple data structure with a header field and a payload field...”
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7254425&postcount=3
I was trying to find some additional info about this structure but without success so far.
On may F180K the misc partition has 16 777 216 Bytes. Some interesting offset:
0x8000 – 0x800E IMEI (15Bytes)
0x8800 – 0x8824 Baseband version (37Bytes)
0x9000 – 0x9024 Baseband version (37Bytes)
CyanogenMod display the last one data on the Settings->About phone->Baseband version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
You are totally right, this partition is not a filesystem. And it is mostly empty, it's all zeros except for some bytes. Most of it are text strings, but there are some small binary parts.
I think the 0x8800 - 0x8824 part is the original firmware version.
I wouldn't touch that partition, seems too dangerous .
dapaua said:
I wouldn't touch that partition, seems too dangerous .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
freegee touches it. I see it made a backup and the difference is that it changed some bytes to 0 (offsets 0x40-0x52), then wrote ANDROID-BOOT at offset 0x4000. the rest is the same. it seems there's nothing like a crc so basically I could write whatever I want in that version field. the bad part is that as an user you'll never know what modem version you have since its version is not stored on the modem partition. I wonder who came up with this system and what was he thinking.
thanks for the clarification. offtopic over .
sonty said:
I had no idea the IMEI is also there. I asked for it because the baseband version is also stored there and it's kind of odd to know I'm flashing the modem from EU-10f and the displayed version is TW-10a. I'm still hoping to solve that issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some time ago I had the same issue. I solved it by modifying binary data on the misc partition. I was done this only on CM10.1 (F180K). I don’t know if it will work on other custom rom especially stock one.
Today I’ve done this one more time for preparation the following procedure. Maybe some one will use it on the future.
STEPS:
0. Backup the misc partition with your recovery. I was used CWM Advance Edition PhilZ Touch 5:
Backup and Restore-> Custom Backup and Restore->Custom Backup Job->Backup misc (*)
I’m not sure if all CWMs version support misc partition backup. TWRP not support it right now.
1. Dump the misc partition to /sdcard.
Code:
adb wait-for-device
adb root
adb shell "dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/misc of=/sdcard/misc_orig.img"
OUTPUT:
32768+0 records in
32768+0 records out
16777216 bytes transferred in 6.539 secs (2565715 bytes/sec)
2. Pull the image to your PC
Code:
adb pull /sdcard/misc_orig.img misc_orig.img
3. Edit downloaded image file by your favorite hex editor (e.g. Notepad++ with Hex-Editor plugin)
Find both baseband name strings (mine were on offset 0x8800 and 0x9000) and change them (CM10.1 use the last one to set gsm.version.baseband in file /system/bin/fetch-swv).
REMEMBER:
- Do not use regular text editor (like Notepad or vi) – they can add some extra characters to the file.
- If possible try to modify only bytes responsible for original baseband name. If the new name is shorter, simply put spaces char (0x20) to clear unwanted chars. If you need to put the longer name, be careful. I don’t know the max size for this string. There are dozens of zeros behind the baseband name on my image file. So, for testing I added extra 20 Bytes text. The new baseband name was shown without problem.
4. Push the modified image file to your phone
Code:
adb push misc_orig.img /sdcard/misc_mod.img
Check if size of the original and modified files are equal.
5. Write the modified image to the misc partition
Code:
adb shell "dd if=/sdcard/misc_mod.img of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/misc "
OUTPUT:
32768+0 records in
32768+0 records out
16777216 bytes transferred in 4.183 secs (4010809 bytes/sec)
6. Reboot your phone
DONE.
Hi all,
I just create a .zip to backup your modem / baseband / radio with your recovery (CWM / TWRP...)
ok as a newbie i cant figure out how to back up modem using adb... but after reading stuff what i did :
downloaded "Android Terminal Emulator" from playstore
open emulator in phone wrote as u mentioned :
su
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modem of=/sdcard/modem.img
after some seconds this came out :
131072+0 records in
131072+0 records out
67108864 bytes transferred in 15.229 secs
then :
exit
exit
after that i checked sdcard but there was no img file...
then i open file manager from the phone and there it was my precious :laugh:
size = 64mb... is it normal?
anyway .. made a new folder "modem" copied the img file into modem folder (using file manger) again connected the phone to pc copied the modem folder on my desktop...
hope it will help new guys here like me :good:
after installing the European kitkat I lost my LGOG E977 modem, anyone have some backup there to help me?
how to fix this?
:crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying:
pedro5148 said:
after installing the European kitkat I lost my LGOG E977 modem, anyone have some backup there to help me?
how to fix this?
:crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
root using towelroot. unlock and install custom recovery using freegee and flash the modem in this post via recovery: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=54016773&postcount=4
akahroba said:
root using towelroot. unlock and install custom recovery using freegee and flash the modem in this post via recovery: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=54016773&postcount=4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already did that, did not work out ...
any more solution?
pedro5148 said:
I already did that, did not work out ...
any more solution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get back to JB and wait for your midel update
Back to JB I recovered the IMEI, but I have no carrier signal.
So do the root with towelroot, unlock custom recovery with FreeGee, do I back up EFS, and when I restart the machine it loses the IMEI.
So I install the modem and E97710b.kdz for E97710b model recover EFS and nothing happens, still no sign of the operator ...
---------- Post added at 02:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:22 PM ----------
akahroba said:
Get back to JB and wait for your midel update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
even going back to JB, I continued without the modem

[Q] SIM not recognized - Help needed

Hi
My wife bought a Note 2 (N7100) in China, second hand. I thought it was stock, so I tried to update it manually (official update) with Odin. But of course it was rooted and with some chinese ROM (my guess since I saw chinese charachters).
That didn't work so I proceeded to install a custom rom. After trying over and over, my phone would not recognise the SIM no longer (it worked before I started out with this mess). I have basically tried installing multiple roms (4.1, 4.3, 4.4), Odin fails when trying offical roms, multiple modem zips etc. Dont know what to do.
Problem is that I can not get the PCode because there is no connection with the SIM. IMEI is on the back of the phone, but trying *272*#IMEI-code# doesn't give me nothing because i just get fail. Trying to download a official rom from china over baidu.com, but until now no luck. What would you do? Right now its a phablet with wifi, nothing else. Anyone have an idea how to fix this little mess I put myself into?
Flash custom recovery and TRY THIS method in ADB.
Confirm if they have the same efs address though, but I think it's the same.
cz4r3n said:
Flash custom recovery and TRY THIS method in ADB.
Confirm if they have the same efs address though, but I think it's the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like my /efs/ partition is zero, nill nothing. What to do? Use it as a wifi phablet? I dont have linux, only mac, so I cant do these two steps, but I guess it does not matter since I can not open the efs.img file
linux# losetup /dev/loop0 efs.img
linux# fsck /dev/loop0
So the phone is impossible to fix now - right? /efs/ folder on phone is emtpy.
Found my IMEI number for this phone on Google Dashboard. Is it possible to restore the EFS image only using that?
mikasjoman said:
Found my IMEI number for this phone on Google Dashboard. Is it possible to restore the EFS image only using that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever have a backup on your efs?If yes, then restore it.there are so many threads on how to restore your efs.
---------- Post added at 07:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:44 PM ----------
mount efs in adb.
adb shell
su
mount
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 of=/sdcard/mmcblk0p3.bin
Code:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3
dd if=/sdcard/mmcblk0p3.bin of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3
mmcblk0p3.bin
That is a no Or maybe. I made a copy to my harddrive with those instructions you linked to. Could I email the efs.img file to you and you check if its usable? Maybe it is just corrupt. I really don't know how to figure it out on this mac. If it was empty it should not be the 21 MB it is.
I did a "cat" on the efs.img file and it seems full of info.
Being the poor student I am, I wont be able to buy a new phone in some time

[Q] Lost access to internal storage

Hello,
In the process of rooting and trying to install CWM Recovery in preparation to flash Cyanogenmod, I seem to have denied myself access to the phone's internal storage. In the "File Manager" app, I get the following screen:
Local: /storage
No files
No search results
In addition, any app that requires access to internal memory will not work, instead showing messages such as "Try again after scanning media files" or "Not enough storage". If I plug in the USB cable and set it to "Media sync (MTP)" mode, Windows Explorer will show the device but list the internal storage as having "0 bytes" and no files.
I already tried the following:
- Factory reset
- Flashing the official ROM through the Windows Enabler / UpTestEX tools
In both tries the phone was "reset", as in it returned to the initial Android welcome screen where you set up your Google account, but in each case I still didn't have access to internal storage.
This is what I have in the "About phone -> Software information" option:
Android version: 4.1.2
Baseband version: APQ8064T/MDM9x15M
Kernel version: 3.4.0
Build number: JZO54K
Software version: E98810b
The phone does not have Wi-Fi access either, which is why I was tinkering around with custom ROMs in the first place, so I won't be able to download anything to it as part of the solution.
Is there anything else I can try?
I'm guessing you used FreeGee to install CWM? Perhaps try restoring?
If that didn't work... Id move the EFS backups to my computer. I'd make a NAND backup in CWM. Then I'd get CM and gapps on a micro SD. I'd do a format of system, data, and cache. Then I'd install CM and gapps. Then I'd cross my fingers.
Sent from my LG-E980 using Tapatalk
ackliph,
Since I didn't have Wi-Fi access on the phone, and at the time I didn't know how to reverse tether it to the computer, I was looking for a procedure to install CWM Recovery that didn't involve downloading files directly within the phone (only transfering via USB). Right now I can't find the exact instructions I used, but it was similar to what is described by hkfriends in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2361941, the only difference being that the image I downloaded was not that one.
I rooted the phone with Universal Root, then followed those instructions to install CWM Recovery. It seemed to have worked, but when I rebooted... nothing happened! The phone booted normally, and if I tried entering recovery mode all I got was the stock LG recovery.
I continued looking for another way to install a custom recovery, but instead came upon instructions to flash KDZ files with UpTestEx. Since the immediate problem I was trying to solve was the lack of Wi-Fi access (and not really the custom ROM), I thought it couldn't hurt to try updating the stock ROM. The procedure did update my ROM, but I ended up in my current predicament: no access to internal storage, and still no Wi-Fi access! It even managed to unroot the phone.
So your suggestion would be to try installing CM via a microSD card. OK, I can get a microSD and try that. However, I do believe I will need root access to do anything of the sort. I tried Universal Root again, and got the following messages:
Beginning Root Process
/system/bin/sh: can't create /sdcard/G_security: Permission denied
Now change from Charge Only to MTP
No need to disconnect USB
Press Enter after making the change.
adbd cannot run as root in production builds
error: device not found
If uid=0(root), gid=0(root) is displayed
Press Enter to Continue
1955 KB/s (1085140 bytes in 0.542s)
mount: permission denied (are you root?)
cp: can't create '/system/xbin/busybox': Read-only file system
failed to copy 'su' to '/system/xbin/su': Read-only file system
failed to copy 'Superuser.apk' to '/system/app/Superuser.apk': Read-only file system
Unable to chown /system/xbin/su: No such file or directory
You are now properly Rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Evidently, that didn't work.
I guess I will need some other method of rooting it.

[Tools/Recovery] TWRP for LG Optimus F3Q

TWRP Recovery for the LG F3Q (codenames: fx3q, d520)
Background story (who ever wants to know):
As I'm currently testing around with flashing etc I hated it to re-flash the stock ROM again and again. It is sooo time consuming..
In that kind of ROM compiling learning process I also was able to build a working TWRP recovery for the LG F3Q so that was such a good feeling But as said the caveat was that because of the locked bootloader we can reach TWRP (or CWM) only when executing "adb reboot recovery" from the running system. That was not really satisfying me though..
Some day I've done a factory reset and well I saw that this is starting my TWRP recovery when executing it! Well it isn't such a surprise as TWRP sits on the recovery partition and will be triggered by the factory reset script but... well do you think what I think? When it would be possible to start TWRP fully and not that factory reset part of TWRP than we would have a workaround to reach the recovery mode without booting the system (which is in fact not possible anymore when flashing of system.img/boot.img fails)
That said.. I was in touch with the TWRP developers bigbiff and Dees_Troy and many thanks for the hint they gave me! I have build a new TWRP version based on that information I got and well the idea of that is:
Vol Down + Power -> LG Factory Reset screen appears
Confirming with power 2 times as asked
Voila: No factory reset anymore but TWRP is here!
Well that will have a caveat - READ CAREFULLY:
As you may think of the factory reset in the boot-up process and within the ROM will not working anymore until you flash another recovery!
But if you know that it is not such a caveat because you can choose the wipe options within TWRP to do a "manual" factory reset.
v2.8.1.0 build 5
USE THAT ON YOUR OWN RISK! BACKUP BEFORE!
Working (quickly tested):
Install (to flash a custom Kernel)
Mounting partitions
Reboot Recovery | System
adb shell (also see known issues)
Backup (compressed | uncompressed | encrypted (!) | unencrypted)
Restore (unencrypted | encypted (!) | compressed | uncompressed)
Internal storage /data/media
MTP which mounts the external storage!
File Manager
Terminal Command
Power charging while in TWRP
Displaying CPU temp
Totally untested:
WIPE (should work)
decrypting /data (but should work as it do so for encrypted backups already)
Every option which is not stated as "Known issue" or "Working"
Known issues (with workarounds):
ADB works only when screen "timed out" (manual locking does not help it must time out) therefore ADB can take up to 1 minute after boot until it becomes available (because screen need to be timed out first)
Workaround: set the time limit in the screen menu to e.g. 10 sec (that is the default value for now)
Timezone is not set correctly (that seems to be a well known bug in several devices using TWRP.... )
Workaround: set a timezone which displays the most accurate timezone
Known issues (without workarounds):
When you use the "Power Off" option in the "Reboot" menu the device will reboot instead of powering off
Wiping /data not possible after "factory reset buttons" used. You need to choose "wipe" and then "format data" manually (or use mke2fs on CLI).
Vibration is not working (I will not fix that atm because I like it that way)
Hardware keys at bottom doesn't work
If you use the factory reset button /data partition will be inaccessible and need to be re-flashed (means you will LOOSE your app and system configs when you use factore reset)
Download:
Attached you will find the TWRP v2.8.1.0 version ready to use even with locked bootloader:
BACKUP EVERYTHING BEFORE USING THIS. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
DD Image file:twrp_v2.8.1.0_build5_fx3q_FR-OFF.img.zip = FactoryReset is disabled / TWRP will be loaded instead (also see known issues)
Read the Installation & Usage instructions in this thread on how to install that file.
Installation & Usage instructions
Pre-Requirements
Read the FAQ
YOU NEED ROOT! (check FAQ)
YOU SHOULD do a NANDroid BACKUP! (check FAQ)
You need to boot up, enable USB debugging and then connect USB cable.(check FAQ get ROOT - the link contains a guide on that)
You better doing a NANDroid backup right? (I mentioned that before - but DO it! NOW!)
For the best usage experience install the sediKERNEL or use joel's debloated stock ROM which includes it already
Bulletproof Method 1: "the average user"
Use this guide if you simply want to install & use TWRP like it should be. If you're unsure use this guide!
Install:
Download the TWRP recovery file and unzip it
copy it to your device (e.g. adb push or simply copy & paste by your file browser)
Download the loki_tool (https://github.com/djrbliss/loki/raw/master/bin/loki_tool)
copy loki_tool to your device (e.g. adb push or simply copy & paste by your file browser)
execute:
adb shell
su (you may need to grant permission)
mount -oremount,rw /system
cp /PATH-WHERE-YOU-COPIED/loki_tool /system/bin/ && chmod 755 /system/bin/loki_tool
loki_tool flash recovery /PATH-WHERE-YOU-COPIED/twrp_X.X.X.X_recovery_FRoff/off.img
reboot recovery --> you should see the TWRP screen
Usage (sediKERNEL v2.0 or higher installed):
Power on the device
when you see the LG logo the first time do NOTHING!!
When the screen goes black THEN press Volume UP + Volume DOWN. Both the same time and hold them pressed.
Release the buttons when the screen goes black again
Wait. You will see the LG logo a third time and then you will see the recovery screen!
If you see a kernel crash then you have pressed the magic keys too early! Read and follow the above steps carefully and you should be fine.
Usage (without sediKERNEL v2.0 or higher):
boot into your ROM
execute "adb reboot recovery" from your PC or open a Terminal on your device and execute "su" then "reboot recovery"
Bulletproof Method 2: "developers only"
This is the developers preferred way of installing TWRP. It ensures that even when your ROM or Kernel gets damaged that you still be able to boot into recovery. This is to the developers or heavy testers who are knowing what they do ONLY!
But even when you think this is for you: Read the important hint at the end before deciding if you want to choose this method.
Install:
flash recovery image to your RECOVERY partition:
adb shell su -c dd if=/storage/external_SD/twrp_vXXXXX_fx3q_FR-OFF.img of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/recovery
adb reboot recovery
A user reports the the by-name does not worked for him but this one:
adb shell su -c dd if=/storage/external_SD/twrp_vXXXXX_fx3q_FR-OFF.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p17
-> If you can see TWRP now everything is fine - Otherwise DO NOT continue!
BACKUP YOUR WHOLE DEVICE NOW! I highly recommend to backup everything except /data from within TWRP because it is easy and works (from TWRP v2.8build5 or higher)
BACKUP /data is recommended to be done NOW and this way:
adb shell su -c dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata of=/external_sd/userdata_backup_stock.img
--> This can take a long while but it contains also the backup for the internal storage not only /data and that internal part is not backupable over TWRP
while in TWRP flash the same recovery image to your BOOT partition now (do not think that this is dangerous. The boot partition is not a magic thing or so it is only the partition which will be started from the bootloader thats all about it. So yes you can install a recovery image on the boot partition without any harm.):
adb shell su -c dd if=/external_sd/twrp_vXXXXX_fx3q_FR-OFF.img.loki of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot
watch carefully that the process ended without errors and that the size is exactly the same as it should be (about 1,3GB)
adb shell sync
power off the device by taken out the battery (do not use reboot or something we want to be sure that the next step is absolutely really the normal boot up)
Boot up normally --> you should see TWRP !! You're NOT in recovery mode you're booting the normal boot mode!
Go on with flashing the sediKERNEL into your RECOVERY partition:
Download the sediKERNEL from here (the stock one could work, too but never tested ...)
push it to your device with adb or MTP (since v2.8build5)
Flash the sediKERNEL to your RECOVERY partition:
adb shell su -c dd if=/external_sd/sediKERNEL_JB-vXXXX.img of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/recovery
Reboot into Recovery by using TWRP GUI or by executing "adb reboot recovery"
Your ROM will boot.
Usage:
From now on every time your device booting up you will see the TWRP screen and need to choose Reboot-->Recovery to boot your ROM.
This is the absolute best way to use TWRP if you want to be sure that you will reach the recovery even when your ROM gets damaged and is confirmed to work very well (as always guarantees are not available )
Important hint:
Be sure that you keep in mind that from now on your recovery and boot partition are not the same anymore (you can always revert back to the normal behaviour, of course!). So if you want to flash a kernel image you need to ensure that it goes to the RECOVERY partition instead of the normal BOOT partition (because on boot partition is TWRP now).
If I got my ROM working I will definitively add an option to the installer where this will be ensured and I asked @joel.maxuel for his stock ROM to add that, too. As for now we are the only ones who are developing for the F3Q so you should be save enough atm but you will need to keep that always in mind when you want to replace the kernel and/or ROM.
What would happen if you forget about that? Well nothing really bad because when you install a kernel or ROM the boot image partition simply gets overwritten and that means only that your TWRP is not there anymore but the system will boot (if the new kernel/ROM is not buggy or damaged). You then could install TWRP by method 1 or using method 2 by using the boot image/Kernel you want to install.
Damage your device - booting (NOT RECOMMENDED will loose /data ):
You probably NEVER want to use this method. It is here for reference only.
I highly recommend to choose one of the above bulletproof versions instead of this one because it WILL damage /data and you need to restore that whole partition afterwards.
All my tests has shown that this comes not from TWRP (in one of my tests I disabled everything in the sourcecode of TWRP which wipes /data) but coming from LG itself. The factory reset button/option do something with the /data partition sturucture and afterwards you cannot use that anymore. I also tried to restore the partition info by trying all backup superblocks but that doesn't worked. No backup superblock is accessible.
Restoring them by mke2fs and e2fsck does not work unfortunately.. (mke2fs -S /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata && e2fsck -yf /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata)
So if you have loosed your /data and/or internal storage you need to have a DD imaged backup near.
Install:
same as for "Bulletproof Method 1" above
Usage:
When you choosen FR-OFF then TWRP will be able to start without booting up the whole system (also see known issues):
Power Off the device (remove battery)
Vol Down + Power --> Then put the battery back --> LG Factory Reset screen appears
Confirming with power button 2 times as asked - if you downloaded and flashed the FRoff version of TWRP it will NOT open the normal reset procedure but /data and the internal storage are not accessible afterwards (read above about the details). That means your app configs and systems configs get lost that way. You have been warned!
Voila: No (full) factory reset anymore but TWRP is here when you have damaged your ROM or for some dev approach
If you want the factory reset back simply choose the file twrp_2.7.1.0_recovery_FRon.img.lok and follow the above instructions. Afterwards you will have TWRP but it will be reachable only when you execute "adb reboot recovery" from the running system.
XDA:DevDB Information
sediTWRP for LG Optimus F3Q, Tool/Utility for the General Discussion
Contributors
xdajog
Source Code: https://github.com/xdajog/bootable_recovery_twrp_fx3q
Version Information
Status: Stable
Current Stable Version: v2.8.1.0 build 5
Stable Release Date: 2014-11-18
Created 2015-05-19
Last Updated 2015-07-20
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is that "adb" thing?
adb stands for: Android Debug Bridge and can help a lot when it comes to work with your device. It is not for developers only but they use it a lot of course.
But a normal user can use this to exchange files without the need of mounting, backing up the device, reboot the device and use it as a very comfortable way of having a terminal emulator.
Normally adb itself is not available as a standalone application - it comes with the Android SDK which is very big and heavy if you want to use adb and/or fastboot (another great tool) only.
But we live in a great world with many people wanting to make things easy so here you go when you want/need only adb and fastboot:
download & install adb at lifehacker
(Direct link for Windows users: Go to easy ADB install thread)
How to get root for the F3Q?
Here is the tool and guide: Saferoot
[*]What is a "nandroid" backup?
nandroid means essentially: "a full image of all your partitions" so it is a full snapshot of your ROM including all your apps and contents.
The name NANDroid is a portmanteau of "NAND" (as in Flash memory - NAND flash) and "Android." (Source)
[*]How to create a "nandroid" backup?
(See above for the meaning of "nandroid backup")
You have several options on how to do that.
The normal and absolutely recommended way is to do that "offline" (from within recovery mode) but you can also do it "online" (while Android is running).
.
Offline nandroid backup by using TWRP recovery: Guide
If you have no custom recovery installed read on.
.
Online nandroid backup:
by using an app:
There is 1 (known to me) "online" nandroid backup tool available which will backup from within your running Android: PlayStore.
I tested it and still using it since a while and I really like it but I would not fully resist on it.
I had no problems backing up but sometimes an app is lost when restoring. This may have been fixed but well it is like imaging a running Windows or Linux system:
Do not do it online if you can - it may/will work but there could be problems/inconsistencies later!!
If you never made a nandroid before doing it online will not harm anything and should be your first start. So install the Online Nandroid backup tool and begin.
Check out this guide for some hints: Guide
(If you like the Android app do not hesitate to buy the unlock key to support the developer!)
by using commandline tools:
First of all you need "adb" installed (check out the FAQ answer number 1 above).
Then you need someone who is telling you the device partition table and you need a big sized SD card to hold the images.
The reason is that you will use a special command named "dd" which images the whole partition (not the content only!).
dd is a VERY dangerous tool because if you use it wrong your device may get bricked so it is essential that you are using the
correct command and check that twice!
Check out the next FAQ on how to do this for the F3Q.
[*]How to create a "nandroid" backup for the F3Q - WITHOUT having a custom recovery?
The whole process will take a big amount of time but it is worth to follow each step including the md5sum checks at the end.
Please read the previous FAQ first because there you will find more information about background and other options you may have.
Ensure you have a SD card inserted which is big enough and having enough free space available (4GB at least! I recommend at least 8 GB but this depends on the size of your current data partition. A completely stock ROM with nothing installed and unused will need 3 GB space).
.
Install "adb" on your pc (check out the FAQ #1 above).
root your device (check out FAQ #2 above)
connect with adb to your (running) F3Q:
adb shell
(you should see a prompt)
su
(you need to grant permission if you haven't yet)
Then backup your current ROM and data:
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/system of=/storage/external_SD/system.2015-07-20.img
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot of=/storage/external_SD/boot.2015-07-20.img
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata of=/storage/external_SD/userdata.2015-07-20.img
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/recovery of=/storage/external_SD/recovery.2015-07-20.img
# If you never backed up your EFS you really should do that once:
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modemst1 of=/storage/external_SD/modemst1.img
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modemst2 of=/storage/external_SD/modemst2.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to be sure you can do an online backup now, too ( Guide ) Online Nandroid backup App
.
copy the backup(s) to your device (connect USB cable - open your external storage and drag&drop) <--- DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!!!! It is absolutely essential!
Check your copy on your device:
md5sum /storage/external_SD/system.2015-07-20.img
md5sum /storage/external_SD/boot.2015-07-20.img
md5sum /storage/external_SD/userdata.2015-07-20.img
md5sum /storage/external_SD/recovery.2015-07-20.img
md5sum /storage/external_SD/modemst1.img
md5sum /storage/external_SD/modemst2.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download a md5sum checker like this one Windows MD5 and load each file you copied to it (on Linux the "md5sum" command can be used of course).
compare the md5sums from the above output and ensure that they are all matching.
[*]Why is factory reset not working when installing TWRP? (or: AAAAaaaah my /data is inaccessible after doing a factory reset!!!!)
All my tests has shown that this comes not from TWRP (in one of my tests I disabled everything in the sourcecode of TWRP which wipes /data) but coming from LG itself. The factory reset button/option do something with the /data partition sturucture and afterwards you cannot use that anymore. I also tried to restore the partition info by trying all backup superblocks but that doesn't worked. No backup superblock is accessible.
Restoring them by mke2fs and e2fsck does not work unfortunately.. (mke2fs -S /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata && e2fsck -yf /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata)
So if you have loosed your /data and/or internal storage you need to have a DD imaged backup near. Sorry but you have been warned (known issues) before.
.
if you want the factory reset back simply choose the file twrp_2.7.1.0_recovery_FRon.img.lok and follow the above instructions. Afterwards you will have TWRP but it will be reachable only when you execute "adb reboot recovery" from the running system. v2.7. is not recommended to use but atm the only option if you really want that. Instead I would better try the wipe options from within TWRP and re-installing your ROM of choice or simply using the official LG flashing tool to get your F3Q fully reset.
.
History / Changelog
Previous development (v2.7.1.0)
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND USING v2.8 instead of this version!
You have been warned.. If you still want that buggy version go on here:
USE THAT ON YOUR OWN RISK! I STRONGLY RECOMMEND TO BACKUP EVERYTHING BEFORE PROCEEDING.
Working:
Install (to flash a custom Kernel)
Mounting partitions (see known issues for the internal one)
Reboot Recovery | System
adb shell
File Manager
Terminal Command
Totally untested:
WIPE (may work)
Known issues:
If the device becomes locked and then unlocked by the user adb will restart on the device (or crash and start again. haven't had looked into that yet)
When you use the "Power Off" option in the "Reboot" menu the device will reboot instead of powering off
RESTORE (will NOT work!)
BACKUP (will NOT work!)
You cannot mount the external sd via USB or MTP
Vibration is not working (I will not fix that atm because I like it that way)
Timezone is not set correctly (that seems to be a well known bug in several devices using TWRP....
Internal storage is missing (/data/media)
Hardware keys at bottom doesn't work
If you use the factory reset button /data partition will be inaccessible and need to be re-flashed (means you will LOOSE your app and system configs when you use factore reset)
Download:
Attached you will find the loki'ed TWRP version (v2.7.1.0):
AGAIN: THIS IS A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT only. It definitively WILL have bugs and problems! I want to proof that it will be possible to have TWRP on this device and also have a way to boot up into TWRP without booting the whole system.
twrp_2.7.1.0_recovery_FRoff.img.lok = FactoryReset is disabled / TWRP will be loaded instead
twrp_2.7.1.0_recovery_FRon.img.lok = FactoryReset is enabled / TWRP can be reached with "adb reboot recovery" only
Read the Installation & Usage instructions in the OP on how to install that file.
Awesome work! Saves having to risk modifying the bootloader (for now). :laugh: :highfive: Thanks!
xdajog said:
TWRP Recovery for the LG F3Q / D520
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm unable to get logs from TWRP, it does crash reliably when messing about in settings and such.
Timezone fix is needed. (Devices time is set to the correct local time, but TWRPs timezones arent correct.)
Device does not show internal storage.
Wipe menu does not differentiate from internal storage and /data
there's no /mnt, /storage or /sdcard present while in TWRP.
Uhm, I'm sure there's some more I've missed, but that's all I've got for now.
eriklion said:
I'm unable to get logs from TWRP, it does crash reliably when messing about in settings and such.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhm what do you mean? adb shell and then open /tmp/recovery.log? Clicking on the small mini icon at middle bottom of the screen? Both working for me. Have you tested the above attached version or the one I gave you at dropbox? The above is a more current one!
Timezone fix is needed. (Devices time is set to the correct local time, but TWRPs timezones arent correct.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hm I will look into that
Device does not show internal storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah forgot to mention that. Is that shown in CWM btw?
Wipe menu does not differentiate from internal storage and /data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you explain what does that means?
there's no /mnt, /storage or /sdcard present while in TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/mnt and /storage are not needed or am I wrong? /sdcard would point to the internal storage I think but I decided to use /external_sd instead which is accessible in the latest version.
Finally got around to test. Looks great, I love having TWRP over CWM!
Unfortunately the backup function is not working. TWRP errors out and reloads itself. I have a pastebin, sorry it's so long but I wanted to try a couple different backup options before I gave up and produced a log file:
http://pastebin.com/QUfNw6Rk
The portions of interest are:
Code:
Backing up Cache...
I:Creating backup...
I:Creating tar file '/external_sd/TWRP/BACKUPS/1db9cba/1970-01-24--22-43-59 JZO54K//cache.ext4.win'
I:addFile '/cache/recovery' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
I:addFile '/cache/recovery/log' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
...
Code:
Backing up Data...
I:Creating backup...
I:Creating tar file '/external_sd/TWRP/BACKUPS/1db9cba/1970-01-24--22-43-59 JZO54K//data.ext4.win'
I:addFile '/data/dontpanic' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
I:addFile '/data/dontpanic/last_kmsg0' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
I:addFile '/data/dontpanic/next_count' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
I:addFile '/data/dontpanic/last_kmsg1' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
I:addFile '/data/dontpanic/last_kmsg2' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
I:addFile '/data/dontpanic/last_kmsg3' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
I:addFile '/data/dontpanic/last_kmsg4' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
I:addFile '/data/dontpanic/last_kmsg5' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
I:addFile '/data/dontpanic/last_kmsg6' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
I:addFile '/data/dontpanic/last_kmsg7' including root: 0
Failed to get selinux context: Operation not supported on transport endpoint
__bionic_open_tzdata: couldn't find any tzdata when looking for localtime!
__bionic_open_tzdata: couldn't find any tzdata when looking for GMT!
__bionic_open_tzdata: couldn't find any tzdata when looking for posixrules!
Starting TWRP 2.7.1.0 on Sun Jan 25 03:44:01 1970
I:Single storage only.
I:No internal storage defined.
I:No storage defined, defaulting to /sdcard.
I:Lun file '/sys/devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun0/file' does not exist, USB storage mode disabled
I:Found brightness file at '/sys/class/leds/lcd-backlight/brightness'
I:TWFunc::Set_Brightness: Setting brightness control to 255
Starting the UI...Pixel format: 480x800 @ 32bpp
Pixel format: RGBX_8888
Not using qualcomm overlay, 'msmfb43_80201'
framebuffer: fd 4 (480 x 800)
=> Linking mtab
=> Processing recovery.fstab
I:Processing '/boot'
I:Processing '/cache'
I:Processing '/data'
I:Processing '/misc'
I:Processing '/recovery'
I:Processing '/external_sd'
I:Processing '/system'
I:Creating Android Secure: /external_sd/.android_secure
I:Backup folder set to '/external_sd/TWRP/BACKUPS/1db9cba'
I:Settings storage is '/external_sd'
Updating partition details...
I:Unmounting main partitions...
E:Unable to unmount '/data'
I have a stock based ROM to test, and I want to make sure I can enter recovery through the bootloader should things go sour. If TWRP can backup and restore, that allows me to go back to my true stock after the test. Any ideas?
joel.maxuel said:
Finally got around to test. Looks great, I love having TWRP over CWM!
Unfortunately the backup function is not working. TWRP errors out and reloads itself. [.....] Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
There are several things coming in place when it comes to backing up out of TWRP atm...
You hopefully have read the big fat red warning ? What I mean is the part regarding /data gets lost when you do a factory-reset
That said if you have entered TWRP by pressing the physical keys your /data partition will be wiped (really bad thing but that it is made for and I haven't had the time to look into that further)
The result is a cleaned /data which is not mountable until you format it with mke2fs.
(e.g.: "adb shell mke2fs -T ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p15")
If you do not do that what MAY happens is that TWRP failing because of missing /data (and if not then you should ensure that /data was really backed up)
But as your log told me it seems to be not the problem here 'cause the /data partition is detected by TWRP. so it could be 2)
Mounting points.
As stated the mount points are not fully working in TWRP atm. That means when it comes to /sdcard which is the internal device storage it will fail, too because it cannot be found. The reason for this is that LG mounts /sdcard by the sdcard service but that is somehow tricky thats why it is not working atm.
And on top: the internal storage normally needs to be mounted to "/data/media" especially when we want to use MultiROM later.
So +1 for /sdcard or/and internal storage related
background info: http://teamw.in/DataMedia
The last one I could imagine is "something else" which could be catched by "/proc/last_kmsg"
The important thing is that this file gets written only after a crash and when the battery was not removed. So if the device reboots to TWRP again try to adb shell to the device and then paste the last_kmsg again. Maybe we can find something here.
When I will continue on TWRP I think of upgrading to v2.8 because they enable MTP here which could be good for copying data between device and pc..
BTW:
I have no idea what CWM port which is also be available would do in case of starting a backup especially what will REALLY gets backed up!!!!
IMHO the best way on doing a nandroid backup atm is "adb shell dd ...." Takes a long time but then you can be sure. I can give you all the mountpoints if you need them.
As I currently have not such much success with porting the ROM I will now come back here to TWRP and will finish it to have a hopefully fully working recovery. I cannot say the timeline for this but it will definitively be the next what I want to do because when this is done I can better match the rest for the ROM.
xdajog said:
<SNIP>
IMHO the best way on doing a nandroid backup atm is "adb shell dd ...." Takes a long time but then you can be sure. I can give you all the mountpoints if you need them.
As I currently have not such much success with porting the ROM I will now come back here to TWRP and will finish it to have a hopefully fully working recovery. I cannot say the timeline for this but it will definitively be the next what I want to do because when this is done I can better match the rest for the ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This should work (I've done it before for eriklion):
Code:
adb shell
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/system of=/storage/external_SD/system.2014-11-12.img
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot of=/storage/external_SD/boot.2014-11-12.img
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/cache of=/storage/external_SD/cache.2014-11-12.img
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata of=/storage/external_SD/userdata.2014-11-12.img
Now, is there a recommended adb command to wipe data and cache, since factory reset function is not the best choice? I see a few with the following process...
Code:
adb shell
su
format DATA
format CACHE
...but not much commentary on it.
I appreciate the second (third, whatever you are on) crack at TWRP. Hopefully the next version will squash the bugs. Btw, I will see if I can provide a /proc/last_kmsg tonight have posted a last_kmsg here.
joel.maxuel said:
This should work (I've done it before for eriklion):
Code:
adb shell
dd /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/system /storage/external_SD/system.2014-11-12.img
dd /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot /storage/external_SD/boot.2014-11-12.img
dd /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/cache /storage/external_SD/cache.2014-11-12.img
dd /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata /storage/external_SD/userdata.2014-11-12.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes thats all you need to backup & restore
joel.maxuel said:
Now, is there a recommended adb command to wipe data and cache, since factory reset function is not the best choice? I see a few with the following process...
Code:
adb shell
su
format DATA
format CACHE
...but not much commentary on it.
I appreciate the second (third, whatever you are on) crack at TWRP. Hopefully the next version will squash the bugs. Btw, I will see if I can provide a /proc/last_kmsg tonight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always do it that way:
Code:
Starting TWRP
adb shell
("su" in TWRP not needed normally)
mke2fs -T ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p15 (for userdata)
mke2fs -T ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p14 (for cache)
Then you can be sure it is clean and well formatted. ext4 is for both cache and userdata and works fine for me.
twrp v2.8 with many enhancements and fixes is on its way
Stay tuned ....
if you get bored in the meanwhile ... click thanks
Is someone here with running the stock ROM (or absolutely not modified means formatted! /data partition) who is willing to give me a quick help? It must be stock or placed back to stock by using a backuped image dump if you have one.
The following need to be done in recovery so you need to have CWM or TWRP installed. Boot into recovery (adb reboot recovery) and then use "adb shell" to connect.
I need your output of this command:
Code:
mke2fs -n /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata
This will not do/destroy/modify anything.
It should display some information about that partition. Read the details here http://linux.die.net/man/8/mke2fs
The reason is that LG factory reset seems to wipe superblocks (wanted by LG or not - fact is that they are thrown) and THEN forwarding to the recovery tool like TWRP but to be sure I need the above output from 1 or 2 people to be sure enough on how to proceed.
Thanks in advance
As Joel investigated that may destroy /data cause of a buggy version of mke2fs!! Oh man..
-----
Sent from my SGH-I927 using XDA Android mobile app
Ok thx to joel I'm able to investigate the LG facotry reset further.
In parallel I will try another way which will be (if I get it working) absolutely smooth and will not have such workaround character like the current idea (hijacking factory reset).
Give me some time but if that works it would be a great solution for accessing recovery..
Stay tuned some good things may happen...
-----
Sent from my SGH-I927 using XDA Android mobile app
Finally v2.8 for F3Q has arrived !!! I think a very good approach now!
Have fun and as usual any thx click.... and so on
Check out the OP for Download and details:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55239027&postcount=1
UPDATE:
I have completely reworked the "Installation & Usage instructions" section in the OP. PLEASE READ and be happy
xdajog said:
Finally v2.8 for F3Q has arrived !!! I think a very good approach now!
Have fun and as usual any thx click.... and so on
Check out the OP for Download and details:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55239027&postcount=1
UPDATE:
I have completely reworked the "Installation & Usage instructions" section in the OP. PLEASE READ and be happy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great work.
Am looking at method two. If I was to install a ROM, wouldn't the boot partition (thus my new recovery) be overwritten by the ROM package's boot.img? And when I was cooking with the Kitchen, the ROM required a specific mount point for the boot partition. If it is supposed to point to recovery, seems to me that neither would boot (overwritten recovery, ROM pointing in the wrong location).
So, what is this solution getting around? So we have an option to load TWRP before a system we don't necessarily trust will boot? Thus avoiding the bootloader fallback even more? Or is it a broken boot.img breaks TWRP as well so even if we try to go in through the bootloader, TWRP fails to load as well?
Sorry for my confusion, still trying to grasp all this new information.
joel.maxuel said:
Great work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
Am looking at method two. If I was to install a ROM, wouldn't the boot partition (thus my new recovery) be overwritten by the ROM package's boot.img?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Method 2 will suggest that if you install a custom ROM that you are be able to use/choose the boot.img partition (I hoped that the "hint" at the was clear enough but better to ask of course!)
And when I was cooking with the Kitchen, the ROM required a specific mount point for the boot partition. If it is supposed to point to recovery, seems to me that neither would boot (overwritten recovery, ROM pointing in the wrong location).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yes you either need to point to the recovery partition or (and that would be what I recommend) you let the user choose what he wanted to do.
So, what is this solution getting around?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best we can do here (and that is what I will do for my custom ROM if I get it done some day) to use AROMA installer and ask the user if he has a recovery installed in the boot partition or not. Then you can choose what to do in the updater script.
I uploaded an example of my AROMA installation setup for the "sediROM for Samsung Captivate Glide" in this post. This one is VERY complex but you will get the idea and many input on how to do things.
So we have an option to load TWRP before a system we don't necessarily trust will boot? Thus avoiding the bootloader fallback even more?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes using method 2 we have always coming TWRP up when powering on the device. We then can choose to do things in there or to boot to "recovery" which will be the ROM. What do you meant with "bootloader fallback"?
Or is it a broken boot.img breaks TWRP as well so even if we try to go in through the bootloader, TWRP fails to load as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure If I got you. When the boot partition gets overwritten TWRP and any possibility to get into TWRP will be lost because it sits only in the boot partition when using method 2. If you choose to do a factory reset when powering on the device or from within the ROM I have no idea what happens then unfortunately. That is untested but if you willing to test..
Sorry for my confusion, still trying to grasp all this new information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worry about that happy if that is useful for someone
xdajog said:
I uploaded an example of my AROMA installation setup for the "sediROM for Samsung Captivate Glide" in this post. This one is VERY complex but you will get the idea and many input on how to do things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I will take a look at this in the next few days.
xdajog said:
Yes using method 2 we have always coming TWRP up when powering on the device. We then can choose to do things in there or to boot to "recovery" which will be the ROM. What do you meant with "bootloader fallback"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bootloader fallback as in having to access TWRP via the bootloader. Our regular method is to access form the ROM, but if the ROM is bricked for whatever reason, the fallback is through the bootloader.
xdajog said:
Not sure If I got you. When the boot partition gets overwritten TWRP and any possibility to get into TWRP will be lost because it sits only in the boot partition when using method 2. If you choose to do a factory reset when powering on the device or from within the ROM I have no idea what happens then unfortunately. That is untested but if you willing to test..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was alluding to the scenario if one was to choose method one, installed a ROM, and things got busted badly... Would you even be able to access TWRP with a bad boot partition? I think so, because recovery partition should be self sufficient (I think you proved it by swapping their places by way of method two), it is just getting into recovery by way of bootloader) I don't particularly like.
Had to face that fear last night, and ultimately, TWRP started up fast enough from the bootloader that it seemed like nothing happened, but when i went to dump the log, it could not recognize the sdcard. DD'ing my userdata partition back fixed that issue.
joel.maxuel said:
Bootloader fallback as in having to access TWRP via the bootloader. Our regular method is to access form the ROM, but if the ROM is bricked for whatever reason, the fallback is through the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean "factory-reset" right? By either pressing the factory reset buttons (or by choosing from within the ROM) correct?
I was alluding to the scenario if one was to choose method one, installed a ROM, and things got busted badly... Would you even be able to access TWRP with a bad boot partition? I think so, because recovery partition should be self sufficient (I think you proved it by swapping their places by way of method two), it is just getting into recovery by way of bootloader) I don't particularly like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you install TWRP with method 1 and your boot partition gets corrupt you still be able to reach TWRP by using the factory-reset buttons. But you will loose /data then.
If you install TWRP with method 2 and your boot partition has gone you can not start TWRP anymore because it sits on there.
So you're more bulletproof by choosing method 1 because you would reach TWRP even when the boot partition gets damaged but you will loose /data then! Mentioned in the known issues in the OP.
Had to face that fear last night, and ultimately, TWRP started up fast enough from the bootloader that it seemed like nothing happened, but when i went to dump the log, it could not recognize the sdcard. DD'ing my userdata partition back fixed that issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you have TWRP installed with method 1 you will reach TWRP by factory reset buttons and it will DO NOTHING ! Really! It simply starts TWRP because I patched TWRP that way that it will not wipe anything when triggered by the factory-reset command / button!
I can say that for double sure since today because:
1) In one of my tests I had disabled REALLY EVERY wipe option within TWRP - compiled it - installed it and even then /data gets lost!
2) I have installed the BOOT image means KERNEL on the RECOVERY partition today again and then used the factory-reset buttons again (after I restored /data of course)... and /data gets lost AGAIN--?!!
That means even when there is absolutely no custom recovery in place (like TWRP) which would normally handle wiping /data then nevertheless /data gets corrupted! I have tested that twice so I can say now for sure that this has nothing to do with TWRP but it comes from the LG bootloader instead! That bootloader is CRAP. sorry.
I had tested one approach which is build in boot image RAM disk which catches the keys which are pressed and then reboot into recovery. That would work but only as long as you have a working boot image partition. So that is the same good/bad as having TWRP sitting within the boot partition which is much easier to do so I decided to go this way for now.
One last word about the crappy factory-reset by LG: I have tried a lot to find out what really happens to the partition or partition table of /data when those keys are pressed but the only thing I can say is that the superblocks are inaccessible and the same for the backup superblocks. doing a "mke2fs -S" does not work (and wouldn't fix the root cause of the issue) and I have no idea what LG do here. Therefore cannot fix that ..
so I believe we will need to live with one of the 3 methods described in the OP....
Hope that answered some of your questions...
Bad news..
The Desire Z of my wife is completely broken now.
That means I cannot develop anymore..
- I ported and released the latest TWRP version to the F3Q
- I'm able to build AOSP JellyBean (not booting yet though),
- I compiled and released a custom AOSP Kernel (named sediKERNEL)
.... and a lot more..
I have everything I need to continue here in place...
I have the will and the ability to continue...
But no device anymore..
If someone has a F3Q to give away.. then I will continue but I'm not willing to buy a F3Q for developing only. So if you have an idea how we could continue let me know.
Update:
Check out the following link if you want to help http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2952919
Otherwise that will end here for me unfortunately...
Hopefully not.
Yours
Xdajog.
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Sent from my SGH-I927 using XDA Android mobile app
I will update the installation instructions soon!
Because of the new sediKERNEL v2.0 the instructions will be made bullet proof only .. and i try to do it more detailed @Kediil
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Sent from my SGH-I927 using XDA Android mobile app

T999L, failed unlock - now no imei, baseband nor nv_data

My tail of woe. From what I have read there is nothing that can be done but I thought I would ask anyhow.
I was overseas with an SGH-T999L, and took it to a man in a market to be unlocked. 2 hours later it was useless. The man said it would be OK once it was back in the US, but it wasn't. Obviously he didn't keep backups.
Dialing *#06# gives me "null/null".
I cannot turn on wifi (I slie the switch and it slides right back) but can turn on bluetooth, gps and nfc.
Baseband version is "Unknown"
Build number is JSS15J.T999LUVUBNC1
It appears that he used vRoot to get root.
According to the "odin screen"
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: No
CURENT BINARY: Samsung Official
SYSTEM: STATUS: Custom
QUALCOMM SECUREBOOT: ENABLE
Warranty Bit: 0
BOOTLOADER AP SWREV: 1
I used this article from techglobal101.wordpress.com 2013/05/02/how-to-solve-no-service-on-samsung-galaxy-s3/ following the imei already corrupt steps to generate
the text file with the imei in it. However the NV Reader/writer has problems. Firstly *#7284# only gives me a choice of "Modem" or "PDA". However *#0808# does give me more options including "RMNET + DM + MODEM". The bigger problem is that the SPC code of 000000 is not accepted, so NV reader/writer can not access anything.
Looking in the /efs filesystem (using "adb shell" and "su" and "busybox find /efs -size +1000k" ) does not find any files larger than 1MB (I believe the nv_data.bin should be at least 2MB) so no original ".nv_data" file, no "nv_data.bin" nor "nv_data.bak". There are smaller files, for example there is a file /efs/imei/mps_code.dat, 3 bytes long containing TMB. The /efs partition is 13716 blocks in size and is only 33% full (4556 blocks in use).
I can use adb to install and uninstall packages, and copy files.
Things which look interesting to me in the output of "getprop" are (with a valid sim card installed)
[DEVICE_PROVISIONED]: [1]
[gsm.operator.alpha]: []
[gsm.sim,state]: [NOT_READY]
[gsm.sim.unknownready]: [1]
So far I have not done anything else. In particular I have not tried using ODIN to download a stock image, nor have I tried removing the files which are in /efs.
I also have not tried creating a 2MB file of NUL characters called /efs/nv_data.bin in the hope that that would at least advance the solution.
I would be pleased to get any good advice on what to do next. Please assume I know my way around a unix command prompt, but this is my first venture into the world of Android.
First thing, don't mess with the efs. It's not relevant to the issue at hand and sounds to be just fine. Most of the NV Data is stored on different partitions. Don't assume its the same as on other devices like many others seem to advise.
Second, download your stock firmware (NC1)(root66 firmware is ok), flash via Odin on your computer, and factory reset (will wipe internal sd). This often fixes these problems without having to touch the NV data.
Something tells me that whoever you took it to may have tried to flash the 4.1.1 modem to use our free unlock method. If so, that will cause the exact same thing you are experiencing now.
If after that it is still not fixed, PM me and I will try to help get your imei restored. We are not allowed to post information, tools, links or further discuss that here, so if it comes to that, I can only help you via PM.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

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