Develop Bugs

Restoring TWRP backup to a new phone

I have to move to a new phone. I backed up my old one to the SDcard. I placed it in the new phone and booted into TWRP. When I enter the restore menu, I go to ext card and it doesn't show any backups. I am not sure why TWRP does not see my sdcard backups so I can restore my backup.

caseyatbt said:
I have to move to a new phone. I backed up my old one to the SDcard. I placed it in the new phone and booted into TWRP. When I enter the restore menu, I go to ext card and it doesn't show any backups. I am not sure why TWRP does not see my sdcard backups so I can restore my backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There different serial#s it dosent recognize that phone I had the same problems when I switched my s3 to another s3
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

Will it work with CWM or just start from scratch?
Sent from the Delta Quadrant using XDA Premium

caseyatbt said:
Will it work with CWM or just start from scratch?
Sent from the Delta Quadrant using XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CWM backups can only be restored with CWM, and TWRP backups can only be restored with TWRP

CNexus said:
CWM backups can only be restored with CWM, and TWRP backups can only be restored with TWRP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, what I meant was, if I install CWM, will I have a better shot at a restoration or does CWM check serials as well?

caseyatbt said:
Sorry, what I meant was, if I install CWM, will I have a better shot at a restoration or does CWM check serials as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And that's what I'm answering. CWM won't even attempt to restore it (much less check the serial) because its in a different format than what it saves its backups as, you have to be on TWRP if you even wanna try it

caseyatbt said:
I have to move to a new phone. I backed up my old one to the SDcard. I placed it in the new phone and booted into TWRP. When I enter the restore menu, I go to ext card and it doesn't show any backups. I am not sure why TWRP does not see my sdcard backups so I can restore my backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you just trying to restore apps or what?

@OP I actually started a similar thread a while back that could have given you the solution make a backup on your new phone using twrp, then on your sd card within the twrp folder there should be two folders with different numbers, one will have the backup you just made and the other will have your old backups. Move the files with the old backups into the folder which contains the new backup, then delete the old, empty folder. Now you can restore your old backups
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

CNexus said:
And that's what I'm answering. CWM won't even attempt to restore it (much less check the serial) because its in a different format than what it saves its backups as, you have to be on TWRP if you even wanna try it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant install CWM, then make a backupwith CWM and use CWM on a new phone.
imaconeheadXD said:
@OP I actually started a similar thread a while back that could have given you the solution make a backup on your new phone using twrp, then on your sd card within the twrp folder there should be two folders with different numbers, one will have the backup you just made and the other will have your old backups. Move the files with the old backups into the folder which contains the new backup, then delete the old, empty folder. Now you can restore your old backups
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that and it says it failed as it finishes the restore.
I decided to just restore from Titanium Backup and do the set it up over again.

WAIT
Do you mean to say that you still have the old phone? If so, there's a way to make an ODIN flashable tar of the exact state of your old phone so you can flash to your new phone
Here's a link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1777579
Partitions are the same so you can use the script someone in there made

CNexus said:
WAIT
Do you mean to say that you still have the old phone? If so, there's a way to make an ODIN flashable tar of the exact state of your old phone so you can flash to your new phone
Here's a link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1777579
Partitions are the same so you can use the script someone in there made
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is cool! Thanks. I have made the images, but making them flash-able seems a little less clear.

caseyatbt said:
I have to move to a new phone. I backed up my old one to the SDcard. I placed it in the new phone and booted into TWRP. When I enter the restore menu, I go to ext card and it doesn't show any backups. I am not sure why TWRP does not see my sdcard backups so I can restore my backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP bases backups and restores on serial number in a couple places. I've only done this from same phone to other of the same phones I've gotten of the same model (e.g. S3 to S3, HTC One 32GB to HTC One 64GB). Not sure how it would work from different model to different model - spose it depends on what you are restoring., model, rom, etc.
TWRP backup directory is sdcard/TWRP/BACKUPS/[SerialNumberOfDevice]/[timeStampOfBackup]/
Change the directory name to the serial number of the new device you want to restore to. Then, go to /[timeStampOfBackup]/recovery.log and do a find/replace on all of the old serial number with the new serial number - I believe there are 8 or 9 instances.
If you change the directory name from w/in TWRP recovery console, reboot - then it'll show up as a recovery option... though, you'll need to update the log file another way -if it's on an sdcard (vs. an HTC One where there is no true sdcard) neither should be a problem.
cheers

hex90 said:
TWRP bases backups and restores on serial number in a couple places. I've only done this from same phone to other of the same phones I've gotten of the same model (e.g. S3 to S3, HTC One 32GB to HTC One 64GB). Not sure how it would work from different model to different model - spose it depends on what you are restoring., model, rom, etc.
TWRP backup directory is sdcard/TWRP/BACKUPS/[SerialNumberOfDevice]/[timeStampOfBackup]/
Change the directory name to the serial number of the new device you want to restore to. Then, go to /[timeStampOfBackup]/recovery.log and do a find/replace on all of the old serial number with the new serial number - I believe there are 8 or 9 instances.
If you change the directory name from w/in TWRP recovery console, reboot - then it'll show up as a recovery option... though, you'll need to update the log file another way -if it's on an sdcard (vs. an HTC One where there is no true sdcard) neither should be a problem.
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having a similar issue with TWRP not seeing backups but my device didn't change. I found my serial number but it's a long, 14 digit number and the folder you mention above is about 8 characters long consisting of characters and numbers. I tried to convert my serial number (is Hex I believe) to ASCII but it doesn't render the same name as the folder (not even close in terms of length). Any idea as to how I can convert it?

robertfah said:
I'm having a similar issue with TWRP not seeing backups but my device didn't change. I found my serial number but it's a long, 14 digit number and the folder you mention above is about 8 characters long consisting of characters and numbers. I tried to convert my serial number (is Hex I believe) to ASCII but it doesn't render the same name as the folder (not even close in terms of length). Any idea as to how I can convert it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the easiest way of getting the "new" serial number is just to create a new TWRP backup for your phone (maybe something small like just recovery). It'll create a new folder with the name of your "new" serial number. That's the one you'd want to use.

robertfah said:
I'm having a similar issue with TWRP not seeing backups but my device didn't change. I found my serial number but it's a long, 14 digit number and the folder you mention above is about 8 characters long consisting of characters and numbers. I tried to convert my serial number (is Hex I believe) to ASCII but it doesn't render the same name as the folder (not even close in terms of length). Any idea as to how I can convert it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Connect your phone to your computer (make sure drivers are installed)
Download the adb_windows.zip from my devhost here: http://d-h.st/qmi
Then unzip that and open a command prompt in the unzipped directory (Shift + Right click > Open command prompt here)
Type "adb devices", press enter, and you'll have your serial in the following form:
Code:
xxxxxxx device
Last step: profit

topherk said:
I think the easiest way of getting the "new" serial number is just to create a new TWRP backup for your phone (maybe something small like just recovery). It'll create a new folder with the name of your "new" serial number. That's the one you'd want to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I did that but once again, I couldn't see it through TWRP (but could through Root Explorer or Windows Explorer).
CNexus said:
Connect your phone to your computer (make sure drivers are installed)
Download the adb_windows.zip from my devhost here: http://d-h.st/qmi
Then unzip that and open a command prompt in the unzipped directory (Shift + Right click > Open command prompt here)
Type "adb devices", press enter, and you'll have your serial in the following form:
Code:
xxxxxxx device
Last step: profit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this...after doing this, the serial number was the same, however, I ran across this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2178264&highlight=twrp+not+finding+backups&page=2 and found Post #14 to be very helpful and my possible solution.
As it turns out, when I connect my phone to my computer, I get the drive "SPH-L710" and the folders "Card" and "Phone" within that. Phone has a 0 folder in it and I copied the TWRP from Phone\TWRP to 0\TWRP and then I was able to view them and restore them in recovery.
So why isn't TWRP storing the backups in 0\TWRP? What is supposed to be in the 0 folder and the Phone folders? it looks like I have some duplicate folders going on:
Phone:
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"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
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"lightbox_share": "Share",
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0:

This actually worked for me. I bricked my LG G3, got Verizon to send me a replacement LG G3, and then I used the TWRP backup that I had made to restore everything. Thanks for this information.
How I got it to work was I made a TWRP backup on the new phone, transferred the backup that I had made on the old phone to the new phone, rename the new backup to something, and rename the old backup to to match the original name of the new backup.

TWRP backup directory is sdcard/TWRP/BACKUPS/[SerialNumberOfDevice]/[timeStampOfBackup]/
Change the directory name to the serial number of the new device you want to restore to. Then, go to /[timeStampOfBackup]/recovery.log and do a find/replace on all of the old serial number with the new serial number - I believe there are 8 or 9 instances.
If you change the directory name from w/in TWRP recovery console, reboot - then it'll show up as a recovery option... though, you'll need to update the log file another way -if it's on an sdcard (vs. an HTC One where there is no true sdcard) neither should be a problem.
cheers[/QUOTE]
Thanks I got it working like this

During the TWRP restore process (old phone backup to new phone but same model), should I restore every partition to have everything working properly? or maybe just system+data?
I mean about screen as below:
I am not sure if I should also restore partition as: modem, boot?

TWRP backup - Can I restore some app data without restoring the whole image?

So here's the thing: I made a TWRP backup of my 16GB nexus before I returned it yesterday (multitouch issues, dead pixels) but see now that people are reporting an OTA update that fixes the multitouch issue. I would rather not restore that backup since it is the JSS15J system, so is there a way I can get the data of at least a few apps and restore them individually somehow?
Thanks!

Titanium Backup can do that.

danvee said:
Titanium Backup can do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, can it read the data in the TWRP folder? I have used TB a lot in the past but didn't think it might be able to use the TWRP data.

If it's not compressed (I never do), TiBu can do it perfectly.
In Titanium backup pro in it's menu is the option to 'extract from nandroid backup' .
Did it just last week, so I know the current version works.

danvee said:
If it's not compressed (I never do), TiBu can do it perfectly.
In Titanium backup pro in it's menu is the option to 'extract from nandroid backup' .
Did it just last week, so I know the current version works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, need the pro version. Hmm, thanks. I'll check it out.

Coronado is dead said:
Ah, need the pro version. Hmm, thanks. I'll check it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Nandroid Backup Manager. It's free.
It can restore apps and/or data, SMS messages, Call logs and more from your nandroid backup. It can also decompress the backup if it's compressed.

Advance Restore and just click restore data only on twrp

danvee said:
If it's not compressed (I never do), TiBu can do it perfectly.
In Titanium backup pro in it's menu is the option to 'extract from nandroid backup' .
Did it just last week, so I know the current version works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you man thank you. i just had this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=49548141&postcount=136 problem and your post is gonna help me i hope thanks. btw im on 4ext recovery

MrPhilo said:
Advance Restore and just click restore data only on twrp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good day: Are you indicating that TWRP has an advanced restore feature?
Advance Restore and just click restore data only on twrp ????
I don't see any advanced menu in TWRP (Looks like all or nothing)?
Or, did you mean that Nandroid Manager has an advanced menu?
Regards

galearned said:
Are you indicating that TWRP has an advanced restore feature?
Advance Restore and just click restore data only on twrp ????
I don't see any advanced menu in TWRP (Looks like all or nothing)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP backups each partition separately, thus it can also restore any single partition so also /data
tetakpatalked from Nexus 7

tetakpatak said:
TWRP backups each partition separately, thus it can also restore any single partition so also /data
tetakpatalked from Nexus 7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"so is there a way I can get the data of at least a few apps and restore them individually somehow?"

Pfeffernuss said:
"so is there a way I can get the data of at least a few apps and restore them individually somehow?"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course. TWRP has no advanced backup&restore features because it doesn't need them: you will be prompted before each backup&restore action about the partitions.
For data of just single apps use better Titanium Backup. It can extract them from your nandroid backups
tetakpatalked from N7100

MrPhilo said:
Advance Restore and just click restore data only on twrp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does it restore gapps too?

javigbox said:
does it restore gapps too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think some of the gapps data is flashed to system, so it won't be able to completely restore it but after flashing gapps, you should be able to extract google apps with data intact from TWRP backup

jassalmithu said:
I think some of the gapps data is flashed to system, so it won't be able to completely restore it but after flashing gapps, you should be able to extract google apps with data intact from TWRP backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly what I do.

marsmallow 6 will update apps + data from your google account. Not sure it's fully implemented yet but it's supposed to work. I've tried it yesterday with a Mm6.0.1 on nexus 7 2013 and many apps were already configured. Not all of them. Going from MM6 to MM6.0.1 might complicate it so maybe it's better to restore with google and do a little work by yourself, to make sure. I gave up on those restore apps. It also give you the opportunity to do a clean up

Coronado is dead said:
So here's the thing: I made a TWRP backup of my 16GB nexus before I returned it yesterday (multitouch issues, dead pixels) but see now that people are reporting an OTA update that fixes the multitouch issue. I would rather not restore that backup since it is the JSS15J system, so is there a way I can get the data of at least a few apps and restore them individually somehow?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure somebody is already aware of this;just sharing coz this awed me![emoji33]
You need to ..extract/restore individual data files from nandroid backup?
Restore data to an app when switching between ROMs or OS versions?
Well TWRP IS THE ONLY THING YOU NEED! And a PC of course.
Bless the Devs[emoji7][emoji28]
Forget Nan managers, tar.extractors & the insanely complex Bash terminal commands
1. Go to File manager on TWRP recovery, it can read the system data i.e. data/data/ file (while your other file managers can,only data files on SD or ext.SD)
2.Go to data/data and locate the data folder of the app you wish to extract; will be in the format 'com.app name'
3.Push 'Select folder' tab on the screen; it gives you option to COPY the file
4.Move up & paste the data/data file on your readable memmory: sd/ext.SD
And that's it!! Just connect to the PC & pull the file & there u have: your APP DATA FILE!
I was tired using zip extractors, changing file names & struggling with command prompts; then found this[emoji4]
Hope it helps[emoji106]
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 08:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:24 AM ----------
DIGVIJAY24 said:
I'm sure somebody is already aware of this;just sharing coz this awed me![emoji33]
You need to ..extract/restore individual data files from nandroid backup?
Restore data to an app when switching between ROMs or OS versions?
Well TWRP IS THE ONLY THING YOU NEED! And a PC of course.
Bless the Devs[emoji7][emoji28]
Forget Nan managers, tar.extractors & the insanely complex Bash terminal commands
1. Go to File manager on TWRP recovery, it can read the system data i.e. data/data/ file (while your other file managers can,only data files on SD or ext.SD)
2.Go to data/data and locate the data folder of the app you wish to extract; will be in the format 'com.app name'
3.Push 'Select folder' tab on the screen; it gives you option to COPY the file
4.Move up & paste the data/data file on your readable memmory: sd/ext.SD
And that's it!! Just connect to the PC & pull the file & there u have: your APP DATA FILE!
I was tired using zip extractors, changing file names & struggling with command prompts; then found this[emoji4]
Hope it helps[emoji106]
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And believe me, I could repack the data into my new ROM just like that!
Not sure if this messes up with your system but I'm going great so far.
So you Upgraded to a higher OS and find some of your apps to be crashing on your new ROM & have a nandroid of your stock:
You are going to switch data files between stock & custom ROM!
1.Flash the Stock ROM & copy app data from the system files to readable memory, as mentioned above, just add a letter & Rename the copy(which again you can do with TWRP!) so that TWRP may not confuse with the new folder
2.Flash the new ROM, uninstall the app that crashes & install the compatible version from the store
3.Allow storage permission from settings; open the app & perform some action so that a storage directory is created,if not already, in the system storage
4.Boot to TWRP recovery in the new ROM , so now you have the data/data folder of the new app you just installed(which is empty) as well as the data/data folder from your stock ROM on your SD/Ext.SD
5. You know were this is going[emoji16] Delete the data/data folder on your running ROM & MOVE(again with TWRP only!) the one from SD ,after restoring its original name, to the data folder from were you just deleted the other.
6.Wipe Dalvik/caches & reboot
7. Other than receiving a pop up that there may be some trouble with your android system, on startup, everything works just fine for me & the App is fully restored!![emoji7]
Didn't even use a PC!!
Such a tool TWRP is[emoji7][emoji120][emoji120][emoji120]
Forgive me, but try this at your own risk, coz as a newbie Im completely unaware of the consequences
Hope this helps somebody[emoji4]
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk

DIGVIJAY24 said:
1. Go to File manager on TWRP recovery, it can read the system data i.e. data/data/ file (while your other file managers can,only data files on SD or ext.SD)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand this step. I go to file manager, then navigate to /external_sd/TWRP/BACKUPS/... and there are files like data.f2fs.win009. Now what?

[Q] About i9195 backup and restoring EFS

Hi all, I'm a new I9195GT owner (for a week already) and have been researching and having some satisfaction rooting and restoring all my apps with Titanium from my previous smartphone.
The phone works fine and I'm quite happy with it. I've already done a full backup with CWM recovery for any trouble I might come across in future but I don't know if a full backup from recovery contains all important and sensible data like EFS and NV data. Those two things are totally new for me as I'm coming from a HTC Desire which didn't require attention to those sensible points.
So I would be very grateful if anybody clears some doubts I have relating EFS and NV data:
- Does a full backup from recovery contain EFS and NV data, so in case that flashing a custom ROM results in corrupted EFS data, I would fix it just by restoring the full backup from recovery?
- What is the best and safest way for backup EFS and NV?
I've seen this post from arco68 which states a command I guess should be executed from Terminal directly in the smartphone, but I don't know how should that .img file restored to the phone in case it becomes corrupted.
I've also seen this post about the EFS Professional tool from lyriquidperfection but in the whole post I havent found anybody confirming it works in the S4 Mini i9195.... so it sounds good but I don't want to brick my new device being the first one to run the tool with the i9195
Thank you very much

As far as I know CWM does not back up EFS.
The good idea is to use TWRP recovery instead of CWM. TWRP does backup EFS.
You can get TWRP for 9195 here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2449107

Thanks for the idea. I'm ready to install TWRP recovery but, before installing it and replacing CWM,
Is it possible to launch TWRP recovery from CWM recovery, as temporary? And when rebooting CWM is back.
I remember doing something like this in my previous device: from 4EXT recovery launching a CWM recovery for some particular reason I don't remember
Sent from my GT-I9195 using xda app-developers app

batareikin51 said:
As far as I know CWM does not back up EFS.
The good idea is to use TWRP recovery instead of CWM. TWRP does backup EFS.
You can get TWRP for 9195 here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2449107
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP Recovery does not backup full EFS. IMEI is not included at least. Even though it lists a possibility of EFS backup, all it does is backups /efs partition. which does not contain IMEI in it. This concerns specifically I9195, which I own too and am researching this issue and also lost IMEI issue.

farewellartist said:
TWRP Recovery does not backup full EFS. IMEI is not included at least. Even though it lists a possibility of EFS backup, all it does is backups /efs partition. which does not contain IMEI in it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already had installed TWRP and made backups and nandroids....
So how can we safely backup IMEI in a way we can restore it in case it gets corrupted?

sergiosch said:
I already had installed TWRP and made backups and nandroids....
So how can we safely backup IMEI in a way we can restore it in case it gets corrupted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good question, I've been looking for answer for weeks.

sergiosch said:
I already had installed TWRP and made backups and nandroids....
So how can we safely backup IMEI in a way we can restore it in case it gets corrupted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guys!
The most simple method to backup our IMEI (efs folder) is:
1.Install rootexplorer
2.open it with superuser permission
3. Copy efs folder from root main folder to your sd card.
4.Upload from sd card to clouds to be sure you have a backup a different places.
5. Push thx for me

radicspeter said:
Guys!
The most simple method to backup our IMEI (efs folder) is:
1.Install rootexplorer
2.open it with superuser permission
3. Copy efs folder from root main folder to your sd card.
4.Upload from sd card to clouds to be sure you have a backup a different places.
5. Push thx for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did already that too, not with rootexplorer but TotalCommander which also has root access to any partition, I guess it performs the same backup just copying everything.
But then I don't know why it is valid to do "raw" directory/file copy with root explorer but it is not valid an EFS partition backup with TWRP recovery. I'm a newbie with this but, it seems the same to me....
Can anyone tell exactly in which file is stored imei? Isn't the same structure/process valid for other Galaxy brand smartphones so we can follow them?

radicspeter said:
Guys!
The most simple method to backup our IMEI (efs folder) is:
1.Install rootexplorer
2.open it with superuser permission
3. Copy efs folder from root main folder to your sd card.
4.Upload from sd card to clouds to be sure you have a backup a different places.
5. Push thx for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I repeat, EFS FOLDER / PARTITION even on a raw byte level DOESN'T CONTAIN phones IMEI. This concerns specifically Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini LTE (I9195).
---------- Post added at 03:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:31 PM ----------
sergiosch said:
I did already that too, not with rootexplorer but TotalCommander which also has root access to any partition, I guess it performs the same backup just copying everything.
But then I don't know why it is valid to do "raw" directory/file copy with root explorer but it is not valid an EFS partition backup with TWRP recovery. I'm a newbie with this but, it seems the same to me....
Can anyone tell exactly in which file is stored imei? Isn't the same structure/process valid for other Galaxy brand smartphones so we can follow them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normally, phones IMEI in previous galaxy devices (don't know about current S4, I own S4 Mini LTE), was stored in nv_data.bin file which was located in /efs folder on root. (which is a mount point for mmcblk0p10 partition in S4 Mini LTE). But, in this device, there is no nv_data bin file and IMEI is not stored nowhere close to efs partition. Not too many people own S4 Mini's and almost everybody whom I asked an information based their knowdledge on another devices and were feeding me false information I heard over and over again.
To clarify something, I know, that EFS partition doesn't contain IMEI, because:
No file in efs mount point contains IMEI.
No IMEI found checking EFS Professional backup (tar) on HEX level using various search methods. Even through-looked it, file is not that big.
No IMEI found through-looking .raw backup made using cygwin (which contains every single byte of partition, even though it is not a part of a file), which is 95+% warrant, that IMEI is not in EFS partition.

farewellartist said:
I repeat, EFS FOLDER / PARTITION even on a raw byte level DOESN'T CONTAIN phones IMEI. This concerns specifically Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini LTE (I9195).
---------- Post added at 03:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:31 PM ----------
Normally, phones IMEI in previous galaxy devices (don't know about current S4, I own S4 Mini LTE), was stored in nv_data.bin file which was located in /efs folder on root. (which is a mount point for mmcblk0p10 partition in S4 Mini LTE). But, in this device, there is no nv_data bin file and IMEI is not stored nowhere close to efs partition. Not too many people own S4 Mini's and almost everybody whom I asked an information based their knowdledge on another devices and were feeding me false information I heard over and over again.
To clarify something, I know, that EFS partition doesn't contain IMEI, because:
No file in efs mount point contains IMEI.
No IMEI found checking EFS Professional backup (tar) on HEX level using various search methods. Even through-looked it, file is not that big.
No IMEI found through-looking .raw backup made using cygwin (which contains every single byte of partition, even though it is not a part of a file), which is 95+% warrant, that IMEI is not in EFS partition.
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Thanks mate. Pretty clear :good:
I was also not confident about some tutorials I read in other forums claiming that just doing a copy of file structure from /EFS folder would backup our IMEI. Your explanation is appreciated.
Hope to find some way to effectively backup sensitive data as IMEI is....

sergiosch said:
Thanks mate. Pretty clear :good:
I was also not confident about some tutorials I read in other forums claiming that just doing a copy of file structure from /EFS folder would backup our IMEI. Your explanation is appreciated.
Hope to find some way to effectively backup sensitive data as IMEI is....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Found it! Making guide right now. Basically IMEI is contained in both mmcblk0p11 and mmcblk0p12 partitions. Samsung apparently has developed a new error-safe phone nv data preservation system, I'll explain in details in tutorial.

farewellartist said:
Found it! Making guide right now. Basically IMEI is contained in both mmcblk0p11 and mmcblk0p12 partitions. Samsung apparently has developed a new error-safe phone nv data preservation system, I'll explain in details in tutorial.
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Great news! looking forward to read that guide :good::good:

sergiosch said:
Great news! looking forward to read that guide :good::good:
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How do you mount those partitions? I've tried with no success. All I get is "mount: No such device".

deliog said:
How do you mount those partitions? I've tried with no success. All I get is "mount: No such device".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't mount, just backup.
Through terminal emulator, enter commands
su
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p11 of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p12

And how to restore later if IMEI gets corrupted/null?
Sent from my GT-I9195 using xda app-developers app

sergiosch said:
And how to restore later if IMEI gets corrupted/null?
Sent from my GT-I9195 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
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See this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2569532

sergiosch said:
Great news! looking forward to read that guide :good::good:
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Click to collapse
Could you (or someone) PLEASE post or send PM with backups of partition mmcblk0p11 and mmcblk0p12? While researching this issue, I trashed 2 OF MY PHONES and nulled my IMEIs because of delusion caused by memory of having a backup, which I didn't. It's a pity to give away such a fortune for spares. I need NV blocks to hex compare them with blocks I got from another healthy I9195. Since IMEI numbers of different phone blocks will be different, difference will show on hex level too, which will help me determine exact address of IMEI location, after which I could modify my trashed NV blocks at determined memory address with my original IMEI, which could save me from watching at useless brick. And also would help me at development of I9195 IMEI Restore tool.
Disclaimer: I am not modifying my IMEI nor doing any actions which end-target is modification of original IMEI and differing it from original one. I am modifying nulled (trashed, unoriginal) IMEI to its ORIGINAL state which ultimately couldn't be called nothing else but RESTORING. I won't use IMEI from gathered NV blocks. I just need a another healthy block to fix my issue and help develop tools so others could be able to sleep at nights without issue that causes me sleepless nights.

farewellartist said:
Could you (or someone) PLEASE post or send PM with backups of partition mmcblk0p11 and mmcblk0p12? While researching this issue, I trashed 2 OF MY PHONES and nulled my IMEIs because of delusion caused by memory of having a backup, which I didn't. It's a pity to give away such a fortune for spares. I need NV blocks to hex compare them with blocks I got from another healthy I9195. Since IMEI numbers of different phone blocks will be different, difference will show on hex level too, which will help me determine exact address of IMEI location, after which I could modify my trashed NV blocks at determined memory address with my original IMEI, which could save me from watching at useless brick. And also would help me at development of I9195 IMEI Restore tool.
Disclaimer: I am not modifying my IMEI nor doing any actions which end-target is modification of original IMEI and differing it from original one. I am modifying nulled (trashed, unoriginal) IMEI to its ORIGINAL state which ultimately couldn't be called nothing else but RESTORING. I won't use IMEI from gathered NV blocks. I just need a another healthy block to fix my issue and help develop tools so others could be able to sleep at nights without issue that causes me sleepless nights.
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I haven't done yet any of the backup processes you explain, so I don't even have the files you're asking for, but with all the gratitude and admiration I feel for the developers I wouldn't feel any confortable sending sensible data from part of a nandroid backup.... speaking just for myself of course, if I could choose how to help a developer I would preferr doing a donation to help him recover the hardware he has broken to help others. Some months ago I heard a friend telling that he had been scammed with a phone he bought in some cash converter and only worked for one day, then it became with null IMEI, and he suspected someone had "stolen" or "shutdown" his IMEI for unknown reasons...
sorry to say that, maybe I'm an ignorant but I just don't feel confortable with what you are asking directly to me

LG backup

Can lg backup tool be used to create a complete backup that can be used to restore later like a nandroid backup?
Since flashing v10f,this backup is looping, any ideas?

Nope
-
We humans are capable of greatness.

backup alternative
So as a newbie what's the next best thing to a Nandroid backup on the LG-D850 if the bootloader is locked and can't use CWM or TWRP? I made a Titanium Backup and I've read that's not enough.

I think you should backup your modem/radio and also have full TB backup. If your phone screws, you have to reflash and restore all apps and config. Make sure your launcher backup is copied to ext sd card. Very painful until boot loader is unlocked.
Found this somewhere on cad on how to backup efs.Copy to the cloud for safe keeping
Backup EFS
adb shell
su
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
Restore EFS
adb shell
su
dd if=/storage/external_SD/modemst1.img of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modemst1
dd if=/storage/external_SD/modemst2.img of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modemst2[

Thanks that's actually exactly what I did. As of now I have a TB, EFS and my action launcher backup on my PC. I really want to mess around with G3 Tweakbox but I don't want to install the Xposed framework until there's an exploit found to make a Nandroid backup.
Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Can someone tell me is there EFS folder on LG g3 D855? I cant find it with Root Explorer. I've made an backup with ADB SHELL etc. but I want to copy that folder by myself. Thanks!

I found this topic trying to find some guide for backing up EFS files.
Unlike you I haven't manage to backup in any way the two img files but I have followed the path below (from root with root explorer):
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name where you can find modemst1 & modemst2
After that I couldn't in any way manually copy them or upload them.
Still trying to find a way to backup EFS with the given code in the respected threads. In particular I miss the steps before entering the code...

[Q] Default IMEI after Kies software upgrade

So I found myself wondering how can I make life difficult for myself... I did a software upgrade in Kies on my T805 and now I have a default IMEI...
I was on cm11 before doing the upgrade to 5.0.2
Has this happened to anyone or does anyone have any idea how to fix it?
Many thanks for any reply.

That shouldnt have happened but youre not the first person to state that cm has messed with the partitions. Id stick with stock based roms in future.
Download EFS professional then under the samsung tools tab select other tools then 'Repair NV data from internal file backup'
If youre lucky it will be restored.
Now some friendly advice, ALWAYS make a full backup via recovery before messing with anything custom on your device, especially make sure the EFS partition is backed up.

ashyx said:
That shouldnt have happened but youre not the first person to state that cm has messed with the partitions. Id stick with stock based roms in future.
Download EFS professional then under the samsung tools tab select other tools then 'Repair NV data from internal file backup'
If youre lucky it will be restored.
Now some friendly advice, ALWAYS make a full backup via recovery before messing with anything custom on your device, especially make sure the EFS partition is backed up.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, sadly it restore a different default IMEI ending in /01 instead of /17.
I was 100% sure I had backed-up my efs, turns out I did but on my phone x(.
Any other suggestions?

Try this. Make a backup in recovery of the efs partition.
Boot into android then using a root file explorer open the efs folder then delete nv_data.bin and nv_data.bin.md5 then reboot.
See if this replaces the deleted files with the backup.

ashyx said:
Try this. Make a backup in recovery of the efs partition.
Boot into android then using a root file explorer open the efs folder then delete nv_data.bin and nv_data.bin.md5 then reboot.
See if this replaces the deleted files with the backup.
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Click to collapse
It does but not with the correct imei. Thanks for the reply!

What IMEI does it give?

ashyx said:
What IMEI does it give?
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Click to collapse
A default imei ending in / 17 instead of / 01

DieZz said:
A default imei ending in / 17 instead of / 01
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You may as well post it as its not a valid imei, it's a generic imei.
Is it 004999010640000?