First off I'd like to say that I've been attempting methods furiously for 8 hours a day past 3 days, to try and fix this. Making a thread is my absolute last resort. I hate to make unnecessary threads on forums.
So a week ago i was on vacation in New York (I live in Europe), and i bought a SGH-M919 (SGS4 Tmobile unlocked).
I bought it from one of those bogey retail shops with Indians running it. I knew i was getting the correct phone, and when i tested my simcard i was able to make a call with it. And since it's so much cheaper than in my country, i purchased it.
Now here's the deal. After arriving at my own country, i was sending and receiving a few texts the first few days, suddenly the signal disappears and is replaced by a "forbidden" sign.
After investigating the issue i noticed, my phone doesn't have an IMEI number! (and imei SV? is 06)
This is the original device info from when i got it, no rooting, flashing, anything done to it.
Model number: SGH-M919
Android version: 4.4.2
Baseband version: M919UVUFNB4
Kernel version: 3.4.0-540242 [email protected] #1 Fri Feb 14 14:38:35 KST 2014
Build number: KOT94H.M919UVUFNB4
SE for Android status: Enforcing SEPF_SGH-M919_4.4.2_0004 Fri feb 14 14:38:24 2014
Secure boot status: Type: Samsung
Security software version: MDF v1.0 Release 2
Note: The imei sticker is still behind the battery and the imei is not reported stolen.
I've tried flashing CM and seeing, then back to stock, flashing different modems(though i never got one 100% on due to writing errors?), attemting those *#XXXX# codes and nothing seems to work.
The only thing i can think of now is flashing 4.2.2 stock(i read that flashing stock can resurface the imei) since the subforum info of the phone said 4.2.2 is stock for M919 and not 4.4.2, i will download the 2013 4.2.2 stock and edit the thread live.
EDIT: I was able to find the extracted modem from the 4.2.2 2013 stock so i flashed that instead of the whole package in its whole. Interestingly enough, now the IMEI is still "Unknown" But IMEISV changed from 06 to 00 ?
Please help me! Any reply is much appreciated and will be answered at my best so we can solve this issue!
I flashed back to latest stock with no success again...
Nobody has any advice to give? come on guys
I think my last resort after this thread is to contact some repair shop that might have the correct tools for it. I heard if you have the correct device you can write the imei easy as 123.
Thatdaemon said:
I flashed back to latest stock with no success again...
Nobody has any advice to give? come on guys
I think my last resort after this thread is to contact some repair shop that might have the correct tools for it. I heard if you have the correct device you can write the imei easy as 123.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Discussing IMEI's is a touchy subject here. It appears that you have done most everything one can do to attempt to recover that information, and short of restoring a backup of your efs folder (which you don't have) the only other route would be against the law. How to manually set or change your IMEI can't be discussed here regardless of whether you jacked the phone from some tourist or whether your story is 100% factual and completely legit.
Oops replied to wrong thread. Sorry!
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
last resort
lordcheeto03 said:
Discussing IMEI's is a touchy subject here. It appears that you have done most everything one can do to attempt to recover that information, and short of restoring a backup of your efs folder (which you don't have) the only other route would be against the law. How to manually set or change your IMEI can't be discussed here regardless of whether you jacked the phone from some tourist or whether your story is 100% factual and completely legit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed it's a touchy subject but this was my last resort.
My story is true, however how the shop acquired the phone i don't know. (Wasn't the most official one)
Read a lot about custom devices being able to do so, and i am awaiting response from a repair shop about my problem. Hopefully they will be able to help me!
I will let the thread stay unresolved for a little while more.
Related
HELP...!!! :crying:
Well, first timer to Custom ROM upgrades....I was looking through some threads, came across a particular ROM, found it very interesting..went ahead & flashed it...didnt work.
Reason: My Peanut brain failed to check the version of the Note2 it was meant for. My bad.
I didnt backup EFS. (my bad again, actualy i didnt knew I had to )
It override my existing Modem & took my Baseband & IMEI to unknown.
I look through whole night trying to undo what I did on XDA forum...did get quite some helpful links but nothing could solve mine.
The most common advise on the forum was to take it to the Samsung service centres & let them put the stock officla firmware.
Well, I took it to the service this morning, they put the stock 4.1.2 version..i was hoping that would solve my query.
To my dismay, the service guy told me that the Phone was showing as Unknown (screen shot 1) & that in that case the IMEI cannot be resolved.
One option he gave me was to pay up 8k (about 134 USD) to change the motherboard but honestly i dont have that much
Please advise....Is there any way i can resolve this.
I am on an Indian carrier GT-N7100
Commented on a few lost IMEI related threads but most of them seem to be unattended. So thought of trying my luck in a new thread :good:
IMEI and Samsung serial number on my unlocked note2 i317 dont match with back panel and so unable to connect to any network(phone's history is unknown so cant do much apart from fixing the phone). Phone's still in original firmware(refer attached snapshot for complete details). Tried to load original stock ROM from ODIN(KIES_HOME_I317UCALJ2_I317ATTALJ2.tar.md5 ) but still EFS remains the same. I could locate the serial_no file(which contains new Serial number) from root explorer but unable to find nv_data files in IMEI folder(IMEI folder only contains mps_code.dat file.
Questions:
- Does this indicate an incorrect ROM flash that might have corrupted EFS?
- Are nv_data bin and bak files visible from root explorer(rooted, of course)?
- Original stock ROM was loaded from a single tar.md5 file(838mb) through ODIN. Though ODIN confirmed it as ''PASS" at the end, all the data on the phone remained intact and the process consumed around 8-10 minutes. Is this acceptable?
Looking forward to quick and promising responses.
TIA,
Chaitanya.
Folks, can someone kindly respond!
I trying to reach couple of members who dealt with similar issues but havent heard back.
Not possible to do it legally.
stevenlong said:
Not possible to do it legally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im aware about that. I'm mainly trying to figure out the root cause. I'm not quite sure whether the issue is because of a wrong custom ROM or anything else, and hence require some guidance.Can you answer my questions please?
On a lighter note, changing IMEI is illegal but I guess retrieving is not :silly:
I've flashed many different ROMs on various phones and I've never had problems with the IMEI number changing.
Don't know about nv_data phone is still searched my Note II.
Don't know about the results of ODIN flash (sorry).
chaitanyapatwari said:
. . . changing IMEI is illegal but I guess retrieving is not :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having the software is illegal.
Guys,
Your advices are welcome but I would be glad if your responses actually address my problem rather than lecturing me on what is right or wrong. Sorry but,as a novice in troubleshooting android related problems and this being my first overseas phone, I thought senior members could share their experience in pointing to the actual problem with my phone.
In case it is the subject of this thread that is leading to this confusion, I apologize. I'm not really sure if it is an IMEI problem and that why mentioned all the details I thought are relevant to this issue. If it is still against the forum's rules to discuss my issue, please close this thread.
Changing you IMEI does not happen by accident. Flashing ROMs does not do it. Corrupting you EFS will not change you IMEI.
So from the sound of it you have a phone where someone in the past has deliberately changed the IMEI.
The IMEI that your phone currently has sound like it is not recognized by the network as being a valid IMEI.
Sorry but from you description you need to change your IMEI to a valid one.
As I have so patiently explained, you are asking people to give you advice on attempting an illegal action. That's why you aren't getting a solution. Check your xda user agreement - this discussion is breaking that.
Thanks guys.Please understand that I was not sure about the root cause. That's why posted the symptoms here and asked for confirmation. The phone physically looks so good that I couldn't believe that it was used before and got its IMEI and serial number tampered. Since I read some threads with users explaining IMEI related losses, I thought of sharing my issue as well. It was also getting tough to receiving help from India and xda is the best forum I heard about.
Appreciate your feedback. Please close my thread if it is strictly against your rules.
From the Moderator
The Other People who posted are correct software that's sole purpose is to modify the IMEI is not legal. So, it is not allowed in XDA to post such items....... Lic laws, etc.
It is possible to retrieve your original IMEI if you have a previous backup by restoring a nandroid (if you kept one) other than that, not sure how to do it.
That said
This is now .........CLOSED...........
About 1 and a half months ago I flashed a Rom, as I had done many times before, and expected to have little to no problems with it. Man was I wrong. I was unaware that I had flashed a T-Mobile modem with it by mistake. I had done 3-4 backups in TWRP but they all must be too old to help or something. I have read that any Canadian SGH-T889v Note 2's, which is what I have, that flash the T-Mobile modem can not revert back to the Wind Mobile modem. If I am wrong can someone with more experiance with this issue, please, correct me and guide me in the right direction to repair it. I have bought a Z3X box to repair my imei but over the last 7 days I have been unable to have my Note 2 even be recognize by it. I am assuming that something has been damaged in the usb communication setup. And yes I have reconfigured the settings in the hidden menus just as the instructions laid out. The baseband appears to be locked to the T-Mobile version "T889UVUCMK7". I am at the android version 4.4.2, and my bootloader is at version T889VVLUDNE7, which is also the number for my PDA Version. I have read that a JTag may be the way to go to recover the full functionality of my Note 2. If this is correct can someone recommend a good one.
Thanks to everyone who shares their experience.
If you end up with JTAG, mobiletechvideos.com is a reputable one. I doubt you will get far without something akin to JTAG. YMMV.
I'm trying to figure out what my options are with regards to Wi-Fi and data plans for the Tab 3 T217S that I picked up secondhand. I've read through dozens of posts and hundreds of threads on here and in other forums, and what I'm finding is that there is either no information, or more often than not, conflicting opinions on what is and is not possible. Hopefully someone with development knowledge or personal experience can point me in the right direction.
Here's my devices info:
Software/Baseband version: T217SVPUBNH4
Hardware version: T217S.04
Model number: SM-T217S
Android version: 4.4.2
Kernel version: 3.4.0-1715729
Build number: KOT49H.T217SVPUBNH4
Misc.: Rooted w/TWRP
Really the only thing I want is to be able to connect to Wi-Fi whenever I want (not just at school, home or the nearest Starbucks). It would also be nice to get rid of the previous owner’s info from the status screen (username and phone number). Sprint won't sell me a SIM card because the device is tied to a delinquent account. I couldn't figure out what the Sprint hotspot/LTE hack was supposed to do or how it worked, not to mention the last time I checked it was limited to 4.2.2. I'd love to use the T-Mob Walmart plan, but they haven't updated their devices to KitKat yet, and near as I can tell you can't downgrade from 4.4.2 to 4.2.2 because of the locked bootloader (whatever that is). So what options are left? I'm open to suggestions and if needed testing.
Disassembledmind said:
I'm trying to figure out what my options are with regards to Wi-Fi and data plans for the Tab 3 T217S that I picked up secondhand. I've read through dozens of posts and hundreds of threads on here and in other forums, and what I'm finding is that there is either no information, or more often than not, conflicting opinions on what is and is not possible. Hopefully someone with development knowledge or personal experience can point me in the right direction.
Here's my devices info:
Software/Baseband version: T217SVPUBNH4
Hardware version: T217S.04
Model number: SM-T217S
Android version: 4.4.2
Kernel version: 3.4.0-1715729
Build number: KOT49H.T217SVPUBNH4
Misc.: Rooted w/TWRP
Really the only thing I want is to be able to connect to Wi-Fi whenever I want (not just at school, home or the nearest Starbucks). It would also be nice to get rid of the previous owner’s info from the status screen (username and phone number). Sprint won't sell me a SIM card because the device is tied to a delinquent account. I couldn't figure out what the Sprint hotspot/LTE hack was supposed to do or how it worked, not to mention the last time I checked it was limited to 4.2.2. I'd love to use the T-Mob Walmart plan, but they haven't updated their devices to KitKat yet, and near as I can tell you can't downgrade from 4.4.2 to 4.2.2 because of the locked bootloader (whatever that is). So what options are left? I'm open to suggestions and if needed testing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take out the Sim card and throw it away, then go into tarp and do a factory reset, wipe cache, wipe dalvic, then reboot. His info should be gone and you should be able to use a T-Mobile Sim.
DevMyAndroid said:
Take out the Sim card and throw it away, then go into tarp and do a factory reset, wipe cache, wipe dalvic, then reboot. His info should be gone and you should be able to use a T-Mobile Sim.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish it was that simple. I did it again just to be sure, and I get the same results as before. Invalid Sim and the previous owners info is still there. Any other ideas?
Clarification...
Based off everything I have read, the general consensus is that at this time you cannot downgrade from 4.4.2 (T217SVPUBNH4) to 4.2.2 (T217SVPUAMH9 or T217TUVUAML1) at this time on the Tab 3. Is this correct?
Hello everyone and welcome to my sad and sorry story :crying:
Just over 2 years ago i bought the G3 16GB from Vodafone shop in the UK and i have owned it from new and it's never missed a beat and very happy with it until i bought a £2 fan from ebay (112244885955) and plugged it in and it has killed my phone by the look of it.
I plugged the phone into the bottom and screen flashed on once or twice and then shut off and fan worked fine, i just presumed the fan need alot of power and shut down the phone to power the fan, anyway unplugged the fan and power the phone back up and all seemed fine apart from now cell coverage, so i took out my normal sim (Three) and put in 2 others one was O2 and the other was Asda and O2 failed but Asda worked some of the time, so i was lost at this stage what was going on so done some digging in the phone and found out the IMEI number is coming up as 0 (Zero) and something called the IMEI SV was coming up as 81, and i'm lost on what the SV bit means and also how can i restore my normal IMEI number?
I have tried to do a software update to the phone as per normal but all it say is "Your phone is not registered" yet i still make calls when using the Asda sim, yet when i plug my normal Three sim in it will not even pick up a signal let alone make a call, however when i place that Three sim in my other Moto G 3rd Gen it works fine.
I presume my first step is to get the IMEI back up and running, i still have the sticker on the back of the phone which details the original IMEI number, but i have no idea what softeare is needed or the method involved.
I'm NOT and expert but have taken the Mrs Amazon Fire tablet and put a custom ROM on it so i'm not a total newbie, if anyone could help me i'd be in your debt that is for sure.
All1
When this happened to me, I got lucky and had a backup from flashing a custom ROM; if you don't have one, you'll either have to buy a new motherboard or a new phone unfortunately.
Allonewordinuk said:
Hello everyone and welcome to my sad and sorry story... and also how can i restore my normal IMEI number?
All1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense to the other poster, but you don't need a new mother board or phone. There are ways - which are not allowed to be discussed on XDA - to re-write your IMEI # if you have to. Google "QPST IMEI rewrite tool" and a lot comes up
In your situation though, I would TOT back to stock first and see what happens from there. Although you're reading a zero IMEI, it doesn't necessarily mean the # is actually erased, it may just be a corrupt partition and your phone can't "find" it or something like that. TOT will wipe and rewrite any corrupted partitions you may have and get you back to factory/out of the box. If you did have a bad partition or some other software glitch that was causing the zero IMEI - TOT will fix it. If you're not familiar with how to TOT back to stock firmware, just look around XDA and you can figure out what files you need and what to do for your specific variant.
But if you TOT back to stock and still have no IMEI: then it is time to read, read, read and(once you feel comfortable) give a manual IMEI rewrite with a QPST tool a try. I have never had to do it myself, so I can offer no help on that.
Good luck :good:
djzic said:
When this happened to me, I got lucky and had a backup from flashing a custom ROM; if you don't have one, you'll either have to buy a new motherboard or a new phone unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the post but i know that's not true as i have read on here about the G2 being done and the G3 will follow, I have not done that yet as a full factory reset is my last option which i will do on Wed or thursday.
startswithPendswithOOH said:
No offense to the other poster, but you don't need a new mother board or phone. There are ways - which are not allowed to be discussed on XDA - to re-write your IMEI # if you have to. Google "QPST IMEI rewrite tool" and a lot comes up
In your situation though, I would TOT back to stock first and see what happens from there. Although you're reading a zero IMEI, it doesn't necessarily mean the # is actually erased, it may just be a corrupt partition and your phone can't "find" it or something like that. TOT will wipe and rewrite any corrupted partitions you may have and get you back to factory/out of the box. If you did have a bad partition or some other software glitch that was causing the zero IMEI - TOT will fix it. If you're not familiar with how to TOT back to stock firmware, just look around XDA and you can figure out what files you need and what to do for your specific variant.
But if you TOT back to stock and still have no IMEI: then it is time to read, read, read and(once you feel comfortable) give a manual IMEI rewrite with a QPST tool a try. I have never had to do it myself, so I can offer no help on that.
Good luck :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply startswithPendswithOOH, i do understand were limited on what we can discusss here, i'll head over to google and see what gives, i will come back and post when i have some info, one small point can you tell me what TOT stands for, sorry
All1
Just to update:
Done a full factory reset on the phone and nothing still coming up with Zero IMEI number, used reset mode in the os and from cold boot still nothing so going to have to bite the bullet and go for the nuclear option and try to change the IMEI myself
All1
I think i have a brick
Seems i have to get root to change my IMEI but i can't get root anymore, have tried iroot, this one click option and even tried purple drake which is funny as i was able to use purple drake 2 years ago to gain root now i can't, I'm lost
I don't know if the G3 can do it but when i put a custom ROM on my amazon tablet there was some kind of adb menu where you could sideload stuff, but can't seem to find anything on that, anyone got a gun
Anyone have any suggestions?
All1