Question for those of you who may know more than I do.
I have…well had, a Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3 that got a shower over the weekend. The USB port is definitely fried, and who knows what other damage may have occurred, but the phone still turns on and works fine. I decided to buy a used S3 to replace mine rather than try to fix the port not knowing if that was the only problem.
Now my question, my phone was rooted at the L710VPBMD4 OTA level, I have 4.2.2 CM v10.1.2 installed on the phone, and would like to keep it that way till I make sure everything is working the way I had it.
If the new (used) phone I receive has received either the L710VPUCMK3 or L710VPUCND8 OTAs will I have any problems loading my NAND backup and TB backups to recover my phone to the point it was wet?
(luckily the phone still had enough battery power to get these done)
Added: I also used CWM Recovery v6.0.3.0 for My NAND backups, do I have to continue to use this version to recover properly from, or will it work with Philz Recovery?
If there is a problem just straight loading my backups to the phone, is there anything I can do to make it work?
I know there is a root method difference for the L710VPUCMK3 or L710VPUCND8 OTAs, I’m just concerned about being able to recover my backups at the level they are at. Right now I don’t want to have to upgrade CM until I make sure everything is right, even then I will probably only upgrade to 10.2.1, as CM11 doesn’t seem quite ready…at least from what I’ve experienced on other phones/tablets.
Thanks in advance….
n00bhackin said:
Question for those of you who may know more than I do.
I have…well had, a Spring Samsung Galaxy S3 that got a shower over the weekend. The USB port is definitely fried, and who knows what other damage may have occurred, but the phone still turns on and works fine. I decided to buy a used S3 to replace mine rather than try to fix the port not knowing if that was the only problem.
Now my question, my phone was rooted at the L710VPBMD4 OTA level, I have 4.2.2 CM v10.1.2 installed on the phone, and would like to keep it that way till I make sure everything is working the way I had it.
If the new (used) phone I receive has received either the L710VPUCMK3 or L710VPUCND8 OTAs will I have any problems loading my NAND backup and TB backups to recover my phone to the point it was wet?
(luckily the phone still had enough battery power to get these done)
If there is a problem just straight loading my backups to the phone, is there anything I can do to make it work?
I know there is a root method difference for the L710VPUCMK3 or L710VPUCND8 OTAs, I’m just concerned about being able to recover my backups at the level they are at. Right now I don’t want to have to upgrade CM until I make sure everything is right, even then I will probably only upgrade to 10.2.1, as CM11 doesn’t seem quite ready…at least from what I’ve experienced on other phones/tablets.
Thanks in advance….
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well.....as long as the bootloader and modem weren't backed up you should be able to restore the CM11 as long as you use the same recovery......that being said you won't be able to restore the stock rom cause i believe the bootloader and modem get backed up with that one. Also it could come with the NJ3 update in which case you won't be able to root at all. I also wan't to add that i have no faith in TB for restoring app data cause that will cause problems with your phone.
6th_Hokage said:
Well.....as long as the bootloader and modem weren't backed up you should be able to restore the CM11 as long as you use the same recovery......that being said you won't be able to restore the stock rom cause i believe the bootloader and modem get backed up with that one. Also it could come with the NJ3 update in which case you won't be able to root at all. I also wan't to add that i have no faith in TB for restoring app data cause that will cause problems with your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will be restoring a CM10.1.2 mod, not CM11, if that makes a difference.
So I will need to use CWM 6.0.3.0, and can not use Philz Recovery. .. Just verifying.
I’m not worried about using my old stock rom backup, I can get a new one with the new phone, my old one never had anything on it, as I loaded CM the day I got the phone new.
How can I tell if the Boot loader/Modem are a part of the NAD backup? The files I have in the NAND are:
boot.img 10,240 KB <--- would this be the boot loader?
cache.ext4.tar 0 KB
cache.ext4.tar.a 54, 238 KB
data.ext4.tar 0 KB
data.ext4.tar.a 976,563 KB
data.ext4.tar.b 976,569 KB
data.ext4.tar.c 728,600 KB
nandroid.md5 1 KB
recovery.img 10,240 KB
system.ext4.tar 0 KB
system.ext4.tar.a 350,522 KB
Is NJ3 a Sprint released OTA? It was not in their list, ND8 was listed as current. The phone I’m getting should be a sprint phone, but I won’t know what level the phone is at till it gets here Wednesday.
As for TB restore, I shouldn't have to since my NAND is current, but so far I’ve been lucky with TB.
@bilgerryan do you have any advise for this person i have reached the limit of the help i can give with the experience that i have on this version of the phone....
Thanks for your help, I'm trying to get as much information as I can on this before I get my "new" phone and brick it with what I am trying to do.
Once I have the phone it may not be an issue if it hasn't received OTAs, the best scenario is that is at the MD4 level, but I doubt I will be that lucky. I expect it has been updated to MK3 or ND8, which is why I am asking what I'm asking.
OK, my guess is that boot.img is not the boot loader, as I see that file in CM ROM zip files, and CM ROMs do not contain a boot loader, can anyone confirm that this is correct?
n00bhackin said:
Thanks for your help, I'm trying to get as much information as I can on this before I get my "new" phone and brick it with what I am trying to do.
Once I have the phone it may not be an issue if it hasn't received OTAs, the best scenario is that is at the MD4 level, but I doubt I will be that lucky. I expect it has been updated to MK3 or ND8, which is why I am asking what I'm asking.
OK, my guess is that boot.img is not the boot loader, as I see that file in CM ROM zip files, and CM ROMs do not contain a boot loader, can anyone confirm that this is correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no problem and if anyone can help you more then me it's Ryan since he still has the Sph-L710 and he's a Developer.....while i have the newer Sph-L710T and im on Boost Mobile
Few follow-up questions:
1) Will CWM 6.0.3.0 work fine with the phone has been updated to MK3 or ND8?
2) If not, can I restore a backup made on CWM 6.0.3.0 with CWM 6.0.4.5? (seems to be the latest version)
3) If the “new” phone is on MK3 or ND8 can you still use a previous android version, like 4.2.2? (This is basically what I will be doing, but using a NAND backup to restore the phone)
4) Will a NAND backup contain the boot loader or modem? How can I tell if mine does?
This would prevent me from being able to recover with my NADN backup, from what 6th_Hokage said, and from what other information I’ve read on this. It would brick.
Still hoping I can using my NAND backup from MD4 phone to recover to a phone that may be at a higher level. So far from all the reading I am doing on this I should be able to, as long as I don’t try to flash the firmware back to MD4. Which isn’t an issue if my NAND will work, if it won’t then I’ll just be forced to rebuild from scratch, which I am REALLY hoping to avoid.
Ok, after reading as much as I could last night…my head hurts…
But it looks like I can do what I hope to do, if the planets and stars align.
Best case scenario, the “new” phone I get is at MD4 and is the SPH-710 variant. (doubt I can get that lucky)
If the phone is the SPH-710T – It goes back and I’m out of luck, as it’s a crap shoot buying a used phone when they don’t make a distinction between the 710 and 710T (Thanks 6th_Hokage, when you mentioned the 710T and on Boost Mobile, I figured it was a variant for them and VM, not for sprint, I’ve found out it is a sprint branded phone too)
If the phone is a 710 variant and even if it has been upgraded to MK3 or ND8 I should still be able to use my NAND backup to recover my old ROM (4.2.2 CM v10.1.2).
I should be able to use either CWM 6.0.3.0 or CWM 6.0.4.5 on the new phone to restore my NAND that was made with CWM 6.0.3.0… even if the phone is at MK3 or ND8.
My NAND should not contain the boot loader or modem, but I’m not sure how to tell. If it does, I’ll need to figure out how to make a NAND that exclude them. How can I tell if my NAND contains these? (because if it does and I restore, it will brick, if on MK3 or ND8)
If anyone can provide some insight on this that would be great.
Thanks,
Next on the list of my research findings.
I have found conflicting information, in one post I found that I would get an asset error if I try to install CM 10.1.2 (or I think any 10.x version) when on either MK3 or ND8. Then in another port I read that there should not be a problem installing any version of CM when on MK3 or ND8.
Can anyone confirm either post? Can CM10x work on MK3/ND8? Or will an assert error get thrown?
If an assert error is thrown only during install, I wonder if I bypass this by using a NAND restore like I plan, since the “install” of CM has already occurred, and I am just restoring a backup.
You may ask yourself why I am going through all this to recover an older version of CM. Well my phone was completely stable where it was, it did everything I needed to without error. While I’ve considered upgrading, that always seems to introduce issues, and I needed a smooth working phone over some of the stated benefits of CM11.
n00bhackin said:
My phone was rooted at the L710VPBMD4 OTA level,
I have 4.2.2 CM v10.1.2 installed on the phone
and would like to keep it that way till I make sure everything is working the way I had it.
If the new (used) phone I receive
has either the
L710VPUCMK3
or
L710VPUCND8 OTAs
will I have any problems loading my NAND backup and TB backups to recover my phone to the point it was wet?
(luckily the phone still had enough battery power to get these done)
Thanks in advance….
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I was able to restore the NAND backup with my S3.
I had a NAND backup of
CyanogenMod 10.2.1
that was on MD4 before
on my Sprint S3 SPH-L710.
I was able to restore
the NAND backup of
CyanogenMod 10.2.1
that was on a MD4 modem before
on my S3
with the new
ND8 modem update
using
TWRP 2.8.1.0
Great to hear it will work, now just have to hope they didn't send me a 710T variant...Will know tomorrow.
Hopefully it will work the same with CWM, as that is what my backup was made by, I've read that CWM and TWRP backups are not compatible.
n00bhackin said:
I've read that CWM and TWRP backups are not compatible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, not to mention TWRP doesn't mount or storage correctly anyway. I suggest using Philz, it's a zero issue recovery.
Will Philz correctly restore a CWM backup?
If not I'll have to stick with CWM until I get everything back working.
n00bhackin said:
Will Philz correctly restore a CWM backup?
If not I'll have to stick with CWM until I get everything back working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well PhilZ is literally a touchscreen CWM and every time I made a backup with it the folder where the backup was is called "Clockworkmod" or "CWM" I can't remember the exact wording cause I've been using a beta TWRP made for the L710T
OK partial success, significant failure.
New phone received, it was an SPH-710 model, but was at ND8. But from what people have commented and what I read this wasn’t going to be a problem.
SO I rooted the device, all went well.
Restored my NAND backup, all went well.
Restored back to stock for activation, trouble started. IMEI information is gone !!
Restored back to CM10.1.2, IMEI information is there, but it contains the previous owner’s phone number.
I am able to activate the phone, everything seems to go fine.
I reboot and get data, I can receive data. I rejoiced.
I tried a text, fail.
I tried a call, fail…the rejoicing ended.
Checking phone status the person’s old phone number is still associated with the phone.
Normally this would be taken care of in stock by doing a profile reset. So Im not at a loss..
I need to see if I can recover the IMEI information in CM and transfer to Stock to do a reset on the phone to get it to activate right.
Any Ideas? I'm going to start a new thread just on this question, as this one was more about recovering my old phone to the new one.
n00bhackin said:
OK partial success, significant failure.
New phone received, it was an SPH-710 model, but was at ND8. But from what people have commented and what I read this wasn’t going to be a problem.
SO I rooted the device, all went well.
Restored my NAND backup, all went well.
Restored back to stock for activation, trouble started. IMEI information is gone !!
Restored back to CM10.1.2, IMEI information is there, but it contains the previous owner’s phone number.
I am able to activate the phone, everything seems to go fine.
I reboot and get data, I can receive data. I rejoiced.
I tried a text, fail.
I tried a call, fail…the rejoicing ended.
Checking phone status the person’s old phone number is still associated with the phone.
Normally this would be taken care of in stock by doing a profile reset. So Im not at a loss..
I need to see if I can recover the IMEI information in CM and transfer to Stock to do a reset on the phone to get it to activate right.
Any Ideas? I'm going to start a new thread just on this question, as this one was more about recovering my old phone to the new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad you were able to restore your
NAND backup of
CyanogenMod 10.2.1!
+ev
indigofilipino said:
I'm glad you were able to restore your
NAND backup of
CyanogenMod 10.2.1!
+ev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not exactly, while I was able to restore the NAND backup, it was not usable, I could not activate the phone because in stock all the IMEI information was blank. I was able to recover from that. So now I am trying just to load a fresh CM10.2.1 onto the phone, but it's giving me issues. Starting HERE at post #1848.
Related
Let me preface this by saying that I searched the N7 forums for something similar to this, but was unable to find an answer. Apologies if I overlooked it.
I ended up having to return my original N7, due to a hardware issue with the screen, but I made a Nandroid backup (using TWRP) before wiping everything back to stock. I was using stock ROM/kernel and had only unlocked the bootloader and rooted the device. The tablet that I made the backup on was build JSS15J but my new replacement N7 is on build JWR66N. Will the difference in build # have any negative impact on restoring the Nandroid? I also backed up all my apps via TiBu, so I suppose I could resort to that option if I'm unable to use TWRP, but I wanted to check with the experts here first before making any moves. Any help with this is sincerely appreciated. Thanks very much.
goodwidp said:
Let me preface this by saying that I searched the N7 forums for something similar to this, but was unable to find an answer. Apologies if I overlooked it.
I ended up having to return my original N7, due to a hardware issue with the screen, but I made a Nandroid backup (using TWRP) before wiping everything back to stock. I was using stock ROM/kernel and had only unlocked the bootloader and rooted the device. The tablet that I made the backup on was build JSS15J but my new replacement N7 is on build JWR66N. Will the difference in build # have any negative impact on restoring the Nandroid? I also backed up all my apps via TiBu, so I suppose I could resort to that option if I'm unable to use TWRP, but I wanted to check with the experts here first before making any moves. Any help with this is sincerely appreciated. Thanks very much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you did a full backup and are now doing a full restore, you should get back exactly what you had regardless of what is currently on your device. So in your example, your new device will end up with JSS15J.
I had 2 N7s at one point. One was stock and the other on CM10.2. I ended up returning the one on CM10.2 (after reverting back to stock using the factory images) but did not want to have to redo CM10.2 and go through setup on the other device. So I just took the twrp2 backup and restored it onto the stock N7 and voila... I had CM10.2 installed and fully configured.
cowabunga said:
If you did a full backup and are now doing a full restore, you should get back exactly what you had regardless of what is currently on your device. So in your example, your new device will end up with JSS15J.
I had 2 N7s at one point. One was stock and the other on CM10.2. I ended up returning the one on CM10.2 (after reverting back to stock using the factory images) but did not want to have to redo CM10.2 and go through setup on the other device. So I just took the twrp2 backup and restored it onto the stock N7 and voila... I had CM10.2 installed and fully configured.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for the reply. You are absolutely right. I ended up flashing the backup, and it changed my build to JSS15J. Good news is that everything seems to be working fine after flashing. Thanks again. I appreciate it.
I apologize in advance if any of this makes you roll your eyes at my stupidity.
Good Afternoon
I have an ATT samsung galaxy s3, Because of the glitches with 4.3 I was experiencing I decided to install custom software on my phone. So I looked up guides and got everything I needed. I did manage to get root access, and verified with super user. I also installed TWRP and CWM because each kept giving me errors when I tried to install CM 11 onto my phone. I tried CWM first, and when that didn't work I tried TWRP. It says there was no MD5 information found when I try to install any mod. how ever I have used the md5 file checker program and the MD5 matches up to what was listed in this one for example.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2518998
Download:
CM 11.0 Unofficial Beta 7 for d2tmo and d2att
MD5: ef93957db1e6704f23f9015231a82826
So the MD5 matches, yet when I try to install it keeps giving me errors. I also tried other versions of CM that I found on here via links. Right now my phone has no OS as another guide I read some where also said to wipe system data (sorry if that was stupid, I was just following a guideline) And even more stupid, no I don't have a backup because in my naivety and stupidity I didn't think I'd need one as it seemed so simple from all the guides and videos I'd seen.
Yesterday a friend of mine knowledgeable with tech stuff took one of the original stock Image ROMs I'd downloaded and using linux and some program he managed to do some crazy stuff I can't even describe on here. All I saw was a lot of typing of command lines and it got my phone working again, how ever it wasn't exactly the stock image I guess because the phone would not make or receive calls/texts.
Since my phone was powering on again and the android OS was loading I figured I could connect it to my computer and use KIES to download the official latest update so my phone would be back on the legit software. But trying to do that...well broke my phone again. So I'm at a loss now of what to do. Right now I can still get to download mode on my phone, but when I try to get into recovery mode I get an error that "firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in KIES & try again." Which I've tried, and every time I try it gives me an error message.So I'm at a loss of what to do next.
So I'd like to get a working OS on my phone asap so I can get calls and texts.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. And being new I'm sorry if I broke any taboos or did not give some information that is typically given when describing a problem.
gvazquez82 said:
I apologize in advance if any of this makes you roll your eyes at my stupidity.
Good Afternoon
I have an ATT samsung galaxy s3, Because of the glitches with 4.3 I was experiencing I decided to install custom software on my phone. So I looked up guides and got everything I needed. I did manage to get root access, and verified with super user. I also installed TWRP and CWM because each kept giving me errors when I tried to install CM 11 onto my phone. I tried CWM first, and when that didn't work I tried TWRP. It says there was no MD5 information found when I try to install any mod. how ever I have used the md5 file checker program and the MD5 matches up to what was listed in this one for example.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2518998
Download:
CM 11.0 Unofficial Beta 7 for d2tmo and d2att
MD5: ef93957db1e6704f23f9015231a82826
So the MD5 matches, yet when I try to install it keeps giving me errors. I also tried other versions of CM that I found on here via links. Right now my phone has no OS as another guide I read some where also said to wipe system data (sorry if that was stupid, I was just following a guideline) And even more stupid, no I don't have a backup because in my naivety and stupidity I didn't think I'd need one as it seemed so simple from all the guides and videos I'd seen.
Yesterday a friend of mine knowledgeable with tech stuff took one of the original stock Image ROMs I'd downloaded and using linux and some program he managed to do some crazy stuff I can't even describe on here. All I saw was a lot of typing of command lines and it got my phone working again, how ever it wasn't exactly the stock image I guess because the phone would not make or receive calls/texts.
Since my phone was powering on again and the android OS was loading I figured I could connect it to my computer and use KIES to download the official latest update so my phone would be back on the legit software. But trying to do that...well broke my phone again. So I'm at a loss now of what to do. Right now I can still get to download mode on my phone, but when I try to get into recovery mode I get an error that "firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in KIES & try again." Which I've tried, and every time I try it gives me an error message.So I'm at a loss of what to do next.
So I'd like to get a working OS on my phone asap so I can get calls and texts.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. And being new I'm sorry if I broke any taboos or did not give some information that is typically given when describing a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same error happened to me yesterday and spent the whole day figuring it out. get into download mode. boot up ODIN and reflash your preferred custom recovery. after that, i couldn't find anything else to restore my phone with so i installed 4.3 leaked from here. doesn't matter which one you select. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2498233. place it on your sd card and head into recovery mode, wipe data/factory reset and cache. head to install zip from sd card and select the 4.3 zip you downloaded. reboot system and it should work. the at&t boot screen takes a while so be patient
MrHaPpY66 said:
same error happened to me yesterday and spent the whole day figuring it out. get into download mode. boot up ODIN and reflash your preferred custom recovery. after that, i couldn't find anything else to restore my phone with so i installed 4.3 leaked from here. doesn't matter which one you select. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2498233. place it on your sd card and head into recovery mode, wipe data/factory reset and cache. head to install zip from sd card and select the 4.3 zip you downloaded. reboot system and it should work. the at&t boot screen takes a while so be patient
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all thank you for trying to help me, I hope you are having a good Thanks Giving.
I used the thread you linked to, and downloaded the version with out knox. I followed the instructions
transferred ROM and flashed kernel file to SD card
used odin to flash TWRP,
used twrp to flash rom and kernel file.
and it takes the file thankfully, there's only one issue. My phone can't make or receive calls/texts. Is yours able to?
I messed up and was playing with things That I had no business playing with and decided that I should do a restore of a backup (TWRP) I made as soon as I rooted the 4.3 OTA. well it has soft bricked my phone. it was a TWRP 4.3 Nandroid and has me messed up a little.
so far I tried My nandroid (no dice now a soft brick) cleared cache and dalvik, It was booting as far as the white at&t spinning thing,
Factory reset same on booting,
Tried a format of the internal sd this is where it gets sketchy it now goes as far as the second samsung screen(the one that says Samsung GALAXY S III)
4.3 OTA .zip (no dice TWRP wont flash it) same on the booting 2nd samsung boot screen
Tried the files in the link above and got a Hard brick
Used the debricking .IMG file and got TWRP and download mode back
Any suggestions?
Looks like I might need a JTAG/RIFF BOX for this one. If nothing else I spent many Hours of darkness discovering the darkness of android 4.3
If I get recovered from this and with a different rom like 4.1.2 I will be happy. the 4.3 OTA was very stable but I did miss wifi tether and the whole hardbrick thing was kind of a bummer. it would be real nice to have an ODIN file to fix this (AHEM samsung) or atleast perhaps stopped the progression of it to a hard brick.
New update
I got my phone booting up again however there is a catch. That unbrick.img file on my 16GB sd card is still required to boot the phone and I have no cell service what so ever. Tried to check apn settings because at home I sometimes get poor service and I run net10 so I was going to fix my apn and it says insert sim??? the sim is properly inserted???
Next Update
the bootloader I flashed apparently flashed to the external sd card? I flashed another one and it is booting from the internal sd. I had to flash a different modem the one in the bootloader/modem file I flashed from the link above didnt take? I got most everything sorted out, but im getting tired, it has been an all night adventure. its 08:23 est now
sorry for the delay in updating this I had to get some rest.
theramsey3 said:
I messed up and was playing with things That I had no business playing with and decided that I should do a restore of a backup (TWRP) I made as soon as I rooted the 4.3 OTA. well it has soft bricked my phone. it was a TWRP 4.3 Nandroid and has me messed up a little.
so far I tried My nandroid (no dice now a soft brick) cleared cache and dalvik, It was booting as far as the white at&t spinning thing,
Factory reset same on booting,
Tried a format of the internal sd this is where it gets sketchy it now goes as far as the second samsung screen(the one that says Samsung GALAXY S III)
4.3 OTA .zip (no dice TWRP wont flash it) same on the booting 2nd samsung boot screen
Tried the files in the link above and got a Hard brick
Used the debricking .IMG file and got TWRP and download mode back
Any suggestions?
Looks like I might need a JTAG/RIFF BOX for this one. If nothing else I spent many Hours of darkness discovering the darkness of android 4.3
If I get recovered from this and with a different rom like 4.1.2 I will be happy. the 4.3 OTA was very stable but I did miss wifi tether and the whole hardbrick thing was kind of a bummer. it would be real nice to have an ODIN file to fix this (AHEM samsung) or atleast perhaps stopped the progression of it to a hard brick.
New update
I got my phone booting up again however there is a catch. That unbrick.img file on my 16GB sd card is still required to boot the phone and I have no cell service what so ever. Tried to check apn settings because at home I sometimes get poor service and I run net10 so I was going to fix my apn and it says insert sim??? the sim is properly inserted???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into Settings, About Phone, Status and check to see if your IMEI and Serial Number are present. If you only lost your IMEI there's a guide on how to inject it back (I'm not sure where the guide is). However if you've lost your serial number and don't have a Nandroid that can restore it I don't know what to do.
spongdangly said:
Go into Settings, About Phone, Status and check to see if your IMEI and Serial Number are present. If you only lost your IMEI there's a guide on how to inject it back (I'm not sure where the guide is). However if you've lost your serial number and don't have a Nandroid that can restore it I don't know what to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have my serial number showing but no IMEI number. So is that all that's needed for me to be able to call and text again?
gvazquez82 said:
i have my serial number showing but no IMEI number. So is that all that's needed for me to be able to call and text again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated my post above and showed my soultion. I simply had to flash a new modem and almost everything was kosher. I also had to flasah a different kernel but that was for preference not because things werent working.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47817339&postcount=23 Modem download
I used that modem, flash it and see if your problems go away. I use Net10 so after I flashed the Modem I had to create an APN aswell, but that is nothing new for me.
theramsey3 said:
I updated my post above and showed my soultion. I simply had to flash a new modem and almost everything was kosher. I also had to flasah a different kernel but that was for preference not because things werent working.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47817339&postcount=23 Modem download
I used that modem, flash it and see if your problems go away. I use Net10 so after I flashed the Modem I had to create an APN aswell, but that is nothing new for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will give that a shot, but what's an APN, sorry. And how do I create one, and is it needed for me to do so?
gvazquez82 said:
i have my serial number showing but no IMEI number. So is that all that's needed for me to be able to call and text again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should be, I'm working right now so I don't have time to fine the guide on how to inject your IMEI. If I remember correctly it involves using QPST. If you have an old (or any) working Nandroid backup that should fix the problem.
FYI, make sure you don't use the guide for the international S3 as it has different hardware and folder structure/contents.
As for the APN, it should automatically fill itself in since it reads it off the SIM Card (I might be wrong).
theramsey3 said:
I updated my post above and showed my soultion. I simply had to flash a new modem and almost everything was kosher. I also had to flasah a different kernel but that was for preference not because things werent working.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47817339&postcount=23 Modem download
I used that modem, flash it and see if your problems go away. I use Net10 so after I flashed the Modem I had to create an APN aswell, but that is nothing new for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it and it work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
67 texts just came in. Sir, I thank you oh so kindly. You have made this gloomy rainy day oh so joyous.
No problem. Glad I could help you.
The real credit should go to -Mr.X-, loserskater and anyone else(no disrespect there were alot of files) whose stuff I tried to flash lastnight thank you all in the dev community who contribute.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
So I guess the next question, do I try again to install kit kat on my phone.
I've already made bucks of my existing working phone haha....but I'd still like to have kitkat in place. I believe the issue of my phone not reading MD5 confirmations would still be in place, does anyone know how to remedy that situation?
At the same time I'm more than happy to leave my phone as is.
gvazquez82 said:
So I guess the next question, do I try again to install kit kat on my phone.
I've already made bucks of my existing working phone haha....but I'd still like to have kitkat in place. I believe the issue of my phone not reading MD5 confirmations would still be in place, does anyone know how to remedy that situation?
At the same time I'm more than happy to leave my phone as is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure you can turn off MD5 checks in TWRP. Probably in CWM too. Sorry if this has been mentioned. Didn't have time to read the whole thread. Just skimmed through.
2nd, there is a major difference between an IMEI that reads 0 and an IMEI that shows unknown. If it shows an unknown simply reflash your ROM and modem and you will be good to go. Sometimes a reboot is all you need. If your IMEI is showing a 0 on the other hand its gone and will require that it be injected back in which is a messy situation that usually results in tour phone being stuck on EDGE.
3rd, as someone mentioned on the previous page, restoring a working nandroid will NOT reinject your IMEI if it shows up as 0. No amount of flashing anything will get it to come back. Not even stock. It needs to be reinjected manually.
flexfulton said:
Pretty sure you can turn off MD5 checks in TWRP. Probably in CWM too. Sorry if this has been mentioned. Didn't have time to read the whole thread. Just skimmed through.
2nd, there is a major difference between an IMEI that reads 0 and an IMEI that shows unknown. If it shows an unknown simply reflash your ROM and modem and you will be good to go. Sometimes a reboot is all you need. If your IMEI is showing a 0 on the other hand its gone and will require that it be injected back in which is a messy situation that usually results in tour phone being stuck on EDGE.
3rd, as someone mentioned on the previous page, restoring a working nandroid will NOT reinject your IMEI if it shows up as 0. No amount of flashing anything will get it to come back. Not even stock. It needs to be reinjected manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you know of a good stable kit kat like ROM I could use for the s3? And any speculation as to why the ROMs werent taking for me?
Hello everyone thanks for checking out my post for assistance.
I was running the OpTimuS 2.2 yesterday when my phone jumped into a boot-loop. The phone will be on for about 20-40 seconds then reboot. During that time I have no service and when I update the profile I get a message that I don't have any service. I can get into recovery and Download mode. I tried to just wipe and install the rom again. That process resulted in the same boot loop. I have a back up but that was done before the "spark" update and I didn't want to restore that because I know there will be an issue with the radio. I downloaded the stock rooted rom but the phone will not stay on long enough to transfer the file and when I try and load via recovery it will not allow me to transfer the file. (never shows up on computer I might be doing that wrong) I then attempted to bring the phone back to stock following this process http://www.rwilco12.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=96 but when I get down to step 13 the program will not respond anymore. I am going a friends house to try on a different computer but I wanted to get this out there just in case that has the same result.
Thanks again for any info that you could provide.
usvi525 said:
Hello everyone thanks for checking out my post for assistance.
I was running the OpTimuS 2.2 yesterday when my phone jumped into a boot-loop. The phone will be on for about 20-40 seconds then reboot. During that time I have no service and when I update the profile I get a message that I don't have any service. I can get into recovery and Download mode. I tried to just wipe and install the rom again. That process resulted in the same boot loop. I have a back up but that was done before the "spark" update and I didn't want to restore that because I know there will be an issue with the radio. I downloaded the stock rooted rom but the phone will not stay on long enough to transfer the file and when I try and load via recovery it will not allow me to transfer the file. (never shows up on computer I might be doing that wrong) I then attempted to bring the phone back to stock following this process http://www.rwilco12.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=96 but when I get down to step 13 the program will not respond anymore. I am going a friends house to try on a different computer but I wanted to get this out there just in case that has the same result.
Thanks again for any info that you could provide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing back to stock won't work, I had the same thing happened.......it's the EFS Partition (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2451390) If you made a EFS Partition Backup, then flashing that will be your best hope.....I didn't make a backup so I went to sprint cuz I have insurance and they are ordering me a new phone
Shadow_God said:
Flashing back to stock won't work, I had the same thing happened.......it's the EFS Partition (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2451390) If you made a EFS Partition Backup, then flashing that will be your best hope.....I didn't make a backup so I went to sprint cuz I have insurance and they are ordering me a new phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They replaced it even though your phone was rooted?
Try installing an updated modem for your variant from this thread. It's worth a try.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2451426
If you get it working, definitely make an EFS backup right away.
usvi525 said:
They replaced it even though your phone was rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the LGFlashTool to bring it back to stock unrooted.......but my phone had no sevice and rebooted every couple minutes, plus the touchscreen wasn't working either.....I told them I took the Spark update and thats when it happened, he said they had alot of issue with touchscreen stopped working and rebooting issue with the spark update......so they didn't look at it long...lol
I have tried back to stock numbers of times....installing modems....restoring my backups....nothing would get it to work, so I gave up and went to sprint...lol
On the rom you were using, have you tried enabling airplane mode to prevent reboots? You could try to get a stock-based flashable zip on the device if possible.
alone-together said:
Try installing an updated modem for your variant from this thread. It's worth a try.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2451426
If you get it working, definitely make an EFS backup right away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the option. I was able to install the radio but the issue remains.
usvi525 said:
Thanks for the option. I was able to install the radio but the issue remains.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have we ruled out the possibility to flash a stock ROM in TWRP? If by any chance you have a USB OTG cable, you could try to connect a flash drive with another ROM.
This is my last ditch effort. Small back story: I somehow wiped EVERYTHING on my G2. EFS partition, ESN, data, SIM info., everything with dialer codes. All of my network information reads "unknown". I tried many methods from here on the forums to get this data back and it turns out I have lost my EFS partition- DNA for the network? I sent it to LG to get it fixed, having done a hard reset and leaving no trace of root. They sent it back without even asking and did no repairs. The note said "board bent". WTF?? How does the user bend the main board, especially when I never opened it? They voided my warranty and ripped off my IMEI/MEID sticker from the back of the phone.
Anyways, I am here with a brick. No network still. Here is what I have done:
1) .tot method to ZVC. Several more times... once to ZV7 where I lost touch capability. Luckily saved my arse with a micro->usb cable and a mouse.
2) attempted to root with ioroot25. Failed because the phone WILL NOT find recovery mode. adb, voldown+pwr then again from power off, and apps are unable to force the phone into recovery mode. I assume it is possible that my recovery mode is deleted?
3) Would have tried all of these "rewrite your efs/imei/etc" things but I can't do any without root. Can't root without recovery, can I?
4) Spent the last two weeks scouring the internet for a fix and going back to my Epic 4G temporarily.
Please help me, has anyone seen this before? Can anyone help me fix it? I am to the point where I would pay to have it fixed. Any experts out there? XDA has yet to let me down... I just need to know if I can fix it or if it is a brick so I can go searching for an old Sprint GS3.
Thanks all,
baublitz
First person to help gets paid for your time...
Problem: I have a s3 i747 from att.
it has 4.3 stock.
I use srs to unlock all my phones.
well when I went to unlock this one it said it had new security.
Usually when this happens I odin this file that downgrades the modem.
well I did it and now I have null imei and unknown baseband
I tried restoring to stock, didn't help. Through kies and odin.
I need to put it back the way it was... can someone please help..... ill paypal you as soon as its working again...thanks
So you're currently at stock, unlocked? Does the phone boot at all?
These threads may help:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658486
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2722660
yes it is still stock 4.3. no its not unlocked. everything works and boots fine. just no signal because of null imei and unknown baseband.
I think I need to just flash a modem via odin....I just don't know which one
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1831898
There's seems to be a rash of this happening in the past month. You'll probably find that link helpful but first check and see if others found a better solution.
Yes. Flash the 4.3 modem.
As of 4.3, flashing any older modem will no longer work, resulting in an unknown imei and baseband version. Flashing back to the correct modem nearly always solves this issue.
It will be like this from now on btw. You cannot use any modem except the one which matches your current firmware build.
This means our free unlock method no longer works unfortunately. But you can get unlocked for just a few bucks using one of the many services online. I know some are on ebay, but google will find others as well.
I installed cwm and downloaded the modem but im lost from there.
do I rename it update.zip?
Nope, just flash like you would any other rom.
Because you asked about renaming it to update.zip though, I have to ask if you are certain you are in cwm? If you had previously updated via ota it may restore the stock recovery every time you reboot. If this is happening, reflash cwm in Odin, but uncheck auto reboot. Wait until it says PASS, then unplug and pull the battery.
Next put the battery back in and boot to recovery. (Volume up, home, power. Release power only after it vibrates)
If you are sure you are in cwm though, just flash the modem normally.
Yes im sure its cmw. when I open recovery and look for the zip its nowhere to be found. that's why I was asking if I should change the name.
I did try it by changing the name but the file still doesn't show up.
It's an IMEI problem. If you haven't made a backup of the IMEI folder you can't do anything.
Sent from my SM-G900H using XDA Free mobile app
daddydv said:
Yes im sure its cmw. when I open recovery and look for the zip its nowhere to be found. that's why I was asking if I should change the name.
I did try it by changing the name but the file still doesn't show up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure the sdcard is mounted. Have you tried getting to it on both internal and external cards?
Thin_Bezel said:
It's an IMEI problem. If you haven't made a backup of the IMEI folder you can't do anything.
Sent from my SM-G900H using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true. 90% of unknown baseband and imei problems ive helped people with lately just needed the correct modem. And even if it were the imei, I can still help with that. Im convinced in this case its just the modem though.
Thanks doc... that was the problem...imei and baseband are back. donation has been sent....thanks again.
Hey thanks man! I do appreciate it, but I am just glad I could help! I will definitely put it to good use though! (Broke the lcd on my S3 a while back and haven't had the disposable funds to fix it. Something always comes up...lol!) Will be adding it to my savings for this purpose!
Anyway, since we were slightly on the IMEI topic, there is a backup you should do if you haven't already. (Root is required for this to work though.)
Its super simple and will create an on device backup of your nv data. The backup will be stored on a couple of partitions we never touch, not even with firmware flashes. This essentially makes it a permanent backup. The cool thing about it is every time you reboot, the system checks for any corruption, and if detected, it will automatically restore from this backup. So if it were to ever happen, you probably wouldn't ever even notice it!
Install the Terminal Emulator from the play store. Open and enter this:
su
reboot nvbackup
Thats it! Device will reboot and create your backup. This should prevent you from ever suffering from a lost IMEI!
DocHoliday77 said:
Hey thanks man! I do appreciate it, but I am just glad I could help! I will definitely put it to good use though! (Broke the lcd on my S3 a while back and haven't had the disposable funds to fix it. Something always comes up...lol!) Will be adding it to my savings for this purpose!
Anyway, since we were slightly on the IMEI topic, there is a backup you should do if you haven't already. (Root is required for this to work though.)
Its super simple and will create an on device backup of your nv data. The backup will be stored on a couple of partitions we never touch, not even with firmware flashes. This essentially makes it a permanent backup. The cool thing about it is every time you reboot, the system checks for any corruption, and if detected, it will automatically restore from this backup. So if it were to ever happen, you probably wouldn't ever even notice it!
Install the Terminal Emulator from the play store. Open and enter this:
su
reboot nvbackup
Thats it! Device will reboot and create your backup. This should prevent you from ever suffering from a lost IMEI!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also use qpst to backup imei. Windows app. Free. Lots of walkthroughs around for those less comfortable with cli.
Nvm. 10char
azuziel said:
You can also use qpst to backup imei. Windows app. Free. Lots of walkthroughs around for those less comfortable with cli.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, I already have it and have used it and other tools to help fix at least 700-800 S3's, probably more! (No, i do not charge for my help either.) I dont tell about it or give it out unless its absolutely needed for a legitimate imei restore though. Too many people try to use it illegally and Im not willing to take the chance. Its the main reason most of the info has been deleted from everywhere. Only a few threads here and there get by the mods it seems.
Anyway, to my knowledge, no one who has run this backup has ever lost their IMEI. It even seems to help for those occasions after flashing a cm rom where the imei displays "unknown". (Apparently, at least on the T999, cm sometimes has problems reading the nv data. If rebooting several times doesnt solve, stock firmware does).
At this point I believe if you run this backup, you will have no need for a .qcn or .txt file backup, which is why I just dont mention it anymore. And if it does happen, people can pm me and ill be happy to help fix it.
Because of how I understand this backup to function, I do believe if it had been run during first boot, we would've never seen so many imei problems to begin with! I just dont understand why Samsung refuses to do this!
Anyway, that's why I dont mention those tools anymore. If you have any questions about any of it, please feel free to PM me and ill try to explain better.
First root and thought I had everything covered, but of course something hiccuped and now I have Unknown IMEI, Baseband, Hardware version, Software version and can't connect to the network. All my apps and wifi are working.
Before installing TWRP I looked for a way to backup my entire device and could find nothing that would work before rooting or flashing a recovery to replace the stock recovery. I finally just went ahead and flashed TWRP and created a backup with that. There were errors that had to do with the Samsung calendar app data that made the backup fail. I excluded data from the backup and was able to complete what was reported as a successful backup. I did not allow TWRP to install root access before reboot.
I then installed via Odin the Chainfire SuperSU successfully and thought was free and clear. When I rebooted everything worked fine, except the phone would not connect to network and reported "Searching for Service."
Upon investigation into that I discovered the other issues that all seem to be tied to the EFS partition. I tried restoring the EFS partition from the TWRP backup I created immediately after installing TWRP, but that fixed nothing. It seems that the TWRP installation itself was what killed the EFS partition data.
If I understand correctly, flashing the stock Sprint ROM L900VPUCOH3, should fix the problem, but then I would still have to restore the IMEI, which I can't do without a rooted device. Also, even if it worked, I couldn't backup the EFS partition only, without a rooted device. So my logic is that if I could get a functioning TWRP EFS only backup for my device, I could restore that, reset the IMEI and be back in the ballgame.
Before I started down this path my phone was lagging badly and freezing up. I did a soft reset and got the speed back, but then the apps began crashing randomly and intermittently, both the native ones and the downloaded ones. I then did a factory reset and everything worked right. I reinstalled my downloaded apps and kept my speed and stability. It took several days for me to download, configure and add all my accounts back manually and everything remained fast and stable. I would really hate to have to start from scratch all over again.
Any assistance would be appreciated. Below is what I looked like before I got maimed:
Software Version
L900VPUCOH3
Hardware Version
L900.09
Model number
SPH-L900
Android version
4.4.2
Baseband version
L900VPUCOH3
Kernel version
3.0.31-3084104
[email protected] #1
Mon Aug 24 17:13:18 KST 2015
Build number
KOT49H.L900VPUCOH3
SE for Android status
Enforcing
SEPF_SPH-L900_4.4.2_0033
Mon Aug 24 17:29:53 KST 2015
This is what I look like now:
Software Version
Unknown
Hardware Version
(blank)
Model number
SPH-L900
Android version
4.4.2
Baseband version
Unknown
Kernel version
3.0.31-3084104
[email protected] #1
Mon Aug 24 17:13:18 KST 2015
Build number
KOT49H.L900VPUCOH3
SE for Android status
Enforcing
SEPF_SPH-L900_4.4.2_0033
Mon Aug 24 17:29:53 KST 2015
If there is another approach that would rectify the situation then I am all ears. I can fix a computer, but phones are an entirely foreign animal to me. I'll be the first to tell you I don't know enough and welcome the learning experience, I just wish it it wasn't under life or death circumstances.
**UPDATE**
While still investigating possible solutions, something has come to my attention. I do not have the original IMEI info anywhere!! I have the MEID only. I was able to get the serial number from a Samsung registration email, and was able to use a converter to calculate the ESN from the MEID. I tried tap dancing with Sprint to get the IMEI, but all I could get from them was the MEID info I already had.
First of all, please keep away from TWRP since it causes many problems on the N2 from installation to flashing roms.
I suggest you to :
1- Flash with Odin a FULL restore image of stock rom (to restore partitions table, modem, and rebuild your IMEI).
2- Flash with Odin "Philz custom recovery", especially this version.
3- Flash SuperSU flashable Zip with Philz recovery.
Normally, everything should be fine (a working phone with root privilege).
Clarification of Stock ROM Version
zlazaar said:
First of all, please keep away from TWRP since it causes many problems on the N2 from installation to flashing roms.
I suggest you to :
1- Flash with Odin (...too new to even quote an outside url) a FULL restore image of stock rom (oh well...) (to restore partitions table, modem, and rebuild your IMEI).
2- Flash with Odin "Philz custom recovery", especially (...ditto) this version (ditto...).
3- Flash (...ditto) SuperSU flashable Zip (ditto...) with Philz recovery.
Normally, everything should be fine (a working phone with root privilege).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock ROM you linked to SPH-L900_NE2 causes me a bit of concern as my phone is on L900VPUCOH3. I was already up to 4.4.2 KitKat.
Unless there is some specific reason I should use the NE2 version, I am going to locate an OH3 version and work with that.
Thank you for your help, that was pretty much the route I thought made logical sense with the lack of a patch to my issue, to go back to stock and start over. I wasn't aware of any TWRP issues, so that was also a big help and I already have SuperSU.
While I wait for a response I am going to go and try to do my due diligence to find out more about Philz Recovery, so that I can move on and get back in the game. No phone for New Years Eve will suck a big fat one!!
zlazaar said:
First of all, please keep away from TWRP since it causes many problems on the N2 from installation to flashing roms.
I suggest you to :
1- Flash with Odin ... a FULL restore image of stock rom ... (to restore partitions table, modem, and rebuild your IMEI).
2- Flash with Odin "Philz custom recovery", especially ... this version[/URL].
3- Flash ... SuperSU flashable Zip ... with Philz recovery.
Normally, everything should be fine (a working phone with root privilege).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(This response took such a long time because between the holidays, typing the original reply which was lost due to a badly placed refresh touch-button on this keyboard and subsequent issues with the phone, I'm just getting back to it now. This one is much less detailed than the original that was lost.)
As per my previous reply regarding flashing NE2 instead of OH3, I couldn't find a source for the OH3 stock ROM that I was comfortable with, so I just went with your instructions and viola!, all was working again, with IMEI, MEID and everything else back to functioning. I had connection to the carrier network, and after 2 OTA updates, I was back to the OH3 version.
The installation of Philz Recovery and Chainfire's SuperSU went fine. So as far as my original issue, my phone was back to normal, with custom recovery and root added.
Thank you zlazaar for your assistance. Seeing that you were the only one that responded, you truly were a lifesaver for both me and my phone, and though I may have eventually gotten to the process you described by hit, miss or frustration, you save me a lot of time and angst since at that point my biggest concern was a working phone, not the root.
From there it went downhill because I ran into different issues, the only part that relates to this thread is this, should I have used the working TWRP to wipe the ROM before flashing the new stock NE2 ROM to the phone with ODIN? I flashed OVER what was there which might have caused the problems I had later on down the road.
I will post the problems I had after this in another thread when I have a chance and put a link to it here. That way I won't have to retype from the beginning, and anyone this might help can see other issues they may encounter.
On the up side, I think I'm pretty practiced in rooting the SPH-L900 and rooting it. Also, since Sprint couldn't fix or replace my Note 2 after I was done with it, I'm getting a Note 4 as a replacement. (I managed to brick it leaving a KIES error message as the only thing it would do besides Download Mode at power up or starting to recovery.) Worst case, if I brick the new Note 4
On the down side, now I'm going to have a phone I'm going to have to start from scratch learning what can and can't be done to it, as well as deal with the stronger KNOX...and now I have all these Note 2 ROMS (Funny enough, the tech at Sprint said he wanted to try more but they are so restricted on the internet he couldn't download the files he wanted. I said to myself, betcha I have the files he was looking for!!)