(unfinished!)
Gobbledygook and what it means
ROM
A package including the operating system (Android) and pre-installed apps and configuration. There are 3 types of ROM's:
Original:
The ones released by Samsung. They can be downloaded on http://samfirmware.com and are flashed through Odin.
Sammy-based:
ROM's that have been altered, tweaked, enhanced, modified but are based on an Original Rom.
A list of Sammy-based ROM's can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=26583587&postcount=1
AOSP-based:
These ROM's have been built from the official Google Android sources without any carrier-interference. Cyanogenmod is among these.
Here's a list of those: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=27583422&postcount=2
FD / Fast Dormancy
Fast Dormance. usually shortened FD or depending on the technology NCFD for network controlled fast dormancy, is a protocol between your phone and the network which basically allows it to suspend the data connection when it's not used to save battery and resources.
Here's a description: http://galaxy551.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/fast-dormancy-and-battery/
Modem or Radio
The modem, also called radio or baseband processor, is the system within your phone which is responsible for all cellular activity, be it data transfer, calls, ... and their corresponding low-level parts. It has it's completely own operating system (firmware), which is usually called 'modem' for short. Depending on the carrier and locations, different modems have a better stability and/or data throughput than others. The best ones are often not the one destined for your region.
Modems for the S3 are not compatible with all ROM's, a list of modems and some hints can be found here
Root
Rooting is the procedure of gaining root (=privileged, "admin") access to your phone. Pure rooting consists of only minor changes to the original ROM and neither causes data loss nor is it risky when following step-by-step instructions. It allows to control your device's behaviour in all regards. Rooting is considered to void warranty (although that may not be entirely correct)
EFS
EFS is a partition on your phone which contains the ONLY data that will cause your phone to be unusuable if lost or corrupted.
It includes your MAC addresses (Machine adress code) which is a unique identifier for all Bluetooth and (W)Lan devices aswell as your IMEI (basically the same as MAC but for mobile networks). Loosing/corrupting your IMEI causes the device to no longer be accepted by your operator . There is no known successful way to restore the IMEI other than sending it in for (paid) repair through Samsung customer service.
A backup is highly recommended if your device is rooted. Refer to "How do I backup my EFS" below.
CWM
ClockWorkMod (CWM) is an aftermarket recovery with extended functionality and the ability to flash non-Samsung Update files.
It's usually used for Nandroid backups, updating custom ROM's and flashing tweaks/features to a Rom.
However it also includes an ADB console to recover from issues and run commands on the system.
Most custom kernels include a copy of CWM.
Odin/Heimdall
Odin (Windows-only) and Heimdall (Windows, Mac, Linux) are tools which allow you to use the factory ROM-flashing system to update and replace the firmware or parts of your phone. It can also be used to recover the phone from bad flashes if it does not go to Recovery mode again.
ADB
Android Debug Bridge is a tool allowing you to execute commands and send/receive files of an USB-attached Android phone from your computer. It requires "USB Debugging" to be enabled in the Settings->'Developer options' of your phone.
It's usually used to test apps or send commands to the phone's command line.
A copy of ADB is attached to the post. To install it, copy the contents of adb.zip into C:\Windows and open a Dos Promt (cmd). Then type 'adb shell' to gain command-line access to your phone.
About upgrades and Updates
When will I get an update?
Official OTA updates are often delayed or not released at all for certain countries, regions. Additionally, carrier-branded ROM's are usually
further delayed by the carrier himself. See "How can I manually update"
Is the update Jellybean?
No. Jellybean is'nt out for probably a couple of months. However that doesn't mean you shouldn't install the upgrade since they often contain important bugfixes and tweaks.
How can I manually update?
You want that new ROM but it's (not yet) released for your country or region? No worry! Head over to http://samfirmware.com and get the ROM of your choice (within the Samsung Galaxy S3 i9300 range of course). Then flash it through Odin. It will not cause data loss and upgrading (newer Version) should always go painlessly, downgrading may need a factory-reset (=data loss).
About flashing in general
How do I access download / recovery mode?
Recovery mode
Make sure your phone is powered off and not plugged in
Press and hold Volume-Up and Home button.
Press Power-button until the Logo appears
Release Power-button but keep the other 2 pressed.
Repeat if it does not work. If it still does not work, remove the battery for 1-2 minutes and try again.
Download mode
Same steps as 'recovery mode' but replace 'Volume-Up' with 'Volume-Down'.
What is a JIG
A jig is a little (and very cheap, +- 2$) electronic component in form of a microUSB-plug helping you to access download-mode when it either turns on but does not go to Download/ Recovery mode or does not react at all. Upon plug-in the phone will start in download mode, allowing it to be fixed.
Do I need a backup
If you ask, you probably don't have any. Neither Titanium Backup, nor CWM. It's highly recommended since, according to Murphy's law, "what can go wrong, will go wrong". Don't blame other users if you don't have any ready and you lost everything you stored on the phone!
It's probably a good idea to always store backups on the external SD card (if any is present).
See "How can I make a backup" for further info.
How can I make a backup
There are 2 possibilities:
Full-backups (aka Nandroid)
These are capable of restoring your entire phone including the ROM, configuration, apps, data, ... exactly as it was at the time of the backup.
Nandroid backups can be created and restored through the 'Backup & Restore' menu in CWM.
Partial backups (for ROM migration or experimentation)
+ Use Titanium Backup to backup and restore non-system apps including their data (all apps that are not colored red).
+ Make sure you enabled "Sync contacts" in Settings->Accounts&Sync->[Your account] and let it sync
+ Use Sms Backup+ to backup your SMS and call-logs to your GMail account.
How do I backup my EFS
Use this tool: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1308546
---TO--BE--CONTINUED---
-RESERVED-
Some stickys here for SGs2 that are in many cases relevant to SGS3 dont know if you want to cut and paste .
Thanks for the good work anyway .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1442549
jje
Keis as well as Odin, pls.
Re:
"Original:
The ones released by Samsung. They can be downloaded on http://samfirmware.com and are flashed through Odin."
Can be flashed by Keis too, Samsungs proprietary flasher (and hence sticking with the "Original" theme).
Can be flashed by Keis too, Samsungs proprietary flasher (and hence sticking with the "Original" theme).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Afaik Kies doesn't allow you to flash any ROM of your choice, only the official updates for your region. Or am I wrong?
d4fseeker said:
Afaik Kies doesn't allow you to flash any ROM of your choice, only the official updates for your region. Or am I wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed. I was correcting the line as "Original" ROM's can be flashed by Odin and Keis. Only Odin is mentioned in the OP.
Related
I have installed a Custom Rom in my Galaxy GT I9100 last night. Details: cm-10.1-20130105-NIGHTLY-i9100 & Gapps: gapps-jb-20121212-signed
My Problems:
1) I am not able to read my External SD Card (32 GB). When i plug in to my computer, I am able to read it, but cannot read it via phone.
2) I had backed up my files at Titanium Backup & My Backup Pro before installing this ROM. I am not able to restore some of the Apps & shows error. I read it somewhere that Titanium Backup has a problem with this ROM. Can someone let me know which back up app to use for future back ups, if I want to change my ROM to a different one.
3) Not able to use Samsung Kies?
4)Where to find the option for USB Debugging & developmental. I am not able to find it in Settings.
5) I read in this form about delete Battery Cache. Whats that? Will it help to increase my battery performance?
1) Format the card in CWRecovery (make sure you check the mount points/select the right option; last thing you want to do is accidentally format your internal SD).
2) Check the CM10 discussion thread re: issues with Ti Backup (can't advise from personal experience as I've never used it), maybe an issue with locations of files/file data ? Or...Do a clean install when you switch to a completely different rom (obviously you don't need to do this if you're flashing a nightly/different version of the same rom unless instructed to by the creator of the rom). This is what I do; takes a bit of time, but absolutely worth it if you want a troublefree experience for months to come if you install a different rom. If you absolutely must, restore app data for apps you can't use without the data.
3) Use Kies for what ? Why would you want to have anything to do with Kies if you're running a custom rom ? Kies is rubbish (I'm being kind). There are other apps that do a better job at the things Kies does anyway (Ti Backup & CWRecovery for backups, various other apps that enable you to transfer files to/from via WiFi as examples).
4) You need to look harder in settings. It's there (or you've got a bad install), should be in settings/developer options like it normally is.
5) Deleting battery stats will do exactly that; delete the battery stats. This will not improve the performance of your phone or anything else. This post on G+ from Google's Dianne Hackborn should explain the purpose of battery stats & why deleting them achieves nothing
6) I highly recommend you read most of the threads in the Stickies, these threads contain the 'basics' that everyone who tinkers with their SGS2 should know.
(You're welcome)
MistahBungle said:
1) Format the card in CWRecovery (make sure you check the mount points/select the right option; last thing you want to do is accidentally format your internal SD).
2) Check the CM10 discussion thread re: issues with Ti Backup (can't advise from personal experience as I've never used it), maybe an issue with locations of files/file data ? Or...Do a clean install when you switch to a completely different rom (obviously you don't need to do this if you're flashing a nightly/different version of the same rom unless instructed to by the creator of the rom). This is what I do; takes a bit of time, but absolutely worth it if you want a troublefree experience for months to come if you install a different rom. If you absolutely must, restore app data for apps you can't use without the data.
3) Use Kies for what ? Why would you want to have anything to do with Kies if you're running a custom rom ? Kies is rubbish (I'm being kind). There are other apps that do a better job at the things Kies does anyway (Ti Backup & CWRecovery for backups, various other apps that enable you to transfer files to/from via WiFi as examples).
4) You need to look harder in settings. It's there (or you've got a bad install), should be in settings/developer options like it normally is.
5) Deleting battery stats will do exactly that; delete the battery stats. This will not improve the performance of your phone or anything else. This post on G+ from Google's Dianne Hackborn should explain the purpose of battery stats & why deleting them achieves nothing
6) I highly recommend you read most of the threads in the Stickies, these threads contain the 'basics' that everyone who tinkers with their SGS2 should know.
(You're welcome)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried with the Format option but no success. I was able to do it by the use of Directory Bind http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1536568
For the Developer Options, I needed to tap the Build Number 7 times and then I could get this option.
Titanium Backup, I made the mistake of restoring the system apps also .
Thanks for the Stickies Thread URL.
Hi,
following a recent reboot, my Samsung Galaxy S2 (UK version) is mounting the /data partition as read only, causing many FC's and the phone to be unusable. It is not rooted or customised, but I had enabled debugging for development purposes.
Due to Gingerbread's limited backup capabilities (without root), there are items in various applications that I need to recover, if possible.
Can someone please advise on the most straightforward way of getting fsck and enough priviledges on the S2 to fix the disk (assuming there's no hardware fault)?
Is there a version of adb that can give me root access without flashing the device, or is there any way to get the device to fix the disk itself, without doing a factory reset?
For the last week I've been searching with regards to rooting, updating kernels/firmware etc, but there seem to be so many options, that I'm not sure which would be the one that requires the smallest change to the system and therefore the lowest risk. (At thist stage it appears that loading ClockWorkMod using Odin is the way to go, but I may only have one chance not to mess this up, so want to be sure! Are there any critical do's and don'ts? How does Heimdall compare to Odin? What do the manufacturers use?) Also, how will I be able to tell if the Bootloader is locked? How do I unlock it and relock it once I'm done?
I never upgraded the Firmware/OS since I had it and would like to return it to stock when (hopefully) the system is recovered (following which I'll bring the OS up to date). The version is 2.6.35.7-I9100BUKE5-CL227058 [email protected] #2 .
If ClockWorkMod is the best way, can I just change the kernel, or is it best to replace the entire firmware? How do I backup the current factory firmware / kernel before I make changes? Is it possible to do all of this without incrementing the flash counter? Does incrementing the flash counter matter?
During my searches, I've also become aware of the emmc brick bug on the S2. Is this likely to be a problem during the kernal change or whatever may be required to fix the disk format? (I.e. not flashing a kernel that has MC_CAP_ERASE=1.)
If it's not possible to fix the disk, can I use the inbuilt dd command to make a sector backup of the disk and then mount as a partition under LINUX to retrieve the files / databases?
I've used Linux/UNIX for many years, but am quite new to Android and flashing etc. , but I've done similar things with other devices.
Can someone please advise?
Thanks.
Andy.
The issue:
I upgraded to Jelly Bean 4.1.2. Eventually (within hours) I was unable to open the Gallery to view photos; the error message: "Not enough space. Delete unnecessary items such as downloaded software, pictures, videos and documents"; screen shots cannot be saved to the internal memory; images from within MMS messages cannot be viewed; neither Kies or TitaniumPro will allow me to perform a backup.
After attempting to "Clear data" (successful) and "Clear cache" (unsuccessful; cache remains full after hitting radio button) from Application Manager --> All --> Gallery, I noticed that my cache supposedly contains 88.17GB of data, which is WAY more storage than my phone has available. I went searching for these files, and their location is /sdcard/Android/data/com.sec.androud.gallery3d/cache.
Assumptions (and we all know what those do...):
-If I'm able to delete these files, it will solve the aforementioned issues.
-This is as a result of the auto-syncing of photos within my Google account; I believe this is supported by the fact that I was initially able to open the gallery post-update, but as the files continued to sync and the cache got too large, it disallowed my opening of the gallery.
-Other folks have had similar issues, and a factory reset did not resolve their problem (so it won't resolve mine).
Attempted fixes:
-I disabled syncing Picasa and photo albums from my Google account.
-In addition to the offending files (a parent folder and files named with symbol/wingding characters; many of the files supposedly contain 3.5GB worth of data... totaling the 88+GB of data), I was unable to delete anything from within the cache folder (which included Picasa folders) in MyFiles. As a result, I rooted my phone with Framaroot 1.6.0, enabled Root Explorer in ES File Explorer and changed all the permissions available to RW and restarted the phone. The files still "cannot be deleted".
Please help.
Phone info:
Samsung Galaxy SII i777
Android version 4.1.2
Baseband version I777UCMD8
I don't want to make any assumptions before I offer suggestions. So...
Did you upgrade via Kies?
What kind of experience do you have modifying phones, if any?
creepyncrawly said:
Did you upgrade via Kies?
What kind of experience do you have modifying phones, if any?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did upgrade via Kies. I've little experience modifying phones, but I'm willing to put in a little leg-work to figure out how. If I could save my SMS/MMS messages and phone log in this process, that'd be great. That said, I'd rather put off buying a new phone, so I can live with it if I lose the data.
I'm not sure what went wrong with the Kies update, but as far as I know, there is no easy way to correct the problem. Actually, most of the people who frequent this forum are using custom firmware, rather than stock. In general, when things go wrong with a flash, (or update in your case), it is much easier to just re-flash. Of course, if you are an experienced developer, you can look at the log files and determine what went wrong, but even then fixing it is questionable.
You will most likely find that if you perform a wipe data/factory reset in 3e recovery and then perform a fresh Odin install of the firmware, you will have no problems. You can stay with the stock 4.1.2 UCMD8 firmware, or you can install the custom firmware of your choice. If you opt for custom firmware, there are a number of choices. Since you are accustomed to running stock, you may be more comfortable with a rom that uses Samsung Touchwiz as a base rather than one that is based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). I run SHOstock3 which is modified from the latest Samsung firmware for the International SGSII and is also 4.1.2 based. It is extremely stable and has many many features that you do not have with stock.
Since you are rooted, you should install Titanium Backup and do a complete backup of all your applications in it. You will then be able to restore application data so that you don't lose anything. With it you can also restore your SMS & MMS messages, and possibly wifi access points, call logs, and bookmarks of the stock browser. I'm not sure about the last three if you would be changing to a different base. I think the call log would restore from stock to SHOstock3 since they are similar applications.
If you will be flashing firmware in the future, you should consider purchasing Titanium Backup Pro, which gives you batch restore along with some other features. It is very tedious restoring things one application at a time.
Also, before you wipe and re-flash firmware, you could first install a custom kernel and do a nandroid backup. Titanium Backup will read and can restore things selectively from a nandroid backup so you would have access later to additional items if you need them.
Hope that's helpful and if you have any questions, just ask. You can find a lot of resources in my signature, including a link to the Download Repository.
Oh, and the call log is not your address book. Titanium Backup will not restore that, but you can save it in Google and restore it from Google which is what most people do, or I believe you can find a stand alone backup program for it.
Simple Solution:
1. Download your current ROM .zip file -- in my case ShoStock3 4.0 zip
2. Reboot into Recovery Mode
3. Locate your zip file -- in my case extSD card
4. Run your ROM .zip file -- no need to do a full wipe or anything.. Just run the zip file
5. Reboot once the installation finishes
6. ENJOY!
YEAH! to my first post!
Hello! I have a little experience using computers from late 1995 Year, and from year 2000 I am using also Linux from time to time, and very rare but it was a delight freeBSD. I have no experience on Android and MacOs.
Now, I all my family (father, mother, girlfriend and I) changed the phones on Android which is Linux based, but for ARM processors.
Anyway, I have played a little with Android 4 x86 on my laptop.
Please considering that I am new in the Android sutff.
From, my point of view, a Android Smartphone is just a little computer like an raspberry pi / pandaboard / beagle board.
So, a mini computer with an Arm processor running a very small and tiny operating system max 8 Gb, when on my gentoo install I had been using about 30-40 Gb. I know, the size can be affected by the compiling flags but anyway. Please corecct me if I am wrong.
Now, on all my system I had, from my experience I did 2 Backups, like this:
My laptop is backed-up on the External Hardisk number 1, and the External Hardisk number 1 is backed-up on the External Hardisk number 2.
So, as it is a good practice to have a backup handy, I keep 2 backups in 2 different location in case of hardware failure / water flood etc. Some of the files I need are backed up in the cloud, on the internet.
I use to make IMAGES of the Operating System partition, and of the mbr , and of the partition table, with software like Acronis True Image, Paragon, DriveImage XML, Norton Ghost, Clone Zilla.
When I had to do data recovery I did an Acronis "sector-by-sector" approach image of the hardisk, and I recovered files from that image.
Can you guys please introduce me please on the android field?
I assume that maybe I will need to get root on one or two phones, and one phone need's to be unlocked from the carrier.
Before doing this I would like to make a full backup of the phones.
1) How can I make a FULL backup of the android phones? In this moment my mother phone is a samsung galaxy mini2 Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 s6500 and mine is Sony Xperia L
2)
a) If I will "unlock" the phone from the carrier (locked on orange, but i wish to use also Vodafone, I tim, I wind, moviestar, o2 etc)
b) If I will "root" the phone to gain administrator acces on it
After step A) and B) if I will restore the original backup, the phone will be "locked" back to Orange, and "un-rooted", or it will be "unlocked" and "un-rooted"?
3) Instead of having an hardisk like computer have, I guess the smartphone is using an "usb-stick/sd-card/ssdhdd"-like memory for storage of the operating system, so how can I see the partition table, the mbr, on the device?
Thank you in advance!​
In my experience the best backup apps available require root. So I would recommend unlocking and rooting the phone first, get all the apps you wish to use installed, then use clockworkmod recovery to make a backup. This backup will include everything including the current unlocked rooted status, and can be restored using the same software. I also reccomend titanium backup for app backups, which includes user defined settings for each app. There are free and paid versions of each and both work equally well. Both apps, Titanium Backup Root, and Clockwork Manager are available for install from the play store.
Thank you for your feedback, but I wish to backup before unlocking, I will root the phone only as a last resort.
It could be possible to need the phone locked up, if there will be warranty problems.
I am currently reading about Odin, next will be CWM and TWRP, as I am not familiar with those "tools" and I don't know for what are they used for.
As I learned by now, with odin I can go back to an old firmware. But first I need to learn how to back it up in this state, locked, and un-rooted.
After I have read, read, read, and read again a lot of posts, blogs, forums, it seems that If I wish to backup the Stock Rom, I need to do root on the device. But if I will "root" the device, make backup, change rom, then recover the stock rom from backup (which is in the rooted stage), can I UN-ROOT it again?
Yes. Most phones have unroot options available. Alternatively, flashing stock rom to a rooted phone using odin etc will be in unrooted state. Stock firmware will also return the bootloader and recovery( which is what cwm and twrp are btw) to stck as well.
Sent from my SM-T210R using xda app-developers app
doctortonic said:
After I have read, read, read, and read again a lot of posts, blogs, forums, it seems that If I wish to backup the Stock Rom, I need to do root on the device. But if I will "root" the device, make backup, change rom, then recover the stock rom from backup (which is in the rooted stage), can I UN-ROOT it again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know which phone(s) you have, but let's say you root your phone. You can then install ClockworkMod Recovery which allows you to flash custom ROMs and make full NAND backups (backups of the entire system partition), i.e you can backup whole ROMs. If you're on a custom ROM and you want to go back to a previous ROM, then just restore your NAND backup from Recovery and voila! Your phone will look and behave exactly like it did before you flashed the other ROM, and all SMS', phone records and apps will be there. Sure, it'll still be rooted, but simply open SuperSU (if that's the root app you'll be using), go to settings and tap "un-root". Done.
So..
- Make a typical backup of stuff, like moving important things to your computer etc. since accidents happen.
- Root and install Recovery
- Make a NAND backup in Recovery
- Flash a custom ROM if you want to
When you want to go back to stock:
- Boot into Recovery
- Restore your NAND backup
- Reboot and you're done
- Un-root if you'd like to
Tip: Store your NAND backup on your SD card and not on the internal storage in case you ever do a complete wipe of the internal storage or something happens to your phone and you lose your backup.
Note: Be sure to quote this post if you want a reply from me. I'm not usually in the Q&A section, and i'll be notified by Tapatalk on my phone when you quote this post. That way i'll see your reply, and i can then reply faster again.
I tried to root the phone with some software found in this forum ( SuperOneClick ) but did not worked.
I tooked the phone to a service and Unlocked the phone from the carrier network.
I asked if the phone will be rooted after the unlock, and they told:
PhoneService: "No, but do you wish to be rooted?"
Me:"How is better and safe, rooted or unrooted?"
PhoneService: "You have the advantage for example that you can move the aplications to card, but is safe to have the phone unrooted"
Me: "If it is possible please root the phone"
PhoneService: "oky, give us 30 minutes"
After 30 minutes (I took a walking), they unlocked the phone but said that rooting the phone will take more time, so I not rooted the phone.
As the phone dosen't need neccesary to be rooted, as I have no aplication in it which require this (there is only 2 apps, Opera browser and Copy To Sim / Import contact to Sim), and I don't desire to install more apps on it as only my mother is using it, I will leave the phone unrooted.
I wished only to have a Backup of the rom, just in case something will go wrong, to restore the phone back to the warrany service if there is this need, but as long the phone can be locked be back again, there is no such need to root it.
Guys, thank you very much for the input, really appreciated!
How about a adb backup? Using adb tools. Try search on Google for it. If I remember correctly, root is not needed.
Hello, maybe someone could point me in the right direction, just trying to make a complete backup of my phone ( samsung galaxy S22), so I could back everything up when needed, I have tried the 'titanium backup' and 'swift backup' tools so far, but they only back up the .apks, and my google login credentials are lost..
Really kind of lost browsing through some 11 year old topics about 'nandroid' and 'ClockWorkMod', do people use these tools today?
Thank you
no way. use samsung smart switch and cross fingers
I don't know Samsung from a hole in the ground.
If your device has Qualcomm EDL (and open Firehose loader) you could make a full raw backup of the entire flash.
That's not really helpful if you want to grab a single file but it means that you can restore your device to a snapshot.
@Renate restoring snapshot is not possible after factory reset, as the encryption key is not in userspace and therefore not in backup.
afaik there is no samsung signed firehose programmer leaked for SM8450 (and probably never will) and that device is also shipped with Exynos 2200.
aIecxs said:
Restoring snapshot is not possible after factory reset, as the encryption key is not in userspace and therefore not in backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that's a good reason not to factory reset!
So, where is the encryption key stored?
get some coffee and read about tee...
encrypted file encryption keys are stored in files metadata, but DEK required for decrypting keys is random generated and securely deleted from TEE keystore on factory reset. I don't know exactly what triggers that deleteKey (it's another OS) but it can survive simple formatting userdata.
aIecxs said:
get some coffee and read about tee...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I did have my second coffee already and I know about as much about TEE as I want (which is little).
My point being, if you make a full flash backup, then do whatever, then restore the complete flash, how is that not going to get you back wherever you were?
There are tons of ELF and data partitions used by TEE, TZ.
But are you telling me there is some state built into a device that is neither OTP or flash?
right, it's not in flash storage emmc/ufs.
Appreciate te replies!
Is there any other popular android device which would support the earlier mentioned flashing method?
Thanks!!
aIecxs said:
right, it's not in flash storage emmc/ufs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd still like to know exactly where that is.
There are enough partitions called keymaster and other stuff.
Well, ok, but if you don't use factory reset a full flash backup is the best way to get you back to where you were.
actually, it IS in flash storage, but you won't see it
https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replay_Protected_Memory_Block
Note: for all devices running old (FDE) full disk encryption, the static hardware master key is used directly, and the encrypted DEK is stored in crypto-footer (userspace) therefore restoring full raw backup was always possible.
Google and Samsung devices in general used to lack raw access. However, things have changed with Samsung started shipping MediaTek SoCs on their low-/mid-range lines.
But if you're looking for full backup solution, don't use any DRM related or banking apps and don't care about losing warranty and Samsung Knox, rooting and removing encryption is possible so you could just use TWRP or Swift Backup.
aIecxs said:
actually, it IS in flash storage, but you won't see it
https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replay_Protected_Memory_Block
Note: for all devices running old (FDE) full disk encryption, the static hardware master key is used directly, and the encrypted DEK is stored in crypto-footer (userspace) therefore restoring full raw backup was always possible.
Google and Samsung devices in general used to lack raw access. However, things have changed with Samsung started shipping MediaTek SoCs on their low-/mid-range lines.
But if you're looking for full backup solution, don't use any DRM related or banking apps and don't care about losing warranty and Samsung Knox, rooting and removing encryption is possible so you could just use TWRP or Swift Backup.
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Click to collapse
Thank you, that's the thing, as a matter of fact I already have tried using swift backup tool, but all google accounts are lost when backing up, and the apps that have used google to log in ( like play store, google maps etc ) are also losing the connected account.
Any suggestions on how to transfer the google accounts as well?
Thanks again!
actually Swift Backup should work. it looks like some extended Google One fork with optional root features. google account is required for it to work, not sure what problems you are facing?
aIecxs said:
actually Swift Backup should work. it looks like some extended Google One fork with optional root features. google account is required for it to work, not sure what problems you are facing?
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Click to collapse
The main issue for me was that it doesn't back up my google signed in accounts.
After reading for one more day I stumbled upon one of your very interesting posts on this thread - https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/android-12-and-nandroid-backup.4420185/
Here you explain how it's possible to pull out the 'nandroid' image from the phone to the computer which is exactly what I was looking for, but couldn't express clearly.
That's 100% the functionality I am looking for
- Ability to pull out the exact state of the phone to a file on the computer
- Put it back in if things go south, and all my files are exactly as they were at that point.
1) From your experience, do you think it would be possible to achieve this on a Samsung phone?
2) As far as I understood, after doing a 'factory reset' I would no longer be able to put the old 'nandroid' image back, because of the encryption?
Thank you for your time!
P.s I would be happy to pay for a consultation on this topic from you or someone who has managed to do this.
I also would like to see a full nandroid backup solution tool similar to how Windows System image backup works - a full 1:1 flash image with all files and settings intact of an android device.
Renate said:
I don't know Samsung from a hole in the ground.
If your device has Qualcomm EDL (and open Firehose loader) you could make a full raw backup of the entire flash.
That's not really helpful if you want to grab a single file but it means that you can restore your device to a snapshot.
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How do I do this @Renate with my one plus pro 9 phone? I have the MSM tool, how do I dump a full system image?
immortalwon said:
How do I do this with my one plus pro 9 phone? I have the MSM tool, how do I dump a full system image?
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I don't know.
I've been trying to get down to brass tacks what's the difference between this MSM Tool and a generic EDL client.
I don't know about its authorization and phone-home-ness.
I'm not even sure if with VIP you can transfer complete device images.
OTOH, VIP is built into many loaders but not used.
I don't have a OnePlus. I'd need a USB capture to say anything intelligent.
I know on my Android 10 ereader I can simply (with my EDL client):
Code:
C:\>edl /r /s0 /c0 mybackup.img
That's for eMMC. For UFS you'd probably need six files.
Renate said:
I don't know.
I've been trying to get down to brass tacks what's the difference between this MSM Tool and a generic EDL client.
I don't know about its authorization and phone-home-ness.
I'm not even sure if with VIP you can transfer complete device images.
OTOH, VIP is built into many loaders but not used.
I don't have a OnePlus. I'd need a USB capture to say anything intelligent.
I know on my Android 10 ereader I can simply (with my EDL client):
Code:
C:\>edl /r /s0 /c0 mybackup.img
That's for eMMC. For UFS you'd probably need six files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found a way to do a full image readback using the msm tool, which downloads everything firmware related to my pc on the main C:/ drive. The question is, if I ever need to in the future, how do we use the restore function of the msm tool to restore these backups?
EDIT: I don't think it was a full image backup after all because the backups in total are 13gb, while my device is using a lot more storage then that.
@myndeswx what you have linked in post #14 is exactly what Migrate does. It creates tarball archives of apps of decrypted /data partition during runtime. Restoring will work after factory reset because it's a backup of plain files. However, it's far from complete, it is not atomic, still security critical apps using android keystore cannot restored, and it requires rooted device (with all its disadvantages)
For Samsung phones there is currently a hack to gain temporary access to /data with system privileges (uid 1000) floating around (haven't tried)
***LOCKED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE*** System Shell Exploit - ALL Samsung Mobile Devices NO BL UNLOCK REQUIRED.
***MODERATOR ANNOUNCEMENT: THREAD CLOSED*** @K0mraid3 you are hereby required to provide proper credit in your OP as follows: Link the assigned CVE for this exploit as it mentions the author's blog and GitHub, OR Link the original research repo...
forum.xda-developers.com
hallo i have S22 exynos S908B
- Magisk 26.1
- Encrypted
- S-health working
- Health connect working
- Bank apps working
- Galaxy Watch 4 working
i extracted Titanium Baclups and see there is only installation apk because data in Android/data is encrypted so Titanium backup can't see it and not advise about not backupped data.
Android/data is accessible only by mtp/usb by pc.
So what option i have for backup?
by twrp can i baclup partitions with dd command? After can i restore it without factory reset? (can't factory reset because cause encryption keys lost)
Any working way for bakup?