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I was with 3 and I legitimately unlocked my phone to move over to vodaphone.
The it wouldn't work. Wouldn't recognise the sim.
I sent it back to Vodaphone and they wouldn't touch it because there was a crack in the screen.
I got it home and did a bit of a google search and figured out it had something to do with the EFS file.
I rooted the phone and figured out that its completely empty.
I've tried a 1000's things. Looked at 1000's threads and I'm at a loss.
Is there ANY way to fix this at all?
I'm completely at a loss now.
Can I create a new nv_data.bin file and anything else that needs to be in the efs folder?
Happened to me before.
Well of course the way out will be send to service centre.
However, try a full flash to stock rom.
If it doesn't, try factory reset the phone, flash stock rom.
Since you have no backup, pretty tough here.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S II using XDA App
Maybe try GS_II Repair from the Market. No idea if/how it works (It's touted on here/on Market as your last best chance before sending it back to Samsung) as I've never used it & always backup my EFS.
If worst comes to worse, pm Odia, and apparently will repair it (edit: remotely) with a "donation". Instal app "team viewer" first;
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.teamviewer.teamviewer.market.mobile
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1103357
Apparently been quite successful, nearly but not 100%
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
nicregi said:
Happened to me before.
Well of course the way out will be send to service centre.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that how yours was fixed? I've already done that. They won't fix it.
MistahBungle said:
Maybe try from the Market. No idea if/how it works (It's touted on here/on Market as your last best chance before sending it back to Samsung) as I've never used it & always backup my EFS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep tried that. Didn't work.
So follow Up In The Air's suggestion & get in touch with Odia & see if he can help, or send it back to Samsung. I'm betting Odia will be cheaper if he can indeed fix it.
Please Help!
Did your issue got resolved?
I am facing the same problem now. Although i didn't root my s2. Been using it stock since i bought it. Only today i got this no network error (baseband and imei unknown) when i was changing between some sim cards.. Anyone any ideas?? My warranty is still applicable since its just been 5 months. So will samsung cover it under their warranty?
I read in a thread that a user got their imei back by switching off, removing sim, switching back on.
Then they were able to backup efs with correct imei.
Then they switched off, put sim back in, switched on. Can't remember if it was a sim issue but you could try that.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
aceofclubs said:
I read in a thread that a user got their imei back by switching off, removing sim, switching back on.
Then they were able to backup efs with correct imei.
Then they switched off, put sim back in, switched on. Can't remember if it was a sim issue but you could try that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried that like a dozen times already.. Heres some more details regarding my problem:
1. My S2 wont detect any sim card (tried like 3-4 sims)
2. When i checked under settings>about i found imei and baseband version are missing and has been changed to "unknown" (*#06# returns a blank number)
3. Its just 5 months old and is in stock condition. (Not rooted and still running 2.3.3)
4. Cant turn off the flight mode (constantly shows in the upper right corner)
5. Cant connect my phone to kies (version 2.0.2.11071_128) on pc either
What do i do now guys? I dont have a proper service centre in my town. I was wondering if i can fix it on my own without making my warranty void..
Try GS_II Repair from Market, and failing that, contact Odia on here who might be able to recover your IMEI for a small 'donation'. Or you could send the phone in for warranty repair given you haven't been messing around with it like most of us here
You'd probably want to use the third option (send it in for warranty service). If you try and fix it yourself & stuff it up, you'll void your warranty & then you'll end up paying to have it fixed.
kreygor said:
Tried that like a dozen times already.. Heres some more details regarding my problem:
1. My S2 wont detect any sim card (tried like 3-4 sims)
2. When i checked under settings>about i found imei and baseband version are missing and has been changed to "unknown" (*#06# returns a blank number)
3. Its just 5 months old and is in stock condition. (Not rooted and still running 2.3.3)
4. Cant turn off the flight mode (constantly shows in the upper right corner)
5. Cant connect my phone to kies (version 2.0.2.11071_128) on pc either
What do i do now guys? I dont have a proper service centre in my town. I was wondering if i can fix it on my own without making my warranty void..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any fix will probably void warranty .Try factory reset first.
jje
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
MistahBungle said:
Try GS_II Repair from Market, and failing that, contact Odia on here who might be able to recover your IMEI for a small 'donation'. Or you could send the phone in for warranty repair given you haven't been messing around with it like most of us here
You'd probably want to use the third option (send it in for warranty service). If you try and fix it yourself & stuff it up, you'll void your warranty & then you'll end up paying to have it fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks dude. Duly noted your point. Here are some more inputs from me:
1. So i tried GS_II repair from market but it requires for the phone to be rooted which mine isn't.
2. And first thing i tried after i faced this problem was doing a factory reset. Have done it over a dozen times by now and it does not solve it.
3. I faced this problem when i was changing between some sims cards within a couple of minutes. (Hope this doesn't void my warranty since i wasn't actually messing with it!)
4. As i mentioned in my earlier post, my town doesn't actually have a proper authorised service centre. So sending it for service would mean missing my baby S2 for over a month or two (which i find hard since i am so used to it by now)!
So my question is, can i flash an official stock firmware which matches with mine (i found one already here on xda, thanks you guys!) without having to root my phone or making my warranty void, and more importantly, will it solve my problem?
No reflashing a rom won't help, your best bet is to send it off to Samsung before you do anything that might void your warranty.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
^ Precisely. As long as you have warranty you should use that to your advantage and keep from doing rash decisions that void your warranty. Good luck!
Seriously dude, don't try and fix it yourself. Regardless of how long you'll be without it, at least you'll get it back working and it won't cost you anything other than postage (I presume ?).
If you stuff up whatever you try to do to fix it, you might brick it, which means you'll be without your phone while Samsung fixes it anyway, only you'll be paying for it to be fixed. And given you've already spent however much you paid for the phone, do you really want to spend another couple of hundred bucks to have it repaired when you can get it fixed for nothing ?
As the very wise two posters above me have said, just don't risk it.
Thanks guys.. i have decided to send it for warranty repair then. I will make the visit tomorrow. Will be missing it lots! One hell of a great phone, it was like my mini computer
If i ever knew changing sim cards would screw it up so bad, i would never have done it!
Hopefully will post here later with the good news..
Gave my cell to the service center guys, told me to return later today so that they can examine it. Last i saw it they were fiddeling with it by some IMEI writer on a pc. Hope i get it back up and running soon.
While i was briefing them about my missing IMEI no. they told me that the reason behind it could be me using screen-lock-pattern on my phone. Is it true? Any one experienced it before?
Cool. Hopefully they sort it for you soon
That's interesting. I use a pattern lock mostly & have never seen a relationship between it and the IMEI going missing. What I have noticed tho (and I've seen other people report on here) is the IMEI/baseband go missing occasionally if you reboot the phone whilst connected to a charger.
This rights itself if you do a reboot (occasionally two) with the phone off charger. The first time it happened it scared the crap out of me I had an EFS backup so it would have been recoverable, but it happened out of the blue & I had no idea what caused it. I re-flashed my modem as a first step as the baseband was missing, and that seemed to fix it tho I suspect simply rebooting did the job.
kreygor said:
Gave my cell to the service center guys, told me to return later today so that they can examine it. Last i saw it they were fiddeling with it by some IMEI writer on a pc. Hope i get it back up and running soon.
While i was briefing them about my missing IMEI no. they told me that the reason behind it could be me using screen-lock-pattern on my phone. Is it true? Any one experienced it before?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screen unlock codes are stored in the efs, both patern and pin so maybe that's correct, but efs and thus imei corruption seem to be random, I got it once updating my rom, I keep about 5 backups so I was ok, scary thought.
If you are going to root, first thing you should do after rooting is make an efs backup, hellcats ktool from the market is a good choice, easy and works well.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
A friend of mind took his rooted S2 to Thailand recently and although he claims it didn't get water damage, the humidity or something caused it to shut down. He sent it back to Samsung who told him it was water damaged and they could not turn it on - there was nothing they could do.
He has since bought an S3 and given me his rooted bricked phone.
Samsung clearly didn't try very hard as I took it apart and dried and cleaned all the parts and it is now turning on an working almost perfectly.
All his stuff is still on the phone and everything is fine (wireless connection etc) except there is no IMEI number and the phone won't recognise a simcard. There is nothing in the EFS file.
I spent 3 hours last night researching on this site to see if I could rectify this and tried all the suggestions, but as he made no backup of the EFS, I didn't get very far.
Does this mean that the phone can never be used again? Can anyone suggest a way forward?
It is out of warranty but does anyone know if Samsung have ever fixed this problem for a customer? Surely they just need to put the IMEI back onto the phone, but I wonder if they would do this - they certainly should do, but I guess they will charge.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I would love to get this phone back up and running.
I'm afraid there is nothing you can do my friend. You should ask samsung service center about it. It's your only hope.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Contact a member on here called Odia. He might be able to recover your EFS for you, and the small donation he asks for will probably end up being cheaper than Samsung fixing it for you. They're the only two options you've got.
Thanks, I have contacted Odia and hopefully he might have a little time to help me out for which I shall cross his palm with silver.
No probs. Good luck ;-)
tomhirvin said:
Thanks, I have contacted Odia and hopefully he might have a little time to help me out for which I shall cross his palm with silver.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Help
tomhirvin said:
Thanks, I have contacted Odia and hopefully he might have a little time to help me out for which I shall cross his palm with silver.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
help
I also have the same problem.Desappeared imei, after a reboot, and for a few minutes, and disappeared.
I did not touch anything about the software because I just bought the S2.
I use a translator, if you solved a similar problem with Odia please let me know, and give me instructions
The service is under warranty, but are not able to fix yet. ~20 day
Thanks in advance.
help have the same problem.
help have the same problem, if Odia can contact me thankz!
No, Odia won't contact you. You have to PM him. And I'm not even sure if he still does this this kind of thing. If you do PM him, wait patiently for a reply, don't harass him because you think getting the phone fixed is urgent.
the same but with efs
Hi. I posted a very similar question no long ago. The phone got neither imei nor sim signal after got wet. The only difference is that my phone contains an efs.tar.gz file and an efs.img file. The tar one got inside everything about imei, nav_data.bin, etc but I haven't been able to restore efs folder and thus imei number with any of the methods posted in this forum. Anyone can help me telling me what to do with this efs.tar to get imei again?
lespou said:
Hi. I posted a very similar question no long ago. The phone got neither imei nor sim signal after got wet. The only difference is that my phone contains an efs.tar.gz file and an efs.img file. The tar one got inside everything about imei, nav_data.bin, etc but I haven't been able to restore efs folder and thus imei number with any of the methods posted in this forum. Anyone can help me telling me what to do with this efs.tar to get imei again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the Google Play Store, there is an app called kTool, with that app you can restore your EFS backup.
You need to have root access, though.
So I flashed my S II to jelly bean 4.1, after installing the ROM it gave me a error saying "USB storage is damaged would you like to format it" I didnt think before clicking, so I pressed "OK". After clicking ok, my phone froze, I then restarted my phone and ofcourse it didn't boot. I then installed a stock 4.0.3 ROM. After that processes I botted my phone and then i checked my imei number, it said "00499901064****". This is clearly wrong. So I was wondering, is there any way to change the imei number? I know this is illegal. I almost have no choice but to do that. I tried the following:
SGII_Repair
Android Terminal Emulator
Any tips?
Questions belong to Q&A!
Well, you should have done a backup of efs before flashing. No, everyone should do a efs backup the first time you touches your device. Now only taking to customer service can repair it.
henrikmeister said:
So I flashed my S II to jelly bean 4.1, after installing the ROM it gave me a error saying "USB storage is damaged would you like to format it" I didnt think before clicking, so I pressed "OK". After clicking ok, my phone froze, I then restarted my phone and ofcourse it didn't boot. I then installed a stock 4.0.3 ROM. After that processes I botted my phone and then i checked my imei number, it said "004999010640000". This is clearly wrong. So I was wondering, is there any way to change the imei number? I know this is illegal. I almost have no choice but to do that. I tried the following:
SGII_Repair
Android Terminal Emulator
Any tips?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try GSII repair from play store or contact odia.He can help you in getting back your imei.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Ankit Tulsian said:
Try GSII repair from play store or contact odia.He can help you in getting back your imei.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried GSII repair, didn't fix the problem. At first I didn't have ANY IMEI number at all. But after running the app I got a fake IMEI number. Which gave me signal on my phone, but no internet connection or sending/receiving call and message...
In that case you have two options. One, repair by Samsung/authorised repairer at your cost, obviously. This is the most expensive option. Two, contact a member on here called Odia by PM (and be patient when you do/wait for his reply. If you hound him, he'll probably ignore you), he can sometimes recover EFS/IMEI details for a small 'donation'. Trust me, if he can fix this for you it will end up being much cheaper than having Samsung fix it.
You don't have any other options given you don't have an EFS backup, and please don't mention changing your IMEI again, as you've already said this is illegal & mods will close this thread fairly quickly if you do mention it again.
MistahBungle said:
In that case you have two options. One, repair by Samsung/authorised repairer at your cost, obviously. This is the most expensive option. Two, contact a member on here called Odia by PM (and be patient when you do/wait for his reply. If you hound him, he'll probably ignore you), he can sometimes recover EFS/IMEI details for a small 'donation'. Trust me, if he can fix this for you it will end up being much cheaper than having Samsung fix it.
You don't have any other options given you don't have an EFS backup, and please don't mention changing your IMEI again, as you've already said this is illegal & mods will close this thread fairly quickly if you do mention it again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I've heard that he fixes IMEI, but I can't trust this user. I know exactly what he uses to fix the IMEI. It also depends how much it costs to repair the phone from samsung service. Either I get a decent price, or I will buy a new phone. But the phone is still on warranty though, will it cover the phone with a different IMEI?
henrikmeister said:
Yes, I've heard that he fixes IMEI, but I can't trust this user. I know exactly what he uses to fix the IMEI. It also depends how much it costs to repair the phone from samsung service. Either I get a decent price, or I will buy a new phone. But the phone is still on warranty though, will it cover the phone with a different IMEI?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why do u want to create two thread's in no time for the same issue
ps- u should have edited the OP of the earlier thread with the same detail
Put it this way, the chances of EFS/IMEI getting borked by an 'ordinary' user (who hasn't messed with the phone/rooted/flashed custom roms) is maybe 1 in 100,000 (probably more), so if they're smart, they're going to know you've been messing with it. So there's a fair chance they won't fix it under warranty I would have thought.
You're going to have to go back to stock firmware if you haven't already, reset the flash counter with Triangle Away or a jig (depending on what bootloader you're running) & send it in & see what they say. You might get lucky & they might not care or notice you messed with it.
Nobody here can tell you for certain/give you any guarantees about this tho, anyone who does tell you they'll definitely 100% fix it under warranty is lying to you.
henrikmeister said:
Yes, I've heard that he fixes IMEI, but I can't trust this user. I know exactly what he uses to fix the IMEI. It also depends how much it costs to repair the phone from samsung service. Either I get a decent price, or I will buy a new phone. But the phone is still on warranty though, will it cover the phone with a different IMEI?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sun90 said:
why do u want to create two thread's in no time for the same issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, thies thread is about my serial number... But I mentioned my IMEI number too...
Sun is right, no need to create two threads. Doesn't matter they're about (slightly) different things (yet related). We have enough junk threads in here as it is.
henrikmeister said:
No, thies thread is about my serial number... But I mentioned my IMEI number too...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
he dude r u dumb r what whther its IMEI r S/N please do it in the same thread by editing the title of the thread as well as OP.
and please read the XDA rules for posting before u do the same
Sun90 said:
he dude r u dumb r what whther its IMEI r S/N please do it in the same thread by editing the title of the thread as well as OP.
and please read the XDA rules for posting before u do the same
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I can least write better than you. And by the way, S/N and IMEI is not the same thing. Without the S/N the warranty will not cover the phone. Thats why I made this thread...
I have a gs2 i9100 wich had the mainboard replaced at a gsm service center few months ago. All working well.
Problem is i have generic imei. 004999010640000
The phone works great with aosp rom but not so great with original firmware.
I mean ... with original firmware i'm missing pin unlock, lockscreen and it looses signal sometimes.
The guy at the gsm repair center said that he cant mess with imei due to legal motives.
I allready tried everything on the forum.
The efs folder is there, it has all files in it, wifi and BT work just fine.
My guess is that this is a blank mainboard with no allocated imei. He said he got it from Samsung. He knows someone there.
Can something be done to revert it so that i can use original firmware the way it's supposed to work?
Thank you for you time and please excuse the bad english.
Nobody? Any ideas? Any thoughts?
.
Come on. Someone has to have an idea about this.
Nothing you can do to fix it without an EFS backup. Only Samsung/authorised service centre can. And talk of anything 'dodgy' will see the thread closed, so be careful.
I see. Well if nothing can be done without paing the price of a new phone is it safe for me to use the phone as it is?
Thank you.
costin85 said:
I see. Well if nothing can be done without paing the price of a new phone is it safe for me to use the phone as it is?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it's safe.
Pain in the ass, that too.
If that store really is authorized by Samsung you'll hear from them soon. You might wanna contact them if your friend starts stalling.
Sent from the little guy
Hi all.
I have a huge problem with my S2. When I type on my keyboard *#06# i get IMEI null/null. Ive tried everything mentioned here and nothing works. I don't know if i made a backup or not. Some app made a backup and i tried to restore and it didnt work. I rooted the phone and tried several custom roms and it doesnt work.
What can I do?
Regards, Brix
brixie11 said:
Hi all.
I have a huge problem with my S2. When I type on my keyboard *#06# i get IMEI null/null. Ive tried everything mentioned here and nothing works. I don't know if i made a backup or not. Some app made a backup and i tried to restore and it didnt work. I rooted the phone and tried several custom roms and it doesnt work.
What can I do?
Regards, Brix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit: I've tried to install original stock rom without success
Any good local mobile repair shop should be able to fix this (re-write the IMEI to the device) for you fairly cheaply (for example, I can get it done for around AUD$30). A Samsung service centre can also do it, but will charge you a lot more.
If you've tried to restore a backup & failed for whatever reason, and flashing stock roms didn't work (it can if it was a temporary thing, which it is sometimes), you really don't have any other option apart from buying the equipment repair shops/Samsung use to do the repair mentioned above. Which is obviously more expensive than paying someone who already has the equipment to do it, you need to learn how to use the equipment without turning your phone into a paperweight permanently (or at least unfixable without a motherboard change), and you'll probably never use it again.
Best option is the first one (local mobile repair shop/non Samsung service centre) if you want it fixed easily, quickly, and guaranteed (assuming there's nothing hardware-wise wrong with the phone).
Hi Mistah.
Thanks for the advice. I will take my phone to thr repair shop. I think that too that its not SW fixable.
Regards, Brix
I doubt it is fixable by you, I mean, you can try the stuff in some of the threads on here (various 'guides' around the place), but given what you've already tried/said, they're unlikely to work. And you could spend days trying stuff for no result, be without a working phone for that time, and still end up having to get it repaired. And given how cheap (relatively speaking) it is normally, my choice every time is to get it done sooner rather than later, for those reasons.