Dear All,
today I ran into a massive problem with my brand new i9300, which i bought 2 days ago and literally bricked the phone in very unusual way - no network available so I can not make/receive calls, texts or data.
I bought the phone in Bangkok(Thailand), as is(without warranty as it is not from original thai distribution therefore I saved bit over 100 bucks). When I got home and start exploring the phone a little I noticed weird thing - when booting up the logo is GT-I9300T and when I checked on firmware, it was showing GT-I9300T as well but the paper boxe(written in french) showed GT-I9300 as well as the sticker under the battery(GT-I9300). The phone was unlocked and rooted, can not remember the firmware it was equipped with but it was TELSTRA branded(boot on/off animation plus lots of crap appz TELSTRA related). Plus there were few bugs like phone was not able to lock itself(pin, face unlock etc. etc. - nothing was working, no unlocking needed because it never locked anyway) no matter what I did. That really annoyed me so I decided to flash DarkyROM III v3(have been playing with DarkyROMs for last 2 years on my SGS) as I learned that i9300 and i9300T firmwares are interchangable anyway so it should not matter. So I flashed according the guide, no problems encountered at all, it went very smooth. But after the phone booted up, despite everything else was working nicely, there was no signal/network available. Only the "crossed-circle" in the top-right corner where usually the signal bars are.
So I went to the service mode, tried to force different bands in both - GSM and WCDMA but no luck. Still no networkd available. So I decided to give a go to few another modems - both versions i9300 and i9300T - flashed in CWM and Odin too - no luck, still the same. So I reflashed few SAMSUNG stock firmwares plus tried the various modems again, still the same result - crossed circle instead of signal bars, no network. So I went to SAMSUNG SERVICE CENTER, they were very helpful, played with my phone for almost an hour, flashed latest official thai firmware but the result is still the same. No network. They even reflashed the initial bootup animation so now it is showing correctly GT-I9300. They checked the imei+s/n and confirmed the phone is I9300 coming from France originaly(french distribution) and apologized, because it is french phone they do not have the required firmware/software on hand so that they can help me and fix my phone. So what can I do? I guess if SAMSUNG Service Center can not help me, does it mean I should throw away my phone into the nearest thrashbin? I spent almost 600USD on it - its a lots of money for me. Well lesson for me is - never buy anything from unofficial distribution!
But please let me ask you guys - any idea what can I do to make it work again? Anyone else have similar experience as me?
The phone shows same IMEI as on the paper sticker below the battery, but the serial number shows ony zeros(0000000) instead the letters/numbers which are mentioned on the sticker.
Any more info, please let me know. I will appreciate any suggestion/help/assistance to make my SGS3 work again, please please please help me!
Thanks a lot, kind regards
Tomas
Are you absolutly sure that this phone wasnt stolen? It can be locked by IMEI If it was.
By Tapatalk 2
SirKunon said:
Are you absolutly sure that this phone wasnt stolen? It can be locked by IMEI If it was.
By Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no idea, how can I find out? I guess SAMSUNG Service Center would tell me, no? And the phone was working perfectly until the flash.
Its not brand new if its been rooted .
See the recent posts regarding the T Model and network .
jje
Maybe this phone was simunlocked in some kind of temporary way. After flashing original firmware efs was rebuilded with simlock to original carrier, Telstra in this case? I dont think you have got their sim to check this. Maybe try few ways to simunlock now, just after flashing a tripplefile stock firmware with mx.pit and repartition checked in Odin.
Take out your current simcard and external sd card while flashing.
By Tapatalk 2
@JJEgan: thanks but as per SAMSUNG SC the unit is i9300, not i9300t as was flashed originally.
@SirKunon: how complicated is it to simunlock? Do I need some specialized equipment/sw? So what you suggest is to find stock firmware with three separate files - pda, phone, csc - and flash them together with mx.pit repartition ticked? Can't that mx.pit do some more harm? And how about bootloader, what is it really good for?
Indopilot said:
@SirKunon: how complicated is it to simunlock? Do I need some specialized equipment/sw? So what you suggest is to find stock firmware with three separate files - pda, phone, csc - and flash them together with mx.pit repartition ticked? Can't that mx.pit do some more harm? And how about bootloader, what is it really good for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bootloader is usualy included in all firmwares and flashed, no matter is it one or three files. But generaly only roms with separete csc, pda and modem include script commands for wiping data (dalvik also) and cache just after flashing a firmware. Some carriers are using diffrent than stock recommended partition layout and that why i suggest repartition - to wipe all junks from Telstra branding.
About simunlock You should search this forum, I didnt do that with my s3 becouse its stock unlocked. I only debranded my phone from T-mobile to stock. On sgs and sgs2 i have to use some soft, I dont remember how its names. From efs folder (root needed) extract nvdata.bin in this file are informations about IMEI and simlock encoded. You need to find that software which will remove simlock bytes and after that push nvdata.bin back to efs partition and set right owner (radio or root) and permissions. Maybe three is also easiest way to do that. But root always will be necesary.
This is only things that may help if sammys SC itself failed.
By Tapatalk 2
Easy solution for you :-
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1838480
Can people stop using the term "bricked" when it's clearly not please.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
riso123 said:
Can people stop using the term "bricked" when it's clearly not please.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure people like me can stop using the term "bricked" if you know a better term for a cell you can not use for calling, texting and using data anymore(sorry but phone u can not use for its main purpose is a brick to me). But honestly I would expect more from a senior member like u than an "advice" like that just to add an 1 extra count on your posts count. If you don't know how to or don't want to help, just say that straight away or don't reply at all. Your comment like this is not gonna help anyone and certainly no-one is gonna learn anything new from it.
Indopilot said:
I'm sure people like me can stop using the term "bricked" if you know a better term for a cell you can not use for calling, texting and using data anymore(sorry but phone u can not use for its main purpose is a brick to me). But honestly I would expect more from a senior member like u than an "advice" like that just to add an 1 extra count on your posts count. If you don't know how to or don't want to help, just say that straight away or don't reply at all. Your comment like this is not gonna help anyone and certainly no-one is gonna learn anything new from it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does me being "senior" have to do with it? It doesn't make me any more of a role model, doesn't earn me extra money and doesn't make my poopie smell nice...
Your phone is not bricked, it's just lacking in functionality at the moment. It's likely something that can be fixed... if it was bricked, you would have no functionality and no way to fix the device, thus making it a useless brick...
So yeah, my original post stands... your using the term, along with a lot of other people, incorrectly and it's annoying.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
try flashing it with stock rom for australia.
riso123 said:
What does me being "senior" have to do with it? It doesn't make me any more of a role model, doesn't earn me extra money and doesn't make my poopie smell nice...
Your phone is not bricked, it's just lacking in functionality at the moment. It's likely something that can be fixed... if it was bricked, you would have no functionality and no way to fix the device, thus making it a useless brick...
So yeah, my original post stands... your using the term, along with a lot of other people, incorrectly and it's annoying.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well what else can I add, maybe just "thank you very much for your very useful advice, it's very much appreciated and it helped me a lot". But on a serious note now, obviously you have absolutely no idea how to help as the SAMSUNG SC does, but at least they don't try to be a smart ass and admit that straight away. Anyways my apologies to everyone who got offended by my term "brick", I should use more proper term "useless". I hope this will make you happy now so you can get a good night sleep Mr. Smart###!
Indopilot said:
Well what else can I add, maybe just "thank you very much for your very useful advice, it's very much appreciated and it helped me a lot". But on a serious note now, obviously you have absolutely no idea how to help as the SAMSUNG SC does, but at least they don't try to be a smart ass and admit that straight away. Anyways my apologies to everyone who got offended by my term "brick", I should use more proper term "useless". I hope this will make you happy now so you can get a good night sleep Mr. Smart###!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have been given the needed advise to fix the problem. The only reason that flashing your carrier and country brand firmware would be that your IMEI has been blocked. If your IMEI is blocked then the phone is likely a stolen unit.
What more advise do you want/need, Mr Arrogant?
Edit: oh, and of course your EFS could be screwed. But again, flashing to stock would fix that too...
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
First if all, not all country implemented the IMEI blocking.
It requires huge resource to maintain the database.
Which country and network you are trying to use it at?
Secondly I haven't seen one method of flashing to change the boot logo like SAMSUNG SC did.
Can the Thai have done the same originally?
What is the model number under the battery.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using xda app-developers app
priyana said:
First if all, not all country implemented the IMEI blocking.
It requires huge resource to maintain the database.
Which country and network you are trying to use it at?
Secondly I haven't seen one method of flashing to change the boot logo like SAMSUNG SC did.
Can the Thai have done the same originally?
What is the model number under the battery.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I have no idea about IMEI blocking - maybe it is not that common here due to huge amount of mobiles in use around here? I am in northern Thailand, trying to use it on DTAC and yesterday got 2 more SIMs to try another operators - AIS and TRUEMOVE. Even tried my czech and indonesian SIMs, without luck.
I do not know the way SAMMY SC used to change my boot logo but they did it somehow. And this morning I dropped my S3 to one of those street shops specialised in unlocking and repairing phones - they said should be no problem to fix it, left it there for an hour but they returned it to me with apologies that they reflashed what they could and tried different firmwares but no luck. And BTW they reflashed the boot logo too - now it is back to GT-I9300T(which is annoying, will go to SC again on Monday to reflash it back to I9300).
The model number under the battery states: GT-I9300 and SAMMY SC confirmed I9300.
And yes I am sure despite the fact the phone has been sold to me as brand new, someone must have tampered with it - I guess to unlock it or something - it was rooted and CWM was installed. As I mentioned according SAMMY SC the phone comes from french distribution, is GT-I9300 but it was TELSTRA(I think australian) branded and flashed with GT-I9300T.
And to top it up - KIES can not identify what was the original FW for this unit - after inserting the model and S/N into KIES, it just says to check the S/N again and insert the correct one. Real mistery!!!:crying:
But anyway thanks a lot for help and suggestion priyana,
Tomas
Indopilot said:
Sorry I have no idea about IMEI blocking - maybe it is not that common here due to huge amount of mobiles in use around here? I am in northern Thailand, trying to use it on DTAC and yesterday got 2 more SIMs to try another operators - AIS and TRUEMOVE. Even tried my czech and indonesian SIMs, without luck.
I do not know the way SAMMY SC used to change my boot logo but they did it somehow. And this morning I dropped my S3 to one of those street shops specialised in unlocking and repairing phones - they said should be no problem to fix it, left it there for an hour but they returned it to me with apologies that they reflashed what they could and tried different firmwares but no luck. And BTW they reflashed the boot logo too - now it is back to GT-I9300T(which is annoying, will go to SC again on Monday to reflash it back to I9300).
The model number under the battery states: GT-I9300 and SAMMY SC confirmed I9300.
And yes I am sure despite the fact the phone has been sold to me as brand new, someone must have tampered with it - I guess to unlock it or something - it was rooted and CWM was installed. As I mentioned according SAMMY SC the phone comes from french distribution, is GT-I9300 but it was TELSTRA(I think australian) branded and flashed with GT-I9300T.
And to top it up - KIES can not identify what was the original FW for this unit - after inserting the model and S/N into KIES, it just says to check the S/N again and insert the correct one. Real mistery!!!:crying:
But anyway thanks a lot for help and suggestion priyana,
Tomas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Tomas,
I am experiencing the same problem have u been able to fix your phone? If so how did you do it? I hv tried flashing so many firmwares and took it to like 10 stores without success. Imei is shown also, but sn differs from the one on the sticker. Thanks!
Yes, the issue has been solved easily and free of charge although Sammy SC in Czech Republic and Thailand told me it is a hardware issue and motherboard has to be replaced(costs 225UDS in Thailand and 250EUR in Czech Republic). I repeat it is a lie and trick how to rip you off of some cash - it is SW issue only and I found a place where it has been fixed in less than half an hour and free of charge. Sorry, I m travelling now, will give u more details later Keep hope alive!
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
manormachine said:
Hi Tomas,
I am experiencing the same problem have u been able to fix your phone? If so how did you do it? I hv tried flashing so many firmwares and took it to like 10 stores without success. Imei is shown also, but sn differs from the one on the sticker. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to visit some service centre wih SPT box.
It will make your phone functional.
But you need to remove modem before flashing roms
If you flash modem after repair you will loose signals.
muhammad.ali123 said:
You need to visit some service centre wih SPT box.
It will make your phone functional.
But you need to remove modem before flashing roms
If you flash modem after repair you will loose signals.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So this issue can not be solved and I will have to stay on the same modem forever? So how can we ever update our firmware if modem can not be tampered with? It sounds like this issue bans us completely from updating our firmware I wanted to try other stock/modded firmwares or at least kernels but now I m afraid to touch the firmware in order not to lose signal again:'(
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Related
Hi there. To cut a long story short I rooted my phone after like a day of buying it from brand new (T-Mobile branded). Then I proceeded to flash it three times, different files. I am confused now, because I definitely want it back to how it was - not sure about the T-Mobile branding though lol, since I am on a different network provider, plus also I do not want it rooted any longer.
Basically, I want this phone to be like it would be if you bought a brand new, sealed sim free phone if you understand. To do this, does it depend on my current kernel (flashed) or firmware or what (I have no idea about both of these, I can give you them if it helps, just tell me what to look for).... Thanks in advance.
dynamicbot said:
Hi there. To cut a long story short I rooted my phone after like a day of buying it from brand new (T-Mobile branded). Then I proceeded to flash it three times, different files. I am confused now, because I definitely want it back to how it was - not sure about the T-Mobile branding though lol, since I am on a different network provider, plus also I do not want it rooted any longer.
Basically, I want this phone to be like it would be if you bought a brand new, sealed sim free phone if you understand. To do this, does it depend on my current kernel (flashed) or firmware or what (I have no idea about both of these, I can give you them if it helps, just tell me what to look for).... Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use the search its on the top right of the screen
its better cuz ull get the info u need faster
just type ( back to stock ) or (unroot ) etc
qwerty warrior said:
use the search its on the top right of the screen
its better cuz ull get the info u need faster
just type ( back to stock ) or (unroot ) etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi thanks, yeah, but I am a bit thick to be honest even with those I got confused. I read different things like suitable for this firmware or that, I can't even find my firmware becasuse my phone just comes up with "Connection problem or inncorrect MMI" or something like that whenever I type a # code into the dialer.
I believe I am supposed to be already on the stock one??? Doesn't make sense.
Hi does it make ANY idfference at all if my phone was T-Mobile branded? I then went on to root and flash x 3 without looking into it too much, should I use a specific one because it was originally TMobile?
Read the post in dev section rr debranding.
jje
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
Has anyone here been successful in unlocking a Galaxy S2 from Virgin Mobile? Exact same phone as Bell Canada I do believe.
I have tried chainfire's method, but the scan turned up nothing. There are alternatives through websites/purchases but I am a little leery about giving someone 50$ to MAYBE unlock my phone. I am also worried about potentially bricking my phone. My warranty is now void due to rooting and installing a custom rom and neglecting to back up my original software (stupid I know. What's done is done).
Is it even possible to use a different sim card in these phones from said provider?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Since you're rooted install this app and run it.
A second vote for Helroz's's's's tool. It works well and also can back up your EFS folder regardless of whether you want to unlock or not. EFS back ups can come in very, very handy.
Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate the help. I am not entirely sure I know what "busybox" is though or how to install it. I'll check a few guides and what not to figure out what exactly I'm doing.
Now, before I go about this, I want to ensure that I cannot brick my phone should I screw something up. I know that the other program I used only read and didn't write so bricking wasn't a problem. This one however I've been told does both so it's always a risk.
My phone's approximately 2 months old and I don't have the original firmware to go back to stock nor do I have a JIG yet to remove the yellow asterisk from boot. If I screw something up ,I'm in a whole world of hurt haha.
Thanks again guys
- Chris
I ran the tool (as a SGS at first, realized my error and quickly deleted said files and ran the SGS2 ones instead. Swapped SIMs with my roommate (Rogers) and made a phone call. Sure enough, it rang.
Thank you guys very much for the input
Now I have to find stock firmware and a JIG for warranty purposes.
Definitely going to donate to the devs of that app
- Chris
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
Ok, here its goes, i updated my i9100 through kies to 4.0.3. (XWLP7) a number of weeks ago...
since then ive been getting network drops 6/7 times a day (absolutely no network at all, try to make calls and i get a message saying mobile network not available, so i seached this site multiple times for answers, ive flashed stock ROMs, flashed custom ROMs, flashed multiple radios/modems, wiped data/factory resets EVERYTHING!
and the problem still persists! I installed the latest official ics rom 4.0.4 (LPM) hoping samsung would have fixed this issue but.....NO! could this be a hardware issue?
I am at wits end here any help would be really appreciated.:laugh:
How many modems have you tried ?
MistahBungle said:
How many modems have you tried ?
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About 4 or 5, Im situated in Ireland and my carrier is meteor, everything was fine untill the keis update!
I had a period where my signal was constantly weak in usually strong areas. Like you I went through the options of modems, wipes and ROMs. As a last resort i repaired my EFS folder using the app by hell cat (I think that's his name). After that everything was back to normal.
Edit: Please research in depth regarding the EFS folder as a mistake will turn your phone into an Android Ipod.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
HANDSY said:
I had a period where my signal was constantly weak in usually strong areas. Like you I went through the options of modems, wipes and ROMs. As a last resort i repaired my EFS folder using the app by hell cat (I think that's his name). After that everything was back to normal.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
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I read a little about this folder yesterday, its unique to each handset? you wouldnt happen to have a link for that app do you? if this works you are an absolute LEGEND!
In play store just search GSII repair. This will repair backup and restore efs. HC-tool in play store also will save and restore efs. And in this forum there is EFS_PRO where the repair and back up is done on a PC. Sorry about lack of links fairly new to this site. Read up before trying, all the best
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers
4 or 5 ? There are dozens of modems.
Before you go trying something that will potentially trash your EFS/IMEI & require a repair by Samsung that you'll end up paying for, I'd try a whole bunch more modems if I were you. There are dozens and dozens of threads on here with links to modems.
But if you want to ignore Occam's Razor & try the most complicated/difficult/dangerous fix first, knock yourself out.
If it were me, I'd only use GS_II Repair if I had the generic IMEI or no EFS details.
Actually, before you do anything else at all, check your IMEI in settings/about phone/status. Does it start with 0044 ? (do not post your IMEI here, a yes/no will suffice).
Jadore said:
About 4 or 5, Im situated in Ireland and my carrier is meteor, everything was fine untill the keis update!
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If your efs folder is broken you have no service all the time.
So i think its a modem related issue.
Try the KH3 modem that i have installed too. Before that I had the LPX modem installed and i had network drops too.
MistahBungle said:
4 or 5 ? There are dozens of modems.
Before you go trying something that will potentially trash your EFS/IMEI & require a repair by Samsung that you'll end up paying for, I'd try a whole bunch more modems if I were you. There are dozens and dozens of threads on here with links to modems.
But if you want to ignore Occam's Razor & try the most complicated/difficult/dangerous fix first, knock yourself out.
If it were me, I'd only use GS_II Repair if I had the generic IMEI or no EFS details.
Actually, before you do anything else at all, check your IMEI in settings/about phone/status. Does it start with 0044 ? (do not post your IMEI here, a yes/no will suffice).
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having a similar problem, since i got my phone booted and fully operational the signal is BAAADDDD
tried 8 different modems from the LP and LQ modems with no result
MistahBungle said:
4 or 5 ? There are dozens of modems.
Before you go trying something that will potentially trash your EFS/IMEI & require a repair by Samsung that you'll end up paying for, I'd try a whole bunch more modems if I were you. There are dozens and dozens of threads on here with links to modems.
But if you want to ignore Occam's Razor & try the most complicated/difficult/dangerous fix first, knock yourself out.
If it were me, I'd only use GS_II Repair if I had the generic IMEI or no EFS details.
Actually, before you do anything else at all, check your IMEI in settings/about phone/status. Does it start with 0044 ? (do not post your IMEI here, a yes/no will suffice).
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Tried the EFS method last night... to no avail signal dropped 3/4 times today and had to reboot to get it back,
Ive tried the KH3 modem already, LPS LQ6 etc so im bringing it to phonemenders im burnt out here, amd my imei starts with 3588, but its says that on the box my handset came with too
I know it's a silly question but have you checked with your service provider to see if there is a fault at their end
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Given your IMEI is good, then you have a whole lot more modems to try. Trying 4 or 5 is not trying 'a lot of modems'.
Also, Handsy's suggestion to check whether it's a local issue with your carrier is far from silly & makes a lot of sense. I'd be very surprised if this is a physical fault with the phone.
Due to carriers using different equipment & sometimes different spectrum in different locations/different base stations/towers, finding a modem that works is an inexact science.
You really do have to try as many as you have to until you find one that works.
Jadore said:
Tried the EFS method last night... to no avail signal dropped 3/4 times today and had to reboot to get it back,
Ive tried the KH3 modem already, LPS LQ6 etc so im bringing it to phonemenders im burnt out here, amd my imei starts with 3588, but its says that on the box my handset came with too
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HANDSY said:
I know it's a silly question but have you checked with your service provider to see if there is a fault at their end
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
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Yeah ive been to them, all they said was try a new simcard so ive gotten 2,
ah fudge it anyway ive reset absolutely everything so im gonna drop it into phonemenders, im fed up with figiting with it now i shouldnt have to repeatidly flash new modems it should just work the way its supposed to!
I'll let you guys know how i get on in the end, thank you for time
No problem and all the best with your device.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Hello firstly appolgies if this has been asked before, You can see i am not a noob to XDA and have spent countless hours trying to find the answer howerver no luck on everything i tried, And that includes like 20 different modems, ROMs and firmwares.
So not really sure what the issue is but a friend got a phone off another friend it was running jellybean 4.3 and has clearly had the EFS updated to v2. So any way the problem was he bought it with the "Not registered on network" error thinking he could fix it.
OK so basically sometimes it works and lets us ring out/recieve calls but other times it doesn't and just says "Not registered on network" we have tried EE, GiffGaff and Three and all sometimes work and sometimes don't (we have had it work atleast once on all sims).
So basically any ideas on what to do? Currently it's on 4.3 i tried downgrading to ICS and back to JB but no luck so reverted back to JB.
Additionally it still has the correct IMEI and Serial and according to GalaxSim (whatever it's called) is running the EFSv2.
Hope you guys can help.
Thanks
- Fma965.
EDIT: appoligies i just posted this in the wrong section, genuine mistake hehe requesting move,
Your question has been posted multiple times . Forum rules require you to search before posting .
Google <<< I9300 your search terms > xda
STICKYS
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2344125
UNDERSTAND FIRST
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2362743
Network IMEI EFS
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2393289
Downgrade and network problems .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2531221
Yeah dude if you can actually spend your time and read my question and then see how many posts i have and how many thanks i have and my XDA Status do you really think i didn't search (ok yeah maybe not as many as you but thats not relevant and im not comparing just stating), I have tried all them allready no luck!.
Thanks anyway.
-------------------------
STICKYS
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2344125 <--- read it already - didn't help!
UNDERSTAND FIRST
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2362743 <--- read it already - didn't help!
Network IMEI EFS
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2393289 <--- tried it already - didn't work!
Downgrade and network problems .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2531221 <--- tried it already - didn't work!
Those are your basic answers to this question that i posted the bit at the top well as 99.99% refuse to search or read the faqs i am not going to make a special link just for you sorry .
JJEgan said:
Those are your basic answers to this question that i posted the bit at the top well as 99.99% refuse to search or read the faqs i am not going to make a special link just for you sorry .
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Well thanks, TBH why are you even on XDA then? I have helped many people on both Xperia Play and LG G2 sections hence why i am a RC glad to see your so welcoming. All i am trying to do is fix a phone for a friend i have tried those links already don't give me some BS saying i don't search when you don't know whether i have or haven't, to be clear I HAVE TRIED ALL THAT INCLUDING FLASHING TO 4.0.4 AND 4.X AND CUSTOM MODEMS.
I Also know my way around flashing CWM zips and Odin Tar.gz files. So don't assume i am a noob and don't know what im doing and just need a answer quick (infact this is the exact reason why i never ask for help on XDA regardless to me always helping others, People give you to much **** for no reason)
fma965 said:
Well thanks, TBH why are you even on XDA then? I have helped many people on both Xperia Play and LG G2 sections hence why i am a RC glad to see your so welcoming. All i am trying to do is fix a phone for a friend i have tried those links already don't give me some BS saying i don't search when you don't know whether i have or haven't, to be clear I HAVE TRIED ALL THAT INCLUDING FLASHING TO 4.0.4 AND 4.X AND CUSTOM MODEMS.
I Also know my way around flashing CWM zips and Odin Tar.gz files. So don't assume i am a noob and don't know what im doing and just need a answer quick (infact this is the exact reason why i never ask for help on XDA regardless to me always helping others, People give you to much **** for no reason)
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Ok so used rescue FW and now back on 4.1.2 and EE is working fine but still O2/GiffGaff isn't. Seriously whats up with this? is it locked? if so how come we were able to use GiffGaff before and made atleast one phone call to my phone from it.
I seriously don't know where he got that 99.9% statistic from.
If your imei is not blacklisted then your phone is probably locked, either that or some hardware failure, but i couldn't be certain, I'm not 99.9% sure. Best of luck mate..
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
JJEgan said:
Those are your basic answers to this question that i posted the bit at the top well as 99.99% refuse to search or read the faqs i am not going to make a special link just for you sorry .
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No one asked you to make a special link have some respect fma965 is a respected member of XDA and as his own stickies and threads in many forums and I remember him well from my Xperia Play days:good:The only thing you seem to contribute is links to stickies and to put everybody off posting any questions at all.
hierarchy666 said:
I seriously don't know where he got that 99.9% statistic from.
If your imei is not blacklisted then your phone is probably locked, either that or some hardware failure, but i couldn't be certain, I'm not 99.9% sure. Best of luck mate..
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
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Yeah i dunno, Never seen him before but started looking at his posts and they are all the same stuff. My IMEI can't be blacklisted although it is a Ex-Contract phone but it has rang my phone atleast twice and i have rung it atleast once (When a giffgaff sim was inserted) and yet now i can't get GiffGaff working at all (before it was working some times) EE still always works though. Any ideas? Yeah it could be a HW Fault.
Basically my friend bought the phone for £70 from a friend, It was stolen ages ago and he reported it to the police he was then contacted by the police saying they found the phone, The owner got it back but no longer needed it so sold it to my friend. (DONT READ THIS AS THE PHONE BEING STOLEN AS THATS NOT WHAT IT SAYS )
tallman43 said:
No one asked you to make a special link have some respect fma965 is a respected member of XDA and as his own stickies and threads in many forums and I remember him well from my Xperia Play days:good:The only thing you seem to contribute is links to stickies and to put everybody off posting any questions at all.
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Thanks, I'm glad i helped Now all i need is some help in return obviously if people don't know the answer then they can't help and thats fine. But if you do know the answers or have ideas then please let me know.
UPDATE: Just to make sure i haven't missed anything i went through essentially every page of those threads, Guess what... Didn't help.
fma965 said:
Yeah i dunno, Never seen him before but started looking at his posts and they are all the same stuff. My IMEI can't be blacklisted although it is a Ex-Contract phone but it has rang my phone atleast twice and i have rung it atleast once (When a giffgaff sim was inserted) and yet now i can't get GiffGaff working at all (before it was working some times) EE still always works though. Any ideas? Yeah it could be a HW Fault.
Basically my friend bought the phone for £70 from a friend, It was stolen ages ago and he reported it to the police he was then contacted by the police saying they found the phone, The owner got it back but no longer needed it so sold it to my friend. (DONT READ THIS AS THE PHONE BEING STOLEN AS THATS NOT WHAT IT SAYS )
Thanks, I'm glad i helped Now all i need is some help in return obviously if people don't know the answer then they can't help and thats fine. But if you do know the answers or have ideas then please let me know.
UPDATE: Just to make sure i haven't missed anything i went through essentially every page of those threads, Guess what... Didn't help.
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Good to see you on here fma965:good: I'm not going to ask you the noob questions about apn etc etc..But I will though keep my eyes open if I see anything regarding your problem I noticed you said you had problems with O2/GiffGaff you probably know this already but GiffGaff piggy backs on O2 network so if it is working with other networks then I would start looking at the O2/GiffGaff connection or not as the case might be .. I don't think this sounds like a efs problem could it be a problem with O2/GiffGaff blocking it (none paid bill etc can put a block on it) not from you but who ever had the phone before.But then you had it working partially on GiffGaff strange.. Will keep a look out for you anyway good luck hope you solve it.
tallman43 said:
Good to see you on here fma965:good: I'm not going to ask you the noob questions about apn etc etc..But I will though keep my eyes open if I see anything regarding your problem I noticed you said you had problems with O2/GiffGaff you probably know this already but GiffGaff piggy backs on O2 network so if it is working with other networks then I would start looking at the O2/GiffGaff connection or not as the case might be .. I don't think this sounds like a efs problem could it be a problem with O2/GiffGaff blocking it (none paid bill etc can put a block on it) not from you but who ever had the phone before.But then you had it working partially on GiffGaff strange.. Will keep a look out for you anyway good luck hope you solve it.
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Hi thanks, Yeah just to clarify i don't own this phone its for a friend so doubt i will be in this section much, Yeah i am aware GiffGaff and O2 are both on O2 masts. Yeah it does seem like a weird issue doesn't it. Also you mentioned APN's etc, Well my friend seemed to have internet on this phone without even registered on a network.
I have also tried the sim from my LG G2 which is on Three and same issue, Only EE works which makes me think its locked still (especially considering it was on EE before my friend got it)
Thanks any way.
Now i understand this is a grey legal area so i am not expecting detailed information just a yes/no, If i was to use the EFS backup from another friends S3 i9300 which is on v1 still and then restore it to this phone and patch the correct IMEI back in would it work?
fma965 said:
Hi thanks, Yeah just to clarify i don't own this phone its for a friend so doubt i will be in this section much, Yeah i am aware GiffGaff and O2 are both on O2 masts. Yeah it does seem like a weird issue doesn't it. Also you mentioned APN's etc, Well my friend seemed to have internet on this phone without even registered on a network.
I have also tried the sim from my LG G2 which is on Three and same issue, Only EE works which makes me think its locked still (especially considering it was on EE before my friend got it)
Thanks any way.
Now i understand this is a grey legal area so i am not expecting detailed information just a yes/no, If i was to use the EFS backup from another friends S3 i9300 which is on v1 still and then restore it to this phone and patch the correct IMEI back in would it work?
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Click to collapse
Just a couple of things before I leave you alone You mention internet while not registered on network yep that's true I bought a S3 off ebay hoping to repair it and I did a imei check on it and it was blocked but still had internet (I got my money back from seller he forgot to mention he had not paid the bill when he owned it )
Now your second point about not working on other sims apart from EE apparently if you upgrade to 4.3 roms and unlocked your phone without a paid code ie through Galaxy Sim unlock or similar programs then the sim unlock stops working! Now the only problem with that is I have a S3 which I unlocked with Galaxy Sim Unlock last year(on a 4.1 stock rom) and now switch between 4.3 roms 4.4 roms etc with no problems (lucky me) so that bit still confuses me...
So in conclusion I think you may be right about being locked in to EE and perhaps it needs to be unlocked seems to make sense I may be totally wrong
Also your last question no comment
I have a exact same problem with my s4 19505.
fma965 said:
Hi thanks, Yeah just to clarify i don't own this phone its for a friend so doubt i will be in this section much, Yeah i am aware GiffGaff and O2 are both on O2 masts. Yeah it does seem like a weird issue doesn't it. Also you mentioned APN's etc, Well my friend seemed to have internet on this phone without even registered on a network.
I have also tried the sim from my LG G2 which is on Three and same issue, Only EE works which makes me think its locked still (especially considering it was on EE before my friend got it)
Thanks any way.
Now i understand this is a grey legal area so i am not expecting detailed information just a yes/no, If i was to use the EFS backup from another friends S3 i9300 which is on v1 still and then restore it to this phone and patch the correct IMEI back in would it work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that method before it leads me to 0499 invalid imei.
tallman43 said:
Just a couple of things before I leave you alone You mention internet while not registered on network yep that's true I bought a S3 off ebay hoping to repair it and I did a imei check on it and it was blocked but still had internet (I got my money back from seller he forgot to mention he had not paid the bill when he owned it )
Now your second point about not working on other sims apart from EE apparently if you upgrade to 4.3 roms and unlocked your phone without a paid code ie through Galaxy Sim unlock or similar programs then the sim unlock stops working! Now the only problem with that is I have a S3 which I unlocked with Galaxy Sim Unlock last year(on a 4.1 stock rom) and now switch between 4.3 roms 4.4 roms etc with no problems (lucky me) so that bit still confuses me...
So in conclusion I think you may be right about being locked in to EE and perhaps it needs to be unlocked seems to make sense I may be totally wrong
Also your last question no comment
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Yeah i really have no idea whats going on.
Just a quick post to say this thread will remain open, I wish I could help you with this but I have no idea...
I hope you get it sorted :good:
Rixsta said:
Just a quick post to say this thread will remain open, I wish I could help you with this but I have no idea...
I hope you get it sorted :good:
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Thanks for checking in and also confirming that this wasn't the same old repeated problem as it clearly isn't
OK so i can't find the IMEI in the nv_data.bin file so im assuming its been encrypted (old samsung phones didn't do that)
OK after more hours messing i am pretty sure its due to the phone still being locked to EE and it must have been some weird glitch that got GiffGaff / Three working. So yeah can i unlock EFSv2 via a unlock code ? Can i do it for free at all?
Try reinstalling the modem files.... check at sammobile the version of your phone in the CHECK YOUR FIRMWARE link http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/2/
Then look for your modem files..... or try to unlock your phone in sammobime
Did you try any unlocking methods bro?
Maybe this: http://www.redmondpie.com/permanent...-and-galaxy-note-ii-for-free-how-to-tutorial/
Or this: (Paid though) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spocky.galaxsimunlock&hl=en