Related
Hi all,
So now after being a passive but reading 'member' for a long while now, i finally managed to dig myself a hole deep enough not to be able to climb out on my own. So that's me registered now, and typing my first post asking for your help.
I have a GT-i9300 bought in Germany, brand free.
- It was still stock FW, and recently received the stability update released for 4.1.2
- I flashed it to "Android Revolution HD 32.0 (Android 4.2.1) using the infamous "mod manager" and "CF-Auto-Root-m0-m0xx-gti9300"
- This corrupted my or changed the format of my EFS folder in the process
- The EFS backup made during this process is not being accepted and phone is stuck in the factory mode
- I tried flashing the emergency.zip modem found on this forum to no avail
- I tried flashing back to the original stock, however i forgot to write down my starting point and thus not sure what to put in. (dailing *#1234# only gives you what is currently flashed)
- I had high hopes flashing I9300XXDLIH_I9300DBTDLI2_DBT (tried also others) but again no luck, even after trying to restore my backup EFS with Ktool.
- also tried: I9300XXEMG4_I9300DBTEMG3_I9300XXEMG4_HOME
So in my understanding there are only a few options available to bring my device back to fully function:
1 - Bring it to a repairshop that had a z3x box to put the EMEI back in.
2 - Reset the flashcounter, stock FW and try claim warranty (though i doubt Samsung will fall for it), and what FW to put in ?
3 - Somehow inject the IMEI to the phone with some of the available tools like "NV-items_reader_writer" or "qpst"
So before i manage to brick my device, i would appriciate any help from the specialist called YOU what of the above methods left to try should i go with, or is there another method i'm overlooking ?
Flashing the MG4 rom wasn't a good idea. You already had EFS issues. Your problem wasn't MG4 related in the first place so also not related to the solution. Same reason the "emergency zip" didn't do anything.
You could try manually putting the EFS backup in place using root explorer (etc)
rootSU said:
Flashing the MG4 rom wasn't a good idea. You already had EFS issues. Your problem wasn't MG4 related in the first place so also not related to the solution. Same reason the "emergency zip" didn't do anything.
You could try manually putting the EFS backup in place using root explorer (etc)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply,
Yes after reading further into the problem i started to realize that too, but by then it was already to late.
Last time trying to copy\paste the files from my backup to the EFS folder using root explorer gave me a 'read only error'. Will however give it another go right now.
kamaradski said:
Thanks for the reply,
Yes after reading further into the problem i started to realize that too, but by then it was already to late.
Last time trying to copy\paste the files from my backup to the EFS folder using root explorer gave me a 'read only error'. Will however give it another go right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, you need to make sure you have permissions to write to the folder.
Getting closer, but not yet there...
- Used another root browser
- managed to delete the EFS, but was not able to write anything in it.. :S
- Used Ktool to recover backup
- However did see that this recovery created another efs sub-folder...
- Re-packed the content from my efs backup file, in a new tar.gz with 7zip this time making sure no subfolder was present.
- restored with Ktool and after reboot atleast i'm out of the 'factory safemode'!!!
However still invalid EMEI
As i have XXDLID, i guess i have to get another modem in ?
EDIT:
Now the phone is out of the safemode, Kies was able to update the device to PDA: MG4 + CSC: MG3 (DBT)
After reboot, IMEI was recognized again and phone is working normally !! Thank you all.
Next step, see if i can still upgrade to 'Android Revolution 32.0', without touching the modem.
Thanks again all, sending me on the right track !!
kamaradski said:
Getting closer, but not yet there...
- Used another root browser
- managed to delete the EFS, but was not able to write anything in it.. :S
- Used Ktool to recover backup
- However did see that this recovery created another efs sub-folder...
- Re-packed the content from my efs backup file, in a new tar.gz with 7zip this time making sure no subfolder was present.
- restored with Ktool and after reboot atleast i'm out of the 'factory safemode'!!!
However still invalid EMEI
As i have XXDLID, i guess i have to get another modem in ?
EDIT:
Now the phone is out of the safemode, Kies was able to update the device to PDA: MG4 + CSC: MG3 (DBT)
After reboot, IMEI was recognized again and phone is working normally !! Thank you all.
Next step, see if i can still upgrade to 'Android Revolution 32.0', without touching the modem.
Thanks again all, sending me on the right track !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey - I think I just spent the last 24 hours doing exactly what you did.. I got out of factory mode. But your last statement "Kies was able to update the device to PDA: MG4 + CSC: MG3 (DBT)" - what did you do exactly? oddly I have a UK phone (BTU) but it is registered in Germany so connects to Vodafone (if only the EMEI were not empty!). I came from flashing Ultimarom v14.0.1 and since then it will not do anything with the modem. So I have a phone that cannot phone...
Any pointers on what you did in the last sentence would be good!! I am getting desperate
biffaxda said:
Hey - I think I just spent the last 24 hours doing exactly what you did.. I got out of factory mode. But your last statement "Kies was able to update the device to PDA: MG4 + CSC: MG3 (DBT)" - what did you do exactly? oddly I have a UK phone (BTU) but it is registered in Germany so connects to Vodafone (if only the EMEI were not empty!). I came from flashing Ultimarom v14.0.1 and since then it will not do anything with the modem. So I have a phone that cannot phone...
Any pointers on what you did in the last sentence would be good!! I am getting desperate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any news I am in the exact same boat. ((
Imei 004999901...
danihassanein said:
Any news I am in the exact same boat. ((
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. In fact i found an old laptop with an EFS backup on it (galaxy toolkit skipsoft) so i thought i was saved. I restored /efs or /factory and also efs partition but no matter what i do (even root explorer cut n paste the whole /efs folder from backup, or the 9 steps someone else logged) it always reboots with the dummy IMEI number. i have no clue how to progress. wondering if a samsung service repair is more expensive than a UART cable and box...
i think it comes back to the original comment by kamradski:
So in my understanding there are only a few options available to bring my device back to fully function:
1 - Bring it to a repairshop that had a z3x box to put the EMEI back in.
2 - Reset the flashcounter, stock FW and try claim warranty (though i doubt Samsung will fall for it), and what FW to put in ?
3 - Somehow inject the IMEI to the phone with some of the available tools like "NV-items_reader_writer" or "qpst"
[
i think it comes back to the original comment by kamradski:
So in my understanding there are only a few options available to bring my device back to fully function:
1 - Bring it to a repairshop that had a z3x box to put the EMEI back in.
An IMEI repair is relatively cheap .
Hi all
Recently I upgraded from Samsungs stock 4.1.2 firmware to CyanogenMod 10.2 Stable (based on 4.3.1) using their installer program. Since upgrading the Wifi has been unusable and I have not managed to get the problem resolved through their forums so I have decided to go back to the stock rom.
Now that Samsung have re-released 4.3 for the S3 in the UK (after the one from last month which was pulled for problems) I would like to use this one as it fixes a bluetooth streaming issue I have endured for a long time. I can't find this new firmware for download anywhere so wondered if it is feasible to download say the stock rom 4.1.2 and then upgrade somehow? I have a red line on the bootup screen which shows it has been modified (which triangle away won't remove due to custom rom/bootloader or something like that) so I believe this means I will be blocked from then upgrading from 4.3 OTA but able to do so with Kies?
Being a novice at this I am obviously worried about breaking my phone and I am not sure if having i9300XXEMG4 as a baseband version is an issue among other things after reading the forums. As much as I have read about EFS and the downgrading modem problems, none of it is making sense to me at the moment, even after reading all the documents. Brain freeze maybe!
The cyanogenMod also changed recovery and unlocked the bootloader going by what I have read, is this an issue I need to worry about?
Any advice that can take away some worries and get me on the right path would be muchly appreciated!
You are posting in the wrong forum .
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
JJEgan said:
You are posting in the wrong forum .
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your post. I did follow a link in the !!ALL QUESTIONS GO IN THE Q&A FORUM!! OR THEY MAY BE DELETED!! sticky thread which took me to the Q&A forum where I thought I was posting. It is possible a confusion happened during the sign up process.
After reading those threads, two of which I had already read before posting, I have more understanding than I did before. Somehow I missed about the S3 not having a locked bootlader to begin with. I have backup up the EFS using Ktool but also understand it would have been more useful to do before flashing CM 10.2 as I now only have a EFS v2 backup rather than a version 1. What I am unsure of is what is my best action to take at the moment, going by the information I have. I can it is best not to go downgrade to earlier firmwares unless I wanted an added headache of the modem workarounds but do not see the best way to get back to a stock 4.3 firmware still.
I am on Three mobile (H3G) in the UK but don't think my phone is actually locked to them and don't know if that means the BTU is the option I should be choosing. Even so, when I check the firmwares on http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/2/ I can only see a firmware added last month which I have to assume is the bad 4.3 update that hit the UK and was pulled after the problems it caused. If it was my best option for flashing, even with the problems it caused, how would I then go about getting the extra update that Samsung pushed out to fix the problem?
I saw the Korean factory flash in one of the threads too, not sure if this is too extreme (and potentially more dangerous) than the other options which may be available to me.
Obviously I would like to do this right the first time, rather than stumble backwards fixing all the mistakes I make at the time. So sorry if I am asking what may be simple to some. My knowledge of phones sucks and I wish I hadn't been tempted by the easy looking Cyanogenmod installer now!
Noticed after a few cache and devlik cleans and reboots that the wifi started working on the CM 10.2 mod but only for the main browser and hit and miss with google play. Every over app didn't work on wifi though, but did on cell. I googled all over to see many with similar problems, which suggested manually setting the time and date and static ip settings, clean davlik and updating play apps after deleting their cache.
None of them worked. So to potentially getting away from flashing, does anyone know any other ideas to resolve this? Wifi connects, stock google browser works, Play works flakey. Other installed browsers wont load any pages or connect to the net, such as speed testing app. The only unusual app that also works in a twitter app. Installed an app to see if there was a hidden proxy setting, but it found nothing, Really strange. All the apps work on cell.
Follow the guide in general forum, stickies, to flash back to stock BTU. Network lock is irrelevant to rom.
Choose either 4.1.2 or 4.3 but your baseband must be EMG or later as you now have efs v2.
Don't flash things you don't fully understand, any non Samsung rom has drawbacks you'll have to live with.
In the stickies is a world of information supposed to help you.
boomboomer said:
Follow the guide in general forum, stickies, to flash back to stock BTU. Network lock is irrelevant to rom.
Choose either 4.1.2 or 4.3 but your baseband must be EMG or later as you now have efs v2.
Don't flash things you don't fully understand, any non Samsung rom has drawbacks you'll have to live with.
In the stickies is a world of information supposed to help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appreciate you giving me a direction to go. It seems the problem I had finding firmwares the last few days were due to Hotfile going offline and Sammobile rebuilding their index of firmwares. I found through the forums 4.3 BTU I9300XXUGMJ9_I9300OXAGMJ9_BTU.zip which contained a 1.5GB file called I9300XXUGMJ9_I9300OXAGMJ9_I9300XXUGMJ9_HOME.tar.md5 which I think is the correct one which I will try and flash later using the guides. It's not the new fixed 4.3, it's the older broken one but I guess in time I can apply the fix that Samsung are pushing out. This was part of my original question and now i have seen from other posts in the last few days that there is no full copy of the 4.3 anywhere.
The timing of me doing this appears to have been bad for a few of the above reasons, making working it out more difficult to work out for someone who has not done this before.
I can see from your signature and also your post that you think questions such as mine are easily answered in the various threads and through search. Personally I did try all those options first but either my lack of understanding or the overwhelming amount of information meant I was unsure as to what I should actually be doing, let alone which guide to follow. Even googling for BTU or searching xda to try and find what it means was fruitless so trying to put the pieces together is not easy if you have no experience with phones. I have programmed a Pi to do many tasks, built mainframe>SAS gateways and various technical challenges but I still struggle with all the phone flashing info
Many thanks again. Even a few words have been helpful
If you flash the kernel from the Chinese ZCUBMK it will fix all the broken parts of the current uk rom, until the latest ota emerges on xda.
I don't mind helping people who have made a genuine attempt to help themselves, my signature is aimed at the those who flash anything they find then demand someone give them an instant fix.
Your only mistake seems to have been the depth of research before you started, which could have been fatal to your phone -many first time flashes end up with a new motherboard required.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
If the ota doesn't work in the next few day's I will try that kernel, thanks for that info!
I managed to flash the older official 4.3 firmware just now, so progress has been made A quick check shows me that the power on/lock screen lag problem is present so I assume the other issues will be there too. The red line showing the flash counter has gone and I got no modified phone error when attempting an ota update, as well as device status saying official, so I assume I should be able to upgrade that way when they allow more upgrades on the rollout server.
In case anyone else needs to do the same, this is what I did:
1) Downloaded https://mega.co.nz/#!DVxVgZZb!LIxKGA2Q_KbBH9APo_slOCdZNGJgfn1O6fxOF4C OkHA which I found via a thread titled [Official Firmwares] I9300XXUGMJ9 (Android 4.3) - Ireland (VDI) [04-11-13]
2) Followed the flashing instructions on this page
3) After flashing I got stuck at the Samsung boot screen with the blue light on, even after reseting a few times. So I powered off, held down the home button, volume up and then the power button which took me to the recovery screen where I chose the factory default option. All worked fine after that.
Thanks once again for your help with this boomboomer. A bit of direction was enough to give me the confidence to try it. It's nice to be back to a familiar interface (although it has changed from the 4.1.2 I had before) but the initial setup reminded me of all the bloatware installed. It's a fair bit slower than CyanogenMod was but it all seems to work ok. Once I get the ota update i'll root and freeze some apps to sort that out. Now to install TSF shell
Wanted to get rid of OmniRom 4.4.
Flashed to Android 4.0.4
Saw "emergency calls only"
Had backup of my previous 4.3 JB / flashed it - still nothing. IMEI null / null
Rooted again and with root explorer I found out that I've files in EFS folder.
Is there anything I can do to get my phone working again or repair shop is the next stop?
Also I tried to look around in forums all morning. Mby I've to flash new modem, but I don't which one I've to download. I guess the region would be Baltic countries / EE elisa.
Any help is appreciated.
Johannes s said:
Wanted to get rid of OmniRom 4.4.
Flashed to Android 4.0.4
Saw "emergency calls only"
Had backup of my previous 4.3 JB / flashed it - still nothing. IMEI null / null
Rooted again and with root explorer I found out that I've files in EFS folder.
Is there anything I can do to get my phone working again or repair shop is the next stop?
Also I tried to look around in forums all morning. Mby I've to flash new modem, but I don't which one I've to download. I guess the region would be Baltic countries / EE elisa.
Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to fix it myself. Everyone who similar back story should find help from these links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/help/help-restore-galaxy-s3-imei-t1772741/post30773406 - Although I didnt find ALL the files from the EFS folder, I tried my best and succeed. I guess EFS PRO did the main trick.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1658809 - How to get modem.bin from stock frimware. (in the code, replace "baseband.tar") with "modem.bin" (else, you'll end up with something else, what you don't need.)
Almost saved me taking my phone to repair shop and pay ton of $$$
keep calm and go on flashing...!!!
you dont need to worry. try these things.
1. flash the original stock rom and check. if it doesnt works then
2. download other modem files for your gs3 (your model specefic) and flash them.
dont go for that ****ty efs pro. very long long steps.
hit thanks :good: if i really helped you.
Hello People
Again, I'm with problems with my S3 since the one time decided to test a custom ROM which turned out to screw my IMEI and got to it back working with BOX in repair service.
I n order to see if the BOX fix did actually solve my signal problem, it was suggested to me in a previous post that I flash the same stock rom via ODIN. Before that, I backed up current EFS as well.
Unfortunately, it seems the problem wasn't entirely solved. Same as before: both my IMEI and S/N are untouched (S/N does not coincide with S/N in the back of phone) and though it says I have a full signal, I'm not registered in network and i can't make or receive calls, sms, etc. Even though I restored the EFS folder, nothing happens.
I really wish not to go back to repair service again. What else can I do about this? Many thanks and excuse my rant. Hope I was thorough and clear on the problem. I also have a EFSv2_basebands_opt4.zip file I downloaded somewhere in xda . Would that help?
Many thanks.
rhrs1987 said:
Hello People
Again, I'm with problems with my S3 since the one time decided to test a custom ROM which turned out to screw my IMEI and got to it back working with BOX in repair service.
I n order to see if the BOX fix did actually solve my signal problem, it was suggested to me in a previous post that I flash the same stock rom via ODIN. Before that, I backed up current EFS as well.
Unfortunately, it seems the problem wasn't entirely solved. Same as before: both my IMEI and S/N are untouched (S/N does not coincide with S/N in the back of phone) and though it says I have a full signal, I'm not registered in network and i can't make or receive calls, sms, etc. Even though I restored the EFS folder, nothing happens.
I really wish not to go back to repair service again. What else can I do about this? Many thanks and excuse my rant. Hope I was thorough and clear on the problem. I also have a EFSv2_basebands_opt4.zip file I downloaded somewhere in xda . Would that help?
Many thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash a patched modem and kernel from here >> https://drive.google.com/folderview...sharing&tid=0B6MIUd7HJudAbU5YaGkzOUowMG8#list << see if that works if it doesyou will always need to use the patched files.
Thanks tallman43! I'll try that. Also, I noticed now that the EFS folder is EMPTY :/. and the backup .tar I made with CWM says it's 0 bytes? wtf?
still, in phone info, imei and s/n are there. weird?
THANK YOU
Flash a patched modem and kernel from here >> https://drive.google.com/folderview?...kzOUowMG8#list << see if that works if it doesyou will always need to use the patched files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your recommendation worked like a charm. My signal is up and running normally. MANY THANKS tallman43.
Lastly, even if I sometime I decide to try out a custom ROM (unlikely at the moment, but who knows?), I still have to flash patched kernel&modem? or in case of factory reset (I will be selling the phone soon) ?That custom really messed up my phone...
rhrs1987 said:
Your recommendation worked like a charm. My signal is up and running normally. MANY THANKS tallman43.
Lastly, even if I sometime I decide to try out a custom ROM (unlikely at the moment, but who knows?), I still have to flash patched kernel&modem? or in case of factory reset (I will be selling the phone soon) ?That custom really messed up my phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you will always need them.
tallman43 said:
Flash a patched modem and kernel from here >> https://drive.google.com/folderview...sharing&tid=0B6MIUd7HJudAbU5YaGkzOUowMG8#list << see if that works if it doesyou will always need to use the patched files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tallman43 said:
Yes you will always need them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would still like to solve the problem at its roots: to fix the "not registered in network" problem whenever factory reset or stock ROM flash via odin is done. That is simply not normal. I might be selling the phone soon and the new user won't most probably know he/she would have to apply a patched kernel or etc.. ( let alone about rooting the phone).
Basically, bring the phone back to it's original sound state before I tried out the custom ROM. What can I do about that?
Hope I'm not being annoying.. just trying to get to the bottom of things
rhrs1987 said:
I would still like to solve the problem at its roots: to fix the "not registered in network" problem whenever factory reset or stock ROM flash via odin is done. That is simply not normal. I might be selling the phone soon and the new user won't most probably know he/she would have to apply a patched kernel or etc.. ( let alone about rooting the phone).
Basically, bring the phone back to it's original sound state before I tried out the custom ROM. What can I do about that?
Hope I'm not being annoying.. just trying to get to the bottom of things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is nothing you can do without your original efs backup.Only a service repair can fix it.
tallman43 said:
There is nothing you can do without your original efs backup.Only a service repair can fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Understood. I think I have the original EFS in my SD, though I tried replacing it once and it didn't work out... I suppose I'll have to make do. Thanks for everything man
Flashing modem with Ariza patch was bad idea. Your efs folder is screwed up now and you are addicted to constantly flash this dirty workaround.
If anyone have problems with registering in network please check your device serial number first. It must be the same as on the sticker under battery. If it's not then type *#0011# and check info under IMEI CERT. If there is FAIL info then you should use any box ie Z3X to correct phone's serial number. It takes only few minutes and is cheap. It's better long-term way than patching and permanently destroying your efs informations.
If you have backup then you should flash normal modem and restore original efs partition. Then find any GSM service center with box and tell them to fix serial number. It shouldn't cost more then 5-10 dollars.
____________________________________________
P3110 / I9300 / I9100 / NEXUS 5 / iPAD2
SirKunon said:
Flashing modem with Ariza patch was bad idea. Your efs folder is screwed up now and you are addicted to constantly flash this dirty workaround.
If anyone have problems with registering in network please check your device serial number first. It must be the same as on the sticker under battery. If it's not then type *#0011# and check info under IMEI CERT. If there is FAIL info then you should use any box ie Z3X to correct phone's serial number. It takes only few minutes and is cheap. It's better long-term way than patching and permanently destroying your efs informations.
If you have backup then you should flash normal modem and restore original efs partition. Then find any GSM service center with box and tell them to fix serial number. It shouldn't cost more then 5-10 dollars.
____________________________________________
P3110 / I9300 / I9100 / NEXUS 5 / iPAD2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never flashed the Ariza patch nor have I even mentioned it on my previous posts explaining the problem. Fixing the s/n issue is indeed adviseable, but paying to correct s/n using box here where I live is ASTRONOMICALLY expensive. They should answer for never having fixed it, but they won't. Here is a hell of a lot more than 5-10 dollars, unfortunately.
Believe me , I'm no happier in applying this sorry fix every time I want to factory reset or upgrade, etc; it's the only option I have left at the moment.
Those files you have flashed, I mean kernel and modem are patched with Ariza's method. It is called Ariza patch and it is latest solution you should take to resurrect your phone because it is a destructive one.
Sorry to hear that you can't repair it as it should be especially if you want to sell this device.
____________________________________________
P3110 / I9300 / I9100 / NEXUS 5 / iPAD2
SirKunon said:
Flashing modem with Ariza patch was bad idea. Your efs folder is screwed up now and you are addicted to constantly flash this dirty workaround.
If anyone have problems with registering in network please check your device serial number first. It must be the same as on the sticker under battery. If it's not then type *#0011# and check info under IMEI CERT. If there is FAIL info then you should use any box ie Z3X to correct phone's serial number. It takes only few minutes and is cheap. It's better long-term way than patching and permanently destroying your efs informations.
If you have backup then you should flash normal modem and restore original efs partition. Then find any GSM service center with box and tell them to fix serial number. It shouldn't cost more then 5-10 dollars.
____________________________________________
P3110 / I9300 / I9100 / NEXUS 5 / iPAD2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SirKunon said:
Those files you have flashed, I mean kernel and modem are patched with Ariza's method. It is called Ariza patch and it is latest solution you should take to resurrect your phone because it is a destructive one.
Sorry to hear that you can't repair it as it should be especially if you want to sell this device.
____________________________________________
P3110 / I9300 / I9100 / NEXUS 5 / iPAD2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh... well, that I didn't know :$ SirKunon. I understand and totally agree with you on everything. I'll see maybe if I can find some place cheaper for getting it repaired... Many thanks
hi i was wondering if you guys can help me,i have your problem but i have an efs backup,but i cant seem to be able to restore my imei,i tried Ktool,efs professional,nothing seems to work,i should mention that the efs backup was from a Samsung 4.1.2 stock now my phone is on CM11
thanks
rhrs1987 said:
Hello People
Again, I'm with problems with my S3 since the one time decided to test a custom ROM which turned out to screw my IMEI and got to it back working with BOX in repair service.
I n order to see if the BOX fix did actually solve my signal problem, it was suggested to me in a previous post that I flash the same stock rom via ODIN. Before that, I backed up current EFS as well.
Unfortunately, it seems the problem wasn't entirely solved. Same as before: both my IMEI and S/N are untouched (S/N does not coincide with S/N in the back of phone) and though it says I have a full signal, I'm not registered in network and i can't make or receive calls, sms, etc. Even though I restored the EFS folder, nothing happens.
I really wish not to go back to repair service again. What else can I do about this? Many thanks and excuse my rant. Hope I was thorough and clear on the problem. I also have a EFSv2_basebands_opt4.zip file I downloaded somewhere in xda . Would that help?
Many thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May i ask a few questions about your problem?
Which version were you using when you desided to use a custom rom?
Was your phone ever rooted before installing a custom rom (when you were on official)
Did you upgrade your phone before? (Official via ota or odin)
thewalekk said:
May i ask a few questions about your problem?
Which version were you using when you desided to use a custom rom?
Was your phone ever rooted before installing a custom rom (when you were on official)
Did you upgrade your phone before? (Official via ota or odin)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was on 4.2.2 leaked version ROM some guy installed at a repair service some time ago when the phone belonged to my mother. I was actually rooted using the CF AutoRoot method, with Philz CWM recovery. I decided to change to a custom 4.3 without having changed first to a stock 4.3.
The problem came when, within the custom ROM's aroma installer, I ticked an option to upgrade the modem to some build I can't remember now and my signal became screwed up. I informed this in the developer's custom rom discussion thread about the issue to which he replied that the problem was that the EFS folder tried to convert from v1 to v2 and failed (this was when I learned of the whole efs version folder change since build XXX (don't remember).
I download a stock unbranded 4.3 ROM and flashed it via ODIN, believing that would solve the issue; it didn't. Finally, I became desperate and took it to a repair service where they used box. Apparently, late did I notice s/n was not the same as the one in the back of phone. I'm guessing that would solve the problem? I don't know.
i am sorry for your loss . i wish you had all that info you learned before a try and fail. now that your imei number is a clon number, and once a box tempers with that you cant go back even if you have your orijinal efs folder or backup. you should always have that 2 patched modem and kernel files on your sd card just incase. you can use custom 4.3 with the patched files and get a signal but you will always have some lags after some time because of the kernel. and lucky you samsung stopped updating s3 officially because patched files are only for 4.3. if you dont have a desire to use custom 4.4.4 kitkat roms then you are good to go and when it comes to sell the device, the price will be much lower then an original s3.
thewalekk said:
May i ask a few questions about your problem?
Which version were you using when you desided to use a custom rom?
Was your phone ever rooted before installing a custom rom (when you were on official)
Did you upgrade your phone before? (Official via ota or odin)
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Click to collapse
thewalekk said:
i am sorry for your loss . i wish you had all that info you learned before a try and fail. now that your imei number is a clon number, and once a box tempers with that you cant go back even if you have your orijinal efs folder or backup. you should always have that 2 patched modem and kernel files on your sd card just incase. you can use custom 4.3 with the patched files and get a signal but you will always have some lags after some time because of the kernel. and lucky you samsung stopped updating s3 officially because patched files are only for 4.3. if you dont have a desire to use custom 4.4.4 kitkat roms then you are good to go and when it comes to sell the device, the price will be much lower then an original s3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, actually, IMEI didn't get cloned; of that I'm certain. IMEI is just the same as it was before I took it for the first time to repair service. It was the S/N that got changed somehow. Should I get them to correct the S/N, and use the original EFS folder (I found it, i think), would that correct all problems?
S/N number is the same with imei number as when you dial *#06# . And as i said before you cant go back even if you have your original efs folder. Dial *#06# and check your imei number from an " imei check site " you can find on google search. That will tell you what i mean.
There are: IMEI, device serial number and Android serial number. First two numbers are on the sticker in battery Bay. They must be correct because are used to authorize IMEI certificate.
Samsung's IMEI begins from 35.....
Serial number usually from RF......
If you see serial number in HEX format in phone's info section, something like f1abcadef1.. than it is android not device serial number and this mean troubles with authorize SIM card in operator network, even if it shows proper signal power.
I don't know there is any secret code to display serial number but there is plenty of phone's info apps in playstore which displays this alphanumeric string.
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P3110 / I9300 / I9100 / NEXUS 5 / iPAD2
Hi all
Just want to say I've been using XDA for a very long time, back to the OG Droid days, and wanted to say thanks right off the bat to those who are more skilled than I and for the help posted.
I recently aquired a sch-I545. The phone is in excellent condition, the only issue was that it was missing the IMEI, it's on the phone sticker, just not software. The baseband is also unknown. I knew this when buying it, that's how I got it so cheap. I figured that the guy had tried to flash it, and just didn't want to own up to it.
However, I have hit a wall. I've tried flash a stock rom on it so that I could root it and gain access to the EFS folder and see if I could modify anything. When I did, even though there was an EFS folder there was nothing to modify. I then heard about flashing a modem.bin to see about correcting the baseband and possibly the IMEI. Though I was rooted I didn't have a custom recovery, as of yet. I went to install TWRP via Odin and it starts the NAND write and then Fails.
So at my wits end I took it to a local shop, hoping that they might have better experience with this and I got the phone back today, with the Software Update Failed screen. I asked what was up, and was told that since someone tried to flash it, they erased the IMEI and they couldn't correct it. Asked why they gave me the phone back with the screen and was told that they too tried to flash with ODIN and it failed.
Luckily I didn't have to pay anything, but I think they just borked things up to and didn't want to own up to it lol.
SO....here's my question.
Can I flash a stock, or rooted ROM to this puppy that already has an IMEI and Baseband, and then Modify the IMEI to the correct one that is stickered on the phone? If I can, what search parameters should I look for? And is there a particular version of ODIN I need to use?
If I can't flash a ROM that already has a baseband and IMEI, how can I go about correcting this issue if ODIN doesn't want to write a custom recovery?
Thanks
You'll need Odin software and the correct factory image for the phone. There are a couple different builds so make sure to get the right one. If it's an MDK device and has never taken an OTA you're in luck. It can get TWRP on it after following the process. If it's later than MDK no TWRP. Search here and you'll find a thread explaining how to do it all.
Is there any way to tell if it's MDK after I flash the correct factory image? I have no clue if the person before updated via OTA.