after playing around unnecessarily with roms it seems I messed up my IMEI.
by checking if IMEI is valid via dialer, i got a number which starts with 0049, which as I understand is bad. I have done a little reading on ESF backup and restore, but the ways to restore EFS always require backup from the same apllication...So I searched for a backed that maybe occoured automatically, so I found one in the root internal storage folder and discovered a folder named "esf_backup", probably created during rom installations, the question is can i restore the tar.gz file in this folder? Or has my phone been messed up way beyond repair?
thx upfront
Yes you can, read the hundred or so other exact same posts to find out how.
Have a look at EFS Pro.
jje
If it's not .img you can restore by simply copying whole efs from backup to phone by root explorer
sent from the state where marijuana is NOT illegal !
Related
So I was reading about backing up your /efs folder and I was wondering if backing up your device with CWM through recovery, will that also back up /efs folder?
Thanks!
i dont now this but you can just copy the efs folder and paste it at your computer.its so easy
If you want you can download nitrality apply from market, which can automatically do a backup for ya
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
just copy the files might not be enough, permissions and ownershiop etc is lost. Look in this thread for info how to backup /efs
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068193
I'm wondering the same thing... Does CWM backup the /efs folder?
No. There are apps that can do same (Hellcat's kTool being one), and some kernels automatically make an EFS backup by default (Siyah for example).
Edit to add - For clarity, CWM will not make a separate backup of the EFS. As it essentially makes an image of the phone, obviously the EFS details will be included (everything is included), but I doubt you can extract the EFS folders/files on their own from a CWM backup. If there is a way, I'd certainly like to know how to do it Would be handy to know, even if I do backup EFS whenever I do a backup as a matter of course.
So as long as I've made backups using CWM and then suddenly my efs folder gets corrupted, a simple CWM restore would repair the efs?
On the other hand... in theory (I would never try this) wouldn't that mean that if I did a CWM restore on a different SII that phone's IMEI would change?
Brgds... /Tubgirl
Hmmmmm....Basically when you restore a CWM backup, you go back to whatever state your phone was in at the time you made the backup.
Now, if you borked your EFS, and if you restored a CWM backup, would this fix this EFS issue. In theory & based on the CWM backup being an 'image', you'd reckon yes it would.
In practice, I'm not about to delete my efs folders & try it out tho
So far as the IMEI is concerned, no, I don't believe it would. Reason I say this is because I know people who have taken a CWM backup of a phone they've had to return for replacement. Got the replacement phone, and restored the CWM backup on the new phone; essentially cloned the old one. And that hasn't messed with the new phone's IMEI.
At the end of the day, people who don't make EFS backups are insane IMHO (you probably guessed that from my sig). Given it takes literally 20 seconds to make an EFS backup with kTool, and another minute to transfer a copy over to a PC, there's no excuse for not making a backup.
Edit to add - Interesting questions/thread BTW I know who could answer these questions definitively for us. Odia. He's the EFS king on here. Can sometimes (often ?) recover IMEI's when there are no EFS folders/files to work with. How ? Who knows. Voodoo maybe ?
Ok, I'm no expert by any means and please correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a complete efs backup include imei?
The reason I'm asking is because suddenly my phone can't make/receive phone calls with my current carrier (other carriers still work). I restored a previously made CWM backup but it didn't help. Today I read about efs and what it contains so I started to wonder if maybe that's where the problem lie. I've only made CWM and Titanium backups so far because I had no knowledge about efs.
Brgds... /Tubgirl
Easiest way to tell if it's an IMEI issue is to check the IMEI. If you have your actual IMEI in settings/about phone, that obviously isn't the problem (whatever you do, don't post your IMEI on XDA. Ever), if you have the generic IMEI 004999010640000, then you've got a problem.
If you do have the generic IMEI, then we can look at options to possibly rectify it (sometimes possible, sometimes not).
If your IMEI is fine, the problem lies elsewhere & you're worrying about nothing There are a million things that could cause the problem you described.
However, no excuse for not making an EFS backup nowish if your IMEI is OK & keeping one copy on your external SD card & another copy on your PC (and even another copy on a external drive if you're really paranoid).
I just used the IMEI example to question whether efs is included in CWM backups or not. My IMEI is just fine but since I'm so reluctant to send my phone in for repair I'm just grasping for straws here Thought maybe my problem was related to efs since I suspect it's not included in CWM backups. Anyway... since I never made a "real" efs backup my question is pure academic. I'm afraid my phone needs to be sent to a service center. System restore didn't resolve my problems either but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't resolve efs problems either.
Brgds... Tubgirl
Did a bit of digging & found this. It would appear EFS is not backed up in a Nandroid backup after all despite it being somewhat of an 'image'. So I guess that answers both our question.
No, system restore more than likely won't solve EFS issues. Normally the only way to fix it short of having Samsung do it is Odia/whatever method he uses (which he won't divulge; and fair enough. I'm sure it's highly technical).
If you need to send your phone in for warranty service, do a format cache, data, system, & sd card in CWM. Then flash a stock rom in Odin, then use a jig to reset the flash counter.
Obviously once you root a phone and/or run non-stock firmware on it you void your warranty and should have no expectation of warranty service, but many people have been able to get same by doing the above. But in saying that, there have been people on here who have followed these steps & been 'found out' in any event.
Unless it's a case of actual damage to the phone caused by use or whatever, if it's a hardware fault, you might be able to get away with it.
WHich method do you use to backup your efs?
I use Siyah kernel which automatically makes an EFS backup & dumps it in the /data/.Siyah folder. There are also apps which enable you to make a backup, I've used kTool in the past & there are others (names of which escape me; search on here/Google Play).
I'd recommend kTool (search for it on here/Google Play) as it isn't kernel or rom dependent, it backs up EFS to /sdcard/efs.img & also allows you to verify the backup. You can then transfer a copy onto PC, external drive or whatever in case the worst ever happens. Quick, easy & no fuss.
Thanks a bunch... I'll search for it.
No probs
Tubgirl said:
Thanks a bunch... I'll search for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw this thread was about CMWbackups, and have a quetion about it. decided it's better to ash here than start a whole new thread
The CMW backups; does it backup EVERYTING?
So if i forexample have some movies on my external SD card, and then takes an CMW backup..... Next i delete everyting on this SDcard, and then flash the CMW image,,,,, will my movies then be back at my SD card? Will they be back at any other place at the phone? or will they be totally gone?
Nikolaiim said:
I saw this thread was about CMWbackups, and have a quetion about it. decided it's better to ash here than start a whole new thread
The CMW backups; does it backup EVERYTING?
No as said it does not back up EFS .
It takes an image of the firmware OS and applications on the internal sd card .
So if i forexample have some movies on my external SD card, and then takes an CMW backup..... Next i delete everyting on this SDcard, and then flash the CMW image,,,,, will my movies then be back at my SD card? Will they be back at any other place at the phone? or will they be totally gone
Gone Gone Gone .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If i have a siyah backup of my esf (a tar.gz and a img.gz) what do i have to do to restore my esf folder?
Search for/read the kTool thread on here.
just updated my rom and was messing about with kernels and now my phone hhas gone odd.
it works fine on vodafone(original network) but wont work on any other network.
it always shows signal but with any sim other than voda i get emergency calls only.
so iv had a look about on it and my imei has changed to what i believe is a test imei or something. i have restored my backed up efs and it hasnt changed. its still the same.
i have now put it back to official samsung firmware 2.3.6 then rooted it with cf-root kk5
baseband- i9100xxkl1
kernel- [email protected]#2
build number- gt-i9100-eng 2.3.6 gingerbread xxkl1 test-keys
any ideas?
Read the thousands of EFS IMEI posts .
Starter .
IMEI.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1372169
jje
JJEgan said:
Read the thousands of EFS IMEI posts .
Starter .
IMEI.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1372169
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i wasnt asking how i fix it, i was asking why its happened?
as in why did restoring my efs still leave me with this odd imei number?
If we knew how it happened it would not be a problem .All that is known is that it is a result of flashing roms .
jje
Flashing the ROM has corrupt your EFS file that contains your phones IMEI number therefore changing it to a false one.Thats why we do backups.Not overly common but common enough.The problem now is to get back your original IMEI by correcting the EFS folder.WHAT type of backup do you have?TAR,ZIP,e.t.c.?
Odia has a good rep at getting phones back up and running.Worth a try.
thats the thing. i understand flashing rom can somehow corrupt the backed up efs but it cant when my back up was on my laptop.
the backup i used was an .img file generated by hellcats ktool app. i also restored it with this app.
i also have the .tar.gz efs backups that are generater automatically but how do i flash this, other than adb. id use adb but it seems to have got a little confussed on my laptop, and dont ever work since i got my sgs2 :/
djmaz said:
thats the thing. i understand flashing rom can somehow corrupt the backed up efs but it cant when my back up was on my laptop.
the backup i used was an .img file generated by hellcats ktool app. i also restored it with this app.
i also have the .tar.gz efs backups that are generater automatically but how do i flash this, other than adb. id use adb but it seems to have got a little confussed on my laptop, and dont ever work since i got my sgs2 :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heres a link.give this a try.Its an EFS backup tool.Make a backup of your current(wrong)EFS folder in img or tar.It will appear in a folder called EFSProBackup.You need this folder to restore.Open the folder and delete the backup.Put your original backup you made that you have in your PC inside and use the restore option.this program supports backup/restore of img and tar formats so you could try and use it to restore your original ones.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1308546
download the release zip
Id try the img restore first:the option to format current EFS before restore is at your own risk.Please read carefully.
Hello all!
This is my first post, and now I need your help.
I have a Galaxy SIII, but he is having trouble functioning as a phone. Says I'm unsigned.
Finding enough on the internet, I discovered that the problem is the IMEI.
The IMEI appears on the phone's settings is not the same as that described in the label behind the cell.
Searching further, I saw that it would be necessary to backup the EFS folder, but I can not find this folder, already tried all the ways it seeks, even with apps that do this but they are also not there.
Somehow, this folder has been deleted from my device.
And now, what should I do?
Is there a generic folder that can be used to retrieve the IMEI?
Please ask your help because I am very frustrated with this.
newtonBR said:
Hello all!
This is my first post, and now I need your help.
I have a Galaxy SIII, but he is having trouble functioning as a phone. Says I'm unsigned.
Finding enough on the internet, I discovered that the problem is the IMEI.
The IMEI appears on the phone's settings is not the same as that described in the label behind the cell.
Searching further, I saw that it would be necessary to backup the EFS folder, but I can not find this folder, already tried all the ways it seeks, even with apps that do this but they are also not there.
Somehow, this folder has been deleted from my device.
And now, what should I do?
Is there a generic folder that can be used to retrieve the IMEI?
Please ask your help because I am very frustrated with this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To late .
EFS folder is used to restore IMEI from a backup of your EFS .
Return phone to the seller or take to a service centre for repair .
Wrong IMEI can be stolen phone user flashing firmware or phone failure .
Try a factory reset first .
jje
JJEgan said:
To late .
EFS folder is used to restore IMEI from a backup of your EFS .
Return phone to the seller or take to a service centre for repair .
Wrong IMEI can be stolen phone user flashing firmware or phone failure .
Try a factory reset first .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried the factory reset, but it did not work.
Is not there any way to do this?
just restore the efs backup you've made. if you didn't, try restoring any nandroid backups, maybe they have efs included. if that doesn't work, try looking in the sdcard for some files that have "efs" in the name, some kernels back it up automatically. use adb to view the files (Google it). if that doesn't work, try flashing a stock rom and factory resetting from recovery.
and that is absolutely everything you can do.
Hello,
I want to backup my /efs folder. So i searched Google and all results lead me to EFS_Professional backup by lyriquidperfection.
I tried it and failed, searched more on Google but still lead me to EFS_Professional.
Then i started thinking, is backing up /efs folder as easy as just copying that folder to the cloud (e.g PC)?
So that's what i wanted to ask. Will, if i backup /efs folder, backup everything needed if my IMEI suddenly disappears?
Thank you for the time
(Maybe this easy though bypassed me cause i only saw advanced ways to back it up)
Make it easy for yourself & get/use kTool (search on here/Google Play). Keep a copy of the backup on your PC, and another copy on the external SD card in your phone if you have one. kTool also enables you to verify the backup (which I suggest you do immediately after you've made one) and to also restore EFS if your IMEI ever goes bye bye.
Edit - Do not touch your EFS folders/their contents (unless your IMEI is borked & you've tried everything else to fix it). Not even to copy them. n00bs playing with EFS folders has a funny habit of ending in tears.
Kaldsud said:
Hello,
I want to backup my /efs folder. So i searched Google and all results lead me to EFS_Professional backup by lyriquidperfection.
I tried it and failed, searched more on Google but still lead me to EFS_Professional.
Then i started thinking, is backing up /efs folder as easy as just copying that folder to the cloud (e.g PC)?
So that's what i wanted to ask. Will, if i backup /efs folder, backup everything needed if my IMEI suddenly disappears?
Thank you for the time
(Maybe this easy though bypassed me cause i only saw advanced ways to back it up)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look at your external SD you should have a folder there called EFS_BACKUP there you will find your efs backups in the form of a .tar compressed files, to resolve the loss of my IMEI number I selected an earlier version from my EFS_BACKUP copied it to my PC expanded then used it to replace my corrupt efs that was on the root of my phone, be sure to make a note of the permission of the corrupt efs before deleting, then simply reboot, the only app I needed was root explorer and change setting from read only to ready write, no need to edit any of the files, you're simply deleting your corrupt efs folder and replacing with a backed up copy, which will be done each time you flash a new rom and I managed to recover my phone.
MistahBungle said:
Make it easy for yourself & get/use kTool (search on here/Google Play). Keep a copy of the backup on your PC, and another copy on the external SD card in your phone if you have one. kTool also enables you to verify the backup (which I suggest you do immediately after you've made one) and to also restore EFS if your IMEI ever goes bye bye.
Edit - Do not touch your EFS folders/their contents (unless your IMEI is borked & you've tried everything else to fix it). Not even to copy them. n00bs playing with EFS folders has a funny habit of ending in tears.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used kTool from Google Play. And it says that it backup up everything successfully. After this backup, a 20mb large .img filed appeard named efs and also a tar.gz file named efs.
My question: do these files contain enough information to become my "original" efs folder, if anything inside it goes bye bye?
Thanks for help.
Um, yes.
If it didn't, it would defeat the purpose of using the app in the first place.
Hey Guys
My i9300 was running stock rom and i decided to flash the illusion rom. but i downloaded and flashed the wrong file. so now my imei number is lost and i get no signal.
I have backup of IMEI from the software EFS pro but it does not restore. the software shows all ok but the IMEI on phone is still unknown.
Also there is a file on my sd card with the backup of efs. maybe a rom previously flashed may have taken the backup. I can try and restore that.
Please help me how to do so. its a tar.gz file
Please help me restore my IMEI number. i have no phone signal and dont want to go to service center because my phone is rooted and its voided warranty.
also i had a nandroid backup i restored it and all my data has been restored but not the IMEI
thanks in advance.
Can't help you to get your IMEI back, but to use https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.triangleaway , use Odin (or mobileOdin) or unroot it you don't need a IMEI.
Tar files are flashed via Odin .
jje
Actually this may be simpler than expected.
tar.gz can be flashed from odin since now it has an /efs field. That alone may be enough. But please do another backup before trying anything. Really, just copying all the files over to somewhere safe is enough.
But Tar.gz is a compressed file (like zip). Have you tried to check what's inside that tar.gz? I'd decompress it to somewhere and compare it to what's inside your /efs partition on your phone. If it seems the same, i'd do a new /efs backup and try replacing the contents of the /efs with the uncompressed backup.
You may need to do this through adb on recovery mode - once, brain went full retard and wiped my /efs partition by not thinking about what i was doing, phone instantly rebooted on the spot to never normally boot again until fixed (had an awesome weekend trying to figure how to fix it , posted somewhere around here how i did it). Doing it from recovery is just to avoid that. Also, all this is assuming some file on your /efs is just corrupted and your backup is in good shape.
If you're still feeling unsure you can (and should) search for related stuff around here in xda. There is PLENTY of info about lost/corrupted /efs around, happens quite often.
Hey guys,
Thank you very much for your replies
It's quite shocking but an official firmware flash via odin solved the problem.
I guess my imei was just corrupted.
Thanks
Hey guys, I had the same problem, but now I know what went wrong, thanks!