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Hi all,
I own a galaxy s2. I'm facing a issue which i've been trying to fix for the past couple of weeks. I tried many threads in this forum, but nothing seems to solve the issue.
This is the issue,
I used to flash custom roms on my device. I used many custom roms including cm9 RC1 and when samsung released the lastest 4.0.4 update i just wanted to chek it out. so I downloaded the generic russian (SER) firmware and flashed it using odin.
After flashing it I was stuck @ boot. i was stuck there for more than 10 mins, so I ended up removing the battery. then I went to samsung recovery(Volume Up+Power+Home) and cleared the cache and user data and rebooted the phone it worked fine. At this time I didn't bother to check whether my IMEI was there but everything worked fine.
After couple of days(without rebooting the device in that time) I droped the phone. battery came off, when I turned on the device again, prohibited mark like thing came in the status bar and there was no service, when I checked the IMEI it was not there.
At this moment I was not sure whether the drop caused the issue or the flashing caused it. I later realized IMEI issue comes because of EFS but sadly I didnt back it up. After diggin for few days I found when flashing one of the custom roms, efs was backed up automatically, I tried restoring it, but it didnt help (Maybe the backup was corrupted )
I followed various threads in this forum but nothing helped me.
Please help me get the IMEI back, I really miss my device :crying:
Shasinda said:
Hi all,
I own a galaxy s2. I'm facing a issue which i've been trying to fix for the past couple of weeks. I tried many threads in this forum, but nothing seems to solve the issue.
This is the issue,
I used to flash custom roms on my device. I used many custom roms including cm9 RC1 and when samsung released the lastest 4.0.4 update i just wanted to chek it out. so I downloaded the generic russian (SER) firmware and flashed it using odin.
After flashing it I was stuck @ boot. i was stuck there for more than 10 mins, so I ended up removing the battery. then I went to samsung recovery(Volume Up+Power+Home) and cleared the cache and user data and rebooted the phone it worked fine. At this time I didn't bother to check whether my IMEI was there but everything worked fine.
After couple of days(without rebooting the device in that time) I droped the phone. battery came off, when I turned on the device again, prohibited mark like thing came in the status bar and there was no service, when I checked the IMEI it was not there.
At this moment I was not sure whether the drop caused the issue or the flashing caused it. I later realized IMEI issue comes because of EFS but sadly I didnt back it up. After diggin for few days I found when flashing one of the custom roms, efs was backed up automatically, I tried restoring it, but it didnt help (Maybe the backup was corrupted )
I followed various threads in this forum but nothing helped me.
Please help me get the IMEI back, I really miss my device :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi there
you said that you have the backup of your EFS Folder, what you need to do is follow the steps in this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1264021
its recover your imei in nine steps
my imei was lost as well and i recovered my imei following those stesp, its a great guide if you already have the backup of your EFS Folder
cheers
fr3nlysmil3 said:
hi there
you said that you have the backup of your EFS Folder, what you need to do is follow the steps in this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1264021
its recover your imei in nine steps
my imei was lost as well and i recovered my imei following those stesp, its a great guide if you already have the backup of your EFS Folder
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this also, but it didnt solve my issue :crying:
...
I once had a similar problem.
My imei went lost because of a rom upgrade and I DIDN'T have a backup..
I solved the problem by flashing a stock rom (any samsung stock rom will do) with ODIN.
I am not sure what happened, but it looked like that the nv_data folder was "re-generated" and I got my IMEI back.
Now I have a copy of the folder in every storage media around my house
MistahBungle said:
If you have a backup, then you should be able to recover it. There are tons of threads on here with instructions on how to restore an EFS backup. Search (if you want it fixed, that is. If you don't want it fixed, keep posting to this thread in the hope someone spoonfeeds you. Might be waiting a while tho).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried almost every thread here in xda about restoring, tried GSII_repair, kTool to restore it but none of them recovered the IMEI. I did not made a backup of efs but when I installed the Hydra H2O ICS Rom for GS2 it made the backup i guess, because a file called "efs-backup.tar.gz" was in a folder called .hydra inside the sd card.
does the drop of the device has anything to do with the erased IMEI?
robdpi said:
I once had a similar problem.
My imei went lost because of a rom upgrade and I DIDN'T have a backup..
I solved the problem by flashing a stock rom (any samsung stock rom will do) with ODIN.
I am not sure what happened, but it looked like that the nv_data folder was "re-generated" and I got my IMEI back.
Now I have a copy of the folder in every storage media around my house
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have installed stock roms from samsung using Odin, but then I discovered that efs folder get unmounted everytime I install the stock rom, phone just starts after flashing without android setup wizard, also when I long press power button, menu wont appear, device just shut down, after I restore the efs from the backup i have, and mount the efs using the CWM recovery would bring back the power button long press menu. everything else working except for Mobile Networks. and imei/baseband shows unknown
Drop Caused this problem
Hi all,
Thank you for replying on this thread and helped me figured out my problem, I have contacted Odia and he thinks that dropping the phone damaged the baseband chip inside the main board, not a flashing of the roms or efs folder issue. i have only 2 options either replace the whole board paying LKR 35,000 (New s2 costs only LKR 65,000) or use it as a MP3 player :crying:
Initial state(stock 4.0.4. ROM):
Device was working properly;
Could call, could use 3G internet;
Everything was good.
After CWM zip installing FoxHound ROM:
Simptoms:
Could not call; for every GSM/3G interogation to telecom operator I get: "Not registered on network";
In my pursuite to fix this, I don't know how, now my device ended in Factory Mode(a yellow box with some debug information appears on my screen and the power button now instantly shutsdown the device and no lock screen available).
The IMEI returned by *#06# is different by the one on the back of the device. It's not a generic one "000...", it almost looks like the original, both seem to be valid after some search, but this is odd. I don't know if it was different before installing FoxHound ... never cared.
What I've tried to do:
I've actually feasted on half of internet for a solution to my problems;
I've tried to flash with Odin tons of stock firmwares, modems, CSCs, including well known ones, my operator ones(Cosmote), my country ones(Romania) -> no luck;
I've tried to restore previous nandroid backups -> no luck;
I've tried to CWM zip install custom ROMs -> no luck;
I've tried everytime to wipe cache, factory reset, delete dalvik, fix permissions, reset battery stats -> no luck;
I've tried all the solutions for the "Factory Mode On" problem, including "echo -n ON > /efs/imei/keystr; chown 1001:1001 /efs/imei/keystr" -> no luck;
I don't have an /efs/ backup before installing FoxHound.
Used GalaxSim, everything was green, no unlock needed.
My device is still in the same condition. No one has an answer. Do you have a solution?
Have you tried flashing with mobile odin?
How did you do a nandroid? With s3 toolkit?
Sometimes when it doesn't work I have to re install the samsung drivers and then try again on full charge.
Something else I noticed with the toolkit was that if I choose a different firmware from the options I done the nandroid with it doesn't work.
Also you may have to flash the insecure image again.
Sorry all could think of.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Samsungnooby said:
1.Have you tried flashing with mobile odin?
2. How did you do a nandroid? With s3 toolkit?
3. Sometimes when it doesn't work I have to re install the samsung drivers and then try again on full charge.
Something else I noticed with the toolkit was that if I choose a different firmware from the options I done the nandroid with it doesn't work.
4. Also you may have to flash the insecure image again.
5. Sorry all could think of.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I haven't tried with mobile odin. This is the first time I've heard about it. I only used desktop odin for flashing.
2. I did a nandroid backup of the stock version of my device, the one which was functional, but without s3 toolkit(also the 1st time I hear about it). My curiosity is why it still wasn't unable to function after I've restored the functional nandroid.
3. I'll try this, thanks.
4. Never heard of insecure image. I'll search for it. Thanks.
5. Thank you very much for your reply. I'll keep you up to date if I'll manage to repair it.
goliathj said:
1. I haven't tried with mobile odin. This is the first time I've heard about it. I only used desktop odin for flashing.
2. I did a nandroid backup of the stock version of my device, the one which was functional, but without s3 toolkit(also the 1st time I hear about it). My curiosity is why it still wasn't unable to function after I've restored the functional nandroid.
3. I'll try this, thanks.
4. Never heard of insecure image. I'll search for it. Thanks.
5. Thank you very much for your reply. I'll keep you up to date if I'll manage to repair it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get yourself the galaxy s3 toolkit, free from here or you can make a donation.
I like how you numbered my quote
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Sad ...
Your EFS data is fu**d and your modem refuses it (and refuses to let you on the network). As far as I know running with an invalid IMEI is illegal in every single country, and in most can land you in actual jail. That being said - search the post about ariza (who had the original modem patch post, but decided to go on a different way) or download this - http://db.tt/PDH8Bc64 !
IMEI broken restore your backed up EFS folder .
jje
Samsungnooby said:
Get yourself the galaxy s3 toolkit, free from here or you can make a donation.
I like how you numbered my quote
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've download it. Great! Also numbering makes you follow up easier
xclub_101 said:
Your EFS data is fu**d and your modem refuses it (and refuses to let you on the network). As far as I know running with an invalid IMEI is illegal in every single country, and in most can land you in actual jail. That being said - search the post about ariza (who had the original modem patch post, but decided to go on a different way) or download this - !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know why my EFS ended ****ed up, and yes, it's illegal. AFAIK, if it's a soft problem, it can be fixed. Isn't the IMEI code embedded into the hardware? Why can't I just wipe everything, from /, and flash a stock ROM? The EFS should be fixed, right?
JJEgan said:
IMEI broken restore your backed up EFS folder .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is important for me, please follow:
I have a nandroid backup of my working stock ROM. Does this backup contain my working EFS? Note that I've restored it, and I still get the network error.
I have a nandroid backup of my working stock ROM. Does this backup contain my working EFS? Note that I've restored it, and I still get the network error.
NO
No EFS backup in a nandroid .
Rule one is backup your EFS folder .
If you have a custom rom or kernel that may have auto backed up your EFS to a file efs xxxx.tar .gfz
No EFS then before a service centre try .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1308546
jje
The nandroid ...
goliathj said:
I don't know why my EFS ended ****ed up, and yes, it's illegal. AFAIK, if it's a soft problem, it can be fixed. Isn't the IMEI code embedded into the hardware? Why can't I just wipe everything, from /, and flash a stock ROM? The EFS should be fixed, right?
This is important for me, please follow:
I have a nandroid backup of my working stock ROM. Does this backup contain my working EFS? Note that I've restored it, and I still get the network error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMEI is no longer so much in "hardware" - it is stored in a protected way in nv_data.bin, which is located in the EFS partition and under normal circumstances is NEVER written by a ROM. Unfortunately the normal nandroid backup does not contain an image of the EFS partition, but some of the better ROMs create a backup (sometimes on the external SD card, sometimes not) - look after something called efsbackup.tar.gz or efsdev-mmcblk0p3.img.gz !
Also the IMEI and serial number from under the battery can (and should) be placed back in a form of edited nv_data.bin - but most likely you will never be able to run that with any of the stock modems and you will still need the patched one that I linked somewhere above.
JJEgan said:
I have a nandroid backup of my working stock ROM. Does this backup contain my working EFS? Note that I've restored it, and I still get the network error.
NO
No EFS backup in a nandroid .
Rule one is backup your EFS folder .
If you have a custom rom or kernel that may have auto backed up your EFS to a file efs xxxx.tar .gfz
No EFS then before a service centre try .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1308546
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Leason learned. Will backup EFS from now on.
xclub_101 said:
IMEI is no longer so much in "hardware" - it is stored in a protected way in nv_data.bin, which is located in the EFS partition and under normal circumstances is NEVER written by a ROM. Unfortunately the normal nandroid backup does not contain an image of the EFS partition, but some of the better ROMs create a backup (sometimes on the external SD card, sometimes not) - look after something called efsbackup.tar.gz or efsdev-mmcblk0p3.img.gz !
Also the IMEI and serial number from under the battery can (and should) be placed back in a form of edited nv_data.bin - but most likely you will never be able to run that with any of the stock modems and you will still need the patched one that I linked somewhere above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. Good to know.
Finally, my device works. I've contacted a private service.
The Factory Mode problem, which was always on, was fixed by flashing a stock 4.0.4 ROM.
The "Not registered on network" problem had various reasons:
My IMEI had been changed so my modem wasn't accepting any calls. He had rewritten the original IMEI(the one from the back) with "the box".
For unknown reasons for me, 4.1.0+ has some built-in protections and will brick my device everytime I flash it. So, for the moment I'm sticking with 4.0.4.
Some people experienced this problem after updating, so it has something to do with the built-in protections(but the question is "protection against what?"). There's something smelly about our IMEI, we, the ones having this issue. I've bought this device over ebay.co.uk and it arrived unsealed(the merchant told this because he had to check the phone) but with root installed and had 1 count of custom binary flashed, in the download mode screen. This is odd. From now on, I'll ask for IMEI.
I thank everyone for helping me. Best regards!
Stuck on EDGE and in Factory Mode
I have literally over 16hrs trying to get my I747 back working correctly. It all stared when I tried the "Hellfire" rom. I have had my phone rooted running custom roms for over 6 months with no problems. After flashing the "Hellfire" rom I noticed that I was stuck on "EDGE" network, unable to make or receive phone calls or text. After further inspection, I noticed I had "0" for an IMEI#. So I injected my IMEI back on the phone... Still the same problem. I reverted back to stock ROM, Kernel, and Modem... Same problem stuck on "EDGE" network. Several hours later of no stop research, I noticed that my "ERI version Not available". After alot more research I noticed that my "efs" folder was missing the ".nv_data" file. So I backed up the "efs" folder, saved it to my extSD, and then deleted the "efs" folder for the root of the phone. Now I'm in "Factory Mode" even after replacing my backed up "efs" folder with the new one that was created at the root of my Internal sd.
I need help... If anyone has any ideas...:crying:
You might try what they talk about in this thread, don't know if it applies to your situation or not...
I can't post off site URL's, so google "Not registered on network" + stuck in Factory Mode ON - no solution works
It's the thread on androidpit dot com
Hi, basically i tried to update my s3 to a custom jelly bean software and during the process, i got no signal. I then got my friend to look at it and then he rolled it back to 4.0.4 but now there is no sim in the phone and it says no service? Also, there is no imei number or bluetooth number and the phone doesnt connect to wifi? What should I do?
Reboot into recovery, do a factory reset and see if it works then. If not, try reflashing a stock ICS ROM.
nope didnt work
try to flash stock ROM and kernel with ODIN....
BAD NEWS
labeeqhussain said:
Hi, basically i tried to update my s3 to a custom jelly bean software and during the process, i got no signal. I then got my friend to look at it and then he rolled it back to 4.0.4 but now there is no sim in the phone and it says no service? Also, there is no imei number or bluetooth number and the phone doesnt connect to wifi? What should I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You wiped the EFS folder... that's not good, not even close
If your phone is not the intl version, and you got no signal after flashing the ROM, you most likely reverted the soft unlock (which involves altering files in this folder, which is in the root of Android on most sammy devices) - that's why you didn't get a signal (or maybe you just didnt have the right modem flashed with the rom you downloaded, but this is unlikely)
And when your friend rolled back he wiped the EFS folder by accident, or tried to unlock your phone and screwed up without having backed it up first
My friend, i do not know if these folders have files specific to each device, if not, just look for a backup on the forums and paste it in the root folder of the device, otherwise, you are beyond ****ed up, you may have bricked your s3 (or maybe your friend did)
Please write back if developments occur
EDIT: The only solution is to take it to a service center and *hope* they repair it, as modifying the IMEI is likely ilegal (and talking about it is against the rules of XDA) - The EFS folder is DEVICE SPECIFIC, if you didnt make a backup you basically bricked your phone... i'm sorry my friend, i hope the SC can get it done for you
My sgs3 suddenly went into a coma last night and I tried various ways trying to revive it. But now I have this info box thing floating on my home screen (only if I do not get into an app). Anyone knows what this is?
Also, when I wanted to reflash the stock rom on the phone, I performed a clear cache and clear data/factory reset on the developer mode first (as advised). I remember last time that this should make the phone reboot to a SAMSUNG screen and no further... but this time it still boots into the usual phone mode (data cleaned, but you still have a firmware running). Any ideas on this?
Thanks a lot in advance for any help given...
Brief history on the phone
I will provide the history of the phone here...hope it is of some use...
- A month ago, upgraded to JB from ICS
- Immediately after upgrade, serial number went to 00000000000 and the phone was always showing "no service"
- However, IMEI was still intact
- Tried various ways and found this post/solution by Ariza and tried it
- It worked. S/N is still 00000000000 but the phone can be used as per normal
- Last night, out of nothing, when I checked the phone it kept saying no service. Rebooted, same thing.
- Checked the settings, baseband version became unknown (it used to say Ariza_ after the patch from Ariza)
- IMEI became unknown
- S/N shows some random strings like 1d3c4a8b9c8c
- It's basically dead.
- I have an efs backup in .tar.gz file but was unable to find an instruction on how to restore it
- So I used a root explorer and copy pasted by efs backup folder onto the phone's root folder, but nothing changed.
Thank you for your help! :crying:
You had an S3 with IMEI changed so that is why you had that S/N of 00000 and no service. Now you can try to go at service who can repaire IMEI and EFS. But you have little chances to repaire it. I think is HW problem, maybe with SIM slot.
I hope when you had restored the efs you unziped that tar file and you put only the content of the arhive in EFS folder.
So when you open the arhive what you have in it?
ZiDanRO said:
You had an S3 with IMEI changed so that is why you had that S/N of 00000 and no service. Now you can try to go at service who can repaire IMEI and EFS. But you have little chances to repaire it. I think is HW problem, maybe with SIM slot.
I hope when you had restored the efs you unziped that tar file and you put only the content of the arhive in EFS folder.
So when you open the arhive what you have in it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a way that I can verify if this is a HW problem?
Yes, I unzipped the .tar.gz file from my computer, then I get a folder 'efs'... so I just copied the entire folder and replace the one on the phone with the root explorer. Should be correct?
Mods, I might have posted this under the wrong section, my apology this time.
You never stated when was that efs folder backed up. Was it while you were on ics and your phone has your imei showing up correctly or after that?
If you've just done it after, your efs backup should be useless.
Have you tried just flashing your old ics stock version with Odin for a fresh start?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Premium App
kaynpayn said:
You never stated when was that efs folder backed up. Was it while you were on ics and your phone has your imei showing up correctly or after that?
If you've just done it after, your efs backup should be useless.
Have you tried just flashing your old ics stock version with Odin for a fresh start?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad. I backed it up after I applied the Ariza patch, the imei was still there but the s/n was already 0000000000. Is it still usable?
I tried flashing stock roms already but the screen still shows up as the one I attached above. I am curious as to how that screen appears. And after I flashed a new rom with Odin, it is supposed to bring you to the introduction page at first boot right? But now it just brings you to that screen right away.
Install CFRoot .
Backup data .
Boot to recovery mounts and storage format cache system data sd card and preload .
Phone is now clean .
Power off flash stock rom via Odin .
jje
Right, so I'm a total noob at stuff like roms, kernels and...stuff.
If you're here with the intention to help please read throughout, so here's my story:
Recently I bought an SGS3 I9300 and made a mistake to mess around with stuff and I installed the S4 Revolution ROM v7.0
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2311671
everything went smooth and it installed and everything, I used it for a couple of hours, but only then I realized that when I pull down the notification bar, I get the 'Emergency calls only'. Then I started looking for a solution on the XDA and internet, just to find out that after installing a custom ROM if you haven't backed up your EFS files, you get the null imei, or 0049 (which is my case). After a day and a half of searching, browsing and digging in the world wide web, I found really nothing. Then I remembered that the S4 Revolution ROM during installing asked me whether I want to back up my EFS folder, which I selected to back up. Then I headed to my SD card to find the folder/file, which I actually found(!), but it was saved as a .tar file, then I went and explored how to restore that. Turned out I could use ODIN to restore that EFS (correct if wrong), but as soon as I click start on ODIN, it crashes, I tried putting the EFS.tar both on the PDA and the CSC, same result. Then I tried opening the .tar file with WINZIP pro, but the .tar file appears empty... is it supposed to be like this? Then I tried various methods to restore my imei from the guides in which people are saying that they've helped.... Here, I'm going to put some of the things I tried doing.
1. the 9 step process in which I had to copy the efs to another place; delete the original; restart phone; delete, rename 2 of the files and run Terminal... I'm sure who knows stuff about imei, knows this process too...
2. some programs to restore imei
3. flashing stock rom
4. flashing kernel, then stock rom
5. wiping everything, flashing a rom, and again wiping
Since I live in Bosnia and Herzegovina I downloaded the BHTelecom ROM and Kernel i9300 xxemg4 which also failed.
Some other programs which need the mobile to be put in the port COMxx will not work due to I cannot put my phone to that port of unknown reasons, but for some reason ODIN sees my phone... The Samsung Kies restore/update thing also won't work because Kies doesn't recognize my S3 at all.
There's always the warranty on the phone but I REALLY would like to use that as THE last resort as the service is really far from me and I need my phone ASAP
If I'm doing something wrong, if there's something, ANYTHING I can do, please, please tell me.
Thanks in advance!
Please post in the EFS/IMEI thread this is a question asked and asked .
What modem are you using? Try using the MG4 version and see if that fixes your problem.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium