S5 stuck in Factory Mode, can't exit to usermode - T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 5

My friend's S5 displays this weird message when turning wifi on. After the message, it disables wifi or randomly restarts on its own! Can anyone please help?

mrbrody21 said:
My friend's S5 displays this weird message when turning wifi on. After the message, it disables wifi or randomly restarts on its own! Can anyone please help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did he buy it legitimately?

aooga said:
Did he buy it legitimately?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is Craigslist legitimate or do you mean from T-mobile? EFS looks like a fairly common problem with Samsung phones, but I see threads for older ones mostly (S2, S3, S4, note). We cant get the phone to exit the factory mode, but it's working with the t-mobile sim card. The message displays only when we turn wifi on...

mrbrody21 said:
Is Craigslist legitimate or do you mean from T-mobile? EFS looks like a fairly common problem with Samsung phones, but I see threads for older ones mostly (S2, S3, S4, note). We cant get the phone to exit the factory mode, but it's working with the t-mobile sim card. The message displays only when we turn wifi on...
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Click to collapse
It depends. I have a feeling something was messed up on it and the seller didn't bother to disclose. Try this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My_g28MrlwU

aooga said:
It depends. I have a feeling something was messed up on it and the seller didn't bother to disclose. Try this.
Thanks for sharing that. It was promising, but I think the problem with this phone is the EFS partition isn't mounting. Following that youtube guide, we rooted the phone, installed ES file explorer, granted root, but the EFS folder is empty. Searching EFS partition mounting problems but not much luck so far.
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Click to collapse

mrbrody21 said:
Thanks for sharing that. It was promising, but I think the problem with this phone is the EFS partition isn't mounting. Following that youtube guide, we rooted the phone, installed ES file explorer, granted root, but the EFS folder is empty. Searching EFS partition mounting problems but not much luck so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it under warranty? Call samsung or tmobile and ask them to fix it. Samsung should for sure, but i'm not 100% sure about tmobile since you didn't actually buy it from them.

Too many variables. File corruption, modified system configuration files, bad NV write.. I can think of a dozen possible causes. Try to narrow the possibilities down e.g. backup his phone, then do a factory reset, followed by flashing a full stock firmware image that matches the baseband. At that point you should have something nearly identical to factory fresh condition and concurrently eliminate most of the possible causes.
Now check to see if the error message still occurs and whether the EFS partition still looks odd. If it does, then that is the likely cause and you need to restore or repair the EFS FS in that case.
.

Related

Accidentally flashed ODIN WITH PHONE EFS CHECKED!!!!HELP

Moved to Q-A
GrainOsand said:
I accidentally flashed odin with phone efs clear checked....now I have no 3G and a little triangle in the nitification bar.....Can anyone help? ADRYN?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll go ahead and get a couple things out of the way that other people will probably tell you about with varying levels of aggravation (don't shoot the messenger, I couldn't care less):
This is a question. It goes in Q & A. The development forum is for development.
Odin is a dangerous tool, and you have to be careful with it.
If your MEID number is still valid in Settings -> About Phone -> Status -> MEID, then you are probably ok.
You may be able to *228, option 1. If that doesn't do it, try *22899.
If that doesn't work, activate an old phone on your account, then after a few minutes, reactivate your Samsung Fascinate. This will hopefully restore any of the EFS data that wasn't getting pushed by the *228 activation.
If your MEID in the Settings menu doesn't match the one printed on your phone under the battery, then the EFS data was corrupted and unable to rebuild after you cleared it. The only realistic option at that point is having it sent to Samsung.
thanks gizmo
question were u able to fix it i haven't done it i am always intrigued by stupid mistakes lol jk
BlackHoleSlam said:
question were u able to fix it i haven't done it i am always intrigued by stupid mistakes lol jk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its no big deal.
http://forum.androidcentral.com/ver...t-happens-when-you-use-phone-button-odin.html
gunnermike said:
its no big deal.
http://forum.androidcentral.com/ver...t-happens-when-you-use-phone-button-odin.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, he deleted the OP that made it a little clearer... He actually cleared the EFS.
The phone section in ODIN is just a specialized field for flashing a radio file (PDA is like an all purpose). At least, this is what I gather from other's experiences. (Fully admitting that I have a bad memory).
But the "Phone EFS Clear" checkmark is for clearing the efs partition so that it will rebuild the files that contain your MEID number. It also clears the information that is pushed to your phone during activation.
Given that everything was set up properly, he should be ok after activating again... but that's not always the case. If you clear the EFS data and the files that repopulate the data with your MEID are corrupted, then there is no way to regenerate that info without shipping your phone to Samsung.
Given that no one much talks about the EFS partition on the Fascinate, I've only learned this info from the other Galaxy S variants, where backing up the EFS is a major first step before changing anything.
There is a small possibility that these principles don't apply to the SF, but I'm thinking that until someone proves otherwise, it's better safe then sorry.
OP el-solve-ed his problem. Thread closed.

Flashing rom seems to have killed my IMEI *fixed*

I have just updated from Leo's 2.6 to 2.7.1 and when it booted up I noticed I had no signal at all so I rebooted with no difference. I then booted into CWM and flashed Cognition, which had the same issue when it booted. So I restored an old CWM MIUI backup with no difference.
I have removed and reinserted the sim card and tried my wife's too with no difference.
Any suggestions or is this phone a write-off needing a hardware repair? Is it possible the flashing of a rom can kill the radio?
Flash a modem
Enter networks APN settings manually
Check your IMEI is correct if not restore your backed up EFS folder .
jje
Just checked and the is no IMEI, wifi Mac or Bluetooth address. How can this have happened from a flashed rom.
I don't recall backing up my efs. Would anything have done this automatically?
Pagnell said:
Just checked and the is no IMEI, wifi Mac or Bluetooth address. How can this have happened from a flashed rom.
I don't recall backing up my efs. Would anything have done this automatically?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few custom roms have started to backup EFS in the install script .
Flashing a rom is a well known breaker of EFS/IMEI .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068193
jje
maybe of some help?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1261948
Thanks that helped and I managed to solve the issue, although where previously the /efs folder was always read only, it's now the opposite.
Also, can someone tell me if, when first booted, the wifi and bluetooth have 'unavailable' next to their address in the status screen on a reboot until first used? Mine do now but I can't recall if they did before. However, as soon as they're used the wifi mac address appears for example.
Pagnell said:
Thanks that helped and I managed to solve the issue, although where previously the /efs folder was always read only, it's now the opposite.
Also, can someone tell me if, when first booted, the wifi and bluetooth have 'unavailable' next to their address in the status screen on a reboot until first used? Mine do now but I can't recall if they did before. However, as soon as they're used the wifi mac address appears for example.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by status screen? ill have a look on mine for you.
EDIT: I see what you mean now and have checked. Yes mine are unavaliable at first boot before connecting.
Superb, cheers mate. Looks like my phone is fully functioning again. Scary 4-5 hours that was.
Just need to find out the default permissions for everything in the /efs folder now and set it back to what they should be.
Could someone please list the permissions of the files and folders in their /efs folder please? I just want to make sure mine are back as they should be should any rogue app try to mess around with the contents.
Cheers in advance.
Pagnell said:
Could someone please list the permissions of the files and folders in their /efs folder please? I just want to make sure mine are back as they should be should any rogue app try to mess around with the contents.
Cheers in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a few differences depending on files and there is a fair few files.
Ill get some screenshots up shorty for you if nobody beats me to it
Ive got to get a little work done first, shhh! ive been on here all morning lol
Cheers.
right, here we go....
I think i got them all but if ive missed anything let me know
last 2 pics in next post.
and the last 2.
Brilliant, thanks.
One last question, do you have the permissions of the /efs folder itself if possible? Sorry to be a pain.
Pagnell said:
One last question, do you have the permissions of the /efs folder itself if possible? Sorry to be a pain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no problem mate its
rwxrwx--x
Again, thanks.

[Q] GT-I9300 Missing IMEI and EFS

Hi guys,
I have searched high and low for this issue. I have found a lot of forums on how to fix the problem but none of them pertain to my circumstances. I installed Omega ICS ROM v 13.1 a week or two ago. I then decided to install Omega JB v18. I then upgraded to Omega JB v21 as well. In preparation for the official Samsung JB ROM, I went back to ICS. I started by downgrading to Omega v13.1 ICS followed by stock Samsung ICS ROM I9300XXALE8. A couple of days after doing this, all of a sudden, whilst on a call, I lost signal and then the stop sign icon appeared in the top toolbar. I have no radio, no wifi, no bluetooth and no lock screen & power menu. After all of the reading I have done, I have managed to discover that my EFS has disappeared. I have rooted the phone and installed ES File explorer and have looked inside the EFS folder only to find that it is blank. I did have a Nandbackup but managed to delete it in my attempts to recover my phone (yes I know im stupid but I didnt realise the significance of the backup until I realised what was missing!!). So, no EFS backup. Seemingly nothing in the EFS folder on the phones root. Any help would be greatly appreciated. One thing I did notice, which I am sure is significant in some way, is that when I put Omega JB on it, my sdcard mounted as "sdcard0" or something along those lines. Again, because I am fairly new to the custom ROM world, I didnt realise the significance of this until I had down graded back to ICS.
Please help!!!!
Thanks again.
EFS
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1308546
No fix then its a paid for repair .
jje
Have you tried to flash back to stock
JJEgan said:
EFS
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1308546
No fix then its a paid for repair .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this description:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1264021
should be tried before repair as well...
marcedli said:
this description:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1264021
should be tried before repair as well...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks guys...I have tried this one. Didnt work. Just wondering if anyone knows how or if I might be able to restore from sdcard0, if it still exists. I assume not, but I guess it might be something. Does anyone know why Omega JB did that in the first place ?
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Thanks ✟
Moving to Q&A
rosshwalker said:
Thanks guys...I have tried this one. Didnt work. Just wondering if anyone knows how or if I might be able to restore from sdcard0, if it still exists. I assume not, but I guess it might be something. Does anyone know why Omega JB did that in the first place ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you do not have backup of efs folder. You have no chance of getting imei back.
You can go to service centre for rebuilding efs folder.
rosshwalker said:
Thanks guys...I have tried this one. Didnt work. Just wondering if anyone knows how or if I might be able to restore from sdcard0, if it still exists. I assume not, but I guess it might be something. Does anyone know why Omega JB did that in the first place ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing any roms can destroy the EFS thats why its always rule one to backup EFS folder . Multiple flashing up down up down increases the risk .
Did not Omega backup your EFS .
You say
have no radio, no wifi, no bluetooth and no lock screen & power menu
Thats not the signs of IMEI corruption as it plays no part in power menu or lockscreen .
jje
JJEgan said:
Flashing any roms can destroy the EFS thats why its always rule one to backup EFS folder . Multiple flashing up down up down increases the risk .
Did not Omega backup your EFS .
You say
have no radio, no wifi, no bluetooth and no lock screen & power menu
Thats not the signs of IMEI corruption as it plays no part in power menu or lockscreen .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that S3 has some problem in securing it's EFS folder.
I flashed my S2 with hundred's of roms and never faced this issue.
Secondly in my experience lock screen and power menu is efs folder issue.
muhammad.ali123 said:
I think that S3 has some problem in securing it's EFS folder.
I flashed my S2 with hundred's of roms and never faced this issue.
Secondly in my experience lock screen and power menu is efs folder issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read all the SGS2 and one help IMEI /EFS posts i suggest .
lock screen and power menu is efs folder issue >>> If it was a continual factor in the posts regarding EFS/IMEI then i would have agreed .
jje
A reminder about 2 things:
1) swapping/changing/etc IMEI's is illegal
2) giving someone else your EFS folder wont work, your phone will just default to the generic IMEI which is normally no better.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...GwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5oZWxyb3ouR1NJSV9SZXBhaXIiXQ..
try this out mate might b it'll help yu...cuz once i rescue cuz of diz app,,,
I wouldn't do that : in gs3 efs is not in the same block as gs2. It'll be worse than before.
Send me your efs partition backup using efs backup pro. I'll tell you if something can be done or not to restore your data.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
I had the same issue with my SGS1, the solution was flashing a stock rom with odin.
spocky12 said:
I wouldn't do that : in gs3 efs is not in the same block as gs2. It'll be worse than before.
Send me your efs partition backup using efs backup pro. I'll tell you if something can be done or not to restore your data.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey. This is one of the things I had read about and tried and it came back with nothing. I don't recall the error message but I think it said it couldn't find the partition or folder or something. I am certain that it has to do with Omega Jb and the fact that it installed and mounted sdcard as sdcard0 and somehow, when going back to omega ics, this has occurred. Another thing I have just now remembered is that I had also setup a swap partition on my ext sdcard and had it mounted. This was all working fine for a few days though so I don't see how that caused it. Was really odd. Anyways, thanks for all the help, but I am going to pay for it to be repaired.
veyka said:
A reminder about 2 things:
1) swapping/changing/etc IMEI's is illegal
2) giving someone else your EFS folder wont work, your phone will just default to the generic IMEI which is normally no better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmmm what if he has the IMEI number written somewhere? (phones box or license purchase note), can't he copy the EFS folder from someone else and just edit the IMEI??? >.>
Cruzaders said:
hmmmm what if he has the IMEI number written somewhere? (phones box or license purchase note), can't he copy the EFS folder from someone else and just edit the IMEI??? >.>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats a working solution, he just need someone who shares his efs....
Kies
Have you tried the Kies Restore????? i't worked for me!
marcedli said:
thats a working solution, he just need someone who shares his efs....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if it is so easy to edit, it won't have an "e" in the name, would it?
Imei NULL/NULL - EFS Folder Lost.
Hi, I have a i9300 which lost efs folder, already tried restoring it through the box octopus, but at the time of writing the imei, it reports the error. (Write imei fail). Anyone have any idea what I can do?

[Q] IMEI Number ????

So this morning I woke up and i couldn't get on my carrier network.. Which made me wonder wtf was going on. So I tried to go into settings to connect, but it wouldn't let me. I then realized my IMEI number was "unknown" which made my face one huge questionmark. I've tried using this guide; http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1264021
But I can't find my folder? BUT!!! I found a EFS backup on my internal sd card.. which is good. I just don't know how to use it now?
I have CM 10 Nightly built from about the 15th of December (2012) and Siyah kernel... I think..
The folder i'm talking about is a zip named efsbackup.tar.gz
Can anyone help me? I tried going back to an old backup I had from october, but it didnt work either..
Try using an app like kTool (there are others) to restore the EFS backup (but obviously you only want to try this if it's definitely borked). There's a thread devoted to it on here (and you can get it from Google Play) which should have instructions on how to restore with it (never had to restore one myself).
The backup would have come from Siyah, which automatically makes an EFS backup. If you manage to fix it, thank Gokhan
MistahBungle said:
Try using an app like kTool (there are others) to restore the EFS backup (but obviously you only want to try this if it's definitely borked). There's a thread devoted to it on here (and you can get it from Google Play) which should have instructions on how to restore with it (never had to restore one myself).
The backup would have come from Siyah, which automatically makes an EFS backup. If you manage to fix it, thank Gokhan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded the app just before I saw your comment.. and it all looks confusing, but I tried clicking the "Restore EFS from backup (DANGEROUS" and it says I don't have the files.. Is there a way I can browse into my internal SD card, choose the file and then restore it?
try root explorer
gastonw said:
try root explorer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That app costs like 5 bucks
5 buck to be available to make calls again.........and you got a wonderful app for life
anyway, you've got some root explorers for free in play store, not as good tho.
Gaston gets a commission on every sale (Root Explorer is the shizz tho).
MistahBungle said:
Gaston gets a commission on every sale (Root Explorer is the shizz tho).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see.. But do you have any clue of what I can do?
MistahBungle said:
Gaston gets a commission on every sale (Root Explorer is the shizz tho).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh man, don't go whistle blowing now
I did say "There's a thread devoted to it on here..." (kTool). I would have thought that would be a pretty big hint to read that thread from start to finish if necessary (it's not a big thread; 23 pages. Can flick through it in no time).
And as I've never had to restore EFS myself, I only know what I've read in threads on here (same as you) so can't offer you first-hand experience. I figure the answer will be in one of the threads devoted to restoring EFS (and there are heaps of them on here), up to you to find it.
Reading time:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1264021
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2073082&highlight=imei
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1596842&highlight=imei
BTW: you original IMEI should be below your battery.
MistahBungle said:
I did say "There's a thread devoted to it on here..." (kTool). I would have thought that would be a pretty big hint to read that thread from start to finish if necessary (it's not a big thread; 23 pages. Can flick through it in no time).
And as I've never had to restore EFS myself, I only know what I've read in threads on here (same as you) so can't offer you first-hand experience. I figure the answer will be in one of the threads devoted to restoring EFS (and there are heaps of them on here), up to you to find it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not a good combination when im tired and I really want to fix my phone.. But I see lots of issues.. The only thing is, I didn't have a EFS file when I looked ( I hooked my computer up, but i dont have an .etc map?) so.. I was confused, but then I saw the backups and immediately backed them up AGAIN... Hmm. And I can't factory reset, can I?
Rijna said:
Hmm. And I can't factory reset, can I?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now you don't wanna do that.
I'm tired too but i'm gonna give you a hand. Go to the dialer and dial *#06#. Let me know what's your showing IMEI number.
MistahBungle said:
I did say "There's a thread devoted to it on here..." (kTool). I would have thought that would be a pretty big hint to read that thread from start to finish if necessary (it's not a big thread; 23 pages. Can flick through it in no time).
And as I've never had to restore EFS myself, I only know what I've read in threads on here (same as you) so can't offer you first-hand experience. I figure the answer will be in one of the threads devoted to restoring EFS (and there are heaps of them on here), up to you to find it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gastonw said:
Now you don't wanna do that.
I'm tired too but i'm gonna give you a hand. Go to the dialer and dial *#06#. Let me know what's your showing IMEI number.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I've given this a few gos on myself, and I've tried several apps claiming to be able to fix this, which made a EFS folder or file, and then it restored the exact folder again.. But this is all I got. I got a IMEI number, but it's a fake one.. or standard one, either way, it is not mine and not acceptable to any carrier. When I dial that it says "Not registred on network"
Rijna said:
Well I've given this a few gos on myself, and I've tried several apps claiming to be able to fix this, which made a EFS folder or file, and then it restored the exact folder again.. But this is all I got. I got a IMEI number, but it's a fake one.. or standard one, either way, it is not mine and not acceptable to any carrier. When I dial that it says "Not registred on network"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, you've got a generic IMEI. Did you look under the battery? there's your REAL IMEI.
Still, dial *#06# and tell me what number pops up.
In that case, leave it till you're not tired. Last thing you want to do is do something silly & bork your phone. It can wait.
Rijna said:
Its not a good combination when im tired and I really want to fix my phone.. But I see lots of issues.. The only thing is, I didn't have a EFS file when I looked ( I hooked my computer up, but i dont have an .etc map?) so.. I was confused, but then I saw the backups and immediately backed them up AGAIN... Hmm. And I can't factory reset, can I?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gastonw said:
yeah, you've got a generic IMEI. Did you look under the battery? there's your REAL IMEI.
Still, dial *#06# and tell me what number pops up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah.. I did so, and it's not even close. And when I dial it still says "Not registered on network"
downloaded any root explorer app yet? hc ktool?
you are gonna need 'em.
gastonw said:
downloaded any root explorer app yet? hc ktool?
you are gonna need 'em.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded following;
ES File Explorer
GSII_Repair
HC-kTool
BusyBox
Terminal Emulator ( because I found this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19522938&postcount=10713 but I don't know how to work with it, but it seems to be this might be able to fix my problem..) but I don't know how to work with this.. or what file I should use in this.. extracted or unextracted.. etc. haha I checked the #1234# or whatever.. For what I can see everything looks legit - still.
Rijna said:
I downloaded following;
ES File Explorer
GSII_Repair
HC-kTool
BusyBox
Terminal Emulator ( because I found this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19522938&postcount=10713 but I don't know how to work with it, but it seems to be this might be able to fix my problem..) but I don't know how to work with this.. or what file I should use in this.. extracted or unextracted.. etc. haha I checked the #1234# or whatever.. For what I can see everything looks legit - still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you got a couple of guides to use those apps.
First of all get try locating the efs back up with root explorer app, so you can move it to a folder where hc ktool can restore it.
If that doesn't work get busybox running in the background and open gsii repair.
and if all the above don't work, your up for reading threads time.
from sii xda-ded

S3 stuck on the samsung icon - even after flashing rescue firmware

Hello.
My s3 recently stopped working and it ill only go up to the samsung logo and stay there. (this issue happened right after the battery was completley drained using the led...)
I've tried countless times to reinstall the rom i had, update it to a newer version of the same rom and even go back to an old version i still had on my SD card. I used the Archidroid 2.5.2 at the time and with the setting f2fs (and agni kernel if im not mistaken)
since then, i tried to change the file format back to ext4, ofcourse with full wipes, and change any other possible configuration on the setup of the rom. After all of these tries failed, i assumed i could just go and use Odin to install some stock firmware (following some advices i found here on the forums), and everything seemed to worked perfectly. Odin recognizes the phone, and it finishes the flashing with a big green happy PASS!. However, the phone still sits there at the samsung logo and just chills...
Tried to flash different stock ROMs and even tried to flash the rescue firmware from this link (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30087735&postcount=6) which again, seemed to work, but stayed in the samsung logo.
i kinda lost hope, although it seems the phone still can be saved (can access recovery and odin)...
i'd really appreciate the help!
also, i am kinda noobie in this and might need simpler words to understand.
Thanks alot!
Yair
YairMS said:
Hello.
My s3 recently stopped working and it ill only go up to the samsung logo and stay there. (this issue happened right after the battery was completley drained using the led...)
I've tried countless times to reinstall the rom i had, update it to a newer version of the same rom and even go back to an old version i still had on my SD card. I used the Archidroid 2.5.2 at the time and with the setting f2fs (and agni kernel if im not mistaken)
since then, i tried to change the file format back to ext4, ofcourse with full wipes, and change any other possible configuration on the setup of the rom. After all of these tries failed, i assumed i could just go and use Odin to install some stock firmware (following some advices i found here on the forums), and everything seemed to worked perfectly. Odin recognizes the phone, and it finishes the flashing with a big green happy PASS!. However, the phone still sits there at the samsung logo and just chills...
Tried to flash different stock ROMs and even tried to flash the rescue firmware from this link (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30087735&postcount=6) which again, seemed to work, but stayed in the samsung logo.
i kinda lost hope, although it seems the phone still can be saved (can access recovery and odin)...
i'd really appreciate the help!
also, i am kinda noobie in this and might need simpler words to understand.
Thanks alot!
Yair
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do any error messages appear when you boot your phone into stock recovery?
ArkThompson said:
Do any error messages appear when you boot your phone into stock recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the quick reply!
when i go to recovery mode it says:
failed to mount /efs (invalid argument)
failed to mount /efs (invalid argument)
(yea, twice)
any idea?
YairMS said:
thanks for the quick reply!
when i go to recovery mode it says:
failed to mount /efs (invalid argument)
failed to mount /efs (invalid argument)
(yea, twice)
any idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have an efs backup? (AGNi makes them when you flash it but since you formatted /data/media multiple times I assume they are gone).
ArkThompson said:
Do you have an efs backup? (AGNi makes them when you flash it but since you formatted /data/media multiple times I assume they are gone).
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i have no idea how to check whether or not i have...
Go read the efs sticky thread in general forum, your phone will not boot without it being restored.
YairMS said:
i have no idea how to check whether or not i have...
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Have you ever flashed boeffla kernel with an external SD card inserted?
ArkThompson said:
Have you ever flashed boeffla kernel with an external SD card inserted?
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yes, i suppose... i dont really remember what exactly happend with the phone, through all stages of its life, but the name sure rings a bell (from before this horrible incident).
do you think it is possible to do something with the SD card?
about the efs sticky, looking for it, but so far not finding it... (might be to dumb for this )
YairMS said:
yes, i suppose... i dont really remember what exactly happend with the phone, through all stages of its life, but the name sure rings a bell (from before this horrible incident).
do you think it is possible to do something with the SD card?
about the efs sticky, looking for it, but so far not finding it... (might be to dumb for this )
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Do you have any way to mount the external SD? (E.g. an adapter, or by flashing a custom recovery and mounting it that way). It's possible that you have an efs backup on it.
ArkThompson said:
Do you have any way to mount the external SD? (E.g. an adapter, or by flashing a custom recovery and mounting it that way). It's possible that you have an efs backup on it.
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Well, im not exactly 100% sure what do you mean by mounting... but if i go to the recovery i have, cwm if im not mistaken, i can go to mount and storage and then press mount external_sd and it seems to work (changes to unmount and doesnt say any error occured).
also, i can connect the card itself to my pc using a micro sd to mini sd adaptor...
is it of any help?
YairMS said:
Well, im not exactly 100% sure what do you mean by mounting... but if i go to the recovery i have, cwm if im not mistaken, i can go to mount and storage and then press mount external_sd and it seems to work (changes to unmount and doesnt say any error occured).
also, i can connect the card itself to my pc using a micro sd to mini sd adaptor...
is it of any help?
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Yes, by mount I mean get it to display its contents on your computer. Is there anything with efs in its name on the card?
ArkThompson said:
Yes, by mount I mean get it to display its contents on your computer. Is there anything with efs in its name on the card?
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Did a search over my sd card for "efs" and "*efs*" and found nothing :/
i have at home another s3... is it possible to backup efs there and restore to this one?
YairMS said:
Did a search over my sd card for "efs" and "*efs*" and found nothing :/
i have at home another s3... is it possible to backup efs there and restore to this one?
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Not practically. The efs folder is kind of like the social security number of your phone so every folder is unique.
ArkThompson said:
Not practically. The efs folder is kind of like the social security number of your phone so every folder is unique.
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Anything else left to do? or should i hand it over to repair service?
YairMS said:
Anything else left to do? or should i hand it over to repair service?
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Hmm, so it didn't boot even when it was 100% stock? You said that you got those error messages in stock recovery but then a few minutes later you said that you had CWM. If so, then you might need to. I found some guides but I can't really vouch for them since I've never had to restore /efs like that, so following them would be at your own risk.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/general/ref-imei-efs-stuff-i9300-including-t2393289
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/general/how-to-fix-efailed-to-mount-efs-invalid-t2858056
ArkThompson said:
Hmm, so it didn't boot even when it was 100% stock? You said that you got those error messages in stock recovery but then a few minutes later you said that you had CWM. If so, then you might need to. I found some guides but I can't really vouch for them since I've never had to restore /efs like that, so following them would be at your own risk.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/general/ref-imei-efs-stuff-i9300-including-t2393289
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/general/how-to-fix-efailed-to-mount-efs-invalid-t2858056
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Thanks alot for your time and help, ill look into those guides and see what can be done.
about the recovery... while we were chatting here i was trying a lil guide about that efs issue (didnt know there was an issue with it till you pointed it out, so never looked for it). on that guide i found, it said to install custom recovery, so i installed one i had already on my computer...
about the guides you found, im on it already trying to install that adb stuff and see if something works
anyway, THANKS for your time! although it is still stuck, you helped me alot!!
yair
YairMS said:
Thanks alot for your time and help, ill look into those guides and see what can be done.
about the recovery... while we were chatting here i was trying a lil guide about that efs issue (didnt know there was an issue with it till you pointed it out, so never looked for it). on that guide i found, it said to install custom recovery, so i installed one i had already on my computer...
about the guides you found, im on it already trying to install that adb stuff and see if something works
anyway, THANKS for your time! although it is still stuck, you helped me alot!!
yair
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Ok cool, np. Good luck! Hopefully you can fix it.
Is it possible that it is the gs3 sudden death syndrome? My Samsung galaxy s3 had that during june

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