Hi guys, a friend of mine bough a brand new Samsung Galaxy SII from Amazon. It was unlocked and came with no warranty. For one month the phone work flawlessly, but then one day the phone's battery went discharged so my friend plug it to a wall charger and turn it on... that was the last day the phone worked fine. She didn't rooted, she didn't upgrade it, she didn't flash it, she didn't temper with it in ANY way.
When the phone turn on it did it in flight mode, no IMEI. She pass me the phone, and for the last 3 hours I've been reading about this problem with /EFS folder.
Now my concrete question is:
Is there some way to fix this???.
PLEASE, BEFORE YOU ANSWER READ THIS:
NO, the phone can't be sended to Samsung because it's and international phone with no warranty.
2. NO, the phone can't be sended back to original seller because it was bough 4 months ago.
3. NO, there is no backup of /EFS folder, because she didn't know about this /EFS folder corruption thing, but mostly because she didn't temper with the phone in any way, so PLEASE don't embarrass yourself suggesting to restore /EFS folder.
4. NO there is no .nv_data file, .nv_data.bak, nor nv_data.bak.md5, so NO I can't rename them to nv_data.bin or nv_data.bin.md5, so once again PLEASE don't embarrass yourself suggesting this...
5. NO, GSII_Repair doesn't work.
6. NO, turning off phone, removing SIM, turning on phone, wait until phone fully boots, turning off phone, re-insert SIM, and turning on phone DID NOT WORK.
7. NO, flashing a stock rom didn't work.
8. NO, flashing a new kernel didn't work.
9. NO, there is no backup of /EFS folder in SD Card...
10. NO, she/I can't turn phone back to carrier because it's an unlocked phone.
11. YES, I did try the SIM card in another phone, worked ok, so it's NOT a SIM card issue.
12. YES. I try with 3 more working SIM cards, none work with this phone, so YES it's a phone issue.
13. YES, I search the forum, actually I read the first 10 result pages, every post. No stright answer to solve this problem.
14. YES, I know Odia could (or could not...) fix this, but I want to leave it as a very last resource.
So far, the only 2 things that could work are this and this, but both will give me a generic IMEI, and that will bring troubles with the law when my friend try to sell this phone.
Any other suggestions?
Throw it in the bin. Yes, I'm serious given all the caveats you've put in your OP. What miracles are you expecting ? There aren't any.
The only ways this phone is getting fixed is by a Samsung authorised repairer, or by replacing the motherboard with a 2nd hand one (Which will mean the phone now has the IMEI of the phone the board came from).
Wow! U really wrapped up this case!
I do hope u have rooted the phone before u checked the contents of the EFS folder. I have seen some members report seeing an empty EFS folder when they haven't rooted.
Am asking just to be sure.
"To err is human, to forgive is divine"
Sent from my SGS II
I am gonna suggest something that I have read here (which I personally find it ridiculous but since you're desperate...) some people have written posts regarding copying or backuping your current efs folder and then performing a delete operation to the original efs folder, also several others have said it's working for them, so you find these kind of posts and try their method since you got nothing to lose..
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
king_below_my_lord said:
I am gonna suggest something that I have read here (which I personally find it ridiculous but since you're desperate...) some people have written posts regarding copying or backuping your current efs folder and then performing a delete operation to the original efs folder, also several others have said it's working for them, so you find these kind of posts and try their method since you got nothing to lose..
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That only works when you have the .nv_data file. After you delete the /EFS folder and reboot phone, you need to rename .nv_data file to nv_data.bin... But as I did say before: I don't have the .nv_data file nor the nv_data.bak file sooooo, it wil NOT work.
skyx26 said:
That only works when you have the .nv_data file. After you delete the /EFS folder and reboot phone, you need to rename .nv_data file to nv_data.bin... But as I did say before: I don't have the .nv_data file nor the nv_data.bak file sooooo, it wil NOT work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm is that so? I never read those posts fully though since I recently read a guide where the OP was insisting that a stock rom flash and efs deletion worked for him(he had no backups) and he didn't do anything else like editing nv_data file, but as bungle was saying you have few options left, before converting it to a expensive media player.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
have the same problem did you fixed??
need hel got the exactly same problem but i do have the mine shows the imei but no signal with a circle
Did you followed these steps? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1264021
If you are willing to pay, this guy seems to be able to do it: http://forum.samdroid.net/f70/repair-imei-s2-5729/
You are better off going to a repair shop and buying a motherboard tho.
Hello,
Got the same problem, no imei.
My phone was dead after a trip. I live in china and usually its pretty cheap to fix hardware here. So did I. For 100 Yuan they got my phone start again but from this point no imei any more... I complained returned it, but they couldnt do anything and i didnt want to give them more money to try more.
So i got a sgs2 totally useless...
My question is, i have a 2nd sgs2, i would like to know if there is a way to backup 100% a phone to replicate it to an other. (does the EFS can be transposed to an other phone or they are to be unique and fit exactly to one phone ?)
I tryed all kind of tutorial to restore it i never could.
Thank you all !
You can't transfer IMEI's from one device to another, an IMEI is a unique number which identifies a particular piece of hardware, and doing so is illegal in most countries (and not allowed to be discussed on XDA due to same). If you attempt to do it, you'll end up with two permanently blacklisted/unusable devices.
Basically you have two options:-
1) A Samsung service centre will be able to 're-write' the IMEI to the device, in most cases/countries you'll keep your existing IMEI. Like most repairs by Samsung service centres in most countries, this could be somewhat expensive. Many local mobile repair shops have similar equipment, and will possibly be able to do this more cheaply than a Samsung service centre.
2) You could replace the motherboard with a 2nd hand one sourced from a 'donor' phone, which you'd either replace yourself, or pay a local mobile repair shop to do it. In this case your IMEI will change to that of the phone which the board came from.
Another 'possible' option might be to purchase the equipment (that Samsung authorised repairers/others) used to re-write the IMEI. However, if you don't know what you're doing you can easily bork the phone to the point of requiring a motherboard replacement, plus you'll be left with an expensive piece of equipment you'll probably never use again.
If I were in your situation, I'd be going to a local mobile repair shop to have the IMEI re-written to the device, and if that wasn't possible for whatever reason, I'd be going option 2.
MistahBungle said:
You can't transfer IMEI's from one device to another, an IMEI is a unique number which identifies a particular piece of hardware, and doing so is illegal in most countries (and not allowed to be discussed on XDA due to same). If you attempt to do it, you'll end up with two permanently blacklisted/unusable devices.
Basically you have two options:-
1) A Samsung service centre will be able to 're-write' the IMEI to the device, in most cases/countries you'll keep your existing IMEI. Like most repairs by Samsung service centres in most countries, this could be somewhat expensive. Many local mobile repair shops have similar equipment, and will possibly be able to do this more cheaply than a Samsung service centre.
2) You could replace the motherboard with a 2nd hand one sourced from a 'donor' phone, which you'd either replace yourself, or pay a local mobile repair shop to do it. In this case your IMEI will change to that of the phone which the board came from.
Another 'possible' option might be to purchase the equipment (that Samsung authorised repairers/others) used to re-write the IMEI. However, if you don't know what you're doing you can easily bork the phone to the point of requiring a motherboard replacement, plus you'll be left with an expensive piece of equipment you'll probably never use again.
If I were in your situation, I'd be going to a local mobile repair shop to have the IMEI re-written to the device, and if that wasn't possible for whatever reason, I'd be going option 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you soooo much for taking your time to answer completly to this question. It seems that i should try again and go to an other shop see if they can do something. At least i wont lose my time anymore trying to fix that myself.
I was thinking also of selling it to those kind of shop. Last time the guy who said he couldnt fix it was trying to buy it at 500 Yuan (60euro) I guess they will use the parts of my phone to fix others (or relaly fix the IMEI and sell it haha).
No problem. Yeah, many local mobile repair shops would have the equipment to re-write the IMEI to the device, so see if the original shop can do this. Yes, selling it to them for parts is another option I guess, but as you say, they might just as easily end up repairing it & selling it for a fair bit more than they paid you for it.
Guys please help me same problem but my phone have orignal imei number only one problem my phone dont yave any network it shows no network i already did restored my efs backup but no success plz help
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
No IMEI S2
Merry Xmas dudes...
I bought my missus an S2 for xmas.... the phone had no network or IMEI so i thought i could fix it easily !!! Which i did !!!!! i put a tesco sim in and I used s2 repair and s2 unlock which worked first time.....
BUT like the noob i am i decided to do an update via kies ( the phone is gingerbread .XWKI4 GT-I9100, 2.3.4 and rooted)
Yes this was a very bad mistake.... this put it back to the way it was NO IMEI number, etc . I tried the repair again last night and it did not work anyway i wrapped it and gave it the missus this morning and the tesco payas you go worked ??? It also showed IMEI number ????even though it was not there last night ???
I then put my missus pay as you go stesco sim in and it went back to NO IMEI number and that is where i am at now ????
I did not know about backup of the EFS but then again i bought it like this ???
CAN ANYONE PLEASE HELP ME ???
it also has BASEBAND VERSION = Unknown
Using the box
MistahBungle said:
Throw it in the bin. Yes, I'm serious given all the caveats you've put in your OP. What miracles are you expecting ? There aren't any.
The only ways this phone is getting fixed is by a Samsung authorized repairer, or by replacing the motherboard with a 2nd hand one (Which will mean the phone now has the IMEI of the phone the board came from).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you can just get yourself one of those special boxes like the octopus box or the Z3x box and a UART cable which can help you write an IMEI. Yes, I know that writing an IMEI is illegal but then again what the hell! Illegal is awesome and its fun. Break the ****ing rules and rise against the authorities! that's what we, the lovers of linux,android and the open source community should do!
So you trust someone who didn't have the presence of mind to do an EFS backup when they rooted their phone (I.E a n00b) to use an Octopus box without completely stuffing it up, do you ? I don't, which is why the advice is always to take it to someone who already has one/knows how to use it & pay them $30-$50 to fix it guaranteed.
no imei on custom rom.
hi guys
this is what happend to me.i flashed a custom rom on my s duos and it was nt getting any network.at first i thought baseband.but then i checked the imei (*#06#).guess wat nothing pops up.screwed i thought.
desperado i restored it to my nandroid backup.hurray! got my imei back identical to the one on the back of the battery.no network trouble call,sms,data all fine.but when i checked efs folder it appears to be empty.so as i am a noob and my friend who without second thought gave me his efs folder of s duos.i tried to use it.damn it says "the same file name
exists do u want to overwrite it " this is wat i get when i try to copy the efs contents of the similar device to my phones empty efs folder.
so do i have my efs in my phone nw otherwise sims wouldnt work?
any chance efs is hidden??
ps.i was nt able to copy the efs of the other device som emmc restricted acces.rooted s duos.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/rooting-roms/imei-000-044999-repair-t2806129
Hi guys !
A few weeks ago, I accidentally deadbricked my Galaxy Note I717 (known in Singapore as the Note 1 LTE/N7005) , so I sent it to a repair shop to get the whole motherboard replaced. I just got it back yesterday, and I could not get a stable signal at all , only LTE and GSM on rare occasions for a few minutes. I checked the IMEI and found out that the software's IMEI did not match the one printed on the back of the phone.
Any ideas how can I get this issue fixed WITHOUT buying a 3rd party SDT Box or such items?
Thanks !
From what I know, replacing the motherboard is like getting a different phone. So, you may need to contact your service provider and tell them that you repaired your phone. See if they can update your account to make your service work on the phone.
Hi
I have an S2 which is hard bricked, it is not stolen or barred.
I have bought a replacement motherboard and a shop will fit it for me as I lack the technical skill.
My question is will my IMEI be lost?
If so how do I recover it, assuming the phone is then working?
Many thanks in advance
Mark
Generally speaking, if it's a new MB by a Samsung service centre you'll get the same IMEI (but not in all countries). If you/someone else puts a 2nd hand board in, yes, the IMEI will change. Either way it makes no difference to you as a user, your phone will still have a unique IMEI & work as it should with either scenario.
You messing around with the IMEI in order to try to 'recover' your old one should it change will lead to a busted phone (again). Don't attempt this because it just isn't necessary.
MistahBungle said:
Generally speaking, if it's a new MB by a Samsung service centre you'll get the same IMEI (but not in all countries). If you/someone else puts a 2nd hand board in, yes, the IMEI will change. Either way it makes no difference to you as a user, your phone will still have a unique IMEI & work as it should with either scenario.
You messing around with the IMEI in order to try to 'recover' your old one should it change will lead to a busted phone (again). Don't attempt this because it just isn't necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks for the reply, great information.
I will leave it as it is.
Thanks
Dear xda-community,
some months ago I dared myself to root my Samsung SHW-M250S (Korean Version of Galaxy S2) and lost my IMEI on that phone. I couldn't find it and forgot to make a backup of my efs partition because of stupidity and not really reading the manuals properly (I used to have a HTC Desire S which didn't have the efs partition so it's a bad habit thing). Today I found out that I luckily registered my phone with the original IMEI in my google Settings and the developer IMEI on my current Galaxy S2.
My question is: Is there any possibility to insert my old IMEI into my rooted Galaxy S2?
IMEI is device specific.....by law.
Sorry mate, but nobody here is going to help you break the law......
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Take it to a local mobile repair shop, some have the same equipment as Samsung service centres that can write the IMEI back to the device. Normally isn't very expensive (much cheaper than replacing a motherboard for example).
You could buy this equipment yourself, but it would cost twice as much (or more) as paying someone who knows what they're doing to fix it properly, you'd probably never use it again, and if you mess it up, your phone is probably a bin job.
keithross39 said:
IMEI is device specific.....by law.
Sorry mate, but nobody here is going to help you break the law......
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... Since I didn't backup my EFS and got the develeoper one, does it mean I am owning an illegal phone?
MistahBungle said:
Take it to a local mobile repair shop, some have the same equipment as Samsung service centres that can write the IMEI back to the device. Normally isn't very expensive (much cheaper than replacing a motherboard for example).
You could buy this equipment yourself, but it would cost twice as much (or more) as paying someone who knows what they're doing to fix it properly, you'd probably never use it again, and if you mess it up, your phone is probably a bin job.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gonna try that in the next weeks, see if it works
No, the device having the generic IMEI is not illegal, it's just in many countries these phones are essentially useless & have no connectivity (they will work in some countries with providers who use outdated telco equipment, though).
Most good phone repairs shops should be able to fix this for you, if not, service centre definitely will.
Edit to add - However, writing a different IMEI into a device is very much illegal in most countries (the EU in particular) and will result in both your device & the device the IMEI came from being blacklisted (rendered permanently useless). The only way you can legitimately get a different IMEI & use the phone OK is if you swap the motherboard with a 2nd hand board from a 'donor' device. When Samsung service centres replace motherboards to fix a whole host of things, in most countries they write the existing IMEI to the new board.
MistahBungle said:
No, the device having the generic IMEI is not illegal, it's just in many countries these phones are essentially useless & have no connectivity (they will work in some countries with providers who use outdated telco equipment, though).
Most good phone repairs shops should be able to fix this for you, if not, service centre definitely will.
Edit to add - However, writing a different IMEI into a device is very much illegal in most countries (the EU in particular) and will result in both your device & the device the IMEI came from being blacklisted (rendered permanently useless). The only way you can legitimately get a different IMEI & use the phone OK is if you swap the motherboard with a 2nd hand board from a 'donor' device. When Samsung service centres replace motherboards to fix a whole host of things, in most countries they write the existing IMEI to the new board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what if I can prove that the IMEI I wanted to recover is stored e.g. in my google account? Is it still illegal then?
You didn't comprehend what I said to you.
The original IMEI can definitely be written back to the phone by a Samsung service centre & likely many mobile repair shops; this is OK.
You cannot write a different IMEI to a device, this is illegal.
The end.
MistahBungle said:
You didn't comprehend what I said to you.
The original IMEI can definitely be written back to the phone by a Samsung service centre & likely many mobile repair shops; this is OK.
You cannot write a different IMEI to a device, this is illegal.
The end.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, that's what I wanted to know. Gonna search for a repair center in around me then... Thanks!
this is straight from a pageplus chat
nothing special just standard procedure for activating an "unknown device" that...well read below.
4G LTE devices (with MEIDs starting with 256 or 99000) are not compatible with our system.
They are able to be activated by dropping the last digit of the IMEI (99000)
they are not able to be programmed with OTA (*22890 or *228) and unable to be manually programmed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i might have chopped it i cant remember but i always keep the good parts
so are you saying a verizon network is breaking the law because it is their policy that dictates pageplus and straight talk in this procedure heck even verizon prepaid
dropping the last digit like they are telling me to do is what?
i dont think its illegal like you say.
no way they would tell 1000's of people to do it
i just tried to ota *22890 my note 3 after they gave me those directions along with my mdn/min/sid and "normally" i get voice/text/mms and data at this point
i just tried without successsfully changing mine and it wont OTA
the step in the directions above is REQUIRED i believe
Changing imei talk is not done on xda. :thumbdown: We all know what can be done with this but we can't talk about it here. Illegal or not info is out there, software is out there. but like I said on xda we don't talk about changing imei or modding it.
andrewwright said:
Changing imei talk is not done on xda. :thumbdown: We all know what can be done with this but we can't talk about it here. Illegal or not info is out there, software is out there. but like I said on xda we don't talk about changing imei or modding it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed
BTW at op. Don't go to a service Centre mate. If I go to a local shop they would only charge me £20 in the UK. Have a look as its much cheaper than ss.
I have a Galaxy S2. The IMEI (and the BaseBand as well) lost after loading a custom ROM to it. No, there was no EFS backup.
I have tried:
1. Flashing original stock rom via Odin.
2. HC-kTool
3. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1264021 - Couldn't completely finish this one as there is no '.nv_data' at step #6
4. GSII_Repair - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.helroz.GSII_Repair
So I gave up and went to a GSM shop. They could (somehow) write the original IMEI back, but they said loading a new rom "deletes" the IMEI again. They tested it several times. I'm not sure whether this applies for the software update as well. They can't do anything else.
Is there any way to bring my phone back to it's original shape?
Nothing you can do yourself, no. Unless you want to buy the equipment, learn how to use it & try repairing it yourself.
Take it to another repair shop. Anyone who actually knows what they're doing should be able to fix this. Or take to a Samsung service centre. Or change the motherboard (service centre might do this if it really isn't fixable via the 'normal means').
MistahBungle said:
Nothing you can do yourself, no. Unless you want to buy the equipment, learn how to use it & try repairing it yourself.
Take it to another repair shop. Anyone who actually knows what they're doing should be able to fix this. Or take to a Samsung service centre. Or change the motherboard (service centre might do this if it really isn't fixable via the 'normal means').
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt changing the motherboard would worth it. Any idea about the price of the 'normal means' in Samsung service centre?
Not in your country, no idea. When I say the 'normal means' I'm referring to what that shop who tried to repair it did/told you it wasn't possible. This is the first time I've seen anyone on here post saying re-writing the IMEI to the phone was tried (which is normally what a service centre will do; in my country at least) & failed/isn't possible.
So the first thing I'd be doing is taking it to another shop (not Samsung service centre, because a Samsung service centre will often charge you more for a given repair purely because they can.) & have them try it. It should be possible unless there's something wrong hardware-wise which has coincidentally happened at the same time you've had this issue.
If they tell you the same thing, then you either take it to a service centre or perhaps source a 2nd hand board from a donor phone & swap the board yourself or pay a local shop to do it.
MistahBungle said:
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. What kind of harware issue could possibly cause something like this?
That's a very good question. Without having the phone to diagnose that would be almost impossible to say. But that assumes it is some kind of hardware issue & not just a case of whomever tried to fix the phone not really knowing what they were doing.