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If you did not make any backup of your EFS folder, and your IMEI is messed up, this could be your solution to recover your lost IMEI. NOTE THAT AT LEAST YOU MUST HAVE THE SHIPPED ORIGINAL EFS FOLDER ON YOUR PHONE ( even if you didn't make a backup of it yet and even it's messed up ) FOR THIS METHOD TO WORK
My history with my IMEI:
I flashed my phone with some ROMs, and I didn't backup my EFS folder before, then My SGS2 IMEI was changed to 004999010640000, and we know this is the fake IMEI that is assigned to the phone if the nv_data.bin file is messed up.
so I researched. searched all the forums and didn't find anything that could cure my phone's IMEI and set it to the original IMEI number. so I experimented and after some hours, I fixed my IMEI.
one thing that led me to the conclusion that " .nv_data " file is the thing that I need to fix the IMEI is that they share a very look alike name, and they have the same 2MB size.
PS: I restored my phone's firmware to it's original PDA, Phone and CSC, rooted it with CF-Root, and then done this procedures below
here is what I have done:
you must have:
-Root
-Root explorer for copying files to and from EFS folder
-Android SDK for the ADB tools or Terminal in your phone.
It is interesting to know that the IMEI is stored in ".nv_data" file in ORIGINAL SHIPPED EFS folder too, so you just have to do these:
1) make a copy of your EFS folder to your sdcard using root explorer and then make a backup of the folder to your computer [ to have another copy if you had to format sd card sometime ]
2) delete the EFS folder (BE SURE YOU HAVE BACKED IT UP IN A SAFE PLACE AS SAID IN STEP 1) from the root of your phone using root explorer.
3) reset the phone, after that, go to the root, and you can see that the EFS folder is still there, don't make any mistake, this EFS folder is new and generated by the android OS.
4) go to EFS folder using root explorer, and delete "nv_data.bin", "nv_data.bin.md5".
5) go to your backed up EFS folder on your sdcard, copy the "imei" folder to the EFS folder at the root of your phone, then again go to the backed up EFS folder at yout sdcard and copy the " .nv_data " file to your EFS folder at the root of your phone using root explorer, NOTE: the dot in first of nv_data is not a mistake, copy the ".nv_data" file.
6) make another copy of the ".nv_data" file in EFS folder in your phone, so you would have 2 copies of ".nv_data" in EFS folder
7) rename one of ".nv_data" files to "nv_data.bin" and another one to "nv_data.bin.bak"
8) at your PC open CMD at the ADB tool path, or run Terminal at your phone enter these commands:
adb shell ( use this command of you use ADB, if you're using terminal, skip this line )
su ( ALLOW THE MESSAGE CAME AT YOUR PHONE's DISPLAY BY SUPERUSER PROGRAM )
chown 1001:radio /efs/nv_data.bin
9) reset your phone.... after that you have your original IMEI. you can check your IMEI by dialing *#06#.
and DO IT ON YOUR OWN RISK.
and PLEASE MAKE A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL EFS FOLDER BEFORE DELETING IT. IT HAS IMPORTANT FILES IN IT.
and sorry for bad English.
Thank you very much for taking the time to write this helpful thread, but can you please tell us how your IMEI was changed to a fake one in the first place so that we don't have to go through all this?
maddada said:
Thank you very much for taking the time to write this helpful thread, but can you please tell us how your IMEI was changed to a fake one in the first place so that we don't have to go through all this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing a rom may often be the only reason .
jje
Had you already made a copy of your EFS folder before your IMEI was changed?
kcaz said:
Had you already made a copy of your EFS folder before your IMEI was changed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I didn't had the back up before IMEI change.
To make a conclusion:
... You didn't backup your EFS folder.
... Your IMEI changed because of ROM flashings.
... You want to recover your IMEI.
For the purpose of making a backup of the EFS folder, how about simply copying the whole folder into a safe place?
There is an app called Nitrality (if my spelling is not wrong) which one of its various functions is to backup and restore the EFS folder. I've made a backup using this method and it seems that what the app actually did was simply copying the whole folder into a different directory. If it's simple like that, it seems that Root Explorer or similar app would be enough for that purpose.
Nevertheless, as there are numerous guides on this topic, all of which providing more complex methods, either using ADB or Terminal Emulator (I've made a backup using it as well, just in case, which resulted in the EFS being saved as tarball file), I have some doubts whether simply copying the whole folder would be enough for a eventual restoration. Would it?
angelomaldito said:
For the purpose of making a backup of the EFS folder, how about simply copying the whole folder into a safe place?
There is an app called Nitrality (if my spelling is not wrong) which one of its various functions is to backup and restore the EFS folder. I've made a backup using this method and it seems that what the app actually did was simply to copy the whole folder into a different directory. If it's simple like that, it seems that Root Explorer or similar app would be enough for that purpose.
Nevertheless, as there are numerous guides on this topic, all of which providing more complex methods, either using ADB or Terminal Emulator (i've made a backup using it as well, just in case, which resulted in the EFS being saved as tarball file), I have some doubts wheter simply copying the whole folder would be enough for a eventual restoration. Would it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just copying your EFS folder to a safe place is enough, using any method, but copying EFS folder messes up wih its permissions, so if you want to restore your nv_data.bin file, you must set the owner of the nv_data.bin using "chown" command in ADB like described in my post.
After all, I hope this method works for everyone, worked for me though.
Have copied the efs folder onto my PC.
At least i now know i have a backup, i can mess about with permissions there and then if it ever comes down to it!
I do not have the .nv_data file. onle *.bin or *.bak. Any suggestions or do I have to stick with the generic 00... IMEI? The whole procedure did not word for me, but thanks anyway.
By the way I think you do not need adb for that. You can execute the chmod command in a Terminal editor on the phone.
Schindler33 said:
I do not have the .nv_data file. onle *.bin or *.bak. Any suggestions or do I have to stick with the generic 00... IMEI? The whole procedure did not word for me, but thanks anyway.
By the way I think you do not need adb for that. You can execute the chmod command in a Terminal editor on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you can use terminal in your phone, but as for information for the other users, you don't need to enter " adb shell " command in step 8, because you are already connected to the phone's kernel.
I think you deleted your original EFS folder that came preinstalled with your phone, because I had " .nv_data " file.
anyway, use " nv_data.bin.bak " instead of " .nv_data " and see what happens.
thanks for the update.
---------- Post added at 07:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:53 PM ----------
superleeds27 said:
Have copied the efs folder onto my PC.
At least i now know i have a backup, i can mess about with permissions there and then if it ever comes down to it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for your reply. but please don't play with EFS folder too much. the Android OS can't recover your IMEI if you lost it completely. I've been lucky with this method to restore my IMEI.
thanks.
Do you know if there are providers that block your
IMEI? I do not have any problems with my carrier now but I will soon go to the states, and I don't know wether my phone will get blocked there.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Im not messing with it at all. Basically just copied it onto my SD card and then onot my PC. That way i know i deffo have a backup if anything was to happen
Schindler33 said:
Do you know if there are providers that block your
IMEI? I do not have any problems with my carrier now but I will soon go to the states, and I don't know wether my phone will get blocked there.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know any providers. but as a guess, I think some providers MAY block an irregular IMEI because of their security policy. but it's just a guess.
vaskodogamagmail said:
No, I didn't had the back up before IMEI change.
To make a conclusion:
... You didn't backup your EFS folder.
... Your IMEI changed because of ROM flashings.
... You want to recover your IMEI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand how you were able to apply the steps you describe to your case if you didn't have a backup of your original efs folder...
Help
My SGS 4G IMEI is corrupted showing some random symbols. Now I have taken backup of my EFS folder. EFS>root>afs>setings has .nv_state and nv_data.bin.
In IMEI folder there are only two files bt.txt and mps_code.dat.
Can it be repaired back to original IMEI? I don't have back up of my original EFS folder.
jerome.d said:
I don't understand how you were able to apply the steps you describe to your case if you didn't have a backup of your original efs folder...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't had a backup of my original EFS folder BEFORE IMEI CHANGE.
after my IMEI has been changed to the fake one, then I backed up my EFS folder and do the steps in the first post.
---------- Post added at 05:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 PM ----------
s_d123 said:
My SGS 4G IMEI is corrupted showing some random symbols. Now I have taken backup of my EFS folder. EFS>root>afs>setings has .nv_state and nv_data.bin.
In IMEI folder there are only two files bt.txt and mps_code.dat.
Can it be repaired back to original IMEI? I don't have back up of my original EFS folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the Content of your IMEI folder is correct, we don't have any business with the IMEI folder's content.
but look at your EFS folder contents, find the file named " .nv_data " (no post-fix), then do the steps in the first post.
but NOTE: my SGS 2 is a GSM model, not the 4G model, so I cannot guarantee that this method works with your phone too as it did for me.
thank you
Works in galaxy s too?
Thanks.
Hi...
I don't understand very well what you mean by
NOTE THAT AT LEAST YOU MUST HAVE THE SHIPPED ORIGINAL EFS FOLDER ON YOUR PHONE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean that we should have the efs folder with the sud-folder and files structure as it was when the IMEI was not corrupted???
I.E.
/efs (dir)
nv_data.bin (file)
.imei (hidden file)
.nv_data.bak (hidden file)
.nv_data.bak.md5 (hidden file)
nv_data.bin.md5 (file)
nv_state (file)
/.android (hidden folder)
/imei (folder)
bt.txt (file)
mps_code.dat (file)
nvmac.info (file)
Another issue i'm facing is the fact that I can't do a chown radio:radio because i get the error that user/group radio does not exist...
And would this work for SGS I?
Like others I am confused.
I flashed a ROM night before last.
I ended up with a phone that wouldn't work and the fake IMEI number.
By some chance I was able to get my phone working again with HC-kTool by restoring a efs.tar file -- I have a number of efsxxxx.tar.gz files in a folder called EFS_BACKUP on my sdcard (I don't how it got there but there are various dates of these files).
Now my phone works with data on the ATT network but my IMEI number is still the fake one.
SOOOO -- if I DON"T have an original backup of my EFS folder (or at least one I'm sure of) HOW do I restore my origianl IMEI ???
Thanks for this!
For those of you that don't think you need to read this - you are wrong! I have flashed 100's of ROM's with no issue until the end of last week.
MODERATORS PLEASE STICKY THIS IN A PLACE WHERE EVERYDAY USERS THAT FLASH ROMS WILL SEE IT
I uneventfully flashed a ROM (not important which one because I don't think it has anything to do with particular ROM) and all went well. I went to bed with a working phone and the somehow a reboot happened and awoke with a phone with no signal. The error was saying that there was no SIM card and / or No Network Available.
I finally used HC-kTool app on the Market (used latest version) to Restore an efs.tar file and my phone started working but I had a generic / fake IMEI number -- 004999010640000
If you have backed up your /EFS folder on the root of your phone then all is well. The easiest way is to use Hellcat's HC-kTool to back up your EFS and save a copy on your sdcard and your PC and that way you will not have to go through my misery.
However if you have not BACKED UP your EFS files then you will have issues like I did
Ok so here is what I can tell based on my experience:
Look for any files or folders on your sdcard that have EFS in the name. You might get lucky and look in the /EFS folder on your phone. If the nv_data.bin file has been corrupted the .nv_data.bin.bak might still be OK. If that is the case you may be able to follow this guide: http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f606/samsung-android-repair-efs-imei-repair-without-box-1348192/
What won't work is any sort of simple copying nv_data.bin from the sdcard to the /EFS folder using Root Explorer - I spent almost an entire weekend trying this.
If your /EFS folder .bak file has been corrupted then in my case I found a folder on my sdcard named EFS_BACKUP that I assume that Clockworkmod has created during some of my ROM flashes (somebody correct me if I'm wrong because otherwise I have no idea how it got there).
In the EFS_BACKUP folder I have a number of files form different dates (I assume of flashes) labelled efs_xxdate.tar.gz
btw you can use these or any .gz file when using HC_kTool tool simply by renaming the file (long press with Root Explorer) to just a .tar file (delete the .gz). HC_kTool uses a file named efs.tar on the root of the sdcard to restore.
In my case I had to extract one of these files by long pressing in Root Explorer and choicing extract. I then went to the extracted folder on the sdcard (using Root Explorer) and found a folder named efs_xxdate and within that a folder named EFS
... again don't get mislead -- simply copying and pasting that file or any other to the root /EFS folder will not work!!
I noticed that there were multiple files in the extracted/efs_xxdate/efs folder but the dates were different. The nv_data.bin and the nv_dat.bin.md5 files were dated the same as the date of the folder BUT the .nv_data.bak file was dated Dec31, 2010
Here's how I restored that file:
1) I extracted the .tar.gz file as above
2) Went to sdcard\extracted\efsxxdate\efs folder and copied the older dated .nv_data.bak to the root of the sdcard using Root Explorer (long press, copy, then paste)
3) Then renamed the .nv_data.bak file to nv_data.bin on the root of the sdcard
3) Then followed these instructions from line 14 on in this post .. http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f606/samsung-android-repair-efs-imei-repair-without-box-1348192/
14 = at command prompt [ C:\adbtools\ ], type adb shell
15 = type su
16 = type cp /sdcard/nv_data.bin
17 = type rm -rf /efs/nv_data.bin.md5
18 = type exit & exit
19 = REBOOT YOUR PHONE
I'm not sure why this works but EVERY combination of copying and pasting nv_data.bin , .bak, or entire EFS folders suing Root Explorer does NOT work but this above technique did work for me ! Somehow having the .md5 file recreated is the key ??
I hope this helps someone.
BACKUP YOUR EFS -- Hellcat's HC_kTool seems to work great
Thank the DEVELOPERS
Already been highlighted a few times
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068193&highlight=efs
Can you please clarify....I always keep a weekly copy of clock work mod backed up. Is this not enough? A lille confused about the need for efs backup...
Sent from my SGS2
Thx for this post. Anyway, i got stuck at 17, it says "-rf: not found". What does that mean? Am i unable to mount efs?
Nice post. Not happened to me *yet* but you never know.
Here is the direct link to Hellcats K-tool
Backing mine up now
jcrompton said:
However if you have not BACKED UP your EFS files then you will have issues like I did
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You had the EFS image file already, all you had to do was rename the file then use ktool and you were done within seconds..
You probably could've done it via pm as I don't think it was a good idea to try any suggestion that was thrown at you in public forum...
btw, this is original development section.. someone move it to general please..
s2d4 said:
You had the EFS image file already, all you had to do was rename the file then use ktool and you were done within seconds..
You probably could've done it via pm as I don't think it was a good idea to try any suggestion that was thrown at you in public forum...
btw, this is original development section.. someone move it to general please..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually i don't understand how he made it: ktool doesn't use a tar file like posted, but an img file, and you can only find tar.gz files in the backup folder. How do you get an img file out of those?
s2d4 said:
someone move it to general please..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorted
Used K-Tool since the method mentioned via terminal never worked..
stylez said:
Sorted
Used K-Tool since the method mentioned via terminal never worked..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good for you
But what did you do exactly? How did you obtain the img file for ktool to flash it? I only have the tar backups from the Efs_ backup folder...
s2d4 said:
You had the EFS image file already, all you had to do was rename the file then use ktool and you were done within seconds..
You probably could've done it via pm as I don't think it was a good idea to try any suggestion that was thrown at you in public forum...
btw, this is original development section.. someone move it to general please..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not have a new efs image file
All the files I had had been corrupted
I spent four days PMing all the big wigs re this. It's not as simple as you think unless you familiarize yourself with EFS backup BEFORE you need it!
Clockwork mod and nandroid backups do not alter the efs folder when a backup is restored! It must be backed up separately
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
vnvman said:
Good for you
But what did you do exactly? How did you obtain the img file for ktool to flash it? I only have the tar backups from the Efs_ backup folder...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not have an image file either. Look above at my post where I describe how to do it from step number 1 forward
I didn't use the tool to fix it
I just suggested getting the tool and learning how to use it
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
jcrompton said:
I didn't use the tool to fix it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to make the whole thread clear, is your IMEI now the original IMEI or the default U1 IMEI of 0049...?
Hmm..in the end i fixed this by flashing the efs from the official kh3 firmware through odin (clear efs checked). Now my imei changed to a generic one but i don't really care: i have my baseband back and the phone works. I just hope the FBI or something isn't after me now.
vnvman said:
Hmm..in the end i fixed this by flashing the efs from the official kh3 firmware through odin (clear efs checked). Now my imei changed to a generic one but i don't really care: i have my baseband back and the phone works. I just hope the FBI or something isn't after me now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have an EFS_BACKUP folder on your sdcard? And if so do you have any compressed files with older (mine was dated Dec31 2010) .nv_data.bak files?
If you do then that's what I ultimately used to restore my IMEI (not the generic one)
jcrompton said:
Do you have an EFS_BACKUP folder on your sdcard? And if so do you have any compressed files with older (mine was dated Dec31 2010) .nv_data.bak files?
If you do then that's what I ultimately used to restore my IMEI (not the generic one)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, i'll try that right away.
vnvman said:
Actually i don't understand how he made it: ktool doesn't use a tar file like posted, but an img file, and you can only find tar.gz files in the backup folder. How do you get an img file out of those?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kTool does both, raw .IMG dump and filebased .tar.gz backup.
Does K-Tool work with CF-Root kernel?
HellcatDroid said:
kTool does both, raw .IMG dump and filebased .tar.gz backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wtf, i got answered by Hellcat himself!
Thanks, i didn't notice that option, i would have gone much less nuts if i knew it, stupid me
nfribeiro said:
Does K-Tool work with CF-Root kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, should work fine.
Should you find any missbehavings or issues though, please let me know and they shall be fixed
vnvman said:
Wtf, i got answered by Hellcat himself!
Thanks, i didn't notice that option, i would have gone much less nuts if i knew it, stupid me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol xD
Well, but not necessarily stupid, the first few versions indeed only made the raw .IMG dump and the button still only says "backup to /sdcard/efs.img" (yeah, I should really change that text )
But since some 1.2x build it makes the .tar as well and when you hit the restore button it asks if you want to restore the .IMG or the .tar
Haha yeah right, i never hit restore because i didn't have an img dumped to the sd so i thought i had nothing to restore there
I currenty running Thor rom 14.2 and i want to return to stock 3.1.
I have a nandroid backup but accidentally i deleted .txt files inside.
Could i restore it or my tablet will brick
anyone??
First of all: Remember xda-developers is quite international so the person with the answer to your question may be asleep or working at the time you post...
Other than that: If you deleted part of your backup that's bad. You may get away with a partial (possibly non-functional) restore, or restore may fail altogether... Both shouldn't brick your tab, but you might have to do a full wipe and configure your rom from scratch; it may well be worth trying a restore, though, as you won't be causing any more damage anyway if your tab doesn't work anymore. Just make another nandroid backup in case you decide things were better before you hit the restore button... As long as you don't accidentally kill your recovery, android devices are incredibly hard to brick.
jimmis1996 said:
I have a nandroid backup but accidentally i deleted .txt files inside.
Could i restore it or my tablet will brick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just checked a number of nandroid backups of mine and the only ".txt" file that I could see was uid.txt in the main backup directory that contained the ".img", ".tar", and ".md5" files.
You could just run another nandroid BU of your current system and copy over the uid.txt file from that one to replace the one that you deleted. The uid.txt file should be the same from one BU to the next.
Jeff.
Thanks
Thanks for your help
So if i create a .txt file with my id number my restore will work?
Is there another way to restore to stock.
jimmis1996 said:
Thanks for your help
So if i create a .txt file with my id number my restore will work?
Is there another way to restore to stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you just put a text file with some random information in it, it may not work right.
Here is the procedure that was suggested:
Make a backup of your current settings
make a copy of the text file in that most recent backup
place that copied text file in the backup with the missing text file
try to restore the backup that was missing the text file, which you just copied the text file to
Psichi said:
If you just put a text file with some random information in it, it may not work right.
Here is the procedure that was suggested:
Make a backup of your current settings
make a copy of the text file in that most recent backup
place that copied text file in the backup with the missing text file
try to restore the backup that was missing the text file, which you just copied the text file to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try it.
I remember when i downgraded to 3.0 from 3.2 i use something called APX mode could this restore my tab to full stock
problem solved
ok backup my rom copy uid file and everything is ok.thanks
I just rooted my brand new note3 but I forgot to backup my EFS before flashing X-note... Now I made a backup on X-note rom, is it still ok for restore if I ever lost my EFS? Thank you
As long as you have the EFS file then it should be OK, keep it seperated from your internal HD if possible also!
EDIT: Btw the EFS file is around 14MB or so -
darn,.. my backup only 408KBs. I use this method http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2447342 result said Everything is OK..
any idea why my file is so small?
from my root explorer ... the efs folder only 1.4MB big
OH! when i decompressed the file, there is disk image file is around 14MB
how do i restore it? btw.... I throw this compressed winrar file into ODIN? or decompress first, and then select these individual files accordingly
h3nyr said:
darn,.. my backup only 408KBs. I use this method http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2447342 result said Everything is OK..
any idea why my file is so small?
from my root explorer ... the efs folder only 1.4MB big
OH! when i decompressed the file, there is disk image file is around 14MB
how do i restore it? btw.... I throw this compressed winrar file into ODIN? or decompress first, and then select these individual files accordingly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like it's OK.
Restoring I'm not so sure, due to me not having done it myself, I know you need busybox installed though or you'll encounter problems. Be warned EFS cause be a major ballache to do from people I've seen trying to restore, some have no issues though.
Hello,
Yes I know this is a DUMB question but when I used to flash my other phones I physically had an SDcard in it and knew if my files were on it. I have been having nothing but issues with my experience lately and am getting past each part carefully.
I am wondering where on the file structure the files need to be as in when I do a FULL wipe in recovery I do not wipe the files.
I have attached my screenshot, I take my files from the download folder and put them in the / to me what would be considered the root folder.
It then looks like it is called an emulated folder. I just wanted to verify this does not get wiped from TWRP.
Thanks!
I keep everything rom related in a directory called ROMs in /storage/emulated/0. Everything in my rom directory is retained after a full wipe.
Btw, it's a smart question.
OK, thanks I appreciate the response.
Now I just need to figure out why I was having so many problems installing a custom ROM.