As a lot of you will know a few Nexus S owners have had problems with there IMEI numbers being corrupted/re-written after flashing a ROM from on here (XDA) no blame being apportioned at all ! We all know the risks of flashing ROM;s, Kernels, Radio's etc.. And we do this entirely at our own risk.
However a fix is still needed, although more and more people are returning there phones under warranty.
I'm one of the lucky ones who sent there Nexus's of to cpw and who's had there Nexus repaied and returned.
Back to what I need help with.
What I want/need to do now is back up my efs folder, so that I can restore it if anything like this was to happen again,.
Is just backing the folder up with Root Explorer, Astro or a simular App, saving it and then just restoring it enough, Is it that simple? The reason I ask is that when Ive backed them up, I then check the Details and they differ.
The efs folder on the phone / is 4,214,784 bytes and contains 7 files.
The backed up efs folder on the phone /mnt/sdcard is 4,227,072 bytes and contains 10 files
Whats that all about ????.
Can anyone recommend an App thats spercificaly for this task?
Sugestions welcome
Thanks in Advance
NexusCrazt
aka Marc
Mount the phone as USB storage to PC
Copy EFS folder on phone
Paste on PC
Unmount
matt2053 said:
Mount the phone as USB storage to PC
Copy EFS folder on phone
Paste on PC
Unmount
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried this and compared folder size's and how many files in each folder ?
Also, what about backing up RSA keys?
davpel said:
Also, what about backing up RSA keys?
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Click to collapse
Please explain
It may not be as important a partition as on other devices. DON`T GET ME WRONG....nv_data.bin and nv_data.bin.md5 are VERY IMPORTANT FILES. It`s the location that might be different on the Nexus S. For instance on my device my /EFS is completly fracked. Yet I still have my proper IMEI. Why you may ask? Well it seems on the Nexus S the main location for the nv_data.bin and .bin.md5 is in the /data/radio location. So what if any is the point of the /EFS? Does anyone know? Can I format the sucker? Also can I please have my post I posted in the Q/A stickied? Since I belive we are just on the cusp of having many more users loose their IMEI to generic since some ROM cookers can damage the nv_data.bin file (Like mine was) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=38288551
Not sure whether or not this is actually a EFS backup. It just showed up in my External SD card and it's named 'efs.tar.gz' and it's only about 5kB. What does the EFS folder contain? I have folders such as bluetooth, WiFi, IMEI, carrier, etc.
Is it necessary to do a EFS backup nowadays?
How would I do an EFS backup?
emckai said:
Not sure whether or not this is actually a EFS backup. It just showed up in my External SD card and it's named 'efs.tar.gz' and it's only about 5kB. What does the EFS folder contain? I have folders such as bluetooth, WiFi, IMEI, carrier, etc. Is it necessary to do a EFS backup nowadays? How would I do an EFS backup?
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Click to collapse
Yes, DO make a backup of your EFS folder. Find the folder on your phone (I am away from my phone right now, but I believe it is a folder off of the root directory). You can easily find this folder (on a rooted phone) by using a file manager app-- then copy the entire folder and keep one copy of it on your SD card and keep ANOTHER copy of the EFS folder on your desktop computer or off-phone on a disk.
There are several threads here by folks who have lost their EFS folders or some setting on their phones, which can only be re-aligned by the data stored in the EFS folder. I believe at least some of the data is unique to your own phone, so it can't just be copied from another phone without some effects.
EFS folder seems like a small thing until it is gone. Then it really is a major pain in the neck to recover. MAKE YOUR OWN BACKUP COPIES of it now. Please search some threads --usingthe term EFS! -- and you will see more details about the effects of corrupt or missing EFS files.
Good luck!
markbc01 said:
Yes, DO make a backup of your EFS folder. Find the folder on your phone (I am away from my phone right now, but I believe it is a folder off of the root directory). You can easily find this folder (on a rooted phone) by using a file manager app-- then copy the entire folder and keep one copy of it on your SD card and keep ANOTHER copy of the EFS folder on your desktop computer or off-phone on a disk.
There are several threads here by folks who have lost their EFS folders or some setting on their phones, which can only be re-aligned by the data stored in the EFS folder. I believe at least some of the data is unique to your own phone, so it can't just be copied from another phone without some effects.
EFS folder seems like a small thing until it is gone. Then it really is a major pain in the neck to recover. MAKE YOUR OWN BACKUP COPIES of it now. Please search some threads --usingthe term EFS! -- and you will see more details about the effects of corrupt or missing EFS files.
Good luck!
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Click to collapse
Good advice, but I think more than just the EFS folder itself needs to be backed up in order to be able to restore EFS information to the phone if needed. Backing up or making a copy of the actual EFS "folder" is only part of the equation. TWRP variants usually offer an option to properly back up EFS and I have also seen several apps on the market, but I have not personally tried any of them. If anyone has any experience in methods to back up and restoring the EFS information to the phone please post your experience.
So basically all I have to do is copy the efs folder located in the /~ directory and memorize the permissions. And if anything happens I can just restore that folder and the set the permissions back?
emckai said:
So basically all I have to do is copy the esf folder located in the /~ directory and memorize the permissions. And if anything happens I can just restore that folder and the set the permissions back?
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Click to collapse
yikes. . . not so sure (anymore) that a copy/paste and a chmod will be enough. . . A quick search for recover ESF provides numerous results inside XDA.
It seems that there are several methods to doing an effective backup of ESF data (and by effective, it means more than our copy folders!). The below thread by @tamirda offers several techniques for the I9500 model of the S4! This ESF process does seem to be "kind of" phone-specific, but perhaps some processes are fungible among all models.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2392632
From my quick (as yet unfinished) reading of some of the threads, it seems good to also know your IMEI #, independent of the ESF folder. Also --as @scott14719 stated--- there *is* more to it than just replacing the folder contents
@emckai, before you question, I was sanguine just having the folder backed up -now I am not. So thank you for asking this question! The answer is more than I thought!
Already I hit Play and downloaded/tried one of the programs. It loaded and "backed up" my ESF folder -then hot booted. However, I have not trashed my ESF data to test it so I will have to wait and see. (Some of the comments made it sound not so promising.)
But it also seems Odin can backup the ESF/IMEI data and restore it as well! I was going to see if Mobile Odin could do this too but I am running a 4.3 rom and Mobile Odin does not work so well on 4.3 yet..
Thanks. . .I have some more reading to do to protect my ESF :victory:
Edit: not sure, but perhaps that tar file for your ESF might be left there from an original Odin Flash of a kernel or rom. . .
Yeah I did some reading also around the XDA forums and some information found on Google but the information I found wasn't that useful; mostly because it was device specific.
After looking inside the EFS folder, each file had it's own permission which would cause a headache at the end.
Doesn't TWRP recovery have the option to backup the EFS folder? But it would be the same thing? Because apparently there are 2 blocks on the device where the IMEI information is stored and whenever something happens to the EFS folder or one of the blocks, it'll trigger on the Samsung boot screen and restore whatever is contained inside those blocks.
There is a lot of misinformation going around stating about EFS so I'm just left confused.
Hello Everyone.
So... I'll get right to the point here. My Galaxy S5 got stuck in factory mode. That day i was installing a bunch of ROMS. If you need a list of them, let me know.
I decided to go back to my old nandroid backup because I wanted to wait for a 4.4.4 version of the ROM i had found. However, I also got interested in installing a Custom Kernel, so I went ahead and installing Chronik Kernel cause I heard that it was really good. However, I forgot to wipe the cache and dalvik cache before installing the zip, so now I think it messed up my EFS partition, and am stuck in factory mode without WiFi and calling.
I have tried many methods involving the "FactoryApp" folder, but when I checked my phone to edit the text, the folder wasn't in the EFS folder. So I also knew that the Terminal Emulator option was out.
I even tried unrooting and re-installing the stock firmware and doing a factory reset, (I have a nandroid backup on computer) but even that didn't work. I can re-root if needed, but please someone help me, I really want to fix my phone soon. (Also I probably shouldn't have tried doing this on my vacation from home, oh well I am a really curious guy)
Help please!!
Someone please help me! I really don't know what to do! All that is in my EFS Folder is a bunch of APK files for apps i have installed and these files called: act_lock, react_lock and react.lock.bak. Someone please... I really want to get back on WiFi, also I am back from vacation, so I can use my Data plan to install things needed.
Is anyone going to help me?
OK. What is taking so long? I understand that lots of people have questions, but come on its been 1 week and no I be had helped me yet. Like I understand 3 to 4 days but a week? Please someone help me soon!
V1Command3r said:
OK. What is taking so long? I understand that lots of people have questions, but come on its been 1 week and no I be had helped me yet. Like I understand 3 to 4 days but a week? Please someone help me soon!
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Click to collapse
Typically it is in a file efs/FactoryApp/factorymode.
Can you show your efs folder structure?
EFS
vndnguyen said:
Typically it is in a file efs/FactoryApp/factorymode.
Can you show your efs folder structure?
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Click to collapse
Alright so inside that system folder is a bunch of apk files. The only thing that's in my efs folder is apks and a file called react_lock
V1Command3r said:
Alright so inside that system folder is a bunch of apk files. The only thing that's in my efs folder is apks and a file called react_lock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like you have an invalid efs folder.
Did you make the imei backup? If so just restore it.
If you don't have imei backup, try reflashing full stock firmware.
vndnguyen said:
It looks like you have an invalid efs folder.
Did you make the imei backup? If so just restore it.
If you don't have imei backup, try reflashing full stock firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No imei backup and I've tried installing stock firmware, still in factory mode
EFS
Weird thing is imei still the same. . I don't know why my phone being so
weird.
V1Command3r said:
Weird thing is imei still the same. . I don't know why my phone being so
weird.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is not too weird as Samsung now does not store the IMEI in EFS partition. It does store in another 2-3 partitions (these partitions are vary from model to model).
EFS partition does not contain the IMEI. It contain the S/N, WiFi and Bluetooth MAC addresses, etc...
Please do the following things:
1- Install Phone INFO ★Samsung★ app and look for the IMEI and S/N (in the DEVICE ID section), and compare them with the IMEI and S/N on the sticker behind the battery. Are they the same?
2- Create a file with a name 'factorymode' on the sdcard, open it, input 'ON' and then save it. Navigate to the efs folder, create the folder with a name 'FactoryApp' (case sensitive). Finally move the file 'factorymode' you have created above to that folder. Reboot the phone to see if the problem still persists?
EFS
vndnguyen said:
Yes, it is not too weird as Samsung now does not store the IMEI in EFS partition. It does store in another 2-3 partitions (these partitions are vary from model to model).
EFS partition does not contain the IMEI. It contain the S/N, WiFi and Bluetooth MAC addresses, etc...
Please do the following things:
1- Install Phone INFO ★Samsung★ app and look for the IMEI and S/N (in the DEVICE ID section), and compare them with the IMEI and S/N on the sticker behind the battery. Are they the same?
2- Create a file with a name 'factorymode' on the sdcard, open it, input 'ON' and then save it. Navigate to the efs folder, create the folder with a name 'FactoryApp' (case sensitive). Finally move the file 'factorymode' you have created above to that folder. Reboot the phone to see if the problem still persists?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright so the imei is the same but serial number isnt, however when I try to create folder it will say in efs partition: Operation failed:No Space Left On Device
V1Command3r said:
Alright so the imei is the same but serial number isnt, however when I try to create folder it will say in efs partition: Operation failed:No Space Left On Device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, as I have said, the efs folder does not contain the imei. However it does contain the S/N.
What did you mean by 'serial number isnt'? The S/N in Phone INFO app is still in valid format? Or it is zero or empty? Can you PM me that S/N (in Phone INFO app)?
Regarding creating folder, make sure your file explorer app has been grant root permission. And try to move/delete some APK files (in efs folder) to free space.
vndnguyen said:
Yes, it is not too weird as Samsung now does not store the IMEI in EFS partition. It does store in another 2-3 partitions (these partitions are vary from model to model).
EFS partition does not contain the IMEI. It contain the S/N, WiFi and Bluetooth MAC addresses, etc...
Please do the following things:
1- Install Phone INFO ★Samsung★ app and look for the IMEI and S/N (in the DEVICE ID section), and compare them with the IMEI and S/N on the sticker behind the battery. Are they the same?
2- Create a file with a name 'factorymode' on the sdcard, open it, input 'ON' and then save it. Navigate to the efs folder, create the folder with a name 'FactoryApp' (case sensitive). Finally move the file 'factorymode' you have created above to that folder. Reboot the phone to see if the problem still persists?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
vndnguyen said:
Yes, as I have said, the efs folder does not contain the imei. However it does contain the S/N.
What did you mean by 'serial number isnt'? The S/N in Phone INFO app is still in valid format? Or it is zero or empty? Can you PM me that S/N (in Phone INFO app)?
Regarding creating folder, make sure your file explorer app has been grant root permission. And try to move/delete some APK files (in efs folder) to free space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey I removed some apks, added the folder, rebooted and now my phone is working ?thank you so much!
V1Command3r said:
Hey I removed some apks, added the folder, rebooted and now my phone is working ?thank you so much!
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Click to collapse
Hey, glad that it worked and was helpful.
Please backup your IMEI asap (search for IMEI Backup app on the Play Store)
vndnguyen said:
Hey, glad that it worked and was helpful.
Please backup your IMEI asap (search for IMEI Backup app on the Play Store)
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Click to collapse
i still have the same problem did evry thing but didn't work for me :S
As I see often people having problems after flashing roms, I noticed that they always forgot one important thing to backup.
So I decide to write this article about the importants of the EFS as it is your lifeline of your phone.
Maybe you already have heard of the EFS partition, if not then keep on reading.
The EFS is a partition where the most important device infromation like Wi-Fi address, Bluetooth MAC address, IMEI address, etc is stored.
Without this data, you won’t be able to use your phone anymore and it's completely bricked.
So It’s extremely important to keep a local copy of your EFS partition as when the EFS is damaged then your phone has become useless and can only be restored with your personal EFS file.
You can't use an EFS file from somebody else as the file is your personal acces code to your hardware.
Hopefully you will never have to restore your EFS partition.
However, it’s never a bad idea to make a backup copy, especially if you flash allot of roms like I do.
Thanks to xenon92 for the APK version.
Thanks to lyriquidperfection for the window version
Reserved...
but i dont have an efs.img backup
aakpSolder said:
but i dont have an efs.img backup
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Click to collapse
I don't understand the question.
Technical you might never need it, but it's just incase something went wrong.
i have flashed my phone already hundred of times and it always went okay.
If you use the tool from Xenon92 then it will create your backup and you can copy it somewhere safe
Thank you
02mhr02