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Hi all,
I recently upgraded to JPM version of froyo, and wanted to change back the product code to the original. After restoring from the .bak files, I got back the original product codes. However, while copying to another location for backup, I deleted the contents of the /efs folder by mistake (atleast I think I did).
The /efs folder is empty, but the phone still works fine. Haven't rebooted the phone for fear of bricking it. Is there a way to recover deleted files? Or are those files just hidden from view?
Someone please help
Update:
Managed to get of copy of nv_data.bin from a folder used by sgstoolbox. Rebooted the phone and phone works fine. Checked the folder contents, has nv_data.bin, nv_data.bin.md5, .nv_state and a folder named .android. Is there anything else which should be there? How to restore?
Do you have a backup of your /efs folder?
Woah same happened to me just some Hours ago !
If you used SGS Toolbox to check, you are lucky because it automatically creates a backup.
-> I think SUFBS Explorer deleted the efs because i am sure i checked "copy" ... anyway !
If you have any backup file, you are lucky.
One question by the way:
I´ve also lost the "IMEI" Folder, but my IMEI is still correct. Is that because ne nv_bin is just enough for the system checks ?
EDIT: Go and check with SGS Toolbox, if it displays your code, it is still there + it creates a backup file on your sdcard (you should double-check that anyway)
I'd say that the best and easiest way of restoring your product code is by using this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=787163
messing around with /efs folder is not a good idea, especially if you don't have a back up.
Just remembered that I have a titanium batch backup of system + apps taken a while ago when I was on stock firmware. Any way to restore the /efs folder from that? The shock of losing the /efs folder was enough to jolt me out of a beer induced haze ;-)
The phone still works, which is good news. But anyway to restore from Titanium backup?
fullerms said:
Just remembered that I have a titanium batch backup of system + apps taken a while ago when I was on stock firmware. Any way to restore the /efs folder from that? The shock of losing the /efs folder was enough to jolt me out of a beer induced haze ;-)
The phone still works, which is good news. But anyway to restore from Titanium backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium does not backup /efs.. If you don't have a backup, you're basically screwed! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news
Like I said, the phone works fine after I restored the nv_data.bin file. I listed the files which were rebuilt by the system. Is there anything else missing? Can someone post a screen shot of the contents of your efs folder?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
fullerms said:
Like I said, the phone works fine after I restored the nv_data.bin file. I listed the files which were rebuilt by the system. Is there anything else missing? Can someone post a screen shot of the contents of your efs folder?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, so you DID have a backup? Nice! Besides what you lited in the first post, there are the following things:
.imei (file)
imei (folder)
- .nvmac.info
- bt.txt
- mps_code.dat
Any idea what those files are for? Possible to check what they contain?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Like i said, my imei folder was deleted aswell...
No problems so far with that !
Use rootexplorer, dont use ASTRO. It's crap and does not show all files, including the whole /efs
My EFS folder is empty too...and I don't know why, I have only flashed a couple of time with odin and JM9....
But SGS Toolbox report my csc correctly as ITV....even if I used the HUI csc from my operator with odin....
Could it be a problem if the efs folder is empty? The phone is working well...the only problem is that it loses very often the wifi connection...but I don't think that it is csc related...
Hey folks. I'm having a hell of a time here - I noticed that after the (fresh) installation of cm7 and updating to the latest nightly, my imei changed to 004999010640000.
Now, I have two backups, and went ahead and copied nv_data.bin, from when I originally got the phone, to /efs and changed the permissions to 1001:1001. After a reboot, imei is still 004999010640000.
I went ahead and flashed back to JL2, at which point my iemi was showing correctly, so I flashed speedmod, flashed cm7-kernel, rebooted, installed the cm7 update, and now my iemi is back to 004999010640000.
It doesn't seem to have any negative effects, my phone works as it usually does, but it is driving me nuts why my iemi is buggered up under cm7, and why restoring the original doesn't fix it. Is this a cm7 issue?
TIA
CM7 copies the efs folder and reads it from somewhere else. That's why restoring it to original place didn't do anything. Don't know why it changed it.
Yeah I started poking around the initial flash zip and noticed that all efsbackup.sh does it copy the contents of /efs to /sdcard/backup/efs.
I figured that they were keeping /efs because of
Code:
/dev/block/mtdblock4 on /efs type yaffs2 (rw,relatime)
showing up when viewing mounts...
Still having the problem... im hoping someone here can offer up some suggestions.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
EFS backup post somewhere on the forum its a topic thats been well covered.
Due to flashing wiping efs .
One post is .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881162
jje
JJEgan said:
EFS backup post somewhere on the forum its a topic thats been well covered.
Due to flashing wiping efs .
One post is .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881162
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link, but it doesn't relate to my problem. The edits to nv_data.bin in that thread relate to changing the product code back to a proper AT&T product code on the captivate. I have a BMC i9000m, and an original (and proper) nv_data.bin from my stock phone when purchased.
The issue is when I copy my proper nv_data.bin to /efs, set proper permissions and reboot, it reverts back to a buggered IEMI according to settings -> status in CM7. I'm looking to find how how exactly CM7 handles /efs, and if it is CM7 specifically that is overwriting my nv_data.bin or if something else is at work.
Ah, finally figured it out. After seeing what nv.log was saying and thanks to zacharias over on the cm forums for tipping me off that just restoring nv_data might not work without everything else in /efs. I transferred my efs backup from windows to my ubuntu vm, set the permissions and made a tarball. Transferred that to my device, extracted the tarball, rebooted and poof, it worked. As this was a complete /efs backup and not just nv_data.bin, I'm guessing there was another file that the phone needed, despite what some of the guides say.
I still wish I knew what caused the phone to reject the nv_data.bin (as per nv.log)... I did delete the nv_data.bin.md5 because I read elsewhere that the phone would simply rebuild a new hash on boot, but it obviously didn't work. I wonder if it had something to do with that.
Oh well, it works now... thanks everyone!
Hey, I got some problems. Posted in another forum, but it's very urgent so I post it here to. Just quoting what I previously posted.
Hey, flashed the JVS modem on top of the Chameleon Final. Didn't get any signal and the baseband version in settings stated "unknown". Tried another modem, JVO and flashed back to Chameleon modem, still not fixed. Also tried to wipe everything and install rom again... did not help either. Odin didn't report any errors whatsoever.
Desperate for some help her guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got reply that my IMEI was screwed, and replied:
[quote author=bahafeld link=topic=1931.msg13081#msg13081 date=1316107492]
Okey, I have backup of my original EFS folder. Isn't it there the IMEI is saved? can I just copy it over again with Root Explorer?
Please help me out here. All the guides I've found have the EFS saved in a .tar format. However I just backed up the EFS folder with root explorer. Anyone know I can recover my EFS, tried just copying it back, but that did not work.
Its kinda urgent!
[/quote]
So I hope you guys at XDA can help me a bit faster.
Thx
bahafeld
if you have a .tar version of your EFS. Unzip it. Copy all the contents of it, And paste them to the /EFS on the phone. Making sure they overwrite the current contents.
Once that has done, Restart the phone without backing out of root explorer (or what ever app you are using to copy/paste these files).
If that fails, Repeat the above step but ONLY copy / paste the NV_data.bin & NV_data.bin.md5
And finally if that fails. Backup all your stuff using Titanium Backup (or similar) And re flash a stock Froyo ROM. Maybe older, its upto you.
That will Definitely restore the IMEI, Then re-root and go back to whatever ROM you wish.
Good luck.
Hi All,
like many of the users I have a problem with missing /efs folder. Although I can't find it I have my IMEI and my phone (S5830) works fine. I can make and receive calls.
But let's start from the beginning. I had Android in 2.3.3 version.
Using this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1034145 I have upgraded it to 2.3.6.
I have also rooted it using universal_gb_root_v25.zip.
Now I wanted to play with it a little more so I though of doing backup. Previously I made one using CWM but I read that it doesn't backup /efs folder that stores IMEI and other important data. So I started searching through the forum for a solution. I've downloaded EFS Professional but for some reason it gives me error "An error occured while getting partition list!" when I select my phone from the drop-down list on the backup tab. I cannot do backup because the "Device Partitions" window is empty.
I did not give up and searched the forum a little more. So I've downloaded two apps: ES File Explorer and Root Explorer. Unfortunately both could not locate /efs folder. All the Linux folders were there except /efs. There's dev and next is etc. No efs.
So I though that maybe the folder was hidden but the I checked the options of Root Explorer to show hidden files.
Lastly I checked the method with adb shell and busybox like below:
adb shell
su
tar zcvf /sdcard/efs-backup.tar.gz /efs
but as I though I got the message that /efs folder could not be found.
Has anyone have an idea how to get to /efs folder in my case? Where does my phone keep IMEI? How to backup (and restore) my phone in this scenario? Is there any other way to backup the most important files?
I know there are lot of questions but I'd appreciate helping me with it. Thanks in advance.
habit81 said:
Hi All,
like many of the users I have a problem with missing /efs folder. Although I can't find it I have my IMEI and my phone (S5830) works fine. I can make and receive calls.
But let's start from the beginning. I had Android in 2.3.3 version.
Using this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1034145 I have upgraded it to 2.3.6.
I have also rooted it using universal_gb_root_v25.zip.
Now I wanted to play with it a little more so I though of doing backup. Previously I made one using CWM but I read that it doesn't backup /efs folder that stores IMEI and other important data. So I started searching through the forum for a solution. I've downloaded EFS Professional but for some reason it gives me error "An error occured while getting partition list!" when I select my phone from the drop-down list on the backup tab. I cannot do backup because the "Device Partitions" window is empty.
I did not give up and searched the forum a little more. So I've downloaded two apps: ES File Explorer and Root Explorer. Unfortunately both could not locate /efs folder. All the Linux folders were there except /efs. There's dev and next is etc. No efs.
So I though that maybe the folder was hidden but the I checked the options of Root Explorer to show hidden files.
Lastly I checked the method with adb shell and busybox like below:
adb shell
su
tar zcvf /sdcard/efs-backup.tar.gz /efs
but as I though I got the message that /efs folder could not be found.
Has anyone have an idea how to get to /efs folder in my case? Where does my phone keep IMEI? How to backup (and restore) my phone in this scenario? Is there any other way to backup the most important files?
I know there are lot of questions but I'd appreciate helping me with it. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its difficult to find the efs folder bt u can check ur IMEI number by this code *#06#.
you can backup efs files by efs professional tool.
a CWM backup is also safe as it includes most of important files.
hit thanx if helped.
its difficult to find the efs folder bt u can check ur IMEI number by this code *#06#.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was clever enough to write down my IMEI before but this is not an issue. The phone works fine.
you can backup efs files by efs professional tool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already wrote that I'm getting an error "An error occured while getting partition list!" using EFS Pro
Anyone has other ideas?
habit81 said:
I was clever enough to write down my IMEI before but this is not an issue. The phone works fine.
I already wrote that I'm getting an error "An error occured while getting partition list!" using EFS Pro
Anyone has other ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1637249 may this thread help u
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1637249 may this thread help u
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the one above. From this post I read that SGA does not have /efs (folder/partition) or it is not mounted by default so I can't see it. Which one is the right answer? It does not exists or it is not mounted?
If doesn't exists then where should I look for IMEI data and all other critical stuff?
If it exists I could issue:
mount -r -t ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 /efs
-r not to make any changes. I would have to create /efs folder first using: adb shell mkdir /efs
Am I following the right path?
I'd have already tried that but don't want to screw up my phone. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
habit81 said:
Thanks for the one above. From this post I read that SGA does not have /efs (folder/partition) or it is not mounted by default so I can't see it. Which one is the right answer? It does not exists or it is not mounted?
If doesn't exists then where should I look for IMEI data and all other critical stuff?
If it exists I could issue:
mount -r -t ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 /efs
-r not to make any changes. I would have to create /efs folder first using: adb shell mkdir /efs
Am I following the right path?
I'd have already tried that but don't want to screw up my phone. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can suggest you
DON'T TOUCH/MOUNT ESF FOLDER AND DON'T TRY TO BACK UP IT EITHER,DOING IT = BRICK!!
I can suggest you
DON'T TOUCH/MOUNT ESF FOLDER AND DON'T TRY TO BACK UP IT EITHER,DOING IT = BRICK!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion however this doesn't bring any useful information to this topic. I already know to be very careful with EFS data.
I would like to get some answers about configuration of this data on SGA. I would like to know whether there is a way to back it up That's all
habit81 said:
Thanks for the suggestion however this doesn't bring any useful information to this topic. I already know to be very careful with EFS data.
I would like to get some answers about configuration of this data on SGA. I would like to know whether there is a way to back it up That's all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's useful...anyway It's really simple, FORGET TO BACKUP YOUR EFS FOLDER OR YOU'LL BRICK YOUR PHONE!!
First... the question is why would you wanna backup your IMEI ? You needn't even write it down as a backup if you have the bill of your phone. And in case if you ever lost the IMEI, there is a guide to restore it & you can restore your older IMEI. So why worry to backup ?
Sent from my GT-S5830 using xda premium
I wrote the IMEI down just as a precaution. I didn't know it was on the bill as to be honest the phone used to belong to my wife. I know there are several threads about restoring IMEI and other necessary data. I have already viewed them.
The reason I put this thread was that I was unable to locate the famous efs folder. I'm new in this stuff but I'm also a quick learner. After going through several threads and articles I was curious why I could not locate efs folder on my SGA. Answers such as "don't look for it or you will damage your phone" are just simply not what I was looking for. Anyway if someone please explain me the technical details of this phone and the reason why I can't make a backup using several tools and methods I would be very grateful.
Your quest for the efs folder is unending. I appreciate your effort in learning new things but what's the point of finding something that's of no practical use ? Yeah, you can't find the efs folder & no one else has ever worried about it coz everyone knows how to get their phone back online when they lose their IMEI. So either backing it up or looking for it is not worth a penny . All that counts is that the phone works & that the IMEI is secured, be it without that folder of your interest. If you clearly state your intentions with what you have to do by backing it up, someone might be able to help.
Sent from my GT-S5830 using xda premium
Hi I am have just joined the forum searching for a help. It was my first time flashing custom roms and had been at fault in technically missing some of the instruction. I have failed to backup any bin, img or efs folder which could help me fix IMEI. using MTK droid tool (for MT6589), I am receiving an error of missing pttycmd1 and even searching the root of my phone, I can't find any nv_ram or efs. Is there any other way to fix my device?
Baseband: Unknown
No IMEI
cannot use AT+egmr command
thanks for the reply.
efs ?
efs is a partition for sim unlock right ?
i do hope so, because I just read from other threads about exploring and backup of efs can fix baseband & imei.
I can't find my efs either. The issue I'm having is to get rid of Factory Mode. Have seen tutorials on how to do it, but the efs file is missing and so I can't actually do it. Any suggestions on how to fix these issues? Thanks
Hi. I'm new to rooting and flashing ROM's. I have had a Samsung Captivate (Gingerbread) that I haven't been using for quite some time and I thought I might try to update it to KitKat. I have read that it would be important to back up the EFS file so that I can keep my IMEI info. I rooted my phone using the tutorial on these forums and tried to use EFS Pro, but was not able to get past "the device is not perm rooted". Various threads suggested changing adb status, but I could not find that information (though I was able to find the USB debugging selection). I know that the phone is rooted so I looked for an older copy of EFS Pro in case the newer versions had dropped support for the Captivate. I couldn't find one so I looked at other ways to back up the files, but most information was for other (newer) Samsung phones. I could not install Samsung Tools. I really don't want to proceed with installing KitKat before backing up the EFS information. How do I go about doing this? I have tried the search function on the forum for this device and couldn't find what I was looking for (or maybe I didn't understand the information). Any thoughts?
I hope flashing KitKat will be easier than this issue...
Thanks.
Curious D said:
Hi. I'm new to rooting and flashing ROM's. I have had a Samsung Captivate (Gingerbread) that I haven't been using for quite some time and I thought I might try to update it to KitKat. I have read that it would be important to back up the EFS file so that I can keep my IMEI info. I rooted my phone using the tutorial on these forums and tried to use EFS Pro, but was not able to get past "the device is not perm rooted". Various threads suggested changing adb status, but I could not find that information (though I was able to find the USB debugging selection). I know that the phone is rooted so I looked for an older copy of EFS Pro in case the newer versions had dropped support for the Captivate. I couldn't find one so I looked at other ways to back up the files, but most information was for other (newer) Samsung phones. I could not install Samsung Tools. I really don't want to proceed with installing KitKat before backing up the EFS information. How do I go about doing this? I have tried the search function on the forum for this device and couldn't find what I was looking for (or maybe I didn't understand the information). Any thoughts?
I hope flashing KitKat will be easier than this issue...
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could just manually backup your efs folder using a root explorer or through adb. Have that backup on your pc in case you lose your IMEI.
That being said, when it happens (which is fairly rare), a flash back to stock (KK4) usually fixes it and then you're fine to update/flash again.
Other EFS backup options would include:
1) EFS☆IMEI☆Backup by wanam >> his xda thread, his playstore listing.
2) [HOWTO]Comprehensive IMEI/EFS Backup lists two simple ways to permanently backup up IMEI on your phone. One is with adb, the other is with Terminal Emulator for those with rooted devices. The commands used are said to be based on "Samsung's built in backup." The thread is in the SGS3 forum, if nothing else is an excellent source of background information for backing up and restoring nvdata.
I tried to copy the efs folder using Root Browser because the adb method looked very involved. When I started Root Browser, it was able to see a Titanium backup that I had placed into the SD card even though I had formatted the SD card. I figured that the format didn't wipe the information so I proceeded to copy the efs folder over. However, after copying the folder, I stuck the card into my computer and did not see the folder and could not copy the folder over to my computer. Is it because the card is formatted differently than my computer or is it that the file is not compatible with Windows given that it is an Android folder?
Will copying the folder be enough for backing up? If it is this easy to restore the efs, why use EFS Pro? Is there something else with the folder that needs to be present in order to restore a phone that loses IMEI information?
Curious D said:
I tried to copy the efs folder using Root Browser because the adb method looked very involved. When I started Root Browser, it was able to see a Titanium backup that I had placed into the SD card even though I had formatted the SD card. I figured that the format didn't wipe the information so I proceeded to copy the efs folder over. However, after copying the folder, I stuck the card into my computer and did not see the folder and could not copy the folder over to my computer. Is it because the card is formatted differently than my computer or is it that the file is not compatible with Windows given that it is an Android folder?
Will copying the folder be enough for backing up? If it is this easy to restore the efs, why use EFS Pro? Is there something else with the folder that needs to be present in order to restore a phone that loses IMEI information?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have it on your SD card, it should be fine. The idea is to have it on something else than your device's internal memory in case something goes wrong and can't get it there.
As for efs pro, some devices can't manually backup like the Cappy or is not enough. But once again, it doesn't happen very often that you lose your IMEI.
Okay. That's great. I guess I can try my first ROM flashing to KitKat. Thanks.