Database Develop

restore nv-data.bin

So. my IMEI is jacked up. I made a copy of /efs when I got the phone but instead of making an archive I did a straight copy, Seems like the fat filesystem owned the permissions.
I am trying to restore from that backup but I am not having luck. People say you can just drop those files into place but it seems that they are replaced after every reboot. What do the permissions need to be? I see that ownership needs to be 1001:1001. Also, can I do this on JH7 with any success?

If your flashed back to stock OTA JH7? Shouldn't need to have to restore them.
Only need to input that (if Android ID doesn't work) - you should be able to copy it using ADB shell and SU.
cp /dir/foo /dir/newfoo

I used the CWM flashable zip to get back to JH7, didn't use odin (im not at home yet, and this was eating away at me at work, heh).
Ill flash back with odin and then see where that gets me. For my own sanitys sake, could you tell me what the permissions are on your files in /efs?

i have a fix that worked for me posted in the dev section

bames said:
i have a fix that worked for me posted in the dev section
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm..my product id is correct (...AATT). Maybe my current files are only half borked. Ill try restoring to jf6 with odin and see where I get. Thanks for the reply

z28james said:
Hmm..my product id is correct (...AATT). Maybe my current files are only half borked. Ill try restoring to jf6 with odin and see where I get. Thanks for the reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
once in jf6 if your imei isn't corrected then delete everything but the nv_data.bin and .nv_data.bak.md5.
use android terminal emulator to execute following (must have busybox installed)
su
busybox chown 1001:1001 /efs/nv_data.bin
reboot

avgjoegeek said:
If your flashed back to stock OTA JH7? Shouldn't need to have to restore them.
Only need to input that (if Android ID doesn't work) - you should be able to copy it using ADB shell and SU.
cp /dir/foo /dir/newfoo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fyi android id is different than the device id. Device ID = IMEI.

I see my problem, the efs directory I have is from my OLD captivate. Arrrg....I have no backup of my current /efs. The random nv_data.bin it creates has the correct product code already.
There must be something in the phone that knows the imei as this is why it was not accepting my dropped in files (the files from my old phone).
Ah well...ill use it till ATT blocks the test IMEI "lose" mine and go get a refurb as I have insurance.
FYI, the stock original firmware does not create those .bak files from what I could see. I bet your files had jacked product IDs but perhaps the part that went with your IMEI was still intact. This would be why my phone wont accept my old phones nv_data.bin?

once your in stock
run the terminal emu commands you should have baks once your system reboots.
I can delete my baks
run the term commands reboot and they will generate again.
if you have both bin.md5 and bak.md5 delete the bin and run terminal commands.

bames said:
once your in stock
run the terminal emu commands you should have baks once your system reboots.
I can delete my baks
run the term commands reboot and they will generate again.
if you have both bin.md5 and bak.md5 delete the bin and run terminal commands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of those files get generated for me or exist. If I remove everything, a generic nv_data.bin and .imei get created. Thats it. If I copy over the files from my old captivate, I believe they do get created but since the IMEI in that file does not match whatever is being checked in the phone, new files are created anyways.
I suppose nobody as of now knows how to generate the string that is in the nv_data.bin based on an IMEI so it seems that I am out of luck.
Perhaps some shady place in town can help me repair the IMEI or something

I ended up calling Samsung today. I described the problem (damaged IMEI) and they sent me a pre-paid shipping label to send it off to Plano TX to have them take a look (i'm in Austin).
I will let you guys know how this turns out.

My phone is on its way back to me. They ended up swapping the mainboard under warranty.
I suppose if you have a damaged IMEI and can deal with using an old phone for a week, consider sending it over to samsung.

did you have to pay for new mainboard? cause i got the same problem but i am not the orginal owner for the phone.

Jeez, that's wild. What is the correct way to go about backing up the necessary information while the phone is still stock? Planning on rooting (but not unlocking) my gf's Captivate and want to make sure I leave a proper trail of breadcrumbs.

Phateless said:
Jeez, that's wild. What is the correct way to go about backing up the necessary information while the phone is still stock? Planning on rooting (but not unlocking) my gf's Captivate and want to make sure I leave a proper trail of breadcrumbs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was no cost. They could see based on the IMEI that it was still in warranty. My mistake is I forgot to make a backup of /efs. If you make a backup before doing the OTA update, the unlock code in in clear text

z28james said:
It was no cost. They could see based on the IMEI that it was still in warranty. My mistake is I forgot to make a backup of /efs. If you make a backup before doing the OTA update, the unlock code in in clear text
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So just back up that efs folder and that's it? Anything else?
This phone was purchased used on Craigslist so I don't there's any warranty remaining. It's a 1007 so it's older...

Phateless said:
So just back up that efs folder and that's it? Anything else?
This phone was purchased used on Craigslist so I don't there's any warranty remaining. It's a 1007 so it's older...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the warranty period is a year and so since its been less than a year since the captivates release, you should be good. It would seem the only way it would be out of warranty would be if samsung for some reason deemed it to be at some point. Im sure you could call samsung with the IMEI and verify.
In my case, my product ID had become damaged. My problem is although I had a backup of /efs, it was for my first captivate, not my current. I deleted /efs and moved the backup into place. Seeing that it was the nv_data.bin for some other phone with another IMEI (the IMEI is encrypted inside that file) it instead replaced the files with a generic set of files and the dreaded test IMEI.
Since nobody had a good way to write the IMEI to that file as it expects, I was SOL.
If I could do it again, I would make a .99 cent jig (I did this using a wonderful thread here labeled something like "make a jig without cutting up USB cable) which gets you into download mode if odin or something soft bricks your phone, root, make a backup of /efs and then take a nandroid backup. I THINK I remember reading that sgstools can backup /efs for you but in the sticky there is a method on how to make a .tar of /efs (good as this will retain permissions/ownership as if you straight copy them to the sd card with fat32, the filesystem does not understand linux permissions and blows them away).

Master-Clear did the trick 4 me
OP I had the same exact same problem here. I spent many hours looking for a fix, N/G, nothing I tried would work. Didn't want to go to AT&T so I took a big chance and went into the efs folder and started deleting files one at a time. When I was through the efs was empty, did this with Root Explorer. When I did a reboot I wound up with a different IMEI, had NO data connection, NO APN, but wifi worked fine. I then did a factory reset from CW which did nothing, still no data connection. More time down so I loaded up ODIN3 One-Click and did a Master Clear. This was the last thing I was going to try before a trip to your friendly AT&T store. Well low and behold after the Master Clear and a reboot everything is back to normal! My IMEI is correct, APN is back, 3G working, wifi working. TITS! What a rush!

TommyZee said:
OP I had the same exact same problem here. I spent many hours looking for a fix, N/G, nothing I tried would work. Didn't want to go to AT&T so I took a big chance and went into the efs folder and started deleting files one at a time. When I was through the efs was empty, did this with Root Explorer. When I did a reboot I wound up with a different IMEI, had NO data connection, NO APN, but wifi worked fine. I then did a factory reset from CW which did nothing, still no data connection. More time down so I loaded up ODIN3 One-Click and did a Master Clear. This was the last thing I was going to try before a trip to your friendly AT&T store. Well low and behold after the Master Clear and a reboot everything is back to normal! My IMEI is correct, APN is back, 3G working, wifi working. TITS! What a rush!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know where I can find this ODIN3 one-click and how to do a master clear?

[Q] IEMI & CyanogenMod 7 problem

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!

[Q] imei problem in ROM][IMM76I][4.0.4][AOSP] ICS333 RC4

hello,
i flashed ROM][IMM76I][4.0.4][AOSP] ICS333 RC4 from GB 2.3.5 AND my imei disapeard.
i flashed back to stock rom and the celular service worked .
then i flashed back to ROM][IMM76I][4.0.4][AOSP] ICS333 RC4 and now i have a imie and everything works fine execpt of the face that the imei is not the one listed on the phone (behind the battery. is that o.k ?

shmhazan said:
hello,
i flashed ROM][IMM76I][4.0.4][AOSP] ICS333 RC4 from GB 2.3.5 AND my imei disapeard.
i flashed back to stock rom and the celular service worked .
then i flashed back to ROM][IMM76I][4.0.4][AOSP] ICS333 RC4 and now i have a imie and everything works fine execpt of the face that the imei is not the one listed on the phone (behind the battery. is that o.k ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash back to stock and backup your EFS folder this includes the nv_data.bin file that contains your IMEI
Google search will be you friend or alterntively search the forum as this question has been asked before and answered by myself for other users

just reflash your stock rom....

I found there was an autobackup in /sdcard/efs/IMEI so backed up /efs and then copied /sdcard/efs/IMEI to /efs ...bit scary though for a simple ROM flash

jago25_98 said:
I found there was an autobackup in /sdcard/efs/IMEI so backed up /efs and then copied /sdcard/efs/IMEI to /efs ...bit scary though for a simple ROM flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
read the disclaimer that all DEVs post on the OP They all say the same thing
"Flash at your own risk"
Remember these are not the Factory ROMs and things may go wrong.
Read the whole thread for a ROM makes for a very informed decision before flashing

I guess what I'm dying to know is why some rooms blank the efs folder and why some don't. I read about losing the efs folder but after doing gummy and black from without needing to restore I figured the backup had to be just a precaution. hope the restore instructions get added to instructions.
is is that some rooms have the efs folder in their tar all and others don't? if so might it be better to not have it in the tar all so restore isn't needed. if you do a cp and get the order wrong you might blank your only backup (should have another backup of course but its nice to be nice to people of course

jago25_98 said:
is is that some rooms have the efs folder in their tar all and others don't?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EFS folder is a STATIC folder ie it will NEVER be included in a ROM stock or custom.
The nv_data.bin file located in the EFS folder contains data unique to each handset therefore it will not be included in any ROM.
Some ICS ROMs will cause issues with the permissions on the EFS folder and the files within causing the IMEI to display incorrectly or to have none at all

Lexrsk said:
EFS folder is a STATIC folder ie it will NEVER be included in a ROM stock or custom.
The nv_data.bin file located in the EFS folder contains data unique to each handset therefore it will not be included in any ROM.
Some ICS ROMs will cause issues with the permissions on the EFS folder and the files within causing the IMEI to display incorrectly or to have none at all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's the thing you see. As far as I can tell ICS333 doesn't have the /efs folder so whatever is on there before the ROM is loaded should be there after unpacking. But unlike the Black ROM it isn't and I don't understand why.

jago25_98 said:
Well that's the thing you see. As far as I can tell ICS333 doesn't have the /efs folder so whatever is on there before the ROM is loaded should be there after unpacking. But unlike the Black ROM it isn't and I don't understand why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it it is not there then post in the ICS333 thread.
Include the output of "df" from either terminal emulator or ADB
ie
cd /
df >>/sdcard/phonedir.txt

thanks,
i copied the backuped nv data from stock rom and got my imie back.
maybe it's somthing in the permissions ilke said here.
thanks a lot .

i9000m insanity (semi-brick issue)

Hi guys,
Ok, so I've been Googling like a mofo for the past 3-4 days, trying this and that, investigating my issues, and I still need some help.
I've got a Bell I9000M that I would describe as the following:
1) Boots into any rom I flash via Odin (so far just GB and Froyo)
2) Internal SD works (I can see my files via USB), but "Internal Storage" shows unavailable.
3)I also flashed this phone before backing up my EFS folder so my unlock number is scrambled. I have a backup of the post unlocking-attempt EFS folder, but am unable to copy this back to where it needs to be. I've tried with ADB and no dice and I've tried copying it in with the phone on using Root Explorer - Root Explorer will copy the files back (and I'll even get the no SIM icon after a few minutes), but everything's gone and the EFS folder is empty when I reboot.
I'm kinda stuck. I just got this phone off CL last week thinking I'd flash it and go on my merry way like I normally do. I wasn't aware of the I9000M's horrid reliability. Anyway, any help would be appreciated!

ch0g0nda said:
Hi guys,
Ok, so I've been Googling like a mofo for the past 3-4 days, trying this and that, investigating my issues, and I still need some help.
I've got a Bell I9000M that I would describe as the following:
1) Boots into any rom I flash via Odin (so far just GB and Froyo)
2) Internal SD works (I can see my files via USB), but "Internal Storage" shows unavailable.
3)I also flashed this phone before backing up my EFS folder so my unlock number is scrambled. I have a backup of the post unlocking-attempt EFS folder, but am unable to copy this back to where it needs to be. I've tried with ADB and no dice and I've tried copying it in with the phone on using Root Explorer - Root Explorer will copy the files back (and I'll even get the no SIM icon after a few minutes), but everything's gone and the EFS folder is empty when I reboot.
I'm kinda stuck. I just got this phone off CL last week thinking I'd flash it and go on my merry way like I normally do. I wasn't aware of the I9000M's horrid reliability. Anyway, any help would be appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use the solutions on Quick fixes and solutions link below, especially the guide on how to make efs stick after reboots

Ok, so I did the making the IMEI/efs stick and it seems to have rectified everything for me! IMEI is back to what it should be, baseband is back, storage reads properly. Wow! I'm ecstatic right now! I've been dicking with this thing since last Friday and you've got me sorted in under 10 minutes, brilliant!
If you ever pass through British Columbia, let me know! I'll buy you a beer or something
Thanks again!

correct IMEI, but NO EFS folder --> no service

Hello guys, a friend of mine just gave me his phone because "it has got a problem" he said. He just flashed a ROM from CMW, but he noticed that there was no service. the problem is that, if I dial *#06# there is the CORRECT IMEI, but if I search for the EFS folder, there is no trace of it. how is this possible? the IMEI shown in the phone also corresponds to the IMEI wrote on the back of the phone... so it's clearly correct. how this could be possible? I tried adding manually the EFS folder using root explorer (and mounting it as R/W), but after the reboot the phone automatically delete the folder I created.. any idea? thank you!

blak24 said:
Hello guys, a friend of mine just gave me his phone because "it has got a problem" he said. He just flashed a ROM from CMW, but he noticed that there was no service. the problem is that, if I dial *#06# there is the CORRECT IMEI, but if I search for the EFS folder, there is no trace of it. how is this possible? the IMEI shown in the phone also corresponds to the IMEI wrote on the back of the phone... so it's clearly correct. how this could be possible? I tried adding manually the EFS folder using root explorer (and mounting it as R/W), but after the reboot the phone automatically delete the folder I created.. any idea? thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look in My Android Solutions
But First powerdown, pull out Battery, SIM CARD, and EXT.SD card, press power button for a minute, than powerup without SIM and Ext.SD Card, after flashing and reboot , insert them back
Tips before Flashing:-
Backup all your important files, contacts, SMS, game data, images etc to PC or Ext SD card. or make Nanadroid Backup If you have CWM
Backup your EFS Folder to PC or Ext SD card
Enable USB Debugging on Phone. Touch menu> Settings> Applications> Development>
Charge your battery to more than 50% before you attempt any sort of flashing.
Disable Samsung KIES when using Odin. Kill Kies.exe, KiesTrayAgent.exe, & KiesPDLR.exe using Task Manager on PC
Use only ROM and solution for your model and Wipe x3

nothing worked for me.. I tried to flash an earlier version of android, gingerbread, and the EFS folder was recreated but was incomplete. there were no "imei" folder into efs folder, and also there were no nv_core.back files, ecc... despite this, the IMEI number was shown correctly in the phone, but no signal/data... :S

blak24 said:
nothing worked for me.. I tried to flash an earlier version of android, gingerbread, and the EFS folder was recreated but was incomplete. there were no "imei" folder into efs folder, and also there were no nv_core.back files, ecc... despite this, the IMEI number was shown correctly in the phone, but no signal/data... :S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried restoring the original firmware and checked? If not you should do that.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1102881
:fingers-crossed:

no network service issue with jelly bean
I have a similar issue here.
First of all I flashed usin this guide:
thehelptimes.com/install-jelly-bean-on-galaxy-s-i9000-how-to-official-rom-android-4-1
provider is congstar (T-Mobile reseller)
*#06# gives me the correct IMEI
/efs folder exist
/efs/imei too
I tried killing the nv_data.bin in order to have the phone recreate it. That happened, now the phone asked for a pin at reboot but the pin doesn´t get
accepted. It also doesn´t get locked after 3 attempts. It just doesn´t get accepted.
Then I noticed that the rights of the nv_data.bin are different than the other files. I changed that but it got changed back after reboot and the pin still isn´t accepted.
I have no idea whats wrong. Next attempt back to gingerbread :-/

EMnEL said:
Have you tried restoring the original firmware and checked? If not you should do that.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1102881
:fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep I tried restoring gingerbread, and, as I said, the phone created the efs folder, but it was incomplete... there were no IMEI folder, other folders were missing, and there were NO nv_data.bin files. I tried reflashing jelly bean and the efs folder was, again, completely missing...

Alright, I am gone back to XJVP but this wasn´t much help.
No signal either.
IMEI still shown by dialing *#06#
as of forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=26827676&postcount=4512
I need to get into root to kill the efs folder.
So I am back to XXJVU (gingerbread) now to get it rooted.
Before root there is still no network yet but I still can display the IMEI 3547.... (which is listed in the settings too).
Alright now I am going to root it. Hope this helps somehow.
I have the strong feeling that this phone ends up as a mp3/mp4 player
UPDATE....
- Alright, according to this I better not kill the efs by ODIN ? I didn´t yet. forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1114958
- I checked the efs folder and noticed it is pretty much holding the same content as
in an efs offered for download "i9000 358001043596739 efs.rar" at 199.91.153.60/pa6q9c9bboog/eyyse638dh3kncn/i9000++358001043596739+efs.rar
So it looks pretty much like it should, I can see my perfect IMEI but it still doesn´t work. I am lost. No clue.
Back in my I9003 the SIM just works perfect so it is obviously not an issue of the SIM
UPDATE 2...
- flashed back to XXJP1 Froyo which was a bad idea now the IMEI is empty - F**K!
- going back to XXJVU now
UPDATE 3...
- Back to XXJVU still no signal however it detected at least T-Mobile at boot and gave me a radio box to select T-Mobile.
Sometimes the signal strength shows one bar (two bars when I am going to the window that points in direction of the sender)
though it should be fairly more here as other phones proof. No matter what that means anyway it says there is no service.
UPDATE 4...
- Compared the mobile settings with the i9003 and noticed that the i9003 shows EDGE, the i9000 GPRS

Alright, I got it back to GT_I9000_XXJQ3_XXJPY_DBTJS2 and made an official upgrade to the latest stock via KIES then. Nothing better.
I assume thise phone got a hardware defect then. Even though it doesn´t seem too logical