IMEI loss after flashing to CM11 - Xperia Z1 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello everyone,
i flashed CM10.2 from the FreeXperia Project on my Z1 and it worked fine,
but the camera was very blurry and didn't take pictures at all.
So i decided to flash CM11 (also from FXP), the camera worked damn fine,
but now the IMEI is set to 0 (and IMEISV to 26, if thats a matter).
Without the IMEI my provider is blocking my access to UMTS and mobile
connection, so the phone is pretty much useless.
So my question is - is there a way to set the IMEI or flash it in from previous backups?
Thanks in advance
Ps: Sorry, forgot to mark it as a question and can't do it from editing.

Ok, i got the settings back by doing a full wipe and reflashing the stock rom.
Now i try to find a tool, that makes a backup of my efs-partition and is able
to restore it on cm11, if the IMEI is getting killed again.
The only tools i find for this are for other phones (though not safe for z1) or
not from reliable sources. Does somebody know a tool like that?
Thanks in advance

Nath.Schwarz said:
Ok, i got the settings back by doing a full wipe and reflashing the stock rom.
Now i try to find a tool, that makes a backup of my efs-partition and is able
to restore it on cm11, if the IMEI is getting killed again.
The only tools i find for this are for other phones (though not safe for z1) or
not from reliable sources. Does somebody know a tool like that?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I heard not heard of such a tool for the Z1. I remember reading about IMEI 0 some time ago, but don't remember many details. Search more, it's been mentioned before. You may have to go back to a stock FTF to fix it.

Related

[Q] phone refuses to read sim

I know there is another thread on this but none of the tips resolved the issue. so today i flashed cm10 with devilkernel and the modem got wiped. so naturally i flashed a new one. It said it flashed but didnt work. so i wiped it and tried another. this process repeated for 3 hours and my friend rhine, who is highly skilled with this, and i together could not get anything to work. there is no lock out message but once it said safe mode although that went away. thanks in advance.
rhvk37 said:
I know there is another thread on this but none of the tips resolved the issue. so today i flashed cm10 with devilkernel and the modem got wiped. so naturally i flashed a new one. It said it flashed but didnt work. so i wiped it and tried another. this process repeated for 3 hours and my friend rhine, who is highly skilled with this, and i together could not get anything to work. there is no lock out message but once it said safe mode although that went away. thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you checked to see if your IMEI is correct? I haven't heard much about it recently but when Jelly Bean first came out people would randomly have their EFS folder wiped when flashing to JB. Compare the IMEI listed on your phone under the battery to the one listed in the settings menu.
If they don't match then your best course of action is to use a one-click and take your phone back to stock which should restore your EFS folder. I would suggest then making a backup of that folder and then move forward with flashing as you've done before.
Some people say that removing your sim card during the flashing process will help prevent any issues but I've personally never had this problem.
m1batt1 said:
Have you checked to see if your IMEI is correct? I haven't heard much about it recently but when Jelly Bean first came out people would randomly have their EFS folder wiped when flashing to JB. Compare the IMEI listed on your phone under the battery to the one listed in the settings menu.
If they don't match then your best course of action is to use a one-click and take your phone back to stock which should restore your EFS folder. I would suggest then making a backup of that folder and then move forward with flashing as you've done before.
Some people say that removing your sim card during the flashing process will help prevent any issues but I've personally never had this problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Removing the sim fixed and reflashing the modem worked for me. thanks!

[Q] Unrooting & pulldown menu from lock screen questions?

Hi guys, just 2 things to ask:
1) I rooted my phone a few weeks back & thought everything was ok (I used binary's v26 toolkit) & thought everything went ok, however only noticed there were problems when it came to deleting/renaming/modifying anything in /system where my phone would constantly reboot.
So I have been advised to use SEUS to restore stock & to fully unroot - I just wanted to make sure this is safe to do & I won't have any errors etc? I know I will have to backup everything which isn't a problem, but is it fine to use on a 'broken' root? What is the difference between using SEUS to go back to factory & using the phone's factory reset anyway?
I plan to use this short guide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8LlNufSP2E, can anyone confirm I can use this method in my current situation? I also have CWM, I don't plan to re root after etc, not for a while anyway, so doesn't bother me losing CWM & root!
2) I have only just noticed when I pull down the status bar from the lock screen, only the back & home shortcuts appear, whereas the 'recent apps' shortcut doesnt? Is this normal? I could have sworn it used to be there, makes sense that it's not but just wondered! Probably never noticed it was absent to begin with
Appreciate any help & advice.
Many thanks!
SalamiQueen said:
Hi guys, just 2 things to ask:
1) I rooted my phone a few weeks back & thought everything was ok (I used binary's v26 toolkit) & thought everything went ok, however only noticed there were problems when it came to deleting/renaming/modifying anything in /system where my phone would constantly reboot.
So I have been advised to use SEUS to restore stock & to fully unroot - I just wanted to make sure this is safe to do & I won't have any errors etc? I know I will have to backup everything which isn't a problem, but is it fine to use on a 'broken' root? What is the difference between using SEUS to go back to factory & using the phone's factory reset anyway?
I plan to use this short guide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8LlNufSP2E, can anyone confirm I can use this method in my current situation? I also have CWM, I don't plan to re root after etc, not for a while anyway, so doesn't bother me losing CWM & root!
2) I have only just noticed when I pull down the status bar from the lock screen, only the back & home shortcuts appear, whereas the 'recent apps' shortcut doesnt? Is this normal? I could have sworn it used to be there, makes sense that it's not but just wondered! Probably never noticed it was absent to begin with
Appreciate any help & advice.
Many thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SEUS will completely wipe your phone same as a FTF with data, If you unroot it there will still be the old folders just inactive so for warranty i would just say flash with a FTF but if unsure then just do a SEUS restore
Maddhouse said:
SEUS will completely wipe your phone same as a FTF with data, If you unroot it there will still be the old folders just inactive so for warranty i would just say flash with a FTF but if unsure then just do a SEUS restore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't have a clue how to use FTF, I am pretty much a noob to all this
But using SEUS to restore will basically get rid of root, just the old files would be there you mean? No way to get rid of them? My main purpose to unroot is because I hear that if I update to 4.2.2 (whenever it arrives!) there is a good chance I will get bootloops & other issues as my root is not 100% fully working. So I don't want to risk it when it comes to updating really.. I am pretty lost with what is the best method to do to get rid of root
SEUS will make my phone go back to how it came out of the box, just to confirm? Sorry for the many questions, am just very cautious!
Thanks for the reply too btw
Yes sues will resort it to out of the box, room gone, folders, pictures etc.
Just one little pointer look into flash tool beta 5 in xz original android and then download a global ftf in android development there is a tutorial about using it on here somewhere, it is always best to keep it to hand just incase something happens while you are nodding then you can easily go back to stock, I think 4.2.2 will be fine upgrading to because it will just delete root
Just found one
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10879507&postcount=1
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium
Lol I am getting a bit confused because everything seems to be getting a lil complicated for my understanding
Is it necessary to have global FTF even after I successfully use SEUS to restore back to stock? Like I said I don't plan to re root after this, it has given me a headache for a few weeks trying to figure out what to do haha, I don't want to risk bricking my phone which is prob what will happen knowing me!
I know updating to 4.2.2 will remove root & update fine - BUT would that be the case with a 'broken' root like mine, since mine is not working properly? Otherwise if it's fine to I may as well just leave the phone as it is & update when it's released, that way I won't lose any data etc & have root removed too If however there will be problems which another user has mentoned such as bootloops because of installing root incorrectly, I want to just use SEUS to restore my phone & remove root that way just to be sure. I just wanted to know if that method in the youtube video will be ok to do on mine, because I have said before, my root is 'broken' lol.
Hope that makes sense?

[Q] I'm dead with lost IMEI on Beanstalk with my Xperia ZR

First and most, I am a long-time reader of xda-forum and this is my first account and/or post ever here.
And come with it bad personal news:
My Xperia ZR lost its IMEI and stalled with bootloop on Beanstalk.
I am really thankful to the developers who have made such a charming ROM, at least to me although it's CM based.
However, things become bad for me when I firstly unlock my bootloader (by official instructions of Sony), then I fastboot the boot.img extracted from Beanstalk zip. Then, off with my phone to recovery and I install the custom ROM.
Everything was just fine, my phone worked like a charm on the new ROM with great battery and gaming experiences; however, it was doomed after 5 days of using.
Phone calls could not be heard although the signals were alright.
I thought it was caused by the ROM, then I chose to fastboot boot.img extracted from CM10.2 and proceeded to install the CM10.2.
That was when I messed up with my own phone for the issue persisted with more frequent bootloop.
I reverted to flash a .ftf (claimed to be stock .244 pudding TW
Still I could not resolve the problems of calling.
Then, I relock my bootloader to try to fix the phone with PCC and SUS - By now, I think that was a very risky action to take.
The phone was perfect on 4.2.2 with bootloop and "System process isn't responding"
Thus, I lost my IMEI on the phone which was the major cause for the bootloop (some reading in the forum about resolving bootloop by recovering TA back-ups which I've failed to do at the beginning.
I've struggled with reading and testing out the instructions (re-unlocking by flashtool) just to get back to CWM Swipe and Beanstalk (with bootloop every 15mins).
And, of course, I've checked the status of my phone, unknown IMEI was there.
I know it's desperate to call for your help here because more attentions are made to Z and others but ZR.
I've been thinking about injecting IMEI back to the Xperia ZR phone ('inspired' by the Backup TA and other success on Samsung devices that I've read in the forum to solve the bootloop). I've also read about the legality of such action but swear to my ZR that I would use that for my very own personal purposes.
But you know, I'm now in vain and pain :crying:
Thank you for your reading to this very line.
xperia_loser said:
First and most, I am a long-time reader of xda-forum and this is my first account and/or post ever here.
And come with it bad personal news:
My Xperia ZR lost its IMEI and stalled with bootloop on Beanstalk.
I am really thankful to the developers who have made such a charming ROM, at least to me although it's CM based.
However, things become bad for me when I firstly unlock my bootloader (by official instructions of Sony), then I fastboot the boot.img extracted from Beanstalk zip. Then, off with my phone to recovery and I install the custom ROM.
Everything was just fine, my phone worked like a charm on the new ROM with great battery and gaming experiences; however, it was doomed after 5 days of using.
Phone calls could not be heard although the signals were alright.
I thought it was caused by the ROM, then I chose to fastboot boot.img extracted from CM10.2 and proceeded to install the CM10.2.
That was when I messed up with my own phone for the issue persisted with more frequent bootloop.
I reverted to flash a .ftf (claimed to be stock .244 pudding TW
Still I could not resolve the problems of calling.
Then, I relock my bootloader to try to fix the phone with PCC and SUS - By now, I think that was a very risky action to take.
The phone was perfect on 4.2.2 with bootloop and "System process isn't responding"
Thus, I lost my IMEI on the phone which was the major cause for the bootloop (some reading in the forum about resolving bootloop by recovering TA back-ups which I've failed to do at the beginning.
I've struggled with reading and testing out the instructions (re-unlocking by flashtool) just to get back to CWM Swipe and Beanstalk (with bootloop every 15mins).
And, of course, I've checked the status of my phone, unknown IMEI was there.
I know it's desperate to call for your help here because more attentions are made to Z and others but ZR.
I've been thinking about injecting IMEI back to the Xperia ZR phone ('inspired' by the Backup TA and other success on Samsung devices that I've read in the forum to solve the bootloop). I've also read about the legality of such action but swear to my ZR that I would use that for my very own personal purposes.
But you know, I'm now in vain and pain :crying:
Thank you for your reading to this very line.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first thing first, do you have your original imei saved somwhere? one your phone box or on the e-mail you've got from sony for the unlocking code? (they require your imei for that code)
so there should be nothing illigal with reinjecting your own imei.
second thing, i have no idea how to do it...
First thing first
shteren said:
first thing first, do you have your original imei saved somwhere? one your phone box or on the e-mail you've got from sony for the unlocking code? (they require your imei for that code)
so there should be nothing illigal with reinjecting your own imei.
second thing, i have no idea how to do it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm rather noob by not following the backing-up tricks before messing with its very inside mechanism, thus, I've lost the code on my device; however, I have the imei code written on the box.
The problem is "I have no idea how to do it either" :highfive:
I've been scrawling around with google help and my reading comprehensive but nothing gained so far.
I've called the service center of Sony in my country and been given addresses of service shops where I would visit in a couples of days.
Thank you for your care and hopefully help may come. :angel:
well, u've bricked ur device hard times..
What abt. TA Partition Backup?
U hv to relock the bootloader and for that u need ur TA partition (Do not use others)
I faced the same prob on my XZ lost baseband and and and
Restored TA partition and locked the bootloader, now my XZ is healthy with twins XZR and BB Q10 lol
Good Luck :silly:
Edit :
Read this -- My post about Bricked XZ
No TA back-up, it's totally doomed
shysparrow said:
well, u've bricked ur device hard times..
What abt. TA Partition Backup?
U hv to relock the bootloader and for that u need ur TA partition (Do not use others)
I faced the same prob on my XZ lost baseband and and and
Restored TA partition and locked the bootloader, now my XZ is healthy with twins XZR and BB Q10 lol
Good Luck :silly:
Edit :
Read this -- My post about Bricked XZ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much, I've read that later on; however, it was silly of me not to have made any TA back-up :cyclops:
Thus, it's my fabulous brick now lolo=
I need your advice
I am not a good learner but... I've read more these days and found:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2449244&page=4
Quote:
Originally Posted by iconoclastnet View Post
Well, it's md5 seems to have changed, at least for me.
I took a backup of it first thing when the phone arrived, hadn't even put the sim card into it yet, rooted and backed up the TA partition and compared the md5 sum of the backup with the partition.
Then I poped in a sim card, did the usual setup stuff, played with the phone for a few days, did the ota of 518 -> 534, etc.
Before unlocking the boot loader I double checked the TA partition backup, and the md5 sums no longer matched. So I made another backup alongside the original, checking the md5 sums of the new backup, etc.
So, I have two TA backups made at different times from the same phone and they're different in some way. It may only be one bit, I haven't checked to see just how different they are, but they are different. At the time I assumed that it was related to the 534 upgrade, but that may have been just coincidental.
I have no doubt that they're unique to each device, but I'm not convinced that they're constant.
---------- Post added at 12:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 AM ----------
Yep. Just make sure to copy the resulting backup somewhere safe (off of the device) at some point afterward.
I just checked with vbindiff what contents actually change after the OTA upgrade. The first part is identical. This was to be expected since that part contains device specific information like the IMEI (0xB2D), SN#, ... . At 0x33D8 are OS version strings stored - which changed since the OTA. In my case that values changes from "1274-8313_14.1.G .1.518" to "1274-8313_14.1.G .1.534". That behaviour was also to be expected. After that, large parts of the files differ. Many of those differences ist just shifted (by some bytes) data. Other parts actually changed entirely. Not sure what is going on there. Be it as it may, i would only restore the newest TA-backup.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the reply of gladiac and something came to my mind:
I've back up my TA by v9.9 (on my bricked phone of course) and receive a zip file in which I have TA.img
By such information above, we have the location for IMEI on hexa table of the file.
In my case of bricking my device by my fool and risky action, I thought of overiding the TA.img to inject my IMEI (now the text on the box and the back of my phone only, not in TA partition any more :crying in to TA.img? Will there be any further harm?
I dare not test it because I am still very vague about my exit if something might go wrong. If problems may arise after my tinkering of the TA.img and restoring the tinkered TA.img back, then, in such scenerio, will my reverting back to the very first TA.img (the not tinkered one) save my bricked phone at the least?
I really dont know if Backup TA can restore TA partition when the phone is in bad state.
It might be silly questions to you but please, I really need help.
Thank you for your appreciation.
xperia_loser said:
First and most, I am a long-time reader of xda-forum and this is my first account and/or post ever here.
And come with it bad personal news:
My Xperia ZR lost its IMEI and stalled with bootloop on Beanstalk.
I am really thankful to the developers who have made such a charming ROM, at least to me although it's CM based.
However, things become bad for me when I firstly unlock my bootloader (by official instructions of Sony), then I fastboot the boot.img extracted from Beanstalk zip. Then, off with my phone to recovery and I install the custom ROM.
Everything was just fine, my phone worked like a charm on the new ROM with great battery and gaming experiences; however, it was doomed after 5 days of using.
Phone calls could not be heard although the signals were alright.
I thought it was caused by the ROM, then I chose to fastboot boot.img extracted from CM10.2 and proceeded to install the CM10.2.
That was when I messed up with my own phone for the issue persisted with more frequent bootloop.
I reverted to flash a .ftf (claimed to be stock .244 pudding TW
Still I could not resolve the problems of calling.
Then, I relock my bootloader to try to fix the phone with PCC and SUS - By now, I think that was a very risky action to take.
The phone was perfect on 4.2.2 with bootloop and "System process isn't responding"
Thus, I lost my IMEI on the phone which was the major cause for the bootloop (some reading in the forum about resolving bootloop by recovering TA back-ups which I've failed to do at the beginning.
I've struggled with reading and testing out the instructions (re-unlocking by flashtool) just to get back to CWM Swipe and Beanstalk (with bootloop every 15mins).
And, of course, I've checked the status of my phone, unknown IMEI was there.
I know it's desperate to call for your help here because more attentions are made to Z and others but ZR.
I've been thinking about injecting IMEI back to the Xperia ZR phone ('inspired' by the Backup TA and other success on Samsung devices that I've read in the forum to solve the bootloop). I've also read about the legality of such action but swear to my ZR that I would use that for my very own personal purposes.
But you know, I'm now in vain and pain :crying:
Thank you for your reading to this very line.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dude, i used the same pudding tw file and lost baseband and imei.but later i flashed with official android 4.1.2 ftf file which removed bootloop problems but still i dont have imei or baseband.i have flashed many c5502/c5503 roms and basebands but there was no use.i think the pudding ftf file could be the reason...
Easy fix
The same thing happened to me. Baseband and IMEI were unknown suddenly.
Then I did a factory reset, wiped all caches and flashed cm-11 followed by GAPPS & I got back network.
It was a pain to reinstall all apps and do all the same settings again though.
I remember seeing a stickie on the sp thread. That was a good guide to rooting etc.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2100529
The same was appearing in more than one sub forum. Why can't we have such a stickie here?
I am waiting for my ZR.
Sent from my GT-S5570 using xda app-developers app
ajgo333 said:
dude, i used the same pudding tw file and lost baseband and imei.but later i flashed with official android 4.1.2 ftf file which removed bootloop problems but still i dont have imei or baseband.i have flashed many c5502/c5503 roms and basebands but there was no use.i think the pudding ftf file could be the reason...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I was on Beanstalk (CM based) first, which I can use normally with IMEI and baseband on. I lost them as my nephew touched the "plane" icon. So, the problem was on CM.
For the 'lost' wording, I dont think we lose IMEI and baseband but actually the phone fails to connect to IMEI and baseband data.
ayushag96 said:
The same thing happened to me. Baseband and IMEI were unknown suddenly.
Then I did a factory reset, wiped all caches and flashed cm-11 followed by GAPPS & I got back network.
It was a pain to reinstall all apps and do all the same settings again though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried that but bootloop occured.
On US ftf, no bootloop but wifi cannot be turned on.
On Beanstalk, everything's fine but no IMEI and baseband.
I am using my phone as a paperweight with wifi-connection and good gaming experience, lol

[Q] IMEI change after unlock and changing stock ROM

Hello XDA community, I have some questions, sorry for my english:
1-Some time ago my brother bought an unlocked Galaxy S Advance I9070 and today he gave it to me, It has the stock ROM of the carrier 'Claro' (And all the bloatware ), my SIM is from another carrier (Personal) and I can use it without problems (Both carriers are from Argentina), but I've noticed something:
The phone came as new, with the box and all the accesories inside, I checked the IMEI and I found out this:
The sticker on the box and inside the phone (behind the battery) shows XXXXXX05XXXXXX3, and when i type *#06# in the phone, it shows XXXXXX99XXXXXX6 (The IMEIs are the same, except for those three numbers)
I think that when they unlocked the phone, that part of the IMEI changed (As far as I know the IMEI shouldn't/mustn't change).Am I right? Would I have any problems with that?
2-The stock ROM of the aftermentioned phone has Gingerbread 2.3.6 and I'd like to install KitKat or Jellybean. Will the phone lock again? (I'm almost sure that it was soft-unlocked or something like that) Do I have to backup the efs partition to keep the IMEI and the phone unlocked?
When my brother bought it, the phone had the Superuser app installed, he did a factory reset (I don't know why.. ) and (as expected) the app dissappeared. I reinstalled it again today but it looks like the phone lost the root (When trying root apps like root explorer i get the pop up asking for root authorization, when I hit "allow" nothing happens... Also, if I type "su" in terminal it doesn't show the #, it keeps there waiting for more commands)
If you need more information I'll gladly provide it
Thanks in advance
M05K1T0 said:
Hello XDA community, I have some questions, sorry for my english:
1-Some time ago my brother bought an unlocked Galaxy S Advance I9070 and today he gave it to me, It has the stock ROM of the carrier 'Claro' (And all the bloatware ), my SIM is from another carrier (Personal) and I can use it without problems (Both carriers are from Argentina), but I've noticed something:
The phone came as new, with the box and all the accesories inside, I checked the IMEI and I found out this:
The sticker on the box and inside the phone (behind the battery) shows XXXXXX05XXXXXX3, and when i type *#06# in the phone, it shows XXXXXX99XXXXXX6 (The IMEIs are the same, except for those three numbers)
I think that when they unlocked the phone, that part of the IMEI changed (As far as I know the IMEI shouldn't/mustn't change).Am I right? Would I have any problems with that?
2-The stock ROM of the aftermentioned phone has Gingerbread 2.3.6 and I'd like to install KitKat or Jellybean. Will the phone lock again? (I'm almost sure that it was soft-unlocked or something like that) Do I have to backup the efs partition to keep the IMEI and the phone unlocked?
When my brother bought it, the phone had the Superuser app installed, he did a factory reset (I don't know why.. ) and (as expected) the app dissappeared. I reinstalled it again today but it looks like the phone lost the root (When trying root apps like root explorer i get the pop up asking for root authorization, when I hit "allow" nothing happens... Also, if I type "su" in terminal it doesn't show the #, it keeps there waiting for more commands)
If you need more information I'll gladly provide it
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If he unlocked phone in some service, they probably did something about that IMEI change, but I am not sure. Never saw any guide for unlocking from provider. And probably it will remain unlocked after you go to JB, but again I am not sure.
Everything you need to know about going GB > JB > Custom ROM is here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2198341
Rest (KitKat install) you will find on development thread of ROM you want to install.
shut_down said:
If he unlocked phone in some service, they probably did something about that IMEI change, but I am not sure. Never saw any guide for unlocking from provider. And probably it will remain unlocked after you go to JB, but again I am not sure.
Everything you need to know about going GB > JB > Custom ROM is here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2198341
Rest (KitKat install) you will find on development thread of ROM you want to install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it working!
The phone is still unlocked, I made a backup of the "efs" folder and TWRP backup too, just in case
If anyone's wondering, I used this http://d-h.st/lpi on step A2 of the tutorial you mentioned.
Now, if I put a custom ROM and something goes wrong, with the efs and the TWRP backup, am I fully safe?
Thanks in advance
M05K1T0 said:
Got it working!
The phone is still unlocked, I made a backup of the "efs" folder and TWRP backup too, just in case
If anyone's wondering, I used this http://d-h.st/lpi on step A2 of the tutorial you mentioned.
Now, if I put a custom ROM and something goes wrong, with the efs and the TWRP backup, am I fully safe?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need TWRP recovery to restore backup from it, you can't restore it from CWM recovery. And I think EFS part is not being touched when you are changing ROMs, this is guide just in case something goes wrong sometimes: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2677807
shut_down said:
You need TWRP recovery to restore backup from it, you can't restore it from CWM recovery. And I think EFS part is not being touched when you are changing ROMs, this is guide just in case something goes wrong sometimes: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2677807
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now it's running Carbon rom (KitKat 4.4.4), works like a charm :laugh:

PSA - Never flash another device's persist, IMEI loss understood

Hi all, I've seen that there are a few threads in this and other forums that are saying that using a particular other persist will help restore IMEI, Volte, or other lost functionality after installing a custom Rom and reverting back to stock nougat. As this sort of suggestion has resulted in many devices being permanently broken, I'm sharing a thread I made in potter.
Fix Persist, resolve IMEI=0, Explanation, Requirements
Now, the most important thing here is to NEVER EVER flash another device's persist. Your persist contains key files that have your IMEI data (in encrypted form), and it will not work with another device (or vice versa). In the thread above, I explain what has been happening, how to detect it, what can be done to fix (note - this may differ from device to device - I recommend not applying the fix until after other who have 'fully working devices' can confirm key details, such as the "rfs" user), and why other persist files gave the appearance of working (but were actually causing permanent damage).
Also note that the fix is for stock nougat. I have already seen in the cedric devices that the upcoming Oreo may apply the same type of fix on boot (i.e. changing ownership of key folders and files).
Happy to answer any questions if people ask. Please keep questions for this device in this thread.
Is there any hope to fix IMEI 0?
Himanshu.Shukla said:
Is there any hope to fix IMEI 0?
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It all depends on what you have or haven't done. If you flashed another persist, you're out of luck. If you haven't flashed another persist, back it up now and save it to the cloud so you never lose it. Then the principles in the guide may help. You can see if you are affected or not by following the section 1), as long as you are on a stock nougat rom.
NZedPred said:
Hi all, I've seen that there are a few threads in this and other forums that are saying that using a particular other persist will help restore IMEI, Volte, or other lost functionality after installing a custom Rom and reverting back to stock nougat. As this sort of suggestion has resulted in many devices being permanently broken, I'm sharing a thread I made in potter.
Fix Persist, resolve IMEI=0, Explanation, Requirements
Now, the most important thing here is to NEVER EVER flash another device's persist. Your persist contains key files that have your IMEI data (in encrypted form), and it will not work with another device (or vice versa). In the thread above, I explain what has been happening, how to detect it, what can be done to fix (note - this may differ from device to device - I recommend not applying the fix until after other who have 'fully working devices' can confirm key details, such as the "rfs" user), and why other persist files gave the appearance of working (but were actually causing permanent damage).
Also note that the fix is for stock nougat. I have already seen in the cedric devices that the upcoming Oreo may apply the same type of fix on boot (i.e. changing ownership of key folders and files).
Happy to answer any questions if people ask. Please keep questions for this device in this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude , thank you so much for that thread and Info. Finally someone is starting to explain the root cause of this IMEI/4G/Volte mess in our devices. Unfortunately I got my phone second hand and the dude had flashed a lineage ROM on it. He had mentioned radio problems but has said he had flashed the wrong modem and fixed it. The phone was 100% operational with the Lineage ROM he had on it so I didn't think much of and I figured since I've been rooting/flashing my phones since the day I got my first android, I could deal with it anyway. In any case, I soon went to flash an 8.1 ROM and discovered my IMEI gone. Eventually I found a few 8.1 ROMs that worked and I'm completely happy with AEX 5.2 which I'm on now. I have the EFS and Persist backups as of the moment I acquired the phone. I wondering though if there is a way to tell if my persist is the one that is supposed to be there or if the owner flashed a different persist? Also when I input the terminal command from your post it returns a list of folder within persist but no ownership tags as shown in your post.
jesslegentil said:
Dude , thank you so much for that thread and Info. Finally someone is starting to explain the root cause of this IMEI/4G/Volte mess in our devices. Unfortunately I got my phone second hand and the dude had flashed a lineage ROM on it. He had mentioned radio problems but has said he had flashed the wrong modem and fixed it. The phone was 100% operational with the Lineage ROM he had on it so I didn't think much of and I figured since I've been rooting/flashing my phones since the day I got my first android, I could deal with it anyway. In any case, I soon went to flash an 8.1 ROM and discovered my IMEI gone. Eventually I found a few 8.1 ROMs that worked and I'm completely happy with AEX 5.2 which I'm on now. I have the EFS and Persist backups as of the moment I acquired the phone. I wondering though if there is a way to tell if my persist is the one that is supposed to be there or if the owner flashed a different persist? Also when I input the terminal command from your post it returns a list of folder within persist but no ownership tags as shown in your post.
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I think the only way to tell if the persist is definitely the one for the phone is to revert to stock nougat, follow the guide (I did find that one of the posters in the thread tried it on their sanders device and it worked for them - fortunately there is enough consistency so that the guide applies to many phones) to fix the folder ownership, then erase EFS and reboot. If your IMEI comes back, you're in luck. If it doesn't, hold onto your EFS backup for the rest of your phone's life!
(Also note that reverting to stock nougat should be done carefully. Don't downgrade the bootloader, otherwise you'll run into other problems..)
Also, just to emphasize, the output from the commands that list ownership is taken from nougat. Oreo has changed things, so it's not surprising if you get different things. E.g. Cedric's Oreo appears to not have an rfs user, instead it is using something like oem_2903.
Just wanted to chime in and say that this has fixed my phone! I've had iffy VoLTE and other issues since going back to stock and couldn't even use custom ROMs since it wouldn't allow me to search for a network. This seems to have cleared it all up. Thanks!
thanks a lot. I've had no lte data since the day I got the phone, but thanks to this it is fixed.
edit: for verizon peoples who only had 3g, I can confirm that lte still works after flashing at least msm xtended so probably other roms too.
any solution to this problem, i installed this rom and now baseband is not found and imei zero
sanders-twrp-flashable-OPS28.49-2.zip
jakson7474 said:
any solution to this problem, i installed this rom and now baseband is not found and imei zero
sanders-twrp-flashable-OPS28.49-2.zip
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Folks, the rom above was a test version of the Oreo soak test that I made. Unfortunately it seems the is an issue on the build. I have pulled it for now. Hoping that a downgrade to stock nougat will help fix it. Goodness knows I'm trying to help with the IMEI issue, not contribute to it *facepalm*
Edit: user got everything back by flashing a nougat twrp flashable build. So issue was definitely just in that particular Oreo build
Can anyone confirm if this should work on the g5s plus with those commands? It doesnt seem to for me
Nyvia said:
Can anyone confirm if this should work on the g5s plus with those commands? It doesnt seem to for me
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I can confirm it worked on my xt1806.
Back up the EFS, run these commands, then run the fastboot commands to wipe your modem. It will rebuild and you should have imei back
Nyvia said:
Can anyone confirm if this should work on the g5s plus with those commands? It doesnt seem to for me
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Can you check if you have a file dhob.bin.bak after running the find command in the post? Many people who don't have success with the guide are missing that file.
I have successfully executed this procedure and I got a hd calling option or an hd calling icon..is that correct??. Then I backed up the efs and again i got to custom ROM then and flashed the efs partition but no sign of volte or can't make call from Jio...
The question is can I use the efs partition which I recovered through this on a custom ROM?
subinsrk said:
I have successfully executed this procedure and I got a hd calling option or an hd calling icon..is that correct??. Then I backed up the efs and again i got to custom ROM then and flashed the efs partition but no sign of volte or can't make call from Jio...
The question is can I use the efs partition which I recovered through this on a custom ROM?
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Answer as per the other thread:
Yes, I get an H+ icon on my phone, so that would be what you'd want if the procedure worked. If Volte doesn't work on the custom rom, then it's a custom rom issue.
my volte worked without restoring the efs... just fixed permissions from stock, flashed rom, everything worked.
xtasquee said:
my volte worked without restoring the efs... just fixed permissions from stock, flashed rom, everything worked.
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Bro how you can fix the volte can you tell me?
just flashed stock and fixed the permissions like op said. when i rebooted everything was fixed and still works with at least gzosp-based roms and probably others too. no tricks needed.
Thank you bro...it's worked backuped the efs and persist partion on the stock ROM and again flashed pe ROM and reflashed the efs and persist volte is now working fine thanks....
is there a way to get this post pinnedor something?
Hi guys. Reported success earlier in the thread but my issues came back. IMEI is there, everything functions properly in stock, but in non-stock I get an "error searching for network" that I didn't get before I flashed a broken gapps file that edited my persist file.
I know my persist partition is currently stock, and I'd like a copy of a working persist file from an xt1806 that I can copy my known good persist data to. Thanks!

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