yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S II General] LandKingdom:
This is going to help alot of people who didn't knew what EFS was needed.

Because of my luck, i didn't ever backup EFS folder cause i didn't knew why it was to needed.

After a few search i found why it's so important so, i did a backup immediately!

The luck thingy was that i did many, many, many, flashes. I almost did more flashes than samsung! Without a EFS backup, ever!!

So, i may ask, why did i never get this problem, and many people get it? Is there a specific reason, usb port, power, somethinelse? Or it's just luck ?

Everything i was following a installation for something, like ROMs, there was : " MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A BACKUP OF YOUR EFS FOLDER" even bigger and i did NEVER listen to it, i was just going my way to the flash...

So, as i said, this is going to be very useful to the people that isn't lucky as me :)

This will save a lot of troubles, thanks!

Have a nice day!
[Galaxy S II General] ckgbr:
Does theses steps work to Galaxy S4 Octa??

Theses day I was traying to flash MIUI to my Galaxy S4 Octa when I got the fake IMEI: 00499...

I haven´t backup my ESF folder, so I have tried many ways listed at S4 forum to get my IMEI back, no positive result yet.

Does this precess work with S4 OCta???

Someone already tried?

Thanks in advance
[Galaxy S II General] Roshan707:
thanks...... this post just saved my A## ..... i was going to delete the EFS folder thinking it was not useful...... :p

now i won't.... in fact got to save them on my computer right away......
[Galaxy S II General] reza2388:
Thanks.. useful guide , it's helping me restore my IMEI :o
[Galaxy S II General] tstml:
Riyaz Shaikh

Hi,

I have tried this method to restore my IMEI but not successfull, still my mobile shows null IMEI & Unknown Baseband, No GSM signal.

Please help.

Rgds,

Riyaz
[Galaxy S II General] Dazz71:
Hi

The other day I messed up my Gtab P1000 by going from CM10.2 back to CM9.1, it deleted my IMEI etc. I ended up with null or fake IMEI numbers

I tried this method first

http://xdaforums.com/show....php?t=1264021

but it did not work.

I put the nv.data.bak and md5.bak I made by doing those instructions in that guide away and forgot about them.

Then went on a tour of the net trying to get tools and info

I tried loads, efs pro....sdk tools...qpst...imei writers....plus others, but nothing alone would work.

What I had to do was:

Download a stock rom for my country (GB V5 would not work, had to be stock for me)

Start odin 1.85

Flash stock rom, mr.pit and modem from the GB V5 stock safe rom in download mode

Start up

Root it

Put the nv.data.bak and its md5 that you made earlier into SD card

Download root explorer and start it

Copy the files over to your phones efs folder

start up EFS pro

Click back up/restore

Restore from internal back up. reboot aaaaaaaaaaand finally, after days of trying, it was fixed

As I say EFS alone would not work, and the 9 easy steps guide alone would not work for me, The way I did it also would not work with the stock GB V5. I don't know why. All I know is I had to use Stock UK rom from samsung website with the back up made from the guide and EFS pro

Hope that helps some of you. Or someone can put it somewhere that it can be helpful. Use my instructions as you see fit.

I've also made a new thread on this here

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=47871917#post47871917

just trying to get the info out there to help help people, borrow this info, do what you want with it. I do not care, just spread it around if it is useful

Cheers
[Galaxy S II General] liolude:
I need help with my s3 from tmobile, i unlocked it using one of the guides on this forum, had to go from 4.2.1 to 4.1.1,(*#197328640#) then when i went back to 4.2.1 it would not register network(still using tmobile sim card) went to update and got the 4.3 and now it says insert sim card when i go to mobile network, I already check imei number and its the same as in the sticker on the back of the phone, the sim card works on my other phone so I would appreciate any help
[Galaxy S II General] surferbum:
NO .nv_data file

Hi

Can anyone help me with this post

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=48935400#post48935400

samsung GT-I9100

GINGERBREAD.XWKI4

2.3.4

Kernel

2.6.35.7-I9100XWKI4-CL575468root@DELL143#2

BASEBAND UNKNOWN

IMEI UNKNOWN

IMEI SV UNKNOWN

Wi Fi is ok

any help appreciated thanks
[Galaxy S II General] ayongkot:
same problem here, i can successfully flash GB but cannot get signal in any network, have wifi but when i flash JB (stock) I get bootloops even factory resetting after going to recovery mode.
[Galaxy S II General] xkorpion:
Imei Problem with S3 GT I9300

My imei is not working and showing 0049****. I have searched so much on internet but of no use. I want to restore my original IMEI. I have tried your method of deleting efs folder but again imei is same 0049***** moreover if shows yellow popup showing pda etc. Plz tell me what to do??
[Galaxy S II General] surferbum:
Blank imei

Is this guide for BLANK IMEI or the fake 0049..... IMEI

Or is it for both ??

My IMIE is blank, and baseband unknown ......I fixed it the first time using S2 Repair but a firmware update put me back to blank IMEI and S2 no longer works ??

Shall I flash new fimware "GT-I9100_XEU_I9100XWKI4_I9100XEUKH2_I9100XXKI1"

Or do the 9 step guide ?

Any help would be appreciated ?? Thanks
[Galaxy S II General] klliier12:
no .nv_data file

i do not have the .nv_data file what should i do please reply fast
[Galaxy S II General] andrewwright:
Try a diffrent modem first.

Do you have a bk up of youre efs folder.
[Galaxy S II General] surferbum:
can wrong Modem cause corrupt efs ??

I am now on 2.3.6 and this is the rom i found : GT-I9100_TUR_I9100XWKK2_I9100OJVKK1_I9100XXKI4.tar

I then rooted with : CF-Root-SGS2_XW_XEN_KK2-v5.0-CWM5

What modem can i get ?? Does it have to match JVKK1 OR XEN ?? not to sure I also noticed that in my

IMEI mps_code.dat folder it says XEU

Could this mean i have the wrong modem ??

I am not sure if i have an original backup but i have back ups of efs folders from S2 Repair and Galaxy S Unlock. The S2 Repair app efs save has dates 31 dec 2010 for both nv_data files and .nv_data.bak files ???? But not imie ??

thanks for any help ???
[Galaxy S II General] Geo4u:
Hello! Can I use GSII Repair on my S2 plus? (I9105P)
[Galaxy S II General] klliier12:
no i dont even have the efs folder i mistakenly deleted from my external card and internal card and i changed my pc so no chance of harddisk:crying:
[Galaxy S II General] sonu4prabhakar:
theres something gone wrong

something has gone wrong the display shows the pda phone csc information in yellow on a black screen how can i get back the previous imei
[Galaxy S II General] kaskin:
thank you...
[Galaxy S II General] Christiaan91:
Today i discovered the my IMEI was the fake one. I had this problem before (different telephone network company) and i couldn't get a network signal. But now everything is working fine and i don't know when i got this fake IMEI.

The serialnumber is also missing.

But are there any risks for having this fake IMEI number?
[Galaxy S II General] clock51:
permessi

tempo fa ebbi la cartella efs corrotta avevo un backup e ho fatto il ripristino però mi sono accorto che ho tutte le autorizzazzioni sbagliate e se faccio un wipe cache e dalvik e fix permission la cartella efs si corrompe di nuovo cosa posso fare?grazie
[Galaxy S II General] jebuchanan:
[MENTION=4563926]clock51[/MENTION]. You may post in your native language, but you must include an English translation.

Signature

Sent from my Samsung GT-i9100M

ROM NeatRom Lite 5.6 XWMS2

Kernel: Philz 5.15.9 XWMS2

Mods:

23 Fancy Toggles blue w/rt clock

Automatic Call Recorder

NeatRom Lockscreen button
[Galaxy S II General] GabrielSousa:
i dont have the ".nv_data" file.... :(

what i need to do ?
[Galaxy S II General] aabil:
Thank you so much!

I did it!
[Galaxy S II General] leo_hacker82:
Men. If when i restore full firmware clean flash but no nvram either nv files are missing...what can i do...those important files doesnt restore alone in my phone anyway...what can i do...where can i get those files..
[Galaxy S II General] leo_hacker82:
men, when i restored or make a clean flash with csc and pit file..i have efs but no nv_data or nv:ram file never appears on my phone..i have only emergency calls..i dont have warranty cuz knox is 0x1 what can i do..
[Galaxy S II General] rey691:
Not workin

not workin for me please helppppp im with no phone or almost a week dont know what to dooo
[Galaxy S II General] Sharcklol:
where is the EFS folder on the gt-i9300 International version? Is there anyway that I can download the folder or the files?
[Galaxy S II General] josito801:
Thanks
[Galaxy S II General] Sharcklol:
What if i didnt backup the EFS folder? Is there anyway to recovery the EFS from reinstall the firmware or stuff?
[Galaxy S II General] gastonw:
90% you now have a mini sansung tab.

3% you can get it back by flashing your original ROM (device's original Country/Region at least)

7% you could flash another EFS partition and hope for a generic IMEI.

Sent from the little guy
[Galaxy S II General] GabrielSousa:
a friend of mine dont have the ".nv_data" file....

what i need to do ?
[Galaxy S II General] Sharcklol:
I have another s3, can I copy the EFS folder to this one(with problem)?
[Galaxy S II General] gastonw:
You guys can start forgetting about those S3, different partition layout hence, outta the question.

Search the forum (can't remember where it was, Q&A or General), there was a brazilian guy who posted his nv data file back in 2012.
[Galaxy S II General] Sharcklol:
I guess you are wrong, i fixed my phone doing what i said before, copying the efs folder of another s3 and then i did the 9 steps.
[Galaxy S II General] GabrielSousa:
can some one share a working EFS dir ? please
[Galaxy S II General] gastonw:
I wouldn't try it but hey, if it worked for ya....good for you!
[Galaxy S II General] mohaxs:
IMEI Backup/Restore Tool

Nice thread dude. Here some tool thats can bakup and restore your IMEI (ROOT Needed)

1. Samsung Tool

2. GSII Repair

3. KTool
[Galaxy S II General] Mandraquinet:
Thanks for this guide.

Hope that I never had to use it ;)
[Galaxy S II General] ocirne14:
I tried these steps but I cannot find ".nv_data" file, I only have .nv_data.bak, .nv_data.bak.md5, .nv_data.bin and .nv_data.bin.md5. Is it one of them or am I just missing the point? Sorry for being a noob, I just need help badly. :crying::crying::crying:
[Galaxy S II General] Nazgul1987:
Lovely. Thanks for the information.
[Galaxy S II General] mohaxs:
Usefull tips brother..
[Galaxy S II General] shenurulz:
Working!!!

Thank you sooo much :) :good:
[Galaxy S II General] alrafeeq85:
thank you:good:
[Galaxy S II General] mumsawitch:
Sad it didn't work for me :(
[Galaxy S II General] Mureren:
Thanks for this nice guide :)

Sendt med højre Tommel finger.
[Galaxy S II General] CaramelCoffee:
Legality

Someone gave me a GS3 mini that he stupidly screwed up. It was a telus phone and he brought it to the Philippines and had it "unlocked". It now has an IMEI for a Q10 for some strange and I'm guessing illegal reason. He's given up on it because it doesn't work over here anymore. I'm trying to revert it back to the original IMEI. Is it legal to revert a phone back to its original IMEI or is this still considered changing it?
[Galaxy S II General] ChemicalStorm:
great!! thank you bro :good:
[Galaxy S II General] romstockprivate:
Sigh,

I tried the OP way and the way suggested for the APP but still nothing. Phone still wont recognize the SIM card. I am not sure what to do now.
[Galaxy S II General] joe200:
I've done everything but the last command not working

chown 1001:radio /efs/nv_data.bin

1001:radio not found
[Galaxy S II General] special.boy:
tnx

but i can't do step2

efs folder can not be delete as screen shot :

what i should 2 do ?

help:(
[Galaxy S II General] andres21_m:
My IMEI changed to null / null.

Please I need your help.

My phone is factory unlocked. I installed a new ROM. My IMEI changed to null / null. This is possible?

Or someone had to change the motherboard?
[Galaxy S II General] Faizi Ch:
i don't have ".nv_data" file in backedup efs folder... please help... please
[Galaxy S II General] raheelg:
Lost IMEI

I don't have EFS folder in my mobile's root directory.. what should i do now???
[Galaxy S II General] abbykhan:
Unable to chmod

Followed all the steps correctly but it still gives this message

Unable to chmod/efs/nv_data.bin : Operation Not Permitted

help please my network isn't working.. and they say it should work when your imei is restored

PS:

2 networks work correctly but others don't have signals, they are identified in About phone>status>network....!
[Galaxy S II General] GabeEddyT:
You my good sir are a legend. Thank you! I have the Galaxy S4 (i9500) and this method fixed my phone. You truly deserve a medal for this. Again, thank you.
[Galaxy S II General] Musti14:
plssss help me :(

I followed ALL the steps but it still work on my Galaxy S3 :(

After I lost my IMEI because of an downgrade on Android 4.1.2 and cant use my sim card I googled and find this site. So I want to try it because I sit very long on the pc last night just to fix the problem.

First I flashed my S3 to the version 4.3 german eplus-branding then I rooted my Galaxy. After that I Copied the ESF Folder with root explorer to my sd card and my pc. than i deleted the esf folder and make a factory + cache wipe and reboot my phone. after that i deleted the two files "nv_data.bin" and "nv_data.bin.md5". then i copied my "imei" folder from my sd card and paste it in the root esf folder where it replace the root "imei" folder. after that i copied the file " .nv_data.BAK " from my sd card folder to my root esf folder. after that i duplicated this file and give one the name: "nv_data.bin" and the other in "nv_data.bin.bak". then i installed "busybox" and "terminal emulator". at last i write the code "su" and then "chown 1001:radio /efs/nv_data.bin" and rebooted my phone in the hope that all will be fixed.. but unfortunately it was not.... can someone help me ? :(

sorry for my bad english :D
[Galaxy S II General] GabeEddyT:
So when you dial *#06# your IMEI is still messed up? Try flashing the latest SuperSU update to make sure you have root access.
[Galaxy S II General] Musti14:
..

Yes.

I used CF Auto Root by my tryings to fix it but do you mean that it will maybe work with SuperSU ?
[Galaxy S II General] JavierBCN360:
Working fine

Thanks, on second intent, works fine
[Galaxy S II General] GabeEddyT:
Maybe. I just think it's a good idea in general to have the latest SuperSU binaries. Also, make sure you have the latest busybox as well.

Sent from my GT-I9500
[Galaxy S II General] jennifertimos:
thanks, very useful info.
[Galaxy S II General] Musti14:
My steps..

Problem fixed *-*
[Galaxy S II General] iankiprop:
Q
[Galaxy S II General] jompha:
the thing is, i have nandroid backup of my os, will that work to restore nvram?
[Galaxy S II General] sakman1905:
thanh

Thankk
[Galaxy S II General] imohitahuja:
what if you don't have anything in efs folder.. I.e, corrupted efs folder..? please help
[Galaxy S II General] Benduchi:
I have the SGS4 and yes downloaded the stock files from http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2629093 and flashed I did get Wi-Fi and GPS back but still imei null
[Galaxy S II General] tetakpatak:
Did you at least create a nandroid backup while IMEI was still there?

tetakpatalked from my P5110
[Galaxy S II General] Benduchi:
No I had no idea this phone had this problem wish I did
[Galaxy S II General] tetakpatak:
Pity.... BTW it is not a phone related problem. EFS backup is about the first thing to do after root and nandroid backup the second. IMEI can occasionally get lost after modifying the device, regardless of the phone model.

Best you can do is to check all through the SGS4 threads. This here is SGS2 thread, nobody will help you here. Use search function here, but also google.

Good luch, mate.

tetakpatalked from my P5110
[Galaxy S II General] mabiason1992:
thanks

THANKS!
[Galaxy S II General] RaptorCode:
I don't have efs backup, is my imei still can recover

Sorry for my bad english
[Galaxy S II General] tetakpatak:
Try to flash a stock ROM with Odin, it might restore your IMEI.

Usually is upgrading stepwise (in order: GB, ICS, JB, KK) good way to prevent losing IMEI. Also always reboot between those upgrade steps.

tetakpatalked from my N7100
[Galaxy S II General] RaptorCode:
That doesn't work sir, and my imei goes strange :crying:
[Galaxy S II General] sparkyuiop:
Hi

I have an S2 GT-i9100 that someone gave me after they deleted the EFS folder from without taking a backup.

None of these fixes seem to work for me. I have IMEI unknown, IMEI SV unknown, Baseband is unknown, Network is unknown and the service menu displays no options. LOL!

Where the signal bars should be is a circle with a diagonal line through it.

I have rooted it, flashed several stock firmwares with Odin with no change.

I have an EFS backup from an old S2 (same model) that was water damaged beyond repair and thrown away. Is it possible to put that IMEI on this phone? I have tried copying it and going through this process detailed here and it completes fine but doesn't make a sausage of difference, even after reboot.

Any ideas or is it shagged?

I thought if the EFS folder was deleted the IMEI reverted to the Samsung default IMEI? When I dial the #06 all it says is "IMEI" in large letters.

Oh deary deary....
[Galaxy S II General] tetakpatak:
I'm sure it will be useful to have it. Copy & paste won't work. Usually, EFS folder gets saved as .img to be restored without problems. Do you have it so, or just as copy, uncompressed?

If uncompressed, I'm not sure if this way will work to restore it.... I'm not owner of an i9100 so I have tried my best to reconstruct the way how to successfully restore it. I hope it won't hurt :D

(If you're on custom ROM and this doesn't work, please flash stock ROM and root it, it is more likely to work that way)

compress your EFS folder from the water-damaged i9000 to .tar file format (in Linux or use 7-Zip with Windows)

rename that data to efs-backup.tar

compress that data now again to .gzip file format (file name should be efs-backup.tar.gz)

now copy that file to /sdcard/ folder of your phone (storage0)

use some root file explorer and set the permissions of this file to ---rwxr-x

now run either ADB shell (as root) or Terminal Emulator and enter:

su
busybox tar zxvf /sdcard/download/efsbackup.tar.gz -c /

After each line you have to hit "enter"

Enter after "su" will result in prompt to Superuser access (if you do it for the first time) and it will change final sign from "$" to "#" then you can enter second, magic command.

You will have to reboot your phone for this to take effect.

I hope this will restore your EFS folder.....

Good luck!

Please report back if it worked.

P.S. does the content of your EFS folder looks similar to this? (see screenshot)

tetakpatalked from Nexus 7
[Galaxy S II General] atisha:
file not file although it's there??

Hi there

I've been spending the past few days trying to restore my imei number. It's depressing and desponding...

I used the method described but every time after reset, a new .nv_data.bin is created. So in my efs directory I have two .nv_data.bin files.

It seems my .nv_data.file which I put in is not recognised. The Terminator emulator states that .nv_data.bin file is not available before rebooting. Anyone knows what's the cause? There was another member having similar problem but I don't see any reply to his query. PLEASE HELP SOMEONE!!!!!

Terminal Emulator log:

u0_a146@android:/ $ su

root@android:/ # chown 1001:radio /efs/nv_data.bin

Unable to chown /efs/nv_data.bin: No such file or directory

10|root@android:/ # su chown 1001:radio/efs/nv_data.bin

sh: 1001:radio/efs/nv_data.bin: not found

127|root@android:/ # su

root@android:/ # chown 1001:radio /efs/nv_data.bin

Unable to chown /efs/nv_data.bin: No such file or directory

10|root@android:/ #
[Galaxy S II General] fozax:
n

imei null plase
[Galaxy S II General] mark.m.moran:
Hey there,

I have checked and unfortunately on my Galaxy Nexus I do not have an EFS folder!? Can anyone advise me what I can do now?

Thanks,

Mark
[Galaxy S II General] tetakpatak:
This is thread for S2, so wrong for that question, mate.

But how about this? ;)

http://xdaforums.com/galaxy-nexus/themes-apps/app-efs-backup-galaxy-nexus-t1510906

tetakpatalked from Nexus 7 flo
[Galaxy S II General] mark.m.moran:
Thanks mate.....still hear searching for a solution hours later :(
[Galaxy S II General] F0x123:
Hi,

I got a SII but my EMEI is 0049..... Luckily I still know the original EMEI. Is there a way to change the EMEI string to my original one by entering it somewhere?

I already tried to do that via terminal emulator and SU but without any success.

The phone is not blocked or something and it is mine, but I am afraid it will be blocked if I can't set it back to the original one.

Thnx.
[Galaxy S II General] mark.m.moran:
Same thing here! I know my IMEI as I have the original box but I don't know how to write this to the phone!?

Cheers,

Mark
[Galaxy S II General] andrewwright:
Any mobile shop should be able to do this very cheap. If you want the tool to do writing then Google z3x repair box.
[Galaxy S II General] dredremon:
pls replay is this work on galaxy s3 4.1.2 jb?
[Galaxy S II General] mark.m.moran:
Thanks man! Just been quoted €35 on one shop and a whopping €50 by a guy in a Chinese phone shop! How much is that repair box to buy!?

Thanks,

M
[Galaxy S II General] andrewwright:
https://www.google.co.uk/
[Galaxy S II General] F0x123:
In my country it is forbidden to do that, so no shops available. That's why I am looking how to do that on my own.
[Galaxy S II General] madhur1209:
I9003 without IMEI and basband version

Hi,

i know this forum is for S II but i was unable to find any other forum which can help with info.

I have SL-I90003 (Galaxy SL) and it dose not show baseband version and IMEI, I have not made any backup of the EFS folder earlier and neither I am able to locate it using root explorer. I am currently using rooted gingerbread xxkpq stock rom.

it will be really helpful if you can share some info or point me to the right forum.

thanks in advance.

---------- Post added at 12:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:12 AM ----------

hi,

since i was not able to find the EFS folder i used 'EFS_Pro_1.9.12' to make a backup of the EFS folder.

Now i have a .img file of around 6mb, i will be really grateful if you can let me know how to proceed further.

thanks in advance.

regards
[Galaxy S II General] tetakpatak:
[MENTION=4924151]madhur1209[/MENTION] have you created a nandroid backup before that?

My other idea is to try to flash a stock DDLF2 and pray it will recover your IMEI.

Otherwise check my i9000 thread and there is a link to the interesting little thread in EFS/IMEI part of the OP guide. Maybe it work also with i9003 on stock ROM.

tetakpatalked from Nexus 7 flo
[Galaxy S II General] arpit_nnd:
Thanks dude !!
[Galaxy S II General] madhur1209:
Hi,

I had not created any sort of backup before this happened, today I did a backup using 'EFS_Pro_1.9.12_Release' but I dont have any backup done prior to Baseband and IMEI becoming blank. I have gone through your thread and the steps that you have mentioned, what to know whether nv_data.bin file from todays backup will be of any use here ??

appreciate your help.
[Galaxy S II General] tetakpatak:
I would try to flash DDLF2 5-parts stock rom with Odin 1.83.

It occasionally restores the IMEI.

Using EFS Pro now is totally useless

tetakpatalked from Nexus 7 flo
[Galaxy S II General] madhur1209:
can i directly go for DDMF1 or it has to be DDLF2 and then DDMF1 ?
[Galaxy S II General] tetakpatak:
I would use DDLF2 as it contains the proper bootloader for sure. IDK for the later firmware. It is also the best stock ROM as outgoing point for upgrading to some custom ROM.

tetakpatalked from Nexus 7 flo
[Galaxy S II General] 3lo0sh:
Samsung Tool

u can backup and restore using samsung tool

It's safe method :cowboy: