yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] androholic:
YES! This is what I just signed on to request! I've been very, very busy, as well as very very sick so I have not had time to check the status of these threads. I think a poll would at least give ppl an idea of how many this has affected and then they can decide if they are willing to flash anything. I'm curious of what the total count is, I know there are quite a few, but in the big picture is it really all that man? I'm beginning to wonder if this is just a very small percentage? Either way we need to know why, and how to restore it.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] androholic:
I wasn't even aware it was required for adb, shows how much I know, lol. That's reason enough to make it necessary Imo.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] androholic:
I appreciate the info... Like I've stated many times, I've been rooting & modding for a long time on alot of devices but I'm far from an advanced user. I just read thoroughly and follow directions. I never realized so many things I use are dependant on BB. When I picked up my first Android phone was the first time I'd ever had any real experience with anything Linux related. It was love at first use, lol.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Markdental:
Everyone, please go here and post your information so we can try and get a handle on this thing and begin eliminating possibilities:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1783990
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] johnhazelwood:
I hate to have yet another IMEI thread. Can we add a poll to this one and continue using this one?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] th3g1z:
Agreed we already have a plethora of IMEI threads. Let's get a Google spreadsheet or something similar going that everyone can post their info to rather than multiple scrambled threads.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] SiNJiN76:
Yeah...and you forgot the Poll. :silly:

Also, I think if it was really that widespread...there would have been news about it in one of the gadget sites, no?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] lordmorphous:
I started a spreadsheet to track these problems:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Arzp20hXNPi4dFg3UUozS2FQaERYNVJRVm1hWmJYQ3c

Please anyone, feel free to mod it however you would like. I haven't lost my IMEI, and just want to help in whatever way I can to insure that I don't.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] :
Is this happening to people who have rooted using the method that doesnt trip the flash counter AND people that rooted the old fashion way?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] wavrunrx:
@androholic

PLEASE ADD THIS TO YOUR FIRST POST

everyone post your info here
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Markdental:
I don't know that there is an appropriate way to gauge this with a poll. It need more info than a simple predetermined answer
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] <:GeeK:>:
Hi,

Just wanted to fill you guys in on what I'm working on.

So far I have built a custom rom that enables Diagnostic serial port on T-mobile SGS3

I have Extracted the 16 digit password from the modem

I have Connected to Qualcomm Service tools such as CDMA workshop and QPST/QXDM

I have READ the IMEI with these tools.

I have achieved a full NV dump of the phone.

The only thing left is to achieve WRITE of IMEI and your problems will be solved.

I do not have the issue on my device but decided to put some time into this to see if I could get it done. I am still working on it now.

Is there an official bounty for this solution or no?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] rault18:
Damn and I've been flashing like no other.. I feel like a porn star from the late 70s thT just heard about aids for the first time
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] MacTheRipperr:
This is great news. Thank you for all your hard work. This will save a lot of people
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] SiNJiN76:
Bwahahahahahaha!!!! :laugh::good:
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] th3g1z:
I am not aware of an official bounty but some have mentioned donations for success. Given that you have made more progress than most have yet I would recommend to either a) outline here how to make an NV dump with the software and either post said custom ROM/explain what to modify for someone else to replicate the process or b) get in touch with someone with lost IMEI tmo device and try to work with that person directly for an nv dump and compare yours to theirs and possibly modify theirs and attempt to restore it.

The NV dump from your phone.. Are you able to gain access to a device to test writing (preferably one with the IMEI issue) and modify theirs if you are able to input their IMEI from their box or whatever and see if it is successful, thank you for your efforts. I believe you are on the right track.

Using any of the the software can you determine where the IMEI is stored?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] MacTheRipperr:
I got a tmo device with most imei
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] <:GeeK:>:
I dont actually need a device with corrupt IMEI. With this solution (if i get it done) I should be able to write any IMEI that I choose, not just restore original.

Although there is one thing that I stumbled across where you can "SYNC EFS" internally. This option might help recover a corrupt IMEI.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] th3g1z:
Hmm very interesting findings good job my friend. You might have just fixed a lot of people's issues. Thank you for investigating and following up with your findings. I would recommend at this point to have someone with the issue attempt your method if successful on their device then open a new thread and outline the solution with steps and a donation link. I would personally test it but I do not have the issue and mine is att. Only fear is the legality of changing IMEI numbers.. I am all for the solution however let's think about the repercussions as well. If you want join me on freenode #fiximei
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] fireboypr:
Hahhahahha good one made me rolfcopter so bad hahha

Good job man keep up the good work!!! I don't need it but it will help a lot of people, also I hope that you get really good donations too. Good luck!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] djnoicatse:
I wonder if this is specific only to the US variants. Unless I missed it, I don't remember seeing any Canadian users losing their IMEI when flashing CWM through Odin or flashing a custom rom.

I'm on Rogers using the 32gb pebble blue and I flashed cwm through Odin. I've also tried Diet rom and aokp.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] <:GeeK:>:
Your concerns are good ones as you are right. CLONING of IMEI/MEID is in fact illegal. But, repairing them to their original state is not. It is on the user whether or not they use the tools available to do honest legal work or not. I'm still working on this and will keep you guys posted. If I get it done I guess I will start a new thread. Will the person with the tmo gs3 with lost imei please PM me, I would like try try the sync efs option on your phone.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] pinoymutt:
There are some folks in the other thread (ATT) that have mentioned they have lost their IMEI on a i747M as well (can't remember if it was Bell or Rogers, but definitely a Canadian model).
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] MacTheRipperr:
Pm'd
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] pinoymutt:
Someone just mentioned your request in the ATT thread as well, so hopefully someone with an ATT phone and a junked IMEI may also PM you.

Just curious, in your findings with the IMEI -- any clues as to how IMEI's could be getting borked?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] th3g1z:
I agree it's up to the user just don't want to see anything bad come about of the solution to you. And I'm glad you are on the right path. If I can be of any assistance or you need additional help I am here. Feel free to PM me or whatever. But yes, please someone with a missing IMEI on tmo please PM GeeK once confirmed we can apply this to att/Rogers as well. If you want I can get an ATT phone to test your method on tomorrow morning as well.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] David Dee:
I have so far come across 2 rogers users that have lost imei.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] wavrunrx:
No.

Act now, think later.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] androholic:
Yes, there are 3 or 4 of these threads now & it makes things very fragmented in my opinion. The other thread in Att development section has alot of useful info, but if it could be moved to general, we could probably kill off all of these other threads & only post in one?

I'm only interested in finding a restore method before a fully functional jellybean build drops. I'm starting to believe the imei just randomly gets corrupted & there's really no way to avoid it? I'm also starting to see that in the big picture it may be a very miniscule percentage that have been effected...( 3-5% maybe??? ) I read so many posts about it happening, but there are so many more ppl in this thread that have had no issues....
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] ergibson83:
Bawhahahaha ....that was awesome :good:
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] HHF2:
Has anyone tried *2767*3855# ?

It is a factory reset code that someone posted in another thread. This will wipe all data! Not sure if it will help or not but supposed to reset the sim? You will have to reactivate your phone! It puts everything back to the way it was when it came out of the box.

If you want to see the original thread it is the Verizon development under CM9 thread.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] androholic:
I've added the Google Doc Spreadsheet link to the OP & changed the thread title to let ppl know where to report their information, hopefully this will help. Big thanks to Lordmorphous for putting the document together, as I'm sure it will be very useful..
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] androholic:
Hey, great job Bro! Thank you so much! (I'm out of thanks) I look forward to you completing your ROM, and getting to the bottom of this! You may want to add a donate button.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] jthrasher47:
+1 add donate button
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] lordmorphous:
I see we have 33 entries in the spreadsheet with only one of these being a lost imei. Is there anything else anyone would like to keep track of in the spreadsheet or did I pretty much cover it?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] <:GeeK:>:
I'll make donation button once I put something out that you guys can use. :p
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Artimus009:
Lost mine just now...

First att blue release (day 1)

Did the normal original root...

Flashed every rom availible for att version....

Went to cm10 (official)from aokp back to cm10(official) to stock rooted rom in sticky...thats when i Lost my imei.

I am pissed.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] sabre31:
So going back to stock rooted rom is what broke it? Did you flash stock rooted rom through Odin or recovery?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Artimus009:
Recovery...
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] johnhazelwood:
Does anyone know if cm9/cm10 uses a different partition structure? I remember it did on my captivate which always required me to use Odin to stock so I could repartition. That's when I tended to loose my imei.

When returning from cm/aokp, is everyone just reflashing via cwm? Any better luck using Odin?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] kssxs:
Can you please post your info in the sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0Arzp20hXNPi4dFg3UUozS2FQaERYNVJRVm1hWmJYQ3chttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...VJRVm1hWmJYQ3c

Might help to have more than 1 lost IMEI report ;) .

Thanks!
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] lordmorphous:
Anytime I've returned to stock from the cm/aokp builds, I have either used a nandroid backup or odin. I've never flashed a stock rom with CWM and I still have my IMEI.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] johnhazelwood:
So sounds like partition isn't an issue.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] kssxs:
Not surprising since 'Odin' is a Samsung utility. Makes sense it's not going to bork something as important as the IMEI.

Maybe that's the way to flash new ROM's going forward, using 'Odin' (if that's even possible, otherwise, I'm talking out of my butt), and then use the 'TriangleAway' to remove the traces of flashing, if necessary.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] johnhazelwood:
Odin isn't optimal because it increments your counter (even though we can reset it now).
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] <:GeeK:>:
My guess is that the updater script in CM9-10 is not playing well with some of our devices.

Specifically, I think it's this:

Could be wrong, but that's my guess right now.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] brfield:
Why would it be that? That doesn't touch the EFS data containing the IMEI as far as I can tell.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] es7241:
Sure, but it touches the modem/radio
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] erikiksaz:
At this point I thought we didn't even know where the EFS data was contained? Would it be safe to rule that out?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] edmondt:
I just lost my imei from flashing an updated modem:

modem_CWM_I747UCLG1.zip

Now I have no cell phone...
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] lordmorphous:
Can you post a link to where you got that from. I would like to look at the files.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] justice26:
Check this site out for the firmware

http://www.sammobile.com/
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] <:GeeK:>:
I would also like to look through that.

Ok guys, I made a tool to enable the hidden menu so that you can enable DIAG mode. This is not even an option by default on our devices.

So far I have been able to connect to the phone and read the IMEI via PST but have not gotten it to write successfully yet.

THREAD HERE
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] woody1:
I appreciate all the work you're doing on this, but I have big concerns about the fact that you're planning to put out a tool that will allow people to change IMEIs. To me, that's kind of like putting alligators in the sewers to get rid of rats. You will fix the IMEI problem for a small number of people, but you will encourage people to steal phones. Possibly, many more people will get their phones stolen than will get their IMEI fixed.

Also, if you put out an app that will help the thieves steal phones, you will bring down the wrath of the carriers on those of us who just want to root our phones, and install custom ROMs. This is the kind of thing that causes carriers to lock their bootloaders.

So, please think about designing your utility so that people can backup and restore their IMEI from a backup, but not change it to some arbitrary one. That would help to avoid the cloning/stealing of phones.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] thacounty:
There are tons of tools to spoof ESN's on phones for Verizon and Sprint. This would basically be the same thing. I for one would like to think that this board isn't littered with thieves looking to rob someone as soon as the newest tool comes out. I know that is a trustworthy attitude, but I guess I want to trust people sometimes.

Also, if you don't report the IMEI stolen it won't be blocked anyway. - Then you could just use it on another carrier if you stole it.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Product F(RED):
As handy as that type of tool would be (for legitimate purposes), I have to agree with you. There will be unforeseen consequences.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] mastergrillo:
So the recent ones are:

Going back to stock zipped rom using recovery and someone flashing a updated modem, lets compare both scripts and see whats common and does the stock zipped rom flash a modem also.

I would do this but im at work

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] SiNJiN76:
Ooh... Something going wrong flashing a modem is bad. But there are reports of people losing the imei after flashing CM.

Sent from my SGH-T999
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] drothenberger:
The zip with the LG1 modem is here: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1768826

I put it together from the OTA. I've personally flashed both the LEM and LG1 modems several times (as well as everything else in the OP) without losing my IMEI. I used CWM Touch v5.8.4.5.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] taclm55:
Not sure if you guys saw this, but looks like edmondt was able to restore imei with a stock rogers.tar:

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=29067352&postcount=506
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] mrmako777:
looks like its happened on verizon now too after flashing cm9...http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=29069102#post29069102
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] wavrunrx:
@edmondt

can you complete your information on the google docs spreadsheet ? the more info you have there the more helpful it is.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] buvk:
has anyone tried restoring a complete dd backup after losing imei?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] <:GeeK:>:
Guys, I'm not making any tool to change IMEI. I simply enabled DIAG mode so that you can connect to the tools that are already out there. They are called 'Phone Service Tools" and they do many many things and some of them do include the option to repair meid/imei. These tools are nothing new and are used by professionals like myself on a daily basis. In fact, some of the main ones "QPST/QXDM" are made the the chipset manufacturer themselves (Qualcomm).
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] stevessvt:
Maybe we should all invest in to one of these...

http://www.cellcorner.com/xshp/unlock-phone-codes/nspro-samsung-box.html
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] woody1:
What would make you think that only people posting on this board would have access to such an app? Once it's created, it would go everywhere. And do you imagine that only nice people read these posts? Thieves and crackers would never think to browse here?

And why wouldn't someone whose phone was stolen report it to their carrier? Wouldn't they want to do that to prevent somebody from pretending to be them, running up charges on their account, etc.?

Once again, making fraud easy is not to the benefit of legitimate phone users. Such a tool should be carefully designed for backup and restore only.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Planswalker89:
Added my info to the spreadsheet, though IMEI is still intact.

I think we can confirm by now that rooting through the no-trip method isn't causing this...

I think what we all should try and do is whenever we flash anything, whenever we can without bricking, reboot our phones out of recovery and check if our IMEI's are still there. The more times we check when doing a flash, the easier it'll be to pinpoint where the IMEI gets borked, if it happens.

Still scared to flash stuff though... :( Hopefully we'll be able to restore IMEI's soon.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] thacounty:
The above post explains it really well.

The thieves around here are not crackers. The ones that steal phones where I'm from have no idea what phone they are stealing usually.

Sometimes phones are used for a while before they are reported stolen, you say hmm, where's my phone and it's been lost for a while. Some people just call to get a new sim card because then there won't be any new charges and go on about thier business.

Fraud is already easy. It is much easier to steal a GS3 and use it on another carrier than it is to get the IMEI back on this version. Backup and restore will not help anyone who didn't backup. Some people didn't back up certain partitions because they were unaware that this could happen to them. We need something that fixes the problem.

Not sure why you are so intent on proving me wrong.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] ElBeaner:
I can't update the spreadsheet(blocked for me at work)

But I did notice something today.

Yesterday, this was on my status info that I posted here

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=29018111&postcount=376

I flashed the UCLG1 update from the general section today, and then flahsed the WnamLite Rom and now that info shows

IMEI SV: 05
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] lyriquidperfection:
It seems the problem everyone is having is a qualcomm specific issue labelled as 'IMEI Not Active'. Here is a solution although it involves use of service equipment:

http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f47...pair-more-android-versions-supported-1401629/
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] johnhazelwood:
I believe the SV is the software version, which likely would update after you applied the update. I believe I had 2 until I applied the update and now 5 as well.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] 47ohboy:
how did you return to stock? flashed through cwm, odin or nandroid?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] kssxs:
In another thread in which he posted the same text, he said he had flashed through CWM.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] 47ohboy:
so maybe the guy in the other thread was right. to maintain imei when flashing from an open source build back to a stock based rom you might have to use odin. I had been saying that I hadnt had any issues flashing roms but all the roms I had flashed were all stock based. Not going to try flashing back to a stock based rom because it looks like ill lose imei.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] SiNJiN76:
So... I was just randomly looking through my logcat after a reboot... And saw something that said Dangerous File Found... And it pointed to busybox. Is that normal? This is actually the first time looking at a logcat.

S Beamed by my T999
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] androholic:
So I'm a bit unclear here? This is an issue that will be persistent with Qualcomm chip sets and cannot be avoided? Also, is this good news as it means we will have a fix available soon, or will it not be able to be repaired by the average user? Does it require the purchase of special equipment?

If someone who is familiar with this and has a good understanding of what this means could break this down for me into simple terms, I would greatly appreciate it:)
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] capcanuck:
I restored a stock based backup coming from aokp, no loss of imei..
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] thacounty:
From what I can tell, if this supports our devices at some point, you would need a UART Cable, can be had for 15 to 30 bucks, and this program that he has on the forum. I don't know this for sure, but it seems that way.

---------- Post added at 04:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:14 PM ----------

I have also used Nandroid to go back, but I have never flashed a stock based rom to go back.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] David Dee:
Actually, a number of people have lost their imei's flashing cm9 and cm10 roms. This issue is still far from understood, no one knows what is causing the imei wipe. My guess is the first solution to be found will comprise a method for backing up and restoring imei rather than figuring out the cause of its loss.

I personally am not going to flash anything until some solution is found. I am finding this quite frustrating, as I have always really enjoyed trying different roms/kernels/mods. I will bet there are many, many more who share my sentiments.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] SiNJiN76:
Are these people referring to stock as in unrooted stock?

S Beamed by my T999
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] thacounty:
I was thinking we were referring to stock as in a rom with Touchwiz, basically non aosp
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] kssxs:
This is what I had typed in that other thread. It's quite possible that the only 'correct' way to go back to 'stock-rooted' is to use 'Odin' rather than CWM, since it's a Samsung utility.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] androholic:
Your absolutely not the only one feeling this way. I finally decided to go with twrp & start flashing away, and then warranty exchange if I lost my imei. But, the more I look at different roms, i feel like I have to find one I know I'm gonna stick with because literally every flash increases the risk! This all sort of takes the fun out of the flashing experience you know? I like to try every rom & then decide which one I prefer, but in the end I just want to avoid an exchange if possible because it's kind of a pain in the ass! Right now I keep changing my mind, but I'm mostly leaning towards holding out for a really stable, fully functional jellybean build, and just sticking with TouchWiz in the meantime as it's not too bad compared to how I've felt about previous versions... What a lame predicament :(