yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Cobra281:
awe. some. no longer do i have to worry, phew!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] BillBauman:
Hey, everyone, amoamare has done some great work here! His explanation of the ERI file has been quite helpful. I can confirm that inserted his eri_0 into nvm using QPST EFS Explorer was successful in bringing a GS3 out of roaming and returning its ERI version to 5. Fantastic.

If anyone needs help or a tutorial on the manual fix procedure, let me know, and I'll put one together for QPST. It's pretty easy, though, if you're familiar with QPST at all at this point.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] kman79:
Thanks
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] WildZontar:
amoamare, I'd love to go ahead and add your tool to the thread! What does it do in particular, does this solve the roaming issue for people who restored via IMEI injection? Or does it solve all IMEI issues no matter what spot you're in?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] kman79:
Thanks as well

From what I'm reading, there are multiple versions of QPST. Is there a specific version I should be using?

I have not lost my imei as of now, but would like to have as many backups as I can. I've done the CWM method and the ADB method. Just need the qpst backup method done.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] guthrien:
I just lost mine, but had used the standalone Synergy tool. Flashed my backups from recovery and immediately back in business. Can't argue with that, easiest method of protection.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] omgi0wn:
So I ran reboot nvbackup. Is there any way to verify that it worked? Also, if it is run a second time will it mess up the files or replace them with a clean back up?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SlimSnoopOS:
Hello folks,

I've read through this thread and wow there is some great information here. Great OP, I will backup my files in the morning once I've gotten some sleep. First up, does the entirety of this post by Mybook4 (its on page 13 of this thread) mean anything to those who understand the ins/outs of this backup tool? I'm not sure what to ask but is this user just misinterpreting why these md5's have changed AFTER their back up completed?

And I have a second question on the entirety of the following post by bGolden84 (on page 15 of this thread). The post by bGolden84 doesn't fit in the stream of the conversation prior to his post, was this just a random post or am I missing something?

I edited out the bulk of their posts for brevity. Appreciate anyones response on the above posts.

---------- Post added at 03:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:20 AM ----------

omgi0wn, I have not done this yet but have read this entire thread. From what I understand, you have only done Part A of the OP. Once you perform Part B (Synergy backup tool) then you will have a directory that has your files backed up here:

/sdcard/synergyrom/backup

As for doing this multiple times, someone else needs to chime in on this.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] guthrien:
Part B, the Synergy method, you only need once. I'm still in shock that I lost my IMEI on my..5th flash. I was beginning to think it was impossibly rare. I'm so glad the new method works so easy and reliably.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] js0uth:
Probably the most painless and best thing you can do for your phone and yourself if your ever lose your imei. Regardless I believe everyone should do this. Lol.

+1 to the devs.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] eman3316@optonline.net:
So after flashing this you got it back without the R at the top?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] guthrien:
Yes. It restored everything exactly as it was before the loss.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SubMatrix:
guthrien so you did part B without doing part A, correct? Just want to verify that you didn't lose IMEI after doing the nvbackup step (which would be a first, and invalidate its usefulness).
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ThunderRootedDragon:
Haven't rooted..thing is sooo nice. But getting the itch for basic access. Did part A in a breeze. part B is not working for me: I moved the zip to my sd (formatted on the phone) booted into recover (stock method) navigate to the zip and I get an error "e-signature verification failed" and my droid guy gets this s#it knocked outta him with his guts splattered all over the place. :crying:

Any help would be much appreciated.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] mybook4:
I posted the MD5 sums because I was going to perform an nvbackup anyway and wanted to keep track of any changes induced by the nvbackup as well as provide more data.

I'm not exactly sure how the nvbackup routine backs up the appropriate data. If the nvbackup routine is simply block copying modemst1 and modemst1 to fsg and Backup respectively (similar to dd'ing), then one would expect for example that the md5sum of fsg will be identical to modemst1 after performing an nvbackup. I did not find this to be true (see original post for details). This surprised me. We would probably need to dig deeper into the Ralekdev provided decompiled bootloader code to find out exactly how/where nvbackups are stored.

The md5s that were generated lead me to believe that

1) The nvbackup only writes to part of the fsg/Backup partitions

and/or

2) there is other data written to modemst1/fsg (could be almost anything).
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SubMatrix:
Pretty sure you need root to flash the zip. You should root, it literally takes like 5 minutes.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ThunderRootedDragon:
nm...still got the sig verification failure.

GOing to DL on my phone and then give it another go (DLed on my PC and moved the file originally)...sorry to post negative results in a great thread...will be back.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jaliscojorge:
I did step a then proceeded to step b with the synergy zip, it ran fine but the text read; checking if efs is unlocked

Efs is not unlocked

Efs not backed up.

And i didn't get a synergy folder on my phone either. Tried doing a search on that on the thread but didn't find anything like that posted. I'm in a Tmobile stock rooted uvalem rom if it matters any.

typed from my white sgs3 hungry for some Zen
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] apacseven:
Hmmm I believe whats going on is since that zip isnt signed by vzw, it cant be flashed in stock recovery. Only a custom recovery such as CWM or TWRP would be able to execute that zip.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] pkd600:
You MUST be rooted and running a custom recovery to flash the Synergy IMEI zip. I believe you may also need to have your bootloader unlocked as well.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ThunderRootedDragon:
I can verify you MUST be rooted, unlocked, and running a custom recovery to flash the Synergy zip...thanks for all the help and to the OP for the fine fine work.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] guthrien:
That is correct. And I was unlocked and running custom recovery.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] WildZontar:
I don't believe this method works with T-mobile. The T-mobile variant sports a GSM baseband; this phone sports a Qualcomm CDMA/GSM baseband and its procedure may differ from the other models.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Peoplearmy:
Apply your backup it is related.

DX
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] pmdied:
So, I'm rooted with Synergy ROM and flashed the backup zip. I have backup files called efsbackup.log and recovery.log. Anything else I need to know before jumping into AOSP ROMs?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] s197:
You should also have a zip in the backup folder. That is the file you flash to restore a lost IMEI.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] pmdied:
Yes its called keybackup_xxxxxx.zip
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] s197:
Looks like you're good to go.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] rkerrddd:
I made back up of my imei a while ago! Have had no problems till now was trying miui rom everything was working when some kind error message and there was a circle with a line thru on status bar so I restored to Nan back up which is synergy it loaded fine except still no verizon network not roaming not anything does this mean I lost my imei and is my back up any good since I did it before this method was out? Would a complete factory restore help? Plz help?

Edit: seems wifi is kicking on and off also i flashed newer radio earlier today could that be cause?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Elysium1215:
So there is still no fix for the roaming issue? It's not a huge deal for me as I still get perfect data on roaming, but if I lose my IMEI again I could end up with even more trouble...

Would you guys recommend using these backup methods to backup my IMEI even though I'm facing the roaming issue?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] amoamare:
There is a fix for both IMEI and the roaming issue. No need to backup anything. It's advisable to backup just in case. But to fix your IMEI or roaming issue use this tool xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1867442
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] kman79:
Not sure if this has been asked before, but if we flash another CM10 build or another ROM, does it delete the previous nvbackup we made? If not do we have to run nvbackup again, assuming the imei is present after a fresh flash of a ROM? Thanks!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] rkerrddd:
How can I be sure it's imei loss? I have absolutely no service , it's seeing no Verizon network.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] kman79:
Go to settings-->about phone-->status and check to to see if you still have a legit imei number
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] rkerrddd:
It showing I have imei but no service no network and no eri
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Haro912:
Try a re provision

Sent from a strange blue box hurtling through time and space.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] amoamare:
rkerrddd

Use the tool I posted to fix your ERI
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Elysium1215:
I had no idea this tool existed! Thanks for showing me this; I'm 100% back to normal now
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] manchild83:
I just lost my ime after flashing the latest bean Rom. I restored it using the zip and everything is working great. No roaming message full bars 4g. Thanks team synergy.

Riding dirty with my unlocked bootloader
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jaliscojorge:
I wish this tool would work on the T-Mobile side, I've backed up with qpst and the terminal emulator command but having an extra option would be nice.

typed from my white sgs3 hungry for some Zen
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Cobra281:
the first method of backing up, using the adb command, seems to work, as does the QPST backup. only the 2nd method requires an unlocked EFS partition, which is why that wasn't working for TMO
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] amoamare:
Hmm i might be able to port my tool to work with the t-mobile version then.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] woody1:
I'm on a stock, rooted AT&T S3. I tried to flash the .zip file using TWRP and it appears that the backup didn't complete successfully. Does anybody have any tip on how to make this work?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] WildZontar:
T-mobile and AT&T use the same system with different frequencies. Therefore, the story for the AT&T model is the same as the T-mobile variant i.e it's probably not going to work.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] droidxuser123:
Ok so I did the nvbackup in terminal emulator and the phone did what you expect. But when it went to reboot it hanged for a little bit in the boot animation and then restarted booting again normally. I'm fine right now but did the backup work or did I mess something up. I'm on cm10 btw
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] kman79:
Just didnt want my question to get burries, but does nvbackup we make get deleted with a ROM flash of a new ROM?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] bgolden84:
No. It is a separate data partition.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] hotnvicious5:
Just tried to flash inverted Gapps and CM10 at the same time; lost my MEID, IMEI, and ICCID. Used samsung "method 1" to restore and voila! Thank you so much!

One question though? After using method one do I need to rebackup or does the backup work forever?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jackdubl:
Can the Step 1 recovery be performed in terminal emulator or do you need to use adb for it?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] con247:
It works forever.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] imablackhat:
I know if rooted you can do reboot nvbackup but if you have to restore can you do reboot nvrestore

Sent from my SCH-I535
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SlimSnoopOS:
You do that in adb for Part A of the restore process just like the OP states: adb reboot nvrestore
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SubMatrix:
So you're saying you lost IMEI after performing the nvbackup?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] coldhardtruth:
Wait so I ran the command via terminal emulator and it just rebooted. Didn't see any blue flashing cursor. How do I kno it was successful?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] imablackhat:
I want to know if I can. Backup and restore without using a pc. Just by using terminal using the commands. I used the command to backup

Sent from my SCH-I535
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] s197:
Your phone should reboot to a black screen. At the top in very small font will be two sentences written in blue that basically say modem1/modem2 were backed up to their respective partitions. It goes by quick but basically if your phone reboots and you see blue text at the top, you're probably good.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Cobra281:
exactly. chances are, if you did it in ADB\terminal emulator, and got no error messages, it was completed.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] imablackhat:
No one can answer if you can restore using terminal? I know you can backup using it.

Sent from my SCH-I535
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] eman3316@optonline.net:
I have read that you can back up and restore in Terminal Emulator
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] mk_ln:
so there have been reports of people actually successfully restoring using terminal emulator rather than ADB?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] bgolden84:
Its the same thing. Its like asking if any one got there pizza cause they used delivery instead of pickup lol
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] hitekdroid:
just backed up successfully using terminal emulator. hopefully i dont have to restore it. thank you!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] LostInEthereal:
Hello everyone, just wanted to share my experience using this backup and restore methodology.

Awhile ago I had created a backup using both A (via terminal emulator) and B. Well, today after playing around with Bean's MIUI I was restoring my nand of PA and noticed right away the "No Service" notification on the lockscreen lingered. I have a habit of checking my phone's status right after a new flash/store and low and behold I had lost everything. I promptly fired up ADB (just didn't feel like using terminal emulator is all) and fired off 'adb reboot nvrestore', which seemed to work and the phone shut off. I ended up having to boot recovery and again restore my nand but all is well now..
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] SubMatrix:
Is this the first case of a lost IMEI after doing nvbackup?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Cobra281:
nvbackup didn't cause the IMEI loss. he took the precaution of backing up his IMEI using nvbackup, and it paid off.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] pkd600:
Yes, but according to the backup procedure:

So in theory if you did Part A, you would never actually lose your IMEI in the first place, but now it sounds like it might not be 100% fail proof if someone still lost their IMEI and had manually restore it. The good news is that the restore worked though!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] con247:
Yes, apparently the backup method isn't preventing the loss. So the loss isn't occurring by the device "restoring" a corrupt/non-existent backup.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] hopesrequiem:
I've noticed that when I don't seem to get service on a fresh install, a simple reboot has always fixed it immediately. Have yet to need to restore it. Attempt a reboot before going through that hassle of restoring
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] shawnten:
i used this method to backup and now my phone wont connect to the computer it says hardware id missing. any help would be awesome
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] silver04v:
Not from this. It's a known driver issue. Usually switching to different usb ports works, or uninstall your phone drivers and then reinstall and reboot the computer, then connect the phone again and let the drivers install.

Sent from my Unlocked and Rom'd VZW SGS3!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] sgloki77:
Im on S3 AT&T ,aokp jb rom, is it safe for me to do method A(adb/terminal emulator) since my phone is not from verizon.?

Method B(flash zip) prbly is not gonna work, for obvious reasons,but it would be good to have the extra backup from method A

Thanks
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Doit2it:
I'm getting a 'Signature Authorization Failed' message when trying to apply the zip via CWM.

I am Verizon I535 stock with the recent update(VRLG7). Also my phone uses UP/DOWN and POWER (not HOME) to navigate CWM
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] silver04v:
Are you unlocked?

Sent from my Synergized vzw S3!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Doit2it:
I was following a thread that said to do this before rooting. I just rooted, unlocked, and installed recovery and the file worked fine. Thanks!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] sololhj:
I got the same 'Signature Authorization Failed' message when trying to apply the zip via stock locked bootloader.

Does that mean in order to complete part B (manual backup) I have to be rooted and unlocked?

Edit: After rooting, unlocking Part B seemed to work fine. The instructions should be modified to so the question isn't constantly repeated.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] JamesR624:
Hello. I have a verizon galaxy S III. I had rooted and unlocked and have a nandroid backup of my stock rooted rom.

I forgot to do this backup before flashing a CM10 Paranoid Android Rom. My IEMI number still works as I can use the phone just fine.

My question is, can I do the back up now from this rom(cm10 paranoid android) or do I have to do the nandroid restore to my stock rom first?

I am afraid of loosing my IEMI number in the process of the nandroid restore because of how high the risk is of losing my IEMI number.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jdiamond7:
Yes, you can run the backup from your current ROM. I ran mine while running an official CM10 nightly.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] fp99:
Backed up IEMI number using Terminal Emulator after rooting last night. Worked without problems. Thanks.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jlm123hi:
Thank you!

Thanks for the help with backing up my IMEI!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] imablackhat:
I ran the process through terminal of reboot nvbackup twice. It should override the second time and not glitch it right? I just wanted to ensure I have a good backup.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] cuban11182:
I did both A and C.

Thank you so much!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] dunderball:
I did the same thing. I just wanted to see the little blue text in the corner of the bootloader screen since I didn't remember it doing it the first time. Pretty cool stuff.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] josh995:
Question... I know it was asked but I'm afraid to root because I just paid $600 for this phone and don't want to ruin it.

Can I skip Plan A and do Plan B? I am not rooted, unlocked, anything... Completely stock. I am planning on running CM10

The whole ADB thing is just overwhelming for me. I tried and my computer (I'm using bootcamp on my macbook pro) said I didn't have JAVA SE SDK or something like that, even though I downloaded and installed it. So I just don't want to deal with that...

So again, I'm completely stock, can I just do Plan B?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Addiso:
Yes you can those are just backups in case one doesn't backup good when you wanna restore it all comes up to your decision in which to do or as you can say for you feeling safe with your imei
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] zephymobile:
just unlocked and rooted my phone. Going to flash to a new jellybean rom. Should I do this back up?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Addiso:
Most definitely I wouldn't want to take the chance of losing it on my first flash ;)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] zephymobile:
Damn i'm confused....That wink at the end got to me. Is it necessary to backup? After reading thru a bit I'm still confused as hell if i need to backup......:confused:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] fedort:
Is this only for the Verizon Galaxy or can I do this also for my European SGS3?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Addiso:
Aha well yeah its necessary to backup just in case you lose your imei

The wink just mean for you not losing it on your first flash with the S3 lol
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] silver04v:
You can use terminal emulator from your phone instead of adb. So root, and install recovery, unlock bootloader, and then do backups per this thread.

......Initiating awesomeness - AOKP Swag
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] what be up:
when trying to do the Part B (SynergyROM's "Plan B" manual backup), i flashed the file on stock not rooted, but it says something about the signatures, and then it says installation aborted.. any suggestions?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] silver04v:
Yea, need to be rooted, bootloader unlocked with ez unlock version 1.2, and a recovery installed using ez recovery. Then flash it.

......Initiating awesomeness - AOKP Swag
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] carrd:
Running Part B on my UK I9300 I get the following message:

Backing up efs if unlocked

** Not Unlocked Skipping Backup **

But I have an international device so bootloader should not be locked?

Is someone able to help please??
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] silver04v:
I think this is only for us variants, maybe even only verizon devices.

......Initiating awesomeness - AOKP Swag
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] carrd:
Apologies for posting in the wrong forum but does anyone know if this is the case, if there is a similar zip for the international variant
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] con247:
Unless it is in your section, there isn't one.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] what be up:
Can I be rooted with unlocked bootloader and custom recovery from a different method and still do this? My b if this has been asked already, just never had a Samsung device before and just upgraded..
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] silver04v:
Yea, doesn't matter.

......Initiating awesomeness - AOKP Swag

---------- Post added at 11:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:54 AM ----------

But if you used ez unlock, male sure it was version 1.2 from the rootzwiki thread and not the broken 1.4 in market.

......Initiating awesomeness - AOKP Swag
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] musclehead84:
Can anyone point me in the direction to the part b zip to flash. I can't find it. Thanks
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] silver04v:
Follow the instructions in the first post and click the link where it says to download from. It's in the post it brings you to.

......Initiating awesomeness - AOKP Swag
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] musclehead84:
Oh ok thanks. I clicked on the link but I was looking in the op of that thread for the zip file. Thanks again
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] what be up:
everything went smoothly thanks for the how-to, but just curious how do you know if you have lost your IMEI? i know that it has to do with seeing a 0 somewhere, just not sure where, and what happens when u lose it?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Sidology:
I'm also having this issue ("Signature verification failed") . I'm non-rooted stock and the OP says, "You do not need SynergyROM to use this tool; I've done it from full stock. "

Any Ideas?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] silver04v:
Yea, stock but rooted, unlocked with custom recovery. You can't flash it any other way.

......Initiating awesomeness - AOKP Swag
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] what be up:
ya, i figured that out the hard way, but now that I know that I now have like 4 backups of my imei, lol
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Sidology:
Ah gotcha. That part just confused me a little. Off to root!

Thanks :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Biker1:
Completed A&B on my rooted S3, for that 'Murphy's Law' moment.

Thanks ;)