yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
~~~~~~~~~ WARNING ~~~~~~~~~

PLEASE BACKUP YOUR EFS BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO FLASH OR MODIFY YOUR PHONE. EFS CONTAINS YOUR DEVICE IMEI WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT.​

​

You could use the following backup methods to backup your IMEI.

1. Archive Backup [Recommended]

This will create a compressed archive and copies it to your SD Card

* Root your phone.

* Install Terminal Emulator use ADB from your Computer.

* Type the following commands

su
busybox tar zcvf /sdcard/efs-backup.tar.gz /efs

* This will create a compressed archive efs-backup.tar.gz in your SD Card.

* Copy this archive to your system and save it in several places.

2. Individual Files

This will just copy the files from your efs partition to your sdcard.

* Root your phone.

* Install Terminal Emulator use ADB from your Computer.

* Type the following commands

su
cp -a /efs/. /sdcard/i9003_efs/

* This will create a folder i9003_efs in your sd card containing your EFS partition files.

* Copy this folder to your system and save it in several places.

3. Automatic Backups with CyanogenMod

* Whenever you are flashing from Stock to CyanogenMod, the EFS is copied to a different partition. In this process, a backup of the efs is created in /sdcard/backup/efs.

* You could copy the efs backup files to your system and save them for later.

Note that EFS is unique for device and if you loose your EFS without having a backup, you couldn't restore it and you will have to visit the Samsung Service and get your motherboard replaced.

A Little Background

IMEI is stored in the EFS partition of your device and it is unique for each and every device. IMEI is important and so is the EFS partition on your phone. Whenever you flash any custom rom, the efs partition is never touched and is always present on the device unlike the SYSTEM and KERNEL partition which vary with firmwares.

IMEI in a Stock rom is stored in the STL3 (/dev/block/stl3) partition and the filesystem is RFS. This is the primary and the most important partition and this data is shipped with the device and is unique for each and every phone.

Starting from Cyanogenmod 10 Alpha 4, the filesystem has been changed to facilitate bigger partitions. The RFS filesystem is no longer used since it is proprietary to Samsung. Instead, we are using YAFFS. For this reason, we wont be able to read the RFS partition which contains the EFS since the RFS support was removed from the kernel. To overcome this problem, we create a mirror partition for EFS and we copy the data from the original EFS partition to the newly created partition during when the ROM is being flashed. This creates 2 copies of the EFS in the device and also each time CyanogenMod is flashed, a backup of the EFS is created in the sdcard which could be very useful.

Hence, if you are having issues with lost IMEI on Cyanogenmod 10 or 10.1 releases, it would mean that maybe the mirror partition is improper but the original partition is still intact, which could be checked by returning back to stock. If you are still not having your IMEI on the Stock rom also, that is when you would be needing to restore using this guide.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
*** RESTORING YOUR EFS ***​

What is Required

* Any Stock Rooted ROM with CWM Recovery [DDFL2 Recommended]

* Odin or Hemidall

* Odin EFS Template for Galaxy SL I9003 [I9003_EFS_ODIN_BLANK_TEMPLATE.tar]

* CWM EFS Restore Script [I9003_EFS_CWM_RESTORE.zip]

* Backup of EFS

* External SD Card

* Some Brains.

Check the Extent of Damage / Create Backups

* If you are having issues with IMEI, first flash back to the Stock ROM

* Once on a Stock ROM, Check the contents of /efs with a File Manager and see if there are any files.

* If there are no files, you could directly perform the restore using the next step.

* If there are some files and you are having a fake IMEI, it would be better to backup the current EFS just in case.

** From the ADB Shell, type

su
dd if=/dev/block/stl3 of=/sdcard/efs.rfs

This will create a efs.rfs raw backup for your device, which could be used later on whenever you need it. You could flash the efs.rfs file from Odin. Keep it somewhere safely.

Recovery Procedure if you have Archive Backup or the Individual Files.

* Flash the Stock ROM and make sure that you are able to boot into the recovery and everything works fine. [ I am not going to cover flashing instructions since they are everywhere in the forum]

* Create a folder in your External SD Card named "efsbackup" and copy all the files and folders from the EFS backup that you have directly inside the folder. If you are having a tar.gz archive, extract all of the files into the folder directly.

* Power down the device and press Volume Up + Home + Power Combination to get into the Recovery Mode.

* Select Install ZIP from SDCard and then select the I9003_EFS_CWM_RESTORE.zip from the SDCard. Wait for few seconds to complete the restore.

* Once done, boot the phone and check to see if you are getting your Baseband, Network Signal and IMEI.

* If you still are not able to get your IMEI, make sure that you are using the proper backup. Try another backup if you have it.

Recovery Procedure if you have RAW Partition Image

* Copy the Partition Image to SD Card and name it efsbackup.rfs

* Connect the phone to ADB or use Terminal Emulator for the following commands

su
dd if=/sdcard/efsbackup.rfs of=/dev/block/stl3

This will restore the partition to your backup and you should be having a working IMEI now.

Formatting your EFS Partition

DO THIS ONLY IF YOU ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH MOUNTING /efs WHILE FLASHING NEW ROM OR IF YOU HAVE USED EFS CLEAR IN ODIN OR IF YOU EFS GET CLEARED EVERY BOOT.

* Download the I9003_EFS_ODIN_BLANK_TEMPLATE.tar file from the attachment.

* Power off the phone and boot into the Download mode by using the Volume Down + Home + Power Combination.

* Connect your phone to the PC, Start up Odin and select the I9003_EFS_ODIN_BLANK_TEMPLATE.tar in PDA and press Start.

* Once done, your EFS will be blank and you could use the 1st Method to restore your EFS backup.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] joe21o:
Very nice info dhiru :D

Sent from my GT-I9003
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] vishal24387:
Dhiru is there terminal emulator command to create efs.rfs backup???
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] mustafahussain:
This thread should be stickied
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
I have the fake imei. I try many method but still 0049xxx. Any solutions? Thank you
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
Yeah. You could try this method but you need a backup first.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
Can I use backup IMEI from the same SL i9003 device to mine? as it have huge problem with hardware but still have correct IMEI and all informations? Thank you.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
Yes. But be advised that 2 phones with same IMEI could cause legal problems. IMEI spoofing is illegal in several countries.

You could use the EFS backup (nv_data.bin) from any I9003, I9000 or Nexus S devices.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
Oh thank you, because that phone my dad had bought some years ago but hardly damage, he bought a new one and leave it to me! I won't fix that phone as i very expensive to recover, so I use your steps as above? Thanks alot dhiru!
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
If you already have some files in the /efs partition, maybe your permissions are messed up. Get me an output for ls -l /efs/
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
So I use this command in my phone or broken phone? before or after i copy?
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] chongns:
that is for check your efs folder permission, which is your good phone with imei problem.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
I try every steps many times but still 0049xx.

I got backup file from broken phone which the same as mine (SL i9003) efs folder and everything too

Can you help? thanks alot!
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] karlcaks:
i have unknown baseband and blank imei...can this fix it?...and i dont backup my efs folder before my samsung galaxy Sl i9003 lost imei and unknown baseband :( ...any solution for my problem?...

sorry for my poor english :(
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
That's strange. Maybe there is some kind of verification if the IMEI belongs to the device or not and that is why it is failing. I honestly don't know.

Are you on stock rom?
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
Thank you alot for your hard work Dhiru! I'll try again but if no luck than it's fine! Because I love to use SL and still able to use in my country!! Exept I didn't know can I use it in India if I have a chance to visit!!:D:D!! Very happy if able to use it in your country too.:o
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
Try removing nv_data.bin.md5 and see if it does any good.

rm -rf /efs/nv_data.bin.md5
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
It said "read only file system", can you pm your skype or yahoo? thank you
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] karlcaks:
Are you on stock rom?[/QUOTE]

yes now im on DDLF2 now...
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
It's of no use anyways. I was wrong. Only your device EFS will work with your device. There is surely some kind of verification and the nv_data.bin is specific to the device.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
You right! but it's fine! I can live with 0049xx as very far from now! just wait to enjoy your fabulous rom!!

BTW, this is my main phone!! and wait for Nokia 105 for subphone!!:D!!
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] karlcaks:
yes now im on DDLF2 now...I have tried many kinds of ways ... but the results failed ..

i hope this can fix my problem..but i dont have any backup efs fail...so what i need to do?..

thanks for u reply dhiru...

sorry for my poor english :(
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] chongns:
there are a nv_data.bin.bak and nv_data.bin, both should be the same size. 2mb. compare the date. if the bak file is older, it should be your ori file.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] xenyaliosx:
i just wanted to ask if it would be enough just to copy the backup/efs folder somewhere safe and save it? i know everything's written in the first page but since this is something really important i just had to ask. thanks in advance.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] LoLaTiOn:
+1
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] chongns:
there are some folder permission and file permission staff need to take care. but it is better than nothing. however using the dd command as dhiru show is better cause it keeping all permission and group owner for whole folder, so when you restore it. it is set and go.

---------- Post added at 09:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:10 PM ----------

i found that the nvdata.bin file will change in every reboot. and the hex code is scatter every time. but the nvdata.bin.bak is remain.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] anigr88:
a doubt to be clarified

:confused:

I just wanted to ask that if that terminal emulator code given above works for other or not because i got an error of

can't preserve ownership

so after some search that they told to change the code to

su
cp -r /efs/. /sdcard/i9003_efs/

and it worked for me as i replaced -a with -r which allowed me to copy the individual files.

If its already discussed sorry for the duplicate post.:laugh:​

​
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
So this can think as efs from other device can use on the problem one? Exept using speacial tools (Samsung tools with z3x box) is there any way we can restore using normal method? I mean transfer IMEI from device to device? Thank you
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] chongns:
Base on the Hardware, the first 13 digit is "hard seted", the 14th digit is the calculation result of the the first 13 digit.

so, in normal sense, it should work, however, do not know why it cant.

I been try to help 2 member to recovery, by it send me the nv_data.bin file, i set it to my phone, but it just changed and give me the generic imei.

so, if member have 2 SL and urge to transfer the imei from the bad phone to the good phone, you can try dd backup as stated at op, and flash with odin to the other phone. of cause, i take not responsibility to your act, just follow the step carefully.

to try make sure the below.

you are on samsung stock rom and partition system, not ext4 for both the phone.

do without sim card and sdcard inserted.

aside to [MENTION=2875964]dhiru1602[/MENTION], what it the partition call bml3 ?

i been reading from Chinese forum for Galaxy 5 about the imei recovery, they backup bml3 and stl3.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
As you can see i followed this topic from the begining but no luck! And IMEI is unique with each device only and may be re-write by some special tools, any other ways is useless to transfer and result of that is generic imei which i have to live with. Thanks alot for your help but I think this topic just for those who has backup and restore their own device's original IMEI.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] rodero95:
But, if the first 13 digits are hard set and the 14th is a calculation between all of then, isn't it possible to somehow read that hardware set digits or something?
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ASMI1:
hi dhiru1602, I heard something about "fake IMEI",how can I check if my IMEI still original (my efs still original)?
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] latief.makhdoomi:
you can dial *#06# it vl give u imei popup, pen it down,switch off ur phone take ur bat out and check is it same on the lable below ur bat..
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ASMI1:
My IMEI is 0049XXXXXXXXXXX, so I lost my IMEI forever:crying:
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] Siddhant Shankpal:
But still u can use ur SL for games as it's ur 1st priority. :p kidding :D

Sent from my GT-I9003
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ASMI1:
My Phone still working well (gaming,Internet,GSM), I don't know what are the problems that can fake IMEI cause?
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
Fake IMEI doesn't work on all carriers.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ASMI1:
Oh thanks God I am using TUNTEL:)

hey dhiru,can I recovere it using another SL IMEI?
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
Ofcourse not. As i'd tried many times but no luck. Just some fix phone shop if they have some special tools then they can write your emei back. But i prefer keep using my phone with fake imei (0049xx) as it still working correctly.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ASMI1:
Yup, this is better since no problem faced due to fake IMEI:)
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ASMI1:
my wifi is not working on CM10.1 (all alpha versions)...is this caused by fake IMEI?
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] falex007:
No. IMEI is needed to register in GSM network. WiFi module doesn't need it.

Отправлено с моего GT-I9003 через Tapatalk
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
Did you try with efs file from other device?
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] chongns:
yes, it not working
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
I saw a topic that able to change imei using adb command with fasboot oem write imei ********** that can write new imei. Can you check? Thanks alot
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] chongns:
SL cant use fastboot, maybe im wrong.

Btw, link please.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1827089 here is the link, but i don't know is it possible to use with samsung! Thank you!!
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ashman8123:
i had installed cm10.1 jellybeer on my sl after 2weeks i suddnly lost network then i check imei so there is no imei ... i dont have efs backup can u tell me how should i get my imei back .?

should i flash stock gb rom will it help?
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] rodero95:
/efs is usually backed up in your sdcard when CM is being installed. You should have a copy there.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
Flash back to stock and see if you get back your IMEI.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] chongns:
I recomment to back up bml3 also.

[MENTION=2875964]dhiru1602[/MENTION] can u explain what relationship btween bml3 and stl3?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] chongns:
ok, tried. here what happend

i go in to fastboot mode by key in

# adb reboot fastboot

than phone reboot in a blue screen with title some thing like installing software

than it show some thing like delta software not avalible

than it reboot back to normal

also i tried adb reboot bootloader.

it also not working, the phone just reboot
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] loSconosciuto:
I'm not dhiru, but I think I know the answer.

From "Linux RFS v1.3.0 Porting Guide" (look for it for more detailed informations)

Basically stl blocks allows you to use a file system to read and write data from the memory.

For each stl block, there's the corresponding bml block.

We can't use fastboot.

It's unknown how the IMEI is stored, it seems to be encrypted in some way.

The only thing I found that maybe can do something is an AT command: "AT+IMEIRDWRITE", but I've no idea on how to use it, I'm not even sure it does something. I tried to google for more information, but I couldn't find anything useful.

If you are interested on how to communicate with the modem, see this.

That's what I have to run (install picocom if you don't have it):

$ adb shell echo MODEM > /sys/devices/platform/switch-sio/usb_sel #USB will stop working for UMS/adb etc
$ picocom /dev/ttyACM0

The 3.0 kernel doesn't have the driver to do this, so you can do that only from 2.6.35 kernels.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] ndttung8487:
Thanks alot loSconosciuto, i'll study and looking on it!!
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] islandboy_2000:
Edit:

Fixed!
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] xglspyxgl:
Guys i have my efs backup i wanted to flash cm.10.2 today but lost my imei and other stuff. went back to DDLF2 and it didn't give me my imei back so i did the CWM Script to have it back but it didn't work too..

What should i do?
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] maeysam:
Hi...is the efs has effect on the gps antena and power signal?I flash my efs whit odin and thats has effect on my gps signal!!!
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] jagannn:
Can i use I9003_EFS_CWM_RESTORE.zip on Galaxy S3? My efs is corrupted :(
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
Nope. Not at all.

Did you check the I9300 forums? Maybe you flashed a latest modem.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] jagannn:
Thanks! Got it
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] kolomparrudi:
Lost IMEI repaired

Hi,

My nv_data.bin has been lost earlier without backup. I tried every opinions, read forums for days. I realized only payed apps can recover it. Unfortunately these boxes are for unlocker companies. I have found this site: http://www.cvxcvx.pl/samsung?lang=en

The guy offers remote imei repair for EUR 10. I tried it and my IMEI is recovered now.

His is sharing his USB dongle over network and managing the repair through Teamviewer.

I have backed up my nv_data.bin before and after the repair. It was modified in two locations:

@0x36800 (82 bytes) and @0x180004 (69 bytes)

kolomparrudi
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
Seems like your nv_data was quite intact. It should be possible to recover your IMEI just by using an USB cable and ADB. However considering the legality of such development work at XDA, there is nothing that can be done.

I know that guy myself and I had got one of my friends IMEI repaired. I like how he asks for proof of IMEI before trying anything.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] DanitoMarzovito:
Hi,in my efs folder there are all the files..but the device still does not read my sim!

What can I do?thanks
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] kolomparrudi:
The key part of the IMEI recovery is the encryption algorithm. This guy using commercial box for this process. If we can create non commercial solution we can help other users to restore their IMEI (if they can prove the original imei with photos).

---------- Post added at 11:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 AM ----------

Maybe your baseband is currupt. There are free services to repair baseband (eg. http://www.unlocksamsungonline.com/free-baseband-repair/ )
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] DanitoMarzovito:
nothing .. still the prohibited sign next to the time
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
Does your baseband appear? Do you have a generic IMEI? (0049)
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] DanitoMarzovito:
If I go to settings from the IMEI, Baseband unknown out! If I compose on the keyboard to see the IMEI code written out: IMEI

IMEI only, no numbers
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
If baseband is unknown then you have a different problem. Flash a full stock firmware and see if it fixes it.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] DanitoMarzovito:
Already tried with many different ROMs and nothing ..
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] dhiru1602:
Did you backup your existing efs and flash the EFS Template from the first post? You should get a generic IMEI and baseband should appear.
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] mustali:
IMEI not showing even after RESTORE.

hi dhiru!

hope you are well.

as a last resort i am writing this... i have gone thru the whole thread...

i had backuped my EFS the day i saw your thread many months back.

suddenly few weeks back, my i9003 ([ROM][LF2][15.10.2012]TheFrankenstain^MODv.3.8) started getting problems finding network

so i reflashed only modem file thru odin and it was working ok for few days.... again network lost:crying::crying:

and IMEI went blank, BASEBAND- unknown.

... then i tried all sort of flashing- stock GB firmwares(XXKPE,JPKP5,DDLF2), custom rom(FlyonGB), cyanogen based rom(AOSB)

nothing happened.....

reflashed stock DDLF2 and restored EFS as you have shown here by flashing CWM_RESTORE file from recovery after placing backup files on external sd. then i checked in /efs folder- all files from backup(5 folders&19 files incl. nv_data.bin) are present there, BUT still IMEI is blank, baseband unknown.... tried restoring 3 times .... all files are there in /efs bit IMEI is showing just blank....:mad:

PLEASE SAVE MY PHONE...... suggest what i can do now?

many thanks
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] mustali:
still waiting gor reply.... can anyone give a solution please
[Samsung Galaxy SL i9003] indigold:
I try to flash the Efs restore zip from recovery but I get status 7 error
[Nook Touch General] JLCollier2005:
Hello! I did a forum search and nothing recent pops up. If my problem is something that is known, please just point me in the right direction.

Basically out of nowhere, I've lost root access. I still have all my apps, access to ADW Launcher, etc. but anything that requires root (using the side buttons to change page in Kindle App, using button savior, etc.) won't work any longer!

I have not updated anything recently and my nook itself says it's still on software 1.0.1, so I don't think it was auto updated.

How do I get root access back? Do I have to go through the whole process again? What will happen to my apps and such?

Also, how did this happen, if anyone knows?

Thanks for any and all help!
[Nook Touch General] dagger:
Rerooting the phone would fix your problem.

and don't worry about your apps.

Nothing would happen to them.

sent from my phone using hands and brain...
[Nook Touch General] JLCollier2005:
I've tried restarting it (holding the Nook button on the back to power it off, then turning it back on) but that didn't fix the problem. That was the first thing I tried.

And it's a nook...not a phone...but thank you for trying to help.

EDIT: I apologize dagger, i read your original post wrong. I'm just not sure on the best method to do that from the point I'm at.
[Nook Touch General] dagger:
Nook?

What's it??

sent from my phone using hands and brain...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] daha2002:
Im planning on buying ASUS-VS239H-P-23-Inch-Full-HD-Monitor and use it with a mhl to hdmi cable.

The monitor doesnt have built in speakers.

What can i do for sound?:confused: