yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] christiebunny:
With all this talk of the "modemst2 partition" (I assume it's the one flashfire calls the 'modem firmware data #2' partition), does any one know how to back it up/restore it? Flashfire doesn't, last I checked, work on the U11, and I don't see that partition in TWRP, so.... how?
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
There is an app called partition backup and restore that will backup all partitions, it just doesn't restore. And I am thinking [MENTION=711482]beaups[/MENTION] is able to do it cause most likely he is s-off. I am thinking we have to be s-off to do it.

Was you able to get yours working?
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] PieceKeepr:
dd is an ADB command so I would think you'd be able to copy/restore from a PC or laptop. I'm not sure if you could do it through terminal emulator and I'm looking for a mobile solution that can be used anytime, anywhere.

Is this the app you tried?

Can the backup be restored in TWRP Recovery?

---------- Post added at 10:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 AM ----------

After my great success flashing and not losing signal I randomly lost my signal on startup. That hadn't happened in a while but I tried to revive it with a couple of different apps that claimed to restart the radio or refresh the connection. Neither worked.

Before flashing my stock backup I opened Network Signal Guru and found it testing multiple bands. It did not re-establish the signal but I thought it was interesting none the less. Here are the tests it was running.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
Yes that is the app, it successfully backs up the modemst2 I don't know why the app is called partition backup and restore cause it surely does not restore lol.

But I had success restoring a stock backup then restoring my viper backup to get signal back. That and the ruu is all I know for now until [MENTION=711482]beaups[/MENTION] gets back with is. :fingers-crossed:

Also hopefully the next HTC update may fix it.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] turbosporsche:
Mms status. So after 2 phone's and 3 sim cards I can not get mms pic messages. Anyone else have this or no how to fix the issue. Htc blames Verizon and Verizon blames htc
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] PieceKeepr:
Are you activating the sim cards before you put them in the U11 or inserting then activating? Everything I've read here and on other sites says they have to be activated first. I had the exact same problem but after replacing the sim it started working for me.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
You have to activate the sim in another VoLTE capable phone. Like for me, I used my SIM from my Verizon HTC 10 that was already activated. You cannot activate VoLTE from Verizon in this device since it is not a Verizon device. That's what I understand.

---------- Post added at 09:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:05 PM ----------

This thread is like the fourth most visited thread, I don't know if you would mind but it would be a good idea to edit your first post with what we know so far to help people much quicker, or if not, maybe someone can open a new thread.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] turbosporsche:
First time it came from my old Moto pure x style with no issue.

Second one right from Verizon with them turning it on. . still nothing. As soon as I place the sim in any old phone bam all my old mms come over
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
But it cannot be activated in the HTC U11. If you have access to another Verizon device that has advanced calling I would activate a new SIM in that device. Have VoLTE activated in that device. Did you have Verizon advanced calling in your Moto?
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] PieceKeepr:
Three dots in upper right should open a menu.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
Sweet, I don't know how I missed that lol. Have you tried it?
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
Ahh I see how I missed it, the Viper dark theme hides it.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] tml478:
So after multiple attempts with the ruu I can't get service back. I'm so confused with this. I work at Verizon so I'm going to take a new sim home with me tonight, activate it in my s8 and see if that helps. This is just a giant pain in the ass.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
Yeah that's odd, I have had 100% success with the ruu. If that doesn't work I think your plan with your S8 will work cause it's sounding like an account/activation issue.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
Hopefully everyone installs this app and tries it. I'm anxious to see if it works.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] turbosporsche:
Ya I did that. And yes my old phone had hd calling. It definitely is the phone or something that Verizon is doing to prevent people from buying unlocked phones .
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
I can say with my own certainty that it is not the phone. It is most definitely Verizon. They have never before allowed outside/unlocked phones onto their network so they thought they could get away with restricting us to band 13. I believe it is an account thing, also there has been mention of CDMA-less provisioning, I know nothing about that and didn't have to fool with it but it is definitely something on Verizons side. This phone is perfectly capable of all bands and CDMA.

On a side note, I want to ask everyone to go to the O.P. and click on the thanks button! I think we have done a great job keeping our issues here and away from everyone else, they seem to hate when we talk about our problems and scold you and try to dictate your posts Lmao.

---------- Post added at 11:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 PM ----------

What location are you in? Maybe it is your location. Maybe root the phone and unlock bands 2 and 4 with Network Signal Guru. Unless you check your old phone and see what band it operates on. I don't know much just throwing out some thoughts.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
Even though we have all bands now with network signal guru I would not recommend flashing anything without taking SIM card out. I just tried, flashed a theme update and a few other things, almost trying to lose signal and I did. I tried using partition backup and restore to restore modemst2 and it did not work. Maybe we have to backup both modems and radio, I will try that next. I was able to make it appear that I got signal back by using network signal guru, lock rat as shown in the pics but couldn't complete any calls. So I backed up my current ROM with no signal, then restored stock ROM to get signal back, then restored my current ROM and all is fine again. I most definitely believe in the pulling the SIM card trick, I've had 100% success flashing that way.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
The pics I forgot to post
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] QD2DC:
I don't think that's entirely true. The nexus 6p, axon 7 and essential phone, just to name a few, all work on Verizon just fine with a preactivated Sim and is been proven that you can unlock and use bands 2 and 4 on the software level, not carrier level. It's almost certainly software on the phone disabling stuff when it registers with Verizon, possibly because of an agreement, who knows. I had the nexus 6p before it was certified, and the axon 7 never got certified at all and can use CDMA and all bands, and VoLTE. More and more I'm thinking it's software and htc, not Verizon, unless Verizon is somehow forcing them but then that wouldn't explain why other phones that never got certified work, Verizon obviously doesn't stop them. Just my two cents...

---------- Post added at 08:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:08 AM ----------

Lol yea I'm pretty sure I'm mentioned it would not stop you from losing signal randomly. And I'm pretty sure you need s-off to the restores you're looking for. I'll check it out when I get the u11 back.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
You may be right about the software but that doesn't explain why some of us connect and use the phone without any issues except the lost signal issue. I know the lost signal issue is software related but why some of us can get full service and some can't seems like a Verizon issue.

And the reason why I mentioned pulling the SIM is cause someone had mentioned how they were having success without pulling the SIM now that we have all bands. Just pointing out that is not true.

And no other carrier is having these issues.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] QD2DC:
I agree, the issues regarding sms and calls are separate from the signal loss issue. The prior issue is most likely a setup issue on the active line and Verizon. For example since my phone is part of a business line, I cannot use the my Verizon app to add or remove features, such as advanced calling. I have to do it via the web portal. Furthermore, I can only make those changes if my Sim is in a Verizon sold phone. It'll error if I try to add those features if my Sim is in the HTC u11 or essential.

I'm willing to bet the people having those issues didn't already have advanced calling active and are trying to add it but it won't let you. Not even if you call into support, they'll still be unable unless your sim is in a Verizon sold phone. And they can't send you a Sim with it preactivated since the sim pulls what features belong to that line from Verizon once you turn on the phone. And since you can't add advanced calling on a none Verizon phone, the new sim will behave exactly the same as the old. If I want to disable advanced calling I have to put my sim into my s8+, log into the portal, make the changes, reboot, verify the change took, then put the sim into my none Verizon phone. If not It'll error on the portal if I try to make those changes with the sim in a none Verizon phone. Anyone having these issues have access to a newish 4g Lte Verizon phone and the online web account to test my theory? S6 and up should work, htc 10, and I personally tested the s8+, note 8, and iPhone 7 plus.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] meadowscurse:
FYI: received my U11 June 9th. Popped sim from my m9 into the U11 and had LTE but no calls, SMS or MMS. After multiple new sim and following the advice on this thread NADA......I now have LTE, SMS, MMS. After the in store tech explained that I needed a newer type of sim. The Verizon sim card read 4NFC instead of the 4ff. Brand new put straight into the U11 and activated. Within a few hours SMS was working but no MMS. Added the MMSC into the APN and MMS has worked since except the update on July 14th had reset the APN. Re-entered the APN MMSC and back to normal.

So for those that are listening to all the "cannot be activated on the u11" and trying sim after sim. I hope this may help out.

The correct sim CAN be activated in the U11. Update your APN.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
We are going by trial and error bud, it's posts like yours that is helping us. Hopefully this helps somebody but I do not think any of us have pin pointed the problem. I've updated and never had to mess with my apn. It has been mentioned to have the newest type SIM but the Verizon reps should have already known that after they replaced theirs multiple times. Never had to mess with my apn, but maybe it will help someone else.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] meadowscurse:
Yeah it's just been to one setting in the APN I've had to input. And only on those two occasions.

? That's why I posted. Strictly informational. Possible solution for some out there that only see info that tells them it's impossible. Lol
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
Yeah hopefully but apn should be common sense, especially for Verizon reps
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
Why didn't you just post this over here and tell us how much smarter you are and how stupid we are? I'm having a great experience with my HTC U11. I have time left if I need to return my second one. But losing signal only 4 times in a month and half out of two U11's isn't bad, and glad I was able to upgrade to the 6gb version. [MENTION=711482]beaups[/MENTION] has the U11 on Verizon laugh at him while you're at it. I've learned how to manage this beast and don't mind when I have the htc 10 as well. I'm proud we are figuring this thing out and having success. I have phones that actually work including my U11. Laugh all you want buddy we got this we don't need you to tell us how stupid we are.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] QD2DC:
I don't think he's calling anyone stupid, and he didn't say anything that wasn't true. He's merely stating how unacceptable this issue really is. Losing all service even once shouldn't be treated as OK. No other phone exhibits this behavior for verizon. Not everyone is tech savvy enough to go some of the things we do here in xda, and not everyone has or wants to worry about having a spare phone on hand, RUU is inconvenient, and time consuming. Some of us have learned to deal with it and have found work arounds but the point is that as consumer who paid good money for this shouldn't have to figure out how to fix something we didn't break in the first place.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] EtherealRemnant:
I didn't call anyone stupid, you are the one who took my post that way. My statement that I wanted to laugh out loud wasn't about anyone's stupidity except for HTC in releasing it for Verizon and my comment about going to a device that worked is because I'm not personally going to accept a phone that's over 600 bucks that doesn't work correctly. I'm sorry that you're butt hurt and feel the need to call me out but that's my opinion and I'm entitled to it just like everyone else. I think its ridiculous what HTC has done and while I could have been a bit more clear in that single post you decided to quote here, if you read my other posts in the update thread then you would have known that I have been annoyed with HTC and to a lesser extent, Verizon, and never once called anyone stupid besides HTC. If you are happy to spend your cash on a phone that you have to jump through more hoops than getting S-OFF on the Sensation with a paperclip in order to even use properly, that's why this community exists and there is nothing wrong with that. Personally, I don't have the money or the patience to do so and going back to my 10 is not an option - its way too slow compared to the U11, even for simple idle games. I can't go backwards. My suggestion on the 4FF SIM was not a matter of fact fix either, I even said I doubt that it would work for the loss of signal issue but that IS the SIM that Verizon gives out for BYOD so it may very well be provisioned differently than the other SIM cards and is worth giving a try.

There was absolutely no reason to try to attack me over the post that I made. Everything that I said applied to me and the only one who looks stupid in all of this is HTC. Since I know about the pain of the Sensation and using a paperclip to achieve S-OFF, I've obviously jumped through some hoops of my own on HTC devices as well but what I won't put up with is a phone that loses its radio. After all, I bought a device to use as a phone and while I have WiFi calling on my U11 care of Mint (T-Mobile MVNO), you guys don't have that option and its still not an option I would be happy with anyway.

When it comes right down to it, I feel sorry for everyone who got duped by HTC in this matter and I've been on your side in the updates thread despite the fact that HTC trying to fix what they released broken is holding up an update that I desperately need for my own phone.

---------- Post added at 04:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:24 PM ----------

Bingo! That's exactly what I meant.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] CXTKRS1:
No the guy is making a point and I am agreeing with him that this phone has been nothing short of a abortion for those on VZW that are not tech savvy. I cannot recall one single time (not saying it never happened) of having to restart my LG V10 because it was unable to reestablish a connection with VZW. Yet some people here in this thread say the U11 is not a bad phone as long as you have a backup...WTF. We should not be having to root this phone to gain access to the services we already pay for. I'm watching the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 and it will be downright embarrassing for HTC if an imported Chinese phone performs better on VZW than their flagship U11. Some of you guys are seeing this as a puzzle to be figured out which is cool as hell but people like me see it as a giant "F*** Y**" from a company that is fading in obscurity. This whole debacle is part of some sort of contract that I'm sure VZW wrote but HTC also had to sign off on so for me they are both at fault. Add the band restrictions into the fact HTC has absolutely terrible customer service with dealing with returns for a defective phone (OIS failure) makes me hope this company ends up being gutted and picked to pieces by the banks that hold their debt.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] christiebunny:
Ok, now things are getting really weird. Got a cheap $30 scrap phone to hold me over with calls until we can figure this out (had a much nicer phone, but paying for metroPCS on top of verizon was too much).

I get LTE data, but no calling/SMS on the U11 with my 4FF sim... stick that nanosim in the scrap phone (via adapter since it's a microsim), and I get calls fine, but no lte data/SMS. Stick it back in the U11 and I can't even turn the u11's radio ON, it won't let me no matter what preferences I set the network to, even the previously working 'LTE only'.

I'm turning off the phone between swaps, just to be sure, and it definitely sees the sim, although there's a a brief flash of "no sim found" in the notification bar, on boot, and occasionally that "new sim inserted, choose carrier" popup.

As Alice said, things are getting curiouser and curiouser!

EDIT: Oh, two other notes: If I stick my other spare nanosim in, I can get LTE only data back again, but nothing I've figured out yet let me make calls, even though every other carrier works perfectly fine, and I did get one SMS today, I don't know why-- which has me even more puzzled!
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] QD2DC:
It still sounds like you either don't have HD voice on that line or enhanced 4g Lte isn't enable in the phone settings. Can you check the web portal to Make sure HD voice is active on your line? You should see it in your list of features. Post a screen and I can show you. The business site is a bit different from the consumer site.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
I may have over reacted and apologize for it but it's kinda disappointing that this issue is getting ignored and I think it's a good thing that some of us are willing to try to make it work and go through the hassle to figure it out, especially for those of us that appreciate HTC and do not want another phone. It's awful what a lot of people are going through just to make the phone work, I never had to experience that. But something has to be done about it. It cannot just get ignored. But its most definitely not funny. But I'm sure most of us are smart enough to return the phone within the 30 days if it's not working. My personal experience has been great, I have been able to effectively avoid the signal loss issue by pulling my SIM card before flashing or installing anything that requires a reboot. The worst I have had to experience is just not flashing anything until I know I have time to restore my stock backup and then restore my custom ROM backup. For me it hasn't been anything more than that. The awful part is what others have been going through just to get the phone to work.

---------- Post added at 01:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:01 AM ----------

And I have not just accepted it, I've been emailing top executives on both sides letting them know what is happening. If it doesn't get fixed it will only hurt them.

---------- Post added at 01:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:17 AM ----------

And most regular people do not buy their phones directly from the manufacturer, they get them through their carrier on a two year agreement. Those of us from Verizon who bought our HTC phones did so for a reason. It's either gonna work out for us individually or it's not. I would venture to say that most people who shell out $600-$740 bucks for an HTC phone are tech savy.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] EtherealRemnant:
I don't blame you for being frustrated, I had no idea how bad the issue was until I went into this thread and started reading today. My response of wanting to laugh out loud was because what HTC has done is such a mess that it pretty much confirms them to be the joke that many people say they are. I have had 14 HTC devices over the years and I can honestly say that the M8 was my favorite until the U11 but if HTC doesn't fix this for Verizon customers, I'm not buying another HTC device. I thought it was bad enough when I found out that it was limited to B13 but this --- its just unacceptable and if HTC was as big as they used to be, it would be class action worthy. It would be one thing if they just sold it as unlocked but they have the Verizon logo on their website which means they have a legal obligation to Verizon customers to make sure that the device functions on Verizon. Having to RUU to restore radio functionality is the most ridiculous thing since Samsung customers started losing connectivity when their EFS partition was corrupted, with or without root, causing them to lose their IMEI and that was a rare issue, this one obviously is not.

Hopefully HTC fixes it but in the meantime, if I was a Verizon customer, I'd start raising the alarms on tech blogs, Twitter, you name it. The more pressure there is to fix it, the more likely it will actually be fixed because I can tell you that historically, HTC doesn't have a great track record with fixing severe issues with their devices, the community ends up doing it.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] beaups:
The easiest fix is back up modemst2 partition (while everything is working normally) and restore/dd it back if/when stuff breaks.

If I had realized this issue was simply caused by rebooting, I may have returned the device myself. But I never realized that, because when I reboot the device, it's usually because I'm trying to break something and/or panicked it. So I thought I was causing it :P

But a simple dd from term emulator + reboot fixes it fine. And isn't that big of a deal since I do not reboot my phone during normal use.

--beaups
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] michaelbsheldon:
Please can you type out the commands to save and restore to/from internal storage?

THANKS --- appreciate all you do for us.......
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] LibertyMonger:
Verizon has always made it hard for HTC. I think HTC made a huge mistake but Verizon has always been too strict, I think mostly because HTC allows us to unlock the bootloader. The story behind this mess needs to come out. I had someone from Verizon's executive office give me a $40 credit just to shut me up. I posted his responses in here, and when I tried to email another top executive the same dude replied back, his name was Jesus, I suppose he handles all the top executives emails.

---------- Post added at 02:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:09 AM ----------

It never happens for me from a simple reboot, it's usually always when I'm flashing something then rebooting. I've had great success taking my SIM card out while flashing stuff. But can you please help us by telling us how to dd restore the modemst2 and do we need to be s-off? Thanks, I've tried looking it up but no success.
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] beaups:
BACKUP (to external sd):

adb shell su -c dd if=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/modemst2 of=/storage/ext_sd/modemst2backup

RESTORE (from external sd):

adb shell su -c dd if=/storage/ext_sd/modemst2backup of=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/modemst2

adb reboot

You could also write a little script that does the above and/or run from a terminal emulator on the device itself (just remove the 'adb shell')

S-OFF not required, but root is.

--beaups
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] michaelbsheldon:
Thank you beaups!!!!
[HTC U11  Questions & Answers] beaups:
np. Keep in mind you'd want to create that backup while things are working well.