backup and restore efs or imei on samsung galaxy devices
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11/27/2016 Backup and Restore EFS or IMEI on Samsung Galaxy Devices
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How to Backup and Restore EFS / IMEI on SamsungGalaxy Devices – Did You Do It?
I am not sure how many of you visiting this page are familiar with the presence and
importance of the EFS thing that we are going to talk about today! Actually, I often hear
people requesting to offer a solution of a problem that makes them unable to make a
call, send a message, access internet or any connectivity related thing. Imagine a
mobile phone without a network connection at all and you’ll then realize how horrible it
is!
If EFS is so important a thing, it must be preserved so that you might be able to use all
connectivity features of your device. This thing is found in all mobile devices which have
an IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number assigned to it but the location
and directory where it is stored might differ. On Samsung Galaxy devices, the IMEI and
other connectivity data are stored in this particular folder that I have been mentioned
several times so far.
What is EFS?Having read about the role of EFS on your Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet device, you
must be a little more curious to know something more about it. EFS is a system
By Rakesh - Jun 20, 2013
11/27/2016 Backup and Restore EFS or IMEI on Samsung Galaxy Devices
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directory that contains device specific essential information such as its IMEI, wireless
device MAC address, baseband version, product code, system ID and NV data.
In case the EFS directory is corrupted or lost, your phone or tablet is sure to lose its
IMEI number and wireless and network connectivity. You might ask how and why does
the EFS data on your device might be lost or get corrupted? The answer is pretty simple
and the reason might be a daring activity on your part. Sometimes flashing a custom
Kernel (as reported by some users) and in most cases installing a custom ROM is
responsible of the EFS data loss.
In this way, the EFS or IMEI loss is deeply related with what you do after rooting your
Samsung Galaxy device. Keeping this thing in mind most of our ROM developers insert a
script that automatically creates a backup of the EFS data on the external SD Card so
that you might restore it back in case of loss or corruption. But it is certainly not wise to
rely blindly on the wisdom of others. That is why, whenever we write installation
tutorials for custom ROMs for Galaxy device, we warn users to backup EFS before
indulging in any custom development activity.
Sadly, most people come to know about the thing called “EFS” only when it is too late.
Once lost without being backed up, recovering it becomes very much like a wild goose
chase. You might have heard or faced personally the issue when your device shows
inability to mount EFS:
E: failed to mount / efs (invalid argument)
11/27/2016 Backup and Restore EFS or IMEI on Samsung Galaxy Devices
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If you get this message on your phone’s screen, believe me you have got into a serious
problem. Of course, there are ways to restore EFS data, but they are either not available
for all devices online or they do not work at all.
It has been well said that “prevention is better than cure” and this saying hold quite true
in this case too. Therefore, the first thing that one must do just after rooting and
installing a custom recovery one’s device is to backup the EFS and the stock rooted
firmware. For more enlightening tips, do not forget to read the following article:
Things to Do Before and After Installing a Custom ROM
Reasons for EFS Data Loss or Corruption:
11/27/2016 Backup and Restore EFS or IMEI on Samsung Galaxy Devices
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Manually upgrading and downgrading firmware. Some users reported that they
lost their IMEI during official OTA update.
Installing a custom ROM or mod might mishandle system configuration, resulting
in corrupt EFS.
Any kind of bad flashing, clash between new and old kernel systems can also
lead to the EFS data corruption and IMEI loss.
Tools and Methods to Backup and Restore EFS
EFS Professional:As the very title of this article says, we are going to tell about a very easy solution to
backup the EFS on your Samsung Galaxy device. It is a simple but wonderful tool
developed by XDA member LiquidPerfection that makes this job a plaything that can be
done by anybody. The tool is called EFS Professional and it supports most Galaxy range
of Android devices from Samsung.
The latest version of the software also supports Samsung Galaxy S4 International (GT
I9500), Galaxy S4 LTE (GTI9505), AT&T S4 (SGHI747), Verizon Galaxy S4 (SCHI545)
and others. I have also tested it on Galaxy S3, S2, Note 2 and Note 10.1. Besides, EFS
Professional works with other Galaxy phones and tablets too.
Features of EFS Professional:
11/27/2016 Backup and Restore EFS or IMEI on Samsung Galaxy Devices
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Backup and restore partition images to and from in .tar.gz format
Detects backup archives automatically on the device and PC for hassle free
restoring
Device filter support to allow displaying important partitions for various devices
Extract and read device’s PIT file to ensure efficient and accurate backup and
restore operations
Check MD5 hash to verify integrity of data written
Format EFS to wipe all data and recreate partition
Samsung’s Qualcomm devices support
Option to display various device, ROM and BusyBox related information at the
click of a button
Restore NV data from internal ‘*.bak’ files if they exist to fix corrupt or incorrect
IMEI number
Repair NV data file ownership to fix ‘Unknown baseband’ and ‘No signal’ issues
NV Backup and NV Restore options for US device variants only
Requirements:Before you can backup your device’s EFS data safely to your device and PC both, here
are a few things that must be taken care of:
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A Samsung Galaxy Device with root access (custom recovery not needed). If you
have not yet rooted your device, you can do it using our easy rooting tutorials.
The EFS Professional tool: EFS_Professional_2.1.8_Release.zip [Mirror
Link]
Microsoft .NET Framework installed on your
computer: dotNetFx40_Full_setup.exe
Samsung USB Drivers or Kies installed on your PC: Download
Install BusyBox app stable version 1.20.2 on your phone. Install the app on your
phone open it. Tap on “BusyBox” version number and select BusyBox 1.20.2.
Finally, then tap on “Install” and install it as “Smart Install”.
Charge your device to ensure 60% battery level.
Turn on USB Debugging mode on your phone or tablet from “Developer
Options” on your device: Read this Guide
Using EFS Professional to Backup EFS:So, do you think you are ready for action now? Make sure you have made all
preparations detailed above. If yes, let’s get started now.
11/27/2016 Backup and Restore EFS or IMEI on Samsung Galaxy Devices
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1. Extract the “EFS_Professional.zip” on your desktop.
2. Connect your Galaxy device to PC using an USB cable. Make sure USB
Debugging is enabled.
3. Run EFS Professional.exe file as administrator. Doing this will prompt a popup
window like shown below:
4. Click on “EFS Professional”.
5. You will now see a new window. Once the device is detected, the lower part of
the window will show the device status and info such as model number, firmware
version, root and BusyBox version, etc.
6. Click on “Backup” tab and then click on “Device Filter” dropdown and select your
phone model. If you do not see it listed, click on “Refresh” button and then
select it.
11/27/2016 Backup and Restore EFS or IMEI on Samsung Galaxy Devices
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7. EFS Professional will now show the system partition where the EFS data of your
device is located. Check the “Select All” box.
8. Finally, click on “Backup” and your EFS data will be backed up to your phone and
the PC both. The backup on PC can be found in the EFS Professional folder inside
“EFSProBackup” and it looks like this: “GTI9500_2013618_222210.tar.gz”
How to Restore EFS/IMEI:Having backed up your EFS data, you might take a calm breath and feel a sense of
security but it is also important to be familiar with the method how you can restore it
back to your Samsung Galaxy device in case you lose it.
11/27/2016 Backup and Restore EFS or IMEI on Samsung Galaxy Devices
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1. Connect your device to PC
2. Launch EFS Professional and click on “Restore” tab.
3. Now click on the drop down menu in “Restore options” part of the window and
select the previously backed up file.
4. You can also format the currently corrupted EFS directly.
5. Now click on “Restore” button.
Your Samsung Galaxy device’s EFS/IMEI should now be restored back to its original
location. Dia *#06# on your phone’s keypad to check it it has IMEI number or not.
Some Screenshots for Reference: