T-mobile S4 Stock Android 4.3, Cannot Unlock, IMEI unknown after attempt by localshop

galaxysiv · Jan 12, 2014

Hi All,

I had purchased T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S4 (SGH-M919) with Stock android 4.3 while I was in usa, and want to use it in my home country now as I have left usa. I couldn't found any unlock solution on internet for stock android 4.3, and T-Mobile would not give me the unlock code. I tried third party services to provide unlock code and it did not work either. So I went to a local shop, and he screwed everything up. When I went back to the local shop to receive my phone (hoping it might have been definitely unlocked by them), he told me that he tried to downgrade it to 4.2.2 but it did not work (only after reading through all the forums I realize there is no way to go back to stock 4.2.2 if you are on stock 4.3 because of knox / bootloader issues on 4.3, leads me to think the shopowner did not really do his research before touching my phone, and no, he did not do any EFS backup). In an attempt to unlock my phone, he also flashed Metro PCS stock ROM on my phone, not to mention, my IMEI number is also 'Unknown' now. I managed to get back on T-Mobile stock 4.3 ROM now but still IMEI is unknown. I also tried to go to nearest Samsung center and they said they would not touch international phone models. At this point I have no idea what to do. Any suggestions how to get back my IMEI and or at the least to get the phone working to my country's network?

Thanks.

robertd0619 · Jan 12, 2014

Try flashing the mk2 modem using odin. That may work but not sure.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

baseballfanz · Jan 12, 2014

Shop just need to pay you for new phone.

☞ Sent from here☜???

sd_N · Jan 12, 2014

I won't provide a link but there are ways to restore your imei and as for unlocking I have used fast gsm dot com and it has worked every time. I hope u get ur issues fixed. Good luck

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

galaxysiv · Jan 12, 2014

sd_N said:
I won't provide a link but there are ways to restore your imei and as for unlocking I have used fast gsm dot com and it has worked every time. I hope u get ur issues fixed. Good luck

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

Hi sd_N, is it possible for you to provide me the link in private so I can just restore my original imei. I will then try fastgsm.com to unlock as you suggested. Thanks.

galaxysiv · Jan 13, 2014

Anyone?

xdapowerapps · Jan 14, 2014

galaxysiv said:
Anyone?

Did you ever make any nandroid backups through recovery or save your /efs?

galaxysiv · Jan 14, 2014

xdapowerapps said:
Did you ever make any nandroid backups through recovery or save your /efs?

Hi xdapowerapps, no I did not, I didnt knew the local shop would try to downgrade or flash METRO PCS rom on it :crying:

Skipjacks · Jan 14, 2014

galaxysiv said:
Hi xdapowerapps, no I did not, I didnt knew the local shop would try to downgrade or flash METRO PCS rom on it :crying:

The local shop broke it. Tell them to pay for it.

Also, the only reason T Mobile won't give you an unlock code is if the phone isn't paid for in full. If the phone is paid for in full, they HAVE to give you the unlock code.

Are you sure you didn't buy the phone in the US, then leave the country without paying the bill so you could use the phone internationally without paying full price? If not, there is no reason T Mobile wouldn't give you the unlock code. So there's some missing information in this story.

Also, we do not discuss how to change IMEI's on XDA. The only thing permissable on XDA about flashing IMEI's is restoring YOUR OWN IMEI from a backup. That is done by restoring the EFS partition. But you didn't have a back up so you can't do that. That means anyway to fix your IMEI involves what is an illegal hack and that discussion is expressly not permitted on XDA. That information is used for illegal purposes and XDA is not going to be the place where it's shared for legal reasons.

galaxysiv · Jan 14, 2014

Skipjacks said:
The local shop broke it. Tell them to pay for it.

Also, the only reason T Mobile won't give you an unlock code is if the phone isn't paid for in full. If the phone is paid for in full, they HAVE to give you the unlock code.

Are you sure you didn't buy the phone in the US, then leave the country without paying the bill so you could use the phone internationally without paying full price? If not, there is no reason T Mobile wouldn't give you the unlock code. So there's some missing information in this story.

Also, we do not discuss how to change IMEI's on XDA. The only thing permissable on XDA about flashing IMEI's is restoring YOUR OWN IMEI from a backup. That is done by restoring the EFS partition. But you didn't have a back up so you can't do that. That means anyway to fix your IMEI involves what is an illegal hack and that discussion is expressly not permitted on XDA. That information is used for illegal purposes and XDA is not going to be the place where it's shared for I also still see the imei folder inside EFS with a file mps_code.bat, but no nv files. (The imei folder was not regenerated on deletion either) Am I missing something? also still see the imei folder inside EFS with a file mps_code.bat, but no nv files. (The imei folder was not regenerated on deletion either) Am I missing something? egal reasons.

Hi skipjacks, thanks for responding. Nothing is pending with t-mobile, I was on prepaid account. I bought the phone like 10 days before leaving usa (due to emergency). T-mobile says my number on this new device should have being working for at least 45 days or so with refill balance. My cycle ended after 15 days of purchase and I really didnt see any reason to refill it as I was no more in usa. And no, I dont want to CHANGE my IMEI, only want to restore my own IMEI only. I am not sure if my EFS partition is corrupted, because I rooted my phone tried to backup EFS folder now (I know its too late but still), deleted it and rebooted (as a few threads suggested it would regenerate nv data files), but neither did I see any nv files when I did a back up now, nor after I rebooted. When I rebooted, the EFS folder did regenerate but there were no nv files in there. Also, after deleting EFS and regeneration the serial number was corrupted, but when I restored my backup, the serial number showed up correctly again. Also my current backup contains the imei folder with mps.code_bat file. I noticed that even imei folder was not regenerated on deletion of EFS and reboot. I somehow have the feeling that this is still indicating that my original EFS folder is still present (though I may be wrong, because I dont know). But my concern is the nv data files, which I dont see anywhere. I did come across several threads about imei corruption and restoration, but the only one I didnt come across was T-mobile SGH-M919 with stock android 4.3. I am wondering if this has some different file storage structure for imei (which again I dont know). At this point I am concerned about getting back my imei, I can get the unlock code from some reputed paid service again. I understand that open discussion about imei involving anything CHANGING IMEI is not allowed here. If anyone could just help me out restoring my original imei, even by pm, I would really appreciate it. I just dont want to throw away the phone and lose my money because of the error done by repair shop.

Skipjacks · Jan 14, 2014

galaxysiv said:
Hi skipjacks, thanks for responding. Nothing is pending with t-mobile, I was on prepaid account. I bought the phone like 10 days before leaving usa (due to emergency). T-mobile says my number on this new device should have being working for at least 45 days or so with refill balance. My cycle ended after 15 days of purchase and I really didnt see any reason to refill it as I was no more in usa. And no, I dont want to CHANGE my IMEI, only want to restore my own IMEI only. I am not sure if my EFS partition is corrupted, because I rooted my phone tried to backup EFS folder now (I know its too late but still), deleted it and rebooted (as a few threads suggested it would regenerate nv data files), but neither did I see any nv files when I did a back up now, nor after I rebooted. When I rebooted, the EFS folder did regenerate but there were no nv files in there. Also, after deleting EFS and regeneration the serial number was corrupted, but when I restored my backup, the serial number showed up correctly again. Also my current backup contains the imei folder with mps.code_bat file. I noticed that even imei folder was not regenerated on deletion of EFS and reboot. I somehow have the feeling that this is still indicating that my original EFS folder is still present (though I may be wrong, because I dont know). But my concern is the nv data files, which I dont see anywhere. I did come across several threads about imei corruption and restoration, but the only one I didnt come across was T-mobile SGH-M919 with stock android 4.3. I am wondering if this has some different file storage structure for imei (which again I dont know). At this point I am concerned about getting back my imei, I can get the unlock code from some reputed paid service again. I understand that open discussion about imei involving anything CHANGING IMEI is not allowed here. If anyone could just help me out restoring my original imei, even by pm, I would really appreciate it. I just dont want to throw away the phone and lose my money because of the error done by repair shop.

First off....the enter key is your friend.

Hit it every so often when typing giant blocks of text like that. :laugh:

Second, since your IMEI has been deleted, you now have to change it, even if you just want to change it back to what it was before. The process to fix it now is what can't be discussed here.

IF you had backed up your EFS partition, then it would be as simple as restoring it in recovery. That's all well and good. But your IMEI is now 0, so you have to change it to what it was.

But all that aside, you went to a store and they broke it. Take it back there and raise holy hell until they fix it for you or buy you a new one. I know consumer protections are stronger in some countries than others, but wherever you are, yelling and screaming is a universal language.

xdapowerapps · Jan 14, 2014

Skipjacks said:
First off....the enter key is your friend. Hit it every so often when typing giant blocks of text like that. :laugh:

yelling and screaming is a universal language.

You
learn
new
things
every
day. :silly:

galaxysiv · Jan 15, 2014

Can someone at least tell me what file in T-Mobile Galaxy S4 SGH-M919 Stock Android 4.3 contains imei number, so at least I know if I even have that file or not or whether it is missing? Thanks.

xdapowerapps · Jan 15, 2014

galaxysiv said:
Can someone at least tell me what file in T-Mobile Galaxy S4 SGH-M919 Stock Android 4.3 contains imei number, so at least I know if I even have that file or not or whether it is missing? Thanks.

Whether your file is missing, modified, or corrupted, you need your /efs folder to restore it. You do not have have a nandroid backup or the /efs folder. I am sorry but the simplest we can put it without sounding harsh, you're screwed. You need to request the local shop give you a replacement phone or credit to get a new one.

galaxysiv · Jan 18, 2014

Update: I went back to the shop and told them "You broke it, you fix it, I don't know how and I don't care, you gotta fix it". They managed to fix the imei number somehow. Regarding unlock, the shop ended buying the unlock code themselves. They mentioned that no one is able to unlock T-Mobile S4 with Stock 4.3 as of now without unlock code, unless they have some device like Z3x box. The phone is finally unlocked and working fine on my network. (YES, A HUGE HUGE RELIEF).

Everything is fine, except for 2 issues.

1. I want to backup my EFS folder so that I don't enter into trouble with IMEI again. I tried EFS Pro, but its not working. All I see is "'Initializing ADB server..." (the phone is rooted, usb debugging mode enabled, and supersu permission granted when prompted). I also tried to backup using Andromizer, but it says "Notification: File not found in /storage/emulated/0/Amdromizer/efs/efs.img". What is my best option as of now to backup and store my imei safely somewhere?

2. I am having issues with Wi-Fi. Before the shop flashed my phone, it was all good, but now it doesn't auto-connect to my home Wi-Fi anymore. Everytime I reboot or get out of range, I have to manually select my home network everytime and also enter the password everytime. Nothing has changed on my router. The other Samsung device that I have still auto-connects to my home Wi-Fi as usual. How can I fix this?

Thanks.

Skipjacks · Jan 19, 2014

galaxysiv said:
Update: I went back to the shop and told them "You broke it, you fix it, I don't know how and I don't care, you gotta fix it". They managed to fix the imei number somehow. Regarding unlock, the shop ended buying the unlock code themselves. They mentioned that no one is able to unlock T-Mobile S4 with Stock 4.3 as of now without unlock code, unless they have some device like Z3x box. The phone is finally unlocked and working fine on my network. (YES, A HUGE HUGE RELIEF).

Everything is fine, except for 2 issues.

1. I want to backup my EFS folder so that I don't enter into trouble with IMEI again. I tried EFS Pro, but its not working. All I see is "'Initializing ADB server..." (the phone is rooted, usb debugging mode enabled, and supersu permission granted when prompted). I also tried to backup using Andromizer, but it says "Notification: File not found in /storage/emulated/0/Amdromizer/efs/efs.img". What is my best option as of now to backup and store my imei safely somewhere?

2. I am having issues with Wi-Fi. Before the shop flashed my phone, it was all good, but now it doesn't auto-connect to my home Wi-Fi anymore. Everytime I reboot or get out of range, I have to manually select my home network everytime and also enter the password everytime. Nothing has changed on my router. The other Samsung device that I have still auto-connects to my home Wi-Fi as usual. How can I fix this?

Thanks.

For the efs you can back it up using recovery. Just boot to recovery and its one of the options in the backup menu. The resulting file will be like a few KB. Its supposed to be small. Dont worry

Sent from your phone. You should be more careful where you leave that thing.

makenmoney82 · Jan 19, 2014

Tmobile gave me an unlock code and my phone isn't paid for but I used the region lock away app before I got the unlock code and it worked but u got to be rooted

Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app

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T-mobile S4 Stock Android 4.3, Cannot Unlock, IMEI unknown after attempt by localshop

galaxysiv

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