Losing the IMEI of an Android device is one of the most awkward situations a user can find him/herself fallen into. But why is the corruption the EFS partition and loss of IMEI is so serious an issue that results in a nightmarish experience? Actually, people do not feel bad because their device does not show that long series of digits that we know as IMEI, but because the corruption of EFS/IMEI leaves the device with no network signal or data connection at all.
All other functions work without a problem but a phone without a network is just a useless gadget without a soul. The cases of lost of EFS data or IMEI is commonly found on Samsung Galaxy devices but it can also happen to LG devices including the Nexus series. The EFS partition on an Android device contains data like contains device specific essential information such as its IMEI, wireless device MAC address, baseband version, product code, system ID and NV data.
Recently, a friend of mine lost the IMEI of his LG G2. After struggling for some days and trying different things, he was finally able to restore lost IMEI on LG G2. If you happen to be an LG G2 user and are facing the same issue, the method described below might help you get back its IMEI. But before we learn how to restore lost IMEI on LG G2, let’s see first how to backup it.
Backup and Restore EFS on LG G2
- Make sure your LG G2 is rooted and you have installed TWRP recovery on it.
- Download LG G2 EFS backup script in flashable zip: LG_G2_Backup_EFS_Final.zip
- Copy the zip file to your phone.
- Reboot your LG G2 in recovery mode.
- Flash the LG_G2_Backup_EFS_Final.zip file using Install option in TWRP.
- At the completion of the installation, your phones EFS/IMEI data will be backed up to /sdcard/EFS_Backup folder as efsbackupflashable.zip.
- Do not forget to make a copy of the backed up zip to your computer as a precaution.
- In case you lose your phone’s IMEI, you can flash the efsbackupflashable.zip file to restore your IMEI and NV data.
Restore Lost IMEI on LG G2
The method described above can help in restoring the EFS only if you already made a backup, but what about those who do not have an EFS backup? Don’t worry, we have a tested solution for you. The method given below has been tested on T-Mobile LG G2 D801 but it should also work on other US variants and International model of the device.
- Make sure your LG G2 is running the stock LG firmware. If your phone does not have the official firmware installed on it, restore it to stock first.
- Install the latest LG USB drivers on your computer.
- Now download the IMEI converter tool and unzip it: IMEI-Converter.zip
- Download QPST (Qualcomm Product Support Tools) and unzip it: QPST_2.7_378.zip
- Open the QPST_2.7_378 and run the setup file to install it on your computer.
- Enable USB debugging on your LG G2. You can find this option under Settings> Developer options.
- Connect your device to the computer.
- Run QPST configuration and click on the Ports tab. Click on Add new port option.
- Your current port should show as COM4/5.
- Select the port and click OK. The port should come upon active phones.
- Select the phone and click the Software Download option from Start clients menu.
- Now click on the Backup tab. You should see your phone’s port.
- Click on Start to initiate the backup.
- Now navigate to C:/ Program Files/ qualcomm/ qpst/bin folder.
- Run RF_NV_Manager.
- Click File> Read from phone. Your phone’s IMEI number should appear on number 550; NV_IMEI_I
- If you do not see item 550, do not panic.
- Click on File> Read supported RF NV items.
- Click on item 550. You would see 9 blank fields.
- Now run IMEI Converter.exe.
- Now type your phone’s IMEI in Enter IMEI field. You can find your IMEI on your phone’s bill or the box your device came in.
- Then click on <Convert IMEI> button.
- You should see 18 digits in groups of 9.
- In RF_NV_Manager program, click on Hex by Write NV button.
- In the 9 boxes, type in the numbers from IMEI converter starting from left. Type in the first group of two numbers in the first field, then go to the next field and type in second 2 digits.
- When you are done with doing this, click on Write NV option.
- Then click File> Read from phone.
- Item number 550 should appear now.
- Disconnect the USB cable and reboot it.
- Open phone’s dialer and dial *#06#. You should see your phone’s IMEI now.
So, was this tutorial helpful to you in restoring the lost IMEI on your LG G2, or you are still stuck with a null IMEI? Do share your experience with us via your feedback. Cheers!
Head over to the XDA forum thread to learn more about the trick.
Two things missed for restoring the IMEI, 1. After flashing the stock firmware, when connecting USB, remember to choose the LG PC mode(the 3rd one) as the USB option, which would update the USB driver on the PC. Without that, the “LG driver” on your PC might not work. I am either getting no port, or a port with “No phone”.
2. As moe mentioned below, when switching to RF_NV_Manager, before doing anything there, remember to set the COM port. The number after the COM could be any, 4/5 are just examples. I am getting 25 or 27 depends on which USB port used.
For people getting errors at the RF_NV_Manager, click on Comport Configure (its an icon) and select COM 4/5 instead of blank. That fixed all the issues I had. Seems like this tutorial missed a step :p
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Thanks for this Method. My LG G3 D858HK dual sim lost IMEI… i got back my imei 1…. but in case of imei 2 there is no option….. Is there any option for sim 2
it shows “exception thrown” error when i clicked write nv or read from phone .What am i supposed to do now plz help?
Hi, I’d be very thankful to find out- have you managed to solve this error. I have the same- at the end of the description it says- Command failed, reason other than NVM was full. My IMEI comes back from time to time though but mostly I don’t have which makes phone useless.
Rakesh, you are my life saver. Your write up “Restore Lost IMEI on LG G2” helped me to restore IMEI on my NEW Lenovo X3. It was deleted while I was trying to flash a different version of its ROM. Its a dual sim mobile.
I need a small help from you. How to change or restore IMEI of the second sim (sim-2). Hope you can help me in this regard.
Thanks & Regards
Shyam
hello sir i have a problem my imei is shown in settings but when i dial *#06# then no imei will shown what would i do..and my messges also can not open..
i did it all till step 10 but QPST isn’t recognizing my phone ? really pis.ed me off after restoring to the stock firmware …….any help is appreciated
Can you help me, i have very same problem. And i didnt understend all steps you did to fix it 🙂
Sure, tell me first place:
1- which model is your phone?
2- you are root?
3- you have custom recovery? (I prefer TWRP)
4- IMEI 0 or phone blacklisted?
I wait your answer
hi,
I believe you suggesting me to zero out IMEi first before fixing IMEI for my rooted LG G3 D851.
So I google it and found your post here.
I don’t have TWRP recovery installed yet.
I am seeing 5 files in your google drive. can you tell me how to use those files to zero out the IMEI on my D851 ?
thanks !
OK ! I got it. now my blacklist phone is working. appreciate your help!
The five files go in the EFS folder, and then restore with custom recovery, so does IMEI 0 and then write new imei
Solved? This is good news! :))
thanks for sharing your method. Now I can use LG G3 which I bought over 6 months ago !
Hello
After the 8step I see the but undet the “phone tab” wrote no phone
what I need to do?
Will it work on korean version?
LG G2 D806 problem … “Unable to write NV_UE_IMEI_I, Command Failed reason other than NVM was full” .. any solution ???
Hello,
great guide, greetings!
I was looking since several months a way to access nv data because i accidentally jammed with my D802 leaving it without sensors. looking to logs i supposed it could be some nv setting which i altered, so i need a working phone’s data to compare to see if something related to it has been altered.
So, i ask to everyone reading if i could have a textual dump of its d802 nv (obviously stripped of identification data).
have a nice day!
Fabio
l brick lg g2 d802,but i manage to instsall d80220b_00.kdz india rom,but the problem is
[1]no imei.
[2]no baseband.
[3]touch is not working properly.
[4]can’t enter in recovery mode.
[5]no sim.
please help me Rakesh and anyone
Hi Rakesh.
I’m having trouble with Steps 8 to 10.
On my Windows 7 laptop, my LG G2 (D802 international) uses the “com10” port by default, so I tried adding that to QPST. However it didn’t show up as active device. So then I used Device Manager to change the port to “com4”, restarted the computer and tried adding it to QPST again. My LG G2 still doesn’t show up as an active device, so I’m stuck.
Help please!
thank you man …………………… YOU ROCK
I had a 0 imeion my lg g2 mini d620r ota with TWRP recovery (my sun did it not me ,hes 3 years old lol )
but now it was fixed thanks to you
but would this fix the network dropping ???
i guess i have to give a day or two to see
again thank you
Thanks Man, repair my LG-G2 D801 , fix Imei null problem and signal problem we are rock man..
hey bro ! i got an exception error when i clicked on write nv 🙁 what should i do?
Click the Comport Configure button (its a small icon) and choose COM 4/5 there instead of leaving it blank
Thanks man,repair my wife LG L70 320n,hard but my problem solved.
Hi Rakesh,
I have Lg G2 D801. I was trying to upgrade android
version using LG PC suite but unfortunately it not done and still showing LG logo on
screen and mobile battery side is warm it seems that my phone is bricked. To
resolve this issue I was contacted to LG service center. As per LG service guy
the software is successfully installed but found some hardware problems due to
which mobile’s IMEI, WIFI etc. didn’t work. I asked them why it could happen
then he replies that it happen due to 3 or 4 times hard reset.
Keeping above scenario my
question is, is that true that hardware repairs required to resolve IMEI
problem? Or this can be done via any software work. Please guide me because he
is asking huge amount for repairs.
Because you tried to upgrade the software, the EFS partition that contains the IMEI might have been messed up resulting in the issue.
Dear Rakesh,
Thanks for your kind response.
The only way I can get QPST to recongize the COM port is by changing the USB connection method to “LG Software”. But then, all QPST commands are failing. If I choose “Charge only”, the phone appears as ADB and no COM port is available
Same here. Com 4/5 not showng… :/
did you fix it?
i was facing the same but when i installed the stock rom issue was fixed 🙂
Samsung Data Recovery is my recommendation and would be the best choice. This powerful
program enables you to recover android phone sms,photos,videos,contacts…
when i using qtsp software download to backup my phone, i have an error “Received an invalid command from the phone.”
Can anyone help me?
Sr, my bad english 🙁
Anyone tried this with G3 – ?
how do i do it if i didnt backup the efs file.. can you give me the link to tutorial please??
To recover lost lg phone data, you can use Coolmuster Android Data Recovery to help.
l brick lg g2 d802,but i manage to instsall d8020b_00.kdz india rom,but the problem is
Hi patil kalpesh , have you solved you issue. i am also facing the same issue. kindly help me.
22 mere g2 me to 32gb ki jngha pr only 10.61gb show ho rhi h,or ynha tab se huaa h jab se lollipop ki update ki thi,na touch kam ker rhi thik se,no network,no imei,no baseband,no recovery mode,smj me ni aa rha kya kre,koi bol rha h touch problem h koi bol rha h software problem h lekin sach btaun to mujhe to ye hi ni pta ye problem h kya aakhir….
hy
on my lg g2 d802 after flash cloudyg3. 2.0 my imei is 00440234……..
this metod works for repair imei original?
tanks!
Is there method to do this on Nexus 6?
There should be some tool but we have not covered that topic yet.
Thank you, looking forward to it 🙂
Hi, i do have restore a full backup of my old lg g2 include efs that was in after sales service on my new lg g2, so right now the IMEI is ” 0 ” and i don’t know how to recover the imei of my new lg g2, is there a simple way apart this tutorial ? Thanks in advance 🙂
In stage 9 of Restore lost IMEI on LG G2 I cant see port COM4/5. I see COM1 serial and, depends to the connection option of LG G2 – COM24, 25, but never COM 4/5. There is “no phone” on available ports. What to do, how to continue? Thanks in advance.
Run QPST again and then check again. Also try reinstalling the drivers.
Same result. SW failed to install the driver. Any other options?
Continue with COM4/5 port to check if it works.
I have the exact same issue! My com4/5 port is not showing! No matter what i do
I wanted to try another cleaver way that’s not listed because everyone getting errors at the last step here. I thought “why don’t we create a back up, edit that back ups information, and then restore the edited backup information to the phone”. however its failing too. 12% stops and Memory Restore Failed!: “Received an invalid command from the phone” when restoring the BackUp.qcn file.
I created 2 backups 1 Changes.qcn to tamper with and 2 Original.qcn as a fail-safe original backup. In RF-NV mgr program/ file/ read from phone. edit the 550-NV_UE_IMEI_I Hex information … File/ write only listed NV items to QCN. choose the changes.qcn and filled out all fields that are (it gives errors if you don’t) and now you have a modified back up. I then go back to software information and the restore tab. I choose the Changes.QCN backup file SPC 000000 (no other numbers work if you do it shuts down the port for 10sec) allow phone/file esn mismatch checked/unchecked… ..and START….it Fails….. so I thought ok that didn’t work (lets just test the clean backup.let see if that goes through…. it fails too. same error. Received an invalid command from the phone” —- so why do a back up if it fails.. I have even open the QCN /read from QCN /option/ customized nv list just add 550.. /save and I get to 33% restoring the back up… in theory this should work if it completes successfully.
Hi can someone help, i reach step 13 on second method but it says phone is not connected! I have usb debugging and can see com6
my phones touch not working, service disable after stock rom flash it is LG G2 D802
Have you solved your issue? 🙁 I am facing same. How can I fix. Please email me mastypk @ gmail . com Thanks
No phone sitting in my drawer as broken and i have bought a new phone . I tried factory reset, installing different ROM – nothing. Qpst won’t detect phone even though there is com 6 showing. I took to three shops in London no one knows how to restore imei
Ah, that’s so bad. Look like, I have waste my money too 🙁
Hi i can help you fix your phone. [email protected] is my email address. You can contact me if you need help
Dear Rakesh I have a problem with my LG optimus G phone. I have crouped my efs partition I think. I flashed a custom rom of Kitkat V20A of voda fone in my Korean LG optimus G F180L but after that due to no signals iI flashed back stock rom. during all this I did`nt make efs backup. so now I have problem that I am using original Jellybean stock ROM of my LG. but when I insert SIM card It shows no service, No data. IMEI number unknown. and when I remove SIM card It shows IMEI number in setting> Phones Identity but no with the code *#06#. Plz help me how can I fix this Problem and how can I get my Phone service back like call,sms,data, signals etc? Please
Hi i can help you fix your phone. [email protected] is my email address. You can contact me
Tried this and I also get the “Unable to write NV_UE_IMEI, Command Failed reason other than NVM was full”. It’s frustrating because It took me about an hour to reach that step (yes I’m slow I’m not too proficient in these things) only to run into this problem. thanks
This is a real bugger however getting closer to a solution, So I opened the QPST EFS Explorer and on the left File Trees I see folders for .efs_privite, nvm, safe, with a red / circle like you see on no smoking signs. I get an error trying to write the file just a .txt file to the nvm folder. I bet we are only able to read the information and do not have full write permissions for the NVM folder where the information is stored.
above is the solution to your problem Sandy!
hi i used your tutorial the first method i went back to stock l980zvd kk base rooted installed the efs backup.zip i then installed cloudy g3 rom and flashed my backup efs after that in my network settings on the phone it says baseband unknown do you kno wwhy this might be
Hi, when I try to write the new IMEI on my LG G2, it says: “Unable to write NV_UE_IMEI” (Command failed, reason other than NVM was full)
Any solutions? Is it because my IMEI isnt 0? I want to change my IMEI, not to restore it from 0.
Why do you want to change the IMEI?
I’m only interested if its possible. I changed my LG G2 by vodafone and so the IMEI changed too. If I want to run my Navigon, it says, wrong IMEI. I think the registration of Navigon depends on the IMEI. I called Navigon but they say, I have to buy a new Navigon. Thats *****
So was there a solution for the “NVM was full” error? I have that problem too
Thomas did you find a solution for that?
Hi Sandy, actually no. I guess the only method to write a new IMEI is to delete the old one. But that isn’t quite easy. Further you may brick your phone. So I dont know if its really necessray for you to change your IMEI.
Hi, Sandy @sandylegge, Thomas @thomasfchsel and H3xCmd @h3xcmd
above is the solution to the problem of Sandy…
Greetings
Does anybody know how to back up lg g2 phone to previous 5 days or 1 day.. My phone did reset by itself
And have you made a backup? If not, how you want to restore from “nothing”? 😉
Hi, does it work with an imei from an dead phone ? My g2 was replaced and the imei on sim tray does not match the real. I’ve also a dead samsung feature phone. Can i take the imei from the samsung and enter it in “imei converter.exe” ? thanks
No, you can’t do that.
okay, thanks for your reply ! anyway, i’ll try at a local cellphone shop with an octopus box to repair the imei, i think it will work :/
i cannot access 3g after fixing my IMEI ….. i can connect to 3g sometime but it goes to 2g after a while or sometimes the network disappears… need help
Hi Rakesh
Again I express my great gratitude for helping me with useful tips for my LG G2 D802.
I like the extra security feature of knock code as it is more secure and simple to open to Home screen.
But I like the swipe effect especially there are mind blowing multiple effects now. But opening the lock screen by swiping is not at all secure, Now at present, we can only use either of the two at the same time.
My question is that is there anyway to use the nock code to wake up to the lock screen , then you use the swipe effect to reach the home screen, that it is more secure as well as use can enjoy the swipe effect as well. Kindly reply
Thanking You
Dr.saidalavi
Try this-
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.damianpiwowarski.knocklock
I am going to be attempting this when I get home, but for now my only question is where I can find my imei number on my physical device? I peeled the white sticker off the back when I got it, and it’s not on my bills record with T-Mobile, I couldn’t even find it when I removed the back case and looked by the battery, can anybody point out where I can find it?
See this: https://www.droidviews.com/how-to-find-out-your-loststolen-android-phones-imei/
I’m trying to do step #8, but it doesn’t show up as a COM port. It shows up as an ADB interface. I’m at a loss now.
Have you enabled USB Debugging? If yes, also try reinstalling the drivers and rebooting your device and PC.
Ok, I can get it to recognize as a COM port, but when I run the RF_NV manager it doesn’t recognize the phone as a phone. I have tried going through the process in step 1 to flash factory firmware (which I believe I’m already on V8 anyway) but nothing works. When I do step 18 it says no phone is connected. I even broke down and went to Sprint to see if they could flash it some how, but they couldn’t. I don’t know, at this point I feel pretty defeated.
ever find a solution to that?
Also I can’t get into the boot loader or fast boot. I can only get to download mode and recovery.
Try flashing the stock firmware :https://www.droidviews.com/how-to-restore-lg-g2-to-stock-firmware/
Tried that already. I get to step 16 of the .tot method and it fails every time and says check phone or dll
Downloaded the stock rom zip file, and flashed it through TWRP. Now it’s in a boot loop.
Ok I managed to get it to work. I think you need to add a step in your process to download the stock rom zip file and flash it before trying the lg flash tool. Otherwise it won’t see the phone as the correct one.