Restore stock firmware and lost IMEI/Baseband by SPFlash tool
- Thread starter ingbrzy
- Start date
Thanks for the OP. It took my Hongmi again alive. The only difference was, that during flashing with SP I did not have to put in the battery into the phone.
domtor0
Members
- Feb 2, 2014
- 9
- 13
Hi ingbrzy,
Is it possible to know what are the differences between this firmware and the one in your first post (guide)?
Thank you very much.
Same question to you:
Did you finally solve the issue with your lost IMEI on Red Rice?
I had the same problem, tried a lot of things and finally succeeded with MobileUncle and restoring an IMEI backup file which I luckily had done some months back.
But still after a factory reset the IMEI is gone and I need to start again (root, install MobileUncle, ...).
Your help would be very appreciated.
MASVA
Members
- Jan 20, 2014
- 137
- 50
my frend was manage to restore invalid IMEI on hongmi with this (generate IMEI/copy with root explorer)
http://chinagizmos.blogspot.nl/2012/10/imei-problems-backup-restore-no-service.html
http://chinagizmos.blogspot.nl/2012/10/imei-problems-backup-restore-no-service.html
Douglas Nepomuceno
Members
- Feb 18, 2014
- 11
- 21
If you follow all these steps carefully from installing the drivers through connecting the phone to pc to the green circle you will be ok. The only thing, what is not ok in the description (at least for me): after connecting the phone to pc, you do not have to put back the battery.
My advice: do not panic, read again, do all the steps again and you will be ok. For the first try nothing happened to me, but for the 2nd it worked
Tapatalked from a Red rice
Douglas Nepomuceno
Members
- Feb 18, 2014
- 11
- 21
If I plug in my Hongmi without battery it gets properly identified on the Mediatek USB VCOM port and SP Flash tool progresses until 100% red line.
But when I insert the battery then I get an unknown device in Device Manager and cannot update automatically the Driver Software.
Somehow I must have removed the proper driver. Can somebody please sent me a link to the proper driver or let me know as which device his Hongmi get identified by Windows 7 when it is turned off and the battery is inserted?
Thanks a lot!
But when I insert the battery then I get an unknown device in Device Manager and cannot update automatically the Driver Software.
Somehow I must have removed the proper driver. Can somebody please sent me a link to the proper driver or let me know as which device his Hongmi get identified by Windows 7 when it is turned off and the battery is inserted?
Thanks a lot!
Do not put the battery in. I flashed my Hongmi this way. Only after finishing I removed the usb cable and put my battery in. Everything was ok then.
Tapatalked from a Red rice
mega website downloads to 100% then doesnt do anything?
driving me crazy as i cant get the file onto my HDD
driving me crazy as i cant get the file onto my HDD
- Feb 11, 2012
- 11,601
- 322
DaHongHouzi
Members
- Oct 30, 2013
- 55
- 18
aitken
Members
- Apr 5, 2014
- 3
- 21
I have the same problem. I done all steps as in manual but I can get only screen with red line and 100% complete, but nothing happens. My phone is bricked now. Then I try to format it by SP Flash tool, and formating was ok, but I still can't download RAM to it ((. I tried 2 different PCamd differenet cabels, reboot the system, also tried
Please help.
I can't upload the file, so this is the screenshoot link
http://i058.radikal.ru/1404/4e/83ae741a0e39.jpg
This is SP tools log file
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxXBPXY17_GHRTktLTJXUEhTeTA/edit?usp=sharing
When I try to check memory in device I had error too.
http://s020.radikal.ru/i717/1404/82/1d15ab9294b3.jpg
Log file:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxXBPXY17_GHeDVfOFBKWFNYak0/edit?usp=sharing
Please, Help !!
Last edited:
- Feb 11, 2012
- 11,601
- 322
aitken
Members
- Apr 5, 2014
- 3
- 21
It works likes previous firmware, nothing happens after red line reach 100%.(
This is log file
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxXBPXY17_GHLWlQZ3ZlYXNyeDQ/edit?usp=sharing
Hi! I flashed my Xiaomi Hongmi TD with this firmware and now I'm getting black screen just like
Tcly1982. Is there any firmware that will work with TD version of the smartphone?
UPDATE: this firmware worked for me: http://pan.baidu.com/wap/link?uk=1009570786&shareid=3057445601&third=0
Tcly1982. Is there any firmware that will work with TD version of the smartphone?
UPDATE: this firmware worked for me: http://pan.baidu.com/wap/link?uk=1009570786&shareid=3057445601&third=0
Last edited:
Muda Aris
Members
- Mar 18, 2014
- 1
- 11
Hi,
i have same problem with Tcly1982
I do it but now my hongmi dont start it why??? Screen is black.
I try flash using this firmware
https://mega.co.nz/#!OlxDUZxD!CruekAuOwQZ7QvSohmipEwlY-LRkDkLQWn6Fxfp_JwA
but still have same problem
i have same problem with Tcly1982
I do it but now my hongmi dont start it why??? Screen is black.
I try flash using this firmware
https://mega.co.nz/#!OlxDUZxD!CruekAuOwQZ7QvSohmipEwlY-LRkDkLQWn6Fxfp_JwA
but still have same problem
@ingbrzy
[TL;DR]
In the first page, I believe that there should be an advice to use the "Readback (F10)" option to create backups of all the device partitions BEFORE using the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" or "Download (F9)" option in SP Flash Tool.
[/TL;DR]
I received a China Unicom branded WCDMA device, having a China Unicom boot animation, and many persisting China Unicom applications, even after updating to the latest multilanguage version and clearing the cache and data. I decided to use this guide to get rid of the annoying China Unicom branding.
The "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" option also flashes the preloader, while the "Download (F9)" option gives you the option to deselect the preloader.
In this guide it is suggested to use the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" option, while the "Download (F9)" option is not even mentioned. Flashing the preloader is always risky, because a corrupted preloader will permanently brick the device. In other guides it is suggested to use the "Download (F9)" option and uncheck the preloader for security reasons, especially if the already installed preloader is the latest version available. My device happened to have an older preloader, but since the partition layout was the same, I opted to use the "Download (F9)" option and uncheck the preloader in the first flashing trial. This resulted in a corrupted device, as other users also reported in this thread. I can verify that ending up with a corrupted device is a valid possibility. I then used the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" option to recover the lost IMEI, as suggested in this guide, but to no avail. By trying to upgrade a properly working device, the IMEI was lost, not the other way around. What an irony. Maybe the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" option does not corrupt the device as the "Download (F9)" option does, but you can never be sure about that. Ending up with a corrupted device may not be a fault of the users, but some weird combination of specific hardware and software.
Luckily enough, since I have been using computers for many decades, I am accustomed to thorough backups before performing somewhat risky operations. In this particular case I had already backed up the whole device using the "Readback (F10)" option, so finally I was able to completely restore my device, and upgrade it to the latest version. The thorough backup is the only safe solution, and highly advised anyway.
The "Invalid IMEI" and "NVRAM WARNING: Err = 0x10" Network available problem appears if the NVRAM partition is corrupted. Before Using SP Flash Tool "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" or "Download (F9)" option, you have to make a backup of the NVRAM partition starting at 0xE00000 and having a length of 0x500000, using the "Readback (F10)" option. It would be wise to make backups of all partitions, to be able to restore the phone to its original condition, for whatever reason. There is no actual need to backup any partitions that can be flashed using already provided images, especially the cache (CACHE) and data (USRDATA) partitions, since you can anyway format them through recovery, nor the sdcard (FAT) partition. You may also probably not need to backup the original system (ANDROID) partition, since there are already JHBCNAH4.0 and JHBCNAL5.0 system images available, and the system partition will be probably updated anyway to the latest available version through the recovery. Keep all produced backups in a safe place. If you ever encounter the above mentioned problem, just flash back your NVRAM partition backup. You may need to use SP Flash Tool V5 to successfully flash back the NVRAM partition, since SP Flash Tool V3 seems to have some problems with that. If you have a proper NVRAM partition backup, you do not have to use any 3rd party tools as Mobileuncle MTK Tools, nor install a custom recovery. You can also just use SP Flash Tool to make safety backups of your phone, if you want to keep your device as close as possible to the original condition, not flashing a custom recovery partition.
In the unfortunate case you do not have any NVRAM partition backup, and encounter the above mentioned problem, you must use some already mentioned available tools to create proper NVRAM partition contents, then make a backup of the NVRAM partition, for future reference.
You can append the following section to the "Flash_tool.INI" file found in the SP Flash Tool folder, having all the partition names and their corresponding start addresses and lengths calculated from the included "MT6589_Android_scatter_emmc.txt" file, to facilitate partition dumping by using the "Readback (F10)" option. You may edit the code and change the folder where the partition images will be created, e.g. you can change "file0=PRELOADER.IMG" to "file0=C:\IMAGE\PRELOADER.IMG". You can later use these partition images to restore the phone to its original condition, or use some of these images along with any available updated ones, to correctly and successfully upgrade your phone to a newer version.
Let me now tell you my findings and solution for my case.
By using "SP Flash Tool V3.1316.0.sn150" included in "Xiaomi Hongmi WCDMA - unbrick 5.0.zip", I successfully backed up all the partitions by using the "Readback (F10)" option, since I always tend to be very careful performing somewhat risky operations.
Then, I flashed the "HM2013023_images_JHBCNAL5.0_4.2.zip" images using the "Download (F9)" option, but the NVRAM partition was corrupted somehow, so after booting to the system, I encountered the "NVRAM WARNING: Err = 0x10" Network available and the "Invalid IMEI" message appearing.
By reading back all "__NODL_" flagged partitions (including the NVRAM one), and comparing them with the backed up ones using a hex editor, I realized that all of them were corrupted, being somehow partially formatted by the included SP Flash Tool.
By using either the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" or the "Download (F9)" option, I tried to flash back the wisely created NVRAM partition backup, along with the rest of the "JHBCNAL5.0" partition images, by changing "__NODL_NVRAM 0xe00000" to "NVRAM 0xe00000" inside the provided "MT6589_Android_scatter_emmc.txt" file, and selecting the corresponding NVRAM backed up partition image under the Download section, but to no avail. The procedure seemed to finish normally, but all other checked partitions were flashed except the NVRAM one.
Then, I came across Download Smart Phone Flash Tool (Latest Version) and downloaded several different versions of "SP Flash Tool", and tried to flash back the NVRAM partition. I checked other V3 versions which exhibited similar behaviour, where the NVRAM partition could not be flashed successfully. At last, by using the "MediaTek SP Flash Tool V5.13.52.200" version, I successfully flashed back the NVRAM partition, along with the other partitions, and the "Invalid IMEI" and "NVRAM WARNING: Err = 0x10" Network available errors were fixed.
To be on the safe side, since all other "__NODL_" flagged partitions were also corrupted, I created a complete set of all partition images, mixing the available "HM2013023_images_JHBCNAL5.0_4.2.zip" images along with the rest of the backed up "__NODL_" flagged partition images. I also created a modified "MT6589_Android_scatter_emmc.txt" file, removing all "__NODL_" references, and used "MediaTek SP Flash Tool V5.13.52.200" to download all the partition images together at once. It worked like a charm. The "Format All + Download" option did not work, displaying some error about formatting the device, so I used the "Download Only" option, and selected every possible partition.
Then, I successfully updated through original recovery to the official JHBCNBA13.0 and later JHBCNBD15.0 images. I also successfully updated to the corresponding multilanguage images.
Since I originally used the included "SP Flash Tool V3.1316.0.sn150" to download the update, which created the "__NODL_" flagged partitions corruption in the first place, I cannot know whether "MediaTek SP Flash Tool V5.13.52.200" can also corrupt the "__NODL_" flagged partitions, or if this problem is fixed in V5. In any case, to be on the safe side, make a complete backup before trying anything else. The V5 has no "Flash_tool.INI" file, so I could not find a proper place to manually insert the readback partition memory locations, so I am using V3 to easily readback the backups, and V5 to download the images.
Maybe in V5 no corruption occurs during downloading, so you do not actually have to reflash all partitions, but I am done with testing, since I have found a working solution for myself. In any case, to be on the safe side, make a complete backup before trying anything else.
Also, this corruption happened to a WCDMA China Unicom November 2013 produced device, having a wt98007_20131023-185444 preloader. Maybe the corruption happens to specific hardware versions of the phone. The thorough backup is the only solution.
Also, "Xiaomi Hongmi WCDMA - unbrick 4.0.zip" includes a JHBCNAH4.0 wt98007_20131212-160444 preloader, while "Xiaomi Hongmi WCDMA - unbrick 5.0.zip" includes a JHBCNAL5.0 wt98007_20131230-175541 preloader.
I also updated an unbranded January 2014 produced device, which seems to be a different hardware revision of the phone, but cannot say if this corruption issue could also happen to this different device, since, to be on the safe side, I backed up all partitions using V3 and then downloaded the updated set of all partition images together using V5, which worked like a charm, as in the other device.
By concluding my findings, I have to repeat my suggestion.
In the first page, I believe that there should be an advice to use the "Readback (F10)" option to create backups of all the device partitions BEFORE using the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" or "Download (F9)" option in SP Flash Tool.
[TL;DR]
In the first page, I believe that there should be an advice to use the "Readback (F10)" option to create backups of all the device partitions BEFORE using the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" or "Download (F9)" option in SP Flash Tool.
[/TL;DR]
I received a China Unicom branded WCDMA device, having a China Unicom boot animation, and many persisting China Unicom applications, even after updating to the latest multilanguage version and clearing the cache and data. I decided to use this guide to get rid of the annoying China Unicom branding.
The "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" option also flashes the preloader, while the "Download (F9)" option gives you the option to deselect the preloader.
In this guide it is suggested to use the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" option, while the "Download (F9)" option is not even mentioned. Flashing the preloader is always risky, because a corrupted preloader will permanently brick the device. In other guides it is suggested to use the "Download (F9)" option and uncheck the preloader for security reasons, especially if the already installed preloader is the latest version available. My device happened to have an older preloader, but since the partition layout was the same, I opted to use the "Download (F9)" option and uncheck the preloader in the first flashing trial. This resulted in a corrupted device, as other users also reported in this thread. I can verify that ending up with a corrupted device is a valid possibility. I then used the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" option to recover the lost IMEI, as suggested in this guide, but to no avail. By trying to upgrade a properly working device, the IMEI was lost, not the other way around. What an irony. Maybe the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" option does not corrupt the device as the "Download (F9)" option does, but you can never be sure about that. Ending up with a corrupted device may not be a fault of the users, but some weird combination of specific hardware and software.
Luckily enough, since I have been using computers for many decades, I am accustomed to thorough backups before performing somewhat risky operations. In this particular case I had already backed up the whole device using the "Readback (F10)" option, so finally I was able to completely restore my device, and upgrade it to the latest version. The thorough backup is the only safe solution, and highly advised anyway.
The "Invalid IMEI" and "NVRAM WARNING: Err = 0x10" Network available problem appears if the NVRAM partition is corrupted. Before Using SP Flash Tool "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" or "Download (F9)" option, you have to make a backup of the NVRAM partition starting at 0xE00000 and having a length of 0x500000, using the "Readback (F10)" option. It would be wise to make backups of all partitions, to be able to restore the phone to its original condition, for whatever reason. There is no actual need to backup any partitions that can be flashed using already provided images, especially the cache (CACHE) and data (USRDATA) partitions, since you can anyway format them through recovery, nor the sdcard (FAT) partition. You may also probably not need to backup the original system (ANDROID) partition, since there are already JHBCNAH4.0 and JHBCNAL5.0 system images available, and the system partition will be probably updated anyway to the latest available version through the recovery. Keep all produced backups in a safe place. If you ever encounter the above mentioned problem, just flash back your NVRAM partition backup. You may need to use SP Flash Tool V5 to successfully flash back the NVRAM partition, since SP Flash Tool V3 seems to have some problems with that. If you have a proper NVRAM partition backup, you do not have to use any 3rd party tools as Mobileuncle MTK Tools, nor install a custom recovery. You can also just use SP Flash Tool to make safety backups of your phone, if you want to keep your device as close as possible to the original condition, not flashing a custom recovery partition.
In the unfortunate case you do not have any NVRAM partition backup, and encounter the above mentioned problem, you must use some already mentioned available tools to create proper NVRAM partition contents, then make a backup of the NVRAM partition, for future reference.
You can append the following section to the "Flash_tool.INI" file found in the SP Flash Tool folder, having all the partition names and their corresponding start addresses and lengths calculated from the included "MT6589_Android_scatter_emmc.txt" file, to facilitate partition dumping by using the "Readback (F10)" option. You may edit the code and change the folder where the partition images will be created, e.g. you can change "file0=PRELOADER.IMG" to "file0=C:\IMAGE\PRELOADER.IMG". You can later use these partition images to restore the phone to its original condition, or use some of these images along with any available updated ones, to correctly and successfully upgrade your phone to a newer version.
Let me now tell you my findings and solution for my case.
By using "SP Flash Tool V3.1316.0.sn150" included in "Xiaomi Hongmi WCDMA - unbrick 5.0.zip", I successfully backed up all the partitions by using the "Readback (F10)" option, since I always tend to be very careful performing somewhat risky operations.
Then, I flashed the "HM2013023_images_JHBCNAL5.0_4.2.zip" images using the "Download (F9)" option, but the NVRAM partition was corrupted somehow, so after booting to the system, I encountered the "NVRAM WARNING: Err = 0x10" Network available and the "Invalid IMEI" message appearing.
By reading back all "__NODL_" flagged partitions (including the NVRAM one), and comparing them with the backed up ones using a hex editor, I realized that all of them were corrupted, being somehow partially formatted by the included SP Flash Tool.
By using either the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" or the "Download (F9)" option, I tried to flash back the wisely created NVRAM partition backup, along with the rest of the "JHBCNAL5.0" partition images, by changing "__NODL_NVRAM 0xe00000" to "NVRAM 0xe00000" inside the provided "MT6589_Android_scatter_emmc.txt" file, and selecting the corresponding NVRAM backed up partition image under the Download section, but to no avail. The procedure seemed to finish normally, but all other checked partitions were flashed except the NVRAM one.
Then, I came across Download Smart Phone Flash Tool (Latest Version) and downloaded several different versions of "SP Flash Tool", and tried to flash back the NVRAM partition. I checked other V3 versions which exhibited similar behaviour, where the NVRAM partition could not be flashed successfully. At last, by using the "MediaTek SP Flash Tool V5.13.52.200" version, I successfully flashed back the NVRAM partition, along with the other partitions, and the "Invalid IMEI" and "NVRAM WARNING: Err = 0x10" Network available errors were fixed.
To be on the safe side, since all other "__NODL_" flagged partitions were also corrupted, I created a complete set of all partition images, mixing the available "HM2013023_images_JHBCNAL5.0_4.2.zip" images along with the rest of the backed up "__NODL_" flagged partition images. I also created a modified "MT6589_Android_scatter_emmc.txt" file, removing all "__NODL_" references, and used "MediaTek SP Flash Tool V5.13.52.200" to download all the partition images together at once. It worked like a charm. The "Format All + Download" option did not work, displaying some error about formatting the device, so I used the "Download Only" option, and selected every possible partition.
Then, I successfully updated through original recovery to the official JHBCNBA13.0 and later JHBCNBD15.0 images. I also successfully updated to the corresponding multilanguage images.
Since I originally used the included "SP Flash Tool V3.1316.0.sn150" to download the update, which created the "__NODL_" flagged partitions corruption in the first place, I cannot know whether "MediaTek SP Flash Tool V5.13.52.200" can also corrupt the "__NODL_" flagged partitions, or if this problem is fixed in V5. In any case, to be on the safe side, make a complete backup before trying anything else. The V5 has no "Flash_tool.INI" file, so I could not find a proper place to manually insert the readback partition memory locations, so I am using V3 to easily readback the backups, and V5 to download the images.
Maybe in V5 no corruption occurs during downloading, so you do not actually have to reflash all partitions, but I am done with testing, since I have found a working solution for myself. In any case, to be on the safe side, make a complete backup before trying anything else.
Also, this corruption happened to a WCDMA China Unicom November 2013 produced device, having a wt98007_20131023-185444 preloader. Maybe the corruption happens to specific hardware versions of the phone. The thorough backup is the only solution.
Also, "Xiaomi Hongmi WCDMA - unbrick 4.0.zip" includes a JHBCNAH4.0 wt98007_20131212-160444 preloader, while "Xiaomi Hongmi WCDMA - unbrick 5.0.zip" includes a JHBCNAL5.0 wt98007_20131230-175541 preloader.
I also updated an unbranded January 2014 produced device, which seems to be a different hardware revision of the phone, but cannot say if this corruption issue could also happen to this different device, since, to be on the safe side, I backed up all partitions using V3 and then downloaded the updated set of all partition images together using V5, which worked like a charm, as in the other device.
By concluding my findings, I have to repeat my suggestion.
In the first page, I believe that there should be an advice to use the "Readback (F10)" option to create backups of all the device partitions BEFORE using the "Firmware Upgrade (F8)" or "Download (F9)" option in SP Flash Tool.
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