How to Backup and Restore IMEI/NVRAM data on Mediatek Chipset Android Device

IMEI and NVRAM are two crucial pieces of data that ensure the stability and functionality of the cellular network on your Mediatek smartphone. If for some reason, both of these services on your smartphone stop working, then you will not be able to make any calls, nor will you be able to connect to any WiFi or Bluetooth services. That’s why it’s important to know how to backup and restore IMEI/NVRAM data on a Mediatek Chipset Android Device, especially if you are an Android developer or enthusiast who flashes custom ROMs or root packages on your Mediatek smartphone.

IMEI is short for International Mobile Equipment Identity, which is basically your SIM card information, and NVRAM stands for Non-Volatile Random Access Memory, which stores critical network configuration details like the IMEI, Wi-Fi MAC address, and other parameters essential for network communication. Losing IMEI or corrupting NVRAM data can result in a range of issues, including the inability to make or receive calls, access mobile data, or connect to Wi-Fi. Today, in this guide, we will share a step-by-step process to backup and restore your smartphone’s NVRAM and IMEI details.

Method 1: Using SP Flash Tool

Now, In order to Backup and Restore IMEI/ NVRAM data on Mediatek Chipset Android Device using this method, you need to follow these steps carefully:

Note: You need the scatter file for your device as well. You can get scatter file from the Firmware package or can create it using MTK Droid Tools.

First of all, you need to have the SP Flash Tool on your Windows PC. If you don’t have an SP Flash tool, then you can take a look at our post on Download SP Flash Tool (SmartPhone Flash Tool) For MediaTek Device
Now, make sure you have the drivers for your Android Device installed on your PC.

How to Backup IMEI/ NVRAM data using SP Flash Tool

Open your Scatter File and search for NVRAM.
Now, note down the values of “physical_start_addr:” and the “partition_size:”
Run the SP Flash Tool on your PC.
Select the Scatter file for your Device and click on ReADBack.
Now, click on Add and double-click on the created file.
Here, choose any folder where you like to have your Backup File and click on save.
Now, enter the previously noted down “physical_start_addr:” and the “partition_size:” values into the Start Address and the Length text fields respectively.
Click on OK button and then click on the Read Back.
Now, Connect your Android Device to your PC via a USB Cable.
Wait for the reADBack process to get completed.
Once the process has been completed, you’ll get the Backup File, NVRAM.img in the selected folder.
That’s it!

How to Restore IMEI/ NVRAM data using SP Flash Tool

Open your Scatter File and search for NVRAM.
Rename the file from none to NVRAM.img and is_download: as from False to True.
Run the SP Flash Tool on your PC.
Select the Scatter file for your Device.
Here, select only the NVRAM.img file.
Now, turn off your Android Device and connect it to your PC via a USB Cable.
Click on the Download button.
Once the flashing process is completed, disconnect your Android Device and turn it back on.
That’s it! You have successfully restored your IMEI/ NVRAM Backup.

Now, let us take a look at our next method to Backup and Restore IMEI/ NVRAM data on Mediatek Chipset Android Device, should we?

Method 2: Using ADB Fastboot

Now, In order to Backup and Restore IMEI/ NVRAM data on Mediatek Chipset Android Device using this method, you need to follow these steps carefully:

Note: You need to have ADB Fastboot Installed on your Device, you can follow our guide on How to Install ADB and Fastboot on Windows.

First of all, connect your Android Device to your PC via a USB Cable.
Now, on your PC, open the Command Prompt Window by pressing Win + R key and entering cmd.
Make sure you have the USB Debugging enabled on your Device. You can enable it by simply going to your Settings >> About Phone >> tap on the Build Number 7 times. Now go back to the Settings and tap on Developer Options and enable USB Debugging.

How to Backup IMEI/ NVRAM data using ADB Fastboot

Enter the following command on your Command Prompt Window to backup IMEI/ NVRAM.

md c:\nvbackup\
taskkill /f /im ADB.exe
ADB.exe shell su -c “dd if=/dev/nvram of=/data/local/tmp/nvram.img bs=5242880c count=1?
ADB shell su -c “chmod 0777 /data/local/tmp/nvram.img”
ADB.exe pull /data/local/tmp/nvram.img c:\nvbackup\nvram.img

Now open your File Explorer and navigate to C: – nvbackup – and you should find the NVRAM.img file here. This is the backup of your IMEI/ NVRAM.

How to Restore IMEI/ NVRAM data using ADB Fastboot

Enter the following command on your Command Prompt Window to restore IMEI/ NVRAM.

taskkill /f /im ADB.exe
ADB.exe push c:\nvbackup\nvram.img /data/local/tmp/nvram.img
ADB.exe shell su -c “dd if=/data/local/tmp/nvram.img of=/dev/nvram bs=5242880c count=1?
ADB reboot

That’s it, now your Android Device will reboot on its own. You have successfully restored the IMEI/ NVRAM backup on your Android Device.

Now, let us take a look at our last method to Backup and Restore IMEI/ NVRAM data on Mediatek Chipset Android Device, should we?

Method 3: Using MTK Droid Tool

Now, In order to Backup and Restore IMEI/ NVRAM data on Mediatek Chipset Android Device using this method, you need to follow these steps carefully:

First of all, download and install the latest version of MTK Droid Tools on your Windows PC. You can check our post on Download MTK Droid Tool [Latest Version Available]
Now, make sure you have the drivers for your Android Device installed on your PC.

How to Backup IMEI/ NVRAM data using MTK Droid Tool

Run the MTKdroidTools.exe file on your Windows PC.
Make sure you have the USB Debugging enabled on your Device. You can enable it by simply going to your Settings >> About Phone >> tap on the Build Number 7 times. Now go back to the Settings and tap on Developer Options and enable USB Debugging.
Now, connect your Android Device to your Windows PC via a USB Cable.
In the MTK Droid Tool, click on Root button to give ADB shell access.
Now, click on the IMEI/ NVRAM button.
Here, click on the Backup button to backup your device’s IMEI/ NVRAM.
That’s it! Your backup file would be stored inside the IMEI/ NVRAM folder under the MTK Droid Tool folder.

How to Restore IMEI/ NVRAM data using MTK Droid Tool

In the MTK Droid Tool, click on Root button to give ADB shell access.
Now, click on the IMEI/ NVRAM button.
Here, click on the Restore button to restore your device’s IMEI/ NVRAM.
Now, select the “.bin” and “.tar” files inside the IMEI/ NVRAM folder.
That’s it! You have successfully restored the IMEI/ NVRAM backup on your Android Device.

So that’s it guys, this was our take on How to Backup and Restore IMEI/ NVRAM data on Mediatek Chipset Android Device. We hope that you found this guide helpful. Just in case, if you have stuck somewhere between the steps or have any questions related to the topic, then feel free to leave them in the comments section down below.

How to Backup and Restore IMEI/NVRAM data on Mediatek Chipset Android Device