How to fix Invalid IMEI and WiFi Err 0x10 on MediaTek devices without root

With a software called SN Write Tool, you can write IMEI numbers, WiFi mac address, Bluetooth mac address, bar codes and such things to the MediaTek smartphone. This will fix issues like Invalid IMEI and WiFi NVRAM Warning.

I have received a bundle of requests for the issue of Invalid IMEI from our readers who had performed “Format All + Download” (FA+D) while flashing their Infinix Hot Note or Hot Note Pro devices after being failed to upgrade their devices to Android Lollipop by following our guide here. While it was strictly mentioned in our tutorial to not use FA+D option or you will face consequences. But when some users were failed to upgrade normally, they tried FA+D option and literally had successful upgrade. They indeed lost access to their network with an error “Invalid IMEI”. In addition, which they may or may not have noticed that their WiFi mac address was also malformed and always started to use random/dummy mac address for WiFi connectivity.

Well this problem occurs because using Format All + Download option, when flashing your MediaTek Android device, destroys NVRAM on your phone which is not a part of stock ROM which you would flash later on. So flashing your phone any further with any stock ROM will indeed be successful with most probably everything but due to NVRAM not present on the phone, will cause you connectivity issues as such as above.

The problem we are talking about here is not so uncommon. You will find many articles on the web and variety of solutions to this issue will also be available with and without having root access to the phone. I am just writing it here at Tech Prolonged as we have been requested directly from our readers after when they have tried our tutorial “[How to] Update Infinix Hot Note X551 to Lollipop 5.1, Official final build with XUI“. Some were successful but some of them were failed and hence had a phone without NVRAM after trying FA+D option.

So this solution is to fix Invalid IMEI and/or bad WiFi mac address on MediaTek devices whether it was caused after FA+D flash or by whatever means. If you have a phone with MediaTek chipset such as Infinix Hot Note, then you follow the methods below.

You can restore NVRAM from a nandroid backup if you had earlier, by following another method too.

Rewrite IMEI and WiFi mac address to your phone!

This method can fix following issues on your MediaTek smartphone without root access. You don’t need to have root access and any other third party apps to fix this up. But you need a PC with a required software utility SN Station (from MediaTek) and a couple of drivers – video demo after the break.

To Fix Following

• Invalid IMEI
• Random WiFi address every time you turn on the WiFi
• WiFi NVRAM Warning err 0x10 – entry in WiFi networks list.

Required Tools and Drivers

• SN Write Tool & MTK CDC Driver – Download .rar archive.
• MTK PreLoader USB VCOM Driver – Here’s how to install

Well If you are here, then most probably you have flashed your device with SP Flash Tool already with “Format All + Download” option which could have led you with issues you are looking for the fix now. In that case, I must assume that you have MTK PreLoader drivers already installed. If so, then you just need to install SN Write Tool and the CDC Driver to proceed with this solution.

However, you can follow the guide to install PreLoader USB drivers, if you don’t have already.

Now download SN Write Tool with CDC driver from the link above and install them correctly. Follow the steps below exactly as told or jump to video demo after the break.

1. Extract the downloaded file into a folder “C:\xyz\“. You will find following two folders after extracting.
   
2. Open the MediaTek CDC Driver folder first and run the install.bat if you have 32 bit Windows or install64.bat if you have 64 bit Windows PC.
   
   In most environments, simply double clicking batch (.bat) file should install the drivers. You should see “Install complete” message once it successfully completes. If this doesn’t work well, you can try the following way to install the CDC driver:
   • Open command prompt with Administrator rights.
   • Type “C:” and press enter.
   • Type “cd /xyz/mediatek_cdc_drivers” and press enter.
   • Type one of the following and press enter.
     • “install.bat” in 32bit Windows or
     • “install64.bat” in 64bit Windows

     After running the .bat file as above, you should see as following.

3. Now open the SN_Write_tool_exe_v2.1344.02 folder from c:\xyz\ folder (or from where you extracted the download file) and install by running the setup file. Follow the setup instructions and complete the installation.
4. Once the CDC Driver and SN Write Tool is installed, Run the SN Write Tool from its installation location. It’s better to create a shortcut of the “SN_STATION.exe” from the installation location. You would double click the SN_STATION.exe file to run the program.
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5. From the program above, in Settings section, choose as follows
   1. ComPort: USB VCOM
   2. Target Select: SmartPhone
   3. Click System Config
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      – In above screen, choose IMEI and WiFi Mac Addr under Function Select section
      – Then in IMEI Option section, choose Dual IMEI if you are fixing a dual SIM phone.
   4. Then click MD DB_1 button and locate the stock ROM folder which you have flashed to your phone. Then from the ROM folder, choose a file starting with BPLGU*
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   5. Now from the previous screen, click the AP DB button and choose from the same folder, the file starting with APDB_*
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6. Now click on the OK button on the previous screen as below.
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7. On the main screen, now click the big Start button.
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   After clicking the Start button, the tool will be waiting for the phone to be connected.
8. Now make sure the phone is turned off
   • Connect the phone via USB cable.
   • Wait for the phone to enter “Meta Mode”
   • It will take only a couple of seconds in meta mode and the phone will be turned off automatically.

That’s it, you can disconnect the phone now and turn it on.

Video Demo

This video contains a complete demonstration of flashing a dead MediaTek powered Android device with “Format All + Download” to bring the phone back [00:00 – 03:40]. Then using SN Write Tool to fix Invalid IMEI and WiFi mac address issue [03:41 – onward]. Hope this will help you with your problems