Database Users

Which Backup app actually works ?

I just had a bad experience with MyBackup Pro. I just re-flashed from Sky Raider 2.00 to 2.01. Everything worked beautifully after re-booting under the new ROM. So then I attempted to Restore my apks+data with MyBackup Pro. But after that finished, I never saw such a mess after a re-boot. Thank God I had a nand backup... So now that I'm back where I started from, is there an app out there that actually works? I'd like to try this again.
I'm not sure why MyBackup didn't work. I heard some good things about it, and that is why I decided to try it.
I've also heard of Titanium Backup...but has anyone restored SUCCESSFULLY after a ROM upgrade with this utility?

Just posted this in another thread so I feel like a broken record but yes, I used Titanium to backup pre-2.2, installed CyanogenMod 6, and restored apps+data (NOT system data) and everything seems to have turned out fine.
When you say you've never seen such a mess after a reboot, what exactly do you mean?

I use titanium everyone I write and install a new rom,for sky raider and cyanogen..great app.never had a problem
Sent from my Incredible using XDA App

The "mess" I talked about was some apps that wouldn't run. I would get errors instead. Outlines for some widgets instead of widgets. Wallpaper didn't change, but icon placement was as it was before re-flash. POP mail account lost config. Etc. I didn't make a list. I just said enough of this and did a nand restore.
So if I use Titanium, what should the procedure be to be sure I get back everything as it was? Or am I asking too much? Will I still have to reconfigure some things?
I just installed Titanium Backup. It doesn't appear to be as user friendly as MyBackup Pro. Can you give me some brief advice? I'd really appreciate it. I'm still wet behind the ears.
Thanks!

I use Backup Pro and haven't had any issues. I have had a few oddball apps not backup but never one that I bought or downloaded from the Market.

Lexus One said:
So if I use Titanium, what should the procedure be to be sure I get back everything as it was? Or am I asking too much? Will I still have to reconfigure some things?
I just installed Titanium Backup. It doesn't appear to be as user friendly as MyBackup Pro. Can you give me some brief advice? I'd really appreciate it. I'm still wet behind the ears.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've only used it a few times so I'm not exactly a pro, but here goes. There's a tab that says backup/restore, that has a list of your apps and whether or not there's a backup of the app. If you hit Menu and go into batch mode, that's where all the good stuff is. Before I flash a rom I'll go into batch and back up all user apps and system data. You can also schedule backups to be performed while you're sleeping or something, just so you always have new backups.
To restore, you can go into batch mode and restore apps and data. When I went to CyanogenMod6 from stock, I restored only apps and app data. I didn't restore system data because I'm pretty sure if you restore system data when moving between roms it causes a lot of problems (I'm not an expert though, might wanna ask someone more knowledgeable).
Another thing to consider: if you have a lot of apps, Titanium is a giant pain in the ass unless you have the donate version. With the free version, it asks for confirmation when restoring each app, so that can be very bothersome. The paid one does everything automatically.
Hope this helps

I have been searching and reading through posts for a few days now, so this post is not for lack of trying.
I am unable to use Titanium Backup. It says I need to have BusyBox, which will not install saying that I do not have "nand" access or something (a bit of a noob here).
I've also tried to backup through ROMManager, but all it does is reset my phone and tells me that it cannot backup, and gives me a long list of things to try. I have done most if not all, to no avail. Help?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

gmonox said:
I've only used it a few times so I'm not exactly a pro, but here goes. There's a tab that says backup/restore, that has a list of your apps and whether or not there's a backup of the app. If you hit Menu and go into batch mode, that's where all the good stuff is. Before I flash a rom I'll go into batch and back up all user apps and system data. You can also schedule backups to be performed while you're sleeping or something, just so you always have new backups.
To restore, you can go into batch mode and restore apps and data. When I went to CyanogenMod6 from stock, I restored only apps and app data. I didn't restore system data because I'm pretty sure if you restore system data when moving between roms it causes a lot of problems (I'm not an expert though, might wanna ask someone more knowledgeable).
Another thing to consider: if you have a lot of apps, Titanium is a giant pain in the ass unless you have the donate version. With the free version, it asks for confirmation when restoring each app, so that can be very bothersome. The paid one does everything automatically.
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I appreciate the advice on doing this the correct way. I know what my mistake was now, it was the fact that I also restored the system data. I'll try this again tonight when I get home...

HarrisonBP said:
I have been searching and reading through posts for a few days now, so this post is not for lack of trying.
I am unable to use Titanium Backup. It says I need to have BusyBox, which will not install saying that I do not have "nand" access or something (a bit of a noob here).
I've also tried to backup through ROMManager, but all it does is reset my phone and tells me that it cannot backup, and gives me a long list of things to try. I have done most if not all, to no avail. Help?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you go into Titanium, there is a button that says "problems", click that and there should be a button that should install busybox for you.

Thank you, I read the forums, but not the buttons on my screen... stupid. :-(
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

gmonox is on point. I went through all of this yesterday after getting Froyo. My apps all reinstalled and seem to work just fine with one exception. I had a NexusMod Live wallpaper that wouldn't work. Sad too because it was my favorite because it was Cyanogen inspired and just used the cyan color. Other than that, everything seemed to work fine.

MyBackup Pro still has issues under Froyo. The permissions banner will not go away after backing up. I have to reboot my phone to get it to go away. My task killers don't work on this.

[GUIDE] How to easily Backup and Restore data using Titanium Backup

DISCLAIMER : This guide assumes that you already know how to flash a custom ROM. Also, these instructions work well on my Desire HD running ICS. They should ideally work on any device/ROM/Recovery combination, just that you may have to figure out the system settings/apps that correspond to the ones that I'm referring to. But remember that if you choose to follow these steps, you are doing it at your own risk, and you assume any and all potential consequences, including (but not limited to) loss of data, corrupting your sdcard, bricking your device, physical damage to your phone or self, and/or loss of bladder control.
WARNING : Following this guide may lead to ORD, or worsen your condition of ORD.
When you flash a custom ROM, a full wipe is always recommended. And it definitely is a stressful process, especially if you like to try out a lot of different ROMs. I now follow a method which I find is quite reliable, not as stressful and is fast, so I thought i should share it. I must warn you though, that this is quite an organized approach, so it will require patience from your part to set it up. But I assure you, once you've done it, your ROM wiping and flashing process becomes much easier
I'm going to detail this out in both offline and online methods. With the "Offline(OFF)" method, you will not require an Internet connection to restore all your data. Everything is backed up using Titanium Backup. With the "Online(ON)" method, part of your data will be restored from the amazing "Cloud"
Most of this guide is common to both methods, so I've highlighted the specific methods accordingly. If you're following the offline(OFF) steps, then you dont need to follow the online(ON) steps, and vice versa
APPS YOU'LL NEED
1) Titanium Backup - The free version will serve the purposes of this guide, but its just easier and faster to restore using the Pro version. The Pro version doesnt ask you to tap "Install" every time you restore an app. And if you forget to backup something, you can retrieve it from your Nandroid Backup(provided you remembered to do that ).
2) ES File Explorer - This app allows you to backup an app to the sdcard. Any other file manager/app that can do the same thing will work too..
(ON) 3) SMS Backup+ - This app allows you to backup all your call logs and sms/mms to your Gmail account.
INITIAL SETUP
1) Open Titanium Backup
2) Choose Menu->Filters
3) Tap the "Create Label" button, name your label, and then tap the "Add/Remove elements" button to pick which apps this label will be assigned to.
I have an "Important" label - for apps that I absolutely need on every flash, an "Extras" label - for more occasionally used apps, and a "Games" label. Make sure you dont add any system settings like Accounts, Application widgets, Bluetooth Pairings etc. to any of these labels. We will be handling them separately.
4) Choose Menu->Preferences and enable Auto-sync TB settings
(ON) 5) Now open SMS Backup+
(ON) 6) Set it up to backup your call logs, sms and mms to your Gmail account. You can assign labels to each of them so that they are neatly categorized in your GMail. You can also setup auto-backup for convenience.
1ST BACKUP
1) Open Titanium Backup
2) Choose Menu->Filters, scroll down, select all your labels and tap Apply.
3) Choose Menu->Batch->Backup all user apps + system data.
You'll need to backup system settings separately -
4) Choose Menu->Filters, and in Filter by type, choose System
5) Scroll down and make sure none of your custom labels are selected and then tap Apply.
6) Backup the following, these are the ones important to me, you may want to add more to this -
i) Accounts
ii) Application Widgets - Widgets placed on the homescreen of your favorite launcher.
(OFF) iii) Calendar Storage
(OFF) iv) Contacts Storage - Your contacts and call logs.
(OFF) v) Phone/Messaging Storage - Your sms/mms
vi) Settings Storage - Be careful when you restore this. For eg: its not a good idea to restore CM9 settings to an AOKP ROM or vice versa. This is best used when you know exactly what you are doing. Also, a lot of differences between ROMs will probably be the fact that it provides some new customization options in the settings. So restoring this doesnt make sense unless you know for sure that they are the same. Handle with care.
vii) User Dictionary
viii) Wi Fi Access Points
(OFF) Now you need to backup Titanium Backup itself, since thats the first app you will want to install, after a ROM flash.
(OFF) 8) Open ES File Explorer,
(OFF) 9) Choose Menu->Manager->App Manager.
(OFF) 10) Press and hold Titanium Backup and then choose Backup(the apk will be saved in /sdcard/backups/apps)
(ON) 11) Now open SMS Backup+ and tap Backup
Thats it !! You're all set now !
See post #2 for info on how to easily backup and restore your data.
Hope this helps in making ROM flashing an easier task
If you thought this was helpful, hit "Thanks" !
If you have any suggestion that might make this an even easier process for everyone, please do share !
And Happy Flashing !

Now before you flash any new ROM, just follow these steps.
BACKUP
1) Open Titanium Backup, make sure none of your filters are selected, then choose Menu->Batch->Redo backups for modified data
(OFF) 2) You can optionally backup Titanium Backup's apk again using ES File Explorer. This is only to ensure that when you install it in the new ROM, you have the latest version
3) Take a Nandroid Backup if you wish to(recommended).
Perform a full wipe, flash the new ROM, and reboot.
When the startup wizard pops up -
(OFF) Skip the sign in to Google part, but complete the wizard.
(ON) Sign in using your Google account, and complete the wizard.
RESTORE
(OFF) 1) Open the File Manager that came with the ROM, and go into backups/apps(or wherever you saved your apk) and tap on the Titanium Backup apk to install it
(ON) 1) Open Play Store, and download Titanium Backup
2) Open Titanium Backup, and go to Backup/Restore
3) Choose Menu->Filters, scroll down, select your label("Important") and hit Apply.
4) If any of your "Important" apps are already installed, tap it and choose Restore->Data Only.
5) After that Menu->Batch->Restore missing apps with data
6) Deselect the apps that you dont need and tap "Run the batch operation"
7) You can repeat steps 3,4,5 and 6 for all your labels now or at a later time.
(OFF) Before proceeding, you need to make sure that all the apps that were added to the Accounts & Sync section in the previous ROM, are now installed in the current ROM. Apps like Google+, Facebook, HaxSync, LinkedIn, Twitter, Whatsapp etc. This is because we are about to restore the Accounts, and these apps need to be there if you want their "Accounts" to get restored correctly. Also, when we eventually restore Contacts, the restoration will be more complete if the accounts related to those contacts already exist. So we need to set this up beforehand.
This is where you start restoring System data. Now you need to be careful with this. ROMs that are completely different from each other may start acting buggy if you restore this data. I would suggest not doing this across different versions of Android. And if you know that the 2 ROMs are from different bases then you should definitely pick what you're restoring here.
8) Choose Menu->Filters.
9) In Filter by status, choose Backed up
10) In Filter by Type, choose System and hit Apply
11) And then Menu->Batch->Restore all system data. Now before you run the operation, deselect Contacts Storage. If your new ROM is very different from your old one, then deselect Settings Storage too. If you see anything else that you feel may not be compatible, deselect those too.
12) Tap "Run the batch operation"
13) Reboot(or Hot Reboot)
(OFF) 14) Now open Titanium Backup, Backup/Restore, tap Contacts Storage and restore Data Only
(OFF) 15) Reboot(or Hot Reboot)
(ON) 14) By now, your Calendar and contacts should have gotten sync'ed automatically. Just add other accounts to your Settings->Accounts&Sync section, and the rest of your data should get sync'ed up
(ON) 15) Open SMS Backup+ and Restore your call logs and sms/mms.

wow. after posting it feels like a really really long process !
but trust me, its just how i've explained it. Once you set it up, its a piece of cake

Ha ha quality post for persons that are unaware of how simple this is.
I use MyBackup pro myself for apps and data. Does the same thing imo. But also does a great job of everything else. Sms, bookmarks, dictionary, ect ect all in one application
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium

Guys when I was on Sense roms I was able to restore my syncs accounts and all my emails accounts with Titanium... but since I'm on ICS, no matter what I do, I can't seem to restore those two things....
I restore data from Accounts (something backed up from TB itself) and data from Email but no go...
Anyone?

Restoring Accounts has worked for me on ICS. There are 2 things you need to do.
1)Before restoring, make sure all the apps needed for those sync accounts are already installed/restored. For eg: Facebook, Google+, Whatsapp, HaxSync, etc...
2) After restoring Accounts, reboot/hot reboot your phone.

crazyjc81 said:
Restoring Accounts has worked for me on ICS. There are 2 things you need to do.
1)Before restoring, make sure all the apps needed for those sync accounts are already installed/restored. For eg: Facebook, Google+, Whatsapp, HaxSync, etc...
2) After restoring Accounts, reboot/hot reboot your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normal sync accounts, ie FB Twitter Google etc, I also can restore...
The problem is restoring email and exchange accounts... no matter what I do, cannot seem to restore them... they don't appear on the sync accounts nor inside the email app...And of course, I reboot the phone...
I guess the problem is probably from Titanium...
Too bad that the support for the TB is crappy as hell...

Strange. Not sure why it is not working for you.
I got a chance to test this out today, and it worked.
1) Restore Accounts. reboot
2) Restore Email app - Data only.
Assuming exchange accounts would work the same way.

Next time I'm going to try again... thkx for the feedback...

This can't be the first guide for how to backup before flashing can it?

rootingdestroyer said:
This can't be the first guide for how to backup before flashing can it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure you'll find other "how to backup" topics, but I've not found one as in-depth as this one. This is just the way I feel is the easiest to do it, specially because I like to flash ROMs a lot, and am very particular about my data. If that is the case, this is a really good way to do it.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA

Thanks for the tutorial.
After restore the apps that should auto launch after reboot only start auto launch after I open them once. After that everything runs smoothly. Is there any option I'm missing in order to prevent having to open this apps one by one?
Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure I understand the question. Are you asking about the app defaults? Like say of you have 2 browser apps and you set one of them as the default, you want that to be restored? I'm not sure how :-(
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA

Nope that's not the question. For example tasker or accuweather when i restore them they will only start working on the background after i open each of them manually first.

That's a good point. I'm not sure where the "start at boot" data is stored. SystemUI maybe? Something to try for my next ROM flash
Sent from my A500 using XDA

If you find out, please let know

Sorry i havent tested this out yet, but if it is in the system settings or SystemUI, I wouldn't recommend restoring it, since most ROMs differ from each other in these areas. It might just screw things up.
Will let you know once I find out.
Sent from my A500 using XDA

Tested it out.
1) Restore the app.
2) Restore settings storage
3) Reboot twice.
I dont know the reason. But when you reboot the second time, the app automatically starts.
Try it out and let me know.
Sent from my A500 using XDA

Just happen to have found this post via search. Just a quick question.
Any way we can manage batch restores without the hassle of tapping "install" and "done" for almost every app? Thanks.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

wEgGiE_wORm said:
Just happen to have found this post via search. Just a quick question.
Any way we can manage batch restores without the hassle of tapping "install" and "done" for almost every app? Thanks.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you buy titanium you don't have to do that.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using xda app-developers app

What do you do before changing roms to ease the migration

Well here's what I do...
Go through my individual apps and if there's a "backup" setting I create those (including SMS backup).
Run titanium backup of all apps.
Take screen shots of my home screens (to remember icon/ widget placement).
Any other ideas to help ease the migration?

You can get a custom launcher and save all your settings and placements...I use nova launcher
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

Only feel calm knowing that is a game, Like a puzzle...
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app

I use Titanium, and... that would be it.

Titanium back up.
That's all as well
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda app-developers app

Imppy said:
You can get a custom launcher and save all your settings and placements...I use nova launcher
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use nova as well. Still has the stock feel with all the customizations and the backup and restore feature is very nice, especially if you're a flashaholic.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda app-developers app

Titanium to backup all my apps
SMS backup & restore for my sms
Nova launcher to backup home setup+ widgets

titanium backup for apps
mybackup pro (you'll need to crack it if you want to do restores between CM and MIUI) - because it does MMS unlikes SMS restore & backup.
and a recovery backup ..

I use My Backup Pro to backup app+data, homescreen with shortcuts/widgets, settings, call logs, SMS, contacts (Though I prefer to sync with google contacts),

Can't believe nobody listed nandroid 1st. My apps are backed up by schedule, don't need to do that. 1st I back up SMS, then use a wipe-all script in recovery to speed things up. After flashing on reboot, I have a TB .apk on the SD ready so I can pop that on quick without hitting the play store. I created a label of all the apps I want to restore so I don't waste time choosing apps one by one, and then BAM...! One button restore. Restore SMS, reboot, profit!

Since I change ROMs often as I change shirts , all I do is nandroid if it's a real good ROM; other than that I start from scratch and install apps as I need them.

if i press advanced restore and restore /data. its same as TPB ? he restore on data or apk + data ? thanks

Ok, wait woah. I feel stupid. Now, I've been flashing roms since back when Oxygen GB was all the rage, but I never realized I could use Titanium Backup&Restore, to backup and restore all of my apps! Derp. So how do I go about restoring them?

I use this method from the AOKP FAQ:
5. Best way to restore apps with Titanium Back up?
Open TiBu.
Menu/ Preferences/ App processing mode/ AUTO Direct
Create backup (Menu/ Batch/ backup/ Click the gray Run button: Backup all user apps) Do not backup or restore system data
Choose Pause active apps/ Run the batch operation
Back/ Menu/ More/ Create "update.zip."
Under "Titanium backup will be install as: "choose “System application”
Move update.zip to root of the sdcard
Flash the ROM, GApps and BEFORE rebooting,mount /system
Choose install zip, and select the zip you created
Reboot
Skip the initial device setup screen Tap top-left, top-right, bottom-right, and bottom-left corners in that order
Launch TiBu and do Menu/ Batch/ Restore all user apps plus data
Reboot
Settings/ Accounts and Sync/ Add your Google account
More info: Titanium Backup WikI
Using this method I usually just restore essential apps and other apps only when I'm sure I'm going to be staying on the new ROM for awhile.
Sent from my Crespo using xda premium

google backup and restore is fair enough lol

Titanium Backup and SMS Backup + .
And just for save backup all my new photos/videos/wallpapers to PC. That should be enough.

Came across Go Backup and it can backup everything like SMS , MMS , contacts, call logs, stock launcher settings and Apps with data as well.
Importantly, you can restore all at once without clicking on install button for every app
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app

I still do not understand why people backup and restore SMS. Do you people not delete them ever either?

karnoff said:
I still do not understand why people backup and restore SMS. Do you people not delete them ever either?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nor really. Since the phone as memory enough to save all SMS. Beside that sometimes for me already helped to find some SMS with the date that someone told me something and with that I just search for it and turn my point right.

Nun3s said:
Nor really. Since the phone as memory enough to save all SMS. Beside that sometimes for me already helped to find some SMS with the date that someone told me something and with that I just search for it and turn my point right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1

Different Backup Methods

I was hoping to learn the differences between certain backup methods. The most common i saw is via recovery (in my case twrp), via titanium backup and another via adb command even without root which i saw in one of the threads here in xda.
First, in terms of "backup coverage" how do they compare to one another? Secondly, which among the three would most put ur phone back the way it was before u wipe or factory reset it
I hope you could input your opinions on this and suggestions.
Thanks in advance!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

A backup through recovery is a called a nandroid. This backs up everything on your phone including your ROM, kernel, apps, settings, etc. This will allow you to restore back to the previous state of your phone after doing a full wipe.
Titanium backup only backs up your apps and app data. This is useful when you want to switch ROMs and restore your apps in the new ROM.
Usually when switching ROMs I first use titanium backup, then I create a nandroid backup, and finally I flash the ROM. If I like the ROM I use titanium to restore the apps that I previously backed up, and if I don't like the ROM I restore my nandroid
Sent from my HTC Desire using xda app-developers app

Doing a backup with twrp, cwm or thru adb (nandroid backups) are basically image files of your phone at any given moment in time. If you restore one of these backups your restoring your phone to exactly how it was at that moment in time. Titanium backup and Helium backup just backup cached data at that particular moment in time. Using these apps will only restore the data you specified when you did the backup and nothing else. Say you borked an install of a ROM, Titanium backup would be of no use in getting your phone working again as it only has data and not a system image. You would need the images backed up by twrp to get the phone working again then you could use the titanium backups to restore any newer data saved if say you used an old twrp backup.

whoah! thanks guys! I was supposed to quote you but since both of you really helped me understand it now, this thanks goes to the both of you.
I've hit the thanks button on both you guys.
Thank you very much for explaining this.
One last thing, when using a Titanium backup ( im using the pro version), how do i backup to make sure I cover all that needs to be backed up? There are a lot of options im not sure which to select and what to do. I hope you could enlighten me on this one as well.
Thanks again in advance!

vinz_bangiz said:
whoah! thanks guys! I was supposed to quote you but since both of you really helped me understand it now, this thanks goes to the both of you.
I've hit the thanks button on both you guys.
Thank you very much for explaining this.
One last thing, when using a Titanium backup ( im using the pro version), how do i backup to make sure I cover all that needs to be backed up? There are a lot of options im not sure which to select and what to do. I hope you could enlighten me on this one as well.
Thanks again in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the pro version u can run a batch backup of all apps.
To do this open the app, press the menu button in the top tight corner, and select Batch.
Then choose Backup all user apps. From there you can select/deselect apps. When you are done choosing the apps that you would like to backup, click on the green check mark in the top right corner to start the backup.

vinz_bangiz said:
whoah! thanks guys! I was supposed to quote you but since both of you really helped me understand it now, this thanks goes to the both of you.
I've hit the thanks button on both you guys.
Thank you very much for explaining this.
One last thing, when using a Titanium backup ( im using the pro version), how do i backup to make sure I cover all that needs to be backed up? There are a lot of options im not sure which to select and what to do. I hope you could enlighten me on this one as well.
Thanks again in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stopped using Titanium and switched to Helium a while back and can't really remember how Ti works exactly. I do know you should never restore system apps data just user apps data so I don't even bother backing up systems apps. I think with Ti I would just do an initial backup of all user data and apps and then periodically do a backup of newer user data and apps, or something to that effect in the menu. I do like Helium better as its interface is better, never could figure out how to backup or restore sms, call logs and the dictionary using Ti. Helium is much more straight forward and simpler (not as many options) and it does backups on a set schedule to my box account. I'm sure you can do all that with Ti too it was just not a very clean app.

thanks again for the replies..
@ chromium96
i think it is the same as clicking the box with check icon beside the menu, it brings me to the page the same as where you are leading me to but in just one click. Though im not so sure if it is really the same one.
I did a backup now but made a user app + system data.
kzoodroid mentioned not to backup system. Should I really not backup the system? Im quite confused with the terminologies of TI coz it says backup "user apps". Does this only refer to the apps and not the settings or data in my phone? does the backup "system data" refer to the settings and other data on my phone? if I choose only backup "user apps", would this only backup the apps and nothing else?
@ kzoodroid
could you explain further why I should never backup systems apps?
Lastly, is Helium really better than TI? or it depends on user preference?
Thanks again!

there are 2 kind of apps stored in your phone, system apps, only accesible with root privilege, and user apps,
system apps are phone, browser,wallpapers, etc, this are the basic apps to make your phone to work
user apps are all the stuff you, the user, install on your phone
the first one can be found, via file managers on /system/app
user app in /data or in sdcard for apps can use this option
the user app back-up, via Tb or others create a back-up of /data and apps you choose to install
restoring a system app via Tb is dangerous cause if you've switched rom the /system/app can be different, so restoring can cause trouble or misbehavior on your phone
/system/app back.up can be used only if you, before deleting a system app, want to have a copy to restore in future, but only if you still on the same rom

stremax said:
there are 2 kind of apps stored in your phone, system apps, only accesible with root privilege, and user apps,
system apps are phone, browser,wallpapers, etc, this are the basic apps to make your phone to work
user apps are all the stuff you, the user, install on your phone
the first one can be found, via file managers on /system/app
user app in /data or in sdcard for apps can use this option
the user app back-up, via Tb or others create a back-up of /data and apps you choose to install
restoring a system app via Tb is dangerous cause if you've switched rom the /system/app can be different, so restoring can cause trouble or misbehavior on your phone
/system/app back.up can be used only if you, before deleting a system app, want to have a copy to restore in future, but only if you still on the same rom
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Thanks for the reply! kinda getting an idea what you mean.. if I backup the system also, then i put a new rom and it may be different from my current roms system so it might mess it up. so just backup user app and restore this after installing new rom then it would be ok and back to how it was before i installed a new rom? Do i understand it right?

vinz_bangiz said:
Thanks for the reply! kinda getting an idea what you mean.. if I backup the system also, then i put a new rom and it may be different from my current roms system so it might mess it up. so just backup user app and restore this after installing new rom then it would be ok and back to how it was before i installed a new rom? Do i understand it right?
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right man,
only back-up user apps and data, if you like you can also back-up call log and messages, I usually do this, so when I flash a new rom I usually restore apps +apps data, messages and call log via Tb

vinz_bangiz said:
another via adb command even without root which i saw in one of the threads here in xda.
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I found the ADB backup doesn't work as well as the other methods. I found some apps didn't seem to get backed up, and at least one didn't work after restoring (though this could be because I used Titanium Backup to restore the app from the ADB backup file).

[Q] Any quick way to restore apps and settings?

I like to flash different ROMs, sometimes 3 or 4 per week, sometimes 3-4 per day ... I usually come back to a "daily driver" (currently Chroma) after trying new ROMs - but I always have a Nandroid of my daily driver I can return to.
I know that downloading apps and setting them up is the nature of the beast when flashing new ROMs, but is there a quicker way to restore all your apps and settings? I have Titanium Backup (pro) installed and have backed up all my apps I have customized settings for, the rest are just left as default. I also have TWRP manager (pro), but it asks you to individually install each app and is almost quicker to just let Google choose which ones to download and restore all the apps upon setup. I've never used TIBU to restore more than my backed up app settings, does it ask you to install each app as it goes through them too?
Is Titanium the quickest way or is there another way?

Titanium allows you to do batch actions and backup and restore all the apps you want in one go. You don't need to do apps individually.
I tend to let Google do the bulk (now I have a decent internet connection) and then just overwrite the ones with app data specific to me from Titanium after in one go.

400ixl said:
I tend to let Google do the bulk (now I have a decent internet connection) and then just overwrite the ones with app data specific to me from Titanium after in one go.
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That's kind of how I do it now and have for a while.
Thanks for the info on TIBU, I wasn't sure how that worked with a batch restore?