Database Users

Rooting 2.3.3 - Does Flashing Erase All Data?

Basically, I'm running unrooted FW2.3.3 and was wondering if there was a method to root my device in which I can keep all my data/settings? Cheers

No. To get rooted on 2.3.3 your will have to flash 2.3.2 (which will wipe everything on your phone, sd card data wont be wiped) then root then do the ota update. Best you can do is try backing up apps/settings without root.
I think (not used myself) MyBackup pro will let you backup apps but the free version only lets you back up 2mb of data lol. So you will need the piad version.
App List Backup to help reinstalling of market apps.
MyPhoneExplorer Client use to backup text messages, call logs e.t.c
Or just see some of the free backup apps on the market https://market.android.com/search?q=backup&so=1&c=apps

Thank you! Backed everything up using your suggested programs - but there was an option to 'keep all user data' during flashing which didn't seem to lead to any issues for me, always good to be doubley sure though so thanks for your advice

crimsonnight said:
Thank you! Backed everything up using your suggested programs - but there was an option to 'keep all user data' during flashing which didn't seem to lead to any issues for me, always good to be doubley sure though so thanks for your advice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flash without ticking the wipe user data box you could get alot of system errors / force closes. Its best to wipe user data and do a clean install to avoid problems. I suppose its ok aslong as no problems appear, maybe?

Backup apps to cloud?

So i was wondering if anyone has ever needed to back up all there apps to a location other then there phone/tablet. it would be cloud storage i would think. reason is i need to backup all my apps and have then to be restored apon receiving replacement nexus. I herd sandisk memory zone? thanks.

MyBackup Pro has an option to backup to online storage and restore. I'm not sure if the free version has that option but I know the paid version does.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

I use the following process to ensure I can restore my whole device to a brand new unit if necessary.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=29550640
I use my workstation rather than a Cloud for a Number of reasons. The best being that the workstation has a triple redundant backup, and if I really need access to it remotely I already have that ability.
I used this to create a restorable copy of a completely setup device to a brand new unit successfully already.
Sent from my Nexus 7

I create the same functionality with Dropsync. It basically lets Dropbox function the same on your tab as your computer. I run my backups with TiBu in the early morning, and although syncing can be slow, it easily finishes before I get up. I was already using Dropbox so this was the most convenient solution for me.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

I forgot to mention that i would like an option to do an entire backup without having to root first. From my understanding rooting it would wipe user data? so then there would be no point lol

Sofwhitewolf said:
I forgot to mention that i would like an option to do an entire backup without having to root first. From my understanding rooting it would wipe user data? so then there would be no point lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting doesn't wipe the data, Unlocking the Bootloader does. Why unlocking should be done before doing a lot of work.
You can use adb to do a backup of your system, but none of the other things I talked about will work. No point in moving it to a cyberlocker since it will already be on your computer/workstation.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1420351
spottedcatfish said:
I create the same functionality with Dropsync. It basically lets Dropbox function the same on your tab as your computer. I run my backups with TiBu in the early morning, and although syncing can be slow, it easily finishes before I get up. I was already using Dropbox so this was the most convenient solution for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While TB is something that I do and end up with a copy in my backup system, it is not what I use to restore to a new device. Instead I use the Nandroid Backup (created with TWRP). Much much faster and more complete. Only need to move over the Nandroid backup files after you have unlocked the new device and rooted, and put the recovery on the device. Then simply do a restore in recovery wipe Davik and Cache and you are right back where you were with the other device.
The sync to the workstation via the Cheetah Sync is much faster than syncing to dropbox and I am backing up more than just the TB files for a more useful backup.

Sofwhitewolf said:
So i was wondering if anyone has ever needed to back up all there apps to a location other then there phone/tablet. it would be cloud storage i would think. reason is i need to backup all my apps and have then to be restored apon receiving replacement nexus. I herd sandisk memory zone? thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TitaniumBackup+ has support for backing up to Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive.

I use App Backup & Restore to backup every app I install (automatically), then Dropspace to push it to my Dropbox (automatically). Then I relax with a cappuccino and carrot cake.

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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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).

Restoring APP data

Hi,
My old phone was an Galaxy S (i9000) and now I have bougth the Galaxy S 5.
The i 9000 was rooted and I have backedup all Apps + Data to the SD card.
The S5 is new and I dont want to losst the warranty if I Root the phone, so I was wondering if it is possible to Restore all Apps data from the old phone to the new one without root.
Is it possible to do it without a PC?
Thanks,

Titanium Backup should be able to do it, not sure if it needs root though
But also not sure it's a good idea to restore data from a different model phone, which is likely running a different version of Android
You could turn on Google Backup on the old phone, and log into the same G Account on the new S5, and it might restore some things for you that way

*Detection* said:
Titanium Backup should be able to do it, not sure if it needs root though
But also not sure it's a good idea to restore data from a different model phone, which is likely running a different version of Android
You could turn on Google Backup on the old phone, and log into the same G Account on the new S5, and it might restore some things for you that way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The data I was talking about is from games and apps (some games, whatsapp, notes, etc.).
I was not talking about system data.

zeroze said:
The data I was talking about is from games and apps (some games, whatsapp, notes, etc.).
I was not talking about system data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
neither was he. hes alerting you to a possible conflict with the data from the galaxy s backups as they were on a different version of android

Ok, sorry didnt know that.
That means that there is no way to restore some game data?
on the galaxy s i was running the CM 10

zeroze said:
Ok, sorry didnt know that.
That means that there is no way to restore some game data?
on the galaxy s i was running the CM 10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He said POSSIBLE conflict. It means maybe and maybe not. Try it for yourself.

-PiLoT- said:
neither was he. hes alerting you to a possible conflict with the data from the galaxy s backups as they were on a different version of android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lingowistico said:
He said POSSIBLE conflict. It means maybe and maybe not. Try it for yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wold like to try, but the problem is that i dont know how.
Thats why i asked for your help. Lets imagine that there were no conflict. How could i transfer data from apps?
Thanks

zeroze said:
I wold like to try, but the problem is that i dont know how.
Thats why i asked for your help. Lets imagine that there were no conflict. How could i transfer data from apps?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Copy the titanium backup folder from your old phone to your new phone. Install TiBu and restore apps&data.
I'd do this by:
1 connect old phone to PC via USB
2 copy Titanium Backup folder from old phone to PC
3 connect new phone to PC and copy Titanium Backup folder to same place on the new phone
4 install Titanium Backup on the new phone
5 restore apps&data
OR
1 in TiBu backup apks and data to SD card
2 put SD card in new phone
3 fire up TiBu and restore backup

lingowistico said:
Copy the titanium backup folder from your old phone to your new phone. Install TiBu and restore apps&data.
I'd do this by:
1 connect old phone to PC via USB
2 copy Titanium Backup folder from old phone to PC
3 connect new phone to PC and copy Titanium Backup folder to same place on the new phone
4 install Titanium Backup on the new phone
5 restore apps&data
OR
1 in TiBu backup apks and data to SD card
2 put SD card in new phone
3 fire up TiBu and restore backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is that TiBu requires root access ...

zeroze said:
The problem is that TiBu requires root access ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you live in EU you can root and keep your warranty.
Also you can root and keep Knox untouched http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/general/how-to-root-triggering-knox-2nd-method-t2843044
Or you can try Helium, it's like TiBu but doesn't need root. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.backup

Backup before Root

I am completely new to rooting and, if I understand correctly, the process of rooting (specifically unlocking the boatloader) will wipe your apps and their data. What can I do, pre-root, to backup my app data? I have Google's backup on, but from what I can tell, it really doesn't do jack sneezle (I assume that's because Google doesn't require app developers to make their app data (settings, login, etc.) compliant with their backup system). Reinstalling the apps isn't a huge deal to me, but having to recustomize ALL my settings and login to everything again is a pain in the keister. Any suggestions? Is there any apps out there to facilitate this transition period? Let me know what you guys think. If possible, give multiple methods, and let me know which one you find the best. Thanks!

I don't know of any way to back up your apps and data without being rooted. I think you are just going to have to bite the bullet. You need root access before you can even access the folders that app data is stored in.

you havent unlocked the bootloader yet..
so probably no way to back up the data beforehand..
[edit]
you can use adb backup & restore commands to back up and restore, but im not sure if its possible to just restore the app data without overwrite the whole device..

Try Helium. Requires a PC.
There aren't many methods to backup on an unrooted phone.