Database Users

[Q] Best way to switch builds and not loose everything

I am looking at switching builds but dont want to have to reinstall everything post the new build install on my sd card.
What back up system do people recommend, and do any actually allow a full backup/restore that will work?
If not then i will have to reinstall everything, but that seems a really long winded way about switching builds!
Thanks

I save the data .img file from the current build. Then I copy the new Android folder on the root of the mem stick. Then I put the data .img file from the old intall back in the new folder.

The above suggestion doesn't always work. If you're going to a completely different build then it may cause problems.
I use Titanium Backup Pro. It does cost, but not much and allows a full backup and restore of all apps and data.

i just use the free titanium backup to backup all my apps. google sync for contacts and then all i have to do it set up a couple of things like wifi and it work

I used to use the free version, but the last restore I did had nearly 200 apps in it, and you have to click "install" and then "ok" for every app with the free version. The paid one does it without you needing to do anything - that's the only reason I paid for it. (Oh, and it can freeze apps too, which is good for finding out what would happen if you uninstalled an app.)

Useful Tips for using Titanium Backup for newbies

Quick Tip for using Titanium Backup
1. Backup "application widgets". Once you restore your launcher, restore this and reboot so that your widgets will work and you don't have to reconfigure your home screen widgets (which would say "problem loading widgets" otherwise).
2. Backup "accounts" to remember the fact that you have "allowed" access to your google account for various apps (mainly google apps and any app that accesses your google account). This is also required to remember your facebook and skype passwords.
3. Backup "LogProvider" for the call log. A lot of people think call logs are backed up by "contacts storage" but they're not.
4. "contact storage" backups your speed dial
5. "dialer storage" backups your SMS/MMS. After you restore you need to reboot for it to take effect.
6. No need to backup "calendar 1.0". Just calendar 1.1. (this backups the setting not the actual content provided that you sync with google)
7. Most settings in Setting cannot be backed up (ie. Voip account, wifi hotspot ssid, ringtones, volume, etc). Simply re-enter them.
8. After upgrading your rom version or migrating to a different rom, before you restore, for "system" apps, make sure you check each one to see if the version has changed. If so, don't restore or you will probably have force-closes down the road. This is especially true if you move to cyanogen or miui, don't restore system apps at all.
9. Generally you don't need to save system apks unless you plan on uninstalling them to experiment instead of freezing.
10. Don't backup/restore "market" settings or you'll lose market links to your apps. In fact after you restore all your user apps you won't see all of them linked in the market even if titanium backup is set up to remember the links. Just use titanium to clear the market user data, restart market and you're ready to go.
11. Titanium backup does not save your default programs. (ie. DEFAULT browser, dialer, and for different file types).
12. Let TB save the settings to sd card. The next time you install TB you won't need to install the "pro" app. It remembers.
13. TB does not remember what apps are frozen. So after a reinstall, you need to refreeze whatever apps you want to freeze.
Other things good to know:
If you migrate to a new rom, although titanium Pro has an option to attempt to restore system apps to be compatible, try only restore user apps just to avoid force closes.
If you have a fixed set of apps you know you want to freeze, create a filter containing these apps. If you install a new rom, you can freeze all of them all at once without having to go through each.

Can you expand on what you mean in point 1.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Scenario:
I have, say, go launcher or touch wiz as my launcher, I put widgets on my home screen like weather, google search bar and maybe a music player widget. I can use TB to backup my launcher, which would supposedly backup where these widgets are located on your home screen. However after reinstalling the rom, if I restore my launcher without restoring "application widgets", the place where these widgets are supposed to be will show "problem loading widgets". And you would have to remove these problematic widgets and recreate them.
So when you backup your launcher, backup "application widgets" as well. When you restore, restore both of them. And preferably after restoring, reboot before you go back to your launcher
By the way "application widgets" is an actual backupable item in TB (shown in green)
Is this making any sense?

Thanks and yes you are making perfect sense.
Many times I've had to delete then replace widgets from my launcher after restoring using TB so I'm interested in where in TB to find this option.
I'm probably looking right at it but just can't see it. Can you steer my in the right direction in TB?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Nice to learn new things, especially the widgets, hate having the "problem loading widget" all the time.
Thanks for highlighting these.

Ok found it.
It's an item in the app list called "application widgets" with the TB icon next to it.
Cool thanks never noticed it before.
Great tip.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Having a Problem
Ok so I am tring to do an Extract from CWM Backup...
Just Flashed Jugg. 2.0 everything is running great!!!
But TBP is just stuck at Restoring 0% on my first program... I have even followed their help page. cleared the market memory... What am i doing wrong please help...
T-mobile - SGH - T989
ROM: Juggernaut 2.0

Bardouns said:
Ok so I am tring to do an Extract from CWM Backup...
Just Flashed Jugg. 2.0 everything is running great!!!
But TBP is just stuck at Restoring 0% on my first program... I have even followed their help page. cleared the market memory... What am i doing wrong please help...
T-mobile - SGH - T989
ROM: Juggernaut 2.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you enabled USB debugging and UNKNOWN sources?!

yes on both
---------- Post added at 08:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:16 AM ----------
Ok... Don't know WTF... but its working like lightning now... have no idea... didn't do anything except download google text to voice... weird

Been using it for years and didn't figure out the speeddial backup. Good post. A couple thoughts in general as far as backup strategy.... IMO freezing is better than removing system apps because space is not an issue with the sgs2 like it is with some (older) phones. Swap a lot of roms and sooner or later your are going to either on accident or purpose delete something you shouldn't have and then have to restore. Going down the list and freezing them only takes a minute and is readily reversible with the same end result. If you must be rid of them freeze them first and give it a few days for any oddness to show up. Then uninstall.
Agree on restoring system apps. Always a good way to get odd behavior or fc's and the like. Normally there is no need anyways as the new rom has the same system apps in it and most of the settings can be remembered elsewhere. I do back up system apps though in case I want to grab an apk that isn't in the new rom.
Also IMO its a good idea to copy the entire contents of the internal sd over to the pc after doing a nandroid and ti backup. This way if things go to hell you have everything. The process I use is to do a ti backup and then nandroid in recovery. I mount while still in recovery and copy everything over to a folder on the pc. Now I have all my pics, everything. I use the external sd for music and other items that I know will move from rom to rom so that I don't have to hassle with them. Do this and your covered in every way if you have problems with your ti backup or nandroid. Both can happen sometimes. Also if your phone dies, goes missing etc at least you have a backup as recent as your last rom swap which for us is probably not too long ago. lol I keep the most recent two backups and delete the oldest as I make new ones with each new rom. This only takes a few minutes extra during the rom swap and if you need it you will be glad you have it.

Thank you for tips!

Very helpful. Been using TB for a while now but did not know all the details!

thanx for your efforts...
got some useful tips. I thought I know TB, but I didn't.

Nice write-up!
Any advice on what to do when you try to restore an app and it tells you "problem parsing the package"?
Seam to happen more often with apps that did not come from Android Market or Amazon Appstore...

Very good guide and not just for newbie's.
Thank you.​

App Folders i nApp Draw
i cant seem to figure out where the folders in the app draw are actually stored. i tried to do a restore from a previous rom (apps only, widgets ect) but im not sure where to go for app folders, thats if it will even do this for me.

Many Thanks...
...to the OP & others for this thread & the tips in it ;-)
Just rooted yesterday & ran TI backup. Have run it again incorporating the tips in this thread. Very good suggestion to copy the lot over to PC as well.
Also, people should remember to make a copy of their EFS file & keep that somewhere safe off the phone (keep a copy on your external SD card as well).
Everything I've read so far suggests you're royally boned if you trash your EFS, so making a couple of copies & keeping them in various spots (one on the external SD/one on PC) makes sense to me. Hellcat's kTool does a bangup job & is a nice little app to have handy ;-)

Hi everyone. If someone can give me the confirmation about the following:
1. is Titanium backup saving the settings for the backed up app or only the app itself?
2. are social hub, readers hub, game hub, talk, IM, safe to freeze or unistall cos I don't use that?
3. When you freeze the app, is the icon gone or it stays under "menu"?
4. is Email app safe to freeze/uninstall or I need that for using Gmail app?
I'm on stock 2.3.3 + CF-Root-SGS2_XX_OXA_KH1-v4.1-CWM4 for now.
thank you and regards.

Thanks - very helpful to have more information.

3. Backup "LogProvider" for the call log. A lot of people think call logs are backed up by "contacts storage" but they're not.
This was really helpful. Thank you.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

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.

[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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?

quick question about restoring

Hey Note'ers!
I am currently on 5.1.1 TekHD custom rom. If I wanted to flash, say Beanstalk - 6.13, will I be able to restore the messages up to exactly the same place I have it now using TB? Will I get all the attachements etc.... ? I understand the setting probably cannot be restored, but that is easily reconfigurable, but does TB restore all apps WITH their respective data between different versions of ROMs? Are there any specials steps to do it?
I just want to make sure before I make that step. Thanks!

before you do anything, make a backup in TWRP.
Titanium Backup is supposed to be able to carry over messages, but this is why you should have a backup. TB is notorious for being a bit squirrely between different ROMs. i would do some research first on google before risking it. you can always revert to backup, though.

panxpany said:
Hey Note'ers!
I am currently on 5.1.1 TekHD custom rom. If I wanted to flash, say Beanstalk - 6.13, will I be able to restore the messages up to exactly the same place I have it now using TB? Will I get all the attachements etc.... ? I understand the setting probably cannot be restored, but that is easily reconfigurable, but does TB restore all apps WITH their respective data between different versions of ROMs? Are there any specials steps to do it?
I just want to make sure before I make that step. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use xml format for messages and call logs. I move between roms frequently and use tibu for user apps and messages/call logs.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app
---------- Post added at 09:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:20 PM ----------
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

messages as in texts? or messages as in email?
For texts, I use SMS backup and restore from the play store. Make sure you select to save attachments/emojis and all those things you want. It will create an xml file which you should store somewhere safe. You then use the same software to restore the messages.

goofball2k said:
messages as in texts? or messages as in email?
For texts, I use SMS backup and restore from the play store. Make sure you select to save attachments/emojis and all those things you want. It will create an xml file which you should store somewhere safe. You then use the same software to restore the messages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I forgot about that. That is a good solution as everything else is pretty much backed up online those days. Thanks man.