Database Users

Guardian ignorance or lies....

Could someone explain to this guardian writer that app purchases are tied to your Google account and not lost when your phone is wiped...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/dec/25/android-google?mobile-redirect=false
Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk

trinode said:
Could someone explain to this guardian writer that app purchases are tied to your Google account and not lost when your phone is wiped...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/dec/25/android-google?mobile-redirect=false
Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk
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Might have just been a fluke for his phone. Generally incremental updates on the stock ROM/same custom ROM don't wipe anything at all.
The only time the Nexus S will wipe everything is when you unlock the bootloader, as far as I know. I've done several wipes/factory resets, installation of ROMs, NAND backup restores, all without anything touching the SD card partition.
It is not uncommon for wipes to delete your text message history, favorited websites, call logs, apps, et al... that's why it's a wipe. But to touch the SD card partition is very, very uncommon and has only happened to me in the instance mentioned above.

The bit I dislike is:-
"The simple option: don't accept the update. We hope it was a huge mistake that will be withdrawn. But for those who have spent money on apps, that won't be much recompense."
It implies they have lost apps they have purchased....
Bad Guardian, Bad.

Im not going to completely dismiss the article, but it could have been written differently.
It is true though it is not the same thing they are describing but some apps from the market did disappear when 2.3.1 dropped

Was a weird bug. Updates never wipe anything or delete apps. And all app purchases, both free and paid, are tied to your Google account. So even if you wipe your phone, once you re sign in with your account, all apps install automatically, paid ones and all.
You can take all your paid apps with you wherever your account goes. New phone etc.

Factory Reset Protection (FRP) myth -- Lesson for everyone!

I did a factory reset before submitting my device to Samsung repair. But before doing it, to not have any trace of my online/offline data after reset I had to take care of ‘Factory Reset Protection’ (FRP) so that it won't ask to enter my email after reset. I removed the device security locks including fingerprints and also any Google account associated as said by 99% articles over internet (at least in my 30 mins of read thru of Google searches specifically for Samsung & also generally for android). Also had checked necessary options for all of my datas to be synced to Google. But in order to reinforce my knowledge about FRP and how it’s getting triggered I went thru some YouTube videos and articles specifically for Samsung & also generally for android prior to reset. And finally everything was good to go and ready for repair
Got my device after repair and did a reset again for Google to ask to restore my apps from previous backup of the same device. But it didn’t as you can see from the pic attached.
So what could be the reason you ask. When I removed the Google account (primary) for reset process, all the ‘App datas’ (thankfully not my contacts and other stuffs) were cleared from Google servers. Simply to say, the ‘Remove account’ option will tell Google that this device is no longer associated with this account and to delete all Android related datas associated and there is no way you can get this back.
So I don’t know whom to blame. The hundred’s of article over Internet about FRP (example: http://www.androidcentral.com/factory-reset-protection-what-you-need-know )
OR Samsung for not giving any information anywhere in internet or even in the Software (as warnings) [Their only website related to FRP is still down here in my country at least]. OR Google? For not giving any clear information regarding this action.
Anyway there is no use in crying over spilt milk. All I have to do now is manually install all my 83 apps one by one that were previously installed and who knows whether their respective datas can still be synced. There were even circumstances which most of us should have gone thru when the Google not showing yesterday app restore list but 1 week ago in the setup process.
Things like this can very well frustrate anyone if they are heaving depending on cloud. This is just one of the many little things(software, H/W dependent) in Android that may frustrate a user very much. NO WONDER WHY PEOPLE MOVE TO iOS. Because over customizability and all there are some stuffs that matters the most and iOS still excels in that. We geeks know that but it’s the freedom and exploration that makes us forget all those important stuffs.
For those of you gonna say “YOU SHOULD HAVE USED SMART SWITCH, ADB BACKUP, TITANIUM BACKUP OR SOMETHING ELSE” -- when something is meant to work it should work. I even had bad experiences with Titanium backup, could be device specific but whatever it is.
Welcoming all POSITIVE and NEGATIVE comments. LOL.
Running stock TouchWiz with the April patch. Tried a reset without removing Google account and it didn't ask for the mail ID to be entered for verification during setup process. So basically something have changed recently on how FRP works and whatever I've wriiten is what you have to take care of. regarding backup and all. Please share this thread with you friends. .
Will appreciate a thanks.

Thanks for sharing. Seems like a good warning for all of us.
Sent from my SM-G930V using XDA Premium HD app

Sorry to hear of your difficulties. My own frustrations have been building with Android as well. It is ridiculous how much we have to eff around with hidden settings and tweaks to get decent battery life. I am keeping an eye on the iPhone 7 to be honest.
Though apple ecosystem has its own share of frustrations.

Thanks for the info. I too had experience of some backup apps not working as they intended to be. Even Titanium Backup had given me tension when new android version comes or sometimes for no reason. But my go to solution(even without root I believe) is always have been Tasker+AutoInput combo. When nothing works out I just program them both to install apps from PlayStore based on the app list I manually backed up with another app. That's it. Don't know whether that will cause any bad effect on device hardware. Does it?

xxaarraa said:
Sorry to hear of your difficulties. My own frustrations have been building with Android as well. It is ridiculous how much we have to eff around with hidden settings and tweaks to get decent battery life. I am keeping an eye on the iPhone 7 to be honest.
Though apple ecosystem has its own share of frustrations.
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I agree as i mentioned in OP. Sad to see Snapdragon 820 users struggle with battery life by removing un-wanted system packages. This even exists to an extent in my unlocked DUOS version. Google gotta have more control over Android. Hope with Android N this is not just gonna be with updates but also else where. Come on Google it's 2016.

OH gosh. This is an important piece of information. Somebody should link to this info by posting an article in xda-developer.com . Is there any way to reuquest?
Thanks BTW for a warning

Sheryl John said:
.Simply to say, the ‘Remove account’ option will tell Google that this device is no longer associated with this account and to delete all Android related datas associated and there is no way you can get this back
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1) Disable Internet connectivity (wifi, data)
2) Remove accounts, then
3) Factory reset
Google doesn't know that about the removal so app data is still in your account, yet the device no longer has any link to the Google account so it's safe against FRP.
That said, with multi devices (and household members sharing 1 common account as the base account), I don't back app data to Google at all. TiBu has its quirks but I've yet to lose anything with it. On the contrary, I probably have too much back up (who needs Gingerbread apps back ups??? yeah, I still have them LOL).

lost_ said:
1) Disable Internet connectivity (wifi, data)
2) Remove accounts, then
3) Factory reset
Google doesn't know that about the removal so app data is still in your account, yet the device no longer has any link to the Google account so it's safe against FRP.
That said, with multi devices (and household members sharing 1 common account as the base account), I don't back app data to Google at all. TiBu has its quirks but I've yet to lose anything with it. On the contrary, I probably have too much back up (who needs Gingerbread apps back ups??? yeah, I still have them LOL).
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That's the only way it seems for hard reset. But as I mentioned in my OP there is no need of removing the Google account for soft reset. FRP won't be triggered.

Best Way to Back Up All Data and Apps Nexus 6P

I about to redo my phone completely and I still own Titanium Backup Pro, is that still the best way to backup everything or can I simply backups my files (photos, videos, PDF's etc...) and use Google's basic restore apps when I reboot my phone from stock?
I know TB is great but last time I used it, I felt there were some bugs and it couldnt restore some apps which was disturbing. Then in the end, I have no idea what is actually did and did not restore, a real PITA.
It also took forever and felt like it got stuck in some parts.
Are there any downsides to using Google apps restore feature? Not sure if that will also maintain all my game/app data.
I also read some good things about TunesGo Android Backup.

Dathaeus said:
I about to redo my phone completely and I still own Titanium Backup Pro, is that still the best way to backup everything or can I simply backups my files (photos, videos, PDF's etc...) and use Google's basic restore apps when I reboot my phone from stock?
I know TB is great but last time I used it, I felt there were some bugs and it couldnt restore some apps which was disturbing. Then in the end, I have no idea what is actually did and did not restore, a real PITA.
It also took forever and felt like it got stuck in some parts.
Are there any downsides to using Google apps restore feature? Not sure if that will also maintain all my game/app data.
I also read some good things about TunesGo Android Backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Google apps restore has improved significantly since MM. I do keep TWRP Nandroid backups offline, but have not used them in ages. I use Google apps restore for all of my Play Store and System apps, and TiBu for the "non market" stuff... maybe ~30 apps? I zip the TiBu folder into a single file (Solid Explorer) and move it offline. When upgrading from 6-7 or 7-8, I just completely wipe the phone, flash a full image, let Google Play restore from the cloud. Then extract and use TiBu zip to restore the remaining apps. Icing is a Nova launcher backup to restore all the shortcuts and widgets, and my setup is 99% there in under one hour from a complete blank slate. I've also been experimenting with FlashFire to make ADB backups offline. Very slick backup tool, in addition to it's primary use of flashing monthly security updates. I have not yet restored a FF backup via ADB yet... I just keep one recent backup as a precaution. As for your other thread on rooting- I only see the upside. I don't see any downside. Android Pay not working irritates many, but I will never use that so not a concern. Why buy a Nexus if you're not going to unlock and root?

v12xke said:
The Google apps restore has improved significantly since MM. I do keep TWRP Nandroid backups offline, but have not used them in ages. I use Google apps restore for all of my Play Store and System apps, and TiBu for the "non market" stuff... maybe ~30 apps? I zip the TiBu folder into a single file (Solid Explorer) and move it offline. When upgrading from 6-7 or 7-8, I just completely wipe the phone, flash a full image, let Google Play restore from the cloud. Then extract and use TiBu zip to restore the remaining apps. Icing is a Nova launcher backup to restore all the shortcuts and widgets, and my setup is 99% there in under one hour from a complete blank slate. I've also been experimenting with FlashFire to make ADB backups offline. Very slick backup tool, in addition to it's primary use of flashing monthly security updates. I have not yet restored a FF backup via ADB yet... I just keep one recent backup as a precaution. As for your other thread on rooting- I only see the upside. I don't see any downside. Android Pay not working irritates many, but I will never use that so not a concern. Why buy a Nexus if you're not going to unlock and root?
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Awesome reply, exactly what I was looking for thanks!
So u gave a lot of info and I just want to summarize what I should do to redo my phone as cleanly and quickly as possible, but first can you tell me how you personally differentiate the non-market stuff for TiB? Meaning I have like 200 total apps, so just trying to plan a process here.

Dathaeus said:
Awesome reply, exactly what I was looking for thanks! So u gave a lot of info and I just want to summarize what I should do to redo my phone as cleanly and quickly as possible, but first can you tell me how you personally differentiate the non-market stuff for TiB? Meaning I have like 200 total apps, so just trying to plan a process here.
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Lots of tutorials out there on how to properly wipe and install a fresh stock image onto a blank phone. Probably the best example can be found on the Google webpage where you download the full image. I use Google restore for all system apps plus the apps I have paid for at the Google Play Store. I use TiBu only for those apps from elsewhere that are not backed up or restored by Google restore. It's made easy by TiBu because after Google restore is 100% complete restoring everything it possibly can, I fire up TiBu and use the "Restore Missing Apps" option.

Can't wait to see the day where all the apps (Gapps too) stop asking things you already seen or chosen when you do a factory reset or change your phone.
Android Backup and Restore has improved a lot, but still has a long road to go. Probably in the future, you just change the Phone and everything, not just some things, are restored. All the little checkbox you ticked in each of the apps. (With "Settings" app, this is happening a bit at the moment, some settings are restored).
Examples: "Dark theme enabled in Tapatalk" / "Use" or "Background activity disabled for Facebook Messenger lite".

thesebastian said:
Can't wait to see the day where all the apps (Gapps too) stop asking things you already seen or chosen when you do a factory reset or change your phone.
Android Backup and Restore has improved a lot, but still has a long road to go. Probably in the future, you just change the Phone and everything, not just some things, are restored. All the little checkbox you ticked in each of the apps. (With "Settings" app, this is happening a bit at the moment, some settings are restored).
Examples: "Dark theme enabled in Tapatalk" / "Use" or "Background activity disabled for Facebook Messenger lite".
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You mean like with a full Nandroid backup? :laugh:

v12xke said:
You mean like with a full Nandroid backup? [emoji23]
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No that's different... that's a copy of everything in the phone. I'm talking about Android backup and restore.
So you don't need to start configuring alarms, app and everything after you upgrade your phone.
Sent from my Nexus 6P

v12xke said:
Lots of tutorials out there on how to properly wipe and install a fresh stock image onto a blank phone. Probably the best example can be found on the Google webpage where you download the full image. I use Google restore for all system apps plus the apps I have paid for at the Google Play Store. I use TiBu only for those apps from elsewhere that are not backed up or restored by Google restore. It's made easy by TiBu because after Google restore is 100% complete restoring everything it possibly can, I fire up TiBu and use the "Restore Missing Apps" option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhhhhhhh perfect, I didnt see that "Restore Missing Apps" last time I did this but that was a looooooooooong time ago... I was just nervous about using TiB again bec last time it kept freezing and it was an exhaustive process and basically I just gave up, pissed me off on a paid app.

thesebastian said:
Can't wait to see the day where all the apps (Gapps too) stop asking things you already seen or chosen when you do a factory reset or change your phone.
Android Backup and Restore has improved a lot, but still has a long road to go. Probably in the future, you just change the Phone and everything, not just some things, are restored. All the little checkbox you ticked in each of the apps. (With "Settings" app, this is happening a bit at the moment, some settings are restored).
Examples: "Dark theme enabled in Tapatalk" / "Use" or "Background activity disabled for Facebook Messenger lite".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya seems like every app saves differently so thats why I laugh when people are like, whats the big deal, just redo your phone and only takes an hour.... um no. Maybe if you dont do much and use your phone to check email, calls, and texts and a couple of games but for me its an exhaustive process bec even after you think you restored, there are always some things in the subsequent weeks u find that wasnt restored, missing, or settings are all screwed up. Not a life breaker, but ya, someday maybe they will universally code settings the same way so a backup program can do something like what imaging does in Windows, although Android has many more roms and providers to deal with so u may need some additional steps anyways.

Yes it's a lot of work. For me is never an hour. It's like 3 hours after the android welcome assistant and then several days till I open app by app and setup the settings for each one of them.
Sent from my Nexus 6P

thesebastian said:
Yes it's a lot of work. For me is never an hour. It's like 3 hours after the android welcome assistant and then several days till I open app by app and setup the settings for each one of them.
Sent from my Nexus 6P
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Yea that sounds much more realistic... some people try to oversimplify and think they are doing it in an hour but not.... or they just cant tell time.

I still use TiBi pro for backing app all of my apps. It's just quicker in my opinion. Immediately after flashing new images or roms, I just go into batch actions of TiBu and restore all missing apps with data. Takes about ten minutes and all my apps and data are restored.

Dathaeus said:
Yea that sounds much more realistic... some people try to oversimplify and think they are doing it in an hour but not.... or they just cant tell time.
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And I have to add that recently I'm just not rooting anymore...
Currently I have the 6P with open bootloader but just because by bank doesn't support android pay and I don't want to go through this android restore slow process.
Sent from my Nexus 6P

Pain-N-Panic said:
I still use TiBi pro for backing app all of my apps. It's just quicker in my opinion. Immediately after flashing new images or roms, I just go into batch actions of TiBu and restore all missing apps with data. Takes about ten minutes and all my apps and data are restored.
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Click to collapse
You never had it freeze or not restore something properly? That is the one I am most worried about, its a highly frustrating process when an "automated restore" just doesnt finish the job after waiting over an hour, which is what happened last time I used it for my Galaxy S4, tried 3 times too, so I ditched it and used Google restore and dealt with all the settings after manually.

Dathaeus said:
You never had it freeze or not restore something properly? That is the one I am most worried about, its a highly frustrating process when an "automated restore" just doesnt finish the job after waiting over an hour, which is what happened last time I used it for my Galaxy S4, tried 3 times too, so I ditched it and used Google restore and dealt with all the settings after manually.
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Click to collapse
No sir. I've been running TiBu pro on my Nexus 6p since launch. I've flashed almost every factory image/security update after completing a full wipe before each flash, thus removing all of my apps and data along with it. TiBu pulled through every time. I also make sure to do a batch "redo" of all my backups prior to wiping/flashing the device so this way all my apps data are up to date when I restore them. I'd be lost with TiBu!

Does TitaniumBackup actually work at all?

For almost as long as I've been using Android devices (going back to my old Nexus One), I've been reading rave review about TitaniumBackup. I've given it a shot on a few occassions, and I've never been able to get it do anything useful, largely because I was never willing to invest the time to understand the user interface.
I'm now faced with the task of upgrading my daughter's Nexus 10 from the last stock OS release to LineageOS, while preserving her apps, data, settings, etc. I thought that my biggest obstacle would be the locked bootloader (and the automatic data wipe when unlocking it). Fortunately, I was able to root the device with KingoRoot and install TWRP. At this point, I figures that I should be able to use TitaniumBackup to migrate her apps, assuming that I was willing to fight through the UI issues.
Boy was I wrong!
I've now spent the better part of a week trying to get this working. After (sort of) figuring out how to use USB storage, determining that the "create update.zip" function doesn't work at all, and finally, FINALLY, managing to actually restore an app, I find that it hasn't copied any of my daughter's data; all apps behave as if they're newly installed.
What at waste of time and money!

I'm sorry to hear about your experience.
I was a regular user of titanium Backup during the days I spent with changing roms regularly.
I've never used the update.zip feature myself, so I can't say anything about it, however I've never had issues with the app.
The essential workflow is to make a backup and then a restore when on a new rom, both the backup and restore may be done on individual apps or as a batch job for multiple apps.
When you r restored the app, did you select "app only" or "app +data"?
Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk

rufy93 said:
When you r restored the app, did you select "app only" or "app +data"?
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App+data
The issue seems to be that it simply doesn't understand restricted profiles, which is pretty darn sad in 2017.

ipilcher said:
App+data
The issue seems to be that it simply doesn't understand restricted profiles, which is pretty darn sad in 2017.
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Click to collapse
I assume with profile you refer to the mulitiple accounts feature built in android.
I have to say, I have never need to use multiple accounts on my devices, and as such am unfamiliar with them.

Oreo battery sucks...reset? And how...?

My wife and I both have experienced sluggishness and really bad battery life since upgrading to Oreo. Outside of the basics like Facebook, I'm not sure we use anything alike (for example I use NovaLauncher, she uses the samsung default, I use the Samsung text app while she uses verizon messaging and so on). But yet we both have the same issues. So, I'm not going to try chasing apps. I've cleared the cache partition on mine with no change.
So, unless anyone has any other suggestions, I think we need to head toward a factory reset.
The big question though...how do I do this and get all my data and apps and text messages, etc back on the phone?

I think that may help. I did a completely clean install through Odin and have experienced none of those issues really. To me, battery feels about the same
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

You can backup things with Smartswitch which does contacts, messages, images. You should also be able to backup things to the Verizon and Samsung cloud as well.
App settings depends on if the apps use Google Cloud to backup or not. You just have to make sure you've enable that setting in your settings. Go to Settings->Accounts->Backup and restore and ensure the "Back up my data" option is turned on and notice which Google account you're backup up to.
You can select the Google Account option there and look to see what active backups you have enabled and when each app was backed up.
Once you've verified all that, then you can do the factory reset. Come back to the "Backup and Restore" section after you do and make sure "Automatic restore" is turned on. Any apps it could save the settings for will be restored. But be warned: not ALL apps will backup successfully to the Google Cloud so your mileage may vary.
I didn't have to do anything with my phone. I took the update (making sure things were backed up before doing so just in case), and things have been running smooth since. One app was acting a bit flaky but they updated it and it appears to be working correctly now.

iBolski said:
You can backup things with Smartswitch which does contacts, messages, images. You should also be able to backup things to the Verizon and Samsung cloud as well.
App settings depends on if the apps use Google Cloud to backup or not. You just have to make sure you've enable that setting in your settings. Go to Settings->Accounts->Backup and restore and ensure the "Back up my data" option is turned on and notice which Google account you're backup up to.
You can select the Google Account option there and look to see what active backups you have enabled and when each app was backed up.
Once you've verified all that, then you can do the factory reset. Come back to the "Backup and Restore" section after you do and make sure "Automatic restore" is turned on. Any apps it could save the settings for will be restored. But be warned: not ALL apps will backup successfully to the Google Cloud so your mileage may vary.
I didn't have to do anything with my phone. I took the update (making sure things were backed up before doing so just in case), and things have been running smooth since. One app was acting a bit flaky but they updated it and it appears to be working correctly now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will any of those store wifi passwords?

doncaruana said:
Will any of those store wifi passwords?
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Your wifi passwords generally get backed up to Google if you select the proper options for what you want backed up.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

doncaruana said:
Will any of those store wifi passwords?
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Click to collapse
I believe SmartSwitch does.

Just want to put it out there that I had AWFUL battery life initially, Google Music and others using waaaay more battery than normal after the in place upgrade and unbearably sluggish (Settings' search would take 30 seconds of spinning wheel at times) . Once I wiped things are finally butter smooth again Now if we can just get Google to fix Maps' bloat..

I'm also not liking the oreo update. I had just done a factory reset 2 weeks before the update came out (talk about bad timing) so i tried not doing it again. The worst has been android Auto. Is is now unusable slow (on chevy headunit). It used to work great, but i think the combination of new versions and oreo have made it to the point i don't even want to used it. Battery hasn't been good either. I guess it's another reset for me.

you can downgrade without issues since the binary stays the same...