I'm new to the Android thing and even more new to the switching ROM's on a daily basis based on my mood when I wake up. Here's my question. When updating a ROM and wiping the device what do you use/do to ensure you don't have to spend a day to recover your device back to where it was. App icon locations, widgets configurations, etc...
Hi. Im pretty new to Android as well so I can tell you what I do. Now this doesnt mean its correct. I usually make a backup with Titanium Back up. Also before I do anything major I also run a backup with CWM (think thats what its called). This way I can always go back to the previous state.
Titanium Backup for restoring apps
Call Logs Backup and Restore for, well... that one should be self explanatory
Same for SMS Backup and Restore
Restoring system settings and launcher layout is a ***** if you use the stock launcher - a third-party launcher such as LauncherPro can have its settings backed up with TiBu and restored. Some even have their own backup/restore functions.
Entropy512 said:
Titanium Backup for restoring apps
Call Logs Backup and Restore for, well... that one should be self explanatory
Same for SMS Backup and Restore
Restoring system settings and launcher layout is a ***** if you use the stock launcher - a third-party launcher such as LauncherPro can have its settings backed up with TiBu and restored. Some even have their own backup/restore functions.
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Thanks. I was using Go Launcher but it was flaking out regularly. Locker wasn't working, kept prompting when going to the home screen asking for if I wanted to use Go Launcher etc. Finally got rid of it because things were wonky with it. I guess I"m just stuck doing the whole reinstalling all apps and rebuilding my 'ui' whenever I do wipe.
The only thing that I have yet to find a backup/restore for is MMS.
Yes there is ways to actually save the pictures and have them in Gmail but no way of restoring it back into the conversation.
Related
Forgive me if this is a stupid question. Like many others i like to play around with various roms, but hate having to repeatedly reinstall and register all my apps. is there an easy way to backup and restore my apps and settings so i can them back when switching roms?
Titanium Backup: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup&feature=search_result
I paid for the full version, love the dropbox sync and
I posted this in a thread in the Themes section, but didn't get any bite, so I thought I would move it here.
Forgive me as I am new to all of this. I am running BAMF Remix 1.6.3. I have Titanium Backup Pro. I have been following this thread for sometime now and like the different options people have on their phones. After I put a lot of work into customizing my home/lock screen using the widget app's, launcher app's, etc...If I were to flash to a new ROM or flash BAMF 2.x, is there a way via Titanium Pro (something else) to get those same home/lock screens back quickly?
After my other flashes, I have used TB to restore my app & app data, but have been nervous about restoring system data, etc. b/c I don't know if I am restoring something old over something new.
Any help on this?
try it, just back up your rom in recovery first in case it doesn't work
usually a bad idea to restore system data. youre not really going to be able to instantly restore your homescreen widgets, etc. when you create a widget its creates a sort of unique ID for that widget. when you wipe and flash a new ROM, that ID doesnt exist, so the widgets are gone. and even in launcherpro when you restore your home screen, all the widgets just show "error loading." so unless someone else has found a solution, (ive never heard of one) you pretty much just have to bite the bullet and manually recreate all of your widgets whenever you wipe.
Im glad this topic was raised and I can live with re-adding widgets BUT
what I hate is having to log back into EVERY SINGLE app, Facebook, Pandora, Groupon etc etc
How can I safely get all that data back after flashing a new rom? I do have titanium pro, but the one time I used it, it was a nightmare restored crap that wasn't included in the ROM like the WidgetPicker app and caused all kinds of problems
You can load App+Data or Data for the apps from TB
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
Yea just use the batch restore apps + Data. But don't do system data, that never works good.
I back up HTC Sense Home each time and my home screens come out just like I left it, but you do have to re-add Widgets.
Can't remember exact name but it's there in Titanium.
greenfday6 said:
Yea just use the batch restore apps + Data. But don't do system data, that never works good.
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For further education: restoring apps + data restores the applications and settings from apps that you have installed from the market, Amazon, etc. The data & settings are not ROM specific, so they restore well.
Restoring system data has you restoring ROM-related data & settings. Often things are different from ROM to ROM, so trying to restore from 1 to another causes problems. The only system setting I have ever restored was the data for "Bluetooth Pairings", which seemed to work o.k., but since pairing is simple enough, I don't do that either.
Either way, most times that you switch ROMs you will have to redo widgets, even from something like Beautiful Widgets or Widget Locker. Even though you back up those apps & their data, the widgets hook into the ROMs at the system level enough that they don't survive a restore anyway.
gohamstergo said:
usually a bad idea to restore system data. youre not really going to be able to instantly restore your homescreen widgets, etc. when you create a widget its creates a sort of unique ID for that widget. when you wipe and flash a new ROM, that ID doesnt exist, so the widgets are gone. and even in launcherpro when you restore your home screen, all the widgets just show "error loading." so unless someone else has found a solution, (ive never heard of one) you pretty much just have to bite the bullet and manually recreate all of your widgets whenever you wipe.
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That is true for Android widgets with launcher pro, but you can successfully restore any of the launcher pro widgets you use with no problems.
Okay, after much reading and studying I am preparing to get ready to root.
Wondering if I need to back up at all before unlocking. I manually copied over my pics and vids and have exported my contacts.
If a nandroid is felt to be necessary for safety purposes before unlocking then you can disregard the rest of my post, I will temp root and use Titanium (although I am still curious about how the apps install on Android OS). If it's not really necessary then I have more questions:
As far as apps go...
If I don't care about user settings/data of apps does it matter if I back them up or not? I can always redownload from Market right? Or will flashing a ROM break the market ties? I have apps from Market and from Amazon.
When apps install do they put files in different folders like on Windows or do they stay "whole" as programs used to do on older Macs? Just wondering how the back up/restore will work. I have grabbed a lot of apps to try out and there's many that I will not install again once I get a clean phone. So is there something I can use to make a back up without temp rooting? I know I won't be able to do a nandroid, does that matter?
Or is it better and safer to temp root with CleanTool, back up with Titanium and then restore the apps I want after I unlock and root and flash a ROM and kernel? Doing it this way will save all my user data, correct?
Also, I'm not worried about phone settings like what icons I have on my home page etc... I haven't gotten it exactly how I want it yet anyway. Still deciding how I want to set it all up so that it works best for me.
Thanks for any help.
If you want to make a back up of your apps you will have to temp root. Ti backup or Mr backup are good for doing it just make sure you change where they save to the sd2. They start out saving to the sd card which in this phone is the internal which gets wiped.
sent from my cm7 rooted fire
I went through the same thought process you're going through before I rooted (this past weekend). What I ended up doing was exporting my contacts directly from "People". I then just went directly to unlock and perm root. I was expecting to be able to restore my apps and contacts from the market, but to my surprise, was not able to do so. I imported my contacts back, and then proceeded to re-setup my phone by re-downloading apps from the market. Not really THAT painful, and going forward, I have Nandroid and Titanium backups.
You're aware you can do a native screen capture of your present phone screens by pressing power, then home, aren't you?
I temp rooted and used titanium backup. I like to be able to restore data on 3rd party apps only. I use mybackup pro for sms (I only keep 200 per contact, but nice not to lose them), then use google for contacts, calender, etc.
Although you can always backup your apps and data using these programs, anytime you flash a new ROM, it's best to install all of the apps fresh and not restore data from a different ROM (such as the stock ROM). Since I know you want to use Ineffabilis, you might want to use Titanium backup or something to just backup the apps, not the data on those apps. Makes things much better.
EDIT: Also, you can't do a Nand backup without a recovery installed, which requires the phone to be unlocked and perm rooted. You can always backup your apps and data with temp root, but a true Nandroid backup is something that you can't do until you have perm root.
WasabiWa83 said:
Although you can always backup your apps and data using these programs, anytime you flash a new ROM, it's best to install all of the apps fresh and not restore data from a different ROM (such as the stock ROM). Since I know you want to use Ineffabilis, you might want to use Titanium backup or something to just backup the apps, not the data on those apps. Makes things much better.
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Does anyone happen to know if Words with Friends stores data on my phone or if it's stored on their server since it's between two different people or how I can tell? I'm kicking my bro's ass in a game right now so I DEF don't want to lose that. One day he WILL RESPECT his little sis!
DIncLover said:
I went through the same thought process you're going through before I rooted (this past weekend). What I ended up doing was exporting my contacts directly from "People". I then just went directly to unlock and perm root. I was expecting to be able to restore my apps and contacts from the market, but to my surprise, was not able to do so. I imported my contacts back, and then proceeded to re-setup my phone by re-downloading apps from the market. Not really THAT painful, and going forward, I have Nandroid and Titanium backups.
You're aware you can do a native screen capture of your present phone screens by pressing power, then home, aren't you?
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Market knows you've bought apps though so it's no problem to re-download paid apps, right? I have this thing about doing everything fresh on computers so I might just do the same on this baby.
Also, I'm not concerned about my phone screens, I haven't set them up enough to care.
feralicious said:
Does anyone happen to know if Words with Friends stores data on my phone or if it's stored on their server since it's between two different people or how I can tell? I'm kicking my bro's ass in a game right now so I DEF don't want to lose that. One day he WILL RESPECT his little sis!
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Hahaa, too funny. I'm pretty sure that's all over the network. I reinstalled the app after flashing Ineffabilis and just had to sign back in to get all my games back. Hence the fact that you can continue games on Facebook and such.
feralicious said:
Market knows you've bought apps though so it's no problem to re-download paid apps, right? I have this thing about doing everything fresh on computers so I might just do the same on this baby.
Also, I'm not concerned about my phone screens, I haven't set them up enough to care.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
paid apps show up on your acct but free ones don't and you have to search for them. If you are looking for just an app backup, app monster pro works well for this and can do apk backup for most apps (some are protected). Just set it up for old style back up, doesn't require root.
WasabiWa83 said:
Although you can always backup your apps and data using these programs, anytime you flash a new ROM, it's best to install all of the apps fresh and not restore data from a different ROM (such as the stock ROM). Since I know you want to use Ineffabilis, you might want to use Titanium backup or something to just backup the apps, not the data on those apps. Makes things much better.
EDIT: Also, you can't do a Nand backup without a recovery installed, which requires the phone to be unlocked and perm rooted. You can always backup your apps and data with temp root, but a true Nandroid backup is something that you can't do until you have perm root.
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I've never had any problems restoring data on 3rd party apps. I never restore system apps/data.
nrfitchett4 said:
I've never had any problems restoring data on 3rd party apps. I never restore system apps/data.
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Ah, touche That's right. I forgot it was just system apps that you want to stay away from regarding data. I just always do a clean install on all apps when I install a new ROM anyway.
I am an avid fan of Titanium backup since I'm a data-packrat. But, occasionally when upgrading ROM versions I have Force Close issues when I restore, and this I know can be caused by restoring things that 'shouldn't be' restored. I would like to know how to correctly restore with TiBu, what things can be restored, and what things I'm going to have to just face resetting up.
Below find a list of things that I really would prefer to be able to backup and not have to redo every time:
Contacts
Call Logs
SMS Log
Home Screens and widget/shortcuts
Wifi settings
Bluetooth pairings
Android OS configurations
User App backup and restore, I know, shouldn't be a problem at all.. It's the things integrated in to the ROM that are problematic. I would appreciate any guidance on how to go about figuring this out as I hate the FC issues that I occasionally run in to.
All those are system-related functions and should never be restored across different ROMs.
Use this.
SMS Backup & Restore
Call logs Backup & Restore
Sync contacts with Google.
For launcher you have to redo it to avoid problems unless you use a custom one like GoLauncher where you can backup.
As for - Wifi settings, Bluetooth pairings...I am not exactly sure.
Miami_Son said:
All those are system-related functions and should never be restored across different ROMs.
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Click to collapse
True, but there is other methods of backing them up safely.
Thank you for the responses so far. Just for reference I will not ever under any circumstances sync my contacts with my google accounts, that has, in the past, just lead to an INSANELY large contact list.
I have an application called: Super Backup: SMS & Contacts that can backup the Call log, Contacts, and SMS history and sucessfully restore them just fine. I just prefer an integrated solution and not having to backup a dozen different things with a dozen different apps.. that is what Titanium Backup is _FOR_ is it not?
I appreciate the thoughts so far and ask this, In TiBu various items in the app list have different colors. Green, white, red.. Are those indications of 'Safe to restore' vs 'Not safe to restore'. Or are they more 'integrated in to ROM' vs 'user app'?
I hear what you're all saying about 'only restore user apps across roms'.. But resetting wifi config, android config options, etcetcetc every time is frustrating at best.
You should try enabling the setting "I'll add contacts myself" in gmail. That solved my problems at least. After that, just cleaning up the existing contacts was all I needed to do.
LiLChris06 said:
True, but there is other methods of backing them up safely.
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Click to collapse
I know, but the question was specifically about TiBU.
Here is the problem. I've been using custom ROMs since they became available on S3. Most of this ROMs recommend doing a WIPE prior to flashing via CWM for a clean install. It was ok but then I noticed that my Facebook App, Messenger and even inlcuding the built-in Email app doesn't give me any notfications whatsoever. But if check the said apps, new messages and alerts are there, the only difference is there are no LED Notifications and No Tones and No Alerts even at the Pull Down Notification Screen. I have checked the app's settings regarding sync and everything is ok. I tried both this methods, restoring apps from Titanium Backup and restoring the app's apk files which I managed to save thanks to Android Assistant. I even tried uninstalling those apps then downloading them again from PlayStore, only to encounter the said issues.
What can I do about this? Since then I was forced to just directly flash the ROMs without any Wipe.
System settings?
So does that mean you have checked the system settings as well?
Yes I did
Beastify said:
So does that mean you have checked the system settings as well?
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Click to collapse
Yes. I've checked everything. Quite strange actually
Yeah I came across this problem as well, but my email notifications and everything all show up except facebook. Whenever I get a notification for facebook, it is only through email and not through the actual app itself. It doesn't bother me that much but would be great if someone had an idea how to fix.
Any updates on this?
I have an original SGS, but always go through the same problem whenever I clean install a new ROM.
I've found out that if:
- I restore app+data from Titanium Backup -> No notifications
- I install app from Play Store, then restore data from TB -> No notifications
- Complete fresh install of app from Play Store -> Notifications work.
Such a pain having to follow this method, and makes me wonder if something is going wrong when TB is restoring.. food for thought anyways, hope this helps!
TheLach03 said:
Any updates on this?
I have an original SGS, but always go through the same problem whenever I clean install a new ROM.
I've found out that if:
- I restore app+data from Titanium Backup -> No notifications
- I install app from Play Store, then restore data from TB -> No notifications
- Complete fresh install of app from Play Store -> Notifications work.
Such a pain having to follow this method, and makes me wonder if something is going wrong when TB is restoring.. food for thought anyways, hope this helps!
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Data from another rom can mess apps up, if you restore data via titanium its probably from a different rom so that could be messing things up. Or the data in titanium could be corrupt download all apps from play store, and delete the titanium the backup folder and re backup see if that fixes it.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
delsus said:
Data from another rom can mess apps up, if you restore data via titanium its probably from a different rom so that could be messing things up. Or the data in titanium could be corrupt download all apps from play store, and delete the titanium the backup folder and re backup see if that fixes it.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
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That certainly makes sense, cheers for the heads up!
Another question, something that probably won't work but makes me curious.
You know when you update nightlies, and it gives you that screen when you boot saying 'updating apps'? What is that process doing, and would that correct the data in any way?