Q: Backing up SGS3 - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have a stock I9300, un-rooted and up until 3 weeks ago had been happily using ADB and Samsung Kies to backup my phone.
Then the wonderful thing called Kies 3 happened - and since then I've not managed to get a single backup out of it.
It seems to backup some things but my applications it fails on yet won't tell me WHICH application is causing the issue (or if it's just Kies being Kies).
I'd like to be able to take backups of everything on my phone - something like Kies + ADB together, I know that with my phone being un-rooted, that application settings/data will not get backed up - I'm not sure what else wouldn't. But I'd rather not root my device.
What I'm asking for are recommendations for a SINGLE backup solution that would allow me to backup my phone to my PC, so that that can be included in my PC backups.
It's probably asking a lot just to find a single solution for this, I'd be happy with 2 solutions to achieve my aim as long as both of them worked together and backed up to the PC.
I'm happy enough to keep using ADB, except ADB doesn't backup SMS/MMS and ADB's Restore functionality is not at all granular - it's more like a 'my phone is boned, restore the entire thing' rather than restoring part of it.
If you recommend that I root my phone in order to get the single solution backup then I'd be happy to consider it. (If I were to root my phone, would restoring it or upgrading firmware be an issue from that point on - assuming I didn't want to use anything but stock firmware?)
Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated, I'm going to take a look at Helium and see what that can do for me, although I'd prefer a PC-based backup solution.

Unrooted try Helium .

JJEgan said:
Unrooted try Helium .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just tried Helium, it didn't work well - the desktop client/web interface never appeared in my IE10 or Firefox 25, so couldn't actually backup to PC. Another concern with it was it didn't explicitly say it backed up MMS, only SMS.
Does it do both?

arkane78 said:
I've just tried Helium, it didn't work well - the desktop client/web interface never appeared in my IE10 or Firefox 25, so couldn't actually backup to PC. Another concern with it was it didn't explicitly say it backed up MMS, only SMS.
Does it do both?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea i don't use it .

Related

[Q] Can you restore settings/contacts/data without Kies?

Ok so i rooted my phone, installed Custom rom (checkrom Revo) and theme, flashed with custom kernel. And it seemed to improve the issues i was having, which i believe are network related not phone related. Carried of course denies that.
Anyway my brother asked me to do the same to his SGS2 as he is having the same issues. Now i have a couple of questions about this.
1) Firstly once i root the phone and install the custom Rom KIES does not recognise the phone. I do a factory reset because its going from 2.3.3 to 2.3.5 firmware. Is it possible to update all the previous information like what KIES backs up (contacts/settings/gallery/ etc etc) without the use of KIES?? I dont want to do a restore with CWM as that takes it back to previous ROM/Theme. I just want to restore all the user based settings that KIES can backup and restore.
2) I made a backup with CWM just in case, because of the KIES not connecting i restored the backup, reflashed the stock carrier firmware and stock kernel. It now connects to KIES but it has the "this device is not supported for firmware update". Ive looked in the forums and cant seem to find a solution, usb debugging is off, ROM and kernel are both stock. I am in Australia and with Telstra and i dont think they have even released 2.3.5 yet so my main concern is finding a solution for Question 1, if i can then updating via KIES is not overly important.
Thanks in advance for your help.
1. Yes you can backup and restore those things without KIES. I recommend titanium backup which can backup all the apps and most settings.
With the stock contacts app you can backup your contacts on your sdcard.
The pictures you have made are stored on your sdcard by default, so you don't have to back them up (Tough I would recommend it too).
2. Have you checked the drivers? Uninstall and reinstall them. Try switching USB debugging on and off.
I hope that helps. I don't like KIES and I believe you can understand why. I do not use it anymore, since I flash custom ROMs and there are several other apps to backup and restore like titanium. You should also search the market for other backup apps, but titanium seems the best for me.
Schindler33 said:
1. Yes you can backup and restore those things without KIES. I recommend titanium backup which can backup all the apps and most settings.
With the stock contacts app you can backup your contacts on your sdcard.
The pictures you have made are stored on your sdcard by default, so you don't have to back them up (Tough I would recommend it too).
2. Have you checked the drivers? Uninstall and reinstall them. Try switching USB debugging on and off.
I hope that helps. I don't like KIES and I believe you can understand why. I do not use it anymore, since I flash custom ROMs and there are several other apps to backup and restore like titanium. You should also search the market for other backup apps, but titanium seems the best for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that, i just wanted to make sure, my phone im not worried about, but i would prefer not to lose all the stuff my brother has put on his.
And yes i can understand why, i hated the program from the first time i installed it. Its horrible to use and it cant decide whether it wants to recognise a phone or not.
Brother, I have backup from Kies, Now kies is not recognizing my note2, and I have no titanium backup, So how will I be able to restore the backup I currently have in my PC from Kies to my mobile without Kies...
Schindler33 said:
1. Yes you can backup and restore those things without KIES. I recommend titanium backup which can backup all the apps and most settings.
With the stock contacts app you can backup your contacts on your sdcard.
The pictures you have made are stored on your sdcard by default, so you don't have to back them up (Tough I would recommend it too).
2. Have you checked the drivers? Uninstall and reinstall them. Try switching USB debugging on and off.
I hope that helps. I don't like KIES and I believe you can understand why. I do not use it anymore, since I flash custom ROMs and there are several other apps to backup and restore like titanium. You should also search the market for other backup apps, but titanium seems the best for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] Easy way to restore apps/user data after flashing ROM's?

I am new to HTC devices, coming from Motorola Droids. I have read a lot of the info here but still have a few noob questions. I am currently running RezROM 1.5 and like it a lot. But I would like to get the OTA update for the new radio and I would also like to check out some of the ICS ROM's.
So question is: Is there an easy way to restore user data and apps after flashing ROM's? Many of the ROM's I see suggest or require full wipe and often recommend not restoring anything. I have had problems restoring data (both on Motorola and HTC) with Titanium backup.
Thanks!
TahoeTexan said:
I am new to HTC devices, coming from Motorola Droids. I have read a lot of the info here but still have a few noob questions. I am currently running RezROM 1.5 and like it a lot. But I would like to get the OTA update for the new radio and I would also like to check out some of the ICS ROM's.
So question is: Is there an easy way to restore user data and apps after flashing ROM's? Many of the ROM's I see suggest or require full wipe and often recommend not restoring anything. I have had problems restoring data (both on Motorola and HTC) with Titanium backup.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The apps part is easy. Backup your /data/app/ somewhere before changing ROMs. Then drop it everything back in /data/app/ afterward. All you're backing up though is the installed application, not the data. Data is not recommended across many ROMs so I don't even think about it.
I've tried a few ways... but ultimately. I just deal with resetting everything up the way I want.
I've used MyBackup. It does alright. Takes forever if you have a lot of SMS messages. And it doesn't exactly get all of your system settings either. I also had a problem where I factory reset, re-installed all my apps. and then ran MyBackup restore to get the home screens back in order and while it did, none of the app buttons worked. So I had to replace everything, but at least I knew where things belonged I guess...
Eitherway, haven't been that impressed with any of the backup/restore things as of yet. I'm feeling bold enough to say there isn't a SlamDunk solution out there that'll work for everyone, but the ones that do exist might do enough for you to be happy.
The best way I have found by far is to use the app "App Monster Pro".
You can have that app made a BU copy of the APK for all your installed apps to a folder on your storage card. Then, after a ROM flash you just go to that folder & click on whatever APK's you want installed for the new ROM & you get a completely clean new install of everything in no time.
That way it a little slower than a TI batch recover, but the difference is it works 100% right 100% of the time (something TI & My BU Pro NEVER do)
It doesn't restore text messages, but I never had any desire to do that anyway (it always cracked me up when I had my TouchPro 2 & people would post I just restored 4200 text messages to my new ROM & now my phone is freezing constantly when texting, what do I do??)
I just use ES File Explorer to backup my apps, as for data, for me, my critical data are my contacts, so I just sync those up with my google account.
I second AppMonster Pro for just apps. I love that as soon as you download an app it makes a backup of it so you never have to think about it. And when restoring it's easy on the eyes, unlike TiBU which I find I have to search around a lot before I find what I'm trying to restore. Still I use three back up systems - AppMonster Pro, MyBackup Pro and Titanium Backup Pro - just in case so if one fails I have others to turn to.

phone may be replaced, need to backup for the new one

my phone crashed during a billiard game and now the screen shattered, it's fine cause i have warranty but i don't know if they'll change the screen or replace the phone so i need to know everything is backed up.
i have a backup with titanium, and cmw and i know they both save the backup in the sdcard but does they can restore the information to a new phone? i just need to put the sdcard in the new one and titanium will restore the information?
second question, i have a lot of reminders in the "notes" widget that i can not remember, can i run the phone in a virtual machine in the computer even just once to see what i wrote there? i really need those notes.
thank you very much, sorry on my English and all have a good day and a great weekend
Yes. You should be able to restore your CWM backup to your new phone. You won't need your Ti backup as the CWM backup is a 'snapshot' of your phone at the time you took the backup.
the thing is the CMW backup is a bit old, can i restore the TI in a new phone?
what about getting the notes back?(i need them before the phone will be fixed)
OK. Think about what a CWM backup is & what happens when you restore one.
When you restore a CWM backup your phone (all of it; app settings, etc) will be restored exactly as they were when you took the backup.
The Ti Backup might restore OK to a different phone, never heard of anyone on here trying it, so you're only going to find that out when you try it.
As long as the version of CWM you use to do the restore isn't too far away from the version you used to take the backup, it should restore OK. If it doesn't, you might have to flash a kernel with the same CWM version you used to make the backup (to make a certainty of the restore working).\\
You can use ADB to pull stuff off a phone with a broken screen. Lots of tutorials about same on here/elsewhere (search).
dvirginz said:
the thing is the CMW backup is a bit old, can i restore the TI in a new phone?
what about getting the notes back?(i need them before the phone will be fixed)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you very much, new question, can i somehow backup (a cmw backup) the phone without the screen?
do you know in which folder the notes widget and the info of what i wrote is in the sdcard?
i've opened the phone on the coputer, but no folder contains the info for the notes widget, where the phone contains it?
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/7629/13531407120489.png
ty
edit:someone knows something like that to the S2? it will help me a lot with backing up and reading the notes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEeHaszOMi0
i managed to get the notes via kies but can't open them, someone know a way to open .smm files in the pc? can't find nothing on google

[Q] Kies Backups?

Hi,
My first post to the forum, long time lurker but now I actually have a question or two.
I have a samsung galaxy s3 (blue, 16GB), it is totally stock, has the XELLA update as well.
Whilst reading the thread regarding dying S3's, it got me thinking about my own S3 and what I'd do if it died.
Of course, I have Kies and MyPhoneExplorer, I use both to do the same task that the old Nokia PC Suite used to do (I've come from Nokia S60 phones).
My concern is, despite backing up via Kies, I read in the above thread, that Kies shouldn't be used for backup as it doesn't do a 'proper' backup.
(I've tested Kies backups myself and didn't spot a problem, but I've never tried to factory reset my phone and then restore everything from Kies)
Given that I do not want to install custom ROMs or root my phone in any way, is Kies suitable for backups or should I be using something more comprehensive?
If I should use something else - what should I use?
Ideally I want software that sits on the PC itself and backs up to my local drive, I don't really want something that sits on the phone unless it's really good.
Ideally, all I want is some useful software that allows me to backup my phone content, SMS/MMS/Contacts/Apps/App Settings/Phone Settings, maybe music and ringtones too. Most other parts (such as calendars/notes) are sync'd from a local Outlook install so these get overwritten upon sync anyway.
Does anyone have any ideas?
A78
Root your phone, install custom recovery and make a nandroid backup. Nothing beats that.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Oomahey said:
Root your phone, install custom recovery and make a nandroid backup. Nothing beats that.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whilst I'm grateful for the suggestion, I don't want to root my phone. Especially as it works perfectly well as-is. I'm happy to keep it as stock, however if you're telling me that the only way to get good, reliable backups of everything with my phone is to root it, then that doesn't bode well.
Why include software with a phone that suggests it can backup the phone, when in-fact it cannot.
i came from Nokia e72 with symbian s60 too. Kies backup is not up to my expectations. And myphoneexplorer is fiddly with its backup function. I was reluctant before rooting my phone, but I'm happy that I did it with cf auto root, it allows me to use titanium backup which is very good.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Kies questions try a a Kies or Samsung forum is what i would do .
No root then XDA does not exist .
jje
I wouldn't worry about it. If you've been lucky enough to get a kies backup, that'll do. I never got that far (and my s3 died)
I can't really root either Would love to. Rooted my desire the second it wasn't my primary phone. Barclays banking and sky go are two apps which don't like rooted phones and I squarely blame them, app-security shouldn't be compromised by root access. Nevermind, so I'm in your shoes too...
While ensuring my wifes (already swapped S3) doesn't lose anymore data if it goes again (hurry up fix).. it got me thinking about what she'd really loose and it's not that much...
Apps (can be re-downloaded). Your kies backup should have got the appdata (I can't be sure of this). Edit: I have successfully backed up many apps data settings without kies by using an 'adb' backup. You just need the Android sdk. Not all apps can be backed up this way (it also allows you to violate settings in their sqlite dbs), better than nothing though.
SMS (can be backed up using many Play Store apps)
Contacts/Chrome bookmarks are all stored by google
Kies can be used to ensure your Internal Memory doesn't contain any photos/music/movies/downloads that you want to keep (copy to sd)
Alot of apps which stored data on the internal storage were manually copied/pasted to an sdcard folder for safe-keeping.
and then there's probably not a whole lot else that you can't configure via system/in-app settings to avoid using internal storage and opt for sdcard/online instead.
I haven't got my phone back yet so I don't know what i've yet lost... don't want to think about it, at least wifeys happy that if hers goes (again) she wont loose much of value.
Edit2: A helpful XDA member detailed the adb (whole system) backup process: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1420351
What I was looking for, was a single application or tool that would backup the entire phone, absolutely everything ideally.
But I suspect I won't be able to do that without rooting the phone, and even then - the backup application itself would probably need to be ON the phone and couldn't necessarily backup to the computer itself (unless I copied the backup from the SD memory to hard disk).
I know the old nokia software did back up pretty much everything and I'm sure Kies backs up pretty much everything, but if my phone were to die or be lost somehow, I want the ability to restore the backup entirely and be back to where I was (or as close as possible), so I don't need to set up apps again or their settings or set the phone settings back up etc.
Is all of that asking too much? (I use an equivalent of Ghost on my PC to back it up, that covers literally everything, just wondering if I can do a similar task with my phone)
arkane78 said:
Is all of that asking too much? (I use an equivalent of Ghost on my PC to back it up, that covers literally everything, just wondering if I can do a similar task with my phone)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. It does seem like a glaring omission. I've never gotten Kies backup to complete successfully.
What do u want to backup?
Sync contacts with google. Save ur DCIM photos in a new folder named I9300 and music and other stuff from sdcards
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
UncleBeer said:
+1. It does seem like a glaring omission. I've never gotten Kies backup to complete successfully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I'm now doing is a Kies backup and an ADB backup as documented in a link earlier in this thread.
The Kies backups come in at around 270-290MB each, but the ADB backups come in at around 1GB each, so am wondering if perhaps doing an ADB backup once a month would be a better idea.
At least that way, I'm pretty much covered in the event of device failure or theft
Appreciate you confirming your backup approach. As with any new backup method, of course, it pays to test your restore strategy before you really need it
Good luck and if you do manage to do a test restore, let us know how it goes.
PS: I hadn't mentioned it because it conflicts with your (imo very reasonable) goals, but, the only backup I've ever fully trusted is the nandroid backup(s) I have of my rooted desire That's as close to a 'ghost' image as possible.
arkane78 said:
What I'm now doing is a Kies backup and an ADB backup as documented in a link earlier in this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hatless said:
Appreciate you confirming your backup approach. As with any new backup method, of course, it pays to test your restore strategy before you really need it
Good luck and if you do manage to do a test restore, let us know how it goes.
PS: I hadn't mentioned it because it conflicts with your (imo very reasonable) goals, but, the only backup I've ever fully trusted is the nandroid backup(s) I have of my rooted desire That's as close to a 'ghost' image as possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So a nandroid backup would literally clone everything as some kind of dump file?
I've told the ADB backup to cover shared storage as well as storing all APKs (excluding system ones), but what strikes me as odd is that my internal memory has used around 1GB and SD memory is around the 600MB mark, yet the backup is only 1GB.
I'm hoping between a monthly of ADB and a weekly Kies, I'll be able to get 90% of my phone back in operation if anything were to happen to it.
It's the same kind of strategy I use on my PCs here at home, except with them I know I can literally take a 'copy' of the entire system, including data.
I know the Kies restore works, but I don't know if the ADB does, I guess I should try it at some stage. Maybe when I do my next Kies backup
Question
I want to know if I back up all my data with kies from s3 (4.1.2) after that i update the phone can i restore the saved data with kies?
So i want to update the phone via odin so i have to do a factory reset and all the wipe,that would delet all my stuff so i saved the data i need,after update can i restore to the phone if the data i saved was from s3 (4.1.2) and the restoring woud go to s3 with 4.3 jellybean?
Thx

Is it possible to fully backup an Android phone and then restore it?

- There a several apps everywhere with promises like "make a full backup of your phone within minutes". Most of these apps do nothing else than backup some SMS, contacts, pictures etc... That's not a full backup!
- There are also methods that just don't work or impossible to restore. I tried THIS method for example, but no one ever explained in details how to restore the backed up data. They say that method is for experts only (?!). I suppose there isn't even a way to restore it because no one ever explained.
- There are apps like Titanium backup with which you can backup apps (if your phone is not rooted) or apps + all their settings and data (if your phone is rooted). That's a great app, but it's still not a full backup. If my system goes mad: boot loop for example, or recovery mode destroyed, or both recovery mode and normal mode are ruined... In that case Titanium Backup is completely useless and won't do you any good. So that's not a full backup either.
- There are apps like TWRP and CWM. These apps are allegedly able to make a full backup of your phone. I unfortunately NEVER had the opportunity to try them out because none of my phones were ever supported by them. (they are not on their "supported" list). I had about 15-20 Android phones, tablets etc... none of them were ever supported by them unfortunately, so please do not recommend them for me as a solution!
So I'm looking for a solution like Macrium Reflect for Windows PC. With that software you can make a full backup of your OS with a few clicks and and restore it with actually a single click, which I find ridiculously cool. I always use this if I have problems with my Windows and works every time.
Is there a similar (WORKING) method for Android phones?
I'm willing to pay if it's a paid app. I just want to know if making a full backup of an Android phone (then restoring it) is really possible at all, or is just a legend? Is it possible for average users or it's only for Linux programmers and experts?
I found a lot of solutions (mentioned above), but whether they are only partial backups or just don't work at all.
So to be clear I repeat: I'm looking for a solution for my rooted Android phone with which I'm able to FULLY backup my phone with all data on it, even system settings (not just some partial SMS-Photos backup joke app).
My phone is Lenovo Phab Plus with Android 5.0.2 on it. It's rooted. I'm not a programmer, nor a Linux god, so please if you recommend a solution be clear and make it detailed.
Solutions such as "just install dxdxc and send it through ssef and then push via sdrf, then re-loop into sstt4" will not work for me. If you mention an app, please provide link to it and describe how to use it.
Thank you in advance!
Since no one was able to answer my question, I answer it myself:
It's impossible. All the solutions are just a myth, nothing else. TWRP and CWM might work if you have one of the few devices on their list that are supported.
If you don't, then you'll never be able to fully backup your Android Phone just the way you would do with your Windows PC.
Thanks everyone for the zero contribution!

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