So I've been trying to figure out how to perform post-install actions to my ROM similar to how OEMs do it when you set your phone up for the first time. Here's what I came up with:
This video shows the process of factory resetting your device, booting up for the first time, and post-installing and activating the Xposed Framework along with a module and personalized settings for that module. Please leave feedback on what you think.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fnclv60cj2rwk4a/VID_20140127_135834.mp4
Sweet!
Looks cool, kinda reminds me of Sashimi from the Windows Mobile days.
Could this be adapted to restore other settings, like for example, accounts (email, facebook, exchange and the like)?
miguelfp1 said:
Looks cool, kinda reminds me of Sashimi from the Windows Mobile days.
Could this be adapted to restore other settings, like for example, accounts (email, facebook, exchange and the like)?
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It sure can
This seems pretty cool... But isn't this almost the same as restoring app and app data with titanium backup or ROM tool box pro?
DarkManX4lf said:
This seems pretty cool... But isn't this almost the same as restoring app and app data with titanium backup or ROM tool box pro?
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Kinda.... It's more for ROM chefs who would like to provide an out-of-box experience to their users with pre-defined settings, apps, and more.
This will eliminate the need for all these post-setup instructions that ROM chefs like to include in their OP. It also eliminates the need to store apps in /data/app during flash, because after you factory reset, it gets deleted. This way, you don't need to reflash the ROM and no matter how many times you factory reset, it will set up everything the way the ROM chef intended post-boot.
If I turned it into an app, or found a way to make it more user friendly, end users such as yourself would no longer have to worry about incompatibilities between different ROM versions when restoring things with TitaniumBackup.
Related
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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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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I know, but the question was specifically about TiBU.
I just went from Paranoid Android to CyanogenMod, and expected to have to re-add several apps. If I go from an AOSP ROM back to a TouchWiz ROM, it is treated as a different device, and I get an app list months old. I was pleased to see Android attempting to download my newest set of apps...
However, the sync failed like it does 50% of the time (every app individually fails). Now when I visit the Google Play store, I see my 'new' phone with only a couple of apps installed. I just lost the entire list. Since there's no way to batch install apps with the Play Store, I get to spend a looooong time looking up and reinstalling them by clicking around like an idiot.
Am I missing something? Every element of the story I just described seems like awful design. I'd really not like to resort to AppBrain or something like it. It's incredibly stupid that if the Play Store has some error syncing apps, it makes the new short list the new goal for syncing (so, it won't even try next time).
In short, it would be ideal to have my list of installed apps tied to my account, so that in the event of a problem, I could just push a large "Yes, download ****ing everything" button. Apps that aren't compatible with THIS device can just be skipped I guess. Why is this so hard? Instead I'm going down my 'All' list on my phone, tapping 5 times per app to install them one by ****ing one.
Why don't you just backup apps with titanium and then restore them when you flash a new rom? Titanium has batch commands so it's pretty much one click for each. You can also set up a back up schedule so things are always backed up
Aside from my hesitation to use another app to perform a function that is already supported...
Is Titanium storing the apps themselves, or a list of apps? I really really really do not want to store several MB/GB of data which may or may not be corrupted. If anything, I want to simply store a list of apps, which will all re-download upon restoring the backup.
AndrewZorn said:
Aside from my hesitation to use another app to perform a function that is already supported...
Is Titanium storing the apps themselves, or a list of apps? I really really really do not want to store several MB/GB of data which may or may not be corrupted. If anything, I want to simply store a list of apps, which will all re-download upon restoring the backup.
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Yea it will store all the apps. But if they are working, they probably aren't corrupt.
Also, I have had a few phones over the years linked to my Google account and the play store is never segmented by phone. All my apps that I have been using since my OG Droid show up on my note 2. The times I have let the play store sync my apps they all downloaded fine as long as your screen doesn't turn off which you can force to stay on in the dev settings
I have been using titanium for 5 years now. And have restored my apps literally hundreds of times. Never once did it not work. Never had a single failure. I also have only had the play store re install my apps once. That was the very first time time I flashed a rom back on my droid. That was the first and only time it did that.
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Simply as a matter of principle, I am not concerned with storing the apps themselves. The entire point of the app sync is to keep track of what I have installed. Backing up the apps themselves strikes me as a different goal entirely.
I've had many successful restores myself, but just as many failures. It isn't that difficult of a task... and if it does fail, when every app for some reason (even if it is a legitimate one) isn't installed , there's no way to retry the process. Your new list of synced apps is now the tiny amount that succeeded, the rest are lost to needing to manually reselect. This is absurd.
Multiple phones are definitely treated as separate app lists. I have 5 devices on my Play Store account; each has its own list of associated apps.
This is because every time you flash your phone, or factory reset for that matter, your phone gets a new device ID. That makes it look like a new device to the play store. This will happen anytime you flash a ROM and wipe data. Dirty flashes do not change the ID.
If you use titanium back up, it automatically stores your device ID, so it will prompt you to revert it back the first time opening it after flashing the ROM. This will allow you to maybe reinstall apps through play store, or at least keep the "app list".
I personally think you are being petty about this. It's not Google's fault you are constantly flashing your phone and creating new app ID's.
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I have had the play store fail upon sync before, but it has never failed to keep the list of all the apps I've installed on any device tied to my google account. Strange that said list got wiped for you.
I'd just install a backup app and call it a day. I use Ultimate Backup Pro, by Jrummy. The newest version will sync your apps (a list, or the data) to Dropbox, Box, or Google Drive.
^^^ +1 for this
nrfitchett4 said:
This is because every time you flash your phone, or factory reset for that matter, your phone gets a new device ID. That makes it look like a new device to the play store. This will happen anytime you flash a ROM and wipe data. Dirty flashes do not change the ID.
If you use titanium back up, it automatically stores your device ID, so it will prompt you to revert it back the first time opening it after flashing the ROM. This will allow you to maybe reinstall apps through play store, or at least keep the "app list".
I personally think you are being petty about this. It's not Google's fault you are constantly flashing your phone and creating new app ID's.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
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I'd like to agree that it is petty, or believe the terms of the problem as you describe them.
It isn't petty that a feature is not working correctly. Flashing a phone gives a new device ID, but so does losing it, or replacing it. You're passing off the lack of harmony as my mistake.
The mere fact none of us can find a way to retry the app sync proves my point; this argument alone brings me a bit of closure, because at least I am not the only one with the issue. If you are all happy with backing up actual program data instead of realizing the power of a synced list, fine. To suggest this behavior is the intention of Google, however, is nonsense.
...and one last word: if it were as simple as getting a new device ID upon each flash, surely I'd be able to log in to the Play Store and view the list of apps on my 'old' device, right? How does Google know that device no longer exists? How are the two ideas of "syncing apps, but not across different devices" and "getting a new ID upon flash, then attempting to sync" both able to exist?
Perhaps I'm wrong about all of this, but can you really say using 3rd party software to remedy a failed sync is not noteworthy? I specifically remember myself mocking the idea of avoiding 3rd party software when a user wanted to solve a problem... this is much different. This is a legitimate issue with an existing feature.
AndrewZorn said:
If you are all happy with backing up actual program data instead of realizing the power of a synced list, fine.
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No one said you should backup/restore app data, just the app itself. The app data is actually frowned upon for the most part. Although I have done it numerous times and have never had an issue, but that's a whole different can of worms
But in the end, you do what you want to do.
You are tilting at windmills.
There is a reason everyone uses an app backup program like Titanium or My Backup Pro (those are the two I use). It's the easiest/fastest way to restore apps. Google backup and restore was not intended for 'us' who root. No amount of believing its wrong the way it works is going to change that.
There are apps that will only backup the market link (to your storage) but the only one I know of does not have a one button restore. But it's called App List Backup if you want to check it out.
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I love titanium backup. The fact that I can backup all of my apps and restore them plus restore data, such as the music that's already buffered on Google play music is great. Is a time saver! Imop
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I still feel like you guys are misunderstanding me (mostly, yes, I've tried App List Backup, and it's alright, "Google should already do this better" aside)...
Backing up programs themselves to create some huge file is a completely different thing than maintaining a list of installed apps on Google's servers. Completely different things. You may be willing to say they accomplish the same goal, something I disagree with. Let's stop talking about rooting and flashing, and start considering the idea of a lost/broken/corrupted phone. If the Google app sync worked better (in terms of reliability or feature set), it would be a painless task to have a new phone redownload all apps installed on the old one.
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AndrewZorn said:
I still feel like you guys are misunderstanding me (mostly, yes, I've tried App List Backup, and it's alright, "Google should already do this better" aside)...
Backing up programs themselves to create some huge file is a completely different thing than maintaining a list of installed apps on Google's servers. Completely different things. You may be willing to say they accomplish the same goal, something I disagree with. Let's stop talking about rooting and flashing, and start considering the idea of a lost/broken/corrupted phone. If the Google app sync worked better (in terms of reliability or feature set), it would be a painless task to have a new phone redownload all apps installed on the old one.
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You like to find problems instead of solutions. Sure it's a little bit of work to go down the Google Play list and install the one you want but how often are you planning to break/lose/corrupt your phone?
Backup file size. Backup to dropbox. Backup to your SDCard. Move your backup file to your PC.
Restoring a device to the way it was. Do a nandroid. Use your extSDCard. Root the new phone and restore. Boom exactly the way you left it.
I think you already mentioned that you didn't want to use AppBrain. But that is another potential solution.
I realize you want a perfect native Google solution but we are not the ones who can solve that for you. It would be a nice feature, but I still wouldn't use it. App backup gives me more control with really no downside. And nandroid is a perfect system restore with data intact.
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Silly question...
I have a few Android devices and I play around with them quite a bit - flashing ROMs, etc. - and there's one thing that tends to irk me: When setting up my Google account on the device, there's the following checkbox:
Bring apps, settings and other data that you previously backup up to your Google account
Is there any way to limit this to settings and other data? I've used a TON of Android apps, and there are many, free and paid, that I have no desire to use again.
I know a more robust solution (Titanium Backup, etc.) is better, but I'm not always running with root and I'm not looking for extremely-fine-grain control. I simply want to skip installing apps I haven't used in months!
I know I could simply uninstall the apps, but there are a ton.
I'm willing to uncheck the box if I can get a clear understanding of what I'll be missing if I don't sync. I don't have much time to experiment with it at the moment. For example, I don't remember if known wi-fi networks are synced (compare to Windows 8, which does - if I remember correctly - along with tons of other data)
shawngmc said:
Is there any way to limit this to settings and other data? I've used a TON of Android apps, and there are many, free and paid, that I have no desire to use again.
For example, I don't remember if known wi-fi networks are synced (compare to Windows 8, which does - if I remember correctly - along with tons of other data)[/LIST]
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As for the first point, backup doesn't bring back all the apps you ever downloaded, but -- if all goes well -- just the ones you had on your last install.
Regarding your second point, wi-fi networks; yes, they are backed up.
lyrois said:
As for the first point, backup doesn't bring back all the apps you ever downloaded, but -- if all goes well -- just the ones you had on your last install.
Regarding your second point, wi-fi networks; yes, they are backed up.
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Hmm... that doesn't quite seem to be my experience, but it probably doesn't help that I have multiple android devices active at any given time.
Either way, yeah, still need to figure out if there's a good way to make it selective.
Here I am trying new roms but I know each time I have to reset emails, download apps, set up screens etc.
Is there a short cut/ procedure in order to shorten the hour that it takes me to make the phone how it was.
When I say hour, I mean that I do everything. Staring with running through going the settings list, Xposed program setups, Nova Launcher settings etc
If the answer ends up as no, I'll understand that too
Thanks
pbman1953 said:
Here I am trying new roms but I know each time I have to reset emails, download apps, set up screens etc.
Is there a short cut/ procedure in order to shorten the hour that it takes me to make the phone how it was.
When I say hour, I mean that I do everything. Staring with running through going the settings list, Xposed program setups, Nova Launcher settings etc
If the answer ends up as no, I'll understand that too
Thanks
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Nova Launcher has a backup & restore for your Nova settings and home screens. Titanium Backup can restore your apps and data in batches. It restores my email, messages, Jorte calendar settings, bluetooth pairings, etc. Haven't seen how to restore Xposed yet but there's probably a way.
Titanium will restore the modules as well as all the settings inside. All there is to do is reinstall the xposed installer, and put a check mark by everything you had in modules, then reboot. Good as new!
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I'm not sure how or why because I wasn't doing anything special or extravagant.... But my Bluetooth, NFC, and linked connecting/sharing services uninstalled themselves.
Can anyone please post up the apks/folders for AT LEAST Bluetooth... I could care less about NFC I just don't want to factory reset and redo all my customizing :'(
It's quite easy to backup all your settings etc in various apps & launchers. I switch roms regularly and backup all my settings and restore easily. Sorry I can't be much of a help with apks but resetting isn't so daunting
Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
Thanks for the positive influence Craig I just think it might be easier at this point to try and install Bluetooth, 1 thing go do, instead of free installing all the apps I have...
If it doesn't work out I'll try that!
Caalex said:
Thanks for the positive influence Craig I just think it might be easier at this point to try and install Bluetooth, 1 thing go do, instead of free installing all the apps I have...
If it doesn't work out I'll try that!
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If you are remaining on the same ROM you'll have absolutely no problems backing up and restoring your apps and their data using Titanium Backup. That will save you a lot of time downloading and setting up your apps again.
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Craig_D said:
If you are remaining on the same ROM you'll have absolutely no problems backing up and restoring your apps and their data using Titanium Backup. That will save you a lot of time downloading and setting up your apps again.
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Will that back up custom manually installed dialer, gallery, messaging, file management, etc? Apps that I've overwritten to change?
Caalex said:
Will that back up custom manually installed dialer, gallery, messaging, file management, etc? Apps that I've overwritten to change?
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Yes, it will backup any apps you have installed and already installed apps and their data. Have a Google on how to use it or watch a YT video about it but it's pretty straightforward. It's very useful for "freezing" bloatware. It's a rooted essential app. Even your texts can be backed up and restored with your Samsung account, or more preferably, an app called SMS backup restore.
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