Develop Bugs

HTC Restore Problem

Hi guys
I recently factory restored my HTC Desire and the built-in backup prompted me to restore my settings, which I did, but for some reason my SMS messages were not restored.
I checked the SD card, and there is a backup there, but of course the files are encrypted. Is there any way to read these files, or to restore my messaging SMS?
Thanks in advance!

Am I right in saying that the backups's hashes are salted with the device serial #? If that's the case then decryption should be quite possible.

I have had the exact same problem today. Had to return my Desire as it was faulty for a straight swap (kept the same SIM and SD card). The SD card has restored all contacts and music, but SMS messages have not transferred over. I've looked at every possible option in the settings but can't seem to see how to do this.
I'd be grateful for any advice or info. Thankyou.

slightly old thread, but relevant to my problem....
have been playing around a lot with my desire over the past week, and managed to delete the wrong nandroid backup and lost all my sms. I have a sense auto backup form a day or so earlier, but cannot for the life of me get the phone to read these - there's no option to restore just backup.
So, tried factory reset from recovery, copied the 'old' backup to the sd, and booted. Nothing was restored. Have tried all sorts of combos to try and get the backup to be read, but no joy at all. Even completely wiping everything, flashing the original rom i was using (modaco 3.1) and restarting, but still sense doesnt see the backup.
I definitley remember it doing it once during all the crazy rom swopping of the last few days, and the sms, wifi key etc all restored, but I can't get it to do it again.
Any ideas about 'forcing' the restore? I know that the backup is handset specific (tied to the serial/imei?) but it should restore on any rom using sense yeh?
all help greatly appreciated
ta.
another small thought, there may be an app idea in here for anyone thats interested - reading the sense backup and applying it by force? i know quite a few people tend to backup their sd card regularly, so it could be useful as a last resort option.

I guess there's not much I can help you but to avoid this problem in the future you might want to use SMS backup (by Cristoph Studer, there are 2 others on the Market with the same name) - backs up your sms's to your Gmail account, works great. I love the Cloud!

I have used sms backup in the past, didn't bother this time as i had the nandroid backup. Kicking myself as I'm usually pretty careful about what files i'm getting rid of, and have got all my sms for about the last ten yrs (minus the 2 months i just lost) for blackmail purposes time to crank the delete button paranoia up a notch again
edit: solved tok everything off the sd card, made sure i had the backup set from the date range i wanted, wiped absolutely everything from recovery, reflashed the rom i was running when the backup was taken & rebooted. the backup was picked up fine, all settings, sms etc back with no problems.
the small trick to getting this to occur seems to be just let the phone sit for a minute when it reboots - i assume that if you go into the setup wizard before the sd card is correctly moutned and read that you bypass the restore. i had done the same procedure to try to get it to restore before and it didn't, the pause to allow the sd card to be read was the only thing i did differently.

I'm having the same issue, I want to restore a back-up from my SD card, but cannot see any way to do it. I've tried a factory reset, but still no luck.
Can a restore be forced? The 2.2 upgrade seems to have removed Settings>Privacy

Same problem here, Froyo won't restore my backup.
I tried to downgrade to Eclair, but the installation failed with "Error 140: wrong bootloader version".
I guess my backup is pretty useless now...

Frojo wont restore settings after hardreset
I asked HTC about this, and here's the answer:
Thanks for your question regarding backup of your device. The former feature backup to SD card is missing in this newer version. This is due to Google, which has developed backup feature in the software, changed the system in 2.2, then back out to their servers instead. This applies to the Google devices, such as NexusOne. When your device is the HTC brand, we have some backup features as before. However, you can take backup in the following way (as with older versions of Android): Contacts: You can save contacts via Outlook when they are created as telephone contacts. For this you need HTC Sync and Outlook on your computer. HTC Sync, see your device's SD card. To open the map, select Mount in the device, your device is displayed on the computer as an external disk drive. Then you find the program through your computer's Windows Explorer, and also integrates it on your computer. You can now sync. You can also download HTC Sync from our website under Support tab. If you use Google contacts they can be retrieved back when you set up your email again. If you have configured an Exchange server, you can also download contacts onto the device again. Calendar appointments: These are transferred in the same manner as contacts. Emails: These can be synchronized over again through your Exchange server, or if you have Google mail. Data files: These can be transmitted via computer Explorer when you select Mount as previously described. You can then transfer your files to a folder on your computer. SMS and MMS: Those you can not backup.
Blueyed1

Way to go HTC.... hurray
The more I learn about Google and HTC's way of handling my data I get more determined to Root my phone to get full access of my phone, and to control what data and in what way that data is transferred to either google or HTC.
When you compare to the way Apple is controlling it's sheep herd, Google is not any better when it comes to data gathering and data sniping.

Blueyed1 said:
SMS and MMS: Those you can not backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTF????????????????????????????

DRMON said:
WTF????????????????????????????
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Backup not possible with previeus build in backup, that is..

[Q] Backing up etc

Hi all. Well I've not rooted yet (just not had the time), and have a stock orange UK ROM with the default stuff! I have searched around and can't seem to find the answer to simple backup questions!
I am having the reboot issues (well documented in another thread), and it's getting worse and worse. even to the extent now that it's rebooting after calls (started out when charging using games, then now I cant run navigation for more than 2 minutes).
I have been told to do a factory reset (not a bad idea TBH). But backups is my main concern.
I have my contacts and calendar fine (not an issue), what I am concerned about mainly is my paid for apps. I have just synced with AppBrain, but will this get my paid for apps back?
Also SMS is the other thing I want to backup, I have installed SMS Backup which backs up to an XML file, which I can read. But read that some people have had problems with restoring, is this true? Or can someone recommend a better app? I am not too concerned with settings, as happy to do things slightly differently this time round, so mainly paiud for apps! Also what happens when orange eventaulyl send me a new phone (which seems to be the resoltuion of the paid for apps?)
I will take the SD card out when I factory reset, but what else should I worry about?
Regards, Martin

I have used SMS Backup and it seems to work fine with me. Not sure if it backs up MMS though, but there is a seperate free tool to save the MMS to SDcard available on the market.
As for your paid for apps, they will show up in the Market once you have perfromed a factory reset and you will be able to re-install without having to pay again. Just make sure that you log in using the same credentials.
The backups I perfored prior to rooting were as follows:
1) export contacts to SDCard
2) backup SMS using SMS Backup & Restore
3) Backup call logs using Call Logs Backup and Restore - I wanted to keep these.
A factory reset should not wipe what is currently on your SDCard, but I cannot hurt to copy the contents to your PC/Laptop before doing the reset.

dcnice said:
I have used SMS Backup and it seems to work fine with me. Not sure if it backs up MMS though, but there is a seperate free tool to save the MMS to SDcard available on the market.
As for your paid for apps, they will show up in the Market once you have perfromed a factory reset and you will be able to re-install without having to pay again. Just make sure that you log in using the same credentials.
The backups I perfored prior to rooting were as follows:
1) export contacts to SDCard
2) backup SMS using SMS Backup & Restore
3) Backup call logs using Call Logs Backup and Restore - I wanted to keep these.
A factory reset should not wipe what is currently on your SDCard, but I cannot hurt to copy the contents to your PC/Laptop before doing the reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this, yes call logs would be cool too! I'm not too fussed with regards to the settings of the phone, gives me a chance to start over! Im not even that fussed on SMS's nice to have a history they're currently backing up to the google mail thing!
It was the apps I've paid for most concerned for, and yeah sounds good that it's tied to the google account, guess that means if/when I get a new phone they'll just get copied over to the new phone, when orange realise that it needs to be replaced... Pffftt...
Many thanks makes sence now (used to the iTunes/iPhone system! WHich shilst walled, does make some things easy! I PREFER DROID THO!)

[Q] First time evo rooter w/ a few Q's

I am pretty new to rooting and ROMs and all that stuff, and today I rooted my htc evo for the first time, and also installed the CM6 ROM. I have a few questions though.
First off, while I was installing the ROM I (thought) I backed up my contacts and other info. Now that I installed the ROM, how do I access my backed up contacts etc?
Also, I noticed there is no android market, how can I fix this?
Thanks guys! This is my first post and the forums have been real helpful.

cody1212 said:
I am pretty new to rooting and ROMs and all that stuff, and today I rooted my htc evo for the first time, and also installed the CM6 ROM. I have a few questions though.
First off, while I was installing the ROM I (thought) I backed up my contacts and other info. Now that I installed the ROM, how do I access my backed up contacts etc?
Also, I noticed there is no android market, how can I fix this?
Thanks guys! This is my first post and the forums have been real helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To get your contacts back go into people press menu and import your contacts, as for the market not being there you need to flash gapps, I'd provide you with a link but I am currently on my phone typing this. Good luck.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Systemfraud said:
To get your contacts back go into people press menu and import your contacts, as for the market not being there you need to flash gapps, I'd provide you with a link but I am currently on my phone typing this. Good luck.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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I tried to import my contacts from SD card, and it scans and then says "Scanning SD card failed (Reason: No vCard file found on the SD card) I don't know why its saying that. Shouldn't my contacts have been saved when I backed up before installing the ROM?

Need more info on what you used to backup your contacts, etc.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

cody1212 said:
I tried to import my contacts from SD card, and it scans and then says "Scanning SD card failed (Reason: No vCard file found on the SD card) I don't know why its saying that. Shouldn't my contacts have been saved when I backed up before installing the ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you can try doing is going into settings and the sync and accounts and try to sync your google account. This should work if you set up the sync. It worked for me int he past.

Systemfraud said:
Need more info on what you used to backup your contacts, etc.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the backup feature on the phone when you hold the power and down buttons.

cody1212 said:
I used the backup feature on the phone when you hold the power and down buttons.
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Click to collapse
I think you are out of luck with the way you are trying to restore your contacts. I don't think you can just pull the contacts out of a nand b/u to restore.
I don't think your completed SOL, you can flash your nand b/u back to your phone, I would think that would restore your contacts. Then you will want to either sync your contacts with Google or export them using the contacts export function.
I can not help you with restoring a nand b/u yet, it's something I haven't done yet.
Hope that helps a little, I'm still new to rooting too...

n00bhackin took the reply right out of my post! what he says sounds like your best bet
restore your backup then export your contacts (or sync them with your gmail account on the phone - I have not done this with mine - and if you had your addresses ported from an older phone then I don't believe this would have been done either unless you synced later)
when you are in your contacts/people hit the menu button - then you should see the option to Import/Export (which I believe you have seen this as your post states you are using this method to try and import them) - however you need to do exactly the same thing and export them from the contacts list you want before you can import them (which this contact/people info would be in your backup)
that will create a vCard file (which I believe is actually a *.vcf file) - also to note when you choose to export it should give you 2 options - to either export "Phone" (I believe this would be your people/contacts) or to export "Google" (which I'm pretty sure is your gmail account) - I just exported both
made as much backup as I could before I have rooted (which hopefully will be soon)
hope that was clear enough

After you get your contacts back up and running, go download Titanium Backup or MyBackup for root users. This will allow to you backup your contacts, calendar, apps + data, etc. Then you can restore them from the Titanimum or MyBackup into the new rom.
I have found this helpful in my limited flashing experience.

I agree, these two programs are must haves...Always backup contacts to google and not phone.

I'm not sure you even have google apps installed. That's how you get the market app and you should have all yurt contacts backed up through google. That way when you sign in on a new rom, it will sync your contacts back to your phone.
Swyped from my gingerbreaded EVO son

you can get gapps from here:
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Latest_Version#Google_Apps
it is at the bottom of the page use the HDPI one for EVO

I have all my contacts stored on my Google acct.
OMFGB EvO

Backing up SMS, apps etc before ROM install...

Hi guys, sorry for the lame question. I feel bad asking because I've done dozens of different ROM installs on all kinds of different phones down the years, but there's always something I've never got.
How do I back up all my SMS's, installed apps etc and restore them after I've done a FULL WIPE and installed a new ROM? (SMS is the main one, I hate losing all those)

spireite_uk said:
Hi guys, sorry for the lame question. I feel bad asking because I've done dozens of different ROM installs on all kinds of different phones down the years, but there's always something I've never got.
How do I back up all my SMS's, installed apps etc and restore them after I've done a FULL WIPE and installed a new ROM? (SMS is the main one, I hate losing all those)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The process I'd suggest you for transferring your data when switching ROMs is:
1. Back up
For SMS's, use SMS Backup & Restore. It creates a backup XML which will be used to restore your SMS's after wiping.
For apps and their data, use Titanium Backup (Requires root).
For calls, Call Logs Backup and Restore. It also creates a backup XML like SMS Backup and Restore.
For contacts, I personally sync them using my Google account. If you don't like this you can use MyPhoneExplorer or any contacts backup app.
2. Full Wipe & ROM install
2b. Root your ROM if it is not rooted already.
3. Install Titanium Backup from an APK or Play Store.
4. Use Titanium Backup to restore user apps and their data. I suggest restoring ONLY user apps, unless you know what you are doing. Now it is also a good time to check which apps you really need to restore, since you may have back ups of applications that you don't need anymore.
5. Restore your SMS's and call logs from their backup XMLs using their respective applications.
6. Restore your contacts by syncing or by using the app you chose to back them up.

I've found some that backup to XML won't work if you have pictures in your messages. So either, save the pictures off, or you can use this app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=backup.email.inapp&hl=en
It uses your Google account to backup and store your MMS/SMS messages. It works great.

How about using LG backup. It can backup both apps and data so I think it can both backup sms and call logs...

LG backup

Hello,
I lost my LG G3 on Friday. Used Android Device Manager but no use. Some stuff on the micro SD but at least they can't get in the phone! Also used location services but still no luck. Had to pay for a new LG G4 but lost some of my photos and contacts. Tried using LG backup but it doesn't even go past 1%. Is it not working? Is there another app I can use to save everything?
I have dropbox and a box account. Can I backup to these?

Dropbox and Box do not need a backup, since they automatically blow everything into the cloud space. Install the apps, login and everything will be there.
For contacts you need to have every contact synced with google and you will have them all back on any new phone.
For the rest, uhm, no root, no backups atm without any work, learn from the adb backup threads all over XDA how to backup stuff.

LG backup works fine for me. I even used it to transfer all programs / settings / files from my G2 to the G4.

Why people don't have contacts synced with Google and photos synced with Google Photos is beyond me.