How do you restore app data without usb & without root? - Nexus 5X Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have an s4 (rooted) and I usually use titanium for my backup/restore when I get a new device. I obviously can't do that (since there is no root yet on 5x) and I don't have a usb-c to usb cable so I cant do something like helium.
How are you guys restoring everything?
(androids built in restore is suck... it only did 8 apps, ha).

You can try using Helium to do this, it doesn't require root access. I'm not sure how it will work with the 5x though since it is encrypted by default

I tried it... The problem with helium is - it does not let me backup lot of apps saying that the app developer is not allowing data backups.

You could try linking a drop box account in Helium. Problem is you need the desktop app and a cable if your phone isn't rooted.

Without root, you can't override the manifest setting that determines if the app data can be backed up. So a lot of apps that contain sensitive data won't allow for data backups. Frustrating for sure, but the alternative is to root the device. Of course doing that requires unlocking the bootloader, which wipes everything anyhow. Chicken & egg scenario.

Related

Question about rooting

I'm trying to root GN but it seems that we MUST unlock bootloader to root.
I know how to do it but just worrying about what will be wipe with unlock, I've just spent whole afternoon setting up this phone and don't want to do it again?
Will I loss:
-Launcher setting? ADW setting?
-Downloaded application? and their setting?
-Do I have to redo all the widget?
I just want to use juicedefender and RE but don't want go through all the trouble again
I think unlocking the boot loader wipes the device. Make a titanium backup first an extract the back up from the sdcard then restore once complete.
dannyfly said:
I'm trying to root GN but it seems that we MUST unlock bootloader to root.
I know how to do it but just worrying about what will be wipe with unlock, I've just spent whole afternoon setting up this phone and don't want to do it again?
Will I loss:
-Launcher setting? ADW setting?
-Downloaded application? and their setting?
-Do I have to redo all the widget?
I just want to use juicedefender and RE but don't want go through all the trouble again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I've seen, Google has programmed the device to wipe the /data partition when the unlock command is executed.
This will wipe all application settings including downloaded applications, widgets and the Launcher as they are all stored on the /data partition.
If you dislike this, Google is the place to file the complaint as this is their standard procedure on all their Google "Nexus" devices.
The only upside will be, once you've unlocked, you'll be able to gain root access and be able to have complete control over the device including full backups of all settings to prevent ever having to re-set them again. Unless of course you start flashing lots of custom ROMs which are imcompatible with each other, but that is perhaps another story.
Hope that helps!
mklass said:
I think unlocking the boot loader wipes the device. Make a titanium backup first an extract the back up from the sdcard then restore once complete.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never used Titantium backup, but many people seem to say a lot of positive things about it. I've also read Titantium backup requires root access.
The Android security structure ONLY allows the root user full unlimited access to the /data partition. Otherwise, each application is assigned a linux UID/GID and only allowed access to their respective directory. According to the Android security structure, no application should be able to access another aplication's directory w/o sharing the same signing key or having root access.
I could be wrong, but I'm definitely certain regarding Android's security structure for "sandboxing" the applications.
Hope that helps clarify!

Backups

How does one do a full backup of their phone? I see no option in twrp for backing up the internal sd card, and i see support for that was removed from cwm back in version 4 ( unless I'm reading this wrong )...
I know I can just copy it off to my pc or what ever, but that's not really a clean solution for doing backup / restores across multiple roms as it will just involve another process and make it so i have got to be at home to swap..
Any solutions?
Depends if your phone is rooted or not, I believe a rooted phone can do more of a "full" backup but what I usually do is backup all my photos and songs with USB to the computer. For SMS apps and app data and system settings and data I personally like two apps - My backup pro and Titanium Backup PRO which requires root. Just visit the apps in the play store to compare. I recommend doing pictures and music manually cause I've had several issues with the backup apps doing my photos as when I restore them they are corrupt

Which is the best app to allow full backup of our device?

Hello, as some of you know, after I used Keis to backup my device, did a factory reset and restored the device, I found that some of the data and files were not backed up. Since Keis cannot do a good job in backing up the device, why do we need Keis? Is there any good app that can do a full backup/clone so that after restoration, the device is like it is before a factory reset? From Helium Wiki, it says that the app does not backup photos nor videos. It also does not backup system files, widgets, device specific apps like s-note or s-memo, contacts, etc.
I usually keep personal things ( documents, photos, etc. ) on the removable SD card, and then use TWRP to do the backing up of the device. Quite frankly, having TWRP backups has saved my bacon many, many times Another option would be Titanium backup, which has been around forever and has a very large user base.
Thanks. By TWRP, do you mean TWRP Manager (ROOT)? I don't know if ROOT means it only works on rooted devices. As far as I heard, Android 4.4.2 on our device does not allow saving on SD card. How do you do that?
Yes TWRP is a replacement recovery which you boot into prior to the OS booting using particular button combination. By loading prior to the operating system it allows for the complete backup of all files (system and all).
Essentially for the best possible outcome with regards to backup and restore it is best to have root which gives you full access to system files for backup and more importantly for restoring which requires the ability to overwrite system files.
One of the reasons I insist on having root on my devices is that I keep a backup of all applications using Titanium Backup such that if I'm ever disatisfied with the way an application update performs (lets say a developer updates their app and the new version has bugs in it) I can always roll back to the prior version if necessary. It's very handy for this purpose.

Question Want to root and unlock - what's the quickest way to get back installed all the apps I currently have?

Question as per title. All my photos, music, videos are cloud based anyway. The only thing I'm concerned about is apps. What's the quickest way to reinstall my apps? Last time I chose to restore from a Google account, it started to install ALL my apps, even ones that weren't installed when I performed the reset (meaning ones I had downloaded but since uninstalled, going back years)
Swift backup
bugac said:
Swift backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that similar to Titanium backup? I used to use that long ago but the interface was horrendous and I never took the time to fully understand it. Is it even still actively developed, and worth learning about? Or has Swift superseded it?
If you value your data always back it up redundantly to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC. Cloud apps can fail you miserably. At least use a second backup method is cloud is the primary.
That includes apps. If you don't keep installable copies they may be lost forever or you will be forced to sideload from questionable sources.
Playstore is not a reliable repository.
Use ApkExport to make installable copies of apps and updates, load directly from the drive.
You want cross platform installable app copies that you can load on most Android devices not just your current one. Apps are critical data, back them up.
APK Export (Backup & Share) - Apps on Google Play
Manage and extract your apps.
play.google.com
They will be automatically reinstalled if your device is synced to google.
Data and configs are lost though...
If it reinstalled old apps then check if it's properly synced.
fdgfgd said:
They will be automatically reinstalled if your device is synced to google.
Data and configs are lost though...
If it reinstalled old apps then maybe if it's properly synced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They might be, but as my OP stated, I've had the situation where it installs more than what was on the device
samwhiteUK said:
They might be, but as my OP stated, I've had the situation where it installs more than what was on the device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take direct control. Nothing like a bunch of unwanted app installs/uninstalls to mess up a reload.
With Google you're not the customer, you're the product.
Swift backup worked a charm, thanks everyone
A suggestion I've read in the past, but have not tried myself, is to use OnePlus's app, now Clone Phone, to perform a backup. The file gets placed in internal memory under "opbackup". Copy the file off the phone prior to wiping it. Put the file back afterwards and perform a restore from within Clone Phone.
I cannot speak to if all app settings are restored.

Question Backup and transfer Data and Wifi/BT Settings

Hello,
since Titanium Backup which I used for years seems to not work anymore, I am now looking for any other possibilities to transfer my apps+app data and also some system settings like wifi passwords/APN data, BT connections and such.
With TB this was always well working for me.
What I have tried:
OAndBackupX -> I enabled "special backups" and tried to backup wifi, but sadly it just creates a new folder for the wifi backup (special.wifi.access.points) with a properties file. However the subfolder, where the backup should be present is empty.
So this solution doesn't seems to work, at least not on my phone with Android 8.
I also tried to do backups of some apps, however it looks a bit strange to backup an app that shows as 25mb and the base.apk which gets created for it is only 9mb (and no other file besides that, although everything was ticked for backup)
How is everyone here doing this when switching from one phone to another (especially for access point data and data of apps)?
Syncing wifi passwords to google cloud I somehow do not want (even if they're encrypted) and the issue with app+app data is still present then.
Annil said:
Hello,
since Titanium Backup which I used for years seems to not work anymore, I am now looking for any other possibilities to transfer my apps+app data and also some system settings like wifi passwords/APN data, BT connections and such.
With TB this was always well working for me.
What I have tried:
OAndBackupX -> I enabled "special backups" and tried to backup wifi, but sadly it just creates a new folder for the wifi backup (special.wifi.access.points) with a properties file. However the subfolder, where the backup should be present is empty.
So this solution doesn't seems to work, at least not on my phone with Android 8.
I also tried to do backups of some apps, however it looks a bit strange to backup an app that shows as 25mb and the base.apk which gets created for it is only 9mb (and no other file besides that, although everything was ticked for backup)
How is everyone here doing this when switching from one phone to another (especially for access point data and data of apps)?
Syncing wifi passwords to google cloud I somehow do not want (even if they're encrypted) and the issue with app+app data is still present then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was the biggest pain in the ass. I tried plugging my old phone into the new phone but my old phone died midway through so I basically just started fresh. it sucks I have been doing it all last night and this morning and haven't finished. I did use sms back up & restore to get my text messages other than that everything is fresh and annoying.
No one else facing issues with backup/transfer? How is everyone transferring nowadays their appdata and access points and such? Really curious....
Got two phones here (Pixel 6 + Pro) waiting for transfers and I am still not sure how to accomplish completely...
Glad about any inputs!
A lot of people are recommending Swift Backup which is supposed to be the successor to Titanium Backup. I haven't tried it myself though.
If I understand correctly, Swift Backup also requires root to restore app data, network settings etc.
The best backup/restore solution I found was Google One's built in. It just works (albeit not as well as, say, iOS, and definitely not up to the level of Swift/Titanium). Without root, sadly, you won't have many options as you're limited to the APIs Google provides, which themselves are limited. Swift works this around by "manually" backing up all the files/folders for every app.
I do have google one, but sadly most apps I would require, get only backed up for the APK but not the data
Is Titanium Backup now deprecated for latest Android? I have Android10 on a car head unit with a very customised oem Launcher. I managed to root it with universal root from here and Magisk (Thanks). Titanium shows me all the installed apps and bloat with sizes - great!. I want to make a backup of an App in the oem system folder before deleting it. I seem to be able to create a backup on mnt/sdcard, but I can't delete the oem app?
I have 2 system folders, System\ and system (root). They appear mirrors of each other and if I go to system(root) /oem/app/*My bloat app, I can delete it with FX root file browser. But not if I go to folders inside System\. Is this something to do with how Magisk roots and can restore to non root by creating a mirror folder? I used TB to make a backup of this bloat app and it worked. But after deleting the app successfully with a file browser the TB backup folder was empty - is this normal? With one pre-installed (Russian!) nav app I didn't need or trust, I recovered 4.5Gb of memory with more oem apps to look at.
For now I can use TB to locate bloat apps I want to remove with a file browser but I really wanted to back them up first and delete from within the app. Is TB trying to delete from system\ where access seems denied, rather than system(root) where I can delete files with a root explorer? Any help appreciated - Thanks
TB is pretty much dead...
i started using Swift.. and also https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...mate-app-manager-debloat-tool-tweaks.4147837/
Thanks, I was guessing that from the age of posts in this thread. I started off thinking I wanted a full Nandroid backup but that requires a customised TWRP partition and AFIK this car head unit with its OE launcher doesn't seem to follow the partition structure I'm used to in phones. It has 3 external USBs and I can't get it to do anything with adb and a pc connected. The USBs are only active towards the end of boot. However, their factory image and unversal root seems to get picked up with the same 'Upgrade' screen messages from the folder Isec_updatesh. I don't know what I'd do if I bricked it, although I have found the OE Boot.img file packed in their update folders.
Thanks for the link to bloat removal. Nandroid backup creates a full rom image whereas most other backup apps seem to only backup apks and not system files. Android car head units are heavily customised with many added hardware based peripherals so a full backup is important to me. Adb might offer a solution, but as I said, even in developer mode I can't get the USBs to talk to a pc which I assume is because there isn't the usual recovery mode, unless it's on button press combos I haven't found yet? There is a recovery to factory reset, but it's an option in their launcher so I'm guessing it's not in the usual Android recovery partition?
OK I took a quick look at ADB AppControl. First I need to establish an ADB link from PC and I'm struggling with that. Second it does what some other non-root apps do which is to hide the bloatware and stop them running when my objective is to take the 16Gb+ memory they filled from 32Gb and recover memory by deleting bloatware and apps I don't need. There's a tendency now to sell these Chinese car head units with all the GAPPS and many more pre-installed. Unfortunely, most require a mobile network connection to function. I'm not interested in their Satnav, Google maps, Facebook or other social media apps they threw in. The one thing going for me now is I'm running AFwall+ which is the best reason for rooting a Chinese sourced device to stop data leaks to them or Google.
As I ran their factory 'update' I could see all these apps getting installed. If I was clever enough to understand how the Android 10 install 'Manifest' (my words) worked, I would prefer to edit out entries for OE apps in their installer, if it was possible?

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