I found I was repeating myself a lot when helping out people new to rooting their Evo. I also found that this knowledge I'm putting into this doc doesn't really exist in one place, but is spread throughout the entire Evo Forum. So below is some information to help out people with backing up their device, some backup tips, some general information on flashing, and tips and best practices for flashing. Hope this helps!!
Assumptions:
This guide assumes you are fully rooted at this point. If not follow any one of the guides in the Wiki that has been stickied on the main page of the Evo Dev forum. My personal recommendation is the Unrevoked. Very easy to use, just read up and make sure your phone is compatible.
To test root type "su" into a terminal. You should get a "#" back. You can use a terminal emulator from the market or ADB. To get ADB up and running follow this guide here. If that seems confusing than take a look at this guide I wrote for Notion Ink Adam Tablet users here. That guide is for Windows users, but Mac and *nix users shouldn't be much more difficult.
Backing up
NAND Backup:
Once rooted you can use the app quickboot to boot into recovery to do a NAND backup. If your ROM doesn't have this app installed, download from Marketplace. Open app and choose "Recovery". Once into your recovery use the volume buttons on the side to scroll up and down and power button to select to get to the option to backup. I have clockwork installed so my screen looks different, but you should be able to find the NAND backup option. This will take awhile so be patient.
Once done you can reboot and continue on as normal. This is an essential step (or using Rom Manager below). If you ever screw up something major or you try a new ROM and want to go back, this will allow you to restore easily and get back to a point where things worked fine. It would also be highly recommended to do one of these backups before doing something major that has potential to break things. Use best judgment here.
Rom Manager:
Even easier than the above is to use Rom Manager. Download it from the marketplace, run it, and let it update your recovery image for you. Once this is done go to the bottom of this app and choose "Backup Current ROM" This should do a full NAND backup. I would recommend buying this app for the other features it has, but it is up to you.
Titanium Backup (TB):
Once you have your NAND backup I would also recommend installing Titanium Backup from the Marketplace (I would also pay for the license because you get better performance and the dev deserves some green for this awesome app!). Once installed open it. The first time it will ask you to update Busybox. Let it and wait for this to download. When done it will ask you reboot app from the notification area. Do this and then wait for app to fully load, two messages should appear, the second one indicates it is fully loaded. Then hit menu and go to the batch section. Choose " Backup all user apps + system data".
This will backup everything on your phone for you to your SD card. This will take a while so go get some coffee and check back in. Do not close the app or turn off your phone, the screen can go blank and you can let it sit, but it will need time to run. I think when the screen turns off it puts an icon in notification that should be updating the progress of the batch. Once done, it should tell you in the notification area. For me it takes awhile with my 228 some elements I'm backing up. Your mileage will vary.
SMS/MMS
I recently came across a thread that mentions using Handy Backup for backing up SMS/MMS messages. I have not tried this app or used it so I don't have any directions to give on it. But I have had people ask and I have seen folks ask in other threads. So if TB doesn't give you enough, try this one too.
Backup to Computer:
I'm still looking for a better method for this one. I'm sure someone has something and if you do please let me know so I can update this section.
Currently I backup files and folders to my local NAS at home after major changes. Incremental changes I let TB handle. This is just a simple process of setting the SD card to storage and copy/paste. Works fine and I have only done this once so far after everything was set to my liking.
You might wonder why this important? Well if you are going to play around a lot with different ROMs and constantly read/writing info to your SD card, it is important because SD cards are not perfect. They can be corrupted and can fail from too much writing of info. It usually takes a lot of work to get one to the point of failure, but I managed to do it with my HTC Mogul so I can vouch that it can happen.
Important folders on SD card:
- /sdcard/clockwork/backup
This will get all backups performed by clockwork. If you grab the entire clockwork folder then you will get ROM downloads and such too. I don't really recommend this as it never takes more than 25 minutes for me to download any image. Plus with a secure NAND backup, you can always restore quickly.
- /sdcard/nandroid
This should backup the folder used by AmonRa recovery.
- /sdcard/TitaniumBackup
Folder used by TB for backing up of apps.
Of course throw in any other folders you deem important. What that is depends on you. Making a backup of everything else probably wont take long too. For me I rarely have more than 7gb of data on my card so backing up takes roughly 30-50 minutes.
All of this may seem like a lot of work, but once done you will have a robust system in place. And will allow you the opportunity to safely play!!
Restoring
Restoring is a simple process but can be time consuming. To speed things up you can pay for the full version of TB, which I highly recommend.
TB
Follow the directions below for what I do after flashing. If you have already read that and are ready to restore then do the following...
Open up TB and let if fully load, you will get two small popup messages. The second one means that TB has fully loaded the OS information. Then hit the menu key and choose batch. Scroll down and look for "Restore all apps with data". Run this batch to restore everything. Keep in mind if you backed up everything and are now changing ROMs that you might run into problems. I have yet to run across issues, but this is just an FYI. Also another reason to have a full NAND backup with Rom Manager. If you run into too many problems just restore with it and problem solved.
Restores and backups take awhile with TB, but are worth the wait. Once done with the full restore you can then do incremental backup and restores in the future.
Also don't forget to open up the apps after restoring and make sure the apps are setup how you want. Then double check with TB to make sure things are fully backed up, just click "Backup all new apps & newer versions". Once done with this reboot.
After a TB restore always reboot. After the reboot go into Rom Manager and NAND backup following the steps above in the backup section. This will ensure you have a full system backup with the settings you want.
Rom Manager
This one is pretty simple. Just open Rom Manager and choose "Manage and Restore Backups". Then choose your backup to restore. If you named the files by date and time you might have to do some guess work, but you should have a rough idea. Once you click the one you want just sit back and wait.
Flashing Tips and Problems
Watch Girls Gone Wild for help with this...
Many people have asked "Why flash custom ROM" or "What are the advantages"? Well I think one of the biggest reasons is performance gain from phone and apps. But for Evo users the number 1 reason should be better battery utilization. This can mean you see same amount of battery life, but with increased phone and app performance, or same performance, but longer battery life.
I think some people might be hesitant because it was one hell of a process rooting their device. Well to those people I say, you are over the mountain now. The hard part is done, flashing is relatively easy. I recommend doing it cause stock can cause some people minor issues and your are missing out on a lot of cool and useful customizations. And if you backup your phone as detailed above, you do not need to worry about losing anything.
Stock ROM with Root (back to defaults) or Completely Unroot:
To flash a stock ROM with root, download one from the wiki of ROMs. Then follow advice in below sections for flashing.
To unroot (This is the "I need to take my phone to Sprint" conundrum...) Follow the wiki link. Or go to HTC's website. Then go to the support section for the HTC Evo. Download the file from them and run it. You will be good to go. And if you followed the backup section above you do not have to worry about anything. Just re-root when you get your new phone or old phone back. And restore.
Also, I recommend taking out your SD card with all the root files on it. No need to bring this up or have to explain things any Sprint tech could easily see. Also if you used Unrevoked Forever you should follow this unroot guide here.
I Just Flashed with no Backups:
Below is what I did before I had Titanium Backup in place and after flashing a custom ROM...
Once booted right after flashing I make sure things look fine, fully sync to Google, then reboot. When I come back from that I turn on WiFi and go to Marketplace and Download section. Any apps I previously downloaded will be in that section waiting for me to download. Download them all at once, DO NOT leave that section before downloading everything, or you will lose that list and it will only show apps currently downloaded and installed.
Once done, open apps and customize to liking. Then download Rom Manager if you don't already have it and follow the above section. Once done with that follow the above section on Titanium Backup. Then enjoy your custom ROM.
Flashing in general:
ALWAYS make sure your battery is at least 50% full. The last thing you want is your phone to die on you in the middle of flashing.
Use Rom Manger and pay for the full version. It is a lot easier and can remove a lot of headaches and problems. If you really want to do it yourself you shouldn't have any problems, this is typically what I do and I haven't run any issues that couldn't be solved yet.
Follow the above backup guides before flashing another custom ROM. Save yourself time and trouble. Also I have read about people using NAND backups to sort of switch between different ROMs. In the short term that shouldn't be a problem, but long term that can make your SD card unstable. Make sure you follow the above section for backing up your SD card to computer.
If changing from one ROM to another it is best practice and almost always recommended to wipe data and dalvik cache. This also will alleviate many issues people run into. And if you follow my backup recommendations then it shouldn't be an issue to do either of these.
If not using Rom Manager, then put the zip of the ROM you want to flash on your SD card, and DO NOT unzip the zip file. Leave it on the root of your SD card as a zip file. Boot into recovery if you are not there already. Find the option to flash from SD card. Then choose the zip file or ROM you want to flash. Wait for everything to flash, then reboot using the option from the recovery menu. Wait for phone to boot. This can take a long time after flashing any new ROM so be patient.
Some ROM devs have other items you can add to their ROM. Follow their directions for flashing those items. Some devs want you to boot first than go back and flash, others allow for you to just start flashing right away with no waiting. Pay attention to the directions on your ROM thread. If you screw something up, try flashing the package again. If things look worse or it didn't work, re-flash your ROM or restore your backup and try again.
Otherwise, flash the ROM following directions above, flash the other packages and themes and items you want, and reboot. All should be well.
Once booted up follow guides above for backing up or restoring. Otherwise if you have problems look below before asking questions. If you can't find it here try searching before asking questions. If you still can't find it feel free to ask for help, but keep the question in the thread for your ROM you are flashing, or if you think it is a rooting issue, in the thread of the root process you followed.
Bootloop Issue:
This can be caused by a few things. For one, make sure you wipe data and dalvik cache before flashing a custom ROM. Even if the dev says it is not necessary do this before flashing a new ROM. It can help with these issues. The only exception here is if you are updating to a new version of the same ROM and the dev says there is no reason to wipe in between...
Also you can experience this if you are not fully rooted. Look toward the top of this guide for rooting advice.
Sometimes the ROM can take a while to boot after flashing a new ROM. Be sure you really do have a stuck boot or bootloop before doing a battery pull and troubleshooting. Give it some time to see if it fixes itself. If you are waiting over 30 minutes for something, you probably do have a legit issue.
Exclamation Point with Android Guy Screen
I got this when attempting to upgrade once. To get out of it, battery pull and put battery back in. Hold down "Volume Down Button" and then press power. KEEP HOLDING DOWN volume down button till white screen (Hboot) appears. Release volume down button. Wait for it scan. If it finds your PC file choose no and also no on reboot. NEXT CHANCE YOU GET remove, rename, or move the PC file from the root of your SD card. Choose "Recovery" from menu using volume buttons and power button to select. Once in recovery, choose flash from SD card and choose your ROM.
If you cannot find an image or do not have one, just go back and toggle USB. Then copy paste ROM to SD card. Keep in mind that you might need to wipe data and dalvik cache before flashing as mentioned above.
Another user commented this screen appeared when attempting to go into recovery from Quickboot app. This might mean the recovery image didn't install correctly, or could mean you do not have a recovery image flashed or installed. If this is the case, follow one of the guides in this wiki link to flash a recovery.
If you need to get out of this screen, just do a battery pull. Your ROM should boot up fine.
Battery Issues After Flashing:
Some have claimed issues with battery after flashing. To try recalibrating click here for Cyanogen's guide.
That's all for now!
I'm sure there is plenty more to add to this down the road, but for now this is all the dumping my brain can handle. Leave comments and suggestions and let's make this a strong guide with the right information to help those in need.
Very nice, hopefully you just saved someone a lot of heartache
Just added a section for un-rooting. Can someone please help me verify this is correct.
Thanks!
Awesome guide!
Thanks for the info in the Simple Root thread.
One question that was unanswered (and per your response I ask it here):
Are SMS/MMS info backed up using Nandriod or Titanuim??
I'm a little confused by which can do this.
Thanks again for the help.
ucf.elk said:
Awesome guide!
Thanks for the info in the Simple Root thread.
One question that was unanswered (and per your response I ask it here):
Are SMS/MMS info backed up using Nandriod or Titanuim??
I'm a little confused by which can do this.
Thanks again for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very good question on SMS/MMS. I think I have noticed that when using Handcent SMS app for sending and receiving SMS/MMS messages they are somehow backedup. I think Handcent has a folder on the SD card.
Otherwise if you are using stock messaging app, I am not sure it TB backs that up or not. If you want to verify this for me and let me know your results I would be happy to update my guide.
webs05 said:
Very good question on SMS/MMS. I think I have noticed that when using Handcent SMS app for sending and receiving SMS/MMS messages they are somehow backedup. I think Handcent has a folder on the SD card.
Otherwise if you are using stock messaging app, I am not sure it TB backs that up or not. If you want to verify this for me and let me know your results I would be happy to update my guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanted to say thanks for the breakdown, and with my experience Tb has backed up my sms when backing up "all system data and apps"
Thanks again OP
epmacman said:
Just wanted to say thanks for the breakdown, and with my experience Tb has backed up my sms when backing up "all system data and apps"
Thanks again OP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great info! Thanks epmacman and thanks webs05 for the great guide!
epmacman said:
Just wanted to say thanks for the breakdown, and with my experience Tb has backed up my sms when backing up "all system data and apps"
Thanks again OP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you using stock messaging app? Or a third party one from Marketplace?
Thanks for the information. About to start this whole process soon so this really helped Just a quick question though, do classes of the sd card matter? Have a class 2 card atm but about to buy a 16gig class 6 and figured I should do everything then.
Reanimatedshad0w said:
Thanks for the information. About to start this whole process soon so this really helped Just a quick question though, do classes of the sd card matter? Have a class 2 card atm but about to buy a 16gig class 6 and figured I should do everything then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, a higher class makes a big difference in speed. Make sure you wipe the new SD card from within the Evo before doing anything.
Dumb question (I'm new to Android):
When switching ROMs, both of which you have a backup for, do you have to wipe, flash the rom, then flash the nandroid backup?
Or would wiping and then flashing the backup work the same?
I have Fresh and Avalaunch's Froyo with all my apps both backed up. I realize it won't save much time, but I wouldn't have to keep both ROMs on my SD card if I could just use the backup to switch.
Thanks for the guide.
elr0y said:
Dumb question (I'm new to Android):
When switching ROMs, both of which you have a backup for, do you have to wipe, flash the rom, then flash the nandroid backup?
Or would wiping and then flashing the backup work the same?
I have Fresh and Avalaunch's Froyo with all my apps both backed up. I realize it won't save much time, but I wouldn't have to keep both ROMs on my SD card if I could just use the backup to switch.
Thanks for the guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you should wipe. the backup will save everything you had on the respective rom
Yes awesome guide thanks, just what I was looking for. Stupid question but when I do a "Backup Current ROM" in ROM Manager, does this also back up texts, apps, games etc?
Thanks again webs
elr0y said:
Dumb question (I'm new to Android):
When switching ROMs, both of which you have a backup for, do you have to wipe, flash the rom, then flash the nandroid backup?
Or would wiping and then flashing the backup work the same?
I have Fresh and Avalaunch's Froyo with all my apps both backed up. I realize it won't save much time, but I wouldn't have to keep both ROMs on my SD card if I could just use the backup to switch.
Thanks for the guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To switch ROM by restoring nand backups all you should have to do is go into recovery and restore the one you want. If you wanted to be safe you could wipe first. As far as flashing that rom before nand backup no. There would be no point of that. The nand backup restores ALL, everything that was on that phone previously. It is a full backup.
huzvi88 said:
Yes awesome guide thanks, just what I was looking for. Stupid question but when I do a "Backup Current ROM" in ROM Manager, does this also back up texts, apps, games etc?
Thanks again webs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it should backup everything. Upon restore your phone should look and act just as it was when you created that backup. The backup system in Rom Manager boots the phone to recovery and does a nand backup for you.
webs05 said:
Yes, it should backup everything. Upon restore your phone should look and act just as it was when you created that backup. The backup system in Rom Manager boots the phone to recovery and does a nand backup for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha that was my next question. Thanks really appreciate it!
huzvi88 said:
Haha that was my next question. Thanks really appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your welcome, and the same goes to everyone else.
I'm an idiot i think and just bricked my phone.
I used revoke website to root my phone I did not do a nand unlock. I then installed rom manager because I wanted to backup the current stock rom. I used the option to flash in something from rom manager and then back up. after that my phone restarted and all I see is a picture of a phone with and exclamation point. am I bricked? anything I can do? sorry I'm a noob.
-U
usctrunks said:
I'm an idiot i think and just bricked my phone.
I used revoke website to root my phone I did not do a nand unlock. I then installed rom manager because I wanted to backup the current stock rom. I used the option to flash in something from rom manager and then back up. after that my phone restarted and all I see is a picture of a phone with and exclamation point. am I bricked? anything I can do? sorry I'm a noob.
-U
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol! You are fine. Fortunately HTC makes their phone tough to brick.
You are at that screen because you only did part 1 of Unrevoked's system. They have released part 2. Follow that and you should be good to go. Post questions on their threads. Good luck.
lol thanks
Is nanodroid backup the same thing as a rom manager backup when you backup the current rom? How reliable are those backups? Is there a way to copy those backups to your computer just in case your phone totally dies?
Thank You,
Denyson
yes these are the same optiions within ClockWorkMod Recovery.
A word of caution, NANDROID does not back up the kernel and modem, so if you flash a NANDROID to a device that has been updated with a new kernel you will be very sad panda.
As far as moving the NANDROID backup files to a PC, it is totally fine - they should be located in /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup directory on your device.
Hey thanks for your reply. I got another question so How do I backup the kernel and modem do I have to use another software in adition to NANDROID? I would like to start playing with different roms but I need to know how to backup everything just in case everything dies on me. Also I'm running OCLF for the one click lag fix. I know a lot of people are having problem removing voodoo lag fix. I did not have any problem backing up mine with the OCLF on. Should I take that off before backing up form now on?
Thank You
Denyson
Hello guys, this is going to be a long post andam very sorry about that. So, I got a Samsung galaxy note2 and I want to install the latest firmware which is version 4.3. Also, I'll like to try some android 4.4 custom rom. Am currently using version 4.1.2. Seriously, i've searched many threads without a satisfactory answer before restorting to start one. Before going on this adventure I'll like to do a complete backup of my original rom so i can go back to it anytime. I've decided to use nandroid for the full image backup (clockworkmod) and titanium for subsequent application and applications data backup. I know what these two apps do but I still have some questions.
1) What's is the safest way to root and unroot my device?
2) what files/apps do I need to do a nandroid and titanium backup and where do I get them?
3) can I keep this backups on my external sdcard, will I be able to access it from external sdcard on recovery mode incase my phone crashes?
4) someone said even after using the nandroid backup, I'll still have to Flash the kernel, what does this mean and how do I do that?
5) I plan using clockworkmod cos it sounds like a good idea. How do I get and use it.
Now I made a mess of myself asking all these questions. I'll still post it nonetheless cos I really need help with these questions or I wouldn't have asked. Thanks in advance guys. Once again, sorry for the long post.
1) any way that has been tested by the device users or devs, instructions should be followed clearly..
2) CWM needed for nandroid backup & Titanium Backup app is needed for data backups.
CWM would be available in dedicated threads for your device.
Titanium Backup app would be available in playstore
3) You can. :thumbup:
4) There are 2 ways AFAIK,
i. adb method to place the kernel inside the device
ii. Zip file flashing through CWM
5) Same answer as for Q2
Hit thanks rather than typing it now Free
Parkourkarthik, thanks so much for your quick response. Sorry to bother you further. About kernel flashing, is it that I'll have to flash the kernel every time I restore from my nandroid backup? I guess I'll have to download the kernel for my device before hand, so where do l keep It so CWM could use it.
adoy005 said:
Hello guys, this is going to be a long post andam very sorry about that. So, I got a Samsung galaxy note2 and I want to install the latest firmware which is version 4.3. Also, I'll like to try some android 4.4 custom rom. Am currently using version 4.1.2. Seriously, i've searched many threads without a satisfactory answer before restorting to start one. Before going on this adventure I'll like to do a complete backup of my original rom so i can go back to it anytime. I've decided to use nandroid for the full image backup (clockworkmod) and titanium for subsequent application and applications data backup. I know what these two apps do but I still have some questions.
1) What's is the safest way to root and unroot my device?
2) what files/apps do I need to do a nandroid and titanium backup and where do I get them?
3) can I keep this backups on my external sdcard, will I be able to access it from external sdcard on recovery mode incase my phone crashes?
4) someone said even after using the nandroid backup, I'll still have to Flash the kernel, what does this mean and how do I do that?
5) I plan using clockworkmod cos it sounds like a good idea. How do I get and use it.
Now I made a mess of myself asking all these questions. I'll still post it nonetheless cos I really need help with these questions or I wouldn't have asked. Thanks in advance guys. Once again, sorry for the long post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for cwm check your device forum and you b=can take nandroid backup and if anything goes wrong you can backup with that
and for your question what all nandroid backup include here is the answer
nandroid backup includes
system partition
cache partition
data partition
boot partition
boot partition means kernel is included in boot partition only so kernel is also backed up in nandroid backup
---------- Post added at 04:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:34 PM ----------
adoy005 said:
Parkourkarthik, thanks so much for your quick response. Sorry to bother you further. About kernel flashing, is it that I'll have to flash the kernel every time I restore from my nandroid backup? I guess I'll have to download the kernel for my device before hand, so where do l keep It so CWM could use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you restore nandroid backup you will automatically get stock kernel because nandroid backup includes boot partition where kernel is found
no need to flash kernel everytime
and you can keep kernel anywhere but if you simply download kernel image file or md5 file you an install it only with universal kernel flasher or adb you cant install that file directly in cwm
it must be a flashable zip to install in cwm to install it
Like the title says, I'm trying to figure out how to make a flashable zip of my phone with all my installed apps, app data and settings included.
I already have a nandroid backup and I already use titanium to back up my apps and app data, but I want to have a flashable zip as another backup incase all else fails.
I also want to be able to flash the zip on my wife's N5.
Can someone kindly walk me through the process or point me in the direction of a good walk through?
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my SM-N920T using XDA-Developers mobile app
re: zip file rom backups
tamelion1117 said:
Like the title says, I'm trying to figure out how to make a flashable zip of my phone with all my installed apps, app data and settings included.
I already have a nandroid backup and I already use titanium to back up my apps and app data, but I want to have a flashable zip as another backup incase all else fails.
I also want to be able to flash the zip on my wife's N5.
Can someone kindly walk me through the process or point me in the direction of a good walk through?
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my SM-N920T using XDA-Developers mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't you think that if it was something feasible and worthwhile to do many of the developers would have
created something like that already after all these years?
The developers have already developed an excellent way of backing up and restoring android phones using
TWRP and CWM nandroid backup and restore functions in their custom recovery mode which everyone uses.
If you don't trust nandroid backups why not do a simple test and make some nandroid backups and restore each
of them one at a time to see if you can find any kind of issues, problems or difficulties with your phone after you
have restored each of the backups one at a time.
Have you ever created a nandroid backup which did not restore properly or know of anyone who did?
Also why not do a bit of research here in these xda forums and threads to see if you can find any posts here by
people who are having any problems, issues or difficulties using or restoring their nandroid backups.
Good luck,
Have a great day!
Misterjunky said:
Don't you think that if it was something feasible and worthwhile to do many of the developers would have
created something like that already after all these years?
The developers have already developed an excellent way of backing up and restoring android phones using
TWRP and CWM nandroid backup and restore functions in their custom recovery mode.
If you don't trust nandroid backups why not make two of them as a test and restore each of them one at a time
and see if you can find any kind of issues or problems with your phone after restoring each of the backups.
Have you ever created a nandroid backup which did not restore properly or know of anyone who did?
Also why not do a bit of reading here in these xda forums and threads to see if you can find any people here
who are having any problems or issues with their nandroid backups after they have restored them.
Good luck,
Have a great day!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I trust in my nandroid backups. The main reason I want to create a flashable zip with everything backed up in it is to have the ability to create a duplicate image of my phone and flash it on my wife's.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 running Darthstalker v8 and Xposed 85.1
tamelion1117 said:
Like the title says, I'm trying to figure out how to make a flashable zip of my phone with all my installed apps, app data and settings included.
I already have a nandroid backup and I already use titanium to back up my apps and app data, but I want to have a flashable zip as another backup incase all else fails.
I also want to be able to flash the zip on my wife's N5.
Can someone kindly walk me through the process or point me in the direction of a good walk through?
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my SM-N920T using XDA-Developers mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well if you really want to learn
here's a simple example of how you can build yourself a rom
http://forum.xda-developers.com/honor-5x/development/custom-rom-starter-template-honor-5x-t3328809
keep in mind you can't use his updater-script and you need to adjust some of the commands to match the note 5
but for the most part all roms are the same
you need:
META-INF <Folder>
boot.img
system.apps.tar.gz
system.therest.tar.gz
and optionally > data.tar.gz
once you have these you essentially have a rom
There's also an app called "zip me" in the play store that will do exactly what I wanted.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=zip.me
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 running Darthstalker v8 and Xposed 85.1
re: backups
tamelion1117 said:
I trust in my nandroid backups. The main reason I want to create a flashable zip with everything backed up in it is to have the ability to create a duplicate image of my phone and flash it on my wife's.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 running Darthstalker v8 and Xposed 85.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want a duplicate image why not create two nandroids and copy one
to your pc then to your wife's phone since you say the phone is identical
which they would have to be in order to use the same backup.
Once the nandroid is on your pc you can simply copy it to your wife's
internal memory then restore using twrp.
I have about 5-6 nandroid backups of different roms for my phone.
Goodluck,
Misterjunky said:
If you want a duplicate image why not create two nandroids and copy one
to your pc then to your wife's phone since you say the phone is identical
which they would have to be in order to use the same backup.
Once the nandroid is on your pc you can simply copy it to your wife's
internal memory then restore using twrp.
I have about 5-6 nandroid backups of different roms for my phone.
Goodluck,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think I was clear in the op. I know how to create nandroids, and yes, I could easily do it that way, but what I really want to do is compile my rom, settings apps and app settings into a flashable zip instead. To further my knowledge so to speak.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 running Darthstalker v8 and Xposed 85.1
Hello again good people,
You may remember me asking questions in this forum recently, thank you again for all those who replied.
I'm back again after waiting for the official twrp to be released and reading all the forum posts in the guides section for the threads about twrpless-root (magisk) and the stickied twrp root guide by Funk Wizard. I am still a bit confused about a couple of things though. And still deciding which way is the best for me now that I still have a stock device. Please correct any mistakes I make.
When I root, in case something goes wrong, I cannot do a system settings -> factory reset. (Because it would softbrick?)
Is this where twrp comes in? Or will I still have to flash a stock image regardless, like I would if I go twrpless?
Is it true that I can make, and restore from a backup I make with twrp in case something goes wrong?
Isn't that something I can also do with Titanium Backup?
Twrpless root seems like it's a lot more easy to maintain with OTA's (download from the settings, reinstall magisk on second partition) than a twrp install would (having to connect my device to my pc and going through the steps again every time an OTA gets pushed).
The main reason I'm asking all these questions is because I still find it hard to pinpoint exactly why more experienced people in these forums favor one way or the other, and what exactly the added benefit would be of twrp in my situation. Personally, I want my phone to be more customizable (black theme, adaway, yt vanced and so on) but keep all the functionality. Banking apps, wifi, cellular and everything.
I'm not going to install custom roms. And a little bit of added ease of use with OTA sounds really good to me.
I have read that the systemless magisk twrpless might be the best fit for my needs, but after hearing your advice from my previous questionthread I decided to wait for twrp. Now twrp official is released and I dove into reading just about everything I could find I have doubts if it is something I actually need. In short I just keep swaying without being able to make a decision.
Sorry for the long post, I hope my questions are clear enough, since it's pretty late when I'm typing this. I just want to be thoroughly informed about all of this, I rather post too many questions and root correctly without concerns instead of having to make an SOS post later when my phone has exploded, lol.
And maybe there will be other newlings who can benefit from this information.
Thanks for reading!
Ok lets first address the types of backups.
Type one is system apps and data. This backup saves all apps (apk) and all data that is stored within the app folders. This is a Titanium backup.
Type two is a Nandroid backup. This backup saves your entire phones data including the internal storage, data, apps, pictures, music, cache, settings, passwords, EFS (encrypted file system) and even the Titanium backups backup itself.
Now let me explain what each of these backups are capable of. First we will start with Titanium Backup. If for some reason you brick your phone and lose all of your data. In order to use Titanium Backup you will have to install your operating system, unlock your bootloader, root your phone, install Titanium Backup and merge your data from wherever you have it to your device and install your apps + data one at a time.
Nandroid backup. Same scenario bricking or losing your data. You can simply fastboot the twrp.img once your phone boots into recovery you can merge nandroid backup point TWRP to the restore location and you have your operating system and all of your data back in place as if nothing happened. You will then flash Magisk back to your device then you would install TWRP clear your cache and once you reboot everything is just the way it was when you created the nandroid backup.
Installing an update with TWRP is as simple as downloading the update and flashing both the update and Magisk, clearing cache and rebooting.
Having TWRP would allow you to wipe and reinstall fresh like factory settings or you can restore everything you backed up.
Make Nandroid backups bi-weekly or monthly so you can always have an updated copy of your data.
Titanium backups I have scheduled once a week with 2 max backups. Why 2? If I update an app and my backup runs tomorrow I would be stuck with an app update that may be broken. This way I have the previous weeks backup to reinstall the app and data with.
Whichever you choose always always always keep redundant backups. One on the phone, one on your computer, one on a thumb drive ect ect.