Database Info

What are the chances I can recover my contacts?

I rooted my captivate, backed up everything (I thought) I was supposed to, and then downloaded and flashed over to Cognition. It all worked pretty flawlessly, I customized everything the way i wanted on my home screens and restored all my apps... and then I realized all my phone numbers were gone.
I've tried every strategy I can find for recovering them except flashing back to my backup, which I remember reading might work. I'm not sure that will work either, and I don't want to go through the hassle of undoing all my work if it's unlikely to save all my contact info anyhow.
So I guess I'm hoping for some kind of miracle here... is there any way to recover these that I may not have tried? I thought titanium backup would preserve them, or at the very least I thought syncing my google account would but neither seems to have worked - i've scoured the backup files I made but can't see which of them might contain that information, if any.
Sorry for the lengthy post - just want to cover all my bases to save time for responders. I apologize for asking an all-too-often asked question also, but nothing I've searched and tried seems to work for me.
Any help out there? Thanks.

If you still have the stock contacts app and you synced with AT&T before, try and resync it. As a general rule, I always export my contacts to my sd before doing anything.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Nitroburner77 said:
If you still have the stock contacts app and you synced with AT&T before, try and resync it. As a general rule, I always export my contacts to my sd before doing anything.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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hey thanks for the response. i did not sync with AT&T, only google. But that didn't actually work I found out too late.
If I have to re-build my entire contact list then so be it, but if there's anyway you think flashing back to my old setup might restore them (or i could extract that data and import it into my current setup) - I'd much rather do that.
I just don't wanna flash if it's not likely to work.

What app did you back up your system with?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Always, always, always, copy all your contacts to your SIM before you do anything like this to your phone. You might lose the formatting, but you will always have them.

insaneturbo13 said:
What app did you back up your system with?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Well, I used clockwork recovery after rooting. then i installed titanium backup and thought i made a backup of everything on my phone - but when i restored them after flashing cognition, the contacts didn't come along.
I am not sure if that's where my mistake was or not. I thought I had them backed up with my google account if nothing else, but that didn't take either. (I just got the phone about a week ago, hadn't messed around with much on it before i started playing right away)
But regardless, do you think there's anyway I might be able to recover them?

craftsy21 said:
But regardless, do you think there's anyway I might be able to recover them?
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there is a slim chance that if you flash back to stock 2.1 and restore your titanium backup that your contacts would be there, my theory is that the differences in 2.1 contacts storage and 2.2 contacts are in a place that tb wont restore them to there correct places. someone please correct me if im wrong...

miztaken1312 said:
Always, always, always, copy all your contacts to your SIM before you do anything like this to your phone. You might lose the formatting, but you will always have them.
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Thanks, I learned my lesson now. I thought I was following the procedures given all the reading I had done before starting, but I guess I overlooked this part or it wasn't specifically harped on enough. If only I had known I could be so happy right now with this phone.

insaneturbo13 said:
there is a slim chance that if you flash back to stock 2.1 and restore your titanium backup that your contacts would be there, my theory is that the differences in 2.1 contacts storage and 2.2 contacts are in a place that tb wont restore them to there correct places. someone please correct me if im wrong...
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If it makes a difference in your thought process, I actually installed the eclair version of cognition. The top selection on the right hand side of the ponack.net page
Although maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying.... as I said, I just got my first android phone a week ago, I've done a lot of reading the last week and could very easily be confused here on something simple.

if you flashed the eclair version then that voids my theory.

insaneturbo13 said:
if you flashed the eclair version then that voids my theory.
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Well at least that takes care of one thing. Still not sure if I should try flashing back.
I guess I don't need most of those people's numbers any longer....

craftsy21 said:
Well at least that takes care of one thing. Still not sure if I should try flashing back.
I guess I don't need most of those people's numbers any longer....
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yea this is the perfect time to clean out some of those old contacts lol

Root

Ok so I'm wanting to root my inspire. What all do I need to do this? I dl'ed bubbys dl. How do I back my phone up? All my contacts and pics? Lost them once, not wanting to do that again. Titanium backup, do I need it? Paid or free version? Bare with me here, this is my first Android. Been an iPhone user since they came out but it seems its a lot easier to hack them then it is my inspire. I searched around but didn't really see any answers. Thanks in advance

Personally, I'd recommend attn1's Ace Hack Kit over Bubby's, since you'll need it if you ever want to go back to stock s-on, and it has some functionality that bubby's doesn't. I know for backing stuff up, Dropbox works really well. I use that for pics/vids AND contacts (menu>export>move to dropbox folder). I don't think that's the best way to do contacts, but I have never lost one. Titanium Backup is more for apps, but aside from saving you the effort of reconfiguring apps that have logins/preferences or whatever, there isn't much benefit over just reinstalling them from the market.

Ok so with his I cannot go back to stock if I would need too. Didn't know that, thanks. Ill have to find that download then and maybe try that out. Is it as easy as his method? I know there is a YouTube video I watched of his way and seems fairly easy.

And can I use a Mac to root with attn1 way?

#1: The videos are outdated, but "The Effen Manual" that attn1 includes is as easy to follow as it gets.
#2: I don't know, I don't use a Mac, but if you read his thread, I'm sure someone has answered that question.

Yeah I just googled attn1 and saw that he had said the vids are out dated and to read the manual. Also there is a link for osx so ill try that. If it don't work ill just run to best buy and pick up a netbook lol

vdubguy83 said:
Ok so with his I cannot go back to stock if I would need too. Didn't know that, thanks. Ill have to find that download then and maybe try that out. Is it as easy as his method? I know there is a YouTube video I watched of his way and seems fairly easy.
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I don't know that it's necessarily true that you can't go back to S-On if you use bubbys tool to root.
I'm pretty sure there's been instances of people doing it, though it may be that you have to use the hack kit at that point.
Inspired Ace 1.0.1¦ XDA Premium

Once you use bubby's you can go back to stock. But yes you do have to use the hack kit to do so. Both give you the same s-off. Bubby's just pushes the commands to your phone in the background instead of you doing it yourself.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

I just used bubby's this morning, have never rooted before and it was rather easy and didn't take too long.
I had to do it twice, however, bc it wouldn't find the SID, stating something about my HTC drivers, so I used a market app to get the code. (Excuse my lack of terminology knowledge!!)
Although I should have, I didn't back up everything; only my images (which I just dropped to my desktop); after successful root everything was gone so I went through the settings "wizard" and made sure to log into HTC and within a few hours my contacts and messages were back.
I didn't want my apps back, so not sure how you back that up.
So I had all the stock apps plus ROM manager and superuser.
Now off to play around some more
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

the only problem i have with rooting my phone is actually downloading the hack kit or bubby's one click method. i've turned off all the right things but still nothing. any advice?
thanks

I still didn't root, sorta backed out last night haha. Wouldn't know why I would need to go back to stock once rooted but I guess all is possible. I don't really care about losing my apps, ill just redownload then, its just my pictures and contacts I'm worried about losing. I think I'm going to use bubbys root tonight and see what happens. Thanks for the info. Also there are a bunch of apps I don't use on the phone is there a way to freeze them after root besides getting titanium backup pro? Or does that seem like the best way?

Plus I have a 2gb sdcard. Should I use this one for gold card? And do I need a mobile terminal app for root? If so which one?

vdubguy83 said:
I still didn't root, sorta backed out last night haha. Wouldn't know why I would need to go back to stock once rooted but I guess all is possible. I don't really care about losing my apps, ill just redownload then, its just my pictures and contacts I'm worried about losing. I think I'm going to use bubbys root tonight and see what happens. Thanks for the info. Also there are a bunch of apps I don't use on the phone is there a way to freeze them after root besides getting titanium backup pro? Or does that seem like the best way?
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If you set your contacts to be backed up on google, they will automatically reload for you.
Your pictures should now be on your SD card. If you are going to use that same SD card to make your gold card, then it will indeed need to be formatted and you'd lose whatever is on there, of course. All you have to do is plug the phone in to your computer, mount as disk drive, and make a folder on your computer, and copy the SD cards contents (or just the pictures, if you want) to your hard drive.
When your done, you can put it all back.
The only thing you will lose unavoidably is any app-specific data that you would need to have root to back up (game scores, etc.)
Once rooted even this data will be able to be accessed from that point forward... You won't even lose that, again... Its just the initial act of gaining root, that you're faced with a one-time loss of specific data.
Nearly everything else can be backed up "in the cloud" via Google or moved someplace else by you temporarily.
Inspired Ace 1.0.1¦ XDA Premium

Ok thanks for the info. Ill make sure to back my pics and contacts up some way before I root.

Bubbys one click on the phone at a point and when you get the error are you sure you have the sync drivers I selected the sync option on the usb connection manager.them switched back after .. I had to do it twice but good know
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App

vdubguy83 said:
Ok thanks for the info. Ill make sure to back my pics and contacts up some way before I root.
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As long as your contacts are Google based and/or you have your phone set to "backup your settings on Google," you shouldnt have to worry about contacts.
If you aren't sure log in to the full gmail in a browser and check to see if your contacts are visible there. If they are, you're good.
I haven't even thought about my contacts over the span of 4 Android phones, several roots, and a couple of custom Rom flashes... They just magically re-appear... Thanks to Google.
Inspired Ace 1.0.1¦ XDA Premium

Even though I am new to this forum, I rooted my Inspire 4g using Ace-Hack-Kit v9 without a clue to what it was actually doing in each step. Needless to say, it was very discomforting at a thought of bricking my phone. But since then, I have been through turning off the eng-s then going back to stock again to turn back the eng-s again using the v9. Now, since I know what each step of the v9 is doing, I am more comfortable using it then the newer automated v10 or the v11 (if it ain't broke, why change). And, I hate to repeat above post, but I have tried no less than 7 roms since the root. And thanks to the Google’s backup option, other than the saved games and such, all of my apps and the contact information were automatically reinstalled through wifi within an hour of connection (I did have to import my outlook contact into Gmail account first). So I never bother with a backup especially I really don't have anything on this phone to miss (didn't have the phone long enough).

apps not restoring after hard reset

I wish to restore my apps somehow how do I do that? note that I moved almost all apps' data to sd card just before I had to factory hard reset. how do I protect myself from future data loss?
I have had my g2x for five weeks and with the help of xda forums I had actually begun to love this phone.
after getting a few apps like where's my droid and touch keys dimmer, this morning while doing my daily power off and on again my g2x got stuck in a boot loop somehow. T-Mobile Rep told me to hard reset. the problem is I lost all my free apps and only a few I paid for are back. this sucks I had a terrible experience with the htc g2 and almost went for an iPhone ... now this happens and my totally personalized once awesome g2x is back to a stock pos with a history of fail
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

To backup apps and their data the best backup app outthere is probably Titanium Backup. This will however not be able to backup your complete ROM + custom stuff.
To make a complete blueprint of your current setup you could google and look up "android NAND backup". Its not as easy as titanium backup i would say but would be a complete blueprint of the device.
Also depending on the cause of the bootloop your dataloss could maybe have been avoided. Calling support hotline usually results in them telling you what is the easist for them. Meaning sledge hammer method -> hardreset. Less work for them, more for you!

Go Backup to backup EVERYTHING

My apologies if I'm cluttering up the board with a topic that everyone but me knows all about, but holy cow I just found the best thing ever! (Okay, so that might be a slight exageration...)
But seriously folks, I just found Go Backup on the Android Market (Or Play Store or whatever the kids are calling it these days)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jiubang.go.backup.pro&feature=nav_result#?t=W10.
I've been a Titanium user forever, and it's certainly got more functionality that Go Backup the way you can manipulate apps and what not, but Go Backup is just a beast when it comes to backing up everything. It does sms, mms, contacts, apps with data, wifi access points, etc...
So when you want to switch ROMs and keep all your stuff, it's litterally like 1 click to backup everything and then 1 click to restore it all once you put a new ROM on.
One thing though is that I recomend turning on Airplane mode during the restore. I got a phone call in the middle of my restore and it loused things up so I had to start over.
It's quirky though. You might have to fiddle with the restore to get it to run all the way through, but it works. When it fails during the restore though it knows where it failed and will let you uncheck the parts that already succeeded. Pretty neat.
It's kind of like the old Mousetrap game. Where it was really awesome but something already failed during the execution so you'd have to nudge the guy into the water barrel to get it moving again. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you are under 30 and should research how awesome board games used to be)
I don't work for the Go team. I'm not affiliated with them. I just thought it was cool and wanted the community to know about it.

Nice to see a Baltimore Skipjacks fan on here
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda app-developers app

I used go backup before I found app2zip, much easier to flash your backed up data in recovery over your newly flashed rom.
Backing up takes some time though.
Sent from my Sensational phone

monkor said:
Nice to see a Baltimore Skipjacks fan on here
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda app-developers app
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Nice to see someone else on the planet that remembers them!
My dad started taking me to games their first year back in 1982. They've been gone now almost twice as long as they were here, and I still love the team and miss that game day experience. Now I'm a Hershey Bears season ticket holder. To quote Bob Dylan, Oh the times they are a changin'.
About Apps2zip, I just read the write up about it on the Market and it's not clear about if it backs up just the apps of if it backs up the app data as well. I used to use a terminal emulator command line script that created a flashable zip of all your apps, but it didn't include the app data. Does this one? (Normally I'd just try something instead of asking simple questions but that's a time consuming process and I don't feel like it :laugh: )

Skipjacks said:
Nice to see someone else on the planet that remembers them!
My dad started taking me to games their first year back in 1982. They've been gone now almost twice as long as they were here, and I still love the team and miss that game day experience. Now I'm a Hershey Bears season ticket holder. To quote Bob Dylan, Oh the times they are a changin'.
About Apps2zip, I just read the write up about it on the Market and it's not clear about if it backs up just the apps of if it backs up the app data as well. I used to use a terminal emulator command line script that created a flashable zip of all your apps, but it didn't include the app data. Does this one? (Normally I'd just try something instead of asking simple questions but that's a time consuming process and I don't feel like it :laugh: )
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app2zip backs up data too

Alternative to Samsung Cloud/Smartswitch

Hey. So today I massively effed up and caused my phone to go into a non-repairable bootloop. After flashing my ROM I managed to get it back, but then the encryption got screwed and I ended up erasing all of my data. Not too bad because I had a back up. Except I didn't... Samsung Cloud did a **** job at preserving anything, I lost a TON of stuff and have to reinstall everything.
Anyhow, I've come to the conclusion that neither Samsung nor Google offer a stable, steady or reliable backup system (Google pretty much only re-downloads app from Play which is... nice... I guess). That is the ONLY thing I miss from iPhones, but I digress...
Does anyone have a good, solid and trustworthy alternative for automatic backups that would actually keep my ****? I know I can do it manually, but I tend to forget and I don't want the hassle of dealing with multiple apps and connections and whatnot.
Any suggestion welcome.
Thanks!

Titanium backup PRO is probably the best suited to your requirements, but requires root.
Here's a decent overview on it: https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/...automated-app-and-settings-backup-on-android/
Also their website https://www.titaniumtrack.com/titanium-backup.html which mentions scheduled backups in the pro section
If you have TWRP you could also do nandroid backups but it's all manual.

Beanvee7 said:
Titanium backup PRO is probably the best suited to your requirements, but requires root.
Here's a decent overview on it: https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/...automated-app-and-settings-backup-on-android/
Also their website https://www.titaniumtrack.com/titanium-backup.html which mentions scheduled backups in the pro section
If you have TWRP you could also do nandroid backups but it's all manual.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I definitely know how powerful Titanium is, but the issue is that I was going to retire from rooting and custom recoveries; it's what got me into this mess to start with. Plus, aside from using Titanium I really had very little day to day use for root and pretty much none that I absolutely couldn't do without, so I decided to just stop messing with it.
I find it infuriating that there is no decent backup system that doesn't require root; it seems like the most basic service to have! Sometimes I wonder if my account is not to blame because Google backup seems to say it keeps app data, passwords and such, yet I NEVER get any of it back... But enough *****ing, back to searching.