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I have recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S2. I have the phone set up the way i like it but i wish to try different OS versions which will require rooting and wiping my phone so a few questions regarding backups:
1) Currently i have my gmail contacts and facebook contacts "linked" together. I believe this is only stored locally on my phone. Is there a way i can save all this contact info so when i log back in to my profile in the future it will all be seamlessly placed as it was.
2) Currently i have a whole batch of homescreens with icons and widgets and my applications screen with every app in a "folder" can i back these up exactly as they are?
3) Within various different applications there are different options or save games and various things like that, are these easily accessible and able to be backed up
4) Finally can i just do an "image" of my phone and if i wipe it and mess about then simply restore that image back to exactly how it was?
Cheers for any help
boxrick,
Can't answer specifically for the Galaxy S2 as I don't have it, and because Android is "pimped" in various ways by different device makers some of the homescreens/layouts are custom implemented, and best backed up by the methods appropriate for--or offered by--that device.
Having said that, if you are using Google market, a lot of stuff (like the apps obviously) is automatically saved with them. Or the apps themselves can be backed up with any good file manager, like Astro, to an SD card or via USB.
I can't answer you about the Gmail & Facebook contacts being "linked together", but from experience most items are stored in the Google Contacts data-fields and stored remotely in your Google account (and therefore restored from there straightaway)
I have multiple Android devices, and to tell you the truth I pretty much just copy everything "en-masse" to a hard drive. If you're rooted, it's fairly easy to pull down almost everything this way. You're just dealing with files and folders, just like on your regular computer (which is why I'm pretty much done with anything "black-box" like formerly iphone/ipad, btw )
If you're looking for a "set-it-and-forget-it" type app, I don't currently use any, but on my travels I've seen a few "names" tossed around with good reviews. You can research
MyBackup Pro
Sprite Backup
Those two are pretty well known full-blown-backup type apps. They're paid apps, but cheap.
I've heard of The Missing Sync which takes a different approach by syncing all your data to a Windows or Mac desktop for backup and also for re-distribution to other devices. Sort of like a "data-centralizer" type approach, which might be up your alley. I think the app runs about $40 though.
Finally, I do use the free LifeSaver 2 app for important SMS messages and call logs-- picked it up over at F-droid.org. It's for pretty specific data types, but it's this stuff that usually is the hardest to save (since I don't actually know where it is when I backup the entire root directory + subs & files).
Hope the above gives you some ideas. My general advice would be to research, read the boards, with special attention to the threads dedicated to the Galaxy S2, because the other users have gone before you
And btw, if you find something really cool (including if one of the apps above turn out to help you), make sure you come back and post your findings. I'm always on the lookout for a "gem" app that makes my life easier.
Good luck!
Apps: Titanium.
Data: MyBackup.
MyBackup does a much better job at saving your contacts than Google does. MyBackup restores them exactly as they were, Google often loses custom fields and messes up your contact names. Just look at the mess when you sync a contact called "Al's Pizza (open 'till midnight)" back from Google. It also gets the timestamps on SMSs right, which most competitors don't.
You could forget about Tit and backup your apps with MyB too, but then you miss out on all the different batch jobs that come with Tit.
There's one thing that all backup apps choke on: widgets. I always have to set 'em up again after a wipe/restore job.
Can't titanium backup both apps & data?
Titanium can backup user data, sort of.
Restoring user data with Tit is not as straightforward as with MyB. They should add a user data screen so you don't have to hunt for your data in a long list of apps.
One final question, if I was to change from Android Phone A to Android Phone B. Will these "apps" and backups be able to restored to a totally different phone?
rogier666 said:
There's one thing that all backup apps choke on: widgets. I always have to set 'em up again after a wipe/restore job.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rogier, what widget app do you use? I use Elixir, and in it there's an option to export widget data. Search for the "edit widgets" button, click it and you'll be taken to a pane where all the widgets are replaceable. Below it, you'll see a "More" button--that's where the import/export widgets button is. After you export widgets settings (you have to type in a name for it), Elixir then saves that exact config. After flashing a ROM and restoring via Ti, you can then choose to add back your widgets via the "Import" button. Remember though: if you want to bring back a 5x5 widget, you have to choose "5x5" widget after long pressing on a blank space, otherwise the widget won't restore properly. With this, you can have as many widgets you want and not worry about the tedious process of reconstructing them after a restore.
do you have to use the paid for version of titanium?
boxrick said:
One final question, if I was to change from Android Phone A to Android Phone B. Will these "apps" and backups be able to restored to a totally different phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can with Google . Go to Settings --> Privacy --> Back up my data.
When you buy your new phone, select restore my data. At first you won't see any difference, but after a few hours your apps will be restored
Borat38 said:
rogier, what widget app do you use? I use Elixir...
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Click to collapse
Right now I've got Widgetsoid, DroidStats, Smooth Calendar, PlayerPro, DroidWall, Make Your Own Clock, and seNotes on my home screens.
Some widget apps have a backup option, some only come in one flavor (like DroidWall) so they don't really need a backup option. But others (like most notes widgets) don't have any backup option at all.
This is really annoying for the sticky notes widgets, because it's often impossible to remember what info you'd have to put back in them (which is why you wrote it in a note to begin with).
So I'd really like a one click option to back up and restore all my widgets.
thetinybus said:
do you have to use the paid for version of titanium?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, you don't. The free version backs up everything too. It just takes more clicks to restore your stuff.
The free version of MyBackup only restores to the same phone that it backed up, so if you want to use MyBackup to transfer your data to a new phone you'll need the paid version.
I have purchased MybackupPro. The problem is I am fairly confident it will not back up my linked contacts. Therefore I need to root my phone and use TI backup...
Id like to post here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1125414&page=12 and find out about after unrooting, flashing back to the default kernel ( for warranty purposes ). Need 10 posts
Now it seems I am getting restrictions on the amount of times I am posting. This also doesn't help me much!
Just got my Samsung Focus S, and I'm trying to get as much data as I can from my old Samsung Focus over to the new phone. What's the best way of doing this?
image the phone to the sdcard and then change the car.... oh wait.... wp7.... nevermind
that was fun
Bottom line, you can't get there from here.
Anything that has been copied to your PC through Zune (photos, videos, music) can be copied back to your new phone. Also, anything that is already stored in the cloud will still be available. But anything that is solely on your phone (app/game settings & saves, SMS messages, documents created by apps that don't support cloud storage, etc), will be permanently lost.
Microsoft does not provide (or even allow for) any mechanism to make a transferable backup of your device.
ohgood said:
image the phone to the sdcard and then change the car.... oh wait.... wp7.... nevermind
that was fun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea that was productive...NOT!!! go somewhere. Anyway u can't make a backup of one device and transfer it to another but u can reinstall all ur apps from the web marketplace and resync all media once reconnected to Zune. Text messages and game saves will be gone unless the games get updated for cloud saves.
Sent from my T7575 using Board Express
any chance of using that custom backup tool and then forcing a restore backup? I know the backups that Zune makes before an update store everything (sms, apps, contacts)
ScottSUmmers said:
any chance of using that custom backup tool and then forcing a restore backup? I know the backups that Zune makes before an update store everything (sms, apps, contacts)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The backup is just like a Image backup in your Windows, which means any changes after the backup is voided if you restore.
What we want is, a working backup that can backup our precious data like SMS, apps data, etc... so that we can quickly restore it after we reseted our phone or switching to a new phone...
Cheers~
weijoon said:
The backup is just like a Image backup in your Windows, which means any changes after the backup is voided if you restore.
What we want is, a working backup that can backup our precious data like SMS, apps data, etc... so that we can quickly restore it after we reseted our phone or switching to a new phone...
Cheers~
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No but that's what I'm getting at. If this guy has a new phone, in theory, he'd just have to load the image of backup over the new phone's OS. Unless, Windows Phone freaks out over hardware changes like Windows does
ScottSUmmers said:
No but that's what I'm getting at. If this guy has a new phone, in theory, he'd just have to load the image of backup over the new phone's OS. Unless, Windows Phone freaks out over hardware changes like Windows does
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To further your knowledge, each backup are encrypted and unique to each phone by reading the device ID and which only restorable to that specific device.
Yeah, means if you switch to new phone, your old phone backup cannot transfer to the new phone
JustinTV773 said:
yea that was productive...NOT!!! go somewhere. Anyway u can't make a backup of one device and transfer it to another but u can reinstall all ur apps from the web marketplace and resync all media once reconnected to Zune. Text messages and game saves will be gone unless the games get updated for cloud saves.
Sent from my T7575 using Board Express
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're taking a loyalty to a phone far too seriously here mate.
wp7 could benefit from real, full os imaging, just like -any- digital device that reads/writes zeros and ones could.
imaging a device has aboslutely zero security risk, to the owner, developer of applications, or to the market (hardware) place. the unique device ID (hardware) is enough to ensure software piracy is kept at bay.
its a huge plus to the consumer:
at 3am the phone automagically images it's entire self to microSD, and deletes the oldest past 3 backups, saving two.
sms, gamesaves, offline documents, offline settings, CALL LOGS, and system updates are all in a safe, convenient place.
then just mount the microSD to your computer and copy over the phone images to your computer or encrypt and upload to a secure server.
this means destroying a phone is only a hardware loss. within 10 minutes of recieving a new piece of hardware the entire phone could be as it was before whatever damaged the previous.
how people see this as something that isn't needed is beyond me.
weijoon said:
To further your knowledge, each backup are encrypted and unique to each phone by reading the device ID and which only restorable to that specific device.
Yeah, means if you switch to new phone, your old phone backup cannot transfer to the new phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah gotcha. Didn't know that.
[/COLOR]
ohgood said:
you're taking a loyalty to a phone far too seriously here mate.
wp7 could benefit from real, full os imaging, just like -any- digital device that reads/writes zeros and ones could.
imaging a device has aboslutely zero security risk, to the owner, developer of applications, or to the market (hardware) place. the unique device ID (hardware) is enough to ensure software piracy is kept at bay.
its a huge plus to the consumer:
at 3am the phone automagically images it's entire self to microSD, and deletes the oldest past 3 backups, saving two.
sms, gamesaves, offline documents, offline settings, CALL LOGS, and system updates are all in a safe, convenient place.
then just mount the microSD to your computer and copy over the phone images to your computer or encrypt and upload to a secure server.
this means destroying a phone is only a hardware loss. within 10 minutes of recieving a new piece of hardware the entire phone could be as it was before whatever damaged the previous.
how people see this as something that isn't needed is beyond me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree. I love wp7 and will fight its corner against anything to anyone however if something is missing and needed its still missing and needed! This is one of them things just like vpn. I am 4 days from upgrading to the lumia 800 and i hate the fact i will lose all my game saves esp as some are working towards xbox live points. As i said you cant pretend something isnt needed just because its not there, this is a real shame. To me though it is like loveing my son but i do hate it when he screams at me cos i didnt give him my malteasers. Dont mean i love him any less but i would hope they sort it out. Or ay least give me some malteasers.
ScottSUmmers said:
Ah gotcha. Didn't know that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad that I can help.
ohgood said:
how people see this as something that isn't needed is beyond me.
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Click to collapse
The most we can do at this point is VOTE UP that feature in the windows phone feature suggestion page and MAYBE microsoft will implement it. That feature has a ****load of votes, cannot remember link. The idea is quite good.
The reason the dude commented on your post was because your initial post did absolutely NOTHING to help the OP, it only satisfied your urge to bash the platform :-/
Very unproductive.
so no way to restore from old phone ..............hmmmmm
What if Microsoft made a feature like the ones found in Windows, the Easy Transfer wizard? They could whip up a feature in Windows Phone settings as "Easy Transfer" and let the user choose how they will transfer the files and settings (wallpaper, sms, system settings, as in ALL including synced emails) from the old phone to the new one, either wifi, or at least bluetooth. EVERYBODEH HAPPEH
I wrote a data backup app for HTC phones a while ago, but nothing for Samsung yet because Heathcliff74 hasn't released a tool for getting filesystem access (like his WP7 Root Tools app does) to other devs yet. No guarantee it'd be immediatley usable anyhow though, since the Focus S seems to use different high-privilege DLLs than the first-gen phones so all our current high-privilege apps (registry editing and provxml and all) don't work yet.
just found a way to get my apps back on my Focus S
Its not quite the end all fix,
but I just bought a focus S and wanted to transfer my apps from my old focus, of course the marketplace doesn't show that I own those apps on my new phone and there's no way to transfer them in Zune, but you can do it through the windowsphone site.
if you log into your windowsLive ID at WindowsPhone.com theres an option to reinstall apps from your purchase history. you just select the phone you want to transfer to, and then you select the app or game and then it sends you a text message to reinstall the app.
its not the greatest way, but atleast you dont have to buy all the stuff over again
newtype311 said:
Its not quite the end all fix,
but I just bought a focus S and wanted to transfer my apps from my old focus, of course the marketplace doesn't show that I own those apps on my new phone and there's no way to transfer them in Zune, but you can do it through the windowsphone site.
if you log into your windowsLive ID at WindowsPhone.com theres an option to reinstall apps from your purchase history. you just select the phone you want to transfer to, and then you select the app or game and then it sends you a text message to reinstall the app.
its not the greatest way, but atleast you dont have to buy all the stuff over again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Attempting to repurchase an app will simply tell you you've purchased it before and install it for free. So the market doesn't tell you what you've bought before, but there's no risk of repurchasing either.
[SOLVED] "Photo Settings" app by infinity8 trapped my photos, any way to save them?
I have this app called "Photo Settings" store some of my photos. All of them are 8MP photos 3264x2448.
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/e88ce04d-ff1e-490c-86b8-66beab519c46
Viewing the thumbnails of the photos in the album work fine. But when clicking it to view the whole picture, and more importantly, giving me access to the export button, crashes the app.
It does not crash when the photo is smaller in size.
Is there any way to get my photos back other than waiting for an update of the app?
My device is an HTC Titan which cannot be interop unlocked right now to get filesystem access, and from what I know, even if interop unlocked, the isolated storage of the app is encrypted, right?
Are the photos not syncing with Zune?
Ah apologies, the images are stored in the app's file storage not in your media library. Then no. The app's file storage is isolated. So you'll have to wait for the dev to update the app.
Casey
Yes, you can do it easy. You will need any ISF access desktop app (search forum). Or you may use standard MS app called ISETool.exe (located at %ProgramFiles\Microsoft SDKs\Windows Phone\v7.1\Tools\IsolatedStorageExplorerTool), it came with WP7 SDK.
Command line should be: ISETool.exe ts de e88ce04d-ff1e-490c-86b8-66beab519c46 [C:\Users\YourName\Pictures]
ts = take snapshot (i.e. download all ISF content for the app to desktop)
de = device
e88ce04d-ff1e-490c-86b8-66beab519c46 = "Photo Settings" app GUID
[C:\Users\YourName\Pictures] = you should specify snapshot location here
@sensboston: ISEtool and its ilk can only be used on sideloaded apps. Given that the OP gave a link to the marketplace, I'm guessing he didn't sideload this app.
@OP: Isolated storage is not automatically encrypted (though the app developer can choose to encrypt files before putting them there, which this dev *might* have chosen to do). However, accessing the filesystem does typically require interop-unlock, so that's probably not going to help in your case.
It's a pity, I didn't know that BTW, on interop-unlocked Focus I still can access any ISF using WP7 Root Tools.
P.S. @GoodDayToDie, what if I sideload any dummy app with the same guid? Have you tried that trick?
UPDATE: tried, doesn't work (as an update; reinstall is working but deletes old ISF)
Agh... yeah, I should have mentioned, do *not* try that! If you do so, the default beahvior is re-install (wipes the IsoStore). If you try to force an update instead of a reinstall, the phone won't permit it (if you're replacing a Marketplace app with a sideloaded one). Somebody at MS already thought of that trick. :-/
Don't worry, I've experimented with useless app, of course
Summarizing: he-he, here is another reason to sideload apps instead using marketplace
P.S. It's definitely app author's fault. WP7 data API's are such limited but Pictures is the one of most opened and well known. Nothing prevented the author to save captured images in the MediaLibrary...
sensboston said:
Don't worry, I've experimented with useless app, of course
Summarizing: he-he, here is another reason to sideload apps instead using marketplace
P.S. It's definitely app author's fault. WP7 data API's are such limited but Pictures is the one of most opened and well known. Nothing prevented the author to save captured images in the MediaLibrary...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the point of the app is to hide pictures from the Pictures library...
I should have tested it more thoroughly before putting secret yet important photos inside
Have you tried to contact the author? Most smart app authors include contact info somewhere in the app, usually in an "About" section. Lacking that, you can always use the review as a place to leave feedback, though it's hard for the dev to respond.
GoodDayToDie said:
Have you tried to contact the author?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems like a best advise in this topic. Contact author and ask about adding option to save pictures to SkyDrive or media library.
GoodDayToDie said:
Have you tried to contact the author? Most smart app authors include contact info somewhere in the app, usually in an "About" section. Lacking that, you can always use the review as a place to leave feedback, though it's hard for the dev to respond.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes there's an email to author link in the app, I emailed the author a few days ago, but got no reply.
I found what seems to be the author's personal email address by checking the author's domain information and emailed there too, still got no reply.
Does WP7 itself encrypt the NAND? When Riffbox supports the Titan, I can make a full NAND dump of the device through JTAG, are there any tools available to extract files from such dumps?
Phil_123 said:
Does WP7 itself encrypt the NAND? When Riffbox supports the Titan, I can make a full NAND dump of the device through JTAG, are there any tools available to extract files from such dumps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know 100%, but may guess - it shoud be encrypted, same way as sd-card.
At this time, WP7 does not (claim to) support full device encryption. It's possible that it does so anyhow, of course.
It does lock the SD card, which means another device can't even see the data on the card, but JTAG might get around that.
One-star reviews + emails to the author explaining thr problem and the reason for the one-star review seems like the best bet for now. Lame, I know.
The author finally responded, he will be fixing the problems
Hello,
I currently own a LG E900 and just recently I noticed a little scratch on the display. I know this is gorilla glass and it worked really great for more than a year and I don't even know how the scratch got there, but I thought that it might be time to upgrade.
I know that most stuff is synced using Windows Live but there are still a couple of things where I am not sure:
1. What about contacts where I linked their Facebook, Twitter and Windows Live profiles? If they do not have the same name in Facebook and Windows Live, will their linking be preserved?
2. Is it possible to transfer stored data from apps and games? I mostly care about my saved progress from e.g. angry birds, can you transfer that without being banned or so from Xbox Live for cheating?
3. Zune creates full backups and I guess this would be the best you can get, but can you restore them onto another device (I am considering buying either another LG E900 or a HTC Titan 2, but this thread should not be about which phone to chose right now) or is this somehow tied to the IMIE?
All of your contacts are synced from their various accounts. None are currently stored on the phone. Your linked contacts will link if the names are the same. If names differ, you'll have to relink as necessary.
Game and application data cannot be transferred to the new phone unless said game/app offers a cloud backup option. XBoxLive games will remember scores, but I'm not sure about progress.
To my knowledge, a backup can only be restored to the phone it was made from. This means you can't even get the same model and restore from a different backup. Sucky, I know.
That is correct. Manually (using an app like Root Webserver or WPDM), you could back up your Angry Birds isolated storage folder and then restore it on the new phone (if you get another phone that you can achieve at least root-unlock with). I don't believe you're at risk of getting flagged for cheating unless you try to *edit* those game files.
That sound interesting.
Is root-unlock the same as interop-unlock?
No. Interop-unlock can allow apps to gain additional privileges, possibly including TCB privileges ("root" if it were a Unix-like OS; this is what's meant by "root unlock"). However, by default interop-unlock does not grant those permissions.
Root unlock is most commonly gained through either using interop-unlock on a supported device to then install WP7 Root Tools, or by using a full-unlocked custom ROM (full-unlock includes root-unlock).
Thanks, I guess I will be able to figure out the rest on my own since interop-unlock seems to be prettt easy on LG devices.
Just to be sure, if I copy the Isolated Storage from a game to my PC and back onto a different phone, that will still work?
slimshady322 said:
(I am considering buying either another LG E900 or a HTC Titan 2, but this thread should not be about which phone to chose right now) or is this somehow tied to the IMIE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Angry Birds does not seem to require phone or owner identity privileges, so I doubt it is.
Also, keep in mind that the Titan II has no unlock at all yet - you couldn't get your files back on it then.
Hi!
I have Windows Phone (HTC TROPHY) and I have whatsapp on it.
A)I deleted a whole message thread (yesterday) and I was wondering if there is any way to get it back? (Whatsapp still not uninstalled)
B)If whatsapp is deleted, can I also still retrieve deleted threads?
Thanks to you all!
If your phone is interop-unlocked / rooted (WP7 Root Tools or custom ROM), it may be possible. This depends on how Whatsapp actually deletes the thread. The odds are against you, though. Flash storage (especially if TRIM is supported) can be a bit trickier to "undelete" from than magnetic storage, and that assumes that the relevant tools even exist. I don't think they currently do for WP7. By the way, if you delete Whatsapp, the OS will remove its data folder entirely, including all contents, and you won't be able to retrieve them.
GoodDayToDie said:
If your phone is interop-unlocked / rooted (WP7 Root Tools or custom ROM), it may be possible. This depends on how Whatsapp actually deletes the thread. The odds are against you, though. Flash storage (especially if TRIM is supported) can be a bit trickier to "undelete" from than magnetic storage, and that assumes that the relevant tools even exist. I don't think they currently do for WP7. By the way, if you delete Whatsapp, the OS will remove its data folder entirely, including all contents, and you won't be able to retrieve them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi. Thanks for the reply.
No my phone isn't interop-unlocked nor rooted.
So there is no other option? My phone is just stock... :/
Pretty much. The only other option would be if you have a phone backup (such as is created when you install updates) from before the thread was deleted; you could restore the entire backup but that would reset everything on your phone to that point in time, not just your Whatsapp history.
Don't bother asking if it's possible to extract a file from a phone backup; it's not (currently). They're encrypted. People have tried to find the decryption key, but thus far unsuccessfully.