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[Q] Switch to Skyrocket from GS2?

Now that people have had the device for a few days, I was hoping their to headstart could help potential switchers and as the SR doesn't have it's own forum yet so I'm asking here.
Newbie alert!!!!
I am wondering how easy it will be to move from the Gs2 to the skyrocket? Basically any recommended ways of moving my apps, texts, pictures, etc to the SdCARD and back from the SdCard to the new phone? Contacts are synced with Google Contacts so no problems there, my main concern is with paid apps, I'd rather not pay for them again.
Can I back up apps via TiBU and restore them on the Skyrocket? Or can I just reinstall them on the new phone?
End of Newbie question!!!!

Paid apps are in your google account as well, you will be able to reinstall all your paid apps through the market (without repaying) by just signing in to your same google account.
The only thing you need to backup is your pictures/music.

Here's what I did to migrate to my Skyrocket from my Captivate:
*Duh Alert* Have your original phone rooted and Titanium Pro installed.
Original Phone
1. Backup APK & Data with Titanium.
2. Locate where backup directory is on your phone. Mine was \sdcard\TitaniumBackup
3. Mount original phone and copy backup directory to your computer.
New Hotness
1. Root that bad boy. Search the site, its here.
2. Install Titanium Pro from market.
3. Back up 1 app, pick something silly. That will create the backup directory.
4. Mount the new hotness and copy your saved directory from your computer to the Skyrocket.
5. Restore apps. I did one at a time cuz I didn't want everything installed on the new phone.
95% of the apps and data restored properly.
Simplistic, yes....but it works. Go forth and multiply.

If you want the smoothest experience on your Skyrocket, do NOT use a backup tool to bring over apps, just reinstall them from the Market.
Copying apps and app date with a tool like Titanium does and WILL cause some issues.

crawlgsx said:
If you want the smoothest experience on your Skyrocket, do NOT use a backup tool to bring over apps, just reinstall them from the Market.
Copying apps and app date with a tool like Titanium does and WILL cause some issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To partially agree with you I tried using MyBackUp Pro and almost everything failed. That's what I deserve for buying that one first back in the day. BUT....Titanium worked great. All of my paid apps were as good as gold.
Plus, if you want your saved data, wouldn't you have to use a backup tool?

gheck911 said:
To partially agree with you I tried using MyBackUp Pro and almost everything failed. That's what I deserve for buying that one first back in the day. BUT....Titanium worked great. All of my paid apps were as good as gold.
Plus, if you want your saved data, wouldn't you have to use a backup tool?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your just trying to backup like game saves then sometimes. A lot of times that data can be backed up by just mounting your sdcard to your computer and copying the files. Some games do save the data in funny locations so you do need (easier) to use something like Titanium, but you are always better off starting from as scratch as possible to avoid issues later.
Moving an app to save you from entering your login info for example, is just a bad idea. Most apps have no real data to backup, simple 2 second settings etc....

crawlgsx said:
If you want the smoothest experience on your Skyrocket, do NOT use a backup tool to bring over apps, just reinstall them from the Market.
Copying apps and app date with a tool like Titanium does and WILL cause some issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have found that most issues with TiBu are do to you trying to restore System Information......i used tibu to restore my apps on the Skyrockert. i just picked APPS only with out system data.
worked fine i have not seen a hickup on any device or install after a flash of new Rom.

the2rrell said:
i have found that most issues with TiBu are do to you trying to restore System Information......i used tibu to restore my apps on the Skyrockert. i just picked APPS only with out system data.
worked fine i have not seen a hickup on any device or install after a flash of new Rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
TiBu works great, usually, for restoring NON-System apps and their data.
Avoid restoring system apps/data.
Also, if you do happen to run into a problem with a particular restored app, all you need to do is uninstall/reinstall it and then use TiBu to restore the "data only" for that app.
This has always worked for me.

y?
Its basically the same phone, screen tiny bit bigger and it edges r round, and the. 3 faster CPU is not noticeable, and if u don't live in the handful of citys that have lte network what's the point by the time LTE gets fully activated skyrocket will be old phone something way better out, now if u didn't have the gs2 already if say hell ya but since u do wasted money IMO

Installing stuff NOT on Android Market

Hello
I am planning on installing some software which is NOT yet on the Android Market.
Its a map viewing software from Memory Maps co uk. Sadly I can't place a link yet as I'm new to the site.
I've been using this software for years on my PC and now that I have a Samsung Ace, I want to run it on my Smart Phone.
Befre I get stuck in, could somebody please tell me the potential pitfalls of installing apps that are not on the Android Market?
Could somebody also please tell me how I cam back-up my entire phone, operating system included just in case I end up with an expensive paper weight?
I'm hoping to create a clone/mirror image on the entire phone in much the same way that I have for my PC when I use Acronis.
I would very much appreciate any help or advice.
Cheers

the lemming said:
Hello
I am planning on installing some software which is NOT yet on the Android Market.
Its a map viewing software from Memory Maps co uk. Sadly I can't place a link yet as I'm new to the site.
I've been using this software for years on my PC and now that I have a Samsung Ace, I want to run it on my Smart Phone.
Befre I get stuck in, could somebody please tell me the potential pitfalls of installing apps that are not on the Android Market?
Could somebody also please tell me how I cam back-up my entire phone, operating system included just in case I end up with an expensive paper weight?
I'm hoping to create a clone/mirror image on the entire phone in much the same way that I have for my PC when I use Acronis.
I would very much appreciate any help or advice.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pitfalls of installing 3rd party apps:
-potential virus infection
-data loss
-your data/privacy could be compromised
But, that said, if you're careful about what you install...you won't have problems. Basically, the market checks and scans (or is supposed to, but it sometimes fails) for viruses and malware.
If you have root access, you can use ClockWorkMod, Titanium Backup or myBackupPro to back up your phone. But you must have root access to do this. I'm not going to go into HOW you get root or install these, because I don't have your device. There should be loads of tutorials on this, just hit up google. With CWM you can create an image which will capture everything from settings to apps to data. TiBu will let you back up all of your apps and data, as will myBackupPro. CWM > TiBu > mBP, in my opinion, this is their rank in functionality.
Good luck.

[Q] How To Remove Unwanted Apps? (Root)

Unlocked, Rooted, Factory Image. Until the custom ROM scene get's built up, can unused apps be removed from the phone? I don't use 98% of the Google stuff. Can I just delete the apk's from /system/app and reboot? Any other locations for apps? I've disabled what I could, but I just want remove stuff and slim it down. Thx!

titanium my friend

Have it, but have only used it for backups. Care to do a quick tutorial? I'll search in the mean time, thanks!
NM, found it. Thanks mate.

Yup, just freeze or uninstall... freeze if you purchased the key.

As you said in your first post, you can just use something like root explorer or solid explorer to manually delete the apps you don't want from /system/app
That's what I've done

If yours is unlocked after rooing, please do a backup if custom recovery has been installed first - extra steps for good measures, even when we can easily restore factory image, etc.
AntTek App is my favorite, download from Play Store - when in doubt, just freeze it first so it will no longer show or display as APP in the listing. Reboot & profit, and run with a leaner factory rom - probably good for extending battery life with a few tweaks on all those unneeded background apps (i.e. Cell Broadcast Alert ... that's a good one, especially for our xda-members overseas - NOT !!)

Newbie Root information from my journeys....

Customizing my Android phone, I've learned some things along the way that I thought other newbies like myself would be interested to know. This information can be found all over the web, but I thought speaking about these key points would be helpful...
1. If you're interested in rooting your phone, I've found the Towelroot method to be easiest. You can download the apk file for free and it makes the rooting process easy.
2. I have a method of disabling apps to improve performance that has never resulted in me crashing my phone. If you are not rooted, this probably won't be helpful. First off, get Greenify Pro and the Xposed framework, along with the ROM Toolbox. For apps that you know can be frozen safely, use ROM toolbox to freeze them, along with killing startup receivers of apps that you can safely disable from stsrtup, but can't freeze because you want to use them. Then use Greenify to hibernate apps you choose not to disable, but don't want running. I've found this method most efficient.
3. Many root their phones to remove apps that are pre-installed from your service provider, like my AT&T apps for example. I've come to realize that removing apps will not give you back usable storage space, so unless you are sure it's garbage, freezing apps is safest. Also, if you remove an app, it would be wise to backup the apk file first, just in case you need it later.
4. Since I'm a newbie, I have stayed away from custom ROMS and the sort. I've come to realize that this process is for skilled users only and many bad things can occur if this process goes awry. Always make full backups before attempting this at minimum.
5. Certain launchers, such as TouchWiz cannot be removed from Android easily, so I'd suggest you add your launcher of choice and leave the factory installed Launcher alone....
I hope this was helpful to all you newbies, good luck!!!!

Backing up apps and data

I notice that if you want to backup an app and it's data, the apps that do this require root.
This has largely never been of concern to me as usually within a week of a new phone I've rooted and installed a custom ROM.
But now I need Good for Enterprise on this phone so rooting is not an option. But this inability to now backup data is beginning to annoy. It seems to me as a lay person that this should be a basic feature especially if you want people to have a good experience when they upgrade their phone.
Does Google have a good reason for having designed the OS in this manner?
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3010 using Tapatalk

milomak said:
I notice that if you want to backup an app and it's data, the apps that do this require root.
This has largely never been of concern to me as usually within a week of a new phone I've rooted and installed a custom ROM.
But now I need Good for Enterprise on this phone so rooting is not an option. But this inability to now backup data is beginning to annoy. It seems to me as a lay person that this should be a basic feature especially if you want people to have a good experience when they upgrade their phone.
Does Google have a good reason for having designed the OS in this manner?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its mainly for security purposes. If apps were able to read the data of other apps just like that (without acquiring root access from the user) then it'd be quite easy for a malicious app you installed on accident to read the data from that banking app you have installed. And you wouldn't even know until its way too late.
I suppose one could argue that Google could implement it in such a way the backup apps would need to seek permission from the user before reading the data from other apps, but seeing that most users barely pay attention to what it is that they're granting permission to....its probably better to leave it out altogether.
On a final note though, maybe Google would rather have you store your precious & valuable data on their servers instead. As they do offer backup options for your contacts, calendar, passwords, and even certain app's data.

So how does iOS get around this or does the vulnerability you talk about exist?
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3010 using Tapatalk

milomak said:
So how does iOS get around this or does the vulnerability you talk about exist?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've not used iOS in a while so I really don't know. I sincerely doubt iOS has apps that can backup data though. Seeing that they're only just getting a file manager in iOS 11.

milomak said:
I notice that if you want to backup an app and it's data, the apps that do this require root.
This has largely never been of concern to me as usually within a week of a new phone I've rooted and installed a custom ROM.
But now I need Good for Enterprise on this phone so rooting is not an option. But this inability to now backup data is beginning to annoy. It seems to me as a lay person that this should be a basic feature especially if you want people to have a good experience when they upgrade their phone.
Does Google have a good reason for having designed the OS in this manner?
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3010 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try the Helium app, it's worked for others but as always, your mileage may vary.
Also, the built-in Google backup feature in system settings should backup apps and data then after updating the device(s), during setup wizard, it should prompt asking if you want to restore apps, data and settings from the Google backup.
But....
If you leave the devices on stock firmware and un-rooted, then during stock updates you should only have to wipe the cache partition. Factory reset shouldn't be necessary if you're only updating stock, wiping only the cache partition during/after flashing/updating should be all that you need to do. This should update your device(s) system and leave all your settings and other data intact.
You can also try using a file manager such as ES File Explorer on android to create backups of the apps you installed (this will not work with system apps), in ES File Explorer, the backed up apps will be in sdcard/backups or storage/emulated/0/backups, or something similar. You can copy those apk backups to PC then look in internal for storage/emulated/0/Android/data folder, this folder contains folders for all of your installed apps that store app data, the names of the individual folders should correspond with the app it stores data for. You can copy these folders to PC.
To restore these apps and their data, copy the backed up apk files to your internal to the folder of your choice, then go to system settings>security>unknown sources and turn it on so you can install your apps from the apk files you backed up instead of from Google or PlayStore. Then using a file manager on android, go to the folder you copied the apk files to and click on them to install them from there, then copy the folders containing your app data to your storage/emulated/0/Android/data folder then reboot, you may have to boot to recovery and wipe the cache partition (do not factory reset, only wipe cache). This method may or may not work depending on the app being restored.
I'm not an iOS user but as far as I know, iOS is strictly dependant on Apple/iTunes, you just about can't do anything with iOS that doesn't involve iTunes, including backups probably.
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