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[Q] How to backup contacts, apps and settings?

Can someone tell me, or point me to a tutorial that explains how to:
1. Backup contacts to PC
2. Backup paid apps to PC(don't want to have to buy it twice...)
3. Backup app data/settings to PC.

Using appbrain will sync your apps with your account on appbrain.com
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

So, there is no way to backup to your SD card, or PC? For windows mobile, I use Sprite, which works great. I was looking for something like that.
Thanks

Never used WinMo, but Titanium Backup might be what you're looking for. You need root to use it though.

I don't mind rooting if that is what it takes, but I can't belive that there is not an easy way to at least backup your contacts.

Backing up Contacts, several ways:
Samsung Kies -- follow the sticky at the top of this forum, it will back them up to your PC.
Export to SD Card, then copy to your PC -- Enter the Contacts app, hit Menu, More, Import/Export, Export to SD Card.
Copy them to your SIM -- Enter the Contacts app, hit Menu, More, SIM Management.
Sync them to AT&T's servers, which will do it in real-time when you add/delete them, similar to if you synced to your Gmail contacts .. the other benefit here is that you can log on to your AT&T account via the web to manage your phone contacts and it will sync your changes. Useful if you're mass-adding and want to use a full keyboard for speed. -- Enter the Contacts app, hit Menu, More, Settings, AT&T Address Book, click Auto Sync contact with online Address Book.
Backing up paid apps: I have not used it, myself, but Titanium Backup might do what you need, as the previous poster said. You can find it in the Market and read up on it.
Backing up app/data settings to a PC. I'm guessing this would be more app-specific than anything, no? I don't think Google imposes or enforces any standards on data/setting storage for apps, so any single backup tool would have to support individual apps one-by-one. Please update this thread if you find anything, because it would be pretty convenient ....

UserNamer said:
Backing up Contacts, several ways:
Samsung Kies -- follow the sticky at the top of this forum, it will back them up to your PC.
Export to SD Card, then copy to your PC -- Enter the Contacts app, hit Menu, More, Import/Export, Export to SD Card.
Copy them to your SIM -- Enter the Contacts app, hit Menu, More, SIM Management.
Sync them to AT&T's servers, which will do it in real-time when you add/delete them, similar to if you synced to your Gmail contacts .. the other benefit here is that you can log on to your AT&T account via the web to manage your phone contacts and it will sync your changes. Useful if you're mass-adding and want to use a full keyboard for speed. -- Enter the Contacts app, hit Menu, More, Settings, AT&T Address Book, click Auto Sync contact with online Address Book.
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Click to collapse
Awesome. Sounds like backing up the contacts won't be a problem.
Backing up paid apps: I have not used it, myself, but Titanium Backup might do what you need, as the previous poster said. You can find it in the Market and read up on it.
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Click to collapse
Will look into it. What would really be nice would be if google would do this for us. Seems like it would be pretty easy for google to remember which apps I have purchased, and not charge me next time I try to download it. Perhaps the marketplace already does this? I just don't want to buy an app and then remove it to find out....actually I will not pay for any apps until I can figure out how to back them up. I don't mind spending $5 on an app, but I do mind spending $5 for each app every time the phone gets reset...
Backing up app/data settings to a PC. I'm guessing this would be more app-specific than anything, no? I don't think Google imposes or enforces any standards on data/setting storage for apps, so any single backup tool would have to support individual apps one-by-one. Please update this thread if you find anything, because it would be pretty convenient ....
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Click to collapse
Again, I don't know, this is my first android phone. But with Ubuntu Linux, pretty much all apps store their settings in a hidden folder in /home/{your-username}/ (i.e. firefox would store it's data in /home/{your-username}/.firefox/ ) All you have to do to backup all of your settings is to backup the /home/{your-username}/ folder. It is common for people to place /home/ on a different disk/partition, so that you can reinstall the OS and not loose any of your data/settings...
Android is also linux so I would think it would be similar...

cypho said:
Seems like it would be pretty easy for google to remember which apps I have purchased, and not charge me next time I try to download it. Perhaps the marketplace already does this?
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Click to collapse
I am not sure how most app developers currently handle this, but I think Google made it easier a few weeks ago with the announcement of their new "licensing service for android applications". Plug that into your favorite search site (minus the quotation marks) and a post from Eric Chu explaining it on the Android Developers Blog should be up top.
But with Ubuntu Linux, pretty much all apps store their settings in a hidden folder in /home/{your-username}/
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Click to collapse
Home directories are great. =) I haven't used Ubuntu in a long time, so I'm not sure if you're saying that the system enforces it or if it's still just up to the individual developers to follow convention and store their settings in /home/ ... but I'm looking through my internal SD card and it seems like most of the apps I have installed (including the Google ones) each created their own data directory at the root level. :\

Titanium also backs up your contacts, paid apps, and free apps. The pros of rooting outway the cons. You can always un root if you need to send your phone in. I am also a newb and I've been wondering if I had to return my phone and get a new one will my paid apps carry over to a new device. I have the my license key for Titanium so I am thinking that I will be good in the event of such emergency. All of my paid apps are backed up there and I wiped my phone to factory settings the other night, I didn't un root, I was trouble shooting an issue caused by AT&. I did a reinstall of Titanium and it recognized my device because it installed donated version and I restored everything with ease.

UserNamer said:
I haven't used Ubuntu in a long time, so I'm not sure if you're saying that the system enforces it or if it's still just up to the individual developers to follow convention and store their settings in /home/ ...
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I don't know, as I'm not a developer. But I would think that it would cause problems if a program tried to save data outside of /home/ The user would probably be prompted for their password every time the app tried to write a file...since sudo is required to gain write access to anything outside of home.

Backing up data prior to root

One of my coworkers wants me to root his but doesn't wanna loose all data if it's preventable, is this possible?

What is he wanting to keep, and is he going back to a sense-based ROM after rooting?
I retained my contacts by syncing sense, google, facebook, etc before rooting mine. There are some file explorers out there that don't REQUIRE root, so you could possibly use one of those to back up things to your SD card (I can't speak to their effectiveness - I purposefully kept my dependency on this phone low until I had rooted it because of this).
Has he tried using the HTC PC software for his phone? Perhaps there are some features in there that will allow him to sync the things he wants to keep?
I'll look for some tools if you can give me an idea of what he needs to keep... (trust me, my wife's only reply was "everything" when I rooted hers I feel your pain).

Tx Redneck said:
One of my coworkers wants me to root his but doesn't wanna loose all data if it's preventable, is this possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What data are we talking about?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

Specificity is your friend, here at XDA...
As mentioned, if contacts are have been synced to Google, then they'll automatically return.
You can also try MyBackup Pro for contacts, pics, and the other basic stuff.
If you want to backup app-specific data, if the app has a built-in back-up mechanism, then you're good for that app, but if it doesn't (and many don't), you're going to have to have root access in order for that type of data to be accessable by a backup app such as titanium backup, as it's kept in a special location that's normally of limits to any other app other than the one that "owns" that data. For example, when I rooted my phone, I said goodbye to all my angry birds scores/progress, and had to start from scratch.
Sent from my Inspire using XDA Premium

You always have to lose data to initially root. Then from that point you can always backup.
He can backup texts and all before rooting though.

Thanks yall, he was afraid of loosing everything but I assured him that his piktars and music were saved to SD, contacts to Google and SIM but his SMS, I don't know how to backup/save.

Tx Redneck said:
Thanks yall, he was afraid of loosing everything but I assured him that his piktars and music were saved to SD, contacts to Google and SIM but his SMS, I don't know how to backup/save.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sms backup and restore. It doesn't require root.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App

Use My Backup Pro, it even restores your home screen setup to a point. I used it before rooting (pay for it! Its worth it)
-Sent from a block of aluminum running LeeDrOId

Silas0220 said:
Use My Backup Pro, it even restores your home screen setup to a point. I used it before rooting (pay for it! Its worth it)
-Sent from a block of aluminum running LeeDrOId
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I normally use TB to backup all my apps (+ data for the apps) because if using Apps2SD, it remembers and put the files back in the same place.
I use My Backup Pro for all my other data; sms text messages, mms, contacts (can NEVER have enough backups of that, LOL), calendar, browser favorites (seems to also hold my cookies and passwords, a major help!!!!!), music lists, and as mentioned, a near copy of every page of your desktop screen - icon placements, etc, which also is a major time saver.
So pretty much I use both, and paid for both, worth every penny in both time and effort saved.
Plus, TB has other cool features; dalvik cache cleaner (no need to reboot into recovery!), market link doctor (used many times, to fix programs that are installed, but the market don't see them anymore), and the many batch run ops, like mass move to SD card, restore only missing apps, etc. And, when rooted, you now CAN remove any bloatware at ease! Even Sprint apps.

Tx Redneck said:
Thanks yall, he was afraid of loosing everything but I assured him that his piktars and music were saved to SD, contacts to Google and SIM but his SMS, I don't know how to backup/save.
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Click to collapse
Oh none of that is lost. Pics remain untouched as does the whole SD card. Contacts are backed up to Google, etc. Texts and call log is the only thing lost, and you can find backup solutions for that on the market.

You don't loose data or apps when rooting unless you get lost and brick your phone.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G
XDA Developers Premium App

[Q] Final few questions hopefully on infuse 4g

Alright i have 2 other threads made but not all my questions were answered and i have a couple more
1) I wanna know how to backup my stuff so its not all lost just in case... Like a good app that at LEAST gets my contacts, sms and perhaps some app data? Only because i have ultimate password manager and it is a pain putting them all in
2) Im having trouble getting the drivers for my phone on my computer... i know i can press install driver in kies to get them but my computer keeps failing at that... what mode does it ahve to be in? Samsung ezupdater, media or mass storage?
3)can i just get a download link so i can install kies mini because i guess that is what i need... Correct me if im wrong
4) the main thing i want from rooting is the under/over clocking thing and i wanna get rid of the sms messages from my call log... Does the infused gingerbread kernel from the thread in the link below help me get that or do i ahve to find a rom first?if so what is a good rom?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1197248
5)Any help is much appreciated... thanks a bunch

Download the drivers from Samsungs web site.
Contacts - open contacts, tap menu, tap export. If you have an external micro card save them to that.
Once rooted, use Titanium Backup to back up your apps & app data.
Not sure how to save sms messages.
Overclocking can make your phone unstable.
I like Infused 2.1.0. Very stable and gets rid of the sms in the log.
Cranky...

Truckerglenn said:
Download the drivers from Samsungs web site.
Contacts - open contacts, tap menu, tap export. If you have an external micro card save them to that.
Once rooted, use Titanium Backup to back up your apps & app data.
Not sure how to save sms messages.
Overclocking can make your phone unstable.
I like Infused 2.1.0. Very stable and gets rid of the sms in the log.
Cranky...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try SMS Backup and Restore for free in the market. Works like a champ

Contacts - I strongly recommend syncing contacts to a Google account. If you do that, backup/restore of contacts is seamless and automated.
Apps/app settings - Titanium backup. Don't use it for system apps/settings. Note that you still need to manually copy the TiBu backups from the SD card though.
SMS and Call Logs - There are two apps, SMS Backup and Restore and Call Logs Backup and Restore. Just like TiBu, you'll need to manually copy the backups off of your SD card periodically.

Entropy512 said:
Contacts - I strongly recommend syncing contacts to a Google account. If you do that, backup/restore of contacts is seamless and automated.
Apps/app settings - Titanium backup. Don't use it for system apps/settings. Note that you still need to manually copy the TiBu backups from the SD card though.
SMS and Call Logs - There are two apps, SMS Backup and Restore and Call Logs Backup and Restore. Just like TiBu, you'll need to manually copy the backups off of your SD card periodically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@truckerglenn -i cant find the drivers from samsung website, but i heard infused is sick so ill get that... you able to help me get that? Should i do that root from that forum i linked to? Thanks man?
@irish - Yea i got that thanks
@entrop - Yea i thought of that too, but when i went to try it, i saw that my phone already had the check in sync contacts, i have the gmail app signed in, but my gmail doesnt have them... what should i do?

joeym11 said:
@truckerglenn -i cant find the drivers from samsung website, but i heard infused is sick so ill get that... you able to help me get that? Should i do that root from that forum i linked to? Thanks man?
@irish - Yea i got that thanks
@entrop - Yea i thought of that too, but when i went to try it, i saw that my phone already had the check in sync contacts, i have the gmail app signed in, but my gmail doesnt have them... what should i do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as drivers go just download samsung kies on your pc and install it. Then you can uninstall it if you want.
Infused should have some instructions to flash in the op. Just make aure you read through them a couple times before going ahead with it.
And honestly syncing contacts with google never worked for me lol. So i couldnt help you with that one
Sent from my friggin huge Samsung Infuse

Truckerglenn said:
Download the drivers from Samsungs web site.
Contacts - open contacts, tap menu, tap export. If you have an external micro card save them to that.
Once rooted, use Titanium Backup to back up your apps & app data.
Not sure how to save sms messages.
Overclocking can make your phone unstable.
I like Infused 2.1.0. Very stable and gets rid of the sms in the log.
Cranky...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uncle Irish said:
Try SMS Backup and Restore for free in the market. Works like a champ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Entropy512 said:
Contacts - I strongly recommend syncing contacts to a Google account. If you do that, backup/restore of contacts is seamless and automated.
Apps/app settings - Titanium backup. Don't use it for system apps/settings. Note that you still need to manually copy the TiBu backups from the SD card though.
SMS and Call Logs - There are two apps, SMS Backup and Restore and Call Logs Backup and Restore. Just like TiBu, you'll need to manually copy the backups off of your SD card periodically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reynaldinho111 said:
As far as drivers go just download samsung kies on your pc and install it. Then you can uninstall it if you want.
Infused should have some instructions to flash in the op. Just make aure you read through them a couple times before going ahead with it.
And honestly syncing contacts with google never worked for me lol. So i couldnt help you with that one
Sent from my friggin huge Samsung Infuse
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't work when i try and install the drivers... It keeps failing... hope my phone isn't screwed. Is the infused gonna work on my canadian infuse 4g on rogers? and ill try the contacts another way... maybe an external sd card... thanks

I would recommend going to the market and searching for "contacts to SIM", it will backup all your contacts to your SIM Card so you can just pop it in if you get a new phone.
Also, Titanium Backup is great for applications (and their data).
For the drivers I'm not sure, I would say uninstall Kies and plug your phone into mass-storage mode, if you're on Windows it should download and install the drivers automatically...

Alright contacts to sim worked perfectly... Titanium says I need to have root access so maybe I will need to copy those pws... And for the driver situation... I'm on windows 7,and when I plug in my phone on mass storage, it comes up with the windows that has like browse files and that stuff, kind like when you put in a dvd, it has play and in all the programs you can play it with... Does this mean I'm all set?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997R using XDA App

The SIM is very limited in terms of what contact info it can store for each contact. I'd strongly recommend syncing to Google, as it should backup nearly everything.
If you want a "non-cloud" backup, GMail supports exporting contacts in multiple file formats.

Entropy512 said:
The SIM is very limited in terms of what contact info it can store for each contact. I'd strongly recommend syncing to Google, as it should backup nearly everything.
If you want a "non-cloud" backup, GMail supports exporting contacts in multiple file formats.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wanted to do that but it doesn't seem to work... the check mark is there to sync them in my gmail app, but it doesn't actually show up on my gmail. i just bought an external sd card so i guess that'll do...now one more thing... If i want to root my device and have infused 2.1.0, do i still need to do the root that i had linked to below?http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1197248
Like what i am thinking has to be done, correct me if im wrong, i would root the device with taht, then that allows me to use the rom, im thinking in the rom downloader?

Data lost after update

Hey guys, I just updated my phone, all stock updates, no root or custom roms. Now all my music and pics are gone, as well as contacts but the messages are still there
Has this happened to anyone else, it's really stressful for me and I don't what to do :/

You're contacts should have been stored in google and when you went through the device set up after update they should have been restored after you sign into google? In the future there it's a application called my backup and it doesn't require root to use it. You can backup you're applications data and contacts that way if you are updating or things of that nature. In your contacts is there a way to see if they are stored on your sd card? It's been a long while since I was running stock but I think I remember settings that you can restore the contact's from your sd card back to your device. Look into the contract menu and see if that option is available . I'm a bit confused as to why they were not restored automatically when you signed into your google account? Being stock your very limited as to what you can and can not do. If all else fails contact your provider, they might know of a way to restore your contacts on there end. I wish I could be of more help but I'm not sure what kind of options you have available to you running stock .
Perhaps try a reset again and sign in through your google during set up and google should restore them automatically after sign in. I know when I flash roms and change my software, once I sign in the initial set up through google my contacts are all restored . This might work. It wouldn't hurt to try it. I wish you the best and hope you can get your issue resolved soon ! Hopefully they are not gone but stored to your sd card. If you have a card reader you can put the sd card in it and see which files are stored on it, including pictures. Unless the update erased them somehow. I wish I could be of more help. Best wishes.
Sent from my Sensation Z710e using xda premium

No but a recent update by htc ****ed up my wifi real bad. I don't like it when HTC updates my stuff because they always **** **** up.

Backup Questions

I have a new phone, Samsung Galaxy J7, with Android 6.01, NOT rooted.I have read a lot of threads about backup, but none that really answer my questions.
Here are some things that I DON"T need backed up--contacts, calendar, e-mail messages, etc. Because I have an Exchange account (also Gmail Imap account), and those items will sync from there. I also would not need a backup app for photos, music, etc. Photos are files on my SD card that I can easily copy to the computer. Music files are first on my computer, that I transfer to the SD card. No need for a backup app for that. Apps themselves need no backup, as they can always get re-downloaded from the app store, and frequently update anyhow.
What I need backup for, is what will not sync from Exchange nor Imap, nor files that can be copied from and to the computer. Mostly settings--the general phone and Android settings, home screens, accounts, etc. (So that if something goes wrong with the phone and all that is lost, I would not have to spend hours setting it all up from scratch, entering account info again, etc. Also helpful-settings for apps.
I installed the Helium app, that reviews say is a good backup app (free version). I do not find it very useful. I have no idea why it makes you connect to the computer, then initiate its desktop app, just to verify the app somehow? But then, it will not backup to the computer! Nor even to the SD card. It does have an option to backup to the cloud with the pro version, but I would rather backup locally. It only backs up to internal phone memory. What use is that if the phone gets messed up and that backup is no longer in internal memory?
Furthermore, I see in Helium no way to backup phone settings, account into, etc. It can backup apps, or only app data. So I backed up the app data, went to a folder in internal memory called Carbon, and I copied that folder to the SD card and external HDD. Yet I do not find that very helpful.
I see that in the OS Settings that Google automatically backs up settings, etc., to one's Google Cloud account. OK. That's good. But I see no way to restore. Only that when one reinstalls an app, it will automatically reinsall the settings for that app. That's good. Perhaps no use for the app settings backup from Helium then. But what if something goes wrong on the phone and my homescreens get messed up? How would automatic restore help that? It is good if Google is automatically saving all my phone settings to the cloud. But if I have no way to manually restore them, what use is that? (Perhaps would work for app settings, as described, but not for phone and OS settings, accounts, etc.)
Could anyone tell me, is there a way to backup the info as I dscribed above, either through an internal feature, or with an external app (that does not requrie root), so that if the phone gets messed up somehow i can quickly and easily restore it to how it was?
(Surprised that Android does not have a feature like System restore in Windows.)
Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Please tell what you want to know and what is your problem in easy sentences?
Give a Thanks if i helped you!
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Ace GT-S5830I
Currently Running:CMX11 Beta 6(CyanogenMod 11) with [email protected] kernel
---------- Post added at 09:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:45 AM ----------
Without root system cant be backed up totally
Give a Thanks if i helped you!
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Ace GT-S5830I
Currently Running:CMX11 Beta 6(CyanogenMod 11) with [email protected] kernel

sohamsen, Thank you for your reply.
I think my question was very clear., I had to give details to make it clear what backup capability I am looking for, as well as details on my phone.. I don't know how I can put it in "easy sentences"? If English is not your main language, might Google Translate help?
If I wrote a simple sentence like "How do I backup my phone"? that would indeed be simple, but would not really explain well what I am looking for.
Anyone else? Thanks in advance.

https://www.recovery-android.com/backup-and-restore-android.html
Go to this link it will help you
Give a Thanks if i helped you!
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Ace GT-S5830I
Currently Running:CMX11 Beta 6(CyanogenMod 11) with [email protected] kernel

I am having the same wants, and the link above gives the ability to restore the items I can already backup and restore. Does anyone have any other suggestions for software? I am willing to purchase the software, or use free software. I just am hoping to backup my old apps configurations and files.
Liquidd