Flashtool Settings - Sony Xperia XZ Questions & Answers

Hello
I'm trying to update from 41.2.A.7.35 to 41.A.7.53 using flashtool. I am relatively familiar with Flashtool at this point. I have installed stock firmwares a couple of times. Each time I have flashed a firmware i checked all boxes in the "Wipe" pane giving me a fresh install.
What i was curious about was, how can i prevent from formatting my drive each month when a new update rolls out. So what setting do i leave checked and unchecked in the flashtool? I'm mostly concerned with retaining apps and appdata along with settings and messages.
Thank you

I normally mark all in wipe section. Today i flash customized AU without problems.

normally no wipe neccessary
Hummusman said:
how can i prevent from formatting my drive each month when a new update rolls out. So what setting do i leave checked and unchecked in the flashtool?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you do not upgrade the Android version, or go from 39... to 41... or you have "strange" behavior before or after the upgrade: do not wipe anything
Some partitions like /system are overwritten anyway. If you are root you might get away with wiping cache/dalvik if anything feels strange.
When switching ROMs or upgrading Android versions I use Titanium backup to shorten the process:
- look for unsaved apps after upgrade -> bloat candidates, let TB delete deal with them after looking at the list and deciding what to let go
- restore all user apps with data
- manually restore all logins of apps that have accounts e.g. email (the time consuming part)
I use Apex launcher and its setting are restored too, so I will have a familiar look and feel even on a different ROM.

Related

[Q] Titanium backup question

Searched and didn't find this specific question or anything close - so I'll post
I've been flashing roms a lot now that I've got the hang of it, but I think I was creating a problem for myself with titanium backup, which I think I've maybe now solved, but I'm not absolutely sure.
On the last couple of nighlies of CM that I've flashed I've been getting unfixable FC of the phone app (rom manager fix permissions didn't fix it and neither did wiping dalvik cache).
So I flashed ns-collab and I like it, but today I got the same FC problems and had to restore my nandroid to get the phone working (I was at work).
NS-collab is meant to be stable so I was starting to think that it's not the roms that are at fault but something I'm doing, and I had a feeling it was what I do with TB. So here is exactly what I do when I flash a new rom.
____________________________
I have TB set to "backup all user apps". That's it - no system data.
Before flashing the rom (even if it's just an update) I clear data, cache, and dalvik cache.
When I've got the new rom flashed I do not allow google backup to restore my stuff as I want it done with TB.
In TB restore I run "Restore all apps with data". When I do this I select the app+data checkbox in TB before clicking "Run the batch operation".
___________________________
So, I had a look at the apps that get restored when I run TB "Restore all apps with data", and I noticed there is quite a lot of android stuff in there like the dialler and lots of other services that are part of the android os and don't need restored with TB really.
I've just flashed the updated version of ns-collab and I removed all these android services from the TB restore before I ran it so I'll see if any problems crop up now.
But my question is, was I causing the phone to be unstable by allowing these android services to be restored by TB. Remember I did not select to restore system data, but I am wondering if system data was restored anyway because there were android apps in the list and I had the app+data option selected.
Hope the above isn't confusing and any advice will be appreciated.
Lot of information but I say you found your problem yourself.
I have not had issues in the past restoring: bookmarks, contacts/calls storage, SMS/MMS/APN Dialer storage, SMS/MMS PREFS etc.
I do think you are giving yourself a little extra work than needed. It is not necessary to do a data wipe before updating a ROM, wiping cache and dalvik cache should be sufficient and a lot of people don't even do that. Of course a good clean wipe every now and then is good and gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside like after you change the oil in your car
In general, I do not recommend a full batch restore like restore all apps and data. I find when restoring with TB it is a good time to clean up and only restore the apps your really want back on your phone. I also do a batch restore, de-select all and just go down the list and pick out the stuff I HAVE to have.
irishrally said:
I have not had issues in the past restoring: bookmarks, contacts/calls storage, SMS/MMS/APN Dialer storage, SMS/MMS PREFS etc.
I do think you are giving yourself a little extra work than needed. It is not necessary to do a data wipe before updating a ROM, wiping cache and dalvik cache should be sufficient and a lot of people don't even do that. Of course a good clean wipe every now and then is good and gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside like after you change the oil in your car
In general, I do not recommend a full batch restore like restore all apps and data. I find when restoring with TB it is a good time to clean up and only restore the apps your really want back on your phone. I also do a batch restore, de-select all and just go down the list and pick out the stuff I HAVE to have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you are right about me giving myself work. Because I'm still a noob I'm still over cautious I think.
Maybe I'll try doing it your way. Sounds sensible.
Anybody know definitively whether me restoring everything via all apps and data would have contributed to the FCs I have been getting?
buachaille said:
I think you are right about me giving myself work. Because I'm still a noob I'm still over cautious I think.
Maybe I'll try doing it your way. Sounds sensible.
Anybody know definitively whether me restoring everything via all apps and data would have contributed to the FCs I have been getting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try fixing permissions? I only use the batch for Backup all user apps.
Backing up bookmarks.. I use BookmarkSB and SMS (i know theres a app for that) but i use GVoice so i dont need it
I've never had a problem restoring user apps with data. Instead of restoring all, choose restore missing user apps with data or something like that.
Although, I've had problems restoring SMS and certain data for system apps on the NS. Can't figure out why it doesn't work but whatever.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I would suggest you install app2sd & move your application to the sd-card. Each time you flash a new rom just wipe the /cache, dalvik-cache and battery stats. This is all you would ever require.
Thanks for all the replies. Quite a few suggestions there which I will try out.
Didn't have any FC problems at all at work today, so I'm hoping my more cautious restore last night might have done the trick.
buachaille said:
Thanks for all the replies. Quite a few suggestions there which I will try out.
Didn't have any FC problems at all at work today, so I'm hoping my more cautious restore last night might have done the trick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah FCs happen when you backup system apps / bookmarks etc. It could interfere

[Q] Partially Restore CWM backup?

Hey Guys!
So I've been around the place for a while, usually passive. I rooted my phone a few months back, and left it at that coz i was too scared of bricking my new phone . But now getting tired of waiting for the official ICS (Not the buggy leak) has got me thinking of getting a custom Rom (cant decide between Victory or Romulus).
I've just installed CMW, and my phones backing up as we speak. My question is this, is it possible to restore a partial backup? Im hoping that once i get the custom rom up and running, i can restore my contacts, texts and apps onto my new rom. I know titanium backup can restore apps but i assume all that is gone once i format before installing the rom, right?
Thanks guys any help appreciated!
fire_fist_ace said:
Hey Guys!
So I've been around the place for a while, usually passive. I rooted my phone a few months back, and left it at that coz i was too scared of bricking my new phone . But now getting tired of waiting for the official ICS (Not the buggy leak) has got me thinking of getting a custom Rom (cant decide between Victory or Romulus).
I've just installed CMW, and my phones backing up as we speak. My question is this, is it possible to restore a partial backup? Im hoping that once i get the custom rom up and running, i can restore my contacts, texts and apps onto my new rom. I know titanium backup can restore apps but i assume all that is gone once i format before installing the rom, right?
Thanks guys any help appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you install any new ROM, you (usually) need to perform a full wipe through CWM including: wipe user data/factory reset, wipe cache, wipe Dalvik, then flash. Now, that will delete ALL of your stuff, contacts, texts, apps, etc. However, if you have access to WiFi, when your ROM flash has completed, you will be prompted to re-enter your Google account and, at which time, your contacts will re-populate (give it some time). Though, be sure you sync with Google's servers prior to your flash, so that any new contacts will be re-added once your account has been added after the flash. Also, if on WiFi, when your account has been entered, go to Google Play Store, and click the "my apps" button, and again after some time (depending on the number of apps you had) they too will re-populate. As far as texts, you could try a text backup app -not too familiar with this, as I don't ever have a need to save any texts- and you should be good. Word of warning: DO NOT use Titanium Backup to restore ANY application data, only the apps themselves. Also, another good alternative to TIB is App Backup & Restore. Hopefully, this clears up any doubts you have with your "stuff" and how to retrieve it after a flash...
Apex used capital letters in "do not restore app data" with good reason. Only a handful of times have I not followed those directions and every time I got weird fc's and an overall more unstable system. It's a shame there isn't a good way to do it but it only leads to heartache. Always keep a solid backup. I keep two. One original and another after a couple days on a new rom so that I'm able to experiment down the line.
I hope you have a good experience with your new system and learn a bit. It gets a little addicting.
Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk 2
Apex_Strider said:
When you install any new ROM, you (usually) need to perform a full wipe through CWM including: wipe user data/factory reset, wipe cache, wipe Dalvik, then flash. Now, that will delete ALL of your stuff, contacts, texts, apps, etc. However, if you have access to WiFi, when your ROM flash has completed, you will be prompted to re-enter your Google account and, at which time, your contacts will re-populate (give it some time). Though, be sure you sync with Google's servers prior to your flash, so that any new contacts will be re-added once your account has been added after the flash. Also, if on WiFi, when your account has been entered, go to Google Play Store, and click the "my apps" button, and again after some time (depending on the number of apps you had) they too will re-populate. As far as texts, you could try a text backup app -not too familiar with this, as I don't ever have a need to save any texts- and you should be good. Word of warning: DO NOT use Titanium Backup to restore ANY application data, only the apps themselves. Also, another good alternative to TIB is App Backup & Restore. Hopefully, this clears up any doubts you have with your "stuff" and how to retrieve it after a flash...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, once i clear everything and flash, to get back my apps all i have to do is reinstall "App Backup and Restore" then I can restore any saved apps? Because looking at the play store, the list in my apps (Not Installed) is too long, and contains apps that i simply installed to try and immediately removed.
One more thing as well, well actually 2. I was watching a video by mastermind278 on youtube on how to install custom Roms. He installs a rom by selecting restore from cmw recovery, so my question is, does that restore method work for installing most Roms, say for example, the Romulus rom? And finally, are the separate mods installed in the same way?
fire_fist_ace said:
So, once i clear everything and flash, to get back my apps all i have to do is reinstall "App Backup and Restore" then I can restore any saved apps? Because looking at the play store, the list in my apps (Not Installed) is too long, and contains apps that i simply installed to try and immediately removed.
One more thing as well, well actually 2. I was watching a video by mastermind278 on youtube on how to install custom Roms. He installs a rom by selecting restore from cmw recovery, so my question is, does that restore method work for installing most Roms, say for example, the Romulus rom? And finally, are the separate mods installed in the same way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can 'manually' select which apps you'd like to restore from within this app, so if there are some you'd rather forgo restoring, you can pick and choose.
As far as the flashing method through CWM, you'll just have to read and understand each of the ROM's flashing methods, as some of the GB ROM installs are different (flash or CWM restore). All of which are detailed in the threads for these ROM's. Along with that, any mods you'd like, you'll just need to refer to the install instructions for each...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

How to restore using Titanium Backup

I had recently rooted my phone and had installed Titanium backup using which I backed up all the apps+data.
Using Titanium backup I tried to remove a stock app provided by lg. During this process the phone rebooted twice and after that I saw that the phone had been reset to the factory settings.
I restored by following the below steps
Titanium backup > Backup/Restore > menu > batch > Restore > run Restore missing apps + all system data.
After restoring I observe that the phone is not being able to connect to any wifi, however previously when it was in factory reset it was being able to connect to wifi. Could anyone please help.
Which stock app did u remove?
sarus_b said:
Which stock app did u remove?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it was one of "Dhingana", "Bollywoodji" or "AG indian newspapers". I had restored after that but currently I do not find "Dhingana" among the installed apps.
It would be the best of you would factory reset again. If you have a custom recovery, then reboot into it(either from ROM Manager or with phone off holding Volume Down+Home+Power) and wipe data, cache etc. If you haven't got a custom recovery, then power your phone off and use the key combination above. It should work.
And don't use "restore system data" option in Titanium. Better restore individual apps in the "Backup/Restore" without going into the Batch mode.
--
P>
Sent from my LG-P500 using xda app-developers app
Which setting/file are the system settings saved in? Things like the nav bar, notification bar, display, account syns, etc....? I know all about the pitfalls of restoring system data across different ROMs and for those cases, I just bite the bullet and redo all of those settings. But it seriously takes an hour or two to go in and redo all of those settings and if a RM is getting updated every couple of weeks, this just gets way too tedious for it to be worth it.
I know I can just do a system data + app and data restore for those cases and I do use that but there are times when I do not want every single thing restored and it would be nice to know which file all of those settings are saved in. I tried tinkering with just a few of those but I could not seem to find it.
Thank you in advance for any help, much appreciated.
And/or which file(s) cause the android.process.media to stop working and in general causes apps to crash? Also, does the Android ID cause/affect that? Thanks again.
[Edit] After much trial and error, I found the cause of the android.media.process and all apps in general crashing as a result problem(s). It was the file(s) Download Manager eng.prbassplayer and/or Downloads eng.prbassplayer inside Titanium Backup - Restore System Data selections. Just fyi for those wanting to know. I restored all other system and app data besides those and had no problems whatsoever with all Interface settings restored. I still did not figure out which file restored the Interface settings, if anyone could still shed some light on that.
This post relates to custom ROMs and restoring stuff with TB. Hoping someone can help.
I have been playing with Resurrection Remix for the last 7 months and have recently switched to Vanilla Rootbox.
With these two ROM's (and probably others) when an update is released a wipe/factory reset is required before installing the update. This causes a great amount of inconvenience as I have to manually re-setup all my shortcuts/widgets, email accounts, custom settings such as custom settings (toggles, etc...) ringtones and notifications sounds and so on.
All this takes ages and I'm getting a little tired of having to do it. There must be an easier way? Can this sort of stuff be restored with TB? I could be wrong but I don't think it can.
Many thanks.
tmarinos said:
This post relates to custom ROMs and restoring stuff with TB. Hoping someone can help.
I have been playing with Resurrection Remix for the last 7 months and have recently switched to Vanilla Rootbox.
With these two ROM's (and probably others) when an update is released a wipe/factory reset is required before installing the update. This causes a great amount of inconvenience as I have to manually re-setup all my shortcuts/widgets, email accounts, custom settings such as custom settings (toggles, etc...) ringtones and notifications sounds and so on.
All this takes ages and I'm getting a little tired of having to do it. There must be an easier way? Can this sort of stuff be restored with TB? I could be wrong but I don't think it can.
Many thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try to save them in TB, if you can find in TB and save them it will be restored to any rom you will use in future
I was under the impression that those settings caused problems if formats were needed and especially between different ROM's?
And yeah, tmarinos I definitely her you there. I have stopped using those extra customizations for my ROM, though I can usually restore my home screen and app drawer settings safely, thankfully.
The developers of my ROM (Slim Bean) have started that they want to include a feature to restores those settings between resets, so hopefully that type of feature becomes more integrated as time goes on. Hopefully.
On another note, my phone's TB is having issues. When it runs an automated scheduled backup task, it keeps saying "insufficient storage" but if I manually run that exact same task it runs just fine. Anyone have any idea what that's about?
Sent from my GT-P3113 using xda app-developers app

Various troubles with my OnePlus 7pro (rooted) + questions about restoring Nandroid

Dear community, I am facing several troubles with my OP7pro which I think can be quite easily handled but my knowledge is just too little.
I am running OOS 10.0.2 with Renovate ICE, rooted with Magisk and on TWRP 3.3.1-70 - stock kernel and normally encrypted. I am facing various troubles that started after upgrading from 9.5.13 tot Android 10. I do not know if they are directly related. I do have Nandroids, BUT the phone is my daily driver, also for work, and a factory reset will just take too much time.
What are the troubles you ask?
- I am not able to enter the menu Buttons&Gestures/navigation/set up navigation bar. The screen blinks and I am back in the upper menu. If I press this menu again I get a "Settings stopped". This sucks, because I want to set up my on-screen buttons
- I used to use Plus Beat in combination with RICE on Android 9. Worked perfect. Whatever I set up, Plus Beat just does not work. That sucks big time.
- I am not able to set on screen buttons to for example switch between recent apps or get anything else but horizontal recents (which is slow and to me sucks). QuickSwitch via Magisk doesn't bring anything.
NOW TO THE QUESTIONS:
I GUESS (! but am not sure!) that a factoryreset could and should solve these problems. I could and would do that, but, I need to be up and running and have my settings back quickly. Internal memory (root) I could copy to PC and paste back afterwords. But is there some way I could put my settings (in the menu) and all my apps (250+) back via Nandroid data?
I have the following things backed up in TWRP:
- Boot
- System Image
- Vendor Image
- Data
- Modem
- EFS
If I do a complete new factory set-up (for example via Maurefranio's tool), to refresh my system (I guess the failure is in there), can I put back other parts of the Nandroid to have all the rest back? Also in the menu-settings, color-setting etc. etc. etc.?
I know it sounds rooky, but I hope someone takes time to help me a little. I do use Titaninium etc. but I can't spend hours and hours on a recovery. In that case I'd probably decide to keep using the OP7pro as I do, but it's frustrating that RICE and Plus Beat don't work fully and some other errors. The usability to me is 4 out of 10 - where in Android 9 it was surely 9 out of 10.
Greetings,
existenz
Are you running a substratum theme? That could be the settings issue. But that's about all I could help with. Never restored anything using twrp on this phone. Most I've done is backup my apps with swift backup, factory reset, or MSM tool, and restore my apps.
How quickly do you need your phone up and running? You could backup with swift backup, factory reset and only restore what you need for now then do the rest when you have time.
@GeekMcLeod: no, Substratum not even installed. All this trouble started after the regular update to Android 10.
But more my question is: IF I flash the whole phone back to factory setting (not a reset because the errors might still be there so a complete whipe and re-flash) - which part of Nandroid is usefull to get SETTINGS and APPS back? Just that. The internal memory I can copy and paste back.
I really hope someone can give me a quick instruction of how this works. Much appreciated!
exis_tenz said:
@GeekMcLeod: no, Substratum not even installed. All this trouble started after the regular update to Android 10.
But more my question is: IF I flash the whole phone back to factory setting (not a reset because the errors might still be there so a complete whipe and re-flash) - which part of Nandroid is usefull to get SETTINGS and APPS back? Just that. The internal memory I can copy and paste back.
I really hope someone can give me a quick instruction of how this works. Much appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In that case, I would just use swift backup, backup to your device. Transfer SD card contents to your computer, factory reset. Transfer SD card files back. Swift backup can backup all apps and data. I believe that would work for what you want.
I, however, do not know what parts of the nandroid do what as I usually just don't bother with it.
GeekMcLeod: appreciate your advise, but Nandroid is there for a reason.
Is there anyone who can please help me what to do best? I mean, one of those Nandroid-partitions holds the clue, right?
I am also facing overnight Batterydrain of about 30% (from 80 to 50 in about 7-7,5 hours).
No Nandroid specialists in the house?
You need to wipe your data. Use Swift to backup apps, messages and call logs. Google will do it's best to restore settings upon setup. Your problem is almost guaranteed to be in data. If you need that data, I would recommend going back to whatever version of pie you were on before. Swift won't restore app permissions, as far as I know so be sure to double check if you restore apps with Swift.

How to properly FULLY backup an android phone that doesn't have TWRP.

Please advise. I really **Really** want to be sure that if I try to backup my sister's phone that I do it properly and can fully and cleanly restore it to a new ROM with no issue. (Be sure that I'll also do external backups of Photos and SMS/MMS databases and whatever else possible onto a computer first, in case of data loss or if I screw up.)
---
Okay, so here's the situation: (Google Pixel 6 Pro)
So I installed a custom ROM on my sisters brand new phone a couple of months back. Problem is, the dev behind said ROM may stop maintaining it due to personal reasons. I'll need to in this case switch her phone to another ROM, so that she continues to receive security updates. By the sounds of it I have to wipe the phone completely when switching ROMs, including the user partition. (Correct me if wrong.)
I'm still fairly new to the custom ROM/unlocked bootloader world, so I wanted to kindly ask around for advice on how to **Properly** backup her phone in such a way that I can later fully restore her photos, SMS/MMS, apps, etc. more or less as though I never switched ROMs on her.
I've already heard of TWRP, but the phone doesn't have a version for it. I also heard about the promising Migrate app posted here. Last but not least is the ADB backup feature--however I also heard some conflicting information suggesting that of late Google is deprecating that feature and making it useless. (Please correct if wrong.) I'm still fairly new to the whole custom ROM scene (and rooting too, but in this case her phone is unrooted, only bootloader unlocked with a custom ROM).
Rule #1 - if a OS is fast, stable and fulfilling it's mission... let it be! Updates can and do break things. Pie and higher are relatively secure unless you do stupid things. This stock, optimized N10+ is still running on Pie; last update >2.5 years, current load is over 2 yo. Still fast, stable and secure. I spend very little time doing maintenance and this load runs like a bat out of hell. What's not to like?
If you have to reload latter so be it. Don't go looking for trouble by messing with firmware unless you absolutely need to. Taking a more conservative approach will save you time and trouble in the long run. Google doesn't care about your time or the trouble their updates cause you.
ruq said:
Please advise. I really **Really** want to be sure that if I try to backup my sister's phone that I do it properly and can fully and cleanly restore it to a new ROM with no issue. (Be sure that I'll also do external backups of Photos and SMS/MMS databases and whatever else possible onto a computer first, in case of data loss or if I screw up.)
---
Okay, so here's the situation: (Google Pixel 6 Pro)
So I installed a custom ROM on my sisters brand new phone a couple of months back. Problem is, the dev behind said ROM may stop maintaining it due to personal reasons. I'll need to in this case switch her phone to another ROM, so that she continues to receive security updates. By the sounds of it I have to wipe the phone completely when switching ROMs, including the user partition. (Correct me if wrong.)
I'm still fairly new to the custom ROM/unlocked bootloader world, so I wanted to kindly ask around for advice on how to **Properly** backup her phone in such a way that I can later fully restore her photos, SMS/MMS, apps, etc. more or less as though I never switched ROMs on her.
I've already heard of TWRP, but the phone doesn't have a version for it. I also heard about the promising Migrate app posted here. Last but not least is the ADB backup feature--however I also heard some conflicting information suggesting that of late Google is deprecating that feature and making it useless. (Please correct if wrong.) I'm still fairly new to the whole custom ROM scene (and rooting too, but in this case her phone is unrooted, only bootloader unlocked with a custom ROM).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There should be no reason to need to wipe user partition. It should only be necessary to, at most, wipe the system partition(stock ROM), data partition(user installed apps and user settings), cache partition and dalvik/ART cache then flash the ROM. These wipes will wipe system data, your user settings, user installed apps and their corresponding app data. These wipes will not wipe data/media, the partition where your photos, videos, downloaded files, etc.. are stored.
You can backup the app data for the user installed apps by connecting to PC then use the PC file manager to open your device's internal storage, go to the Android/data folder, in that folder is all of your user app data. Copy the Android/data folder to your PC. After you install your ROM, reinstall all of the user apps that were installed then you can connect to PC and then copy your backed up Android/data folder over to your device to overwrite the ROMs existing Android/data folder. This will restore your app data for your user installed apps.
Contacts should be backed up to Google and restored when signing into the device after the new ROM boots and re-syncing the device.
You will need to backup your SMS/MMS texts via a separate method. Just do a search for:
"Backup and Restore SMS android"
That should find several methods. Use a method that you are comfortable with.
If you use WhatsApp, backing up and restoring WhatsApp, WhatsApp account and your WhatsApp messages requires it's own specific method. You can find the method by doing a search for:
"Backup and restore WhatsApp"
Sorry, if I knew its specific method, I would explain it.
Is there anything else that you don't want to risk losing or anything specific that is on your device that you 100% absolutely need to be certain gets retained/restored after the update?
What custom ROM are you coming from and what ROM are you going to? Depending on the ROMs in question, you might be able to dirty flash the ROM.

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