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[Q] Android Developers, why are you treating my SD card like a garbage can?

This has been bothering me for quite a while, so I conjured a little story to help sooth my frustration.
Lets say my Android device is the new tenant of a nicely formated loft, this loft being 16gb of square space. To commemorate this new exciting space my device throws a house party. Most of the Apps he invites are pretty well behaved, but some start spilling drinks, then puking on the carpet, then having an orgy, then bukkake-ing the root directory. After discovering such acts, the device politely requests the disruptive guests force quit and leave. "I need more space on my phone." the device replied as each questioned on their way out. To his disbelief, NONE of the Apps cleaned up their mess! Even worse it seems some of the classier Apps, though more organized seem to have been influenced too. Unfortunately the device is forced to live with it, as the police force stopped responding to calls in his neighborhood. One man tries, but it always returns to a mess.
I hope that entertained someone.

i know exactly how you feel... there is at least 7 unused folders just wasting space on my phone. not to mention random mp3's hidden deep within my phone...

PhxkinMassacre said:
i know exactly how you feel... there is at least 7 unused folders just wasting space on my phone. not to mention random mp3's hidden deep within my phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you understand about the unused folders and NOT the bukkake-ing!!

hello, nice story!
I won't say that I am even close to being a developer but I do develop some apps and the thing that I wan't to point out is that apps do not run when they are installed or uninstalled. It's not each application job to clear up the mess it may have created but package manager's which apparently leaves some files be just in case you would like to reinstall the app later(?)...
I would propose to look for a more efficient package manager or doorman/janitor for your loft

That's why I don't invite the guy whos only existence is to make farting noises!

Very good point. However, one thing I don't know is if uninstalling through the market cleans up the SD card better than using a third party mass uninstall app. Something you may want to experiment with.

Back at it again...
Here I am again, and I still don't flippin get it!
After reading some of your comments I realized my main point kind of got glazed over(no pun intended @Scudderb)
My big issue is that there's no hierarchy in place for this crap. In windows, program files are stored in the 'Program Files' directory. In Android (and I credit google and the developers for this sloppy BS) Apps are just throwing all their **** in with my stuff on the ROOT.
How is this acceptable. Seriously, HOW? And if its all cache files and/or temporary documents than WHY THE **** ISN'T ALL THIS CRAP BEING PUT INTO A TEMP/CACHE FOLDER.
I'm PISSED! Why does every app I install get to put their own folder on the ROOT WITH the FOLDERS and FILES that actually matter to me ex: like my music, pictures, movies, documents (OH and by the way, a lot of apps developers do a REALLY ****ty job with their NAMING CONVENTIONS so the folders being created may or may not even look related to the app that put it there!)
::end rant::
My apologies for the colorful language, folder structure and hierarchy are something I design as a web designer so when I see this crap going on in my phone like the inmates are running the asylum... I get angry.
Today I was cleaning up my SD card for the umteen'th time, and found that Foursquare was dumping its temp files directly onto the root of my directory. I blew my top and had to get it out of my system... so..
A MESSAGE TO ALL THE APPS PULLING THESE SHENANIGANS: GROW UP!

The problem here is that it's hard to do it right
For custom data, files are supposed to be saved into "/data/data/com.appname/blah" (that's from the top of my head, could differ slightly). That's the directory to use for data files, but there's one big issue with it: it's on the internal memory storage. We all know that internal memory on Android (without custom ROMs) is.. limited. That's probably why most devs are using SD for larger files.
There's also the "Android/data/com.package_name.blah/blah" directory on the SD card. This directory should be used by apps to store files into and is automatically deleted when the user removes the associated app (but only when you're running Froyo or greater).
The issue with this approach is that users (and developers too, when testing the app) will lose all their data when removing an old version of a specific app. Let's say there's a bug with the Market again and the app suddenly gets uninstalled. User will have to reinstall, result: data will be all gone. That's only one of the many doom scenarios.
I can't speak for other developers, but that's more or less the reason why I started to use a common directory outside of the preferred ones when I was doing apps. It's not a great situation, I fully agree. But would you rather have your data accidentally deleted?
If anyone knows a good way to get around this issue, I'd love to know more about it...

orly
Thanks for the reply @Stripeymilk
I can think of multiple solutions:
#1 Development community adopts a universal directory for files deemed 'User' or 'Save' data that should be stored for future use. (or Google creates this for developers)
#2 Development community adopts the practice of allowing users to pick the directory users want to store an apps data in. (prompt at app's first start)
#3 Store files/data in the cloud.
#4 Users dump trash in the lobbys/living-rooms of developer's and see how quickly they find a solution.
#5 USE THE "Android/data/com.package_name.blah/" FOLDER WHEN ALL YOU'RE REALLY DOING IS STORING CACHE/TEMP FILES!!!
BOTTOM LINE: Its not hard to do it right, Its just hard to get people to do it.

You make it sound so easy
1) I'm all for it, but Google needs to put its weight behind an approach like that because otherwise people will say "I like /Data better than /data or /Mydata or /MyData". It's a bit like coding conventions: everyone wants to be different.
2) Good for techy people, not so good for "normal" users. Could make it easier with a small "file manager", but that's too much work for indie devs. Could be a nice idea for a new open source project though.
3) Great idea, could actually work if the associated account would be created automatically (like in Cut the Rope for Android with Scoreloop), but:
- The backup functionality in Android for storing data in the cloud is available for API level 8 and greater, making it of not so much use when you're targeting API level 5 or 6 and greater. Could be fixed by using something like Google Storage combined with Jets3t instead, but that would be useless for apps written in C++, like many games are.
- Cloud storage isn't free. Developers can't pay for that as it would be too expensive. If every Android user would've gotten free cloud storage from Google it could be a nice alternative, but (yeah, there's always a but) most current users don't have that.
4) If you're prepared to send your trash by plane to another country, go for it!
5) Agreed. Useful for temp data.

I'm not trying to make it sound easy, believe me I know how it isn't. I'm trying to make it sound simple, because really.. it is...
In response:
1) I agree and this is exactly what I mean by the real hard part is getting people to do it. This requires widespread endorsement by developers big and small - that this is a 'best practice' that should be adhered to. I think the gate swings both ways though.
example: Twitter didn't invent hash tags, their users did, and with its widespread adoption, Twitter adopted/implemented it too.
2) Another good point, though this process can be curated to drive the user in the right direction (holding their hand). The XBOX 360 does this for every game you play, the first thing it does is ask you which storage device you want to use for game saves.
example: in combination with solution # 1, the default folder the app saves to could be '/data/theAppsName' and the prompt could say "This app saves files to your SD CARD in '/data/theAppName'. Would you like to choose a new location?" [Yes] [No] [?]. The [Yes] option brings up a simple file manager, the [No] option uses that location, the [?] option brings up an easy to understand write up on what its asking and why its asking it.
3) We'll get there eventually, my point really was if you've got the resources, why not. Its a solution better than #1 and #2
4) I plan on sending human clones to create trash individually and exponentially
5) AMIRITE~!
In all seriousness though, thank you @Stripeymilk for taking the time to go in depth and have a conversation about this. I seriously think it doesn't take an act of Godogle to solve this (to what I beleive) is a big issue!

I can't agree more with you.
As developer (Windows, iSeries) I try to make my programs as structured and readable as possible. The same goes for the files and folders used used by the programs, but sadly, even with all the available resources, some people (colleagues) make a complete mess of it, cause "that's not/less important", as long as the program does what it's intended to do ...
It's all about the resources and people using them the right way!

Cool, didn't know about the hash tags on Twitter
Well, we're on a great site here with developers on it. If everyone here would adhere to the same standard, it could at least be a nice push to make the Android SD card world a better place.
What's the directory we're going to settle on? Any pros and cons?

How you can improve the speed of your android device

Android phones and tablets would have surely gained your attention at one point or another, whether you are a tech-savvy person or not. Owning one makes you feel connected and in-the-loop. But are you really taking care of your Android device? While most of us focus on keeping its physical appearance from harm’s way, a majority ignore the fact that their device’s performance might be slowing down. And a slow Android device takes all the fun away.
Here is a list of some simple steps you can perform to make your Android device perform faster:
1. Perform an inventory of your apps
If you are not using all of your apps in the phone or the tablet, it might be a good decision to delete them permanently. An unused app is synonymous to carrying dead weight. It is commonly known that a full memory can affect the speed of all devices – Android or not. Hence, if you disable or delete apps that aren’t being used, you’ll free up a lot of space in your device and your device will end up performing faster.
2. Clean up your files
Android devices make the moment of clicking photographs and shooting videos very enjoyable. And it intensifies when the device is one that boasts of high-quality resolution. But as soon as these photographs and videos start piling up in your device’s memory, the performance gets hindered. Instead of getting yourself into this mess, decide once and for all which ones you’d like to keep in your device and which ones you can dispense off. Those that you can manage without having in your phone memory can be either deleted or moved to some sort of cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.). And since these cloud storage platforms can be integrated into your Android device, you don’t have to worry much.
3. Refrain from using live wallpapers
Live wallpapers sure are trendy and increase your cool quotient. But there is nothing much they can offer in terms of use. If you experience a downfall in the speed of your device, you can do away with the live wallpapers. Change the live wallpaper and move to a stagnant wallpaper, and see the difference in the speed of your device.
4. Use widgets only when required
Widgets are useful applications as they make the use of your device much easier. But despite the convenience they provide, they drag the speed of your device down. If you are experiencing a loss in the speed of your Android device, you can think of doing away with some widgets, at least the ones that you use rarely.
5. Check for updates
If there is a software update available, you can see it in your device’s notifications. If not, you can perform a check for them in the settings of your Android device. System updates don’t really help your device go back to its original speed, as much as they improve the overall functionalities and provide enhanced security to your device.
If you miss your Android of old days and wish for your device to be as fast as when you had bought it, perform some of these steps and see the difference. Although remember that you don’t need to do all of these steps, a mere 2-3 will be enough to bring about an improvement in the speed. After all, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Endive said:
make your phone faster by asking it to do less
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope this is the right place to be asking this question, (also, first post, Hi and all that) but supposing you've done all of the things you've mentioned above, and you still have woefully poor performance from an android device? In fact, what if you have done a factory reset and it still runs agonisingly slowly?
Specific issue: An Archos (yes, I know, not brilliant) cobalt 7 tablet. It was never *fast*, but it did at least respond fairly quickly. After using it for a few years it got noticeably slower and slower; it now takes several minutes to boot, and just asking it to swipe to a different screen and start a basic app takes more minutes. Removed all the apps, deleted everything from the internal memory, barely any improvement. Factory reset.. no improvement. Put a couple of apps back on it afterwards and it has now all-but stopped.
I'm not after doing anything clever with it, just want to get it back to factory performance. I had a quick search of the forum in general, but haven't found anything that seems to fit. (other than doing a factory reset...)

How to securely erase Android phone that I can't encrypt?

So I'm selling my old Meizu M2 Note which is running Flyme OS that doesn't allow me to encrypt the whole phone. How can I ensure the data is actually gone before selling? Normal wiping doesn't erase everything.

That's a good but hard to answer question.
A good old fashioned hard drive can be single pass overwritten (debate about overwrite passes is still an open discussion) making it unrecoverable for anything but an MFT, Mobile devices use flash memory just like a USB drive or an SSD.
What is the difference? Wear leveling (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_leveling).
Because of that people came up with crypto-shredding or crypto erase which only truly works with Hardware Encryption because Software encryption can never, with 100% certainty, know how the wear leveling reacts on every device.
You already said this isn't an option so what can you do to be sure nothing can be recovered? The answer is unfortunately short, nothing.
However recent research showed that multi pass overwriting caught a lot of data but even the Gutmann method (35 passes) did not get rid of everything (I forgot the link to the Whitepapers).
That said, you aren't selling it to a forensic specialist.
My best suggestion is to use one of the higher rated wiping apps (Shreddit for example) to first destroy your files, then factory reset and download a few good recovery apps and again a wiping app. Make sure you can't recover your own files anymore (if you have very sensitive data you can connect it to a PC and use even better recovery or, if you are paranoid, forensic tools) then overwrite it with as many passes, rounds and algorithms you feel comfortable with. Check recovery tools again and call it a day when you feel satisfied.
This WILL eat at the wear level so keep that in mind when you want to start overdoing it.
Not everything will be gone but it's as good as it's going to get and I highly doubt the person you sell it to will be able to recover anything.
Good luck!

GU42 said:
So I'm selling my old Meizu M2 Note which is running Flyme OS that doesn't allow me to encrypt the whole phone. How can I ensure the data is actually gone before selling? Normal wiping doesn't erase everything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
#noob guide incoming
(potentially useless and harmful)
i just thought of it
shred memory
download custom rom and flash
fill memory with stuff
shred again
xD

TheMarchHare said:
That's a good but hard to answer question.
A good old fashioned hard drive can be single pass overwritten (debate about overwrite passes is still an open discussion) making it unrecoverable for anything but an MFT, Mobile devices use flash memory just like a USB drive or an SSD.
What is the difference? Wear leveling.
Because of that people came up with crypto-shredding or crypto erase which only truly works with Hardware Encryption because Software encryption can never, with 100% certainty, know how the wear leveling reacts on every device.
You already said this isn't an option so what can you do to be sure nothing can be recovered? The answer is unfortunately short, nothing.
However recent research showed that multi pass overwriting caught a lot of data but even the Gutmann method (35 passes) did not get rid of everything (I forgot the link to the Whitepapers).
That said, you aren't selling it to a forensic specialist.
My best suggestion is to use one of the higher rated wiping apps (Shreddit for example) to first destroy your files, then factory reset and download a few good recovery apps and again a wiping app. Make sure you can't recover your own files anymore (if you have very sensitive data you can connect it to a PC and use even better recovery or, if you are paranoid, forensic tools) then overwrite it with as many passes, rounds and algorithms you feel comfortable with. Check recovery tools again and call it a day when you feel satisfied.
This WILL eat at the wear level so keep that in mind when you want to start overdoing it.
Not everything will be gone but it's as good as it's going to get and I highly doubt the person you sell it to will be able to recover anything.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your amazing reply!
I finally found the solution I was looking for: as Avast! support told me, you can still use Avast! Mobile Security to securely erase your phone (by overwriting data), it's just a hidden feature. You just have to deactivate the Device Administrators permission for the app.
Then you just use the "erase device."
Was that research about multi pass overwriting done on SSD, or HDD? I always thought that one pass is enough on a standart HDD.
Can you recommend me any good forensic tools to use to check if the data is truly erased, please? And does the phone need to be rooted in order to restore deleted data?
Thanks for all your insight and advice !

GU42 said:
Thanks for your amazing reply!
I finally found the solution I was looking for: as Avast! support told me, you can still use Avast! Mobile Security to securely erase your phone (by overwriting data), it's just a hidden feature. You just have to deactivate the Device Administrators permission for the app.
Then you just use the "erase device."
Was that research about multi pass overwriting done on SSD, or HDD? I always thought that one pass is enough on a standart HDD.
Can you recommend me any good forensic tools to use to check if the data is truly erased, please? And does the phone need to be rooted in order to restore deleted data?
Thanks for all your insight and advice !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Avasts shredder works but it's a single pass on flash memory so it doesn't clear everything with 100% certainty because of the wear leveling but no algorithm does. I'm pretty sure that's a feature they added after purchasing CCleaner.
They also added it as a module in their windows platform.
The multi pass research was done on Solid State Drives and I still can't find the link. Just from a research paper in 2011.
SSD's are still closest in comparison to the kind of memory used in Mobile devices.
As for HDD's it's an open debate. Forensics have claimed to be sble to read past 200 writes in the past but there is no research to support this. I believe that they showed that 1 pass PRNG is enough in 2005, however the DoD was still developing machines to perform 7 pass DoD standard wipes so, I have to say that I have no idea.
If you want serious forensic tools you're looking at these kind of distributions (infosec just made me laugh, SSL_ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID, it's infosec! ??).
http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/computer-forensics-tools/
But if anyone you sell it to would try something it would be more along the lines of Recuva and similar software.
On phones you can just download a bunch of high rated recovery tools and see if anything pops up.
You do not need root for most of them.
You could run fstrim which I'm pretty sure has no root requirements either. This would mark all blocks as invalid so Garbage Collection can pick it up as well. Even though GC has been show not to clean everything it doesn't hurt.

How do you access the D2D (Device-to-Device) Data Transfer functionality?

So, as of Android 12, rightfully so: https://developer.android.com/about/versions/12/backup-restore
For apps running on and targeting Android 12 and higher:
Specifying android:allowBackup="false" does disable backups to Google Drive, but doesn’t disable D2D transfers for the app.
Specifying include and exclude rules with the XML configuration mechanism no longer affects D2D transfers, though it still affects Google Drive backups. To specify rules for D2D transfers, you must use the new configuration covered in the next section.
So, is there a way to use adb or something else to access this functionality so that we can make PC backups of app data?
This is the 1 Achilles Heel of Android: you can't make backups of all app data.
I want to make an Android app or PC app that makes use of this D2D app-data transfer functionality so that users can backup their app-data with ease and peace-of-mind.

Read this review of the companion app for this feature that Google has for Pixels.
At least I think this is the app for that and it doesn't look too good:
Data Transfer Tool - Apps on Google Play
Restore apps and more from an old phone
play.google.com
That being said, this might be just that one app and other OEMs might simply elect to not have these restrictions, but it's something I had been wondering myself for a while when I read that Google chooses to replace adb backup with a function that's curiously not called a backup anymore, but a transfer tool.
It's not that uncommon for stipulations like these to be the difference between a backup and a transfer.
Definitely something to look out for.

Not allowing easy and complete app-data back-ups is user-hostile.
iOS isn't perfect but much better about this because it allows complete backups via iTunes or Finder.
And, I think this Data Transfer Tool app is either Pixel-only or that OEMs implement it or include it themselves directly.

I agree, it is very hostile and I'm honestly puzzled why backups that are transferable within various Android flavors at least for third-party apps aren't legally required of Google by now.
The EU is going ahead to mandate that all charging ports on mobiles should have the same standard when there are already only 2, but this **** is allowed to fly?
Absolutely ridiculous and out of touch.
Too bad I care about long-term support in terms of security patches and features like a usable pen (S-Pen), otherwise I'd be on some Xiaomi phone where apparently complete backups are a reality.

Glassed Silver said:
Too bad I care about long-term support in terms of security patches and features like a usable pen (S-Pen), otherwise I'd be on some Xiaomi phone where apparently complete backups are a reality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does Xiaomi beat Smart Switch and grab the app-data of apps that don't have that backup boolean set to true?
Smart Switch grabs the app-data of all apps that have that backup boolean set to True. And, you can backup to an external HDD via a USB-C hub also. This beats Google hands down.
iOS has been doing this since forever. I don't understand the delay in implementing this very basic feature. No apps should be allowed to bypass this requirement.

nixnixnixnix4 said:
So, is there a way to use adb or something else to access this functionality so that we can make PC backups of app data?
This is the 1 Achilles Heel of Android: you can't make backups of all app data.
I want to make an Android app or PC app that makes use of this D2D app-data transfer functionality so that users can backup their app-data with ease and peace-of-mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this:
[TOOL][ADB][WIN]Android Partitions Backupper / Cloner
Hi all, wrote a Windows CMD script that backups / clones partitions of an Android device via ADB because I wasn't content with any 3rd-party APK what claims to do this job. The backups /clones are stored on Windows computer as...
forum.xda-developers.com

jwoegerbauer said:
Try this:
[TOOL][ADB][WIN]Android Partitions Backupper / Cloner
Hi all, wrote a Windows CMD script that backups / clones partitions of an Android device via ADB because I wasn't content with any 3rd-party APK what claims to do this job. The backups /clones are stored on Windows computer as...
forum.xda-developers.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless you can grab the app-data as a restorable package, the way adb does, this won't make life easier.

nixnixnixnix4 said:
Does Xiaomi beat Smart Switch and grab the app-data of apps that don't have that backup boolean set to true?
Smart Switch grabs the app-data of all apps that have that backup boolean set to True. And, you can backup to an external HDD via a USB-C hub also. This beats Google hands down.
iOS has been doing this since forever. I don't understand the delay in implementing this very basic feature. No apps should be allowed to bypass this requirement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I've read yes.
Xiaomi being a Chinese company I guess they just don't give much of a toss about what those app devs think should be happening to the app data, which in this instance is a good thing for the user, however I don't really trust my valuable data to Xiaomi in general, so I'd rather steer clear of that company.
I just cannot trust them. It's got nothing to do with them being Chinese, but them being at the direct whim of the CCP.
Actually same for Huawei where I have to admit to still own a MediaPad 8.4 for manga reading, but I'm really picky about what I put on there and am actively looking for a replacement. Something with 8 inches (perfect manga reading screen size) and somewhat decent specs and build quality that comes with Android and ample security patch timeline.
Basically I'm waiting for something like a Galaxy Tab S7 in 8 inches. Yeah, that'd be pretty fly. No A-line please, I'd really like an S-Pen on it, especially since I'm not too certain I want to go with a foldable phone after my Note20, but I for sure want to keep using an S-Pen...

Glassed Silver said:
however I don't really trust my valuable data to Xiaomi in general, so I'd rather steer clear of that company.
I just cannot trust them. It's got nothing to do with them being Chinese, but them being at the direct whim of the CCP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rumor is: If a Xiaomi phone hears you say the word "Tibet" more than 3 times, it will explode.

Question New to Sammy Z flip3, question

Hey guys & gals I just received my brand new Galaxy Z flip 3, (still haven't opened sealed box yet, lol).
I was hoping someone could answer a Q concering Samsung Switch? I am coming from a Sammy note 10+, and my Q is, "does the Samsung switch app truly transfer all my content to my new phone, meaning absolutely everything?
I've used the app in the past and ran into issues where it only partially copied text messages, contacts, and files saved to my internal storage.
I guess my Q is a 2 parter, lol, if not Samsung switch is there a better, safer, more complete app that will do this? If it means using a PC program thats fine too. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and thank you all in advance!

I hoped you backed up all your critical data...
Use Contacts to make a export/import file copy of your contacts. Any app like Poweramp that allows for backup files do so. Docs, pictures, etc copy/paste from your backup source.
SmartSwitch isn't that smart; it may or may not work. Best to load the new Fold from scratch.
If you get a bad build using SmartSwitch you'll need to do a factory reset.
The odds of it not screwing up aren't that good. Something simple like contacts it can likely do ok. Apps, homepage settings probably won't end well going from the N10+ to a Fold.
Never trust SmartSwitch to backup critical data as it can fail you miserably.

Thanks for the reply very much appreciated. What process/app do you use? I was thinking of just using one of the full backup/transfer apps for pc, and just do it that way since it seems to truly back up everything, any thought recommendation?
I noticed you did mention loading the Galaxy ZF 3 from scratch, so do you recommend that versus's a total back up & transfer, bc I was thinking a lot of my setting home screens, etc. arent always going to play nice, and will just cause slowed performance, crashes, etc. any thoughts?
Thank you again for the reply I really do appreciate it, I just want to do things the right/less pain in the ass way.

I have 2 N10+'s. The oldest, running on Pie, was hand loaded and that load will be 2 yo in June, still fast and stable.
The newest is running on Android 10. I used SmartSwitch but screwed up making the SmartSwitch copy. I had intended to only copy homepage settings but inadvertently included apps. It seemed to work but it has a lag now that I need to troubleshoot. It may well be from using SmartSwitch and force me to do a factory reset I'll play with it more as it may be something simple. It's the backup for this phone, no rush.
Unfortunately with stock Samsung's SmartSwitch is their one trick pony. Unless rooted there are no cloning options. One of the major shortcomings of stock Androids. All my PC OS loads are cloned. The good news is the Android OS load can be extremely long lived with minimal maintenance if you don't update the firmware.
A clean load is important as poorly written apps can change hidden user settings and sometimes a factory reset is needed to clear them. You are what you install... I use ApkExport to save installable copies of all my apps which are known good. No Playstore needed, it makes a reload faster and more precise, no surprises.
Everything I need to do a full reload is on the SD card which in turn is backed up redundantly to hdds.
You can use a OTA flashstick to do this but also make at least 2 hdd copies of it that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC. Verify data size, number of folders and that the copies are readable.
Never use encryption on backup data drives.
Never clone music or other databases that can be damaged by compression... those silly null marks matter. This is another possible way SmartSwitch may damage critical data, compression.

Very interesting, and a lot of great information I did not know, so thank you for educating me on your diffrent techniques, Sammy switch, and everything else, my phone will thank you!

Samsung Kies, SmartSwitch's predecessor was worse
ColorNote is another favorite; it allows direct hyperlinks to the browser. I use it for bookmarks and more. It allows for daily cloud, SD card backup.
This is ApkExport, it's on Playstore too.
It works with Android 9 and 10 but not sure about 11 and up. A near perfect freeware apk.

Smart Switch has changed a lot in 3 years. I wouldn't write it off before giving it a try, especially in combination with Google's own backup and restore or other solutions. The important thing is to read the options before clicking next. Exclude system apps and you eliminate the risk of corrupted settings. You are not obligated to enable every single option, but even if Smart Switch only works to copy text messages and bookmarks, Samsung is going to have much better access to those items than any third-party app.
The copy does not remove the data from the original phone, so the only harm in trying is time. You can always do a factory reset and try another way if it doesn't work out. Compared to exporting all of your apps and manually inputting the settings back into every one from the start, it seems worth even an hour to see if you can save two.
I copied from a Note 20 Ultra, so the configuration was a little closer. Obviously, a Note 10 is not going to be a near match in terms of the stock setup. Using the two methods together left me with going through system settings and a handful of apps that I had to manually set up again (mostly logins and things that really shouldn't transfer).

I have used smart switch to set up my z flip from my OnePlus 7t pro McLaren 5G and I used it to transfer my original phones contents to my warranty replacement z flip 3 and I have had no issues

luigi90210 said:
I have used smart switch to set up my z flip from my OnePlus 7t pro McLaren 5G and I used it to transfer my original phones contents to my warranty replacement z flip 3 and I have had no issues
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes it works, but you better be prepared if it doesn't. It's not suitable for critical data backup. Neither was Kies

twistedumbrella said:
Smart Switch has changed a lot in 3 years. I wouldn't write it off before giving it a try, especially in combination with Google's own backup and restore or other solutions. The important thing is to read the options before clicking next. Exclude system apps and you eliminate the risk of corrupted settings. You are not obligated to enable every single option, but even if Smart Switch only works to copy text messages and bookmarks, Samsung is going to have much better access to those items than any third-party app.
The copy does not remove the data from the original phone, so the only harm in trying is time. You can always do a factory reset and try another way if it doesn't work out. Compared to exporting all of your apps and manually inputting the settings back into every one from the start, it seems worth even an hour to see if you can save two.
I copied from a Note 20 Ultra, so the configuration was a little closer. Obviously, a Note 10 is not going to be a near match in terms of the stock setup. Using the two methods together left me with going through system settings and a handful of apps that I had to manually set up again (mostly logins and things that really shouldn't transfer).
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You had said, "using the two methods together left mewith going....", which two methods are you referring to? Thanks!

paranoid365 said:
You had said, "using the two methods together left mewith going....", which two methods are you referring to? Thanks!
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The way that I read it it's Smart Switch and Google backup combo

paranoid365 said:
You had said, "using the two methods together left mewith going....", which two methods are you referring to? Thanks!
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Just like @beanbean50 said. I did the two that prompt during setup. I let Smart Switch do stuff like messages and browser (excluding desktop and system), but had Google do my apps. Photos and files I copied manually. I use Smart Launcher 6, so that has its own backup and restore.

blackhawk said:
Sometimes it works, but you better be prepared if it doesn't. It's not suitable for critical data backup. Neither was Kies
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At no point did anyone say it's critical data that needed to be transferred
OP stated themselves it's basic things that OP wants that many other backup systems take care of(literally 3 of them exist on Samsung phones out of the box) unless you're a dingus and turn all that off
Google backup and Samsung backup both backup contacts, photos, videos, texts, apps, ect and having both of these systems on an older Samsung would mean that even if smart switch missed something like a few text messages, google or Samsung backup would fill in what's missing and to have both of these systems not functional would mean you disabled that on purpose
If your data is that critical and important you are already either practicing good backup practices or your company makes you auto back up to their servers. You wouldn't be using Samsung smart switch and while I understand to some people pictures of "your grandma"(not you specifically) are important and valuable, it's by no means the definition of critical data

luigi90210 said:
At no point did anyone say it's critical data that needed to be transferred
OP stated themselves it's basic things that OP wants that many other backup systems take care of(literally 3 of them exist on Samsung phones out of the box) unless you're a dingus and turn all that off
Google backup and Samsung backup both backup contacts, photos, videos, texts, apps, ect and having both of these systems on an older Samsung would mean that even if smart switch missed something like a few text messages, google or Samsung backup would fill in what's missing and to have both of these systems not functional would mean you disabled that on purpose
If your data is that critical and important you are already either practicing good backup practices or your company makes you auto back up to their servers. You wouldn't be using Samsung smart switch and while I understand to some people pictures of "your grandma"(not you specifically) are important and valuable, it's by no means the definition of critical data
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That fact that SmartSwitch can corrupt a otherwise clean load is also always a risk. Do it right the first time... you know the definition of insanity, right?

blackhawk said:
That fact that SmartSwitch can corrupt a otherwise clean load is also always a risk. Do it right the first time... you know the definition of insanity, right?
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Never had that happen to me or any of the thousands of customers I have processed line upgrades for, have you considered you did something wrong or maybe your data was corrupted from the other device or maybe you tried doing everything wirelessly instead of hardwired, all of these things are factors that can cause what you're describing and then some, just the act of disconnecting the phone while data is transferring can risk data corruption
Also if you're not a dingus and you didn't turn off all the other backup systems on your Samsung, you're supposed to use Google restore to restore accounts, texts and apps and you use smart switch to move photos, videos, and other personal files over
Guaranteed to never corrupt your install but considering how many people I have just used smart switch to move their accounts and data over from one phone to another and it's never given me an issue personally or professionally, I think smart switch is gonna be fine for OP and 99% of people out there in the world

luigi90210 said:
Never had that happen to me or any of the thousands of customers I have processed line upgrades for, have you considered you did something wrong or maybe your data was corrupted from the other device or maybe you tried doing everything wirelessly instead of hardwired, all of these things are factors that can cause what you're describing and then some, just the act of disconnecting the phone while data is transferring can risk data corruption
Also if you're not a dingus and you didn't turn off all the other backup systems on your Samsung, you're supposed to use Google restore to restore accounts, texts and apps and you use smart switch to move photos, videos, and other personal files over
Guaranteed to never corrupt your install but considering how many people I have just used smart switch to move their accounts and data over from one phone to another and it's never given me an issue personally or professionally, I think smart switch is gonna be fine for OP and 99% of people out there in the world
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You're entitled to your opinion. Let's see the white papers to back up that bold statement. I'm all ears.
An easy option for the lazy. It guarantees nothing...
It's not a cloned copy so there's a lot that can go wrong as it tries to merge the data.
Samsung and Google backups?
When they fail, then what? Both Samsung and Google have had hacks and lost client accounts forever. Hell Samsung can't even secure their own critical data
Meanwhile they waste power and resources, constantly in the background