Question Have I lost my data or what - Google Pixel 7 Pro

Hello. My Pixel 7 pro had some dust under the selfie camera, so I had to send it back to google for RMA, I then got a Samsung A03 as a loner phone, really low end, but I got a loaner and that was better than nothing, I then proceeded to erase my Pixel 7 pro as I knew everything was backed up by default as I had sync on in the settings under account and they said I had to do that so they could test the phone, now when I logged into the samsung phone after starting it, it did not restore my data, I just tought the phone was too low-end, but now I was looking to restore SMS messages and saw a bunch of internet post mentioned about google drive backup for phones and now when I look at google drive on my phone I see an option to start backup and I have never seen that before, so now I am wondering if I really did not do a backup on my Pixel phone and some data is lost or not.

Think that's sort of typical on Samsung's. Even when you turn off Google Google backup Transport it seems to retain the data it previously saved.
That said I don't trust it and back up everything redundantly to multiple drives. I don't use cloud in part because it's a huge resource hog.
In your case I be tempted to error on the side of caution and wait to restore the data on the original phone... and hope it works.
That's one reason I keep a backup phone, ready to go in case my primary phone needs service or whatever. In addition to backups to flash and hdds I also use my phone's unencrypted SD card as a data drive. All critical data goes there. That way I can do a full reload using just the card. Not having or properly using expandable storage is a handicap.

blackhawk said:
Think that's sort of typical on Samsung's. Even when you turn off Google Google backup Transport it seems to retain the data it previously saved.
That said I don't trust it and back up everything redundantly to multiple drives. I don't use cloud in part because it's a huge resource hog.
In your case I be tempted to error on the side of caution and wait to restore the data on the original phone... and hope it works.
That's one reason I keep a backup phone, ready to go in case my primary phone needs service or whatever. In addition to backups to flash and hdds I also use my phone's unencrypted SD card as a data drive. All critical data goes there. That way I can do a full reload using just the card. Not having or properly using expandable storage is a handicap.
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Click to collapse
No I dont think you understand me, I am wondering if the data on my google phone is lost or not, when I switched from my Samsung Galaxy S10 to my Pixel 7 Pro all the data came back including the apps and so on, so I tought ok, when sync settings is turn on in account settings then I am all good and also tught that google had all thease backup things on automatically, but now when I switched to the loaner Samsung Galaxy A03 non of the data came back and even the apps did not restore, on all my other phone (they have been high end tho compared to this one) there was the nromal google menu when you started the phone for the first time and it logged in and presented me with my apps list and asked if I wanted to restore them.
Now the problems is that I see in google drive that there is a backup option that I Have never used before and did not know that it was there, so I am wondering if the data on my Pixel 7 Pro is lost like SMS, apps list and so on.
When I started the Samsung A03 there was an option to use the Samsung Smart transfer, but skipped that and now that I think of it, that might have been the method to transfer things, tho I have never used that on any of my other samsung phones that I have owned.

thomashacked said:
No I dont think you understand me, I am wondering if the data on my google phone is lost or not, when I switched from my Samsung Galaxy S10 to my Pixel 7 Pro all the data came back including the apps and so on, so I tought ok, when sync settings is turn on in account settings then I am all good and also tught that google had all thease backup things on automatically, but now when I switched to the loaner Samsung Galaxy A03 non of the data came back and even the apps did not restore, on all my other phone (they have been high end tho compared to this one) there was the nromal google menu when you started the phone for the first time and it logged in and presented me with my apps list and asked if I wanted to restore them.
Now the problems is that I see in google drive that there is a backup option that I Have never used before and did not know that it was there, so I am wondering if the data on my Pixel 7 Pro is lost like SMS, apps list and so on.
When I started the Samsung A03 there was an option to use the Samsung Smart transfer, but skipped that and now that I think of it, that might have been the method to transfer things, tho I have never used that on any of my other samsung phones that I have owned.
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Click to collapse
I do understand. I would avoid switching the data from phone to loaner phone with Google backup Transport if there's any doubt. SmartSwitch has it's own issues and can lose data. I don't trust either.
Try this...

blackhawk said:
I do understand. I would avoid switching the data from phone to loaner phone with Google backup Transport if there's any doubt. SmartSwitch has it's own issues and can lose data. I don't trust either.
Try this...
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Click to collapse
ok, but my question is still there is my data lost from my Pixel 7 Pro as I did not use any specific backup funktion other than the standard account sync options on my google phone, but yes only time will tell when I get the phone back from repair.

thomashacked said:
ok, but my question is still there is my data lost from my Pixel 7 Pro as I did not use any specific backup funktion other than the standard account sync options on my google phone, but yes only time will tell when I get the phone back from repair.
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Click to collapse
It looks like some of the backup functions are limited to Pixel phones. Since I only use Samsung's I may not be aware of some of Google backup's advanced functions. Maybe they should of given you a Pixel loaner...

blackhawk said:
It looks like some of the backup functions are limited to Pixel phones. Since I only use Samsung's I may not be aware of some of Google backup's advanced functions. Maybe they should of given you a Pixel loaner...
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Click to collapse
I was looking at this site https://support.google.com/drive/answer/6305834?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Android and that was what got me concerned that I had lost a lot of stuff as I had never seen that backup funktion before.
Yes they only had that Samsung phone in the electronic store that I went to.

thomashacked said:
I was looking at this site https://support.google.com/drive/answer/6305834?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Android and that was what got me concerned that I had lost a lot of stuff as I had never seen that backup funktion before.
Yes they only had that Samsung phone in the electronic store that I went to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Time will tell. If you value your data in the future always backup critical data redundantly and regularly to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC. OTG flashsticks can also be used but if they fail there's no tangible recovery option unlike hdds.

blackhawk said:
Time will tell. If you value your data in the future always backup critical data redundantly and regularly to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC. OTG flashsticks can also be used but if they fail there's no tangible recovery option unlike hdds.
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Yes time will tell, I will see when I get the phone back.

You can look to see if you still have a backup(s), by going to drive.google.com, click Storage on the left, and then Backups, in the upper right. This will show you a list of whats-what, at the given time point (backups expire after 2 months if the phone isn't (cloud) connected).
I use SMS-backup-and-restore (app), before I do ANY phone migration, or similar (any reset, root or wonky adb things that are iffy, on recovery), at least that saves all your SMS and call history, which you can restore to any phone, using the same (app).
Additionally, if you backup your pics (Gdrive, OneDrive, whatever...), and other non-replaceable data, then if the backup isn't usable, you have most of what you'd want, it's just a hassle to sift-sort.
There are tools to restore your installed apps (list, XML), but this is almost more of a hassle then just doing it, IME/IMHO.
On the A3 restore, was it running Android 13, BEFORE you went to restore? Down-level restores generally don't work. If this is the case, you should see your backup in the first suggestion, above, and it should be there, as long as you get your P7P back, before it expires (or you restore it to an equivalent or up-level device).

pgrey2 said:
You can look to see if you still have a backup(s), by going to drive.google.com, click Storage on the left, and then Backups, in the upper right. This will show you a list of whats-what, at the given time point (backups expire after 2 months if the phone isn't (cloud) connected).
I use SMS-backup-and-restore (app), before I do ANY phone migration, or similar (any reset, root or wonky adb things that are iffy, on recovery), at least that saves all your SMS and call history, which you can restore to any phone, using the same (app).
Additionally, if you backup your pics (Gdrive, OneDrive, whatever...), and other non-replaceable data, then if the backup isn't usable, you have most of what you'd want, it's just a hassle to sift-sort.
There are tools to restore your installed apps (list, XML), but this is almost more of a hassle then just doing it, IME/IMHO.
On the A3 restore, was it running Android 13, BEFORE you went to restore? Down-level restores generally don't work. If this is the case, you should see your backup in the first suggestion, above, and it should be there, as long as you get your P7P back, before it expires (or you restore it to an equivalent or up-level device).
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Ok yes I can see some backup in there, so I think I am all right, lets hope it worked.
The A03 was running android 13, so I dont know if it should work or not, I was not presneted with the normal android menu with all my apps and if I wanted to restore them, but that might be due to the phone having the samsung skin on it.
I will see once I get the phone back, it should only take 2 weeks max they said.

Related

Best method to restore to new Note 20 Ultra?

I currently have the Note 9 and will be transferring to the Note 20 Ultra. What is the best method to transfer EVERYTHING across? I know SmartSwitch doesn't transfer app data. Should I therefore use SmartSwitch first and then use Google to restore the app data? Or vice versa? Or is there a better option?
Is there any difference restoring with SmartSwitch on PC backup vs via USB to USB between the phones?
Cheers
Good questions. For previous transfers, I've used SmartSwitch via USB, Google restore, and Samsung restore, usually jumbled together. I don't have a clear idea of which one does what, or how to select only one method (as I recall, the phone asks for Google and Samsung account information early in the setup process).
Kash said:
I currently have the Note 9 and will be transferring to the Note 20 Ultra. What is the best method to transfer EVERYTHING across? I know SmartSwitch doesn't transfer app data. Should I therefore use SmartSwitch first and then use Google to restore the app data? Or vice versa? Or is there a better option?
Is there any difference restoring with SmartSwitch on PC backup vs via USB to USB between the phones?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer to start fresh, and yes - I know that I lose app configuration. Small price to pay for the weirdness that can happen in some apps when you restore from a backup.
That said, I backup my phone log, messages and such to Samsung Cloud. After loading the base stuff and logging in, I restore those items on the new device so I have message and call log consistency. Then I march through the app store collection and install the apps I want, taking a look at each one to decide if I used it and/or really need it again.
I usually get a fresh clean start when I get a new device.
But the best way to restore everything is to use a combination of Samsung Cloud, Good back ups, and Samsung Smart Switch.
On your Note 9, use Smart Switch to back up your device to the SD Card. Then put that SD card in your Note 20 and restore from there.
I did that going from Note 10+ to Note 10, and it restores all my settings. My quick panel apps. I didn't even have to log back into many of my apps, as it transferred over data from several of them.
Gary02468 said:
Good questions. For previous transfers, I've used SmartSwitch via USB, Google restore, and Samsung restore, usually jumbled together. I don't have a clear idea of which one does what, or how to select only one method (as I recall, the phone asks for Google and Samsung account information early in the setup process).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So when I was on google products, namely I went from a Pixel to another Pixel recently. ALL of my prior connected wifi networks / SSIDs were fully saved. In other words when I went to my favorite brewery, it's password protected wifi network automatically connected with nothing more to do.
When I moved from Pixel to Note, none of my previously saved wifi network connections were saved. I've only used smartswitch thus far.
Is there anything else I can do to get all of the wifi networks I have saved on my Pixel over to my Note?
Kash said:
I currently have the Note 9 and will be transferring to the Note 20 Ultra. What is the best method to transfer EVERYTHING across? I know SmartSwitch doesn't transfer app data. Should I therefore use SmartSwitch first and then use Google to restore the app data? Or vice versa? Or is there a better option?
Is there any difference restoring with SmartSwitch on PC backup vs via USB to USB between the phones?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would never transfer your data and settings from the Note 9 to the Note 20 Ultra. There have been numerous posts and threads here about the phone being slow an buggy and the common denominator was transferring from another phone, most had to do a FDR and start over the way they should have done in the first place.
gts24 said:
Is there anything else I can do to get all of the wifi networks I have saved on my Pixel over to my Note?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, WiFi-network credentials carried over from my N10+ to my N20U. Unfortunately, I have no idea if that was thanks to SmartSwitch, Google cloud backup, or Samsung cloud backup.

What's the best solution for transferring data from a note 10 plus

Hi Friends,
What is the best way to transfer your files and apps?
At present I just want to test use the Fold 2, so I would like my files and apps on there but not use my sim card or WhatsApp ect ect just yet as I will use the Note 10 plus for the next two weeks.
Would ideally want all the logins transfering over as well, as seamless or painless as possible..
Blessings.
Use the Smart Switch app and a USB Type C cable between the phones for the quickest transfer.
This was a blessing when moving from my OnePlus 7 Pro. Transferred all my apps, video's and music on top of the usual stuff.
Just done mine with smart switch over bluetooth from the fold 1, took no more than ten minutes all in
yetiweston said:
Just done mine with smart switch over bluetooth from the fold 1, took no more than ten minutes all in
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you aren't transferring much information (just basic apps, settings and a few files) then Bluetooth is fine but if transferring lots of big apps/games, music and videos the USB-C cable transfer is recommended, you can use the cable that came with the Fold 2, otherwise it will take a long time. - I transferred over 100GB.
It's Smart switch the built in 'transfer" software and the beginning of the starting from scratch system. Or do I get the phone up and running then start smart switch after?
Either. I did it when first setting the phone up but if you've already started you can run the app manually.
dealstokie1972 said:
Hi Friends,
What is the best way to transfer your files and apps?
At present I just want to test use the Fold 2, so I would like my files and apps on there but not use my sim card or WhatsApp ect ect just yet as I will use the Note 10 plus for the next two weeks.
Would ideally want all the logins transfering over as well, as seamless or painless as possible..
Blessings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Echoing what others have said here, using Smart Switch and a USB cable with male USB-C both ends is the easiest and fastest way.
There will be many who claim this is the worst way, and that you should always set up your new phone from scratch to avoid issues. But I have used this method for several years now and on the odd occasion an app does misbehave, I simply uninstall it and re-install from the Play Store, no more issues!
Also, if you restore from an online backup instead, you will find many apps data missing. It's best to use a cable from the donor device to your new device if possible.
.
Are you saying with a cable app data should move over? I can't seem to get the app data to restore, all apps are restored, but I am going to need to set each one up again.
djsaad1 said:
Are you saying with a cable app data should move over? I can't seem to get the app data to restore, all apps are restored, but I am going to need to set each one up again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I'm getting, having to re login all my banking apps, cards, passwords, accounts ect
dealstokie1972 said:
That's what I'm getting, having to re login all my banking apps, cards, passwords, accounts ect
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't work with all apps, but that's a limitation of the app, not Smart Switch. This is mainly apps that have a level of security like banking apps or are password protected. But even if just 50% of your apps transferred their data over, that's a fair few apps you don't have to set up again. It's not perfect but I think it's still the quickest way to get your phone set up from new.
~

Good Backup/Restore Alternative to Titanium Backup

I'm so used to rooted phones and Titanium Backup...has anyone found a decent replacement for non-rooted phones. I know that we won't be able to back up app data unless the phone is rooted, but I guess something to back up messages, call logs, etc. is better than nothing.
DickyG said:
I'm so used to rooted phones and Titanium Backup...has anyone found a decent replacement for non-rooted phones. I know that we won't be able to back up app data unless the phone is rooted, but I guess something to back up messages, call logs, etc. is better than nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I just did to transfer my phone contents (Note 8) to my new A71 5g. Go to this link below. You can use this as a back up and to transfer from old phone to new phone using Smart Switch.
https://twigby.zendesk.com/hc/en-us...information-from-an-old-phone-to-a-new-phone-
Hope this hleps!
Thanks...I tried Smart Switch with varied results...sometimes the 2 phones connected, sometimes they didn't. I'm gonna try to connect them both to computer via USB. Still hoping for some genius to discover how to unlock bootloader and root this phone.
I've been pretty happy with MyBackup Pro (https://www.rerware.com). It's like $7 or something for the Pro version (the free version allows backup/restore on the same phone, but the 'gotcha' is that you need Pro to move between phones). It works on both rooted and non-rooted phones (the latter obviously being more limited), it allows for very granular backup tasks, it's flexible with download locations (internal, SD Card, there's even a desktop app to use your computer as a repo) and its SMS/MMS backup/restore is *much* faster than Titanium Backup.
Don't get me wrong, TB is still fantastic for freezing/thawing apps, but MBP has been solid for this task. 10/10 would recommend.
DickyG said:
I'm so used to rooted phones and Titanium Backup...has anyone found a decent replacement for non-rooted phones. I know that we won't be able to back up app data unless the phone is rooted, but I guess something to back up messages, call logs, etc. is better than nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started using Titanium Pro in 2010-11 and recently Titanium Pro is not working on my phone. I have a S7 Edge. I am now thinking about getting a new phone and rooting it. I heard Titanium is not providing support like it used to and I am too looking for another app that does the same job that Titanium did

Whatsapp backup restoring

I'm actually in a very serious problem as I have a problem with restoring my whatsapp messages please help me asap I uninstalled my whatsapp on 16th July and last I backed up it on 7th July. Now when I try to restore the messages after reinstalling it shows my google account but it doesn't show the size of backup and also it says no Internet connection please help me. Also my whatsapp images and whatsapp videos folders have disappeared. I really want to get back my chats. Hope someone will really help me as it means alot to me now
Connect to a wifi or a hotspot, or get better signal then H+
Kenora_I said:
Connect to a wifi or a hotspot, or get better signal then H+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm already using WiFi and I tried using mobile data as well both didn't help and I tried reseting network settings and all still it didn't work out
ruinaaaa said:
I'm already using WiFi and I tried using mobile data as well both didn't help and I tried reseting network settings and all still it didn't work out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you check your google account the backup.
It could be app problem, try resetting and other stuff.
Kenora_I said:
Did you check your google account the backup.
It could be app problem, try resetting and other stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey yes I checked it as well in google drive it shows the backup I can't restore it locally because I deleted the whatsapp databases like or two months ago will it affect this
Try clearing the data and cache of whatsapp or reinstall it.
Kenora_I said:
Try clearing the data and cache of whatsapp or reinstall it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this too and tried so many things.I watched so many youtube videos and searched a lot in google as well still couldn't find any possible way to recover
Albert83BCN said:
Hi guys!
I have been facing this issue this whole week while trying to move all my chats to a new phone I just bought as with the old one the charging port was dying and I could not bear it anymore. So almost everything restored smoothly from Google Backup and it was like being in my phone again with a few wizard steps but then I Installed WhatsApp (WA) and gone through the typical activation and restoring process and. as many, I got stuck at the 24% sometimes, some others 31% and 39%, and never got past the 39%.
I Tried almost everything: restoring from Google Drive, transfer all WhatsApp directory to internal storage and trying to restore from there, etc. Going back to the old phone to create fresh backups just in case they were corrupted as many people suggests, getting every time more delay to be able to activate WhatsApp again up to 12h for both SMS and call activation... just to mess again and feel back at square one, I guess you all feel the pain.
Well, the good news is that I finally managed to restore all the chat history!!! (well, cannot be certain that 100% was restored but I do not miss anything ATM and I can go back up to 2012 chats so I guess that qualifies as "everything" hehe).
So, I'm posting here because I've been searching a lot on the forums and the reddit and for all the people that is having this issue recently, almost no body came back to report success and I know it feels really discouraging It certainly gives the impression that this issue has no fix at all, and that you should accept losing all the chat history and starting from the start again. But from all the data I've been gathering during this week, at least two or three people reported to eventually being able to restore the chat; they fell in one of these two categories: they either transferred to a different phone where the backup seemed to restore okay, and then exported and restored in the target phone with success (something like a "bridge" restore mode, most of the cases I've read did it this way) or they finally succeeded by sheer brute force by trying again and again and again.
I fall in this 2nd category. In the most recent attempt I was doing what I've been doing again and again and again with just minor variations in the workflow and finally succeeded. TL; DR; I think in reality in many cases attempts could succeed by just letting the phone restore the backup endlessly, by not giving up and assuming the restore process went wrong when it has been stuck forever at either 24, 31 or 39% and force closing..
But I know in the midst of desperation OCD kicks in and you want step-by-step success case scenario reproduction so I will tell you all the steps that I followed that I can remember that got me to finally have the backup to end successfully:
0. First of all, in the winning attempt I had already uninstalled WA from the new phone and removed totally the WA folder in the internal storage / sdcard storage. Not sure this is mandatory but just to tell this was the case.
1. Since I got WA working perfectly on the old phone at every moment, I backed up locally for the Nth f%!?&ยท( time. This left me with the latest local backup plus a few others in the databases folder as a result of keep messing up.
2. I copied the full WhatsApp directory from the internal storage of the old phone to a safe place. This could be the PC or whatever, but PC transfer via USB seems too sloppy. You maybe could do it via ADB, whatever, I went by the route of coping it to the external SD with some random explorer utility like ES File Explorer. It does not matter, the point is to be able to backup the full WhatsApp folder in order to restore it as similar as possible as the original. What we are more interested right now is in the database folder but having all images, videos etc in place will help in getting it like before the easiest way. (Disclaimer: Ok guys sorry if some steps are too obvious to XDA users which usually are highly educated in the matter, but I was thinking of sharing/linking this text on the reddit and others, so please bear with it).
3. I installed latest WA in the new phone, opened the app (I intended to not open but I somewhat forgot) and got to the welcome screen, immediately closed the app at that step.
3. I restored the full folder to the new phone internal storage, pure copy/paste style (as said, in my case via the SD since both phones have SD slot and was very convenient, but via USB, cloud, etc. can be done).
4. I went to the databases folder and only kept the msgstore.db.crypt12 file and the latest backup with a date (ie: msgstore-2019-11-21.db.crypt12), deleted the rest. Honestly I do not think this is crucial but I somewhat wanted to make it easier for WA to know which one to target, I thought about keeping only the msgstore.db.crypt12 but some random dude pointed that the one with the date was needed. I was under the assumption that file structure is identical in both but just wanted to get done with this and keep both, just in case.
5. Before opening again the WA to try to activate and restore with this full local copy, I opened the Android settings app and went to applications > whatasapp > storage, as suggested by user redweaver, thanks for the tip! by keeping looking at the storage usage of the app during the restore process we could get insight about if it was really doing something or the app was really stuck. Keep open for now. In my case, I saw also on the old phone that my data used for the app was 780+ MB, so I had an idea of what should be on the new phone by the time it finished (if it did!).
5b. I don't think this is really necessary but I did it just in case. I was planning to go to work and let the thing running as long as it would need, and I would make sure that the process would get maximum uptime and nothing would get in the way. So I went to Applications > WhatsApp > Battery usage (or something like it) and disabled the battery optimizations for this app. I also went to the developer mode settings and enabled do not lock the phone while it is charging and everything that looked like it might be relevant. Again, most likely this has nothing to do, but reproducible steps, right?
6. Now open WA and activate it as usual, but when it seems that the activation step ended and you go to the next screen, immediately put the phone in air plane mode or disable data/WiFi, whatever. The goal is that it cannot reach Google Drive to look for the online backup. Honestly maybe in the end is not the culprit of GDrive but many people states that the GD backup is broken at this time and suggests going the local route, so we will do it like this.
7. WA should tell you that looking for the backup is going too slow and to skip this step (sorry to not have exact message, I have it in Spanish, but something in these lines, BTW excuse my somewhat limited English ). The point here is to click on the link that says skip the step and when you are prompted with a popup, click also on Skip.
8. WA will display the typical restore / transfer-like screen where the process starts. At this point you have to enable again data plan / WiFi at least or exit air plane mode, don't know really but even if restoring from local it complains about not having internet connection, maybe needs it to encrypt with the key or something? don't know.
9. Now is the feared moment! Even this time, I got somewhat stuck at 31% again. I left it do its thing, and some time later, it prompted for the popup that has a progress-bar from 0 to 100 (honestly, what is the difference between both?!) which also got stuck at 31%. If you let it be, it starts going back and forth many times, I guess maybe its going chat per chat and the progress-bar represents each one? Dunno. Thing is, even in the prior attempts I got at this point and the backup did not finish successfully. But this time I was decided to let it do its thing as much time as it would take, until the end. In the process the phone might display a pop up saying that WA does not respond. I clicked a few times in the 'keep waiting' option, then I just forgot because I did not have time to mess with it and hoped that it was still working on the background, which bring us to step 10.
10. While we are contemplating the backup process, we can go to the settings app again and look how the internal data is going for the WA. In my case, after some time under the restore process, when I went there I saw WA had occupied 0.91 GB of data space. After going back and forth again between WA and settings, the usage keep growing: 0.96, 1.03, 1.10... I thought it was on the right track, and encouraged me to keep waiting. Maybe in the end the process is too slow for old databases. Note that some people speculates that having messages from very long ago might be the culprit here due to changes in the table structure and that this might be the reason breaking the restore process. And maybe it is the case, but even if it is, in my case I finally succeeded where previously I didn't and without deleting anything, so this does not seem to be a deal-breaker or I would have never succeeded. I say it because some people reported that deleting old conversations and trying again finally made them succeed. Now I suspect the true reason was simply that by making the database smaller the process finished earlier, but YMMV.
11. Cannot be totally sure, but in my case, I noticed that leaving WA on the background and clicking on the WA icon again might stop the process for true and bring a message about not being able to recover the chats, I got this previously, do not try to open the WA normally, only leave it temporally to look to the space usage in the settings to get back to it by swyping between recent apps to keep the same instance open and working, this was a key point in my success trial that did not happen during the previous ones.
12. And finally, while I kept switching between WA and the settings and when I last saw like 1.30GB of space used (almost twice the space compared to the old phone, maybe it leaves a lot of temp data) I don't know if I either messed with the app-switching or it really finished, but then I got prompted to the screen where you enter your name or nickname. And when I completed this step, I finally got to the chats screen and everything was like in the old phone! Where previously I would get to a lot of empty chat rooms with maybe 40 total messages restored according to WA. Hurray!
Notice that in my case it was still reporting 31% on the WA background screen under the progress bar popup when it finished!! so it seems that is not really mandatory to experience the 100% complete to have it work in the end, but YMMV.
OK, maybe not the most elegant "guide" out there but I wrote it in a hurry and my english sucks, I just hope it might help someone to not lose their WA chats forever.
Good luck!
Edit: I almost forgot but, for the sake of completeness. I also tried a certain script that can backup WA from the phone and retrieve the encryption key, it will also leave an unencrypted copy of the chats database that can later be viewed with a WhatsApp viewer like this. The script is called WhatsApp Key/DB Extractor, and it still works as of 2019, just look at the latest posts in the thread. Guys here on XDA most likely know about it but if not, you might give it a try. I tried it because I assumed that maybe I could circumvent the restore issues by going that route and pushing the backup via ADB, but turns out the legacy WA won't prepare the database due to the time out of sync issue, or at least the data seemed to be lost after performing the restore process, and the unencrypted database on the PC cannot be digested by WA latest versions by just putting it into the internal storage directly according to what other users commented. But, if you finally give up trying the restore process, it still could be relieving to know that you keep a local copy in the PC that can be viewed with another PC tool, at least you get a backup and the conversations are there, in a different way though. Maybe in the future there's a process that can restore them again to a different phone, and you could then merge the new chat database with the older backup with tools like Merjeapp.
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Click to collapse
This has the solution
Kenora_I said:
This has the solution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you but today I read this in the afternoon. This guy has solved it through whatsapp databases but I don't have a way go backup locally as I deleted my whatsapp databases two months ago. All I can do is recovering from google drive but the thing in this guy's scenario his chat was actually being restoring but I can't even do that since it says that I have an Internet connection problem

Frustrated Causual User With New Device

I couldn't find this online, or it seems the method no longer applies, and I couldn't get it to appear in a search here.
The last time I upgraded was from an S9 to the Note 20 Ultra. When I did, it asked me if I wanted to copy from the old phone, and everything was moved over, including all of the apps. The only things missing were the older texts from my side and some of the data inside some apps.
This time is used Smart Switch, and it only transferred data and a few of the apps. It was better before!
Is there a way to get everything or almost everything moved over?
I just want to get switched over quickly.
Thanks!
A clean load is best for stock phones. Do it right the first time...
SmartSwitch can screw up bad. A different device and OS version can cause issues. Potential data loss is also a possibility.
Never use SmartSwitch as the only backup... keep at least 2 copies on hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.
Copy/paste critical data, then verify size, file count and if readable. If you have an SD card it should already be there on the old phone.
Otherwise develop a plan/organize your data so you can reload as quickly, accurately and painlessly as possible with zero critical data loss.
After 2 back to back boot loops in 3 days I learned that lesson
Clean Load? Do you mean don't use SmartSwitch, and just set up the new phone manually?
Maybe this device is too different for SW to work? Are there any alternatives?
Myk_Myk said:
Clean Load? Do you mean don't use SmartSwitch, and just set up the new phone manually?
Maybe this device is too different for SW to work? Are there any alternatives?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeap. Always the best option. A good load can last for years if you don't do firmware upgrades/updates. This stock Note 10+'s load will be 3 yo this June, still fast, very stable with minimal maintenance. Still running on Android 9. Android loads can be very long lived, a great OS.
A clean load means when you do find issues (and you will) you won't be wondering if you imported the problem with SmartSwitch. The last thing you want to do is a factory reset because the issue is likely to reoccur*. Instead find the root cause. Knowing you have a good base load helps with troubleshooting.
If SmartSwitch screws it up a factory reset maybe the only realistic solution. It may be lagging, system instability or subtle issues. My second N10+ may need this done because I inadvertently used more SmartSwitch options than I had wanted. So are the issues from SmartSwitch or because of Android 10? Only one way to know for sure... You get the idea.
*a boot loop or malware that can't be eradicated are the exceptions. With a boot loop you still need to track down the root cause, usually a buggy 3rd party app.

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