looking for REAL android backup software....

[zero7404]

i am aware there are several apps in android market that allows me to backup my apps and settings....the better known one being MyBackup Pro. i tried it and i returned it because i found it does not completely back up all of my installed apps.

it also does not back up itself as an app, which i find strange. so if i were to wipe my phone clean and restore everything, how do i do it when MyBackup Pro is not installed....would i need to re-download the app from the market ?

looking for something complete, A-Z for all of my customizations on the phone.
when i had blackberry, the desktop manager took care of everything nicely for backups/restores.....

doesn't look so straightforward for android. can someone point me in the right direction ? i know i can use Astro to back up all my apps (including astro itself), but what should i use for all my accounts and data stored other than the apps ?

 

[KZIWarrior]

There is no current program(s) that will backup your phone "as is." If you've rooted than you can create custom restore images (essentially complete backups) but w/o root you are very limited in backup ability.

Astro file manager will create backups of all (well most) of your installed apps. As for the settings you can use the default backup (found under system settings) but I'm not sure just what that backs up.

 

[jeffyablon]

You should re-think your rejection of MyBackup Pro

While it's true that there's no bit-for-bit backup, what it does is make your life easier in the event you have to use it.

Quite a lot easier, actually.

Think about what you've mentioned: Apps/Data.

The REAL issue is data; you don't want to lose that. MyBackup Pro takes care of the problem.

On the Apps side, side the Android store remembers what you've downloaded and will allow restore for free any time (by your Google account, by the way, so its continued availability is as much of a sure thing as you're likely to find), so you re-download MyBackup Pro and then restore everything else.

And by the way: how would you run the restore routine OF MyBackup Pro if you were starting from scratch? It actually makes sense that you need to install it before you can run everything else.

$5. No-brainer.

Jeff Yablon
President & CEO
Answer Guy and Virtual VIP Computer Support, Business Change Coaching and Virtual Assistant Services

Answer Guy and Virtual VIP on Twitter

 

[hookbill]

While it's true that there's no bit-for-bit backup, what it does is make your life easier in the event you have to use it.

Quite a lot easier, actually.

Think about what you've mentioned: Apps/Data.

The REAL issue is data; you don't want to lose that. MyBackup Pro takes care of the problem.

On the Apps side, side the Android store remembers what you've downloaded and will allow restore for free any time (by your Google account, by the way, so its continued availability is as much of a sure thing as you're likely to find), so you re-download MyBackup Pro and then restore everything else.

And by the way: how would you run the restore routine OF MyBackup Pro if you were starting from scratch? It actually makes sense that you need to install it before you can run everything else.

$5. No-brainer.

Jeff Yablon
President & CEO
Answer Guy and Virtual VIP Computer Support, Business Change Coaching and Virtual Assistant Services

Answer Guy and Virtual VIP on Twitter

I want to give a thumbs up to "My Backup Pro." I think it does what it says and does a good job of doing it.

I could have dumped it and gone with Wave Secure but I wanted it as a secondary. Since then I've dumped Wave Secure (nothing wrong with it) and kept My Back Up Pro.

 

[zero7404]

so there's no desktop solution at the moment ?
since android is basically a linux file system, i'd like to see if clonezilla can recognize it as a valid partition and back it up....

mybackup pro seemed good and all, but i think i'll look into the standard backup utility included with android for my data. i would like to be able to back up my contacts and calendar items. i don't care much for call logs or sms/emails.

astro seems pretty good at backing up all the apps......

 

[hookbill]

so there's no desktop solution at the moment ?
since android is basically a linux file system, i'd like to see if clonezilla can recognize it as a valid partition and back it up....

mybackup pro seemed good and all, but i think i'll look into the standard backup utility included with android for my data. i would like to be able to back up my contacts and calendar items. i don't care much for call logs or sms/emails.

astro seems pretty good at backing up all the apps......

Google is your backup for calendar and contacts. You don't need anything else for that.

 

[zero7404]

Google is your backup for calendar and contacts. You don't need anything else for that.

i don't care much for storing personal information on Google's servers, i used it the first time to transition my data from my blackberry, but turned off sync for contacts/calendars/etc....

i'll stick with what i've got so far then.....

 

[zero7404]

i decided to give mybackup pro another shot and used it to do a restore today. i am not impressed with it and it does not deserve the 4.5 star rating it's got in the market. upon a full factory reset and restore from my most recent mybackup backup of data and apps: all remembered wifi networks were gone, bluetooth devices were gone, preferences throughout the OS were set to defaults, my wallpaper was not restored, and 2 applications were not reinstalled.

given the marketplace outage today, getting my apps back up and running involved some legwork that i really did not think would be necessary since i had this backup tool to use.

i am reluctant to rate this app 4 stars, it's going to be more like 2 stars or 3 stars.....

 

[adrynalyne]

Rooting is worth it just for Nandroid. I mean, there are plenty of advantages, but that one alone is enough reason to do it.

 

[zero7404]

Rooting is worth it just for Nandroid. I mean, there are plenty of advantages, but that one alone is enough reason to do it.

yeah....i'm beginning to come around to rooting my phone, but i have to research some more b4 plunging....

anyway, i felt 2 stars in the market was good enough for this app.
justified when you find out that blackberry desktop manager (which comes free with any blackberry) will restore any blackberry verbatim to the way it was when it was backed up, down to the most inconspicuous setting changed by the user.

 

[bamfsig45]

I posted a thread on this subject a few days ago and a mod decided that he knew all the answers and shot down everything I said with his own opinions which steered the thread away from actually getting answered. Nandroid is the key to backing everything up. If possible someone should make a stand alone app that can connect to sprecovery, throw the phone in a frozen state while it creates a backup. If possible, I dont know if it is.

 

[zero7404]

in touch with RerWare's support department. they seem to be gung-ho about how they support their product better than anyone else and it's the most featureful in the category.

obviously, Android has many many built-in features that are being withheld because the market and profit need to be established for whatever reason.....

now i know what to expect when i restore my phone using mybackup pro.....though i still feel i shouldn't have to manually set up wifi connections and bt devices and wallpaper and misc. OS settings and etc.....