What happens to an existing backup when a new phone starts backing up?

[migs_inc]

Bit of an odd question but here goes.

I had an LG G4 that recently died. I had Android backup activated on this Android Marshmallow phone. I've been using a cheapo Android 5.1 Alcatel phone while I wait for my replacement. I have activated a few apps with passwords, like email and a few others. I did NOT yet activate backup on this phone. However, I did select Restore after I downloaded the subset of apps I am using on this phone.

If I activate backup on this phone, will it erase ALL data from the backup from the dead phone? Will it just update like data? Will anything happen?

 

[B. Diddy]

That's a good question. I don't have a definite answer, but I might be able to shed some light on things. If you go to google.com/settings/dashboard on your computer browser (while logged into your account), and click on the Android section, you'll see all of your current devices and which apps are backed up to the servers. You'll notice that each device has its own listings for app backups -- so it looks like backups created by a new device won't necessarily zap the backups created by older devices. What I'm not sure about, though, is how it handles Google apps, because they're all synced to your main Google account in the cloud. So I assume that all Google apps across all of your devices will have the same backup data (assuming you have them set to sync on each device).

 

[stevekat]

I cannot find a settings dashboard in my browser for Android. Can you be more specific where to find this? I can only find an Android Device Manager that let's me ring, erase or lock my phone. (Edit: Found it - not easy.)

https://myaccount.google.com/dashboard