[pjn9630]

I do not have an issue/problem. I try to be proactive and solve my problems before they occur. Hence my question. I normally clone my pc to an external drive so if I were to say, mistakenly format my HD, or get a ransomware attack, I can completely recover in an hour. Can I do the same with my android?
Ideally, I would like to clone to my pc, then to my external drive. Is this even possible? I'm tired of searching online and sifting through hype.
Along the same lines: is there a product that will allow me to backup data...msgs, pix, addr book, etc. to a pc in a human readable format?
I'm using a motorola moto g(7) power, but I wouldn't expect that to matter. Am I being naive?

[Mooncatt]

It wouldn't be very feasible to clone the phone in the same way you can clone a PC. To restore it, you'd have to learn how how to flash custom ROMs and such, but even that may be questionable. Normally when flashing, it's only the bare firmware, not any additional user data. Plus, Android firmware is device specific. You can't migrate your data, ROM and all, from your current phone to a new one when upgrading like you can with a PC.

For Android, most apps have their own server based backups. Stand alone files would be best backed up manually on external drives and/or cloud based backup services. If you are infected or otherwise suffer data loss, the usual course of action is to factory reset if needed, then reinstall your apps and backed up files. It's been a while since I've dealt with it, but pretty sure your settings and Wi-Fi info will be restored when you sign back into your Google account after a reset.

If your phone has a built in backup service from the manufacturer, that can give you an all-in-one backup similar to what you are asking for, but not every device and manufacturer offer that sort of ability. Samsung's Smart Switch and LG's Mobile Switch are a couple of examples. Check inside your phone settings for something like that.

[pjn9630]

Thanks for a clear prompt reply. I hadn't found anything while trolling android sites....I guess that's cause there isn't anything to find.
Is an android not comparable to any pc where you have rom or a bios- that you would flash - but then a basic os that exists somewhere that is writable - similar to a harddrive? and same for all your apps etc?
I understand the complexities involved in flashing rom...the question of how would you flash something that isn't working in the first place. And possibly the device is only able to boot from it's native rom (unlike a boot sector on a harddrive or thumb drive), But (I think) I have come across software that will let my pc talk to my phone. Maybe that's just on a higher level than rom. If that's so, it would seem - apart from flashing rom - that it's possible to clone. Do you have any thoughts on that idea? I know it's all theoretical if no one wants or can code it. It would be a great thing, I think. Not many people are accomplished enough to dig out of a compromised phone, but could easily handle basic housekeeping.

[BergerKing]

That's one of the things I like about Samsung's Smart Switch, when I swapped over to my Note 20 from a Note 9, the only thing I had to do was initiate and wait as my whole setup transferred over. Apps, messages, call logs, configuration, wallpaper, icon setup, the whole works, everything except some of the account logins, others did transfer in toto. Heck, it even transferred in Dark Mode, already, and, to boot, since I was using two phones at the time, I deleted the old call logs and texts from the old phone, and swapped them for the active phone I'd been using. The only thing I had to do manually other than the logins was create a folder for the AT&T carrier apps in my App Drawer.

[Mooncatt]

I think what you're asking, being able to completely clone a phone, including the ROM, is going to be over most people's heads here. A better place to ask about that sort of deep level work would be the XDA Developer forums.

There is the Android Open Source Project (ASOP) which I believe is the basic generic OS, but it's not like a computer where you load it in and everything talks to each other. PC's are often user modifiable, so things have to be universal to work. With phones, nothing is user serviceable. There is no upgrading or swapping out parts because it's all soldered in place. Because of this, manufacturers take the generic OS and customize it to fit their needs. If you tried to install a generic ASOP version of the OS, your phone wouldn't likely function, or at least not function very well. For example, you'd lose the ability to make calls unless you customized the OS yourself to add the right code for your carrier's radio bands.

There are people at XDA that do this sort of programming to create customized ROMs, but they typically only do so for more popular phones because of the work involved reverse engineering everything.