I think I found Samsung Cloud on the Verizon Note 7

[vmmatty]

I have a Note 7 on Verizon and I was in the process of going through Package Disabler Pro to find any apps or tools that I don't need. I saw one called "Samsung Backup and Restore" (com.samsung.android.scloud) which made me think the app was actually on Verizon but they didn't expose the icon to launch it.

Using Nova Launcher I created a shortcut for an Activity and saw that Samsung Backup and Restore was in there with a number of activities underneath.



Once I created a shortcut for .app.ui-SCloudActivity (circled in the above screenshot) I was actually able to launch what I think is Samsung Cloud. See below (assuming this posts correctly):



Considering that shows I have 15GB and says "Samsung Cloud" I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that's what Verizon is trying to hide. You can click "Back up my data" and see all the options in there as well:



I am actually able to kick off a backup successfully though I haven't tried a restore yet.

Since I don't know what Samsung Cloud is supposed to look like, can someone with a Note 7 on a carrier other than Verizon confirm that the screens I posted match what the app actually looks like?

Thanks in advance..

 

[MizWylie]

That's some fine detective work, Watson.

Hopefully, it works!

Posted from the N7 Dolphin Tears™ on Big Red

 

[dpham00]

Awesome, hopefully it can restore

 

[dsignori]

This is great, thanks. I want to use the stock launcher though, so I am wondering how can I expose this app without changing my launcher. Or, can I expose it using Nova, then switch back and see it outside of Nova launcher somehow?

 

[vmmatty]

Awesome, hopefully it can restore

Confirmed it works. I delete my call history (as a quick test) and then used Samsung Cloud to restore and it brought it all back.

 

[vmmatty]

This is great, thanks. I want to use the stock launcher though, so I am wondering how can I expose this app without changing my launcher. Or, can I expose it using Nova, then switch back and see it outside of Nova launcher somehow?

I believe you can create the shortcut and then uninstall Nova Launcher or switch back to TouchWiz and have the shortcut still work. I didn't try that but I believe that was true in the past with other Nova created shortcuts.

 

[MizWylie]

I found it buried in the system applications through the application manager, but everything is greyed out, and I can't pull it from there.

If I get desperate I may download Nova to pull it.

Posted from the N7 Dolphin Tears™ on Big Red

 

[dsignori]

I believe you can create the shortcut and then uninstall Nova Launcher or switch back to TouchWiz and have the shortcut still work. I didn't try that but I believe that was true in the past with other Nova created shortcuts.

I might have to try this then if I get a chance later. I really want to use this as a backup (along with other methods)

 

[vmmatty]

I might have to try this then if I get a chance later. I really want to use this as a backup (along with other methods)

I could be wrong on this - someone would have to try it. I know in the past people have Nova activity shortcuts to modify settings not found in the system menu and then removing Nova once they changed what they needed. This is different in that it's an actual application shortcut so I don't know what happens to it when you uninstall Nova.

If you don't want to install Nova you could use a tool like QuickShortcutMaker (https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...24.android.quickshortcut&hl=en&token=s-lALYqq) which appears to be able to do the same thing. I just tried it quickly and I was able to create the same shortcut and get into Samsung Backup. You shouldn't need Nova though you may need to leave this app installed for the shortcut to work (just guessing).

 

[dsignori]

I could be wrong on this - someone would have to try it. I know in the past people have Nova activity shortcuts to modify settings not found in the system menu and then removing Nova once they changed what they needed. This is different in that it's an actual application shortcut so I don't know what happens to it when you uninstall Nova.

If you don't want to install Nova you could use a tool like QuickShortcutMaker (https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...24.android.quickshortcut&hl=en&token=3ACLqUs_) which appears to be able to do the same thing. I just tried it quickly and I was able to create the same shortcut and get into Samsung Backup. You shouldn't need Nova though you may need to leave this app installed for the shortcut to work (just guessing).

Aweome. Super helpful, thanks! I'll give it a shot.

 

[vmmatty]

You can create the shortcut and then uninstall QuickShortcutMaker and the shortcut remains. Just tried it and it works. You just follow the same instructions as in the first post but use QuickShortcutMaker instead of Nova for an activity shortcut.

Hope that helps!

 

[TJA3500]

Nice find. Also, another "thumbs-up" for Nova Launcher

 

[dsignori]

You can create the shortcut and then uninstall QuickShortcutMaker and the shortcut remains. Just tried it and it works. You just follow the same instructions as in the first post but use QuickShortcutMaker instead of Nova for an activity shortcut.

Hope that helps!

Friggen awesome, thanks! It's working. I have the shortcut, opened the app, configured my backup, and the app is backing up now. Thanks so much, this is a great find!

 

[kilofoxtrot]

I used QuickShortcutMaker to make the home screen shortcut. The added the shortcut as a Task in the Task Edge Panel. Doing this allowed me to delete the home screen shortcut.

Very nice!! Thanks to all!!!

 

[dsignori]

I wonder if others who used it know: My backup completed, and now it says that only 5.76MB is used (out of the 15GB). I can't imagine all my apps and data are using that little storage. What are you guys seeing?

 

[vmmatty]

It's incredibly frustrating that Verizon wouldn't put this on their phones even if I understand why. We should be able to use the device as the vendor created.

The sad part is probably less than 1% of all Verizon Note 7 (and future S8/Note 8) owners will ever read this or figure out how to use it.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

Question. What is the benefit of using Samsung cloud versus Verizon cloud? I know you get 10 gigs more free, any other benefits. I'm also concerned that Verizon will find a way to block us from Samsung cloud thru the phone when they catch we found a way to get it

 

[dsignori]

It's incredibly frustrating that Verizon wouldn't put this on their phones even if I understand why. We should be able to use the device as the vendor created.

The sad part is probably less than 1% of all Verizon Note 7 (and future S8/Note 8) owners will ever read this or figure out how to use it.

Looks like my backups are failing. I keep getting "Failed to backup Device Data. A server error has occured." This seems to happen during backup of the "Apps". I cna see other pieces backed up OK. I tried 5 times already and rebooted, etc. Hmm.

 

[wookiee2cu]

I wonder if others who used it know: My backup completed, and now it says that only 5.76MB is used (out of the 15GB). I can't imagine all my apps and data are using that little storage. What are you guys seeing?

I imagine it's not backing up apps since your google account does that already although I don't believe it saves any app data.

 

[TheIowaKid]

This is also great for at&t users to uncheck things like Gallery, etc. I created the same activity shortcut and it opens up a different menu and lets me uncheck those options. Nice.