Question about SMS Backup and Restore

[anon(650461)]

I posted a question the other day regarding a problem with Smartswitch not transferring everything over from a S6 to a S8. A lot of my texts were missing mms, bits and pieces of conversations. It was suggested to try SMS Backup and Restore which I'm going to try later.
Wondering - I read in the SMS B&R faq's that when a phone doesn't have an external SD (the S5 does not) there may be issues. Should I not bother trying?
Also, obviously I have quite a few new texts on the S8 since transferring from the S5, if I don't delete all the conversations on the S8, when I backup from the S5 and restore to the S8 will everything be in duplicate? Can I just delete everything BUT the new texts and will the restore from the S5 still populate the old texts into the same contacts?
Hope you understand!

 

[anon(123856)]

I replied to you in the original thread and suggested SMS Backup and Restore. While I have primarily used it on devices with sd cards I have also used it with success on a Nexus 5X, which does not have an sd card.

You just have to figure out how to transfer the files generated by the app over to the new phone. If your're using the same Google account you can just upload them to Google Drive then pull them down onto the new phone. There are many ways to accomplish the transfer so just go with whatever makes the most sense to you.

SMS Backup and Restore can filter backups and restores by date. Deleting all the older texts should work but to be safe back those up before you restore the older texts.

 

[N4Newbie]

Where in the FAQ did you read that?

My experience using SMS Backup & Restore on various Google Nexus phones has been uniformly positive and none of these phones had a physical SD Card or card slot. In fact, all of them (and, I believe all Android devices) do have a "logical" /sdcard folder which is there specifically to emulate a physical SD Card; so far as I know, most apps cannot tell the difference.

 

[anon(650461)]

Where in the FAQ did you read that?

My experience using SMS Backup & Restore on various Google Nexus phones has been uniformly positive and none of these phones had a physical SD Card or card slot. In fact, all of them (and, I believe all Android devices) do have a "logical" /sdcard folder which is there specifically to emulate a physical SD Card; so far as I know, most apps cannot tell the difference.

I think I read it in their instructions on how to transfer from an old phone to a new phone. I wanted to cover all bases before I even make an attempt as I don't want to be in worse shape than I am. If you've had positive experiences I'm glad to hear, maybe it doesn't apply anymore or something. I hope that's the case.

 

[anon(650461)]

I replied to you in the original thread and suggested SMS Backup and Restore. While I have primarily used it on devices with sd cards I have also used it with success on a Nexus 5X, which does not have an sd card.

You just have to figure out how to transfer the files generated by the app over to the new phone. If your're using the same Google account you can just upload them to Google Drive then pull them down onto the new phone. There are many ways to accomplish the transfer so just go with whatever makes the most sense to you.

SMS Backup and Restore can filter backups and restores by date. Deleting all the older texts should work but to be safe back those up before you restore the older texts.

Hi badcat, I know you were the one that suggested it, and I've ready many others really like it. I do use the same google account so maybe uploading them to Drive then downloading to the new phone will be the best option. I think my main concern now is, if I leave the new messages on my new phone will SMS BR know that all the old ones for John Doe go under the same conversation that is already on my new phone for John Doe or will it make a whole new conversation? Does that make sense? I will be keeping the old texts on my old phone until I get rid of it so no worries there. Thanks!

 

[anon(123856)]

That should be the case as long as their contact info is the same. My advice would be create a backup on both phones and store them someplace safe. Then cleanup up the sms db on the new phone to your satisfaction. Then do a restore on the new phone with the old db and see what you have. Textra will let resync the db and that usually is a good idea. If you're using the stock app or a different sms app you will need to see what options might be available.

It should just work because your old sms db stops on a certain date and the new one starts on a different date so I'm thinking there shouldn't be any conflicts, but ya never know which is why I'm recommending backing up both sms db's before you start.

The beauty of SMS B&R is that once you have the backups you can fiddle with stuff until it's the way you want it it. You'll always have the backup to fall back on. The good news is you only have to mess with this once. Once you're done you can just make backups periodically in case of an "oops". Good luck.

 

[anon(650461)]

That should be the case as long as their contact info is the same. My advice would be create a backup on both phones and store them someplace safe. Then cleanup up the sms db on the new phone to your satisfaction. Then do a restore on the new phone with the old db and see what you have. Textra will let resync the db and that usually is a good idea. If you're using the stock app or a different sms app you will need to see what options might be available.

It should just work because your old sms db stops on a certain date and the new one starts on a different date so I'm thinking there shouldn't be any conflicts, but ya never know which is why I'm recommending backing up both sms db's before you start.

The beauty of SMS B&R is that once you have the backups you can fiddle with stuff until it's the way you want it it. You'll always have the backup to fall back on. The good news is you only have to mess with this once. Once you're done you can just make backups periodically in case of an "oops". Good luck.

I think you've talked me into it. I'm going to try tomorrow when I have some free time. When I am creating a back up and save it to drive, does it allow me to save each of them with a different name so I know which is which? Having to only mess with this once sounds great, I've been dealing with this for days now. BTW, in my other post I mentioned about the 2 different camera folders, I'm leaving them alone, no big deal and too much work to try to combine them (and too afraid of losing the actual time/date stamp if I fiddle with them). Thanks for your help. I'll be sure to post if it works or not. Last time I did a restore it took over a day for everything to populate so may not post for a bit, unless someone else has any suggestions.....

 

[anon(123856)]

I think you've talked me into it. I'm going to try tomorrow when I have some free time. When I am creating a back up and save it to drive, does it allow me to save each of them with a different name so I know which is which? Having to only mess with this once sounds great, I've been dealing with this for days now. BTW, in my other post I mentioned about the 2 different camera folders, I'm leaving them alone, no big deal and too much work to try to combine them (and too afraid of losing the actual time/date stamp if I fiddle with them). Thanks for your help. I'll be sure to post if it works or not. Last time I did a restore it took over a day for everything to populate so may not post for a bit, unless someone else has any suggestions.....

SMS B&R will date stamp the files. My backups usually end up being four files. What I do is create a folder in Drive with the date of the backup. I do that so it's easier to find later and also easier to purge older backups that aren't needed anymore. In my experience with the app it shouldn't take too long unless you end up redoing it for some reason. I had one experience when I was trying to sync my sms to two different phones and I kept trying to get it perfect. I ended up getting what I wanted but it took some experimenting. Like I said, once you have the backups you have some freedom to tinker. I'll keep on eye on this thread so post if you need advice. Good luck again.

 

[anon(650461)]

SMS B&R will date stamp the files. My backups usually end up being four files. What I do is create a folder in Drive with the date of the backup. I do that so it's easier to find later and also easier to purge older backups that aren't needed anymore. In my experience with the app it shouldn't take too long unless you end up redoing it for some reason. I had one experience when I was trying to sync my sms to two different phones and I kept trying to get it perfect. I ended up getting what I wanted but it took some experimenting. Like I said, once you have the backups you have some freedom to tinker. I'll keep on eye on this thread so post if you need advice. Good luck again.

Since I'm on my computer and my old s6 is sitting here I got the app and am backing up call log and messages to google drive. It's been going for 1/2 hour now and says uploading to google drive. I checked the folder I made on google drive and so far only the calls have uploaded. I had 10,000 messages so we'll see how long it takes. I found where I can pick only particular conversations which is nice but if this part goes well, I'll back up the messages on my s8 and then try doing a transfer (or download the s6 file into the s8) and go from there. Hoping it works out. If B&R date stamps stuff I'm not going to let it touch my pictures, I'm a stickler for keeping original dates, especially when I want to find something from a certain year, etc. I'll let one drive and google photos take care of them. I found out that you can change the time/date stamp in google photos which is cool as I had a few that got date stamped the day I did the "big" transfer that shouldn't have...I was able to change them back. Oh my, as I was typing this, the back up completed. Tried to go in and preview it, it's too large so have to download it. And, now it's downloaded and I can't open it because there is no program associated with it. Now what. I want to preview before I go any further.

 

[anon(123856)]

The app only works with calls, sms and MMS. You won't be able to preview anything on a PC. Move the files to the S8 then open SMS B&R on the S8 and navigate to the backup files. The app should take it from there. You might want to consider paring down your db to make it a bit more manageable, but that's your call.

The app only date stamps the files it creates. It leaves the message date and time stamps as is.

As long as you have your backups and your old device you should be relatively safe from data loss.

 

[anon(650461)]

The app only works with calls, sms and MMS. You won't be able to preview anything on a PC. Move the files to the S8 then open SMS B&R on the S8 and navigate to the backup files. The app should take it from there. You might want to consider paring down your db to make it a bit more manageable, but that's your call.

The app only date stamps the files it creates. It leaves the message date and time stamps as is.

As long as you have your backups and your old device you should be relatively safe from data loss.

Ack, I'm scared, lol. I'm so afraid of deleting off the stuff on my s8, I'm the type that has to see it with my eyes before I move it. I'm going in blind and taking your word for it, I'll give it a whirl. I'll post back with results in awhile. I still have to back up the s8 and do my deleting. AND make cookies, wrap presents, etc.! Busy time of the year. I'll remember never to buy a new phone at Christmastime!

 

[anon(123856)]

Like I said. As long as you have your old device and your backups you shouldn't lose anything. I have restored using SMS B&R a bunch of times and deleted my entire sms db without worry and always ended up getting what I was shooting for.

Look at this way. It's already a mess, right? I understand your trepidation but I believe once you see how the app operates you'll be less scared.

One more thing you can do is backup your S8 with Smart Switch. SS works well as a backup tool. I never tried to actually switch phones but have used it to backup and restore my S8 and it worked well.

 

[anon(650461)]

Like I said. As long as you have your old device and your backups you shouldn't lose anything. I have restored using SMS B&R a bunch of times and deleted my entire sms db without worry and always ended up getting what I was shooting for.

Look at this way. It's already a mess, right? I understand your trepidation but I believe once you see how the app operates you'll be less scared.

One more thing you can do is backup your S8 with Smart Switch. SS works well as a backup tool. I never tried to actually switch phones but have used it to backup and restore my S8 and it worked well.

Grr, can't back up to smart switch, it won't let me change or make a new file - I'm looking into it so may take me a little longer to get this done.

 

[anon(123856)]

Grr, can't back up to smart switch, it won't let me change or make a new file - I'm looking into it so may take me a little longer to get this done.

You should be able to make as many backups as you like with Smart Switch. Don't know what's going on there. And please, if you aren't comfortable doing this then don't. Don't listen to me or anyone else. It's your phone and your data. Do what is comfortable for you.

 

[anon(650461)]

You should be able to make as many backups as you like with Smart Switch. Don't know what's going on there. And please, if you aren't comfortable doing this then don't. Don't listen to me or anyone else. It's your phone and your data. Do what is comfortable for you.

Yep, I understand, but I trust ya because you've stuck with me thru this. My smartswitch doesn't even have the back up button for some reason (on the app or on the pc version). Seems like lately nothing is working right for me. I'll at least do the back up with SMS BR and leave my new messages on the phone and try the transfer with SMS BR - worst case scenario I lose my new messages, not the end of the world.

 

[anon(123856)]

I always run the Smart Switch app from my pc. You need to have the SS app on your device as well.
Here's some links that may help you out.

https://www.androidcentral.com/how-use-samsung-smart-switch

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...%2Fowners%2Fapp%2Fsmart-switch&token=wQh0eTnX

 

[Gayle Lynn]

I always have to give permission o n my Galaxy each tome to

Access phone
Access to list of file types

There's an option under File to reinstall driver. Then restart.

There's also Android File Transfer driver / program.

 

[anon(123856)]

I always have to give permission o n my Galaxy each tome to

Access phone
Access to list of file types

Yeah I see that too after I've initiated the backup and SS is trying to access the phone.

 

[anon(650461)]

Yeah I see that too after I've initiated the backup and SS is trying to access the phone.

Grr, I don't even see that, my smartswitch when I first open it on my device says "wireless or usb" then sending or receiving then immediately says to open on phone you are sending to or receiving from, nothing about back up (even the samsung website says there is a button on the bottom that says back up) - not mine!

 

[anon(650461)]

My smartswitch doesn't even look like the one referenced above (how to back up). It recently updated, wonder if they took that away? OR, I'm verizon, and I know you can't use samsung cloud, maybe the smartswitch for verizon users is different? I do have a back up in google drive from smartswitch for my old phone but it was done almost 2 years ago.