Backup! Backup! Backup! NOW!

[TierraMccroy]

You don't auto back up your phone?

how can i turn it auto back up? i use the google accound but i have to back up by my own

 

[ironass]

How do these backup tools compare to LG Backup & Restore for unrooted phones? I have an LG G4, bootloader locked.

I cannot give you a comparison as I have never owned an LG phone or used their Backup & Restore. The tools I have mentioned in post #1 are considered by many to be the best generic ones on offer.

how can i turn it auto back up? i use the google accound but i have to back up by my own

I do not know which model of phone you have or what firmware you are running on it but there should be, in Settings, a Backup & Restore feature.

 

[TierraMccroy]

I do not know which model of phone you have or what firmware you are running on it but there should be, in Settings, a Backup & Restore feature.

thank you. i've found it. but it just backup my phonebook ad, what about my photos and apps back up? can i do anything for it?
btw, i'm using samsung note 3 now.

 

[Feldon]

how can i turn it auto back up? i use the google accound but i have to back up by my own

I'd make sure your Google account is set to sync everything (it barely backs up anything but what the heck), then I'd try Titanium, Helium, or My Backup (actually I'd do at least two of these). Then I'd put SMS Backup and Restore. Then I'd make sure Google is syncing photos with http://photos.google.com/. This works even if you use a photo app like QuickPic (which, unlike the terrible Google Photos app, doesn't need to have an internet connection to show thumbnails for photos already on the phone GRRRRR!).

Thank you ironass for this extensive guide on backups. I have some suggestions!

I think at this point I'd toss Samsung Kies. There is a showstopping design flaw in that the entire backup is a single data blob. If even one mistake is made during the backup, Kies will steadfastly refuse to restore ANYTHING. My partner personally experienced this and lost absolutely everything. Samsung Smart Switch, the replacement for Kies, does not have this shortcoming.

The thread provides a great list of different backup solutions and then suggests using "2 backup methods". Because the backup methods aren't grouped, people may not realize that the different suggestions backup different parts of the phone. I'm anal-retentive about organizing things, so I might break it down like such...

Comprehensive backup solution (choose 2):

• Samsung Smart Switch
• Titanium (or Titanium Pro)
• Helium (or Helium Pro)
• My Backup (or My Backup Pro)

Backup important files, photos, etc. directly (choose 1):

• Setup DropBox or Google Drive and pick folders on your phone to sync.
• Connect your phone directly to your PC through USB2 (or USB3) and transfer photos, ringtones, videos, etc. directly.

Backup text messages (the above options sometimes fail or are incomplete):

• SMS Backup and Restore

General backup guides:

• 3 Ways to Backup and Restore Android Phone Effortlessly
• How to Backup Android in 5 Easy Steps
• How to back up Android for free: Back up your phone or tablet - back up photos, video, app data, contacts and more

To get a complete backup of your phone, pick at least 3 or preferably 4 solutions above (one from each group) on a regular basis and before attempting anything that might result in data loss such as a Factory Reset.

Of course these are just my ideas as one guy who is very new to the wild west of the Android "ecosystem". Your mileage may vary. Batteries not replaceable. See carrier to drop off flaming bag of dookie.

 

[tardus]

Photos are compressed/resized with standard Google drive account iirc. For that reason also good idea to backup photos to pc/Mac/NAS or a different cloud service.

 

[Paulieh01]

Thanks for getting this info out.
I jest sent everything from my Galaxy S5 to my puter via usb & windoze copy. Is that a usable backup...or a waste of ~20 min?

 

[ironass]

Thanks for getting this info out.
I jest sent everything from my Galaxy S5 to my puter via usb & windoze copy. Is that a usable backup...or a waste of ~20 min?

It is a good backup but as per post #1, should be used in conjunction with another 1 or 2 backups, such as Smart Switch and Google Backup, for instance.You can never have too many backups.

 

[Rukbat]

From Post #2, Recuva needs access to the PC's file system (it's not for Android phones). It works on PCs, but PhotoRec works better - and on all computers (not on phones yet).

And remember, from an unrooted phone, unless you want to play "system" from the recovery partition, files that don't have read access for "everyone" aren't recoverable by any app. (I think Recovering files via adb (Post #22) or munky-tool are onto something, but they still need work.)

 

[ironass]

Added MobiKin Assistant for Android for both Windows and Mac, to post #1.