Is There ANy Way To Backup Without Rooting?

[njb52]

Hi,
I have finally been able to connect my Nexus 7 to my XP Pro machine. However, Nexus Root Toolkit refuses to let me backup, so I need an alternate solution to backup my unrooted Nexus 7 ( I do not wish to root it). I am new to Android and cloud computing, so please be patent if my question is very simplistic:
I am mainly backing up in case my Nexus 7 is lost, stolen or decides it does not want to work anymore.

Thanks in advance
njb

 

[anon(847090)]

carbon backup app Carbon Beta Backup App Updated, Has Non-Root Option | | DroidDog Android BlogDroidDog Android Blog

this apk download will expire on 30th of this month but its a start. playstore version will come in a week or so

 

[bigtroutz]

JS Backup supposedly will do the job but I have not tested it.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...pace.backup&feature=nav_result&token=iR1UvCOu..

 

[mr_nobody]

Simple ADB Backup:
Simple ADB Backup Backs Up Your Android Phone from the Desktop, No Root Required

Never used it, can't vouch for it. I use titanium backup (root) which is the best. Of course, you can back up the contents of the /sdcard partition just by hooking up to your pc and copying so it really depends what you are trying to accomplish.

 

[anon(847090)]

Simple ADB Backup:
Simple ADB Backup Backs Up Your Android Phone from the Desktop, No Root Required

Never used it, can't vouch for it. I use titanium backup (root) which is the best. Of course, you can back up the contents of the /sdcard partition just by hooking up to your pc and copying so it really depends what you are trying to accomplish.

cool. didnt know this tool exist. the similar concept is used in carbon app posted by me above.

 

[njb52]

Simple ADB Backup:
Simple ADB Backup Backs Up Your Android Phone from the Desktop, No Root Required

Never used it, can't vouch for it. I use titanium backup (root) which is the best. Of course, you can back up the contents of the /sdcard partition just by hooking up to your pc and copying so it really depends what you are trying to accomplish.

Thanks everyone, for your suggestions, which I will try and test form my Nexus and also from my PC.

As far as your question, mr nobody, I want to see if I can have a backup file of my apps so I can restore them to a new nexus if mine gets lost, stolen or damaged, without having to go back and re install all the apps I had. I did not know if i could do that by just dragging and dropping from my Nexus to my PC with two Window File explorer windows opened and have the apps operate properly if restored to the new device (by dragging and dropping to the new device).

 

[anon(847090)]

Thanks everyone, for your suggestions, which I will try and test form my Nexus and also from my PC.

As far as your question, mr nobody, I want to see if I can have a backup file of my apps so I can restore them to a new nexus if mine gets lost, stolen or damaged, without having to go back and re install all the apps I had. I did not know if i could do that by just dragging and dropping from my Nexus to my PC with two Window File explorer windows opened and have the apps operate properly if restored to the new device (by dragging and dropping to the new device).

all the app you installed are tied to your gmail id. so next time you have to start fresh with your phone or tablet android will download all previously installed apps for you.

 

[MJKearney]

carbon backup app Carbon Beta Backup App Updated, Has Non-Root Option | | DroidDog Android BlogDroidDog Android Blog

this apk download will expire on 30th of this month but its a start. playstore version will come in a week or so

Thanks still1. Here's my experience with it.

I just installed this on my unrooted N7. It was a little funky getting it to work the first time. For an unrooted device, you have to install ADB drivers (link provided via the app) and the Carbon desktop app (link not provided, but Googled it and found it on the dev's Google+ page) onto your desktop PC. Then you connect to your desktop via USB, and the app prompts you to enable USB debugging mode. You then start the Carbon desktop app as prompted, and... nothing happens!

I tried this a few times, sometimes with the desktop app already running, and nothing. The Android app just gave the message that I needed to start the desktop app in order to connect. The desktop app said maybe I needed to install drivers, which I had already done.

Finally, I disconnected the N7, disabled USB debugging, went to settings and cleared app data and cache, forced the app to stop, then started the app without connecting to my desktop, and... it worked! Very strange.

After doing a test backup (described below), I powered off and on my N7, then started Carbon again. As the app stated, if you do this you have to then reconnect to your desktop and run the Carbon desktop app to get the Android app to work again. This time it worked as normal: started the Android app and desktop app, connected the N7 to the desktop, entered USB debugging mode when prompted, and a few seconds later both the Android and desktop apps indicated Carbon was ready to do its stuff. I then disconnected the N7 and was able to use Carbon to backup and restore as needed. No need to connect to the desktop until the next N7 reboot.

My quick test involved backing up one of my weather apps, AccuWeather. I had several weather locations setup, plus some other settings. I chose to only back up the app data, and not the app itself, since I could download that again from Google Play and it would be a much smaller backup. Upon choosing this backup, I was prompted for a backup location. I chose Google Drive, but Box and Dropbox are also available, along with your SD storage on the N7. After giving Carbon permission to upload to Drive, the app data uploaded quickly, and the job was done.

I then deleted AccuWeather from my N7. In Carbon, I went to the restore tab and chose to restore AccuWeather. However, I was prompted to download the app from Google Play first, since the app wasn't included in my backup. So I reinstalled AccuWeather, confirmed that it had no weather locations stored, then restored the app data from Carbon. The restore process took a few seconds to download from Google Drive, and then I got a message indicating the restore was complete. Upon opening AccuWeather, everything was as it was prior to deleting it.

So, this app works, though for me, at least, it was a little befuddling to get it going the first time. I'm glad I found out about it, as well as the mr_nobody suggestion, as I might want to do a factory reset soon, since my N7 seems to be rebooting about once every day or two. It might be time to clear out the cobwebs that have accumulated with 300 apps and lots of installs and uninstalls.

 

[anon(847090)]

Thanks still1. Here's my experience with it.

Sorry I should have posted some of the videos which would have made your experience easier.
you are right about your findings and explanation to those findings are here below.

"Finally, I disconnected the N7, disabled USB debugging, went to settings and cleared app data and cache, forced the app to stop, then started the app without connecting to my desktop, and... it worked! Very strange. "

especially this when you reboot phone that backup functionality go away then you have to connect to desktop app again to enable the backup.
its explained in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBq1VFboUaY

https://plus.google.com/103583939320326217147/posts/EscDxBaCKdc

https://plus.google.com/103583939320326217147/posts/dmVA49ocf1v

 

[njb52]

all the app you installed are tied to your gmail id. so next time you have to start fresh with your phone or tablet android will download all previously installed apps for you.

Thanks, still1, I had no idea it would happen automatically upon getting a new device or doing a reset. I may forgo backing up entirely due to that option - unless I am missing something important that you all see that backing up would accomplish in addition to my apps being restored by Google.

 

[mr_nobody]

The way I see it, there are 3 basic types of things on your device you may want to backup and different methods handle different ones:

1. Media
2. Apps
3. Settings

Media is always located on the /sdcard partition and as stated before, this can be easily backed up using usb and your computer.

Apps as noted will be automatically downloaded from google. If you don't want to have to spend the time downloading them again, you can also easily back them up locally using es file explorer (does not require root).

Settings is the tricky part. Some apps store some of their settings and/or assets in the /sdcard partition so backing that up handles _some_ of this. But it is really the settings piece that requires the other types of software noted in this thread.

And this is why I love titanium backup (root). I figure between doing a TB of my apps AND settings plus a full /sdcard backup means I'm covered in any event.

 

[njb52]

The way I see it, there are 3 basic types of things on your device you may want to backup and different methods handle different ones:

1. Media
2. Apps
3. Settings

Media is always located on the /sdcard partition and as stated before, this can be easily backed up using usb and your computer.

Apps as noted will be automatically downloaded from google. If you don't want to have to spend the time downloading them again, you can also easily back them up locally using es file explorer (does not require root).

Settings is the tricky part. Some apps store some of their settings and/or assets in the /sdcard partition so backing that up handles _some_ of this. But it is really the settings piece that requires the other types of software noted in this thread.

And this is why I love titanium backup (root). I figure between doing a TB of my apps AND settings plus a full /sdcard backup means I'm covered in any event.

Thanks for the info

 

[MJKearney]

Sorry I should have posted some of the videos which would have made your experience easier.
you are right about your findings and explanation to those findings are here below.

"Finally, I disconnected the N7, disabled USB debugging, went to settings and cleared app data and cache, forced the app to stop, then started the app without connecting to my desktop, and... it worked! Very strange. "

especially this when you reboot phone that backup functionality go away then you have to connect to desktop app again to enable the backup.
its explained in the video below.

Thanks, still1. Actually, I had watched these videos before starting and followed the instructions. However, as I described, the process was a little funky. Instead of Carbon connecting with the desktop app as it should have, it just sat there waiting, with the message, "waiting for desktop app...". And the desktop app never gave me a green check mark. Tried a few times, but no luck until I did as described above. After that, it worked perfectly and as expected, including after the reboot. I think my N7 just got a little confused (or maybe it was me!). However, reading comments on the dev's Google+ page, I wasn't the only one with an imperfect experience. Of course, that's why it's called "beta"!

 

[anon(847090)]

Carbon is out of beta guys cloud syncing is a premium feature but SD card backup works with the free version.
available in playstore now Carbon backup app launches on Google Play | Android Central

 

[MJKearney]

Carbon is now available on Google Play: https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ils?id=com.koushikdutta.backup&token=hhgqfGFX

Here is the Android Central description: http://www.androidcentral.com/carbon-backup-app-launches-google-play