Manage Multiple Android Phones?

[jabak3]

I have the following phones that I would like to manage using a computer with win xp or vista. Or a non activated Droid 2 Global with Android 2.3.

Virgin Mobile
Optimus V - My Phone - Rooted - 2.2
Optimus V - Step Mother - Unrooted - 2.2
Optimus V - Dad - Rooted - 2.2

Verizon Wireless
HTC Rezound - GF - Unrooted - 2.3

Above are Active.
I also would prefer to use a pc or laptop and control the Droid 2 as a media type phone. I bypassed the activation after my sister updated and cleared it. It is unrooted.

Is there a way to use a free program or basic netbook with linux or something to manage apps, media, messaging, backups, and possibly view and control them from the pc without using an online server for it.

Any ideas?

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[watskyhotsky]

Motocast software will work for the droid 2 to manage it from PC.

no such PC management software exists for the OV, but there are 3rd party apps that pair with 3rd party applications on the PC to do similar things.

I understand not ROMing your parents phones, but your not doing yourself any favor sticking to 2.2 stock rom.. try IHO.

 

[anon(395747)]

I understand not ROMing your parents phones, but your not doing yourself any favor sticking to 2.2 stock rom.. try IHO.

He could be using the old Harmonia 1.x as the ROM but who knows.

If your looking for a way to do file transfers, view media, (for example with out taking out the SD card or finding the ol'USB cable to do the transfer, on your PC) an app I would recommend is WiFi File Explorer. Simply type the IP address that the app gives you and type it in your favorite browser. Best $0.99 purchase I've ever made.

 

[watskyhotsky]

I dont know if this is applicable to your use-case but I use Unified Remote.

I have a pc connected to a projector and surround system and I dont like to sit akwardly by the keyboard and mouse to set up a netflix movie. I have Unified Remote on my Triumph and through the same wifi connection of the house I can use the soft keyboard as the PC keyboard to enter text, and a portion of the touchscreen as the mouse cursor control.

they also have different remotes for specific applications, like a remote with navigation buttons to make it easier to get around netflix in Windows Media Center.


other than that, android isnt like iOS. its designed to be more self sufficient. I dont think any protocols exist for a PC to read sms messages, edit app installations, and all that junk on an Android OS. even on a rooted phone that would require using ADB commands to pull that data from the phone, or at least bypassing androids own security measures.

kind of sounds like you want to spy on your families and gfs communications.


all in all, I think you wont find what your looking for, as ive been looking for that for my own phone for awhile and havent found it either.

youll have to settle for manually pulling sms backups from Go SMS and manually copying nandroid backups to your PC via the sd card.

 

[jabak3]

My parents are new to the android os and just as everyone freaked when moving from xp to vista. Its like teaching your grandmother to use a computer for the first time in 20 years.

Basically I want to be able to add contacts to their phones, add and remove apps and create backups for each one in a bad case scenario. I've seen certain programs with sms backups so that's why I said it. Not really to spy but administrate so they don't ask me how to do this every two seconds.

So basically that's what I'm looking for

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[Eollie]

What you want to do in theroy seems simple and it probably is. However each phone will have different contacts and apps. A app you like your mom might not and same for your dad. As for you GF...that really sounds like your trying to monitor her.

Trying to maintain the phones remotely is going to be more of a headache then you realize. I suggest just using something like TB to do weekly backups of apps and making a nanadroid each week and saving it to a pc for that chance the phone is attacked by stupid.

 

[watskyhotsky]

My parents are new to the android os and just as everyone freaked when moving from xp to vista. Its like teaching your grandmother to use a computer for the first time in 20 years.

Basically I want to be able to add contacts to their phones, add and remove apps and create backups for each one in a bad case scenario. I've seen certain programs with sms backups so that's why I said it. Not really to spy but administrate so they don't ask me how to do this every two seconds.

So basically that's what I'm looking for

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ok, well I manage a few OVs for family and friends new to smartphones heres what I did for them.

1. walk them through creating a Gmail account, and porting their contacts from another mail service, as well as helping them spread the word about the new email address.

2. show them how to add contacts TO the gmail account from the website or from within the phone, and show them how they can access these contacts from either device easily. that really helped the older people feel confident that they wont lose that important information.

3. walk them through the basics of the android OS so they dont feel totally lost. features like long pressing to get context sensitive menus and how to solve basic problems and find basic settings.

4. set up Go SMS, disable stock SMS, and set an automatic SMS backup to SD card that happens once a week.


if you teach them how to use the OS instead of constantly doing it for them, it will go a long way towards them not bugging you in the future.

 

[watskyhotsky]

What you want to do in theroy seems simple and it probably is. However each phone will have different contacts and apps. A app you like your mom might not and same for your dad. As for you GF...that really sounds like your trying to monitor her.

Trying to maintain the phones remotely is going to be more of a headache then you realize. I suggest just using something like TB to do weekly backups of apps and making a nanadroid each week and saving it to a pc for that chance the phone is attacked by stupid.

oh lordy, ive seen phones attacked by "stupid" its so bad. somehow they manage to delete all the apps from the homescreens, reduce the homescreens to 1 and take off the icons from launcher pros dock. and claim it "bricked" becuase thats the buzzword they associate with broken phones.

 

[jabak3]

Ok I know its not a official program and have seen 3rd party apps for one at a time. Which is the best of those I guess

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[watskyhotsky]

i googled "manage android phone from PC." as you should have done, and found this as a top result

MobileGo - Manage your Android phone from your computer! | Android.AppStorm

looks promising, im actually going to try this out today

 

[jabak3]

Just tried airdroid. I like it but I am looking for ability to edit/change more contact info. As well as edit music titles or an app that auto finds and edits music tags

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[watskyhotsky]

as an update to this post, I would like to point out that I started using the MobileGo software for PC and android, and its cool.

its called Wondershare MobileGo, you download the app for the PC, it installs and your mostly done.

now you install the app for android from the market.

all you do to make it work is turn on USB debugging, then open the android app, select wifi if both the phone and PC are on the same wifi network (like inside your house) enter the code it says on the PC app (only once)

from inside the PC app you can manage SMS messages, create, send, delete, backup sms messages, manage entire contact list, add, delete, yadda yadda. same for movies, music, pics, even apps. all over wifi.

almost everything on your phone you can back up to the PC, apps, music, movies, pics, all through usb OR wifi!! really awesome. I can leave my phone charging in the other room, hear the text message alert go off, refresh the sms pane of the PC app, see that text and reply to it from the app.

really, REALLY cool. I didnt think id use a software like this too much but i love it. its really cool to have my Triumph in a dock on my dresser and manage it entirely from my PC, all on wifi.

the android app runs in the background, doesnt leave a notification icon on and doesnt require pairing the device to the pc software everytime you want to use it. its really cool. I guess the connection will break if the phone shuts wifi off, but I have wifi to stay on while charging, and when the phone is sitting there charging, thats the only time id even NEED this software, so it works out just fine.


anyways, to the OP, try it. for your phone at least, although you can manage multiple phones and make backups of those multiple phones individually through the pc app.

now you