What is the best way of backing up my S3 desktop?

[Klaus_K]

Hi,

I've just had my first experience of using Kies to backup/restore my S3. To my great disappointment, this did not include any apps, which is something I can learn to live with, since the Play Store seems to keep track of all of the apps that I've downloaded which make it fairly easy to recover them. Having done a bit of research, I see that there are some backup utils that will do this for me, though I see that this is generally frowned upon by some people.

However, having done this, I have now spent a long time organising my desktop, to produce a neat (to me) layout and various sensible folders to keep things tidy. So, my question is: how can I backup this information, so that I don't have to repeat this exercise in the event of a crash etc? I see from the Play Store that there are loads of 3rd party backup apps, but I don't know if any of them do what I want.

Any suggestions gratefully received

 

[Paul627g]

Hello,

Most of the 3rd party backup apps require you to root your device to use them since they access the /system/ level of your device. If you did choose to root your device then you have two of the best choices, Titanium Backup or My Backup Root which both are provided in free and paid versions.

For unrooted devices there is something newer called Carbon backup. I haven't used it but many have and its got good results from what I've followed. That maybe something you might want to look into.

Good luck.

 

[anon(847090)]

I second Carbon backup for non root users. easily manageable via desktop

 

[Klaus_K]

Thanks for that Paul - I've now installed Carbon Backup Pro and done a backup of all my apps to my Dropbox. However, I don't see any mention of my desktop being backed up, which was my main concern. I appreciate you're not an expert with this app, but do you have any idea if it includes this info? Btw: I'm already having stability issues with the phone and may need to return it under warranty, so I really don't want to do anything that may void warranty, such as rooting the device - much as I'd like to have the freedom that gives.

 

[Paul627g]

I'm not sure if it does the desktop/homescreen but as a precaution if you want to backup your exact desktop setup you can install a 3rd party launcher like Nova which will give you the option to IMPORT your exact desktop into Nova which you can then make a backup.

I know that's not exactly what your looking for but not having much hands on about Carbon myself I know his is a doable option w/ 3rd party launcher.

Note: I also moved this thread over to the S3 forums so it can get more direct help from other S3 members.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

You can always sync the dropbox folder to your desktop. I haven't personally done it, but there is a desktop option in Carbon. Maybe I'll try it later and report back.

 

[Klaus_K]

You sir, are a genius

I've installed Nova (Nova Prime actually), imported my old desktop settings and taken a backup to sd ram. Later on, I'll use Chrome to backup the Nova app and its settings. I also rather like Nova, so I'll probably stick with it long term. The config is a bit cryptic, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually.

Many Thanks!

KK

 

[Klaus_K]

Note: I also moved this thread over to the S3 forums so it can get more direct help from other S3 members.

Hah! I thought I had posted this to the S3 forum - guess I'll need to learn my way around this site

 

[Klaus_K]

Hi Kevin,

I'd be grateful if you could do that - although I appreciate it's an effort. I've taken a look but can't find any option that looks like this, which is a shame, since it's just what I wanted

What we call sod's law, here in the uk

 

[HNNNNNGHHH]

IMO, the best way to backup any android phone is with a complete nandroid backup. It restores settings, menu and home configurations, apps, app data, etc.

However, you'll need root and a custom recovery such as ClockWorkMod or TWRP to create one and flash it when you need to, a charged battery (or sufficient amount of power left in it), and of course enough memory to create one. It's a high-risk method at times, but very effective, especially when moving from one custom ROM to another. The only things that will hold you back is if your device is supported or not and your overcautious mind (If you have an overcautious mind, that is!).

 

[GSDer]

That was informative but the OP was asking for the best way to backup his desktop - rooting and making nandroids is a bit of overkill for that.
If someone didn't want to use an alternate launcher, one basic solution would be to just take screenshots of each of the Home screens. Of course, since screenshots are saved on the internal storage, you'd have to manually move them to the SDCard, the cloud or a PC.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk 2

 

[SamHenryIII]

To backup your apps, I recomm Super Backup by Mobile Idea Studio. Pretty good... Has a cool "auto backup" feature that, when you install an update from Play, the updated app overwrites the backed up apps, keeping them current.

Here are the full list of features (quoted):

-Backup apps to SD card
-Backup & restore app's data(need root)
-Batch restore apps from SD card (need root)
-Backup Contacts & SMS & Call logs & Bookmarks & Calendars to SD card
-Restore Contacts & SMS & Call logs & Bookmarks & Calendars from SD card
-Can select SMS conversations to backup
-Delete the backup data on SD card
-Schedule automatic backups
-Auto upload scheduled backup files to your Gmail
-Show last backup count & time
-User can change backup folder path in Settings