Proven/Tested Backup Strategy for Non-Rooted Device?

[PeteCress]

Galaxy Note, Android 4, not rooted.

Does anybody have a backup strategy where the restore has actually been used and worked for them? Everybody's got a strategy/tools.... but the real test is doing a total restore to an empty device.

I mean the scenario where the device just goes missing, external SD card and all - never tb seen again and you order a new device and a new SD card.

From other threads, I gather that the first step is to download and install AppBrain's AppMarket - which would have been installed on the old device and synced to AppBrain's cloud with some regularity.

Then I'm guessing that AppMarket can automagically re-install all of the apps downloaded from PlayStore an then apply all updates to both the Play Store and native apps.


Assuming that's the case (???), what then?


What about all the system settings, the desktop arrangement, and so-forth?

There are plenty of threads/web pages out there on "How To Back Up", but I have not found anything where the author says they have actually tested the scheme by restoring to an empty device.

Kies?

Kies' Backup/Restore tab has lots of entries but, intuitively, it does not look like the whole enchilada to me - and I don't have five hundred bucks to buy a second device to test it.

So, Bottom Line:

Has anybody got a (non-rooted-dependent) strategy that has actually proven itself in a real situation where the old device went away and a new device had to be loaded from scratch?

Or should I bite the bullet and think about rooting this thing?

 

[PandaHacker]

My suggestion, bite the bullet. When you root you can make a backup not only of your system but of the data, recovery, and boot partitions.

 

[PeteCress]

My suggestion, bite the bullet. When you root you can make a backup not only of your system but of the data, recovery, and boot partitions.

Would that be something like a system image on a PC? i.e. just a stream of bits that gets applied to various sub-devices (mobo, hardwired SD card, and external SD card) at restore time?

If so, that appeals to me. Back in the day when I had a teenager pounding on my main PC several hours a day, I took comfort in having a "Good System" image on hand at all times - supplemented by incremental "Data" backups. Box gets weird? Don't think twice... just re-image the system - having had the discipline to keep data a separate partition.

Is the process of "Rooting" a big deal? Or is it just flipping a bit somewhere to allow the user to do anything they want?

 

[chanchan05]

With root, you can make a Nandroid backup, which is as close as you can get to a system image on a PC.

Without root, you'd lose app data (game saves etc) and settings.

 

[valorian]

As PandaHacker mentioned, the only way to do what you want is by rooting your phone. After you root the phone you can boot into recovery mode. From here you can do a backup which creates a single backup file. Your phone can then be completely restored to just the way it was when the restore file was created.

Now, in the scenario you are talking about where you phone goes missing. This restore file will only be able to be used if the new phone is the exact same phone and it also rooted. Otherwise you will not be able to use the restore file.

 

[PandaHacker]

Depending on your phone the root can be very easy. One of the benefits of touting is you can use ROMdump. Google it ;D

 

[PeteCress]

Now, in the scenario you are talking about where you phone goes missing. This restore file will only be able to be used if the new phone is the exact same phone and it also rooted. Otherwise you will not be able to use the restore file.

Oops.... Given the speed with which the industry moves forward....

Sounds like backup stands on three legs:

• The image thing just in case we get lucky and the exact same device is still available when the original device bites the big one
  .
• Regular syncs to AppBrain's cloud
  .
• Conventional data backups

Thanks PandaHacker.

Thanks chanchan05.

Thanks valorian.

I will start reading up on Rooting, ROMdump, and NanDroid.