Root Good app to backup apps

[Slewman]

So, ive been flashing new ROMS pretty often, and I am getting sick of having to re-download my apps from the market everytime, so i pose the question...

what is the best application to backup my applications?

 

[LED]

I like TitaniumBackup. The donation version is worth the money.

 

[Slewman]

I like TitaniumBackup. The donation version is worth the money.

yea? what does the donate version give you that the free one doesnt?

also, i did just get the free version... what do the apps listed in red, white and green mean?

 

[LED]

I believe in the free version, you have to restore apps one at a time, where as the donate version, you can batch restore. I'm not positive though.

Red is a system service. White is a user app. Green is a system service with useful data. If you hit menu > legend, you can see what all the icons mean.


Edit: Here's what you get when you donate:

• Branding to your name
• Multiple backups per app (history length can be chosen)
• Zero-click background batch restore
• Batch verification of all backups
• Ultra fast HyperShell (much faster for almost everything)
• Market Doctor can remake any broken Market links (only for apps that were backed up with the link in place)
• App freezer can disable an app (and make it invisible) without un-installing it
• Unlimited, independent scheduled backups (each of which can run 1 to 7 times a week)

 

[doogald]

Titanium Backup makes switching ROMs (as well as flashing an update that requires a wipe) much easier, and well worth every penny that I paid for it. Just heed the warning not to restore system items, and stick only with your apps and their data. If you try to restore your SMS and dialer history to another ROM, for example, you may be in for some trouble.

 

[Slewman]

Titanium Backup makes switching ROMs (as well as flashing an update that requires a wipe) much easier, and well worth every penny that I paid for it. Just heed the warning not to restore system items, and stick only with your apps and their data. If you try to restore your SMS and dialer history to another ROM, for example, you may be in for some trouble.

I think i restored my SMS/MMS preferences, but not the actual SMS history... could there be problems from that?

also, why is it the case that dialer and sms history's break the ROMs?

 

[doogald]

I think i restored my SMS/MMS preferences, but not the actual SMS history... could there be problems from that?

also, why is it the case that dialer and sms history's break the ROMs?

I'm not sure about either question. All that I know is that the developer's web site has these tips:

Tips & Suggestions for using Titanium Backup:

• When you start Titanium Backup on a new ROM, if you have any doubt about your busybox version, it is highly recommended that you click the "Problems?" button before doing any backup or restore !
• Don't forget to verify your backups (Click MENU - Batch) to ensure that your backups are OK.
• You need to reboot after restoring system items (eg: Contacts, SMS, Settings, etc) for the changes to take effect. If you backup/restore across very different ROMs, I advise to be cautious and only include the system items you really need to preserve.
• You can easily create a custom apps list by creating a Label in Apps Organizer, then going back to Titanium Backup, clicking "MENU" and then "Filters" and finally, selecting the Label you want. Your apps list will then be filtered just the way you want
• If you backup the same app several times, Titanium Backup will save SD card space by storing each apk version only once.
• After restoring your apps, you can run the Market Doctor to verify their Market links. If Market Doctor reports everything as okay, yet your apps are still not listed in "My Downloads", try to search for them in the Market. If they show as "Installed", it confirms that the links are okay, but your Market needs a refresh: just install any app from the Market, and the "My Downloads" section will be refreshed !
• If you want to remove a system app, first you can try to freeze it and see if everything still works fine. Once you've gained more confidence that you don't need it, just go ahead and un-install that system app.

I'm happy just to have my apps with their data and settings preserved, so that I don't need to keep logging back into my twitter client, Evernote, Dropbox, etc., and all of their settings are preserved.

 

[IzelTokatl]

I agree ton Titanium, great app, because it tends to save all data from the files so you dont have to set them back up. Froyo actually does this sort of now automatically, but Titanium does a better job. The autoinstall (security approvals) is GREAT, you can set the restore and lay the phone down until its done. The free version you have to literally click ok, and approve the security of each install... takes WAY more time. Just pay the money, its worth it.

If you just want to backup apps, I like ES File Explorer, the app manager lets you backup the files. I do this randomly in case an updated app kills some function that I wanted before.

 

[Duffman3005]

Just want to reinforce the praises for TIB, the thing rocks when changing rooms or wiping/flashing. It's great that it restores the market link for the app also. For the most part I just back up apps

 

[the208]

I use Astro File Manager (free).

 

[LED]

I use Astro File Manager (free).

I think the downside to Astro is that it doesn't restore market links. You probably won't receive app update notifications using Astro.