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Trying to decide which backup solution to go with? My experience with MyBackup Pro.

ODog2323

Android Enthusiast
Jun 20, 2010
510
41
NJ, USA
Here's a quick rundown of my experience with MyBackup Pro for those who might be trying to decide which way to go:

I did a factory reset this mooring to try to work out an issue I had with the mobile network randomly cutting out (I'm located in NJ so I'm not sure if the trouble was related to the issues people were having in the Midwest yesterday).

Either way, I purchased mybackup pro and backed up all apps and data (separate operation for each) to the SD card. No problem.

Once my EVO was back up and running, I reinstalled mybackup. It found the restore files on my card and I restored the data (SMSs, bookmarks etc) first, then the apps (again, separate operations). Restoring the SMS/MMS data took some time, but other than that, the process was painless.

A few of my biggest qualms were:

1. The restored market apps didn't appear in the downloads section of the market, so had I not gone through and manually re-downloaded all my market apps, I wouldn't be getting alerts when updates are available.

2. None of the preferences for the restored apps were retained, so I had to reconfigure many apps individually.

3. I still had to re-enter all the account info used by Android (mail, gmail, YouTube, facebook, etc).

All told, from reset back no normalcy was around 2 hours.

Even with these few quirks, mybackup still took 90% of the headache out of resetting the phone from scratch. I also know I can't expect the world, especially being unrooted.

Having gone through this, I think it's one place where iOS still has us beat. I could wreck my 3GS six ways from Sunday, then plug into iTunes, hit restore, and boom, all back to normal in two clicks and 45 minutes.

How do you all think other Android solutions stack up for non-rooted users??
 
It is easy for iOS, cause all the hardware and software are the same. If there were 10 different manufacturers using the iOS, it would be a much different story. But just like Windows in the desktop world, Android allows us to own the version of hardware we want to own. Some of us like the top of the line in power(Epic $249), some of us like a cheap version to do minor stuff(Intercept), and most fall in between(Hero/Transform etc). But sometimes that causes hardware/software issues.

Good review though, it is nice to know what a program actually does instead of reading what it says it does.
 
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It is easy for iOS, cause all the hardware and software are the same. If there were 10 different manufacturers using the iOS, it would be a much different story.

I don't believe that is the case for our phones. One of the philosophies incorporated into Android is that of the "sandbox", which prohibits apps from accessing each other at a deep level. I bought Sprite backup (before I rooted), and had a similar experience. I emailed the Dev and recieved that explanation, and it explains why the (non root) backup programs I looked at wanted other developers to open their apps up to backup programs. If they didn't, you'd lose all the info INSIDE the app as the OS won't allow access. That's why rooting is so key, as it allows you as a user to install and run programs that override those restrictions. Titanium Backup is the most popular app that can do this.
 
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Here's a quick rundown of my experience with MyBackup Pro for those who might be trying to decide which way to go:

I did a factory reset this mooring to try to work out an issue I had with the mobile network randomly cutting out (I'm located in NJ so I'm not sure if the trouble was related to the issues people were having in the Midwest yesterday).

Either way, I purchased mybackup pro and backed up all apps and data (separate operation for each) to the SD card. No problem.

Once my EVO was back up and running, I reinstalled mybackup. It found the restore files on my card and I restored the data (SMSs, bookmarks etc) first, then the apps (again, separate operations). Restoring the SMS/MMS data took some time, but other than that, the process was painless.

A few of my biggest qualms were:

1. The restored market apps didn't appear in the downloads section of the market, so had I not gone through and manually re-downloaded all my market apps, I wouldn't be getting alerts when updates are available.

2. None of the preferences for the restored apps were retained, so I had to reconfigure many apps individually.

3. I still had to re-enter all the account info used by Android (mail, gmail, YouTube, facebook, etc).

All told, from reset back no normalcy was around 2 hours.

Even with these few quirks, mybackup still took 90% of the headache out of resetting the phone from scratch. I also know I can't expect the world, especially being unrooted.

Having gone through this, I think it's one place where iOS still has us beat. I could wreck my 3GS six ways from Sunday, then plug into iTunes, hit restore, and boom, all back to normal in two clicks and 45 minutes.

How do you all think other Android solutions stack up for non-rooted users??

If you are rooted MyBackup Pro works much better, your market links so they appear in your download section of the market can only be restored if you are rooted

You should restore apps + data together, that is an option, then all of your app data and settings are restored without having to re enter anything

That being said Titanium Backup is MUCH better, it is about 10x faster and restores everything the same as MyBackup Pro. I have actually uninstalled MyBackup Pro since I did my first restore using Titanium


BTW, I had to sbf to factory today after bricking my Droid X. Start (brick) to finish (everything restored including all apps, data, and settings) it only took me about 30 minutes. Android is better than iOS about restoring if you know what you are doing and use the right app to do it
 
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MyBackupPro is the best app out there to backup a non-rooted phone though. It just doesn't have the ability to backup settings or restore market links on a non-rooted phone. That's a limitation of the OS like has been stated before. I have Titanium and MyBackup Pro because I like the way MyBackupPro uploads my backups to the cloud. I like a backup in the cloud in a pinch.
 
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Backup is one of the biggest issues I see at the moment. All my palm PDA's could completely clone themselves from my PC with a simple sync operation, but that's still impossible here.
I wish Google would include a built-in backup app that could do the same, to a local PC (preferred) and, if desired, the cloud.
 
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