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Root How To Use Titanium Backup For Android [Complete Guide]

Chairshot215

Android Expert
Aug 20, 2011
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How To Use Titanium Backup For Android [Complete Guide]





How To Use Titanium Backup For Android [Complete Guide]




Not featured in this guide, because I believe its new, the ability to restore apps or data directly from a nandroid backup in the clockwork backup folder on your SD-card or the option to install Titanium as a zip in recovery after flashing a Rom. Both features can be found under more when pressing the menu button. Would also recommend the pro version, from personal experience it’s nice to have more than one backup as I have had a rare case of bad backups resulting in a glichy app or game.
 
Nice post, btw - it was a good read.

I've got a few questions now:
1 - I recently upgraded from CM 70 to 7.1. I have gads of Nand backups and TB Pro backups. Good right? Well, I wanted to install only the apps that I had installed before I upgraded. My TB shows a list of 400 apps, but I know I only had roughly 195 apps installed. I seriously don't want to install all 400, then delete 205 apps. Likewise, I dont' want to install apps 1 by 1, which is mainly why I bought the Pro version. How do I do this?

2 - I was poking around the Pro version (finally) and found the Create "update.zip" feature. What does it do? Can I create an update.zip of only the apps I want to restore? Or is it something else?

Mucho thanks!
 
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All the extra apps may be explained if you had previously backed up systems apps in the old Rom that are not the same in the new Rom so your total app list in Titanium would increase because its counting the system apps from both Roms. As a general rule it’s not a good idea to restore system apps from a previous Rom. With that said after flashing a new Rom if you go into the Titanium apps list, system apps have red lettering and the system apps from the previous Rom that are not used on the current Rom will have a line through the name of the app so you know it is not installed on your current Rom. I have had no problems at all restoring system data from one Rom to another as long as both Roms share the same systems app in the Titanium list. You will know because after flashing a new Rom the systems app in the backup list will not have a line drawn through the app name and will show backups. System apps that the new Rom does not share with a previous Rom will have no backups listed. I have not had any problems restoring system app data for apps like accounts and sync status, Wi-Fi access points, email and messaging as long as there is not a line drawn through the app name in the backup list. I can’t stress how important it is not to restore an app whose name appears on the list in red lettering and has a line through its name. It’s not good so just don’t do it.

Also, all making a zip does is place a zip on your SD card that when flashed after installing a new Rom will result in the new Rom booting With Titanium installed. What I have been doing is after installing a new Rom is going into Titanium, pressing menu and then batch. You then get a list of batch operations, I have been selecting restore all user apps and data. It will then restore just the user apps and data and skip any system apps you may have backed up in a previous Rom. I then take a quick scroll through the backup list and manually restore data only, to a few system apps such as accounts & sync status, Wi-Fi access points, email and messaging. Your contacts should all be restored along with accounts & sync status. It's also important to restore user apps first because things like account & sync settings will get a little screwy if you backed them up including say Facebook & twitter accounts and are now trying to restore them without those apps installed.
 
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Nah - I don't think I quite explained myself properly... I have over 400 USER apps (not counting system apps) that are backed up in my Titanium Backup... however, only 195 of them are currently installed. So, 205 of them were backed up at one time, then uninstalled for whatever reason. Now, when I go flash a new ROM, and then go to restore USER apps, I have a list of 400 apps that want to install...

I'm looking for a way to install just the 195 apps that I had on my last ROM. Any easy solutions?
 
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You can delete the backups. You can do it within titianium itself (when you click on the app under backup/restore there is a delete option). You can do it with an app like ES File explorer or the equivalent (/sdcard/TitaniumBackup and delete the apps there). Or you can mount your sdcard as mass storage and delete them from your computer.
 
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You can delete the backups. You can do it within titianium itself (when you click on the app under backup/restore there is a delete option). You can do it with an app like ES File explorer or the equivalent (/sdcard/TitaniumBackup and delete the apps there). Or you can mount your sdcard as mass storage and delete them from your computer.

I have been doing it in mass storage. Just before I am about to switch to a new Rom I will go into mass storage mode and move the contents of the Titanium folder to my computer for safe keeping and then delete all the backups in the Titanium folder on my SD card. After doing this I will run a batch backup so when going to the new Rom I only have the latest versions of my installed apps backed up. I don
 
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*snip*
Still Curious how you ended up with so many user apps in the list.

I've been trying out apps, either for myself or work, use them for a week or so to give them a thorough chance, then uninstall and move on. Every random once in a while, I'll actually restore one of these instead of trying to find in the market again. Meanwhile, Titanium grabs a backup of them. So my list is rather long...

One thing you could do is in Titanium select the menu button followed by more and then extract from CWM backup and select the nandroid backup you did before flashing your current Rom. You will then be given a list of all the apps installed on your last Rom with a check-box next to each app name. Check the box for each app and then the restore button.

Whaa?? This is awesome and just what I'm looking for! If it worked... I just tried this and after I selected a backup, there was no list - just a black screen. Didn't matter which backup I chose, either (I have 4 most recent nand bu's on my phone). Do I need to wait longer? Or is it going to just show the missing apps since that last nand backup?

Oh - is this just user apps? or is it going to show system apps too?

Thanks!
 
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[FONT=&quot]You are going to see system apps on the list when extracting from a CWM backup so would not hit the select all button. Unfortunately in your current state this may be the fastest way to restore those apps. You will still need to scroll down the list of apps hitting the checkbox for the user apps you need but at least at the end it will run a batch restore. Still better than doing them individually as you don’t need to wait for an app to be restored before moving on to the next app. At least this way after checking the boxes you can just put your phone down for a few minutes why Titanium is restoring your apps. Unless someone else has another idea this may be the quickest way.

You may find a system that you would better prefer but in the future you could try what I said above and before flashing a new Rom hook the phone up to a computer and in mass storage mode move everything out of the Titanium backup folder on the SD card so no backups are showing. Then go into Titanium and run a batch backup of your user apps so you only have backups of your currently installed apps. Now after flashing the new Rom you can quickly run a batch restore. After you have restored your user apps to the new Rom you would just need to go back into storage mode and put everything you previously took out of the Titanium backup folder on the sd card back in and you will then have all of your past backups available again.
[/FONT]
 
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Hmm - unchecking system apps is (really) no better than checking each user app. 1/2 dozen of one, 6 of another I guess.

Moving all the uninstalled user apps off the phone is a good idea. Might try that as it sounds the easiest solution so far.

I've since found that Titanium can make 'labels'.... what are those about, do you know? I can't find much documentation about them or how to use them. It seems while under the tab "Backup/Restore" you can create a filter. What would be really cool is if I could:


  1. take that filtered list and create an update.zip file of just those apps. I was able to create a fairly accurate filter of user apps that are currently installed and backed-up. So, by process, if I could push those into an update.zip file, and then simply flash those after installing a new ROM... man, life would be easy-peasy!
  2. Albeit, some data might conflict, so another thought / wish would be to take that filtered list and save it. Then after installing a new ROM, do a batch restore of those apps (no data).
Any thoughts on Filters and Labels? Thanks for all the help, btw!
 
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I think the filter just changes how the backups are displayed. I have not yet done anything with labels but I will now probably end up playing around with them tonight at some point. I’m starting to understand why they called the Blackberry a Crackberry when they had first came out because I have developed an uncontrollable urge to mess around with my phone for no good reason. I can’t even put the thing down to watch a TV show without picking it up every five minutes.

I also noticed that profiles had not been covered in the guide, will have to check that out too. Would be nice if you could do something like set up profiles for different Roms to backup system data without it being all mixed up with user apps. Will share if I find anything interesting.
 
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Ok - so I found my own answer, but many thanks to klehman for pushing me in the right direction.

Make a Filter that lists only the apps you currently have installed (either on SD card or on the phone):

  1. Go to: Backup / Restore > Click to Edit filters (top right of screen)
  2. Click Clear (just in case)
  3. Filter by status: Backed up
  4. Filter by type: User
  5. Click Apply
  6. Now you should only see a list of USER apps that are currently installed on your phone. Just the way you like it!

Time to create a Label to save this Filter for later use:

  1. Go to: Menu > Filters... then scroll down until you see "Create label" and click it
  2. Click Add/Remove elements ...
  3. Click Select shown elements (very top button next to OK).
  4. Now click OK.
  5. Enter a name for the filter (something like - My Installed Apps)
  6. optional - you can give it a color if you like. you'll see what the dot looks like when you're done. Only really useful if you create more than one saved filter/label.
  7. Finally - hit that SAVE button.

Now, if you want to see the full unfiltered list, click Click to edit filters > Clear > Apply. The list will now show the entire list of user and system apps. The items in your filtered list will now have a colored dot (from step 6 above) next to the name. Good for quick reference.

Remember to enable the "Auto-sync TB settings" option in the preferences, so that your custom labels get automatically copied to your SD card after you re-install TB after a ROM flash.

Now for the cool part - after you flash a new ROM, go back to TB and confirm that your entire list of apps is correct (it should be). Then go to filters and put a check mark next to the filter you just created, then click Apply. Now you only see the user apps you HAD installed previously (but are now only backed up). Here's the super sweet spot - click Menu > Batch and now you can do a batch restore of all apps with data! Whoo-hoo! Jackpot!!!

I even applied the above steps to make life a bit easier (to some degree). There are some setups that are having issues with the new CM 7.1.0 ROM. Nothing solid has been confirmed as a culprit, but rumored that apps that were previously installed on SD card were causing issues after the updated ROM was installed... So, I made a filter that kept track of my apps on my SD card (about 35). Then I ran a batch to move them all back to my phone, flashed the new ROM, then moved them all back to my SD card in a single batch mode! Slick. Not sure if moving the apps like that did anything or not, but I haven't had any problems with my new ROM so far.

Hope this helps out! :D

[edit]And for those who really want to know - the answer was on the TB Wiki the entire time. I've read it previously, but never understood it (the instructions are short, brief, and buried). I hope this helps to make it simple and clear for the rest of us! TB - Technical FAQ [/edit]
 
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Whaa?? This is awesome and just what I'm looking for! If it worked... I just tried this and after I selected a backup, there was no list - just a black screen. Didn't matter which backup I chose, either (I have 4 most recent nand bu's on my phone). Do I need to wait longer? Or is it going to just show the missing apps since that last nand backup?

Oh - is this just user apps? or is it going to show system apps too?

Thanks![/QUOTE]

Has anyone figured out how to make the black screen actually show some apps to restore? I'm having this same issue
 
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Has anyone figured out how to make the black screen actually show some apps to restore? I'm having this same issue

Read my later post, #12. It explains how to make the lists and make them work. You need the paid version for it to work properly.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I wouldn't mind brushing up up on my TB skills, so to speak. LOL
 
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Somebody PLEASE help me with profiles? I can't seem to find any good resources anywhere?

I sometimes lend my phone to my younger brother, I want to be able to swap the contacts list, viber and whatapp settings from one profile to another.

I have tried a few different ways with no success.
Can somebody who has done this successfully, please explain how they did it??
(it seems it should be possible)
 
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so, will the update.zip i create on tb still exist on internal card even after i flash a new stock frimware and the wipe all user data (factory reset) ?
i found out mine is gone, and update.zip (android one) also gone.

and is that after wipe all user data, my titanium recent backup which in tibu folder also gone? how to restore that back?

i also want to ask, is that Nandroid back up also back up my photo, video and other file that stored in internal sdcard?
mine is gone after wipe all user data.
 
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so, will the update.zip i create on tb still exist on internal card even after i flash a new stock frimware and the wipe all user data (factory reset) ?
i found out mine is gone, and update.zip (android one) also gone.

and is that after wipe all user data, my titanium recent backup which in tibu folder also gone? how to restore that back?

i also want to ask, is that Nandroid back up also back up my photo, video and other file that stored in internal sdcard?
mine is gone after wipe all user data.
 
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so, will the update.zip i create on tb still exist on internal card even after i flash a new stock frimware and the wipe all user data (factory reset) ?
i found out mine is gone, and update.zip (android one) also gone.

and is that after wipe all user data, my titanium recent backup which in tibu folder also gone? how to restore that back?

i also want to ask, is that Nandroid back up also back up my photo, video and other file that stored in internal sdcard?
mine is gone after wipe all user data.

In all honesty I never got the label thing to work out. since putting this up 7 month ago I will now try and use Titanium as little as possible. Found that many of the little bugs or glitches I had been blaming on whatever Rom I was using were being caused by restoring data. Weird things too like I once had a Wifi connection issue that would start after restoring contacts. :thinking:

Still with that said I have never actually seen the backups on the SD Card disappear after flashing a new Rom. What is supposed to happen by creating a Titianium.zip is that if you flash the Titanium.zip after flashing the Rom Titanium will be installed already the first time you boot into the new Rom so you can either then run a batch restore or just open the Titanium App and pick out the backups individually.

Also Im not sure what Nandroid you are referring but if referring to a Nandroid made with either CWM or TWRP recoveries then yes all that stuff will be backed-up. The feature that was being referred to above is for example if you had forgot to backup Contacts or a game with Titanium before flashing a new Rom. You could then use Titanium to restore them directly from the Nandroid backup on the SD Card you had made in Recovery before flashing the Rom. Titanium itself does not have the ability to do a Nandroid, unless something has changed I don't know about. Just be sure you are not storing these on internal storage as it is wiped clean in the process of flashing a new Rom but these things are generally by default stored on the SD card, considered to be external storage.

Sorry if I did not understand the questions correctly or made things more confusing. From my personal experience though would recommend restoring as little as possible.
 
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In all honesty I never got the label thing to work out. since putting this up 7 month ago I will now try and use Titanium as little as possible. Found that many of the little bugs or glitches I had been blaming on whatever Rom I was using were being caused by restoring data. Weird things too like I once had a Wifi connection issue that would start after restoring contacts. :thinking:

Still with that said I have never actually seen the backups on the SD Card disappear after flashing a new Rom. What is supposed to happen by creating a Titianium.zip is that if you flash the Titanium.zip after flashing the Rom Titanium will be installed already the first time you boot into the new Rom so you can either then run a batch restore or just open the Titanium App and pick out the backups individually.

Also Im not sure what Nandroid you are referring but if referring to a Nandroid made with either CWM or TWRP recoveries then yes all that stuff will be backed-up. The feature that was being referred to above is for example if you had forgot to backup Contacts or a game with Titanium before flashing a new Rom. You could then use Titanium to restore them directly from the Nandroid backup on the SD Card you had made in Recovery before flashing the Rom. Titanium itself does not have the ability to do a Nandroid, unless something has changed I don't know about. Just be sure you are not storing these on internal storage as it is wiped clean in the process of flashing a new Rom but these things are generally by default stored on the SD card, considered to be external storage.

Sorry if I did not understand the questions correctly or made things more confusing. From my personal experience though would recommend restoring as little as possible.

ok, i'll re-ask..


i
 
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I would think so. Just to be sure though you are referring to Titanium restore from Nandroid backup?

sorry?

and can you please help me on above problems..

i look up on some thread, on xda-developers forum, it says, after perform wipe data, all internal sd card will be erased, and Nandroid backups not include data such photo or videos that taken from camera, but im not sure if that also refer to pics that taken from some camera apps (ex : picsart) ?

so, please answe me asap, i know my question is quiete or really confusing, but im tried my best to explain my problems, THX's!!!!!
 
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sorry?

and can you please help me on above problems..

i look up on some thread, on xda-developers forum, it says, after perform wipe data, all internal sd card will be erased, and Nandroid backups not include data such photo or videos that taken from camera, but im not sure if that also refer to pics that taken from some camera apps (ex : picsart) ?

so, please answe me asap, i know my question is quiete or really confusing, but im tried my best to explain my problems, THX's!!!!!


Ok, CWR for the Triumph at least does not mess with anything on the SD card when data is wiped. All of your backups photo's and what not are saved on the SD card and will not be touched so should still all be present after booting the new Rom. I have not used the touch version but don't understand how one could flash a Rom from the SD card if you wiped everything on the SD card in the step performed just before installing the zip located on the SD card. Would also make the idea of storing a Nandroid on the SD card useless as it would be deleted in the next step just after making the backup. Based on this I am fairly certain it should not but like I said I have never used the touch version so could not say if it does anything differently and don't want to be responsible for you loosing anything even if it is extremely unlikely.
 
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