How to Backup Android

Android backup is simple. Google stores most of your options and data in the cloud, making it easy to transfer from one device to another (for example when buying a new phone). Here are some basics on how to backup an android phone.

You have probably noticed that in this blog, in our guides, we often recommend that you make a full android backup, much more often than anything else. But how exactly is the backup done? When someone advises you to make phone backup, you just need to backup the things you want to save. It is not always necessary to perform a full system backup. Among the options we are about to show you, choose which one is right for you!

Backups for your Android are indispensable. There is nothing worse than losing everything on your phone or computer and realizing that you have never backed up your precious smartphone data, contact photo albums, documents or even text messages. In this article, we will share the best ways to backup your phone.

Why do you usually reset a phone? Due to a performance issue, because we have to sell the cellphone and we don't want to lose all files, because we caught a virus and more, that's why we want to make a full backup of an android mobile. There are many, many ways to do this.

How to Backup Android

When you are talking about backup we immediately think of the images, videos and chats of WhatsApp, but the truth is, there are several things to consider, such as contacts or applications and their data. There are different ways to make an Android backup and it depends on whether or not you are a root user. The first is faster and involves risks, while the second is slower, but much safer, so let's see both methods, choose the one that suits you best.

Let's start with the normal method, which every user can access. Let's see how to make a backup of photos and videos, documents and files, WhatsApp chats, contacts and applications, all using completely free applications and offline systems.

Backup Android Google

To perform quick backups, the simplest thing is to use Google Drive. This allows you to save application data, call history, contacts, device settings, photos and videos (using Google Photos) and SMS messages (does not include MMS) to the cloud. To backup Android to Google do the following:

1. Go to Settings> Google Backup.
2. Click on "Create a backup now".
3. When finished, all your data will be in Google Drive.
4. On your new phone or if you reset your mobile, enter your Google account during the initial setup process.
5. It will tell you that it found a backup. That's the copy you just made.
6. Just restore it, everything will be in place. You're done backing up to Google Drive.

How to Backup Photos and Videos

If you'd rather jump from section to section, start with photos and videos. This is the fastest method for save photos and videos on android. The simplest method is to use Google Photos. It is a storage service and unlimited cloud completely free developed by Big G and the application usually comes pre - installed on all smartphones. The steps are really simple:

1. Install Google Photos or, if you've already installed it, open it.
2. Log in with your Google account, i.e. with your Gmail email.
3. If you have never used the service you will have to choose an option: storage in original size using your Google Drive space or unlimited storage space using Google Photos, which compresses images and videos slightly. Don't worry, it's not noticeable at all.
4. When you have chosen, let the application detect all your files and upload them to the cloud. The process will take more or less depending on how many photos and videos you have.

By default, Google Photos is set to save photos and videos taken with the camera. If you want also save WhatsApp photos and videos you will need to do the following:

1. Open Google Photos
2. Expand the side menu by swiping right or clicking the three dashes in the top left area.
3. Select "Device Folders".
4. Mark the WhatsApp folders you want to keep.

If you don't want to use Google Photos and you prefer another service, you have alternatives like Dropbox, OneDrive, MEGA or Box. They all work exactly the same and have an autoload option. The one that offers the most storage by default is MEGA with 50GB, but choose the one you like best.

Don't want to upload your photos to the cloud? No problem, though make a full backup of an android mobile you can always use the computer, make a physical copy and then copy them again when you have reset or changed your mobile.

1. Connect your mobile to your computer via the USB cable.
2. On the mobile phone, lower the notification bar, press on the notification “Loading this device via USB.
3. Select "Transfer Files".
4. On your computer, access the memory of your mobile phone and follow the following paths:
   • Shared internal memory> DCIM> Camera for photos and videos taken with the camera.
   • Shared internal storage> Images> Screenshots for screenshots.
   • Internal shared storage> WhatsApp> WhatsApp Images / WhatsApp Video for files sent and received by WhatsApp.
5. Copy and paste all the files you want to keep in a folder on your hard drive and wait for the process to complete.

Data backup

We moved on to documents and files, that is, the PDF, .docx, APK you downloaded, etc.. As in the case of photos you have two methods, so we will see first online and then offline. If you want to download files to the cloud, you can use Dropbox, MEGA, Box or Google Drive. In this case, to make a complete backup of an Android phone we will use Google Drive, as it is Google's cloud, it comes pre-installed on all mobile phones and offers 15GB of free storage.

1. Open Google Drive, and if you've never done this before, sign in with your Google account.
2. Create one or more folders for easier access to the content later (optional).
3. Press the “+” button that appears in the lower right area.
4. Choose "Upload".
5. Click on the three dots in the upper right area and select "Show Internal Memory".
6. Expand the side menu and select internal storage. It is included in the “Download” option.
7. Find the files in the folders where you saved them and upload them. If you haven't moved them, they should be in "Download".
8. If you have a WhatsApp document, go to WhatsApp> WhatsApp Document and upload it.

If you prefer do it offline, the procedure is the same as we saw in the previous section

1. Connect the mobile phone to the computer via the USB cable.
2. On the mobile phone, lower the notification bar, press on the notification “Loading this device via USB.
3. Select "Transfer Files".
4. On your computer, access the memory of your mobile.
5. Find the folders where you saved the files.
6. Copy and paste to your computer hard drive.

To restore the physical backup of photos, videos, files and documents, fellow worker simply the mobile phone to the computer and move everything to the home folder. They will appear again on your mobile as if nothing had happened.

Backup messages and contacts

This is the best method for backup contacts and how to restore them. One of the positives of Android is its excellent integration with Google services e, if there is one that stands out, it is Google Contacts. If you upload your contacts to the cloud, they will be restored to your new mobile immediately after entering your Google account. Even so, we will see online and offline options. Let's start with the first one.

1. Go to your contacts application.
2. Open the settings and select "Export". This will generate a .vcf file.
3. Choose the folder where you want to save the file and give it a name.
4. Download Google Contacts.
5. Expand the settings panel by swiping right.
6. Go to settings.
7. Select "Import" and then ".vcf File".
8. Now choose your Google account.
9. Wait until the process is complete.

When finished, all your contacts will have been uploaded to your account and will be restored on any device you set it up on. You can also consult and edit them from your computer by going to the Google Contacts website.

Do you prefer to save them offline? No, you don't have to write them all down in a notebook with a pen. Follow these steps.

1. Go to your contacts application.
2. Open the settings and select "Export". This will generate a .vcf file.
3. Choose the folder where you want to save the file and give it a name. The simplest thing is to leave it in "Download" with the name that is provided by default.
4. Connect your mobile to your computer via the USB cable.
5. Go to the internal shared storage location> Downloads (or the folder where you save the .vcf file).
6. Copy and paste it to your computer hard drive.

To restore them on the new mobile device or on the reset device, if you have made an online backup, it will be sufficient to enter your Google account in the initial setup process. If you made a physical backup, do the following:

1. Connect your mobile to your computer using the USB cable.
2. Move the .vcf file you generated earlier to your mobile. A simple path is Share Internal Storage> Downloads.
3. Open the contacts application on your mobile.
4. Go to settings and select "Import".
5. Go to the folder where the .vcf file was saved and select it. At the end of the process, you will have recovered your contacts.

Backup Applications

You are lucky, because to make a complete backup of applications and data on an Android phone you don't have to do anything. The apps you have downloaded on Google Play are saved to your Google account and you can download them in the initial setup process when you enter your Google account.

1. Log in to Google Play.
2. Open the side menu by swiping right.
3. Go to "My apps and games".
4. Above will appear a form with the applications you have previously installed using your Google account.
5. Click on it and select the applications you want to reinstall.
6. If it doesn't appear, go to “Collection”.
7. This section displays all applications installed using your Google account, so search for the most recent or missing ones and reinstall them.
8. Do you want to take advantage of it to get rid of the applications you don't use? Easy, use the search engine and search only the ones you need.

WhatsApp conversations

Although WhatsApp has a system for exporting chats via mail, it is not possible to import the backup back into the application. To make a backup, you need to go through Google Drive.

1. Go to WhatsApp> Settings> Chat.
2. Select "Backup".
3. Choose your Google account
4. If you want, check the box to save photos and videos as well. Remember that it will take longer to upload and download.

To restore the backup to the new mobile device, simply confirm the restore in the initial application configuration. It will tell you that it found a backup in your Google account, Than we click on "Reset" and let the application do its job.

Android backup con root

If you have an Android phone with root access, the process becomes much easier and faster. If you are new to root, it is best to proceed with caution. If you want to try, you need to know that it does it at your own risk.

How to make a full backup of an Android phone with Titanium backup

One of the most popular applications for ROM fans is Titanium Backup. While the free version is sufficient for most users, the Pro version has some interesting additions such as re-connecting applications to Google Play (so there's no problem updating them) or automatically uploading the backup to a cloud storage service. .

Why is Titanium Backup a good option? Because save applications and data and reinstalls them as if nothing had happened. Everything will be as you left it, although there may be some incompatibility issues, especially if you switch from an old mobile to a new one. The only thing you need to do is the following:

1. Assign superuser permissions.
2. Select the applications you want to save.
3. The process begins.

When I finish, move the file that generated you on the SD card or computer. When installing the new ROM, reinstall Titanium Backup and restore the backup.

1. Select "Reset".
2. Find the backup drive you created earlier.
3. Select it and let the app do its job, it will take a while. It is best to leave the application open to speed up the process.
4. When finished, you can delete the backup copy.

How to make a full backup of an Android phone with Migrate

Migrate is an alternative to Titanium Backup which has a much simpler interface and, among other things, allows you to make a backup of your SMS, call list and contacts. Of course, it is important to note that the application is still under development and may be unstable, so proceed with caution.

1. Select "Backup".
2. Choose all the applications you want to save and check all the boxes. This will save the apps, data and settings.
3. Then, check if you want to save the SMS, call log and contacts. The latter will be saved in .vcf format, so when you restore it you will have to repeat the above-mentioned procedure.
4. Complete the copy and, when done, move the .zip file to the microSD card.
5. When you install a new ROM, load the firmware, Google apps (if you wish) and don't forget the .zip file generated by Migrate. This is a necessary process to complete the backup.
6. After the reboot is complete, the migration will start automatically.
7. Give him permission as a superuser and let him do his job.

When the process is complete, all applications and what you have selected will be exactly where you left them. Hope the article on come fare backup Android you enjoyed it