If you are one of those Android users who like to try something new on their phones like flashing Firmware, Custom Roms, custom Recoveries and other modifications. Then you may have come up with a term Nandroid Backup which is recommended before any Modification. Here you will know How to Backup Android Phone completely in both case Root & No-Root.
There are more than one ways to backup Android Phone either it is rooted or not. Backing up full data on an Android device is simpler if any custom Recovery is installed and rooted. It is important to take backups frequently to avoid any data loss. Sometimes even a single App can cause bootloop or not rebooting problems. In this case, only the backup will help to recover data.
How to Backup Android Phone
Android users have options to backup important data and also full backup containing the firmware (System Image). Full backup help users to roll back to an older version of the device if there is any problem with the newer update. Backup also helps to restore data in case of soft-brick issue. I will categorize the guide in three different sections which will describe the step to take backup on Non-rooted phone, Rooted phone, and Phone with custom Recovery.
Note: After taking backup make sure to transfer the backup file to PC. So that you can recover the backup data whenever you want.
How to Backup Non-Rooted Android Phones
There are data like Apps, Contacts, Call History, and Internal data that are important to take backup. You can take backup of your non-rooted phones with some third party apps and of course the Google Account.
1) Backup Contacts, App data, Call History, Settings
If you are using Android then you must be using Google Account. And Android allows users to backup App data, Call History, SMS, and Settings using Google Account directly to Google Drive. But to restore Google drive backup you need Internet data. And if you don’t mind using Internet data then this is the perfect option for backup.
- Make sure you are logged in with Google Account on Android phone.
- Now open Settings.
- In settings, Go to Google > Backup.
- Turn on Google Drive backup.
- Tap on Back up now to backup App data, Call history, Contacts, and Device settings. If Back up now option not available then go to Settings > Accounts > Google Account > Account Sync. Then tap on three dot and select sync now.
- That all you have to do for backup. Now when you log in using the same account on a new phone or new ROM the backup will be automatically restored.
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2) Backup Messages
In Google Backup option there is an option to backup messages, but that doesn’t work. I tried many times and failed all the times. So I tried other third party apps and luckily found one which is best for message backup. So to backup messages on your phone go through the following instructions:
- Install SMS Backup & Restore from Google Play Store.
- Open the App and tap ‘Set up a Backup’.
- Tap Next and select the backup location. You can also use Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive.
- Tap Next > Create Backup and wait for backup completion.
- To save the backup transfer the backup to PC. When you have to restore message Install the app again and copy the backup from PC to phone.
- In the App go to Restore and select a preferred option like Local Backup, Google drive etc. In local backup select the backup location and it will restore messages and call logs. Similarly, you can restore the backup from cloud storage.
3) Backup Apps
If you don’t want to download all of your Apps again then you can backup Apps using some third party Apps. In this way, you don’t need Internet data to restore backups. I will recommend to use Backup & Restore App. This app only backup Apps (APK) not the data so if you want to backup Apps data then use the next method.
- Download and Install Backup & Restore App from Play Store.
- Open the App and select the location where you want to save the backup.
- Now select Apps you want to backup and then Tap on Backup.
- Transfer the backup file to PC.
- Now when you need the backup just copy the backup and Install all the Apps to Restore.
4) Backup Apps Data
It’s not easy to backup Apps data without Root But with the help of an app called Helium which was previously known as Carbon is making it possible. So big thanks to the Helium developers for developing the App. I will always recommend this App for backup to no-root Android phones. Although you will not be able to create backups of some Apps like WhatsApp, and some other system Apps. Creating backups using Helium is not easy, so follow the steps carefully.
- Install Helium Backup App from Play Store.
- In computer download Helium and install it.
- Enable USB Debugging on your Android Phone.
- Download and Install ADB Drivers on your PC.
- Open Helium App on both Android phone and computer.
- Connect your phone to the computer using a USB cable.
- Now it will ask for Debugging permission on phone, tap on ‘Allow USB Debugging’.
- Now you will see a right tick on Helium App on PC, it means you have enabled backup option. You can now disconnect your phone from computer. This process you have repeat every time you reboot your phone.
- Copy the backup to PC, so that you can copy and restore the backup in a new device or new ROM. Always copy the backup in Carbon folder on the phone.
- To restore just Install the App of which you want to restore the backup. And In the Helium App go to Restore & Sync and select the App data to restore.
5) Backup Media and Other files
To backup files like Videos, Document, Pictures, Compressed files etc, I will recommend transferring these files on PC using USB Cable. Although you have always an alternative option to back up these data which Cloud backup. For cloud backup, you can use Google Drive, OneDrive or any other cloud service.
For Photos & Videos, Google Photo is one of the best options which automatically creates backup of all the Media files. But remember restoring from Google Photos requires an Internet connection which will cost carrier data.
How to Backup Rooted Android Phones
If you have a rooted Android Phone then the backup of Android phones become easier. You can backup almost everything in Rooted phones. There are some well-known Apps which only works on rooted phones and used for backup purpose. Here I will use Titanium backup, which is the best backup App for rooted phones from my perspective. Let’s see how to use Titanium App to backup Android Phone.
- Install Titanium Backup App from Play Store.
- Open the app and grant root permission.
- Go to Backup/Restore section and tap on right-tick on the top right corner alongside search icon.
- Select “Backup all user apps + system data” and choose which app you want to backup. You can select all the Apps.
- Tap on the right-tick icon on the top right corner to backup Apps with data.
- The backup file will be saved in TitaniumBackup folder, so copy the backup to PC to restore if your phone is formatted.
- To restore copy back the backup file in the TitaniumBackup folder and restore the available Backups. It will restore App and data both.
So that’s all you have to do to backup Apps with data in Android phones with root privilege.
Note: To backup Contacts, App Data, Call History, Contacts, Settings, and Internal storage follow the guide in non-rooted section.
How to Make Nandroid Backup Using TWRP Recovery
You can completely backup Android phone which is called Nandroid Backup which includes partition backup. For Nandroid Backup, you don’t need any specific recovery. But in this guide I will use the TWRP recovery, you can follow the same procedure for any other custom Recovery like CWM, TWRP, OrangeFOX etc. In this backup you don’t need to transfer media files separately, all these files will be backed up within the Nandroid Backup. Simply go through with the following steps for Nandroid backup of Android phone.
Prerequisite:
- Install TWRP Recovery, if not installed already (Flash Fire App can also be used in place of custom Recovery)
- Make sure that enough storage is available on your device for complete backup
- You should know how to boot into recovery mode (google it for your phone model)
- Backup Contacts, Settings, Messages, Call history as shown in Non-rooted section
Steps for Nandroid Backup:
- Reboot your phone into recovery mode using shortcut button or using cmd command via USB debugging.
- In TWRP Recovery, go to Backup.
- Now you can select partitions for backup like System, System Image, Vendor, Data, Cache, Boot. You can select partition as you prefer. But if you don’t know what to select then leave the default selections.
- Go to Options section and select Enable Compression to reduce the size of backup (optional).
- You can select the backup storage location like OTG, MicroSD card or Internal Storage.
- Finally, Swipe the slider for Nandroid Backup on Android phone. It will take time according to the size so wait for completion.
- The backup file can be found on the TWRP folder, so transfer the backup file to the computer to free space on your phone. And when needed copy back to Android phone.
- To restore the backup Reboot into TWRP Recovery and go to Restore. Select the backup file and flash the backup. It will restore all the backed up data.
So there you have it the brief guide on Backup Android Phone completely whether it is rooted or not. This way you will not lose your data. And also it will save your time from recovering everything one by one. If you have any queries then make sure to comment and we will reply as soon as possible.
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