Help backups?

[russfink]

What is the best way to back up your droid, either to your computer or your SD card? I need to do a hard reset of my phone and I want to back up the stuff that doesn't show in my SD card - specifically,
* call logs
* contacts, including starred contacts
* text messages (multimedia messages would be nice, but not important)
* app data, e.g., the lists in my list program, the settings in K-9 mail, ...
* configuration options - wireless network passwords, ring tones, volume, apps installed, ...

I read about the following apps, with the following limitations:

mIQ - backs up to a website, problems reported on restore
Titanium - needs root
Nandroid - needs root
OnTheFly Backup - maybe only backs up apps.
Astro - no clear indication that this would be useful to me
AppMonster - maybe only does apps

Maybe a more basic question is, do you HAVE to root your phone in order to do a proper backup?

Thanks,
Russ

 

[Lock-N-Load]

attach phone to computer. drag and drop the sd card contents up to your computer.

As well, BEFORE you do this, you could even use something like MyBackup Pro and make backups of all of your apps and settings (system, phone, apps).

call logs, mms/sms can all be backed up with MyBackup Pro for example. Contacts are on the web in the cloud of course, but MyBackup Pro does those as well.

MBP does not need root.

all this being said, there is no better backup than when rooted as you can make nandroid backups which are a snapshot of EVERYTHING at that moment. bit in lieu of that, MyBackup Pro will do what you want and no root needed and then once it is done, copy your SD card over to your computer and then you have it all.

 

[russfink]

Thanks, Lock-N-Load. Have you personally used MyBackup Pro?

I like to follow a strategy of free, as in beer, wherever possible, and MyBackup Pro is a paid-for app. Maybe this is the first app I ever buy.

Thanks - Russ

 

[jmt9779]

Thanks, Lock-N-Load. Have you personally used MyBackup Pro?

I like to follow a strategy of free, as in beer, wherever possible, and MyBackup Pro is a paid-for app. Maybe this is the first app I ever buy.

Thanks - Russ

I have MyBackup Pro and I use it regularly. It's SO worth the $5. I understand sticking with free apps when possible, but $5 shouldn't break the bank and when it comes to backing up all of your data to protect against the unknown/unforeseen, $5 really seems like nothing.

I've never done a hard reset (though, my phone is getting a tiny bit sluggish and i'm really thinking that i should do one), but I have MBP set to backup weekly to my SD card (and then weekly I copy my SD card contents over to my computer) and the only times I really need it are when I update an app and I'm not happy with the updates that were made. I use MBP to go back to the previous version. VERY easy. VERY quick.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

Thanks, Lock-N-Load. Have you personally used MyBackup Pro?

I like to follow a strategy of free, as in beer, wherever possible, and MyBackup Pro is a paid-for app. Maybe this is the first app I ever buy.

Thanks - Russ

own it, use it from day I rooted.

a paid app here or there, especially for backing up, is well spent $. $5 is not worth lost data to me.

 

[RyanB]

OP: in pretty site there are apps in the Market that claim to backup your text messages. Before doings hard reset, I would test them out. Second, your contacts should be backed up in the cloud, so once you sign back in to your Google account post-reset, your contacts, gmail, calender, and apps bought from the market will all be able to be restored

 

[johnlgalt]

Apps known ot work when it comes ot backing up SMS:

TiBu
MyBackup Pro
SMS Backup and Retore
SMS Backup+