Tighty Whitey
Lurker
This morning my wife's phone started with an error message saying "Data Storage Low", so I moved all her pics to my computer and it still said there was only 200 Mbytes free of 1.4 Gbytes. Did some reading and there was an option #9900# which failed several times. So I did some more reading and they said perform Factory Reset.
So went to "Settings" and found Factory Reset and MADE CERTAIN that "Backup and Recovery" was TICKED.
At the time, I believe this meant that the data would be saved, everything else deleted, the phone O/S reinstalled and then the backed-up data would be restored. So I ran the Factory Restore.
Now I find no way to "Restore" the data. And now "Backup and Recovery" wants an email address in order to set it up. It didn't want an email address before. My wife was fully installed with her gmail on Google Play, was receiving Gmail on her phone and now suddenly the phone acts like it's never heard of her or her email.
And now I'm thinking the data was never backed-up, and years of Instant Messages and Phone Contacts are gone forever. I've installed trial versions of two "android data recovery" softwares and they only find a few scraps of files, and NO IM's or Phone Contacts. Luckily I copied her photos to my computer, so I have those, but everything else is gone.
What happened? How can I fix it? This is stupid, btw. The stupid idea that there is a separate function between "backup" and "restore" as if the two have nothing to do with each other. Stupid. How does "Backup" go from being a simple "tick box" before a Restore, to having a link to a gmail account after? Did the data back up to the gmail account after all? If so, where do I find it? How to I "Restore" it back to the phone? This is really stupid. The whole process should have been integrated into a single button and no one is allowed to do anything without explicit instructions, like "YOUR DATA IS NOT BACKED UP TO THE GMAIL ACCOUNT THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE." or "YOUR DATA IS BACKED UP TO YOUR GMAIL ACCOUNT" or whatever. I just think the whole thing is stupid, like someone hired some marginally re.tar.d.ed orangutans to code this crappy stupid software. How stupid, really. STUPID.
Anyways, there's my question, and my rant. I have plenty of both, if anyone wants more. Thanks in advance.
PS
I have daydreams about finding an Android Developer on the side of the road with a flat tire on an isolated road in the middle of no where, and I have a tire iron, and a pocket knife.
So went to "Settings" and found Factory Reset and MADE CERTAIN that "Backup and Recovery" was TICKED.
At the time, I believe this meant that the data would be saved, everything else deleted, the phone O/S reinstalled and then the backed-up data would be restored. So I ran the Factory Restore.
Now I find no way to "Restore" the data. And now "Backup and Recovery" wants an email address in order to set it up. It didn't want an email address before. My wife was fully installed with her gmail on Google Play, was receiving Gmail on her phone and now suddenly the phone acts like it's never heard of her or her email.
And now I'm thinking the data was never backed-up, and years of Instant Messages and Phone Contacts are gone forever. I've installed trial versions of two "android data recovery" softwares and they only find a few scraps of files, and NO IM's or Phone Contacts. Luckily I copied her photos to my computer, so I have those, but everything else is gone.
What happened? How can I fix it? This is stupid, btw. The stupid idea that there is a separate function between "backup" and "restore" as if the two have nothing to do with each other. Stupid. How does "Backup" go from being a simple "tick box" before a Restore, to having a link to a gmail account after? Did the data back up to the gmail account after all? If so, where do I find it? How to I "Restore" it back to the phone? This is really stupid. The whole process should have been integrated into a single button and no one is allowed to do anything without explicit instructions, like "YOUR DATA IS NOT BACKED UP TO THE GMAIL ACCOUNT THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE." or "YOUR DATA IS BACKED UP TO YOUR GMAIL ACCOUNT" or whatever. I just think the whole thing is stupid, like someone hired some marginally re.tar.d.ed orangutans to code this crappy stupid software. How stupid, really. STUPID.
Anyways, there's my question, and my rant. I have plenty of both, if anyone wants more. Thanks in advance.
PS
I have daydreams about finding an Android Developer on the side of the road with a flat tire on an isolated road in the middle of no where, and I have a tire iron, and a pocket knife.
