AndroidGood and EVO

Power tools with Titanium Backup

Titanium Backup create LabelTitanium Backup is a pretty useful product, but the documentation is somewhat lacking, and you really only need to know a few things in order to transition properly from ROM to ROM.

This covers items only accessible in the pro version, which you’ll want if you are a flashing machine.

There are seven things you will want to use Titanium Backup for out of the eleventy billion it can do. These are the seven things for a happy TB time.

1. Choose what you’re bringing to another ROM

We’re going to back up everything nightly, but when we get a new ROM, we don’t want to restore everything, as from ROM to ROM you’ve got their own version of what’s what. Restoring everything from an old ROM means you’re dragging all the problems of your old ROM into the new one and hoping they don’t stick.

So what we’ll do here is create a label.  You can do this from the main Titanium Backup screen by pressing the thing that looks like an oil funnel (which they’re using for their filter icon) and then choosing Create Label down at the bottom.

Enter a name, hit add/remove elements and choose what you want to travel with you from ROM to ROM.

Notice anything that has the Titanium Backup label – these are Accounts, Bluetooth pairings, Application widgets, bookmarks, Call Log, Data Usage (Policy & Stats), dialer storage, Messages (SMS & MMS), wallpaper, WiFi Access Points.

I’ve bolded the ones that I choose. Accounts includes your Facebook and Twitter accounts. If you don’t back this up you’ll have the app but have to re-enter your info.

Titanium Backup -selecting items in a labelChoose the apps you want to travel with you as well. I usually tag all my games and Tasker projects, but I leave the browsers as they’re usually part of a GAPPS package or the ROM I’m getting.

Save your list, make sure you’ve got what you want. If you miss anything you haven’t lost it later on, you’ll just need to do another step to get it back.

2. Sync your Titanium Backup settings

Sync Titanium Backup SettingsFrom the main menu go to menu, preferences, check Auto-sync TB settings. If you don’t there a chance the label you created above could get wiped or disappear when you wipe and install a new ROM. There’s still a chance, but much less likely.

3. Schedule your backups

Schudule Titanium Backup backupsFrom the main menu go to schedules. You want a few schedules to redo backups for modified data, backup new user+system apps & never versions, and to sync to Google drive or Dropbox or somewhere not on your phone.

Do it every night at some hour you’re not going to be using the phone and it’s charging. It may use a bit more processor time in the short run to back up every night, but if you’ve got a day full of updates you lose you’ll be having to download those again.

I really like to have the backups synced off of the phone in case the phone breaks or I manage to bork the thing.

4. Make an update.zip

Create an update.zip in Titanium BackupMain menu, Create update.zip, I generally name it the TitaniumBackup option leaving everything else default. This will save a copy of TB in your root directory so you can flash it along with the ROM you’re flashing.

5. And now we’ve flashed a new ROM

After you’ve jumped through the minimum requirements to get to the main screen, open up Titanium Backup (you flashed it right after you flashed your new ROM, remember?).

Hit the oil drain that means filter, tap the label you created and hit the check mark. This loads a filter of just the things we said a bit ago we wanted.

6. Restore your label contents

Titanium Backup batch restore screenFrom the main menu hit menu, batch actions, and choose how you want to restore. My general first attempt is to restore all apps plus all system data. Sometimes this bricks things as the accounts don’t go in right and require another wipe, flash.

But when it does work right you’ve got everything working right out of the gate with three taps.

If the all apps plus all system data didn’t work, choose all apps+data.

That should get you taken care of.

7. Verify Titanium Backup is set up correctly on the other side

Check and verify your schedules carried over, that auto-sync TB settings is still enabled, that’s about it.

Also make sure to update your label assignments as you add and remove things otherwise you’ll be sorting things out on the next ROM you flash.

I’ll point out that some of the features listed here you’ll need to have a pro key for. Probably most of them. But at five bucks or so for the ability to go from ROM to ROM and only have to tap a couple of times to have all your stuff set up, it’s worth it.

Download: Google Play

 

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Paul E King

Paul King started with GoodAndEVO in 2011, which merged with Pocketables, and as of 2018 he's evidently the owner. He lives in Nashville, works at a film production company, is married with two kids. Facebook | Twitter | Donate | More posts by Paul | Subscribe to Paul's posts

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