ADB Backup

A small tutorial on how to backup Android application data via the adb tool. Currently, this is the only mechanism to backup the entire device.

If defaults won't work for you, have a look at the options for adb in the scripts. Defaults are that only app data of installed and systems apps will be backed up. NOT THE STORAGE ITSELF!

Android apps can exclude themselves from backup, thus this mechanism cannot back them up.

Prerequisites

On your PC

You need the adb tools in order for this to work:

Extract to e.g. C:\Android so that adb.exe resides in C:\Android\adb.exe
Add C:\Android to the environment to make the adb command available
Check in cmd (<Super/Windows key> + r, type 'cmd', press ENTER) if adb devices lists your device, else install additional driver for your device, also check that debug mode is enabled and your device is properly connected

On your phone

Enable Developer Settings by clicking 10+ times on the build number of your Android version
A new menu should be there: Developer Settings
In this new menu, enable debug USB mode

Usage

Backup

Once installed, execute the script by double-clicking while your device is connected and debug mode is enabled
Confirm any screens on your phone
Your backup will be placed in a defaulf location, e.g. C:\Users\<your-username> in Windows or /home/<your-username> on UNIX

Restore

Currently there's no script provided for restoring a backup as this is a single command in your command line. When your device is connected and in debug mode, use the following command pointing to the backup file you like to restore:

# Windows (<Super/Windows key> + r, type 'cmd', press ENTER)
adb restore C:\Users\<your-username>\mybackup.ab

# UNIX
adb restore /home/<your-username>/mybackup.ab

Confirm any dialogs popping up on your phone and maybe enter an encryption key to restore.

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