Sometimes, a backup of a smartphone or tablet just isn't enough, especially if you have a number of (the same) devices that have to be quickly deployed (or redeployed). For that, you need a bit more power than Titanium Backup or Google Drive. If you want to do full-blown backup of devices, you must turn to the Android Software Developer Kit (SDK). With this powerhouse tool, you can easily create a complete backup of a device with a single command.
The function is very simple: it validates the command line options, sends the command mostly as-is to the adb daemon on the phone, and writes the phone's output to the file. A random backup encryption IV is generated. The function is very simple: it validates the command line options, sends the command mostly as-is to the adb daemon on the phone, and writes the phone's output to the file. A random backup encryption IV is generated. Here is how to back up your Android data with ADB on Ubuntu. Download for windows and Mac. Installing ADB and Enabling USB Debugging. Creating a backup with ADB is as simple as running one command. First, take the USB cable that corresponds with the Android device, and plug it into the PC.
The adb backup command won't work fully on an unrooted device as it will attempt to backup things like the /system partition, and without root access the phone will deny you this for safety reasons. I'm glad to hear running it with the -nosystem flag worked out for you:).
Feb 03, 2018 Download Simple-ADB for free. With Graphical User Interface. This is simply ADB/Fastboot,with a Graphical User Interface. Further information on the xda form.
Both of these tools come with the Android SDK, however that’s an extremely large download that, frankly, most users who are interested in ADB and fastboot don’t need.
SEE: Download: Special Report: Cybersecurity in an IoT and mobile world (TechRepublic)
Let's walk through the steps for this process. I'll use Windows 7 as the platform.
Installing the necessary tools
The first thing you must do is install the following pieces of software:
Android Studio (which includes the Android SDK)
Preparing your device
Once you've installed both of these tools, you'll need to set up your device to allow a connection between it and the Android SDK. What you must do is enable USB debugging. This is done from within Settings | Developer options. If you don't see Developer options, you need to enable it by finding the build number for your device (usually found in About | Software information | More) and tapping Build number seven times. Once you've done that, you'll see Developer options within Settings. Within Developer options, tap to enable USB debugging (Figure A).
Figure A
Enabling debugging on a Verizon-branded HTC M8.
At this point, connect your device to the PC running Android Studio.
Install Google USB Driver
Open Android Studio and then, from the main window, click Configure. From the Configure window, click Android SDK Manager. When the manager opens, scroll down to make sure Google USB Driver is checked for installation (Figure B), click Install, accept the license, and click Install again.
Figure B
Installing the remaining dependencies for creating an image.
If you're doing this for the first time, the download and installation can take some time, so be patient.
Testing the Android Debug Bridge (adb)
At the top of the Android SDK Manager, you'll find the exact path where the SDK was installed. Open up Explorer, navigate to that very location, and then go into the platform-tools folder. Hold down the [Shift] key, right-click within that folder, and select the Open command window. Now, test to make sure adb can communicate with your device, and make sure your device isn't suspended, by entering the command:
adb devices
You should see your device listed in the output — in the form of a long string of characters followed by device (Figure C).
Figure C
Testing adb's ability to communicate to your devices.
Creating the backup
It's now time to create the image. From within the same command prompt used to test adb, issue the following command:
On the device, a new screen should appear. If you want to encrypt the backup, enter a password — otherwise, tap Back up my data. The backup will begin, and you'll find the backup file in the folder declared in the backup command.
Depending on how much data your device holds, this process can take quite some time.
Restoring the backup
The restoration process is simple. Connect the device to be restored and (from the same location you issued the backup command) enter the command:
adb restore C:UsersNAMEbackup.ab
Where NAME is the name of the same Windows user from the backup process.
Again, depending on how much data is on the backup, the restore process can take some time.
If the standard backup tools aren't enough, or you don't want to root your device in order to get a full backup, you need to turn to the Android SDK. The process works well, and the end result will be a full backup and restore of your device.
What do you use to backup your Android devices? Share your experience in the discussion thread below.
Also see
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