These backup instructions are tested on and work best with Android’s stock apps (Calendar, Contacts, Messages, etc.)

If you have a preferred third-party app for these services you should verify with the app’s documentation what’s required in order to create a backup of your data. It might sync with your Google account the same way the Android stock apps do, or it might require a manual backup and restore from the in-app settings menu.

Important! Before doing the backup steps below in preparation to manage your device with Andoff, it’s recommended you also do a full Google One backup. You won’t be able to restore it if all goes well with installing Andoff, but it will let you quickly restore your phone to its previous state if installing Andoff goes awry or you change your mind.

A quick way to create a Google One backup from your phone is to go to Settings > Accounts and backup > Back up data . If you have enough space in your Google Drive you can let Google back up basically everything, and if you need to restore from a factory reset you’ll be able to select this backup during initial setup.

Data that syncs with Google account (automatically backed up and restored)

  • Contacts
  • Email (if account is the same as your Google account, otherwise requires manual sign-in)
  • Calendar (if account is the same as your Google account, other requires manual sign-in)
  • Google maps history (if timeline is turned on, but only history is covered not favorites)
  • Password manager
  • Google pay

Not to be confused with Google One–these are small data that sync to your Google account if you have one signed into the phone. To get the rest of the larger data we will need to do manual backups in the next section.

To enable, go to Settings > Accounts and backup > Manage accounts > Google > Sync account and toggle on everything.

Make sure the data syncs. After factory reset when you log back into the phone with this Google account this data will be restored automatically.

Data that requires manual backup method

  • Messaging history (SMS, MMS, RCS)
  • Phone call history (date, time, with who)
  • Photos and videos
  • Downloads and media in the My Files app
  • Browser data (passwords, bookmarks, cookies)

Messaging and call history

  1. Open Play Store
  2. Install SMS Backup & Restore or an equivalent app that works for you (this one may not be the best but it has a free version)
  3. Open the app
  4. Tap on the hamburger menu in the top-left and select Back Up Now
  5. Make sure Messages and Call logs are toggled on, and choose your preferred backup location (Google Drive is fine)
  6. Tap on Back Up

After reset you’ll need to install this app again. When you get to step 5 you’ll select the option to Restore.

Photos and videos

Option A: Connect to a computer with a USB cable. Copy the DCIM folder as well as any other personal folders to your Desktop.

Option B: Insert a MicroSD card if your phone supports it. In the phone’s My Files app, tap on Internal Storage, tap on the three dots, tap Edit, select all folders, tap on Move, go back to the previous screen, tap on SD Card, and tap Move here. Factory reset shouldn’t wipe any data on the SD Card, but you can always remove the card and re-insert it after reset is complete to be extra safe.

Option C: Install the Google Photos app. In the app, tap on your Google account profile picture, tap where it says Backup, and make sure Backup is on and all photos and videos are backed up. If you have a lot of photos and videos, you might run out of space on your free 15GB limit (especially if you created a Google One backup like we recommended earlier). You can spend a couple bucks to increase your storage capacity, or use one of the other options above. If you need an option D there are also other apps to backup your files; Google Photos is just the simplest for this guide to recommend.

Downloads and personal files

See Options A and B above.

Passwords/browser data

Most browsers support cloud sync of browser data including passwords; you just need to be logged into an account.

Be aware that if you intend to switch to a safe browser after installing Andoff such as the Pluckeye browser, there isn’t a simple way to transfer browser data between mobile browsers.

For switching from a mainstream browser to another mainstream browser, you can use a PC as an in-between device to move synced data from one account to another. For example:

  • Sync Chrome on Android to Google account
  • Open Chrome on Windows and export browser data
  • Open Edge on Windows and import browser data
  • Sync Edge on Windows to Microsoft account
  • Sync Edge on Android to Microsoft account

This doesn’t work for browsers that don’t support account syncing. In such cases it’s easier to just accept the loss and start over with whatever new browser you choose to daily drive.

Data that isn’t backed up (best way we know of to restore it)

  • Installed apps

Restore apps with batch re-installation

Your Google account remembers every app you’ve ever installed from the Play Store. We can use this to quickly batch re-install all apps.

  1. After reset sign into your Google account
  2. Open the Play Store
  3. Tap on your Google account profile picture
  4. Tap on Manage apps & device
  5. Tap on Manage
  6. Tap on This device and select Not installed
  7. Tap the box next to all apps you want
  8. Tap on the Install button to batch re-install

What we don’t know about backing up

  • App data for the majority of your apps
  • The list of “groups” in your preferred messaging app

After backup preparations are complete

After you’ve followed all the above steps and are satisfied you’ve created a backup solution for everything you really want to be able to restore after reset, you can proceed to how to install .

Last updated: 2025-06-13