Syncthing for files (music, photos, videos, noted), DAVx5 for contacts+calendar. Everything else is either a client app (email) or ephemeral (text messages).
Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?
11–20 of 227 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?
#12I use Nextcloud to backup images or potentially other files. Other than that, there is nothing important to backup.
Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?
#13Android internal storage backup with Termux (and ssh daemon and rsync): https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Remote_Access and apps I use the internal Google mechanism.
Restic also works pretty well through termux. I found it easier to setup with include & exclude lists than rsync.
Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?
#14I use EasySSHFS to mount a backup directory my desktop, then NeoBackup to back up apps to it. Both require root.
Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?
#15I just plug in an external SSD formatted with exFAT via the USB-C port and manually copy folders (Documents, DCIM, Downloads, etc.) to it in the Files app.
After dismounting it in the Settings app (Advanced menu), I plug it into my computer and copy any files over I want to store there too (e.g., Pictures).
Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?
#16My device is rooted and I use NeoBackup to backup apps with all their data (including what the app developer marked as "should not be backed up", often data that they would like you to backup on their own cloud instead). Syncthing synchronises these backups to my home server automatically, as well as the phone's user data (photos, mainly). The photos are additionally sent to Photoprism. I avoid Google's cloud as much…
Would you trust a restore of those “do not back up” data you have a copy of? Or is this for inspection only?
Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?
#17You don't. Google backup is partial and very limited compared to what apple does, plus privacy issues and you don't get access to app folder without root. (I know about adb but then you can't push the files back there).
So it's a shitshow as usual with Android, it all depends on the app. My weight lifting app it can backup on Google cloud. Great. My 2Fa on the other hand it only backup to the 'external' storage, need to transfer it to the computer then. Some app don't have backup option. Some app give backup option but then break when you restore it, like moon reader. Some books just disappeared from the backup.
And so on, and so on.
At the end I focus on photo, obsidian vault and 2fa. Everything else is just bonus if I backed it up.
Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?
#18I use Folder Sync Pro to sync files to a NAS. This app provides a lot of flexibility in terms of the kinds of destinations (NAS, various cloud service providers) and support for different protocols like FTP and SMB.
Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?
#19I don't backup my android but I synchronize some stuff (photos/docs) using syncthing-fork. These are then backuped on the server they are synced to.
Additionally I sync my calendar and contacts with davx. Same as before, backup is done on the server itself.
I don't see the point making a backup of installed apps and their local config.
Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?
#20Syncthing for files (music, photos, videos, noted), DAVx5 for contacts+calendar. Everything else is either a client app (email) or ephemeral (text messages).
Same for me