Sometimes, it happens to all of us that we love an app so much that we just want to back it up, so that in an unfortunate event if it is no longer available through the Android Market, we should still be able to enjoy our favorite app. Today in this tutorial I am going to guide you on how to backup android apps.
Backing up apps on android phones largely depends on the type of device, rooted device or un-rooted device. In this article I am going to share with you the Best No-Root-Required backup applications, available for free.
Reasons for Backing up an Android App
Before starting I would like to share the reasons why you may want or why you need to backup an Android App on your device. This one is really going to be an eye-opener for those who do not agree to back up.
1 ) This one is the most obvious reason; you really like the app and want to back it up in case it is no longer available through the Android Market
2 ) You need to install an app on your device without using Android Market.
3 ) You need to back up as you are going to root your device or you are going to install a new ROM and you want to have all your apps backed up so that you can easily reinstall them.
4 ) You need to back up as a new version of an app has been released and you are really unsure if you would like the new version or not. In this case you might want to take a back up of the current version of app so that you could easily install it in case you do not like the new version.
5 ) Your friend needs an app, however he/she does not have access to Android Market, so you want to help him\her out by sharing the app.
6 ) You want to share an app with someone as that person is not able to get it via Android Market as he is in a different country which doesn’t offers this app due to some terms and conditions.
I am sure this list is going to be endless. Feel free to share your reasons for change in comments section below.
Now we will be discussing the Best No-Root-Required backup applications, available for free.
Backup Master
Backup Master is really the king of back up applications that come for free for No- Root devices. Backup Master not only backs up, but it also restores SMS, MMS, Call Logs, System Settings. Best thing is that it backs up all applications in one single file package. It also supports to backup on PC. All you have to do is to just copy the backup onto the location where you want to store it (be it SD Card or PC). It also gives you an option to schedule backups (daily, weekly or monthly).
After downloading it, You just need to tap BackUp Master button and it will begin to work. It will make a list of the things that are available for bacl up. You have to choose what you want to backup. There is three button for Backup Master to get ready to backup. The first is choose all, the second button is not to choose all, the third button is to start backup. Also, there is same set of choices for restore. Restore option also has set of three button.
You would be able to find a “View and Management” button, this button could be used to check which files or apps you want to back up.
There is a second button to auto-remind you for the back-up. You can also set for how long you should be reminded to back up. The third button is to uninstall Backup Master. If you think that Backup Master is not the app that you were looking for then you can simply tap the uninstall button. Please note that in Backup Master you need not reboot once backup is over.
File Expert
File Expert will backup apps on your android device even if your device is not rooted. It will save backup in an APK File on your device. Please follow below set of instructions:
1 ) Go to Android Market from your device and search for the app “File Expert”.
2 ) Install File Expert.
3 ) After installation open “File Expert” app bu tapping on the icon.
4 ) Click on the top right button “App”
5 ) Now simply click the checkbox on the ap(s) which you want to back up. It allows you select multiple apps to back up simultaneously.
6 ) After selecting the apps, click the “Backup” button located on the bottom left corner.
7 ) All APK Files of the apps you selected will be saved in “Backup_apps” folder located in the root of your SD Card.
Mobile Backup II
Mobile Backup II is the best app to backup and restore your device via SD Card. You can import your personal data from one phone to another phone using SD Card.
Mobile Back Up II is avery simple user friendly back up process. Please follow below instructions:
1 ) Go to Android Market and search for Mobile Backup II or else you can simply download the app from here.
2 ) After download is successful, install the app.
3 ) Now tap the Button or Icon of Mobile Back Up II.
4 ) It will show you a list of your mobile data like Calendar, Contacts, SMS and Call Logs for Back Up.
5 ) Select the file that you want to back up. It might show you a pop up here asking for where to BackUp Data.
6 ) For safety it would be better to append the back up file to a previous file.
7 ) After this, it will take couple of minutes to backup your data depending on the size of data.
8 ) Backup files would be stored at different location in SD Card as follows depending on type of data:
• Calendar: /sdcard/Backup-Calendar.txt
• Contacts (Android 1.5~1.6): /sdcard/Backup-Contacts.txt
• Contacts (for Android 2.0~2.3): /sdcard/Backup-Contacts2.1.txt
• SMS: /sdcard/Backup-SMS.txt
• Call Logs: /sdcard/Backup-CallLog.txt
Backup to Gmail
Backup to Gmail is yet another app that is available at Android Market for free. It helps you to backup SMS, MMS, and Call Logs to Gmail Labels automatically. It can also help you to restore SMS and Call Logs to other Android Devices.
This is the best of all apps as using this one you could easily search messages in your gmail without worrying about to lose them.
However the only constraint that is most important is that you have to enable IMAP in Gmail and set correct time zone, before backing up the apps.
UiA – Backup Contacts
This app creates backup of your contacts however it does not restore them. Pls follow below steps to backup using this app:
1 ) Go to Android Market and Search for this app or else simply click this link to download the app.
2 ) Export the contacts that you want to back up to the SD-Card.
3 ) Check the CSV File created in a test editor.
4 ) Upload the CSV File to drop box.
5 ) Send CSV file as email.
6 ) Select Gmail or Outlook
7 ) Now set up a custom CSV File.
In the end I would say that there are some other awesome apps like Titanium Backup, myBackup, etc however these apps require root access and these are paid apps and are not available for free trials.
So this was all from me on how to back android apps on un-rooted phones using Free Apps. Please feel free to share you experience in the comments section below.
Article by Ankit
Ankit is the founder of Geek Revealed. He is tech Geek who loves to sit in front of his square headed girlfriend all day long. :D You can find Ankit on FaceBook or Google Plus
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