backup-full-android

Bash script that performs a full backup of an Android phone (connected via USB). (See Limitations below.)

Based on Ryan Conrad's answer at http://android.stackexchange.com/a/28315/91564

Features

Performs a full backup via Android's adb tool
Writes resultant backup file named (with current timestamp) in directory of your choosing
Resultant backup file is encrypted using a user-provided password
Resultant backup file is set with read-only permissions
Displays "Success!" upon successful completion
Runs on any OS having a Bash environment

Usage

./backup-full-android.sh <dest_dir>

Example:

./backup-full-android.sh ~/backups/phone/

If you don't see the "Success!" message at the end, then something went wrong.

Example usage

On Ubuntu:

user@computer:~$ ./backup-full-android.sh /mnt/raid/bak/phones/MotoX
[+] Testing dependencies...
[+] Validating arguments...
[+] Testing for existence of destination directory...
[*] Using destination directory = /mnt/raid/bak/phones/MotoX
[*] Using temp file = /tmp/tmp.DS7agv6HzR
[+] Starting backup at Sat Mar  5 12:56:20 EST 2016 ...
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
Now unlock your device and confirm the backup operation.

real    23m3.877s
user    0m0.226s
sys     0m14.507s
[+] Backup concluded at Sat Mar  5 13:19:24 EST 2016
[+] Moving temp file to destination directory...
‘/tmp/tmp.DS7agv6HzR’ -> ‘/mnt/raid/bak/phones/MotoX/20160305125620.ab’
removed ‘/tmp/tmp.DS7agv6HzR’
[+] Setting output file as read-only ...
[*] Output file exists at '/mnt/raid/bak/phones/MotoX/20160305125620.ab'
-r--r----- 1 user user 3668624773 Mar  5 13:19 /mnt/raid/bak/phones/MotoX/20160305125620.ab
[+] Success!

Requirements

Phone running Android 4.0+, connected to your computer via USB

Environment

Any OS having a Bash environment
The following tools must be installed, executable, and in the PATH:
- mktemp
- adb
Setup USB debugging on your phone. For instructions, please see http://android.stackexchange.com/a/28315/91564

Prerequisites

To install necessary prerequisites on Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install adb android-tools-adb android-tools-adbd

Restoring

Please see instructions at http://android.stackexchange.com/a/28315/91564

Limitations

This script is simply a wrapper for adb, so it will carry with it all of adb's limitations.
This script will not backup and restore:
- Contacts
- SMS
- Calendar information
- Ringtone and notification sounds
- Activated input languages (i.e. keyboard layouts)
- Owner name (owner name set in first boot wizard is kept instead)

Tips

If you find that you can't click the button that says "Back up my data", check out https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/115865/button-to-allow-adb-backup-not-working

Disclaimer

No backup tool is perfect. This tool has been helpful for me. If used properly, I hope it's helpful for you. Unfortunately, I cannot provide any guarantees as to the completeness or soundness of this script with your phone, on your computer, in your environment. Use at your own risk.

Please, always test your backups!

JElchison/backup-full-android