How to backup Android system and Apps with their configurations?

Question

I ve been trying to find way to do a image backup then restore it back to a re-set device.

I dont think adb backup / adb restore can do this.

1. I installed all Apps and configured all settings for system and apps.
2. I did a [adb backup -all -f c:\xxx.ab] also tried other parameters. basically i backed up everything.
3. I reset my andriod back to factory state.
4. I did a [adb restore]
5. I dont see any app show up on my android and no system settings has been configured.

How can I do a whole system image backup with all apps installed? The whole point is i need to used this back to restore into other same devices, so i dont have to go through the whole app install process again and again.

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Some more info, The reason that I am trying to do this is that we have 60+ android devices (MK902 Android box)need to be pushed out in our building, on each device, I have to root it, install all Apps, configure system and apps. it is painful to go through this process on all devices. So I am thinking if there is any way to make a whole system image just like what we do on windows, then I can put that image into rest of devices, and change the device name later.

I used RK batch Tool to load a rooted img file into device for rooting. this img file contains boot.img, kernal.img and so on. I was trying to install all Apps and configure everything then make a img pack. but looks like it is too hard for me....i dont find any easy way or software to make this .img file.....

Answer 1

So from what I understand, you managed to back up and restore the ROM itself (system partition) but not the apps. Basically I'd recommend:

1. Backing up the ROM with the backup option on recovery. I don't remember if it means your apps will be backed up as well but I think it does.

2. You can use Titanium backup or Hellium to back up your apps. The backups will be saved on your phone so after your backup, transfer the backup files from your phone to your computer and once you're done restoring, transfer those same files from your computer to your phone and use one of these apps (whichever you chose) to restore your apps. Notice that you can backup system apps as well but it is not recommended as it might give you FC's (force close).

Answer 2

A whole system image backup is not possible without root access. If you have root access, this can be achieved via nandroid. However, if you create a full image, reset the device, and restore the image – you've just spent a lot of time for nothing, as Nandroid makes full file system images. So this makes more sense when creating a backup while the device is in "perfect order", and do the reset/restore to return to that state.

If you're after apps and their settings alone, adb backup should be the right approach (root or not). As you've tried that and failed: This might be a bug in your ROM. I have some devices acting the same: while I can make an adb backup, an adb restore always fails. On all other devices, however, it works fine.

Third option was already pointed out by Eran: Use Titanium Backup. This is a powerful tool not only for backups (actually one of the first paid apps I obtained, and use until today) – but again, it requires root access.

For additional hints, you might wish to visit our backup tag-wiki. There you should find a lot of relevant information, and links to other posts here on this site dealing with this and similar issues.