Hi,
I’d like to migrate to Fairphone open as a many-year google-android user. My problem is that all my contacts, photos, purchased app etc are associated with my google account. How do I get those on my Fairphone? The only really important thing is the contacts.
Thanks!
Welcome to the good side! 
I never used Google, but I have two ideas: Either Google has an export function (e.g. if you log in to the cloud) or you could do the following:
- Install openGAPPS (=Google) and restore your Google backup from the cloud
- Enable root in the developer settings (they appear after you tap the build number 10 times in settings -> about phone).
- Install Titanium Backup and make a backup of everything important onto your external SD card
- Perform a #dic:hardreset to get rid of Google again
- Reinstall Titanium Backup and restore your backup from the SD card.
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In the Contacts App: copy on SIM card / export as csv.
Photos: Just download them and copy them on your FP manually
Purchased apps: Now it gets difficult: You can download Yalp Store from F-Droid, which lets you download all apps available in the Play Store without the Play Store, BUT if you want to get your paid apps, you might run into trouble.
Yalp Store creates a fake G00gle Account from which you can download free apps, but you can’t buy apps. So you need to log in with your actual G00gle account data, which is not permitted by G00gle. Yalp Store sais it’s safe, I did it and nothing happened, but keep in mind that G00gle can ban your account for doing that as stated somewhere in their (sh*tty, cough, my own opinion) terms&conditions.
@paulakreuzer I WAS HERE FIRST! 
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Hello,
I could not get the contacts restored from titanium backup. But you could try superbackup (I think that is the app name), and export your contacts as a file. After that you can import your contacts back.
I hope that works for you.
You need to restore “contacts storage”.
Hi Paula, where is this?
In Titanium Backup > Backup/Restore search for “contacts”.
No, so far, that did not work for me.
That sounds great - I still have the stock OS installed, so I shouldn’t have to install opengapps and such - but I get a failure on trying to copy my contacts to the sim card, for some reason. I guess I need root for the titanium backup?
Alternatively, and also to have a synchronized backup of your contacts later on without using Google sevices, you could install DAVdroid, get a compatible account somewhere, and then try to move your accounts there, see also here.
Other options would be EteSync and the Dumbphone Assistant.
Google has actually a very good export function.
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Yes, I exported everything to csv, spent a few hours cleaning up the contacts - then realized that there doesn’t seem to be any way to import contacts again from csv?
So here’s what I did so far - I exported the contacts from ggle to CSV (you can do it in the contacts app), edited the CSV, then found an app on the Yalp store to import contacts from CSV. That deletes the contacts again when uninstalling, so I exported all the contacts to .vcf on my phone, uninstalled the app, then re-imported the contacts.
Now there’s just one problem: there was a stray " in the file, which meant that only the first 190 contacts where imported. I’ve fixed the file, but importing then results in 190 duplicates! Is there a way to delete 190 contacts on my phone? Otherwise I might have to format the phone and start ahead, but I’ve got everything else running now.
OK, I found an app on the Yalp store to delete multiple contacts, and then I just reiterated my steps. So, now I’ve got all my contacts on the phone.
Current status: Most things seem to be working. About the paid apps, I didn’t feel comfortable using my google credentials, so I’ve worked around it. The most important ones:
- Swype: the most important app on Android. There’s a trial version which seems to be working at the moment.
- Titanium Backup PRO. I sent the guys my old playstore receipt and they emailed me the key file.
- Scout: I’d bought some offline maps and so, but there appears to be alternatives.
There are some apps that don’t work without google services:
- MobilePay: My bank’s online payment app.
- EverNote: I use this for everything.
I tried installing microG but that seems to not have resolved the issue. Otherwise I’m good to go on my ggle-free phone!
OK, I can see there are some tricks to use to get MobilePay and EverNote to work, but I’m not feeling confident in installing XPosed and something like that. I’ll just leave it as it is and work around it. Thanks for the help!
@mkborregaard There is an XPosred module called “This App Will Run Without Google Play Services” which just blocks the error message (in most cases). Many apps would work without GMS, but they just pop up a popup which blocks the app.
But I can understand that you don’t want to have XPosed modules on your phone, because you don’t trust the developers.
It’s more that it appears to make updating the system and such much more of a hassle?
That’s only a bit true. Yes, it gets more complicated, but only a little bit. The only new thing you’d have to do would be to download and install the XPosed framework via the XPosed installer app after every update (That’s one couple MB download and one reboot. The settings you made in XPosed modules will remain, they just won’t work until you reinstall the framework).
That doesn’t sound too bad, I’ll try it out.
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