I’ve just got a Fairphone5 with e/os/ from Murena. I want to migrate from my Fairphone2. I don’t have a Google account, so no backups. Any advice how to migrate apps and data? Thanks.
Migrate to /e/OS, especially section “Backing up your existing phone data”.
As for Apps … just install them on the Fairphone 5.
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Thank you. This till doesn’t solve everything. I don’t have a google account. I don’t know how to get the data to my murena account. Some apps also have data in them, I’m not sure how that works. Basically, I’ve never migrated a phone before.
There is no seamless migration in Android without a Google account, and for too many users even with a Google account, as restoring from it might fail.
I don’t use a Murena account, so in theory I would suppose you get your stuff onto the /e/OS phone, and then it gets synced to the Murena account.
But perhaps anybody with a Murena account could answer this better.
If those Apps have export or backup functions, use them.
Else it would depend on where the data is saved. If it is in Internal Storage, you can copy that easily enough, but the App on the new phone might not like the state of the copied data and act up in some way.
If you want to have the least trouble afterwards, aim to set everything you can up from scratch on the new phone, especially Apps.
Copying over personal files like photos, documents, downloads etc. is harmless, but be very careful with copying App data directories. Copy and test them one by one, if there’s no other way to set up the Apps in question again.
The documentation already gives sound advice about contacts and SMS, which are not easily accessible for copying otherwise.
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If you’re skilled enough you could also (temporarily) root your FP2 and FP5 and use backup apps like Titanium backup to transfer your data.
Some things that can help:
- To migrate Text Messages: SMS Backup and Restore can back up SMS, MMS, and Call Logs and save them to a file. Transfer backup file to your new phone and use the same app to import them. The UI on that app can be a bit confusing, especially if you don’t want to transfer all conversations. It will also complain when you do a local backup, but since you’re copying the backup file off it’s not an issue.
- To migrate Contacts: Export .contacts to .vcf from old phone, transfer .vcf file to computer, import into murena.io account (Contacts → Settings → Import).
- To migrate Calendar: Export Calendar to .ics file on old phone, transfer .ics file to the new phone, import .ics or transfer .ics file to your computer and import .ics into murena.io account (Calendar → Settings → Import).
- To transfer the above files from one phone to the other, or from the phone to the computer, use a USB cable in file transfer mode, a USB stick (if your phone supports OTG), and/or an app like Material Files which allows you to connect and transfer files to Windows and Apple (SMB) network shares, FTP, SCP, and other network protocols.
Any other apps that have data will have to be done app by app using whatever mechanism they have. If you note the apps you want to transfer I may be able to give some advice on some.
[edit] Also note that the SMS Backup and Restore app that I mentioned does have some trackers in it that e/OS will block, but it also tries to register for push notifications (for which it has absolutely no good reason). Don’t allow it to register for them (see below). I also wouldn’t recommend keeping the app and using it as an ongoing SMS backup. I’d use it once to transfer your messages and turf it.
Push notifications: On your spiffy /e/OS I recommend activating the feature where the OS will ask you permission when any app tries to register for push notifications. Go to Settings → System → microG, tap on “Cloud Messaging”, then the three-dots menu and Advanced. Turn on “Confirm new apps”. This way the OS will tell you any time an app tries to register for push notifications and let you say no. In the same area you can see all the apps that want to use push notifications (if any) and any you don’t want to have you can forcibly unregister.
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Thanks for all the advice, I’ll try most apps from scratch, that makes sense.
I’m afraid I’m still using the old phone at the moment. I managed to create a .vcf for contacts, and tried to import it to the online e/os/ account, but that failed. It gave me errors (420 contacts… 420 errors). Nothing imported. Everything else I’m happy to work through, but importing contacts is the minimum for using the new phone.
What’s the error message exactly?
As it says “Importing contacts” there’s an error counter below it.
When it finishes it says: “Done importing 420 contacts in Contacts”
Line below: “420 errors”
And nothing is imported. That’s all I got.
This didn’t work, I got errors, as I mentioned. HOWEVER, when I imported that file to the FP5 and opened it there as local contacts, it worked fine! Not sure why.