Prepare for the move to rooted

[Someone]

Maybe it does not take that long to be able to root the FP3.

But when it happened, I learned that rooting the FP3 would involve a factory reset with loss of all installed apps and data (which I guess makes a lot of sense).
But I would rather avoid reapplying all my configs and settings again fully manually (took me days… ).

So I wonder what is the smartest way to get you configs and settings back into the newly set up apps and into the resetted system? I know (did not try yet) that the F-Droid can export all you installed apps to an SD-card. So later I just go through them and install them bit by bit. Maybe not perfect, but quick enough.

Is there anything similar for my app configs and system settings?

[paulakreuzer]

Unfortunately afaik rooting the FP3 is not possible yet, so this is obsolete.

Generally for backing up data check out this list:

Backup Tools for FP OS

Since the original Topic was closed because it attracted spam I’m making this #wiki into it’s own topic. This is a list of backup tools you can use on an unmodified FP OS. If you have FP Open OS you are in luck: root and TWRP are pre-installed so you can make full system backups with TWRP and scheduled backups of Apps (user and system), Apps Data & User Data with Titanium Backup. You can use TWRP without flashing it for a full system backup. Helium Backup detailed Info …

[Someone]

Unfortunately afaik rooting the FP3 is not possible yet, so this is obsolete.
Well, I do firmly believe it will be there some day. Thats why I wrote “prepare for” - when its eventually available.

Great to have place like that. This forum keeps turning into a really valuable data source

Some of them i used before.

• TWRP would give me the full image with all (possibly unwanted) updates. But its perfect for reliable backups. Unfortunately you can not use them on another FP3.
• rsync works fine for whole directory structure, but how to find out the data parts only? (without intimate knowlege of the Android file system
• Last time I used Titanium it needed root for effective backup. But that was years ago…

I need to check out the other. Thanks a lot

[AnotherElk]

TWRP would give me the full image with all (possibly unwanted) updates.

Assuming support for the encryption used on the Fairphone 3, as it comes encrypted by default.
The track record of TWRP regarding encryption as of late doesn’t suggest that, and encryption support is not a guaranteed feature of TWRP.

If it works like on the Fairphone 2 and only user data is encrypted and the OS is not, TWRP would still be useful to backup the state of the OS.

But its perfect for reliable backups. Unfortunately you can not use them on another FP3.

Why not?
On the Fairphone 2 TWRP saved backups in a directory named after the phone’s ID.
If you wanted to transfer the backup to another phone and restore it there, you just had to rename the directory after the other phone’s ID and TWRP would happily restore this.

But, of course, until TWRP is available for the Fairphone 3, everything will be speculation.

[Someone]

Assuming support for the encryption used on the Fairphone 3, as it comes encrypted by default.

Goo point. Forgot about encryption

Why not?
On the Fairphone 2 TWRP saved backups in a directory named after the phone’s ID.
If you wanted to transfer the backup to another phone and restore it there, you just had to rename the directory after the other phone’s ID and TWRP would happily restore this.

I tried to move from a broken phone to a new one. TWPR did not complain and all apps worked fine, data was there. But the modem failed to work, so I could not use is as phone. I had tried several phones, same thing. However, I never found information about this, so I might have missed some required actions. Which directory you refer to?

[AnotherElk]

But the modem failed to work, so I could not use is as phone.

The Fairphone 2 modem files are in separate partitions, TWRP doesn’t backup those.
But you could easily install the desired version of the Fairphone 2 #modemfiles with TWRP.

Which directory you refer to?

The subdirectory TWRP creates in the directory TWRP/BACKUPS.
The name of this directory is the same phone ID you get when you do adb devices or fastboot devices.

[Someone]

@AnotherElk

modem patritions - good to know. So there is chance that its
possible to flash a completed Setup of a rooted (in future) FP3
to another FP3 using the standard TWRP backup function. That would
be great news.

Indeed the folder numbers differ per device by some rather cryptic
ID. I just changed the parent folder which is an incremented
number back to zero.

Very useful input, a huge potential time saver!