How to properly make a backup on Android: instructions with photos
Make sure all your data is safe.
Hopefully, your Android phone or tablet will never be lost, stolen, crashed, or drowned. But if the worst does happen, you'll be glad you took the time to back up everything on your device. How to properly backup your Android phone or tablet?
Some apps, like Gmail, automatically back up to the cloud. For other apps and files, you'll need to take a few precautionary steps before disaster strikes. These instructions are written for Pixel and Galaxy phones. But the process is similar for other Android phones and tablets. MigNews will tell you what to do.
How to properly backup on Android: photos and videos
Photos and videos are a good place to start, and Google Photos is an obvious choice. Launch the app, then tap your profile picture (top right) and select Photos settings > Backup. Make sure the Backup switch is turned on and that all the places on your phone where you store photos and videos are included in the list of device folders for backup.
Choosing a backup quality for Google Photos. Screenshot: Google
Tap Backup quality to choose whether Google Photos keeps full-resolution copies of your photos and videos in the cloud. The advantage of choosing slightly compressed copies is that you don't have to pay as much for cloud storage. You get 15 GB of free space across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. Google One plans start at $2 per month for 100 GB of space.
If you have a lot of photos and videos, you may find the convenience of Google Photos storage worth the monthly fee. You can access your files from any device, and add photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, Windows computer, and Mac. If you'd rather not pay for cloud storage, you still have options.
For Windows, the easiest way is to use the Phone Link tool that comes with the operating system. Launch it from the Start menu, follow the instructions to connect your Android device, and you'll be able to transfer files between the two devices in a variety of ways. For example, select a few images in Google Photos on your phone, click Share, and your Windows PC should appear as an option.
Share files directly from Windows with Phone Link, Source: Google
If you're using a Mac, there's no built-in option for file sharing—the easiest third-party app is MacDroid, though it can be a bit unstable. The app is free if you're just transferring files from Android to macOS. You can pay $20 per year for the Pro version.
Besides Google Photos, there are plenty of other cloud syncing options that let you store photos and videos from your Android device to the cloud and your computer. One of the best tools for this job is Dropbox – although, as with Google Photos, you won't get a lot of free storage (prices start at $10 per month for 2TB).
How to back up your Android device: notifications and settings
If you use Google Messages for messaging, you can back up those conversations to Google Drive. Go to Settings, then select System > Backup on a Pixel phone. Or Accounts & backup > Backup (under Google Drive) on a Galaxy phone. On a Galaxy, you can select Samsung Cloud on the same screen.
Android's built-in backup tool covers texts and settings, Source: popsci.com
This backup includes not only your messages, but also your installed apps, call history, and device settings (how your Android is configured). As with Google Photos, this information counts against your Google cloud storage quota. So you may end up paying extra for it at some point.
For other messaging apps, you need to explore the backup options provided by the app itself. Some apps, like Facebook Messenger, store everything in the cloud. You can simply log into those accounts on your new phone. And your entire chat history will be synced quickly.
In other apps, find the appropriate backup option. For example, in WhatsApp, tap the three dots (top right) on the Chats tab, then select Settings > Chats > Chat Backup. You can customize what gets backed up and when. Again, Google Drive is a cloud storage service used to store a copy of your conversations.
How to properly backup on Android: other files and data
When it comes to files stored on your phone and nowhere else, the majority of them are photos, videos, and messages. However, there may be other files on your device that you don't want to lose if you no longer have access to your phone. For example, you can open the Files app on Android to see files you've downloaded and saved.
One way to back up these files is to simply select them in the Files app, tap the three dots (top right), and then select “Back up to Google Drive.” You can also use the file transfer methods mentioned above on Windows and macOS to transfer your files. However, the Files app doesn’t have an automatic backup feature.
You can back up files to Google Drive from the Files app, Source: popsci.com
To make sure your backup is as complete as possible, you should go through each Android app one by one and check where they store their data. Most often, all data is automatically synced to the cloud. For example, Spotify playlists and Netflix movies.
Don't forget to also check your mobile browser of choice to make sure everything is synced from the app to the cloud and to other devices where the browser is installed. For example, passwords, browsing history, and bookmarks. In the case of Google Chrome, these settings can be found by clicking on the three dots (top right), then selecting “Settings” and “Your Google Account” at the top of the page.
Previously, we shared tips on how to properly charge your phone so it lasts longer.