If you ever come across switching between custom ROMs, you always encountered one issue, keeping the apps between the ROMs. There’s a way to keep the apps.
When you switch between custom ROMs, you need to format or at least wipe data. Which means, all of the apps gets deleted with their data of course. Some users looking for a solution for this in these cases, and yes, there is a fix, with 2 ways.
1. Using Migrate App
Migrate is an app/tool that backups your apps with their data so that when you switch between custom ROMs, you can just restore your apps with their data inside and use them just like nothing happened. This guide shows you how to use it.
- Install Migrate from Play Store.
- Complete the all instructions and give all permissions the app asks for including root access.
- When you’re done, tap “Backup”.
- The app will ask for the method for accessing the storage and it’s files for backing up the apps, choose the accessibility method.
- Find the Migrate app in list.
- Give the accessibility permission to the app.
- Choose the apps you want to backup in list. In my case I will backup Lightroom with it’s all data and apk, and permissions.
- In extras section, choose anything that you want to backup if you want to additional except from the apps. I won’t, so I will only choose apps.
- Now, choose where you want to backup. This won’t matter if you’re going to copy the backup file later on to somewhere else.
- Once it’s done, it will show you all of the zips it created. Copy them somewhere else that is outside of the phone.
- Flash the custom ROM, format data. Flash Magisk, this is important. Migrate won’t restore the apps if there’s no Magisk.
- Boot the phone, and do the required setup.
- Boot back to recovery. Copy the zips back to phone. We will flash the zips now.
- Go to “Install”.
- Flash the zips you copied to the phone.
- Once it’s done flashing, reboot the phone.
- Once you reboot the phone, do the setup of the custom ROM. And after that, you will get a notification from Migrate about restoring the apps.
- Open the notification. It will take you to Migrate’s restore app which we are going to use.
- Once you’re in the app, tap “Restore data and backups”.
- The app will ask for root permission to restore the apps and their respective data. Give the root access.
- Now, choose the apps that you want to restore. If you also backed up additional things like SMS, it will show up in list as well.
- Once it’s done restoring, tap finish.
- On this step, you can just tap finish to uninstall the app that’s used for restoring all of your apps, or keep it.
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Voila; you backed up and restored an app using Migrate!
2. Using Swift Backup
Just like Migrate, this app is also being used to backup other apps with their respective data.
- Install Swift Backup from Play Store.
- Open Swift Backup.
- Login with your Google account. App requires a login as it encrypts the backup to your account, so no one can steal data from the backup.
- Once you logged in, allow the storage access.
- Now we’re in home page of the app, we can start the process.
- We need to backup the apps somewhere outside the device, which in Swift Backup it can only be SD Card or an otg USB device. To change the storage that app is going to backup to, tap the phone icon next to the “Internal Storage” with the storage usage.</li
- In here, choose something else than the internal storage, like an sd card or an usb.
- Now that we changed the storage, tap “Backup all apps”.
- In my case I will backup AIDE app. Mark the apps that you want to backup.
- Then, tap “Backup options”, and choose all of the sections in the list. If you don’t wanna backup all of them you can choose which one to backup in this step.
- Then tap backup.
- Once it’s done, go flash the custom ROM on the device.
- Then install Swift Backup again withsame Google account, and login to the app again.
- Once you’re in the app again, change the storage again to the one you used to backup the apps.
- After that, tap “Restore all apps”, and choose your apps in list.
- Then tap “Restore options” and choose the parts you want to restore.
- Wait for the restore to complete.
App Links
Swift Backup
You’re done! You successfully backed up your apps and restored them in another ROM without data loss, which also saved you from the hassle of reinstalling them and setting them up one by one.
