Many of us have been there: we’ve lost our old cell phone or it’s broken, and we no longer know how to access our data, contacts, or messaging apps. But what can we do?
It’s always better to be prepared for situations like this rather than, for example, losing all your contacts, photos, and other data. What do we need to watch out for?
Why are backups important?
It’s always good to have at least two layers of protection. One option for some phones is to use SD cards for backups, provided they’re compatible with the phone. Other options include Google Drive and Dropbox.
Especially for Android phones, Google Drive is a quick way to back up your data. It’s also important to have a backup of your messaging apps, such as WhatsApp.
Alternatively—and highly recommended—there are also dedicated programs that create backups on your computer via a cable.
What data should we back up?
What data would be most important to you if your smartphone suddenly broke or went missing?
- Photos and videos
- Contacts and phone numbers
- WhatsApp messages and chat histories
- Documents and important files
- Login credentials and authenticator apps
- As much as possible, in its entirety.
There are apps that can help, such as MyPhoneExplorer Client for Android. Still, we need to be careful!
How do we protect our backed-up data?
While a backup protects against data loss, it must not become a security risk. Photos, personal documents, contacts, and private messages, in particular, should be protected from unauthorized access.
Another way to protect important online accounts is to use hardware security keys like the Nitrokey 3A NFC. These can be used to provide additional security for supported accounts.
That’s why it’s important to prioritize encryption and secure login credentials. Especially when it comes to sensitive data, it’s crucial not to store it in freely accessible, unprotected cloud services!
Security software like Kaspersky might help you check for data breaches—for example, to protect against major identity theft.
We must all protect our data and never let anyone access it! The more we reveal about ourselves, the easier it becomes for others to defraud us.
Sometimes it’s better to run online banking or Bitcoin apps only on our computers. We should also be prepared for the sudden loss of our cell phones and should never leave sensitive data freely accessible even on our own devices.
The most important thing when backing up data is always to make a duplicate external backup of your data on your PC.
What backup options are available?
Combining manual backups with cloud storage makes it easy to restore your data.
If you want to organize your backed-up files on your PC and sync them across different storage locations, you can also check out our review of Synchredible.
1. Backing Up Data on Android via Google
You can set up your smartphone so that your files are backed up automatically.
The fastest way to transfer your apps, messages, call history, and settings is to first back up your old smartphone. When you add your Google account to your new smartphone, you can restore your previous backup.
Here’s how it works:
- Open Settings on your device.
- Tap Google → All Services.
-
Under “Backup and restore,” tap Backup
.
- Optional: If you’re setting up automatic backup for the first time, turn on Google One Backup and follow the on-screen instructions.
- Tap Back up now.
The Google One backup may take up to 24 hours. Once your data has been backed up, “On” will appear under the selected data types.
2. Restore contacts
You can back up the contacts stored on your smartphone or SIM card.
If you lose or replace your smartphone, you can restore these contacts to your new smartphone.
Here’s how it works:
- Open Settings on your device.
- Tap Google → All Services.
- Tap Backup & restore → Restore contacts.
- Next to the account you want to restore from, tap From account.
- Tap the smartphone containing the contacts you want to copy.
- Select the SIM card or device storage option to choose the contact sources you want to copy.
- Tap Restore and wait until “Contacts restored” appears.
Your smartphone will only restore contacts it doesn’t already have to avoid duplicates. The restored contacts will also be synced with your current Google account and other devices.
If you want to restore contacts from other apps, such as Outlook or WhatsApp, you’ll need to reinstall those apps.
Important: A backup created on a smartphone running a higher version of Android cannot be restored on a smartphone running a lower version of Android.
3. Back up photos
With the backup feature, you can automatically save your photos and videos to your Google account.
To find them on your new smartphone, you must first complete the following steps on your old smartphone:
- Open the Google Photos app on your Android device.
- Sign in to your Google Account.
- Tap your profile picture or initial in the top-right corner.
- Tap Photo settings → Backup.
- Turn backup on or off.
4. Set up Calendar
With Google Calendar, you can keep track of all your appointments and set up reminders.
- On your Android device, go to the Google Calendar page on Google Play.
- Tap Install.
- Open the app and sign in to your Google Account.
Tips:
- Automatically import events from Gmail into your calendar
- Share your calendar with others
- Get notifications for upcoming events
5. Set up the “Files” app
With the “Files” app, you can delete unnecessary data and choose what you want to keep.
- Download the “Files” app from the Play Store.
- Open it.
- Follow the instructions.
Here’s how to use the “Files” app to delete, search for, move, or share files on your Android device.
Source: Google Android Training Center
https://support.google.com/android/answer/12761388?hl=de&sjid=18217556898296000006-EU&visit_id=639292476954420562-2215800400&rd=1
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