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jmebbk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 20, 2013
244
6
how do you back up contracts, apps etc... on android?
I know apple you use iCloud but what do you use for android?
 

viskon

macrumors 6502
Oct 20, 2012
464
10
Google backs up all your contacts, photos and apps. If you are going to a new phone, all you have to do is login with your Google id. To store app data, you can use the Helium app
 

JC17

macrumors member
Oct 8, 2013
70
0
If you go into Gmail in the top left you can select contacts and this will show you you're backed up contacts.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
Is there a way to move contacts from a carddav file to Google for backup? Or should I just copy my iCloud contacts to Google via my computer?

I currently use CardDav sync to keep all my contacts in sync, but I frequently find that contacts don't get backed up from my device to the server. I check the box that says to sync to and from the device, but it doesn't seem to work.

Plus I still tend to get some dupes.....

Looking for a solution that works as well as Google Play Music + iTunes. If I can utilize the stock options for each platform that would be ideal.
 

jmebbk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 20, 2013
244
6
Google backs up all your contacts, photos and apps. If you are going to a new phone, all you have to do is login with your Google id. To store app data, you can use the Helium app

I have an LG G2...just got it recently...
so what do i do exactly? How do i back my apps and contacts?:confused:

Do i need to sign into something?
 

JC17

macrumors member
Oct 8, 2013
70
0
Settings > General > Backup and reset.
Tick boxes to do with backup and add an Email if there isn't one there :)

I'm not sure on the contact side of things if the contacts need to be saved to your account or if they still back up even if they're saved to the phone/sim.
 

jmebbk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 20, 2013
244
6
does it matter...when i was storing my contacts on my phone...i stored them on the actual phone rather than on my sim card?

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Settings > General > Backup and reset.
Tick boxes to do with backup and add an Email if there isn't one there :)

I'm not sure on the contact side of things if the contacts need to be saved to your account or if they still back up even if they're saved to the phone/sim.

yeah i have an email address there....i don't think my contacts are backed up though....
 

JC17

macrumors member
Oct 8, 2013
70
0
You can check :)
Log into your gmail and above "compose" there's a drop down menu, here you can select "contacts". Any backed up contacts go here.
 

jmebbk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 20, 2013
244
6
You can check :)
Log into your gmail and above "compose" there's a drop down menu, here you can select "contacts". Any backed up contacts go here.

nah there are no contacts in there....

how do i back it up please?
 

JC17

macrumors member
Oct 8, 2013
70
0
No idea if you can do this in a batch
Edit the contact and at the top you have a selection of SIM, Phone or Google Contact. Make it a Google contact
 

hallux

macrumors 68040
Apr 25, 2012
3,443
1,005
Some phone manufacturers allow you the option of "where" to create a new contact. On my old HTC Thunderbolt I had the option of Google, phone or SIM (I think I had all 3) when creating a contact. If I created a contact as anything other than a Google contact it would NOT sync to my Google account. Also, once the contact was created it could NOT be changed to a different "location", it had to be deleted and re-created.
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
Make sure "sync contacts" is Checkmarked under your Google account settings and when you sync it will automatically back up your contacts with your email address.

This^. To spell it out in detail for the OP, on your G2, go to Settings > Accounts, select your gmail account and make sure the box to sync contacts is checked. This will sync whatever contacts you've entered into your G2 to the Google 'cloud' and allow access to them on any device. Whenever you make any changes/additions to your contacts, either on the Google contacts web page or your G2, those changes will be automatically synced.
 

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
nah there are no contacts in there....

how do i back it up please?

Save the contacts to Google (which would be w/ your Google account) and not the phone or sim card. That way anytime you get another Android and set it up with your Google account, they will load automatically.
 

JaySoul

macrumors 68030
Jan 30, 2008
2,629
2,865
After syncing as above, I manually went through a lot of Contacts on Google and cleaned them up (hadn't done it for years).
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
simples.

HTC backup if your on a HTC phone
Samsung Account if your on a Samsung phone
Google if you want total cross platform backup.
 

jmebbk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 20, 2013
244
6
No idea if you can do this in a batch
Edit the contact and at the top you have a selection of SIM, Phone or Google Contact. Make it a Google contact

How do i do that...i am a dummy with phones sorry:eek:

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This^. To spell it out in detail for the OP, on your G2, go to Settings > Accounts, select your gmail account and make sure the box to sync contacts is checked. This will sync whatever contacts you've entered into your G2 to the Google 'cloud' and allow access to them on any device. Whenever you make any changes/additions to your contacts, either on the Google contacts web page or your G2, those changes will be automatically synced.

See i have done that...

but when i log into my gmail account and go to contacts...its empty?:eek:
What am i doing wrong?

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Basically after syncing everything....when i go on to gmail...nothing is showing on there:eek:
 

JC17

macrumors member
Oct 8, 2013
70
0
How do i do that...i am a dummy with phones sorry

Contact > edit the contact > above the name box (top of the screen) there's a box that will say either SIM, Phone or Google contact. Make your contacts Google contacts.
 

PollyK

macrumors regular
Apr 18, 2013
197
0
How do i do that...i am a dummy with phones sorry:eek:

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See i have done that...

but when i log into my gmail account and go to contacts...its empty?:eek:
What am i doing wrong?

----------

Basically after syncing everything....when i go on to gmail...nothing is showing on there:eek:

OK here's how it works with Android. If you already have your contacts saved to sim or phone, syncing it now to Gmail won't add those existing contacts to your Gmail contacts. Only time syncing works is if you initially added the contacts as a Google contact on your phone. So how do you get existing contacts synced? Easy. Save your contacts on your phone as a vcf file. This is done by going into contacts on your phone, click the menu button and choose "export contacts" or "import/export" or whatever option is on your particular phone. Then email that vcf file to your Gmail. From there, log into your Gmail from a PC, then open the email with the vcf file attachment, you'll then have an option to import those contacts in the vcf file to your Gmail. Go ahead an import them. Done. Within seconds, you'll have them all synced to your phone. Each contact on your phone will now have a G next to it to show it is a Google contact. From there on, when you add new contacts to your phone, make sure you're adding them as a Google contact.
 
Last edited:

jmebbk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 20, 2013
244
6
OK here's how it works with Android. If you already have your contacts saved to sim or phone, syncing it now to Gmail won't add those existing contacts to your Gmail contacts. Only time syncing works is if you initially added the contacts as a Google contact on your phone. So how do you get existing contacts synced? Easy. Save your contacts on your phone as a vcf file. This is done by going into contacts on your phone, click the menu button and choose "export contacts" or "import/export" or whatever option is on your particular phone. Then email that vcf file to your Gmail. From there, log into your Gmail from a PC, then open the email with the vcf file attachment, you'll then have an option to import those contacts in the vcf file to your Gmail. Go ahead an import them. Done. Within seconds, you'll have them all synced to your phone. Each contact on your phone will now have a G next to it to show it is a Google contact. From there on, when you add new contacts to your phone, make sure you're adding them as a Google contact.

Hey thanks for the reply

when i go on to menu and import or export.....what do i press? import to what?
 
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