Backing up Android phone devices periodically is what you shouldn't take for granted if you don't want to lose your essential files. As time goes by, you never can tell if the worst things - such as losing or dropping your phone inside the water - would happen. In preparation for times like this, it's a great, helpful idea to back up android phone devices regularly. Fortunately, there are a couple of ways to do that. Either locally or to the cloud, here are 5 ways about how to back up your Android phone.
Android Backup Service
Google already provided you with the basic things you need to back up your stuff on Android: to back up your pictures and videos, make use of Google Photos; to back up other files, make use of Google Drive; and to back up your device settings, apps & apps data, call history, SMS, and contacts, make use of Android Backup!
The Android Backup Service, specifically name "Back up to Google Drive", automatically sync your essential data like Apps & apps data, SMS, Call History, Contacts, and Device Settings to your Drive storage after enabling it.
Here's how to back up Android data in your phone’s settings
- Lunch the Settings app and scroll to the bottom.
- Open System, then tap If you can't find it there on your device, open the Google tab in the Settings app instead, and tap Backup.
- Now, enable back up to Google Drive and select your primary Google account.
- If you want to keep the backup synchronizing even when on the mobile network, disable "Use Wi-Fi only" in the last tab.
Cloud solutions
Backing up other files (like documents, downloads, etc.) can be, sometimes, crucial than just what the Android Backup Service has to offer, and that's where cloud storages come in. Cloud storage services like One Drive, Dropbox, and Google's Drive let you backup files on Android to the cloud. All you need is to upload the files to your preferred cloud storage service. You can then access them on any connected devices later or when you need to restore them. Here's how to back up Android phone files with Google Drive.
- Launch Drive on your phone or install it from the Play Store.
- On the app's interface, click on the large +
- Hit
- Select the files you want to back up from your phone storage. Sit back and let the magic happen.
Of course, Google Drive isn't the only cloud storage available. Others like One Drive, Dropbox also offers their cloud services with free storage at a start. You can check them out on the Play Store.
Google Photos
If you've not been using Google Photos on Android, you've been missing a lot. Photos are Google's offering to help you sync your pictures and videos to the cloud as soon as you take them. The best part of Google is that it offers free unlimited storage to backup HQ photos and videos on your phone. Although Google is changing the policy soon, you can continue to back up your photos and videos in high quality until June 1, 2021.
If you don't already use Google Photos, here's how to get started to back up Android phone devices with Google Photos.
- Fire up the Photos app on your phone or get it from the Play Store.
- In the app, click the profile icon at the top-right corner of the screen.
- Tap Photos Settings
- Click on Back up & sync and turn it on. Select your primary Google account.
That's it. Remember to set the Upload size to High quality to enjoy the free unlimited backup service for now. If you set it to Original quality, your photos and videos will count towards your free 15GB Drive storage. However, you can subscribe to Google one to buy more storage after exhausting the free one.
Google photos serve not just as a backup app but also as a gallery app. You can use it to manage other photos and videos on your phone. It offers a robust video and photo editor to get you started. Photos also have other features like recent highlights, automatic creations, and more. We bet you can't wait to start viewing your creative memories on Google photos.
By default, Photos only back up the pictures and videos from your camera roll. If you wish to back up the images and videos on other folders, you need to enable them manually.
- Go to the Photos settings again and tap Back up & sync.
- Click back up device folders, then select other folders you wish to backup.
SD Cards or Flash Drive
If your phone manufacturer still offers Android phones with SD card support, you should be more than happy. And you shouldn't let that space waste! Having an SD card on your phone doesn't expand the internal storage only; it also serves as a backup means. If you've got a high-quality SD card, you can rest assured of not losing your files when you move them in.
Backing up your files to an SD is a breeze. Just move the files to the SD card; like moving files from one folder to another using your File Manager app. Some Android phones also offer a one-click way to back up your files to your SD card. TECNO and Infinix have two ways of doing that, for instance. You can use the Phone Master app or go to Settings > System > Backup and Restore to backup your data to an SD card.
Backup to PC
Finally, another easy way to back up files on Android is using your PC. We bet you have enough storage space left on your PC. If yes, why bother using cloud storage services? You can connect your phone to the PC with a high-quality USB cable to transfer the files to your PC manually. Better still, some programs let you back up your Android system to the PC in a less stressful way. You can checkout Android File Transfer or Synch thing to start backing up your files to the PC in a breeze.
