Database Users

Loads of Questions Regarding my Nexus 4

Hello guys,
Firstly, I have to thank all members of this forum for helping newbies like me to do wonders with our phones.
On topic, I have recently purchased the much coveted Nexus 4. The first thing I did after unboxing it was to unlock and root it.
And up until now I have been quite content using the stock ROM. But, now I want to mix it up a little bit.
Through XDA I have become aware of quite a few ways of modding my phone and generally I do not like to do anything without knowing what I am doing. So, therefore there a number of unanswered questions in my mind, which I hope that you guys can help me out with.
Adsaway
1. I have been using Adsaway ever since I rooted my phone and got to say, its amazing. But, I have been wondering if there is any way by which I could replace "Webpage not found" with something like a plain white color or plain black color. The "webpage not found" notification in place of the ads is quite ugly.
2. Talking about ads, I understand that adsaway only prevents you from receiving the ad instead of blocking the request for the ad. I found this thread on XDA where someone said that you could considerably increase battery life by using Lucky Patcher (no, I do not use this tool for cracking). I want to know how safe this is especially considering that you can mess up your phone using Lucky Patcher. Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28929442
Improving Battery Life
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2107163
This thread talks about how you can improve your battery life by flashing factory images. I definitely want to try it out. But, if I flash factory images wouldn't I be flashing the custom recovery too? And, does this mean that I have to stay on stock ROMs to improve battery life? I kind of find it a little bit confusing.
Further, he talks about 'kernel'. Being an engineer, I know what a kernel is. But, in the context of android, when flashing ROMs, is the kernel included with the custom ROM? or do you have to install the kernel separately? And, what are the advantages of flashing a custom kernel?
Titanium Backup
1. I know that this tool backs up your phone by basically creating a image file but I have no idea on how to use it to flash custom ROMs. An explanation or a link would be really helpful. If this question has been asked and answered before, sorry for asking it again.
2. Since the Nexus does not come with any desktop software, how do you do a normal backup of your phone? Again, this is a very basic question and I could probably find the answer online so feel free to ignore this question.
Finally, thank you all for being so patient and answering my queries. I hope that this will help other newbies as well.

Hi, I may be able to help with some of your questions.
I'm not sure but the "Webpage not found" error may be a result of the browser you use, or not . Anyway I use the app 'Adaway' with the Chrome beta browser and do not get that error in either the browser or other apps that have ads in them.
The first time I've heard of Lucky Patcher so I cant comment. But I personally wouldn't install it unless it is open source and proven not to be stealing your info. these kind of things are sketchy in my opinion. The thing is with adaway it is changing your Hosts file so any ad request is pointing back to the phone. So its not like you are using data to block the ads. So I can't imagine there is a huge battery savings.
From reading the thread about flashing the stock Image, it seems very hit or miss on getting any results. If you are planning to run a custom rom I wouldn't bother. When installing a rom you will usually be wiping all of that anyway.
Roms come with a kernel built in. The advantages of changing kernels depend on what kernel you install but they usually include options to be able to under or overclock the cpu and gpu. Adjust the voltages of the cpu. Change the cpu and gpu governors and i/o scheduler as well as the readahead value for eMMC. You can adjust color and gamma values for the screen. Adjust the vibration level of the phone. And some kernel developers will add their own tweeks to the governors for improved performance.
Titanium backup actually backs up each app and its associated data on your phone allowing you to restore them after flashing a new rom. You can restore apps themselves after a new rom install from the play store without using something like titanium backup but you will lose any data that is associated with that app. Restoring app data can cause issues though. So it is not recommended to restore any system apps after a rom install although I usually will restore Phone/Messaging storage data and have never had an issue but the possibility is there.
In the process of installing custom roms you will need to install a custom bootloader. Either CWM or TWRP usually. These bootloaders give you the option to do a full system image called a Nandroid. This is what most people use as a backup.
Hope this is some help. I am no expert, this is just what I have learned from experiance here at XDA.

linelock said:
Hi, I may be able to help with some of your questions.
I'm not sure but the "Webpage not found" error may be a result of the browser you use, or not . Anyway I use the app 'Adaway' with the Chrome beta browser and do not get that error in either the browser or other apps that have ads in them.
The first time I've heard of Lucky Patcher so I cant comment. But I personally wouldn't install it unless it is open source and proven not to be stealing your info. these kind of things are sketchy in my opinion. The thing is with adaway it is changing your Hosts file so any ad request is pointing back to the phone. So its not like you are using data to block the ads. So I can't imagine there is a huge battery savings.
From reading the thread about flashing the stock Image, it seems very hit or miss on getting any results. If you are planning to run a custom rom I wouldn't bother. When installing a rom you will usually be wiping all of that anyway.
Roms come with a kernel built in. The advantages of changing kernels depend on what kernel you install but they usually include options to be able to under or overclock the cpu and gpu. Adjust the voltages of the cpu. Change the cpu and gpu governors and i/o scheduler as well as the readahead value for eMMC. You can adjust color and gamma values for the screen. Adjust the vibration level of the phone. And some kernel developers will add their own tweeks to the governors for improved performance.
Titanium backup actually backs up each app and its associated data on your phone allowing you to restore them after flashing a new rom. You can restore apps themselves after a new rom install from the play store without using something like titanium backup but you will lose any data that is associated with that app. Restoring app data can cause issues though. So it is not recommended to restore any system apps after a rom install although I usually will restore Phone/Messaging storage data and have never had an issue but the possibility is there.
In the process of installing custom roms you will need to install a custom bootloader. Either CWM or TWRP usually. These bootloaders give you the option to do a full system image called a Nandroid. This is what most people use as a backup.
Hope this is some help. I am no expert, this is just what I have learned from experiance here at XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks for the comprehensive reply. It answers many of my questions. Firstly, I am going to do away with Lucky Patcher and at this time I do not think I need a custom kernel.
However, after reading your reply I have a fresh set of questions:
1. If restoring apps can cause issues, then what is the alternative if you do not want to lose your app data? Are you saying that once I install the custom ROM, I could restore most apps using Titanium Backup but for system apps (meaning root access apps right?) I should just do a fresh install from the Play Store?
2. I have already flashed CWM during root so 1 plus point for me . From your description, it is my understanding that people will create a Nandroid right before flashing a custom ROM/kernel so that in case anything goes wrong they can just restore back to previous state using the Nandroid image. Again, correct me if I am wrong.
Well and another problem that I forgot to mention in my opening post is with my WiFi:
Many a times, even after connecting to my home wifi network, I cannot access the internet. Then, if I reboot my phone and reconnect to wifi it starts working. Weird, I know. And, no its not a problem with my WiFi network, I verified that.

w1ndhawk said:
Adsaway
1. I have been using Adsaway ever since I rooted my phone and got to say, its amazing. But, I have been wondering if there is any way by which I could replace "Webpage not found" with something like a plain white color or plain black color. The "webpage not found" notification in place of the ads is quite ugly.
2. Talking about ads, I understand that adsaway only prevents you from receiving the ad instead of blocking the request for the ad. I found this thread on XDA where someone said that you could considerably increase battery life by using Lucky Patcher (no, I do not use this tool for cracking). I want to know how safe this is especially considering that you can mess up your phone using Lucky Patcher. Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28929442
Improving Battery Life
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2107163
This thread talks about how you can improve your battery life by flashing factory images. I definitely want to try it out. But, if I flash factory images wouldn't I be flashing the custom recovery too? And, does this mean that I have to stay on stock ROMs to improve battery life? I kind of find it a little bit confusing.
Further, he talks about 'kernel'. Being an engineer, I know what a kernel is. But, in the context of android, when flashing ROMs, is the kernel included with the custom ROM? or do you have to install the kernel separately? And, what are the advantages of flashing a custom kernel?
Titanium Backup
1. I know that this tool backs up your phone by basically creating a image file but I have no idea on how to use it to flash custom ROMs. An explanation or a link would be really helpful. If this question has been asked and answered before, sorry for asking it again.
2. Since the Nexus does not come with any desktop software, how do you do a normal backup of your phone? Again, this is a very basic question and I could probably find the answer online so feel free to ignore this question.
Finally, thank you all for being so patient and answering my queries. I hope that this will help other newbies as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2. Adsaway blocks ads in apps so they aren't downloaded AFAIK(don't see the Download arrow in status bar) which saves power
3. You don't have to stay on stock after flashing the images. The images touch different partitions that were probably flashed improperly at the factory.
4.Kernels are already inside custom Roms. Custom kernels that are available separate have their own perks though and are from different Devs.
6. For Titanium after you backup you just connect your phone to your pc and it'll be detected. No desktop software is needed, just drap and drop.

By system apps I mean things like android settings. I use TB for stuff like games so I don't have to stay over from the start. when you install TB you will see what is labeled as a system app and what is labeled as a user app.
Exactly, a nandroid is a like a disk image that you can restore.
Sorry I can't help with your wifi issue, I'm not having that problem.

@Ace42
Ok so I guess it should do no harm if I first flash stock images and then over that flash the custom . NM/kernel of my choice. In fact there is a chance it may improve my battery life.
Thanks for clarifying the titanium backup part, it sounds simple enough.
OT:
I managed to solve the webpage not found problem on ad away. All you have to do is enable web server in preferences.
Again, thank you guys.

linelock said:
From reading the thread about flashing the stock Image, it seems very hit or miss on getting any results. If you are planning to run a custom rom I wouldn't bother. When installing a rom you will usually be wiping all of that anyway.
In the process of installing custom roms you will need to install a custom bootloader. Either CWM or TWRP usually. These bootloaders give you the option to do a full system image called a Nandroid. This is what most people use as a backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These paragraphs are incorrect.
The top one was covered already.
There are no custom bootloaders for the Nexus 4. There are custom recoveries, but a bootloader is by no means a recovery. Do not confuse the two.

w1ndhawk said:
@Ace42
Ok so I guess it should do no harm if I first flash stock images and then over that flash the custom . NM/kernel of my choice. In fact there is a chance it may improve my battery life.
Thanks for clarifying the titanium backup part, it sounds simple enough.
OT:
I managed to solve the webpage not found problem on ad away. All you have to do is enable web server in preferences.
Again, thank you guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No harm at all. After you do the images you can go to whatever custom setup you wanted. It personally increased my battery life and many other users here by varying degrees.

lucky patcher is for using "stolen" apps, patching their licence checks etc. it is frowned upon and can carry many bad things in it.

simms22 said:
lucky patcher is for using "stolen" apps, patching their licence checks etc. it is frowned upon and can carry many bad things in it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, but apparently it does have its uses or so I've heard.
However, what do you mean it can carry many bad things?

I thought I’d give my 2 cents on Titanium Backup…
It doesn’t create an image file of the current state of your phone. That would be a Nandroid backup done via CWM Recovery.
Titanium Backup allows you to backup apps. That means apps installed by the user (user apps) and apps that came baked into the ROM (system apps). As mentioned, it’s not recommended to restore system apps because this often causes weird issues.
When you restore, you can also choose whether to restore the app only or the app plus data. In rare cases, restoring app data causes weird issues.
One of my favorite feature of Titanium Backup is how it allows you to create a zip file of your backup that can be flashed from recovery.
Everybody uses Titanium Backup differently. But here’s how I tend to use it when moving between ROMs.
1. Backup all user apps.
2. Create a zip of the backed up user apps (no app data).
3. Wipe data (factory reset), wipe dalvik cache, flash new ROM.
4. Boot into the newly flashed ROM and go through the initial setup process.
5. Reboot into recovery.
6. Flash the zip created by Titanium Backup.
Sure, I lose all app data, but that just means I guarantee myself a clean slate to start.

ohyeahar said:
I thought I’d give my 2 cents on Titanium Backup…
It doesn’t create an image file of the current state of your phone. That would be a Nandroid backup done via CWM Recovery.
Titanium Backup allows you to backup apps. That means apps installed by the user (user apps) and apps that came baked into the ROM (system apps). As mentioned, it’s not recommended to restore system apps because this often causes weird issues.
When you restore, you can also choose whether to restore the app only or the app plus data. In rare cases, restoring app data causes weird issues.
One of my favorite feature of Titanium Backup is how it allows you to create a zip file of your backup that can be flashed from recovery.
Everybody uses Titanium Backup differently. But here’s how I tend to use it when moving between ROMs.
1. Backup all user apps.
2. Create a zip of the backed up user apps (no app data).
3. Wipe data (factory reset), wipe dalvik cache, flash new ROM.
4. Boot into the newly flashed ROM and go through the initial setup process.
5. Reboot into recovery.
6. Flash the zip created by Titanium Backup.
Sure, I lose all app data, but that just means I guarantee myself a clean slate to start.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks ohyeahar. Going to follow this when flashing my custom ROM.
So ideally, aside from user apps you shouldn't restore anything. However, I would like to save backup and restore my contacts and also app data for the game Subway Surf. How safe is this? And, let us suppose do I face some problems after restoring app data, will just uninstalling and resintalling the application suffice in alleviating the problems?
OT:
Now, that I will be flashing factory image (to try and improve my battery life), I assume I am going to lose my unlock+root. Should I be making a nandroid before doing this in the case of some problem?

Reflashing the system image will remove root yes, but your bootloader will still be unlocked. All you need to do after flashing the new system image is install http://download.chainfire.eu/306/SuperSU/UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.00.zip from CWM (or TWRP).
--You should always have at least one nandroid backup on your phone in case anything goes wrong.

w1ndhawk said:
Hey thanks ohyeahar. Going to follow this when flashing my custom ROM.
So ideally, aside from user apps you shouldn't restore anything. However, I would like to save backup and restore my contacts and also app data for the game Subway Surf. How safe is this? And, let us suppose do I face some problems after restoring app data, will just uninstalling and resintalling the application suffice in alleviating the problems?
OT:
Now, that I will be flashing factory image (to try and improve my battery life), I assume I am going to lose my unlock+root. Should I be making a nandroid before doing this in the case of some problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your contacts shouldn’t require backing up because they should be backed up to your Google account.
If you want to restore app data for certain apps, I would do it one at a time. That way, if problems occur, you at least know which app is the culprit.
If you uninstall and reinstall the problematic app, that would work. Or you can simply just go into the app settings and clear data for that app. That should be sufficient.

[Q] Clean out Nexus 7

Here is my situation. I acidentally installed a custom rom over my stock JB 4.2.1 installation and I want to know if there is a way to restore my original JB rom without loosing my root and recovery. My current plan is to use TWRP recovery to wipe all caches and internal memory. I have a stock JB rom and after clearing everything I will reflash the stock rom.
I know I should have made proper backups, but I guess this is how I will learn. My goal is to make my nexus 7 the same as when I bought it, but I want it to still be rooted. Will my plan work?
Thanks in advance for any replies.

I'd say use mskip's Google Nexus 7 Toolkit (found here) or Wug's Nexus Root Toolkit (found here) and be done with it. I use mskip's toolkit (personally) and have no issues with it. Use it to restore the N7 to factory shape (4.2.1 is the JOP40D build, the latest, if that's your intention), then boot it up, enable the USB debugging, get back into fastboot mode then use the toolkit to root it, you're done.
If it takes more than a few minutes to do this (which I've done several times in the past week) then you're doing it wrong.
A clean wipe is going to kill the root which must be redone and only takes about a minute itself.

OR, another alternative:
1) Flash full factory ROM
2) Unlock bootloader if not already in that state
3) soft-boot any custom recovery you want to use with fastboot:
fastboot boot recovery-image-file.img
4) Overflash a minimal root package (Superuser.apk + su OR SupserSU + su)
Moral of the story is that even if you flash a completely stock ROM with no root, because you have an unlocked bootloader you can install whatever you want right over the top of it without ever having booted it once.
I suppose that a toolkit might also be able to assist you with such things, but doing things from the command line tends to be better for learning how things work under the hood.

Wug's toolkit will help you do just that. You can even put back a stock rom and root it again

Thank you. It worked perfectly and now I have a brand new clean installation.
I have one last question though. After I logged in with my g-mail, my device started to download all my applications automatically. I had a titanium backup that contained about 70% of my apps and so cancelled the downloads so that I could restore the backup. (I have capped internet so downloading apps that I had backed up seemed like a waste). So now I want to know if it is possibile to download the other 30% of my apps from the store automatically because would prefer to avoid pressing the install button multiple times. I've been looking for some kind of option but I was unable to find it.
Thank you for replying so quickly, it is great to have an operating nexus 7 again.

Fallen9900 said:
Thank you. It worked perfectly and now I have a brand new clean installation.
I have one last question though. After I logged in with my g-mail, my device started to download all my applications automatically. I had a titanium backup that contained about 70% of my apps and so cancelled the downloads so that I could restore the backup. (I have capped internet so downloading apps that I had backed up seemed like a waste). So now I want to know if it is possibile to download the other 30% of my apps from the store automatically because would prefer to avoid pressing the install button multiple times. I've been looking for some kind of option but I was unable to find it.
Thank you for replying so quickly, it is great to have an operating nexus 7 again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had mixed results with the auto restore. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. Can't say that I blame it though, what with flashing different ROMs, restoring old backups of different ROMs, having the backup feature turned on sometimes & sometimes not...
At this point, the Play Store app on the N7 seems to show me (in the My Apps section, "ALL" listing) every app I have ever installed on any of my devices linked to the same account (including a Google TV device). Not quite what you are asking, but it's certainly better than a few generations ago where - if the auto-reinstall failed - you would have to try to do the same task from nothing but your memory. (Or restore an old backup and have a look-see what was in there)
good luck and enjoy your tab

Multi-user support on N7 with ROMs

I have a 32GB N7 that I share with my girlfriend. I quickly learned that if I flash a new ROM, that whole other user's info is gone.
After trying to restore apps and info using both Titanium and ROM Toolbox, I couldn't get it to function like it was before.
I tried to restore to a backup I made prior to doing this and it won't get past the boot screen. I can safely assume that whole other user account is gone. The question is, how can I bring that from one ROM to another? Or how can I restore back to a previous ROM that had it setup?

engagedtosmile said:
I have a 32GB N7 that I share with my girlfriend. I quickly learned that if I flash a new ROM, that whole other user's info is gone.
After trying to restore apps and info using both Titanium and ROM Toolbox, I couldn't get it to function like it was before.
I tried to restore to a backup I made prior to doing this and it won't get past the boot screen. I can safely assume that whole other user account is gone. The question is, how can I bring that from one ROM to another? Or how can I restore back to a previous ROM that had it setup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could be wrong about this as I am very new to serious mucking around in Android but...
Were ROMs you were using previously based on 4.1.x or older? I know that it is only a very recent version of Android that has proper multi-user support (4.2.2 has it for instance.. I'm not sure about 4.2.1 etc..) and thus now places a "0" folder in which the main user's data is saved, and then there will be "10', "11" etc.. for subsequent users. I'm not sure if your data is gone or not depending on your exact situation, but there are issues that can come from trying to get recovery/data from "pre-MultiUser" and "post-MultiUser" ROMs. Sometimes you may be able to manually move or stipulate where you want to recover from etc... others, it may be gone. There was a post about this from TeamWin and their TeamWinRecoveryProject that explains a bit more of it... http://teamw.in/DataMedia
Not sure if this is helpful, but it is worthwhile to look into regarding multi-user Android.

I am having same problem as OP. I share the N7 with my wife and when I flashed ROM I wasnt able to restore any of her data through Titanium, but it would let me restore everything that was on my main user account. Had to switch back to stock rom nandroid, and her data was still gone and mine was all intact. Now she won't let me put a custom rom on If anyone has any suggestions/fixes I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

ProbyWaN said:
I am having same problem as OP. I share the N7 with my wife and when I flashed ROM I wasnt able to restore any of her data through Titanium, but it would let me restore everything that was on my main user account. Had to switch back to stock rom nandroid, and her data was still gone and mine was all intact. Now she won't let me put a custom rom on If anyone has any suggestions/fixes I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably had to have titanium on both accounts, then created the account after ROM flash and titanium restore on both accounts sperately
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

[Q] Sanity Check. About to Flash first ROM to my S5.

Quick Sanity Check here. I mainly just want to confirm that I have all my ducks in a row before I pull the trigger on installing my first ROM on my 3 mo old S5. I have flashed ROMS in the past on other devices, but it has been 3 years or so, and then it was on the first day I got said device. I have been using my S5 for a few months now, and I don't want to lose any of my accumulated data. So here goes.
Running Stock 4.4.4 on G900V
I am Rooted via Towelroot, and I have installed Safestrap recovery. I also completed a Nandroid backup.
I completed a Titanium backup of all my apps and system settings just now.
I plan to flash the MOAR Rom to stock slot via Safestrap, and upon completion, do a restore from Titanium.
My hope is that by doing that, I will wind up with a custom ROM, but with all my contacts, sms messages, Apps and app settings, which is actually the entire point of this post.
Am I right in assuming that if I follow those steps, I should be good?
Your advice/confirmation/response will be appreciated!! Thanks!

Wow.. 40 views and no one knows the answer to my query? I just need a quick yes if my hunch is true, or if I'm off, just a no and a few small words or correction. Thanks will be given!

musiclover7 said:
Wow.. 40 views and no one knows the answer to my query? I just need a quick yes if my hunch is true, or if I'm off, just a no and a few small words or correction. Thanks will be given!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure to backup call log, and the sms in titanium as well. The easiest way to keep everything the same app and data wise is to wipe all partitions besides micro sd and data, and then flash do a slightly dirty flash. Thats what I did, and it worked just fine. Just make sure to back up, and after you flash, make sure to odin the oa8 kernel as well. Also make sure to flash the kernel before first boot. Btw my phone took a while to boot up, so dont be too worried if it takes longer than 5 minutes. Mine took like 10-15 minutes, and has been rock solid since. Hope this helps!

Thorkle said:
Make sure to backup call log, and the sms in titanium as well. The easiest way to keep everything the same app and data wise is to wipe all partitions besides micro sd and data, and then flash do a slightly dirty flash. Thats what I did, and it worked just fine. Just make sure to back up, and after you flash, make sure to odin the oa8 kernel as well. Also make sure to flash the kernel before first boot. Btw my phone took a while to boot up, so dont be too worried if it takes longer than 5 minutes. Mine took like 10-15 minutes, and has been rock solid since. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Thorkle! Are you sure I only need to flash OA8 Kernel? When I look at JKRuse's instructions here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s5/development/vzwstock-based-tw-rom-t3024731
It mentions that it is important to flash the entire firmware, not just the kernel...
"6. flash VZW_BOA8_RETAIL_FIRMWARE_ONLY.tar.md5 Make sure it is the retail firmware and not just the kernel"
Of course, the link that is provided to said firmware does not work, and I have not been able to find a working one on the net so far. Anyone who has a link to that firmware, please share...

I got it installed and working. I am loving this new ROM!

musiclover7 said:
I got it installed and working. I am loving this new ROM!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Several people that have restored data, even in TIBU have run into problems. The suggested method is a full wipe and clean install. With that being said I resorted some data with TIBU and never had any issues.

jrv331 said:
Several people that have restored data, even in TIBU have run into problems. The suggested method is a full wipe and clean install. With that being said I resorted some data with TIBU and never had any issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far it seems to be working very well for me. I only restored data from about 10-15 apps, none of which were red in TIBU. Messages, Contacts, email, etc.
So far, my phone feels much smoother than it did on 4.4.4. Battery life is good as well. I fell asleep with 55% last night, and about an hour after waking up this morning, I noticed I was at 51%. That is a marked improvement. Here is hoping that sentiment holds.

musiclover7 said:
Of course, the link that is provided to said firmware does not work, and I have not been able to find a working one on the net so far. Anyone who has a link to that firmware, please share...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you look at the URL for the firmware, then look at the other URLs to download files in that post it will give you the clue to fix the firmware link to make it work. TIP: add a t to the end.

Backup before rooting

Hey guys,
Not exactly a newbie but I've always rooted my phone within days of getting it. Now I've decided to root my OP5 almost a month after my first use and I need help backing up. As unlocking the bootloader will wipe everything on my phone I was wondering whats the best way to backup without Root and then restoring it later? I've seen the adb method but those posts were back from ICS days not sure if they still apply now. Also I've read somewhere in this forum someone mentioned adb doesn't restore everything, I primarily want my photos restored as I can reinstall and readjust everything else.
If I copy my photos to my PC and then paste it back after rooting, I can trust it won't screw up the dates and arrangement in the gallery app right?
Thanks

Adb backup is good as long as the app developer hasn't blocked backup in his manifest.
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