Backup to restore eOS

[Skidrow]

Hi community,
Is there a way to make a backup of eOS that I can restore 1:1 a short time later?
I just want to try something out and briefly install LineageOS and then go back to eOS.
Thanks.

[Vaughan]

I would like to do this too. It seems the safest way to cross international borders.

[tyxo]

Seedvault (Settings > Backup) is part of eOS. To my understanding it’s a solution for a complete backup of the system. I’m not so sure what happens if you install another system but once you have eOS installed it should work by installing the backup.

I have never tried it.

[mihi]

SeedVault is good for app data but not for files.

I did a bakup on a15 and restored on other device worked pretty good. Only TrackerControl app gets messed up and loses the correct reference which app was able to connect where. So I left it out. With a13 and older SeedVault is not useable.

[Vaughan]

That explains why I can’t find it. I’m on A12.

[Skidrow]

Do I understand correctly that restoring only works within the operating system? So I first have to reinstall eOS and then restore the backup?

[mihi]

Yes, as far as I know there is no whole image backup. If I am not wrong it was possible with that one popular custom recovry which I can’t think the name of.

So yes, with SeedVault you need the OS installed.

[AnotherElk]

@mihi

If I am not wrong it was possible with that one popular custom recovry which I can’t think the name of.

You are not wrong.

(It’s a dead end now, so we don’t need to elaborate.)

[tcecyk]

to poke at seedvault backups outside Android, there’s a parser for the format, though unmaintained:

• GitHub - tlambertz/seedvault_backup_parser: Decrypt, Modify and Reencrypt Seedvault Android Backups

you can restore to any customrom that has Seedvault, doesn’t need to be /e/OS (the most popular all bring it along)

[Alexandre68]

Why would it be “a dead-end”?
It is still possible to install TWRP or OrangeFox recovery instead of the one of /e/OS and do a complete backup.

[stanwood]

You can check this tread, which details a successful Seedvault migration from FP4 (A14) to FP5 (A15).
You need to carefully write down your 12 passwords in order to restore your system.

Experience Report – Migration Fairphone 4 (/e/OS A14 3.1.1) → Fairphone 6 (/e/OS A15 3.1.2) using SeedVault

Hi everyone, I recently migrated from a Fairphone 4 running /e/OS 3.1.1 - Official (Android 14) to a Fairphone 6 running /e/OS 3.1.2 - Official (Android 15) and would like to share my experience using SeedVault for backup and restore. Seedvault is an opensource tool that is available on most Custom ROM based on LineageOS. It enables an encrypted back-up and restore service. So, let’s go on how it did work in this case: Applications All my apps were successfully restore…

[AnotherElk]

@Alexandre68

It is still possible to install TWRP or OrangeFox recovery instead of the one of /e/OS and do a complete backup.

With the right combination of device (alternative recovery available?), decryption support on the device (not guaranteed), Android version of the OS (newer Android might break existing decryption support) and unlocked bootloader or root (to be able to install/run an alternative revovery at all depending on device) … possibly, I’m still doing it myself, but the number of ifs just kept growing over the years. This approach just seems conceptually doomed.