I have a overall great working every day device with eOS 0.18 and since using eOS i did only fresh installs of eOS from default Xiaomi OS on two devices. Now i´m facing the first time with an “update” scenario, which means there is eOS v0.21 available for my device…and i invested a lot of time in setting everything up for my individual needs.
After searching this forum about how to make a complete working backup of my apps and settings i found out that actually there is no 100 percent satisfying solution available atm. I tried SeedVault but couldn´t find the backup file or even a hint about which path this backup solution is using locally, neither how to restore the backup if needed.
So i used adb backup again which seemed to work (i used it before but never tested to restore…shame on me) - but there are postings here and in other forums from users who claim it doesn´t work stable and apparently it will be removed in future versions of Android. I was surprised to hear that.
So i´m hesitating about risking my fully equipped device and settings with an update of eOS. I don´t want to have to set up everything again from the beginning (i´m pretty sure no one does…).
I tried to find a tutorial here for such cases but couldn´t find anything that fits.
Is there any hint or support for this case? Maybe i overlooked something.
Learning to get a reliable backup method is important, as is testing it, or at least testing the backup of the most important things.
With an /e/ version update you will swap to a whole new system image but your data partition is unchanged. All your “settings” are stored there. In my experience very few changes to “my” stuff occurs in an /e/ version update.
When you go for an Android version upgrade it is different. You are currently required to wipe data. This is where all the problems occur!
I think you are describing the prospect of your very first /e/ version update. If this is the case you should have little to fear, but a backup is always wise.
Yes, indeed. I have been too lazy testing restore on my smartphone while on workstations and servers i do. Being too long in iOS infrastructure i guess.
I overlooked the partition thing, so thanks to your hint i’ll give it a try.
Just to make it clear for anybody else facing the same problems or struggle with the first eOS update in a similar scenario: Update procedere is working like a charm.
Steps:
set up your system for using adb like mentioned in manual. if you made an installation of eOS before on your computer, it should still work. I didn´t made an update for “platform-tools” (adb…), my version was from july ´21 and it worked without problems.
download recovery and eOS image from manual, section: “Downloads for apollon”
reboot in fastboot
" Booting a custom recovery using" → flash eOS v0.21 recovery
do NOT use Factory reset / format data
" Steps to install /e/OS from recovery" → use adb sideload for flashing eOS v021 update while device is connected to your computer
it took about 5 mins overall for the update installation.
reboot after installation doesn´t took as long as mentioned in the manual for first eOS installation on a fresh device equipped with original android. reboot process duration → 5-10 sec
after login into the device watching → settings → “system updates” shows the update is installed.
