Setting up second e phone

Using /e/OS Setup
1

I’m setting up a new Murena and wondering the best way to transfer data to it from my current /e/ S9. Is there a way to backup my contacts, text threads, apps, etc. and transfer all these to the new phone without needing to start from scratch? Any advice (or link to a previous discussion that I could reference) is much appreciated!

Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/ the unGoogled mobile OS and online servicesphone

2

A couple of possibilities

  1. Backup the data partition old phone using TWRP, transfer the backup to the new phone either via SD card or via a PC. Note that TWPR backups live in a directory TWRP/<phone serial number>. So you will have to create that directory on the new phone, either manually, or by performing a TWRP backup on the new phone. Then restore the transferred backup on the new phone.
  2. If you have a linux pc, then use Android Backup and Restore Tools project, to backup the old phone and restore to the new phone. This isn’t as complete as using TWRP - some apps either won’t get backed up or won’t be able to be restored. But it should do most of what you want. You’ll have to enter your /e/ account details, and details of any email accounts (though you can export your email settings on the old phone, and import them on the new phone

If it was me, I would do both of the above :slight_smile:

Good luck!

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3

… or

  1. maybe use the e- cloud to sync your stuff

  2. From the beginning choose apps that can export
    and import their data to sdcard or other extern drive
    and pull that over

4

Would you be able to break that down into steps for a non-technical user? Or point me to online tutorials or explanations? I’m not famliar with TWRP or how to work with it.

5

Take a look at the excellent Backup & Restore Howto created by our cheerleader @Manoj !

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Unless both devices are exactly the same (same model, same firmware, same /e/ ROM version), your best bet may be to:

7

I downloaded the SMS Backup and Restore App and followed the steps as outlined in the tutorial you referenced. But when I tried to access the local xml files to share them to my new phone, I get a window which says “The attachment could not be retrieved.” This happens for both the calls file and the sms file. Any advice?

8

Did you you find those .xml files on the root of your SD card? (That is where I find them). How did you try to access or open them?

One slightly long winded method would be to copy the two files to a PC and check you can read them.

Then try introducing them to the new device in the same relative position.

9

When choosing “Local backup” as backup location, you can also choose a specific folder (I use a sub-folder from Documents, to have it synchronized with my /e/ Cloud).
Also, sharing raw XML file with Bluetooth may not work, but they are plenty of ways : email, computer, SDCard, Bluetooth with renaming the files as JPG, …
(I won’t recommend using a public web solution aka Cloud, until your XML files are encrypted)

10

I did find the files, but couldn’t share them via Bluetooth. I tried to access them using my laptop, but none of the XML reader programs I tried worked. I know nothing about any of this, just trying to feel my through. It looks like I’ll just have to accept losing all my text threads, because I haven’t been able to find a beginner-friendly solution.

11

You don’t have to open the files.
Just upload them to the new device, and use the Restore function in SMS Backup & Restore app.

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If you found the files ok, then perhaps you will find that you can restore them at a later date ! :slight_smile:

(@smu44 has provided a better answer than me) but perhaps we can walk you through whatever is tripping you up.
Did the files get backed up to your SD card?
It really does not matter that you did not read them. (I can read them with an ordinary text editor.) The only merit in saving them on a PC in a readable form is you have a sense of security that they are saved!

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13

After reading your replies and gathering my courage, I again downloaded SMS Backup & Restore to both phones. Then I created and saved backup logs for SMS and calls to a local folder on my old phone.

I copied the files to my laptop using a data cable, without trying to open or read them, and then copied them from the laptop to the new phone using the data cable. Initially I hit a wall, because the new phone (a Teracube 2e) wouldn’t allow the app to access the folder for security reasons. Then I created a new folder in the new phone, dragged and dropped the files from my desktop to that new folder, and things went perfectly after that. The app was able to find the files without my help, and it restored them fully, just as I dared to hope.

Thank you all so much for your patient explanations and encouragement to persevere!!

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