Transferring settings and apps from old Sony Xperia to this new phone - Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Questions & Answers

Hi all,
I currently have a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, and have purchased the XZ1 Compact. I have been unable to figure out how to transfer my settings (i.e. home screen layout and such) and apps to my new phone.
My old phone and new phone are not rooted, so I understand the actual app data would not transfer, but even if it just knew which apps to download it would be great.
I tried backing up using the Xperia software but it only wants to restore the same phone's content to the new one, it won't let me use a backup from another phone.
Would appreciate any advice.
Thanks!

Asya86 said:
Hi all,
I currently have a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, and have purchased the XZ1 Compact. I have been unable to figure out how to transfer my settings (i.e. home screen layout and such) and apps to my new phone.
My old phone and new phone are not rooted, so I understand the actual app data would not transfer, but even if it just knew which apps to download it would be great.
I tried backing up using the Xperia software but it only wants to restore the same phone's content to the new one, it won't let me use a backup from another phone.
Would appreciate any advice.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you have got Google syncronised on your old machine and that you have backup enabled in settings\back up restore. Once you log into your new phone Google should push all the apps that were on your old phone accross. It works three times out of four.
Install Xperia Transer Mobile on both devices and follow instructions. This will move your homescreen, contacts, MMS messages and phone events history. The only issue I had with this is sometimes it wouldn't work across wifi, and I think I ended up using the NFC tag and bluetooth method.
So if you have your apps and you have your homescreen & messages, you should be there.
The one thing I've enjoyed about Oreo is that your app passwords get carried over with your google account. So when you reinstall your Oreo build, it will offer to autofill your logins for you. Nice or creapy, depending on your point of view.

Didgesteve said:
Make sure you have got Google syncronised on your old machine and that you have backup enabled in settings\back up restore. Once you log into your new phone Google should push all the apps that were on your old phone accross. It works three times out of four.
Install Xperia Transer Mobile on both devices and follow instructions. This will move your homescreen, contacts, MMS messages and phone events history. The only issue I had with this is sometimes it wouldn't work across wifi, and I think I ended up using the NFC tag and bluetooth method.
So if you have your apps and you have your homescreen & messages, you should be there.
The one thing I've enjoyed about Oreo is that your app passwords get carried over with your google account. So when you reinstall your Oreo build, it will offer to autofill your logins for you. Nice or creapy, depending on your point of view.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that worked!

wrong subforum, sorry. please delete this post.

I will be doing the same thing tomorrow, when my XZ1c arrives, except I'll be moving from 2 phones to the new one - my Z5c with a messed up screen, and my Z1c, which was my backup for the last 6 weeks. Is this going to cause any issues?
dave

It will work.
---------- Post added at 07:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:36 AM ----------
bigdfmartin said:
I will be doing the same thing tomorrow, when my XZ1c arrives, except I'll be moving from 2 phones to the new one - my Z5c with a messed up screen, and my Z1c, which was my backup for the last 6 weeks. Is this going to cause any issues?
dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shouldn't have any issues. When restoring from your Google account synched backup you can only restore from one device. So during the xz1 setup choose the device with your preferred settings and app downloads.
When using the Xperia backup transfer tool all will be fine.
In case SMS and MMS doesn't transfer correctly I recommend using
SMS backup and restore +
From the play store.

Related

Thinking about getting Nexus One

I just recently bought (as in a week ago) an AT&T Pure. It's still in perfect condition, but I promptly installed a custom HSPL, Radio, and Rom since I love customization. It's actually a great phone, the tie in with Facebook is amazing as well, but what bothers me is the speed. It lags too much for my tastes (which was one of the reasons I gave my AT&T Xenon to my girlfriend, it lagged too much). I love customization and I know how to work Linux (played with many distros in virtual machines and I have experience deploying Linux based servers).
I have a couple of questions before I buy yet another phone and try to hopefully recover the cost of my AT&T Pure. Does the Nexus One combine Facebook accounts and contacts? Meaning put the Facebook picture as the contact picture, etc.?
Can you put HTC Sense on the phone without unlocking bootloader (rather not invalidate my warranty so quickly)?
I have looked at two backup solutions, MyBackup Pro and Sprite Backup. Which one is better or can you even recommend a much better backup solution?
Can you sync the phone with Outlook backing up contacts and calendar entries?
Is there a field for birthday/anniversary and does those get automatically entered into the calendar?
Is there a calendar widget? An animated weather widget (like the HTC one)?
Can the phone convert into a toaster? Can I use it to travel into the past and kill myself, but survive? Will it tell me the secret to life?
Is there a way of getting root access, without invalidating warranty? Is root access worth it?
If I get the charging dock, when the phone is fully charged, does the dock bypass the battery and provide power straight to the phone, so the battery does not overcharge? The reason for this question is because I want to dock it in the night and essentially use it as an alarm clock to wake me up for work.
Is the phone worth paying over 500$ for when I have the Pure already?
Does it lag at all? Will updates come one after the other as it did before? From what I understand, the Nexus One get it OTA, so we don't have to wait a year to get the update.
Thank you for your time,
Mario Lopez
Yes, you can combine Facebook accounts and contacts - either importing all your facebook contacts onto the device, or merging those entries with the ones already present on your SIM card or with your Google account.
The only option for getting Sense on this phone (if you really really really really really really really want it, for whatever reason) is to flash a custom ROM - which would require unlocking the bootloader, and thus invalidate your warranty.
I think most everyone on this board uses Titanium Backup - it's a very tasty piece of software, but most of the backup options (with any application) will only have full functionality for settings and data if you are rooted - again with a voided warranty.
Supposedly the latest Android 2.2 update allows syncing with Outlook out of the box, and there are third-party apps that I believe will do the same on the 2.1 builds as well. I can't comment for sure as I haven't used these features yet.
I haven't yet encountered a Birthday/Anniversary field in the stock contacts program - could be there, but I don't know.
There is a calendar widget to display your next appointment, and there are weather widgets. As far as the full up Sense animated weather, nothing included in the stock rom has all those pretty touches, but I imagine there are third-party apps that will.
If you leave the phone running some very CPU-intensive tasks, it can indeed turn into a toaster and get quite warm Traveling to the past and killing yourself would interrupt the fabric of the space-time continuum and is therefor discouraged. That said, it's open-source, so you're free to do what you want. The answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything is 42. You don't need a phone to tell you that.
There are no ways to get root access without voiding the warranty. For me, it's worth it.
Can't answer for the charging dock as I haven't used mine yet (lol), but I imagine it would only trickle-charge once the battery is already charged fully. I leave my phone charging overnight when it needs to, and it hasn't combusted yet. To my knowledge.
The phone is worth it if you're looking for a stupid-fast device with lots of community support and quick updates. Keep in mind it's less expensive than an unlocked iPhone
The interface is very quick and snappy. I see occasional lags, but those are few and far between - especially running the leaked test build of Froyo. The NexusOne will get its Android updates straight from Google and a lot faster than anything HTC-branded (where the base code has to be optimized for Sense).
Hope this helps!
Keep in mind, as well: unlocking the bootloader only voids your software warranty...HTC has numerous times done hardware warranty work on rooted phones - a simple search will pull up several results of this, I'm sure.
MaximReapage said:
Keep in mind, as well: unlocking the bootloader only voids your software warranty...HTC has numerous times done hardware warranty work on rooted phones - a simple search will pull up several results of this, I'm sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The language of the waiver you agree to when unlocking the bootloader DOES NOT specify "software only". I just states that your warranty is void if you continue with the unlocking.
HTC *has* been reported to perform warranty work on phones with unlocked bootloaders and obviously defective hardware, but they are not obligated to do so. They would be well within their rights to charge you for any repairs after you knowingly void the warranty.
I wouldn't send an unlocked phone back to HTC unless you're willing to pay for it - they may not make you pay, but it's much better to be prepared to do so.
codesplice said:
I haven't yet encountered a Birthday/Anniversary field in the stock contacts program - could be there, but I don't know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, there is one.
Jack_R1 said:
Yes, there is one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you get to it? I looked briefly before I made that post and didn't see anything.
Jack_R1 said:
Yes, there is one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wtf? really?
codesplice said:
Yes, you can combine Facebook accounts and contacts - either importing all your facebook contacts onto the device, or merging those entries with the ones already present on your SIM card or with your Google account.
The only option for getting Sense on this phone (if you really really really really really really really want it, for whatever reason) is to flash a custom ROM - which would require unlocking the bootloader, and thus invalidate your warranty.
I think most everyone on this board uses Titanium Backup - it's a very tasty piece of software, but most of the backup options (with any application) will only have full functionality for settings and data if you are rooted - again with a voided warranty.
Supposedly the latest Android 2.2 update allows syncing with Outlook out of the box, and there are third-party apps that I believe will do the same on the 2.1 builds as well. I can't comment for sure as I haven't used these features yet.
I haven't yet encountered a Birthday/Anniversary field in the stock contacts program - could be there, but I don't know.
There is a calendar widget to display your next appointment, and there are weather widgets. As far as the full up Sense animated weather, nothing included in the stock rom has all those pretty touches, but I imagine there are third-party apps that will.
If you leave the phone running some very CPU-intensive tasks, it can indeed turn into a toaster and get quite warm Traveling to the past and killing yourself would interrupt the fabric of the space-time continuum and is therefor discouraged. That said, it's open-source, so you're free to do what you want. The answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything is 42. You don't need a phone to tell you that.
There are no ways to get root access without voiding the warranty. For me, it's worth it.
Can't answer for the charging dock as I haven't used mine yet (lol), but I imagine it would only trickle-charge once the battery is already charged fully. I leave my phone charging overnight when it needs to, and it hasn't combusted yet. To my knowledge.
The phone is worth it if you're looking for a stupid-fast device with lots of community support and quick updates. Keep in mind it's less expensive than an unlocked iPhone
The interface is very quick and snappy. I see occasional lags, but those are few and far between - especially running the leaked test build of Froyo. The NexusOne will get its Android updates straight from Google and a lot faster than anything HTC-branded (where the base code has to be optimized for Sense).
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really does help, you answered all of my questions, even the fun ones.
codesplice said:
The language of the waiver you agree to when unlocking the bootloader DOES NOT specify "software only". I just states that your warranty is void if you continue with the unlocking.
HTC *has* been reported to perform warranty work on phones with unlocked bootloaders and obviously defective hardware, but they are not obligated to do so. They would be well within their rights to charge you for any repairs after you knowingly void the warranty.
I wouldn't send an unlocked phone back to HTC unless you're willing to pay for it - they may not make you pay, but it's much better to be prepared to do so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah okay. So basically, they may or they may not, so it is up to their discretion.
Jack_R1 said:
Yes, there is one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is it, because I played with the emulator and didn't show any birthday fields.
Now, one last question before I put in my 700$ order. If I buy today, will I get it tomorrow? It says overnight shipping, but then it says it will be shipped out the next business day?
mariolopezjr said:
Now, one last question before I put in my 700$ order. If I buy today, will I get it tomorrow? It says overnight shipping, but then it says it will be shipped out the next business day?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Overnight shipping applies to after it ships I imagine if you order early in the day, it might ship out that day and get to you the following day. Otherwise, you're probably looking at two days.
codesplice said:
Overnight shipping applies to after it ships I imagine if you order early in the day, it might ship out that day and get to you the following day. Otherwise, you're probably looking at two days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply, thanks to you guys, you know have a new Nexus One owner. Now I am selling my AT&T Pure on Craigslist. XD
Now, any suggestions on reading I should do? I've read all the rooting tutorials, it's actually very easy to do, anything else I should read? I am currently in the process of reading the Nexus User Guide.
Lastly, I understand Titanium Backup is the best, but root privileges is needed to fully use it. Does that mean that it can do everything MyBackup Pro and Sprite Backup can do? Because supposedly they can backup quite a bit of stuff. What is the difference?
mariolopezjr said:
Thanks for the quick reply, thanks to you guys, you know have a new Nexus One owner. Now I am selling my AT&T Pure on Craigslist. XD
Now, any suggestions on reading I should do? I've read all the rooting tutorials, it's actually very easy to do, anything else I should read? I am currently in the process of reading the Nexus User Guide.
Lastly, I understand Titanium Backup is the best, but root privileges is needed to fully use it. Does that mean that it can do everything MyBackup Pro and Sprite Backup can do? Because supposedly they can backup quite a bit of stuff. What is the difference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most people use titanium because the interface is more useful. Titanium allows you to create more than app back up but the interface displays the versions and not just the date you decided to back up like mybackup pro. I havent used Sprite Backup but both titanium and mbp backup apks+data, system settings and system data. Both have schedulers. What I like about titanium is that it is usually cooked into roms so its easy to jump roms if its installed but its not like its hard to hop onto the market and get it
I'm not terribly familiar with MBP or Sprite, and have only been using Titanium for the past few days. Basically, pretty much any backup program should be able to make backups of most of your applications, but they're generally going to need root privileges to access some of the system data and settings. At least that's how I understand it... could be wrong. It's happened once or twice.
As for reading.... just stick around here lol. Take a look at some of the sticky threads in each of the N1 subforums - lots of good information there.
Glad to have you on board. I've gotten several of my buddies here to purchase N1s as well
codesplice said:
How do you get to it? I looked briefly before I made that post and didn't see anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's funny, I never bothered to take a look myself if I can enter it on the phone, I just saw (more than once) Birthday field when looking at the contact of my darling wife.
Now I checked, and you can't change that field from the phone. But the really funny thing is - enter Gmail, load the contact, it has "birthday" field, change the field, and you'll see it on the phone
One more thing - on Froyo there is full integration of Outlook contacts, but they're different from Gmail contacts - they have different fields and different options. I was quite surprised to see it (it's shown easily - Gmail supports multiple mobile numbers under the same category "mobile", Outlook doesn't, so when you try to enter multiple mobile phones to Outlook contact - you discover that it can't be done). Maybe in this respect it's also different - Outlook-derived contacts might allow editing Birthday while Google contacts don't (not from the phone).
And since I'm running Eclair (CM5.0.7.1), I'm not sure what's going on with Gmail contacts on Froyo.
That's for seeing birthdays on calendar:
http://www.nicholasoverstreet.com/2010/03/android-contacts-birthdays-in-your-calendar/
what the heck are you talking about?
he asked where to put in the birthdays @ stock contacts app... we all know there is a birthday calendar...
you can only add the birthday @ contacts.google.com, unfortunately not in the contacts app
Maybe I don't read well, and maybe I do. Read this quote:
mariolopezjr said:
Is there a field for birthday/anniversary and does those get automatically entered into the calendar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, there IS a field, in stock contact app. You can't enter anything there from the phone - oh well, that's the situation (today, and tomorrow it might be fixed, and I didn't even check for market apps that might already do it). You can make it appear automatically in the calendar, too - link above. Now, what the heck was I writing here? Answering his question, most probably. You want a screenshot of a birthday showing up in stock contact app when viewing a contact? I thought it's trivial to try.
and read this quote , your reply to this quote was "yes there is one"
Originally Posted by codesplice
I haven't yet encountered a Birthday/Anniversary field in the stock contacts program - could be there, but I don't know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, understood now. There IS a field but you can not edit it...
I am quite sure codesplice is referring to a field where i can type in a birthday.. not just see it.
think i am the one with reading disabilities..
miketlo said:
Most people use titanium because the interface is more useful. Titanium allows you to create more than app back up but the interface displays the versions and not just the date you decided to back up like mybackup pro. I havent used Sprite Backup but both titanium and mbp backup apks+data, system settings and system data. Both have schedulers. What I like about titanium is that it is usually cooked into roms so its easy to jump roms if its installed but its not like its hard to hop onto the market and get it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I understand what you mean, that makes sense.
codesplice said:
I'm not terribly familiar with MBP or Sprite, and have only been using Titanium for the past few days. Basically, pretty much any backup program should be able to make backups of most of your applications, but they're generally going to need root privileges to access some of the system data and settings. At least that's how I understand it... could be wrong. It's happened once or twice.
As for reading.... just stick around here lol. Take a look at some of the sticky threads in each of the N1 subforums - lots of good information there.
Glad to have you on board. I've gotten several of my buddies here to purchase N1s as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the information, hopefully it'll be able to backup most of my settings without me having to go root just yet.
Jack_R1 said:
It's funny, I never bothered to take a look myself if I can enter it on the phone, I just saw (more than once) Birthday field when looking at the contact of my darling wife.
Now I checked, and you can't change that field from the phone. But the really funny thing is - enter Gmail, load the contact, it has "birthday" field, change the field, and you'll see it on the phone
One more thing - on Froyo there is full integration of Outlook contacts, but they're different from Gmail contacts - they have different fields and different options. I was quite surprised to see it (it's shown easily - Gmail supports multiple mobile numbers under the same category "mobile", Outlook doesn't, so when you try to enter multiple mobile phones to Outlook contact - you discover that it can't be done). Maybe in this respect it's also different - Outlook-derived contacts might allow editing Birthday while Google contacts don't (not from the phone).
And since I'm running Eclair (CM5.0.7.1), I'm not sure what's going on with Gmail contacts on Froyo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That could be a little annoying, I wonder, does that mean if I have a contact John Doe, and I have him in Outlook and GMail, he will appear twice? Maybe I just will not sync with Outlook but the thought of having to type in my 100+ contact list with multiple numbers, emails, etc. make me shudder....
Jack_R1 said:
That's for seeing birthdays on calendar: snipped
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I already knew about the Google Calendar, I just didn't think of applying it on the phone! Thanks for the information!
Had to delete the URL because I guess new users are not allowed to post them.
EDIT: I just want to put it out there that you guys have been EXTREMELY helpful. I love helpful communities. Makes me feel welcome.
watercool said:
ok, understood now. There IS a field but you can not edit it...
I am quite sure codesplice is referring to a field where i can type in a birthday.. not just see it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I see your point. That option, unfortunately, is missing (what would be the reason for it - escapes me, really, they already have a field and it syncs, it's VERY weird that it can't be edited). I'm a bit puzzled that I didn't even see it missing until I tried to change it, being asked in this thread Sorry if I mislead you.
mariolopezjr said:
That could be a little annoying, I wonder, does that mean if I have a contact John Doe, and I have him in Outlook and GMail, he will appear twice? Maybe I just will not sync with Outlook but the thought of having to type in my 100+ contact list with multiple numbers, emails, etc. make me shudder....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I remember right from playing with Froyo, it also merges contacts based on name, and you'll see one contact with data from both places. If you'll try to edit, though - you'll have to choose, what contact to edit.
You also have options to import contacts from Outlook to Gmail, or to have them sync-ed between Outlook and Gmail by some free SW (one of the pre-Froyo solutions for Outlook contacts).
Jack_R1 said:
If I remember right from playing with Froyo, it also merges contacts based on name, and you'll see one contact with data from both places. If you'll try to edit, though - you'll have to choose, what contact to edit.
You also have options to import contacts from Outlook to Gmail, or to have them sync-ed between Outlook and Gmail by some free SW (one of the pre-Froyo solutions for Outlook contacts).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. The phone will bring in contacts from all your synced accounts (google, facebook, outlook, twitter, whatever) and merge them based on name. You can then manually correlate any contacts that didn't do it automatically ([email protected] is also Jane Doe).

HTC Backup

So some of us will be returning our phones due to the various defects...
The built in HTC Backup app seems to suggest it backs up everything including all apps, is this true?
For those of us who aren't rooting it would be a very nice option for transferring to new phone when it arrives as we can just restore from cloud.
I have it switched on, and even with a lot of apps installed on my phone the backup on Dropbox is only 30MB in size which suggests it doesn't include very much. It's also encrypted so I can't see exactly what's in there.
Anyone know how it works specifically?
Alot of people are returning this phone because of defects? How many defects does this phone have?
Vertron said:
Alot of people are returning this phone because of defects? How many defects does this phone have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry i modified my post
some of us are returning, they are mostly just very minor cosmetic things that the normal person wouldn't even notice, but because we're a lot of us on XDA are so anal about our phones we are looking for perfection
see the "small gap in case" thread
HTC Backup supported features
HTC Backup supports more than 150 settings as well as apps. Apps are not stored in Dropbox, just settings. Settings include:
*Home screen - app shortcuts and widget layouts
*BlinkFeed categories
*Sense TV remotes and viewing preferences
*Social network accounts & passwords - Flickr, LinkedIn
*Mail accounts & passwords - Exchange, Hotmail, POP/IMAP
*Evernote account & password for HTC Notes sync
*Personal dictionary
*Alarms
*Bookmarks
*Stocks
*Weather and world clock cities
*Wallpaper
*Wi-Fi networks
djbenny1 said:
So some of us will be returning our phones due to the various defects...
The built in HTC Backup app seems to suggest it backs up everything including all apps, is this true?
For those of us who aren't rooting it would be a very nice option for transferring to new phone when it arrives as we can just restore from cloud.
I have it switched on, and even with a lot of apps installed on my phone the backup on Dropbox is only 30MB in size which suggests it doesn't include very much. It's also encrypted so I can't see exactly what's in there.
Anyone know how it works specifically?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Very 1st Things to do After Activation?

Hi everyone, just got my N3 last night and I am pretty excited about it.
I am a long time Mac Rumors member and my past phones have been ...... JB 3g, JB 3gs, JB 4, JB 4s
I am very upset with the tiny screens on my iphones and I refuse to wait another year for the 6 to come out.
So now I am a 1st time Android user and what to really check out the Android scene.
What are the first things I should do with the phone, what should I install right away? (different keyboards, apps, etc)
Is there a thread around here with tutes instructing how to transfer my contacts etc?
I surely will appreciate all replies, so thanks in advance. I really wanna get the very MOST out of this device.
edit: does Google Play offer any rebates/coupons/freebies for newly purchased devices?
Hey I would use smart switch to get your things from iPhone to your new phone but that is after you have it activated
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using xda app-developers app
XiphoneUzer said:
Hi everyone, just got my N3 last night and I am pretty excited about it.
I am a long time Mac Rumors member and my past phones have been ...... JB 3g, JB 3gs, JB 4, JB 4s
I am very upset with the tiny screens on my iphones and I refuse to wait another year for the 6 to come out.
So now I am a 1st time Android user and what to really check out the Android scene.
My N3 arrived Wednesday evening, and it's STILL not activated, (and its killing me).
The reason being, I wanna know if there is anything I should do BEFORE I call ATT and activate it.
(I do NOT want to close any windows, so is there is anything you folks recommend I do before I activate it)?
Once activated, what are the first things I should do with the phone, what should I install right away?
Is there a thread around here with tutes instructing how to transfer my contacts etc?
I surely will appreciate all replies, so thanks in advance. I really wanna get the very MOST out of this device.
edit: does Google Play offer any rebates/coupons/freebies for newly purchased devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by call ATT and activate it? All you have to do is put your SIM card in and it is ready to go with a few account setups. After that it is up to you except for rooting and modding. Cant be done right now without voiding your warranty.
First thing you do is scratch off the att emblem since they locked the bootloader
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
XiphoneUzer said:
Once activated, what are the first things I should do with the phone, what should I install right away?
Is there a thread around here with tutes instructing how to transfer my contacts etc?
I surely will appreciate all replies, so thanks in advance. I really wanna get the very MOST out of this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello?
Looking for some help here. This keyboard is way different than iphone, is it something you get used to, or should I install something else?
Please tell me what are some of the things I should change/install right away, (there's got to be some "must haves" no?)
XiphoneUzer said:
Hello?
Looking for some help here. This keyboard is way different than iphone, is it something you get used to, or should I install something else?
Please tell me what are some of the things I should change/install right away, (there's got to be some "must haves" no?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the keyboard, i prefer the google keyboard over the samsung one. It provides functionality similar to the iphone and is easy to switch between the iphone and android if you use them both in daily life.
As for apps, here is a small list of apps i like to have on all of my devices.
GOOGLE CHROME. Its much better than the built in browser and is able to synchronize with my desktop browsers favorites, etc.
Skype: Perfect for if you are travelling over seas at all with your device.
Google Hangouts: A good replacement for the built in SMS app.
Facebook & Twitter: If you need an explanation, you shouldn't be useing these apps.
Battery Doctor by KS Mobile: Simple app, but is helpful to save battery life and know exactly how much you have left.
Google Music: I have most of my library stored on google so it makes my life easy to have this.
Google Books: The book equivalent of my music library. Syncronizes what i have read across devices and browsers.
Kindle for Android: For the ebooks you buy on amazon.
Google Keep: Great for taking quick notes and having them on all your devices.
Dropbox: Great cloud file storage. Comes with free storage and you can pay to get more.
Google Drive: Google version of dropbox.
MX Player: This video player will play any video format you throw at it.
Google Maps: A must have for all smartphone users.
Zedge: While its quality has gone down a fair bit from what it once was, its still a great place to find ringtones and notification sounds for your android device.
GPS Status: Great for calibrating your devices sensors and ensuring that it works properly.
Now for the ROOT ONLY apps.
Titanium backup
SuperSU
Triangle Away
Hopefully this is a useful list to get you started. I have all these plus many more installed on my devices, and I find I use them all fairly regularly.
djdelusional said:
Skype: Perfect for if you are travelling over seas at all with your device.
Google Hangouts: A good replacement for the built in SMS app.
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I prefer Hangouts to Skype because Hangouts features free video multi-chat.
But I use Google Voice for SMS because it provides free unlimited texting. Hangouts insists on using the phone's native number rather than your Google Voice number, so you have to pay extra for a text plan or for individual messages.
Doesn't anyone else have any advice for a first time Android user?
XiphoneUzer said:
Doesn't anyone else have any advice for a first time Android user?
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Click to collapse
If your new to android I'd stay away from root for a while.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I467 using Tapatalk 4
XiphoneUzer said:
Hello?
Looking for some help here. This keyboard is way different than iphone, is it something you get used to, or should I install something else?
Please tell me what are some of the things I should change/install right away, (there's got to be some "must haves" no?)
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Click to collapse
I feel like for every-day typical phone use cases, there aren't that many gaps that stand out as needing to be filled by a third party app. You'll probably need a new music player, the defaults are crapola - but I can't be much help here; I keep my music as folders full of MP3 files (like God intended!) and play with Music Folder Player, and shun the dirty S&M ("sync and manage") apps.
There's a big list of stuff that I did when I first got the phone to get it to where I'm happy with it, but all of this was root required stuff. There are apps that come pre-loaded on android devices and can't be removed or disabled without root. Also, customizing stuff that can't be customized without root. I couldn't abide by some of the not-changable-without-root defaults. Getting rid of the "screen turns on so you can unlock it when you hit the home key" behavior is probably the most glaring example for me; my ass* was unlocking it constantly - but coming from iPhone, you probably view that as the Right Thing for home button to do.
I think most people use a custom keyboard. Swiftkey and Swype are the most popular. The phone comes with Swype, but it's an ancient version with limited support for changing the dictionary, you want the newest one.
I use Hangouts for gchat, but not for SMS. I actually prefer default app for SMS..
Settings:
Pull down status bar, long press on wifi, WiFi -> menu -> advanced settings, uncheck auto connect to AT&T hotspots (unless they don't suck where you are. Around here, they often don't have internet behind them, and just break your connectivity for the 30 seconds or so it takes for the phone to connect to them, determine that the wifi is no good, and fall back to 4G. At least this phone does that; Original note would just sit there like a fool trying to use non-functional wifi... I've also yet to find a hotspot that performs better than the 4G does. But I live in a city, so the situation may be different elsewhere).
Pull down status bar, long press on GPS. Uncheck "Use wireless networks" - on newer versions of android, this drains battery while idle; the damned thing wakes the phone periodically to check the networks around it - if the phone is nearly idle, this can halve battery life (!!!)
Pull down status bar, swipe to the left along the options at the top (woah, did you know you could do that?), tap multiwindow to enable multiwindow (this was a headline feature for the note 3, but comes disabled by default). If I long-press back button, that makes the multiwindow tab hide or unhide (once it's enabled), but I don't remember if I had to do something to get this behavior.
General must-have things:
AppOps Starter (to kill permissions from apps that request permissions you don't want to give them)
Battery Monitor Widget (gives you a realtime readout of battery usage)
ES File Explorer
If you want to pretty-ize clock + weather widgets:
DigiClock
Eye in Sky
If you work in IT or have need of these (if you aren't sure what these mean, you don't need them ):
ConnectBot (telnet/ssh client)
AndFTP (ftp/sftp client, supports scp if you pay)
RDP Client (remote desktop and VNC client)
FEAT VPN (OpenVPN client)
Hacker's Keyboard (you'll tear your hair out trying to use swype/swiftkey for terminal sessions or RDP)
If you want to root the phone:
Root it, then immediately install titanium backup and "freeze" AT&T software update, so it won't update your phone (breaking root) while you're not looking
Titanium Backup - freeze all the useless bloatware that AT&T and Samsung included (there's a list of what apps you can freeze here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmzC8GFarItSdGpOZzBfWlR4MC03aDMyZ1BDUFNqU0E - not my work)
Root Explorer
Pen Window Manager for adding apps to the pen window feature
Xposed Framework
Wanam - general huge amount of customization, including selecting apps for multiwindow.
Keyboard Manager (almost a necessity if you use ConnectBot/RDP frequently - keyboards designed for messaging and such are garbage for doing administration of non-phone systems, while hacker's keyboard is garbage for messaging and everyday phone stuff)
Terminal Emulator (gives you a command prompt on phone. Doesn't require root, but there are very few use cases for terminal on android that don't also need root)
*Well, I keep it in my front pocket, so technically it wasn't my /ass/ unlocking the phone....

Possible to migrate ALL data from XZ1 Compact to X Compact?

I would like to create an exact copy of my current XZ1 Compact setup, including homescreens with the webpage shortcuts I've added and everything else, on an Xperia X Compact that I also have as a backup. Is this possible using Sony software or perhaps a 3rd party application?
Thanks.
pseudonym58 said:
I would like to create an exact copy of my current XZ1 Compact setup, including homescreens with the webpage shortcuts I've added and everything else, on an Xperia X Compact that I also have as a backup. Is this possible using Sony software or perhaps a 3rd party application?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xperia Transer mobile does all of that.
Use the software on your old device and back up to your Gdrive or SDcard. Log into your new device and let Play store finish installing all your apps, restart, then install Xperia Transfer mobile and restore missing apps and personal data. Although what it won't do is remember your app passwords.
There is an Oreo migration feature, if you set up Chrome on your new phone and set a sync passphrase, then every time you log into an app the password will be rememebred for you. Not much good for this migration, but helpfful for the next.

New phone data transfer - how did you do it

I currently have a Z1 and will be upgrading to XZ2 Premium, I want to make sure that I can backup and transfer my Wifi passwords, Contacts and messaging is more or less routine so I want to know what works and your experience when you got the XZ2
I have used the PC Xperia Companion to back up my stuff, also used the Sony App Xperia Transfer from the PS and it says it backs up Wifi, I have also used google backup to the cloud and finally Titanium Backup XML (possibly needs root but have read it doesn't), all of these claim to backup Wifi but I have read from various sources that they don't work
So my question is how did you do it on your new XZ2 and what worked
Many thanks
so all the members here - this is their first smart phone
I only asked a simple question and I do hope that someone here will share their experience
it will not only help me but also help others that are going through this process
Geoffxx said:
so all the members here - this is their first smart phone
I only asked a simple question and I do hope that someone here will share their experience
it will not only help me but also help others that are going through this process
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Click to collapse
I ignored the message, because it is my first Sony Phone.
I broke my Nexus 6 with water....
I could only use my Google backup and my brain.
MartinX3 said:
I ignored the message, because it is my first Sony Phone.
I broke my Nexus 6 with water....
I could only use my Google backup and my brain.
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Click to collapse
well at least you replied even though my question remains unanswered
Sorry about your N6
The built-in app, Xperia Transfer Mobile worked fine for me...Phone logs, messages, settings, media, and apps transferred quite smoothly from an Lg to XZ2.
arjunm said:
The built-in app, Xperia Transfer Mobile worked fine for me...Phone logs, messages, settings, media, and apps transferred quite smoothly from an Lg to XZ2.
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Click to collapse
cheers for that, including wifi - I have about 110 wifi passcodes, that would be a lot of time spent inputting even half of them lol
wouldn't really matter if both devices were rooted but the new one won't be
arjunm said:
The built-in app, Xperia Transfer Mobile worked fine for me...Phone logs, messages, settings, media, and apps transferred quite smoothly from an Lg to XZ2.
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Click to collapse
Geoffxx said:
cheers for that, including wifi - I have about 110 wifi passcodes, that would be a lot of time spent inputting even half of them lol
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Click to collapse
Interesting, my "Saved Networks" Wi-Fi settings did not get transferred from my XZ1 to XZ2 with XTM. And I could have sworn that worked seamlessly from XZ -> XZ1.
I ended up using the g Cloud Backup app for that. of course ever network now says it was "saved by g Cloud Backup" or some nonsense which is a bit silly.
eelpout said:
Interesting, my "Saved Networks" Wi-Fi settings did not get transferred from my XZ1 to XZ2 with XTM. And I could have sworn that worked seamlessly from XZ -> XZ1.
I ended up using the g Cloud Backup app for that. of course ever network now says it was "saved by g Cloud Backup" or some nonsense which is a bit silly.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, but - as far as I understand "g cloud backup" requires root access to backup wifi passwords so, yes, you can backup wifi and restore them to a rooted device and that is fine, I have various apps and various copies of my wifi passwords all over the place …………...but my phone is rooted, my new phone will not be rooted so again the question remains unanswered about wifi passwords
I would have thought that the official Sony Transfer App would transfer wifi passwords to a new phone but I have read from several sources and people that is does not, I have also heard some say that it did, the other stuff like contacts - call logs - messages etc is not in question and is routine but it seems there is still conflicting information about wifi passwords.
It is also worth noting that with wifi passwords is not obvious that they were transferred, you need to look hard to establish if they were or go to a previously known hotspot and see if it logs in, it will initially show as disabled in the wifi list but once enabled it will login as normal if the password was transferred
From what I can gather the Xperia transfer app will transfer wifi passwords providing both devices are Xperia and that you choose that option on both phones
Geoffxx said:
Thanks for the reply, but - as far as I understand "g cloud backup" requires root ...
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Click to collapse
yeah, it looks like g Cloud didn't transfer the passwords, which is annoying (and I avoid rooting on Sony's because of the DRM stuff). Google itself, with their backup stores them too reportedly, but it seems to be a bit random as to when it actually restores them and there is no way to force it to do so. XTM has worked fine in the past and I may try again to transfer just the minimum and see if I cant get them again.
Edit: well, I guess this explains it. Went back to Xperia Transfer Mobile to see about doing a WiFi direct transfer of only the access points saved. After pairing the devices together, under the list of items to transfer, Apps & Settings->WiFi Networks, it is grayed out and says "No Data". Even though there are over 400 (!) networks listed under "Saved Networks." on the XZ1. So for some reason, XTM doesn't want to transfer them or has some access rights problem (I'm on Oreo 8.0 with both devices).
I read somewhere that XTM doesn't like transferring items that are backed up elsewhere. Maybe it thinks letting Google do it itself under Oreo is the way to go? I'll have to go to the Sony Mobile forums and see if others are having the same issue. Bother.
I will be doing it later and will let you know how I get on, one thing I do know is that the xml file for wifi passwords was backed up to my SD card using the Xperia Transfer App because I looked at them in the folder, I get my new phone later today and will see what happens, if XTA was able to extract the passwords and save them then I see know reason why they cannot be restored to the new phone as it obviously must have access in order to extract them as long as both phones are Sony Xperia, in fact it says that in the app description on PS
just a quick update, I just started up my new XZ2 Premium and went through the startup procedure which just automatically asked me did I want to transfer from my old device which I said yes, paired them using NFC and let them get on with it, all wifi passwords were copied over
My devices are usually rooted, so:
- contacts are exported to vcf & restored in the contacts app (I used to run a radicale server for contacts & calendar, but it wasn't worth it)
- I rarely use the calendar, so nothing there
- wifi: backed up file via root: /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf
- apps & app data: I used to use Helium, but it stopped being reliable & I switched to oandbackups (requires root)
- for internal storage, I just did an adb pull/push, as since Nougat, adb reflects not only the files, but the directory structure as well.
adwinp said:
My devices are usually rooted, so:
- contacts are exported to vcf & restored in the contacts app (I used to run a radicale server for contacts & calendar, but it wasn't worth it)
- I rarely use the calendar, so nothing there
- wifi: backed up file via root: /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf
- apps & app data: I used to use Helium, but it stopped being reliable & I switched to oandbackups (requires root)
- for internal storage, I just did an adb pull/push, as since Nougat, adb reflects not only the files, but the directory structure as well.
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That is great and pretty much what most people would do if both devices were rooted
What would you do if the new phone is not rooted and not much chance of it being rooted any time soon - which is what this thread is about

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