Download Titanium Backup No Root
Jamar Lizarraga
After the reinstall, Magisk asks whether to grant root privileges to TB. Subsequent starts of TB result in a Magisk toast saying that root has been granted to TB. So TB actually has root privileges but doesn't know about it.
On Samsung, you'll need to tap Settings > Accounts and backup > Backup and restore > Google Account to get to the same spot. You can also use your Samsung account to back up your phone.
So after loading GrapheneOS, I installed Play Store from the apps application (Didn't really want to but I needed to get my phone working again) and got all of my apps installed, and then that's where things went off the rails. Prior to installing the apps, I rooted it (I know some will say bad idea, but I use apps like Titanium Backup, which is where the main problem came in, and Root explorer). After the apps were installed, I used Titanium backup to restore data to my apps, and that's where it fell apart. Every app that I restored data to crashed on start. Clear data and cache for the app and it would run. My guess as to the reason is due to the fact that Play store is sandboxed and how the sandboxed play store installed the apps is different from how they're normally installed. So I had to revert to ProtonAOSP to get fully functional again, which the latest version, has suffered from some random reboots and boot loops.
And the hard part is I can't just test it to see - I need to commit, and if things don't work out, like they didn't the first time around, it's a long process to get back where I was. In the 'old days', I'd take a 'Nandroid' backup to an external SD card using TWRP, then if things went sideways, I could fairly quickly. When I reverted, it took HOURS for the phone to restore all of my messages from backup after the time to install all of the apps, then restore their data.
Keep in mind that by using root, you're not really using GrapheneOS at that point in significant ways that matter. GrapheneOS assumes that you've installed it and are using it properly with all of the security intact, which root negates. As a result, it is also not really possible for us to provide support for someone using GrapheneOS with root, as it is not the expect way to use the OS.
In conclusion, I know that what I will say now is definitely not ideal given your predicament, but I urge you to try GrapheneOS as it is intended and supported - without root. If ProtonAOSP supports Seedvault, give that a whirl. If not, it might take some effort setting up your phone again, which heavily depends on how many apps you uses, but after using GrapheneOS for years now across 2 different devices, I think you'll find that it will be worth it!
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Thanks for the reply - I'm not DEAD SET on rooting it. It's just one of those things that's 'how I've been doing it', mainly due to using Titanium Backup to backup my apps and app data, as well as freeze certain apps, mainly google apps that I don't need/want but can't be uninstalled without roaching the OS, and it's worked well for that. Obviously, the app freeze would be of little to no use with GrapheneOS as it doesn't contain all the google junkware, so that just leaves app data backup/restore. I've done some more searching and it seems there may be some options, Helium seeming to be one of them that seems more promising. But given that Titanium Backup, which has worked perfectly for me for a LONG time across quite a few Android releases, including across major revision releases, failed miserably here, I'm concerned that there might be some possibility that other backup apps may have the same issue.
SubnetMask It's just one of those things that's 'how I've been doing it', mainly due to using Titanium Backup to backup my apps and app data, as well as freeze certain apps, mainly google apps that I don't need/want but can't be uninstalled without roaching the OS, and it's worked well for that.
So I've been doing some searching, and unless I'm missing something, it appears as if the only way to restore app data is if the device is rooted. Which is dumb, in my opinion. I don't want to use 'cloud sync' or any of that nonsense. I just want to be able to back up my apps and data locally and restore them to a new OS, be it Graphene or other. If that can be done without root, honestly, I'm happy to not root it. But it doesn't seem like that's possible. Unless I'm missing something, which is possible. On that thread though, the still unanswered question though, is why did restoring app data to the apps installed on Graphene OS blow up after the data was restored? I've never had that happen before using Titanium Backup. It was odd.
I switched to GrapheneOS quite recently and I went through the exact same frustrations as you. I have previously been using another phone with LineageOS and I had the perfect backup solution: Neo Backup for APK + full data backup and then sync to my PC using Syncthing. It worked amazingly but Neo Backup needs root as it backups through file access.
Coming to GrapheneOS, the developers are pretty adamant on not supporting root access because they claim it goes against security principles of GrapheneOS. I understand their reasoning and I can agree but then without root, there is no way of keeping a backup of the app data on your phone.
People recommend Seedvault but Seedvault doesn't even work properly (I tried) and the development stopped completely. I also tried adb backup/restore but it is also another fluke. The only alternative is rely on the export/import options of each app and copy files one by one back and forth.
The developers have been promising a brand new backup solution for a few years now already but nothing has come out yet. I wish they could just somehow embed Neo Backup as a system app and allow backups through there.
Seriously, this backup issue is a pain. I understand it's all Google's fault, and I understand root is not an option for the Graphene OS model, but manually backing up every single app is unreasonable. Also, what about system settings? People tend to omit this, but that's also quite a lot of configuration to do every time you do a new install.
It's quite clear that people feel very strongly about this; and I get it, using a device in the proper way (without root) can present challenges that are not always easy to overcome. My hope is that these things will eventually be addressed in a way that doesn't require people to root their devices, but we're not 100% of the way there yet for a minority of people's needs.
However, misrepresenting or downplaying the harmful effects of rooting your device has the potential to mislead people who do not fully understand what they're doing. You may have full knowledge of it and understand the risks, as well as the fact that we can't provide support if you break something or otherwise compromise your device, but this needs to be absolutely clear to everyone else stumbling on these posts as well.
And since it has been mentioned multiple times in this thread, please do not assume that my reason for not having a lengthy debate about exactly how root is harmful means that I can't provide proof for it. The GrapheneOS forum and community is simply not the place for that debate.
For someone to be using GrapheneOS properly, a few things need to be in place, and a locked bootloader and the absence of root are basic requirements for that. If that is not the case, you're not really running GrapheneOS anymore, which is fine, and it is your choice, but people need to understand that.
I don't want to mislead people either. I get that you want to err on the side of safety, but it is still an error. It is also misleading to OVER-state the risks of rooting too. I don't know why you don't even acknowledge the important timing aspect. We can agree on the extreme risks of rooting, but you seem to actively avoid the fact that the extreme risks are gone after an hour, when the backup is complete and you revert from root. Just like the significant risk of unlocking the bootloader are gone once the OS is installed and you relock it.
Graphite I don't know why you don't even acknowledge the important timing aspect. We can agree on the extreme risks of rooting, but you seem to actively avoid the fact that the extreme risks are gone after an hour, when the backup is complete and you revert from root. Just like the significant risk of unlocking the bootloader are gone once the OS is installed and you relock it.
My suggestion, as a happy medium -- which is mostly for people who aren't skilled enough to use root sanely -- is to keep the bootloader unlocked (because locking and unlocking it will cause userdata to be wiped) and just install patched boot.img (or boot_init.img in the case of Pixel 7) when root access is needed, and revert when not needed.
In order for the setup that you so adamantly propose is not as harmful as I'm making it out to be, not only do you require root, the harmful effects of which are well known, even to you, but you also need to keep the bootloader unlocked, as locking it again would wipe the device, which would make no sense, as the reason for rooting it in the first place was to restore your backup. This completely destroys the Android security model beyond just rooting. You cannot assume that your device is secure at any point as one of the most crucial parts of the security model is now missing. Android is as secure as it is because every little security property that it has adds up to the overall approach that keeps it secure. By poking holes into the system, you're completely tearing that apart.
Realistic and practical if the need for frequent system backups outweigh the risks of OS attestation.
Until GrapheneOS devs either fix seedvault or build a new system backup system, it is realistic that some people will do this.
Graphite This is absolutely unrealistic and in no way practical. Even IF this posed no security compromises at all, I would like to see a grandma or random normie do this even once, not to mention regularly as their backup. You must be joking, this is significantly worse than even the TWRP backups from the 5.0 days. Appens your post with /s next time.
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