How To: Back up and restore Android apps and data directly from a PC

If you are an advanced user of Android-based smartphones, then you will definitely have a rooted device. And if you are anxious about installing speedy and updated custom ROMs, then you are likely to install a new ROM almost once a week. Installing a custom ROM is most often a time consuming job. The procedure involves taking backups of your installed apps using a backup utility such as Titanuim Backup or My Backup Pro. Then you need to restart the phone, enter the recovery mode and take a Nandroid backup. Then the phone has to be flashed with a new firmware and you have to configure it all over again to install your backup utility and restore your data. Custom ROMs most often include file browsers, which might make work a bit simpler so that you can install the backup utility directly from the SD card. If not, you have to set up your Wi-Fi or 3G, set up the Google Play account and download the app all over again. Irritating, isn’t it? In adddition to this, there are sometimes issues with the backup utility not being able to restore across different ROMs and Android versions. This further demands your patience to select certain apps and restore only those to avoid issues with the new ROM.

Select the apps to back up or restore; option to install to SD card is possible

But hold on, there is a superb Windows utility called APK Batch Installer Tool developed by a Malaysian guy called Hamsteyr (code name on XDA) that can make things easier for you. The developer created this software simply because he would often flash his handset with newer ROMs. It is a simple little Windows utility that is packaged with adb.exe and all it needs is a new folder to store the apps and its data. The utility has the ability to back up all user apps, its data and restore them all with or without data in batch mode. You can also choose where the app is installed (internal memory or SD card). It can back up and restore SMS too. Additionally, using the utility, you can batch rename apps using their app names or readable names, whichever suits you best. All it needs is the USB cable and a rooted Android phone with USB Debugging enabled. The utility also can greatly help those who need to reset their phones and redo all the applications again. If you don’t have root enabled on your phone, then you will be able to restore only applications and not the data. In order to root your phone, please check out how it can be done for your phone on the XDA forums.

Rename apk files and backup SMS; you can use the utility over Wi-Fi too

Download the APK Batch Installer Tool by clicking here. It is a zip file and all you need to do is extract it to a folder on your desktop or in the C: drive. Inside the folder will be the self executable file, which does not need installation. Run it and a window will open up with the simple GUI interface. The rest of the program is self explanatory. Connect your phone to the PC using the USB cable and select the appropriate function command from the drop down list. Click on next and the procedure begins. You don’t need to restart your phone once the backup or restore has been completed. The process will take some time depending on the amount of data to be backed  up or restored and the speed of your data transfer. Here are the screenshots demonstrating the steps you need to follow for each process.

We have successfully used this utility to batch install apps and app data across multiple Android phones and tablets.