Seedvault works, I’ve restored from backups multiple times.
However there are still many parts of overall data that aren’t fully backed up.
Certain app data doesn’t get saved.
Settings are but not in entirety requiring manual rechecks of all settings and reconfiguration if needed. Which saves no time because then you cannot trust it fully for what was and was not altered meaning you then must asses everything which took away the total value, and adds a layer of distrust.
Profiles must be backed up individually which creates a giant hassle to restore/maintain consistent backups, which also requires different drives for each profile to be recognized correctly.
App lists are impartial requiring a wrote down list or some form of rememberance that’s not reliant on the backup list of installed apps.
I can go on with more its late in my time zone and I have to sleep so. It’s a good project and has merit. It is just not where it should be to really be useful at scale. I am aware of the experimental setting to create a more comprehensive backup. Even with it checked on the backups are not complete. Thus the use of Graphene while a great project has definite major flaws. If they implement device to device backups it would be a game changer. Not high up on their list of to dos though.
Thanks for the info. I have not really tested Seedvault myself so this is all good to know.
Ironically, one of the main reasons I switched to GrapheneOS was because Google’s backups were so frustrating and I was hoping Seedvault would be more comprehensive.
It is and its not. You just have to know the limitations, some of which I mentioned. Try it for yourself and to a restore then report back you’ll understand it’s very cumbersome in some ways.
Don’t expect to be able to wipe a phone and restore from backup like you never left it’ll get you closeish. So you need to ask yourself is that good enough for you with your opsec and threat model? To only have part of your data back…
In its current form its just a hassle right now to create backups on seperate drives (not even partitions on one drive I tried, as seedvault and the OS only identifies the drive you don’t get to choose) for each profile plugging them into your phone individually, backing up each one, and keeping them up to date often, it’s a lot! I have swapped several pixels and profiles I hate doing it everytime it really is a subpar process. I AM ALL EARS FOR A BETTER SOLUTION. Having to piece your data back together for it to be complete again doesn’t sit right with me to be considered backed up correctly. It leaves you vulnerable and some of us don’t like being locked into any specific device or situation like having your life on a device and being at the mercy of it for any reason you might encounter. I’m actually moving away from graphene due to these issues. It’s just not there yet.
Its one thing to read the documentation and another to have experience in using the software first hand which is why I got downvotes, over time, daily those are the ones who have experienced what I mean. I just wanted people to be aware that it’s not the saving grace yet.
Imagine the real world use case of backups and maintenance which should be done as often as possible as to lose as little data as possible. Phone gets broken, stolen, confiscated, what have you. Having reliable backups is the difference between starting over and continuing with what could be your entire life in this digital age.
I’m being bugged by Seedvault caring for apps that have a ‘don’t backup app data’ flag.
I could live with that being a default setting, which can be manually overwritten in the Seedvault settings for these apps.
Apps not allowing (in case of Seedvault: encrypted) full backups while offering no or bad built-in backups is just cumbersome when trying to have current backups.
I believe you’re right, but that doesn’t solve the problem of making routine full backups, which would come in handy if the device gets lost or breaks.
One can hope future versions of Seedvault care less about what apps want.
What’s wrong with Seedvault?
Seedvault works, I’ve restored from backups multiple times.
However there are still many parts of overall data that aren’t fully backed up.
Certain app data doesn’t get saved.
Settings are but not in entirety requiring manual rechecks of all settings and reconfiguration if needed. Which saves no time because then you cannot trust it fully for what was and was not altered meaning you then must asses everything which took away the total value, and adds a layer of distrust.
Profiles must be backed up individually which creates a giant hassle to restore/maintain consistent backups, which also requires different drives for each profile to be recognized correctly.
App lists are impartial requiring a wrote down list or some form of rememberance that’s not reliant on the backup list of installed apps.
I can go on with more its late in my time zone and I have to sleep so. It’s a good project and has merit. It is just not where it should be to really be useful at scale. I am aware of the experimental setting to create a more comprehensive backup. Even with it checked on the backups are not complete. Thus the use of Graphene while a great project has definite major flaws. If they implement device to device backups it would be a game changer. Not high up on their list of to dos though.
Thanks for the info. I have not really tested Seedvault myself so this is all good to know.
Ironically, one of the main reasons I switched to GrapheneOS was because Google’s backups were so frustrating and I was hoping Seedvault would be more comprehensive.
It is and its not. You just have to know the limitations, some of which I mentioned. Try it for yourself and to a restore then report back you’ll understand it’s very cumbersome in some ways.
Don’t expect to be able to wipe a phone and restore from backup like you never left it’ll get you closeish. So you need to ask yourself is that good enough for you with your opsec and threat model? To only have part of your data back…
In its current form its just a hassle right now to create backups on seperate drives (not even partitions on one drive I tried, as seedvault and the OS only identifies the drive you don’t get to choose) for each profile plugging them into your phone individually, backing up each one, and keeping them up to date often, it’s a lot! I have swapped several pixels and profiles I hate doing it everytime it really is a subpar process. I AM ALL EARS FOR A BETTER SOLUTION. Having to piece your data back together for it to be complete again doesn’t sit right with me to be considered backed up correctly. It leaves you vulnerable and some of us don’t like being locked into any specific device or situation like having your life on a device and being at the mercy of it for any reason you might encounter. I’m actually moving away from graphene due to these issues. It’s just not there yet.
Its one thing to read the documentation and another to have experience in using the software first hand which is why I got downvotes, over time, daily those are the ones who have experienced what I mean. I just wanted people to be aware that it’s not the saving grace yet.
Imagine the real world use case of backups and maintenance which should be done as often as possible as to lose as little data as possible. Phone gets broken, stolen, confiscated, what have you. Having reliable backups is the difference between starting over and continuing with what could be your entire life in this digital age.
I’m being bugged by Seedvault caring for apps that have a ‘don’t backup app data’ flag.
I could live with that being a default setting, which can be manually overwritten in the Seedvault settings for these apps.
Apps not allowing (in case of Seedvault: encrypted) full backups while offering no or bad built-in backups is just cumbersome when trying to have current backups.
afaik their device-to-device mode should be able to workaround that. it can still be saved to storage
I believe you’re right, but that doesn’t solve the problem of making routine full backups, which would come in handy if the device gets lost or breaks.
One can hope future versions of Seedvault care less about what apps want.