Helium is a two-part app, meaning you need the app on your computer and on your Android device. You are not required to root your Android. What you will be allowed is the back up of your apps, app data and also syncing of your apps. Does this sound like something you can use? Let’s take a closer look at how to back up your Android with Helium. Enable Debugging in the Developer Options. You can follow these instructions on a newer Android OS like Jellybean 4.2.
Once you have everything downloaded, you will need to activate Helium on your Android and connect it to your computer.
Once connected, you can start Helium on your computer. The computer app is really just used for the drivers to access some of the information. It appears that if your phone is rooted, you can grant SuperUser permissions and do not need the desktop app.
When everything is up and running, you will be offered choices on what you would like to do. For this article, we will create a backup. When you are backing up your information, it is always a good idea to make sure the battery on your device has a good charge. Even though the USB can charge your device, you are likely to be drawing more power than you would get through the USB cable. To create a backup, you will need to select the apps you’d like to backup. There is a “Select All” option to make that option easier. Otherwise, you can individually select the apps you’d like to backup.
You will then need to choose the location to store your backup. You can create the file on your device’s internal storage then move it somewhere else.
If you would like to use the paid option, you can back up and restore your information with Google Drive. You can also choose to connect Dropbox or Box to Carbon and back up/restore to these services. If you choose to not pay for the Pro version, you can still back up to the cloud services but will need to move the file to your device’s internal storage to restore it.
Once the destination is selected, the process will start. Restoring the apps is just as simple. Select the apps to restore and click the Restore button. If you are restoring an app no longer installed on your device, you will be prompted to go to the Google Play Store and install it.
Final Words
Not everyone wants to root their phone or tablet, but backing up your data is a necessity. Carbon is a great option for the non-root as well as the root user to easily make a backup of their app data. What method do you use to back up your Android when it isn’t rooted? Image credit: Android Lineup – Shadow
