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ICS devices support creating backups using adb backup, and restoring them using adb restore. Using adb backup, one can select that everything should be backed up, or only a certain package.

However, adb restore lacks all the options of adb backup. When I call adb restore backup.ab, where backup.ab is only the backup of a single package, the phone shows me a warning dialog saying that all settings are going to be lost after restoring the backup. Is it true that restoring a single package backup wipes all data on the phone? If yes, is it somehow possible to restore a single package using adb restore?

Bob
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2 Answers2

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Picking up my comment on the question:

Is it true that restoring a single package backup wipes all data on the phone?

No. As I suspected in my comment, the warning just relates to the settings of the app being restored, as they would be replaced by those from the backup. I used adb backup to backup a single app on one device, and restored it to multiple devices. I didn't miss anything afterwards, all other apps (and data) remained untouched.

It wouldn't make any sense the other way, either. And Carbon - App Sync and Backup couldn't offer to restore a single app, as it itself would be gone then as well :)

Izzy
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If you're rooted you can now use Titanium Backup Pro (5.6+) to restore from adb backups.