GOS backup status (important for Duress feature)

avidgrapher

I know that GOS is working on implementing Duress feature. And I thought having a backup would be important to be ready to wipe the device clean.

I saw an old Reddit post of the lead devs of GOS, that backup of device data is still in dev.

I just want to know the current status of making a backup of whole device data. Any recommended apps without root? and any estimation for when the native backup support will arrive?

Thanks

matchboxbananasynergy

GrapheneOS uses Seedvault for backups:

https://grapheneos.org/features#encrypted-backups

That said, it's not reliable, and the plan is to eventually replace it with something developed from scratch.

No ETA on that.

avidgrapher

matchboxbananasynergy

Where can I find SeedVault? it's not listed in "Apps" nor does it appear in search or settings.

ve3jlg

matchboxbananasynergy That said, it's not reliable

Could you please explain what "unreliable" means?

Is there a way to know if the backup has been done properly, without a full restore?

Is my understanding about this correct?:

If there is no working backup solution, then only reliable solution against data loss is to sync/download all important phone data somewhere else, or to rely on the primary data being somewhere else e.g. IMAP mail, carddav, caldav.
If the phone is lost, stolen or damaged, then all the configuration will be lost and need to be redone.

I believe I am personally covered but want to make sure I am not overlooking something.

Graphite

avidgrapher

Settings > System > Backup

They don't even use the name Seedvault in the UI, that's just the underlying code.

alfred

avidgrapher When you are setting up the phone, it will prompt you to restore from back up, or you can dial
*#*#7378673#*#*
to start the restore process

Here are a couple links that also may be helpful.
https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/15-how-do-i-backup-my-phone/
https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/3118-restore-backup-from-usb-during-initial-setup/3

GrapheneOS

alfred There's no need to use that dialer code. It has a UI for it in the menu.

avidgrapher

I chose to save backup in internal storage, and made a backup there.

Where is it saved exactly? I want to copy the backup from internal storage to PC.

unwat

avidgrapher

According to their wiki, it's saved in .SeedVaultAndroidBackup in the internal storage root.

https://github.com/seedvault-app/seedvault/wiki/FAQ#where-is-my-backup-stored

You'll probably have to show hidden files in the Files app to see it.

abcZ

GrapheneOS That's new! And great to have because its impossible to restore during device setup since it depends on other software that isn't available.

GrapheneOS

abcZ You do not need additional software to restore. You can use a USB drive. We aren't going to bundle third party cloud app services with GrapheneOS and it's not necessary. You can move it to a USB drive and restore at the beginning or use the menu to restore later.

Graphite

ve3jlg

I just tried a seedvault backup to a USB drive. The drive was cheap and the data was corrupted on write. GOS/seedvault didn't have any errors during the backup process, and it said it completed successfully. I only found out when I tried to see the file structure on a desktop, as I got a bunch of read I/O errors.
There doesn't appear to be much of a post-write integrity check.

GrapheneOS

Graphite We know the app isn't reliable. We currently lack the developers required to replace it since it's a low priority.

ve3jlg

GrapheneOS You can move it to a USB drive and restore at the beginning or use the menu to restore later.

That sounds very practical, possible to do in the middle of nowhere where backups can still be very important (say National Park vacation photos), and continues the familiar way of doing computer backups for decades since unix "dump". I like it (or I will like it).

abcZ

GrapheneOS Nextcloud (the only viable backup target) isn't available through a USB drive.

Graphite

GrapheneOS

GrapheneOS We currently lack the developers required to replace it since it's a low priority.

Does popularity have any effect on priority?

Geert

GrapheneOS

Hi
Since most users will eventually need to upgrade to a newer pixel model , a reliable tool to transfer data to the new device is quite essential.
For me it is priority nr 1 at the moment since I would like to get a pixel 8 😉
Setting up everything from scratch would just be too much of a hassle.
So a solution would be highly appreciated
Other than that, GOS is just amazing !! 👍👍👍

dot_______166

GrapheneOS could you just help maintain seedvault and make it better?

Blastoidea

Graphite
I hope not.

matchboxbananasynergy

dot_______166 We will be making our own replacement backup app since on top of bugs with it, we'd also likely to make different implementation decisions which we think will make it more robust than Seedvault.

It's something that we want to get done, and will do so once resources permit.

Locking this thread as it is quite old at this point and there are numerous other threads up regarding Seedvault.