Are you looking for a convenient way to create a backup for your Android phone without booting it into Recovery mode? If yes, then you should check out a tool called the Online Nandroid Backup a.k.a Onandroid.
With numerous custom ROMs available and various modifications out there for your phone, create a backup for your phone’s system files is a wise decision. In fact, you will read that nowadays the first step of most modification guides to create a backup of your phone’s current OS, ROM, or settings.
In Android, creating such a backup is slightly problematic because it requires a reboot. Not only that, but you need to boot your device into the Recovery mode which disables you from using the phone regularly i.e. you cannot make / receive calls and text messages.
Fortunately, if your Android phone is rooted, there is a tool out there called Online Nandroid Backup that helps you create a backup of your Android phone without having to enter the Recovery mode. Here is a guide on how you can make use of this tool.
How to backup Android phone:
Step 1: Firstly you should get the required applications for this procedure and install what you can. You will need the BusyBox app, Mount /system, Android Terminal Emulator, and of course Online Nandroid Backup. You can get these from here, here, here, and here respectively.
Step 2: From the ZIP archive you downloaded of Online Nandroid Backup, you extract the onandroid file located in the system/bin folder. This file should go in your phone’s /system/bin directory with permissions set to permissions to 755 (rwxr-xr-x). Use any app you like for setting the permissions such as Root Explorer, Super Manager, etc.
Step 3: Run the Mount r/w application and make your /system partition as writable.
Step 4: Open the Android Terminal Emulator and execute these commands:
su
cp /sdcard/onandroid /system/bin/onandroid
chmod 0755 /system/bin/onandroid
Step 5: Onandroid will now be installed. To run it and create a backup, launch the Android Terminal Emulator and execute these commands:
su
onandroid
Step 6: Your backup will now be created with the current UTC/GMT time and date.
While there are other Onandroid GUIs available that aim to simplify matters for users, we found the original to be the easiest way to get Onandroid to work.
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