Can't restore Google acc on new phone? What am I missing?

Jon_01

I've just got a new Samsung s21 Ultra, moving from a Mi 11.

I've backup on the MI, moved the sim to the Sam and tried to restore the acc.  The 'Backup' screen on the Mi shows 5.8 GB used and all the info is backed up (apps, photos, sms etc).   But when I go to the same screen on the Samsung it still shows 5.8GB used but that there's nothing else backup up?
I've factory reset the Samsung a couple of times trying to get it to see the backup info but nothing changes...

I've done this before on a few phones and it's always worked first time, I can't see what I'm missing this time?

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to get this done?

Thanks.

Neil_Jones

I think you're overcomplicating it.

Just sign into your Google account on the new phone and all your contacts will come down automatically and your photos should be in your online account.  You can restore your apps from the Library section of Google Play once you've signed in, and then you should be able, if you backed up from the app, to restore the backups from those apps..

Whatsapp for example if you back up to your Google drive from it, stick it on a new phone with the same number and the same accounts finds the backup it made one phone ago and restores it.

Jon_01

Neil_Jones said:

I think you're overcomplicating it.

Just sign into your Google account on the new phone and all your contacts will come down automatically and your photos should be in your online account.  You can restore your apps from the Library section of Google Play once you've signed in, and then you should be able, if you backed up from the app, to restore the backups from those apps..

Whatsapp for example if you back up to your Google drive from it, stick it on a new phone with the same number and the same accounts finds the backup it made one phone ago and restores it.

Hey Neil,  Yes, that's the process I've used in the past and it's always worked... until now.

I've factory reset the s21 three times now, entered my Google acc info and selected restore everything and nothing happens.
I've left it over night as I know sometimes it takes a while for all the data to sync but still nothing.

I can get Whatsapp to restore fine, bit that's restoring through the Whatsapp app. The problem seems to be that Google doesn't see the s21 as a valid restore device for some reason???

k_man

Was the Mi backing up to Google, or to Xiaomi/Mi Cloud?

IIRC, Xiaomi (like Huawei and Samsung) include options to backup to their own clouds, rather than use your Google account.

flaneurs_lobster

If backup / restore isn't working then could you transfer your apps/data directly from the Redmi to the Samsung?

I've used Samsung Smart Switch for non-Samsung to Samsung transfer with no problems. Should be pre-installed on the S21 and available from Google Play for the Mi.

Jon_01

k_man said:

Was the Mi backing up to Google, or to Xiaomi/Mi Cloud?

IIRC, Xiaomi (like Huawei and Samsung) include options to backup to their own clouds, rather than use your Google account.

Backed up using Google, I wasn't going risk using anything else.

There a suggestion on XDA that there's something in the Xiaomi OS that messes up the Google backup process.

Jon_01

flaneurs_lobster said:

If backup / restore isn't working then could you transfer your apps/data directly from the Redmi to the Samsung?

I've used Samsung Smart Switch for non-Samsung to Samsung transfer with no problems. Should be pre-installed on the S21 and available from Google Play for the Mi.

I'm trying that now. I've install Smart Switch on the Mi 11 and charged both phones to 100%.   Just about to reset the s21 and see what happens!!

k_man

Good luck!

Another option would be to let Google Apps (Gmail, Contacts etc) sync themselves, as they don't rely on backups, being cloud based anyway.

And then install only the apps you want, using details/credentials saved outside of the app itself.
Can be quite cathartic, and tests the DR process, e.g. following a phone loss, with non working/tested backup.

And helps focus the mind on what would be lost if the phone were lost/broken.

SMS are often the challenging things, so a good time to look at SMS backup options too

Jon_01

k_man said:

Good luck!

Another option would be to let Google Apps (Gmail, Contacts etc) sync themselves, as they don't rely on backups, being cloud based anyway.

And then install only the apps you want, using details/credentials saved outside of the app itself.
Can be quite cathartic, and tests the DR process, e.g. following a phone loss, with non working/tested backup.

And helps focus the mind on what would be lost if the phone were lost/broken.

SMS are often the challenging things, so a good time to look at SMS backup options too

Thanks...

Got it done finally.

Smart Switch refused to connect over cable, which I think must be a Xiaomi issue as everything on the phone was enabled for transfer. But the Smart Switch app refused to accept that the cable was plugged into the Mi 11 and I tried 3 different cables.  
But it did work over wifi, it just took a while.