sarna024 How to Back Up & Restore Your Signal Messages on Androl « Android Gadget Hacks packut chat} HOPS create dace? ANDROID Back Up & Restore Your Signal Messages on Android By JON KNIGHT © iM [PRIVACY a SECURITY | [SIGNAL 101 nee MOBILE PRIVACY & SECURITY SPOTLIGHT Sscrtching phones has never been easier. Google backs up most of your app data on the cloud, which can then be restored onto your new phone. Sadly, Signal doesn't use this feature since it could compromise your security. Instead, Signal stores encrypted backups locally, requiring a bit of work to restore these messages. hitpsiandroid.gadgethacks.comihow-tolback-up-restore-your-sighal-messages-andoid-0199706/ 19sarveoas How to BackUp & Restore Your Sigal Messages on Andis « Anco Gadget Hacks Signal offers encrypted backups exclusively to Android users. These backups are encrypted with a unique passphrase to ensure no one but you can access your messages. To preserve your security, these files are locally stored. Restoring them requires a few steps first to ensure thing go smoothly. Because things can go wrong, we recommend not deleting the old messages until you can confirm your messages are restored on the new device. Because if something goes wrong, your messages will be lost forever, locked behind a passphrase so that no one can use it. Ste Backup Signal Messages on the Old Phone With Signal open, select the three vertical dots in the upper-right corner of your screen and choose "Settings." Select "Chats and media” and scroll to the last option, "Create backups.” If this your first backup, a popup will appear titled "Enable local backups?” with a 30-digit number, This code is what will be used to encrypt this backup so that only you can restore these messages. However, this code will not appear again so take a screenshot of the page and store it somewhere safe. hitpsiiandroid.gadgethacks.com/how-tolback-up-reslore-your-sighal-messages-andoid-0199786! 29sarnre024 How to Back Up & Restore Your Signal Messages on Android « Android = Gadget Hacks Message font size Nr how invitation prompt e Use system emo Freighter hy wl end et metegen Enable local backups? creaebeckup q ° o A pro tip I found is that if you want extra security, copy this code into a password manager. This method is a much safer option than storing a screenshot, as it will be encrypted using the same protection that defends your passwords. In addition, if you are using a phone running Android 8.0 Oreo or newer, you'll be able to autofill the code when restoring your messages. + Don't Miss: The 4 Best Password Managers for Android Once you copy down the passphrase, select the checkbox and choose the "Enable Backups.” The popup will disappear, and a loading bar will appear below "Create backup." You will know that the backup is completed once this bar disappears and gets replaced with the date and time of the last backup. Also, be aware that backup will occur automatically from now on. hitpsiiandroid.gadgetnacks.comihowstotback-up-reslore-your-sighal-messages-andoid-0199786! a0sarnre024 How to Back Up & Restore Your Signal Messages on Androl « Android » Gadget Hacks Download Signal on the New Phone With the backup completed, you'll need to download Signal on the new device if you plan to transfer the messages over. Locate Signal in the Play Store and download the latest version onto the new phone. + Play Store Link: Signal Private Messenger (free) Signal Private Messenger Signal Foundation Communication Be aware that if you backed up your messages while using the beta version of Signal on your old phone, you must install the beta version on the new phone. If you attempt to restore using the stable version, you won't be able to until you install the beta version. If you are attempting to restore messages on the same phone, you will need to uninstall the Signal app, as restoring can only occur during initial setup of the Signal app. Transfer Encrypted Backup to New Phone Backups are stored locally on the internal hard drive of your phone. Therefore, you need to find a way to transfer the file over to the new phone. You can upload it to a cloud service, such as Google Drive. However, if you are concerned about privacy, you can transfer the file directly to your new phone using any one of our recommended file sharing apps. « Don't Miss: The 4 Best Android Apps for Sharing Files Between Phones Either way, you need to first locate the backup file. Open the built-in file manager (or use a third- party app), and navigate to the following folder: hitpsiiandroid.gadgethacks.comihow-tolback-up-restore-your-signal-messages-andoid-0199786/ 49sarnra024 How to Back Up & Restore Your Signal Messages on Androl « Android Gadget Hacks Old phones may replace "Internal Storage” with "sdcard,” but the rest of the file path is the same. The files are timestamped, starting with the date and time they were created (time is listed in 24- hour format). The format for the file labeling is the following: + signal-year-month-day-hours-minutes-seconds-milliseconds.backup signal-2019-01-17-16-39-00.backup Jan 17, 4:39 PM 32.93 MIB Using any of the methods previously mentioned, or any other way you might prefer (such as Bluetooth or USB), transfer this file to new phone's Download folder. Restore Messages (Safe Way) There are two methods at this point which you can use to restore your messages. There is a fast way, and then there is the safer way. Let start with the more reliable method, Open the Signal app on the new phone and begin the initial setup process. It will ask you to enable permissions and input your telephone number. Follow the instructions until you end up on Signal's main screen, then navigate to the "Create backup" option from Step 1 (Settings > Chats & Media > Create Backups). Once again, select "Create backup," check the box, and choose “Enable Don't worry about saving the code this time because you won't be using it to restore any messages. Now uninstall the Signal app. Using a file manager, head back to /Intemal Storage/Signal and see if a folder labeled "Backups" is there. Open this folder and delete the backup file stored there. Find your "real" backup file in the Download folder and move it to the Signal backups folder. Reinstall Signal on the Play Store. This time, when accepting the permissions, you will be directed to anew screen titled "Restore from backup." Choose "Restore Backup" and input the numeric code which you copied down earlier. Finish the initial setup, and when you return to main page, you will see all your messages. hitpsiiandroid.gadgethacks.comihow-tolback-up-restore-your-signal-messages-andoid-0199706/ 59saynre024 How to Back Up & Restore Your Signal Messages on Android « Android » Gadget Hacks. TUT Creu Enter backup passphrase Restore Messages (Fast Way) The other way to accomplish this is after transferring the backup file to the new phone, open a file manager app. The default folder will be Internal Storage. Create a folder here titled "Signal." Within this folder, create another folder titled "Backups" (note the word is uppercase and plural rather than singular). hitpsiiandroid.gadgethacks.comihow-totback-up-restore-your-signal-messages-andoid-0199786! aesarnra024 How to Back Up & Restore Your Signal Messages on Android « Android = Gadget Hacks ara Notations ete t Be omens a sensayaere Sioa © caiman tesa o Move the transferred backup file to this folder and then open the Signal app for the first time on this device. After accepting the permissions, you should see the "Restore from backups” screen. Select "Restore Backups" and input the passphrase which you copied in Step 1. Follow the rest of the instructions and your messages will have been successfully restored. This article was produced during Gadget Hacks' special coverage on smartphone privacy and security. Check out the whole Privacy and Security series. Don't Miss: More Signal Tips & Tricks Keep Your Connection Secure Without a Monthly Bill Get a lifetime subscription to VPN Unlimited for all your devices with a one-time purchase from the new Gadget Hacks Shop, and hitpsiandroid.gadgetnacks.comihow-tofback-up-restore-your-signal-messages-andoid-0199786! 119‘azo How to Back Up & Restore You Sigal Messages on Ancol « Andro = Gadget Hacks watch Hulu or Netflix without regional restrictions, increase security when browsing on public networks, and more. 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