AOKP Backup – Easing ROM Updates One Step at a Time

If you’re an Android enthusiast that enjoys flashing custom firmware, there’s a good chance that you’ve either heard of or personally tried AOKP. Similar to CyanogenMod, AOKP allows for a vast amount of user customization to nearly every feature of their device, from custom nav bar shortcuts to a seemingly infinite amount of toggles in the drop down status bar. Setting up all of these settings takes hours if not days to get every tweak and feature just right to make your phone work the best for you. AOKP’s very own Roman Birg has developed just the application to ensure that that you won’t have to do it all again.

AOKP Backup is just what it sounds like; it’s a simple application that allows you to backup all of the custom AOKP settings and tweaks to ensure that transitioning between versions of the ROM is seamless and easy for the user. In order for your device to be supported, you must be running atleast AOKP Milestone 5 or newer (build 35 and up if you’re too lazy to look). The application backs up all settings located under “ROM Control” with the exception of weather at the moment. Considering there are only a few small tweaks inside that shouldn’t be a problem for most. The most recent update introduced the ability to backup custom backlight settings for those of you who put extra time into your tweaking.

There was only one thing that I had an issue with, although I believe it could be a pretty big one, and that is the restore menu. When you press restore on a backup you are given a list of all of your backups, and the option to delete or restore the selected one (where the cancel and ok buttons usually are). While this is simple enough, there is no confirmation dialog for the delete option leaving you without a recent backup if you accidentally press it while thinking you’re pressing cancel or just not paying complete attention. Although it has not personally happened to me, I have been making a habit of creating two backups of each just in case, to ensure that I can restore if I wasn’t paying close enough attention the first time.

While the application backs up and restores the data under ROM control, you’re still left with having to manually re-enter or backup wifi passwords, account settings, or SMS. You can help alleviate the annoying process by using another application in tandem such as Titanium Backup which can as of the most recent update backup wifi passwords and SMS to xml, along with the rest of your applications. While this still leaves some issues and manual restoration, it’s definitely a step towards making full-wipes much easier for those of us to want the best stability for each update. You can grab the AOKP backup application off of the Google Play Store for a low $2.00. Consider it a donation towards helping make the high quality ROMs that AOKP ships out instead of taking it as a simple application that cost a few bucks. As if it weren’t obvious, this will only work on devices that have AOKP Milestone 5 or greater installed.

Aesthetic	Performance	Price
The interface is simple and allows you to backup and restore quickly, only asking for a reboot afterwords Could use a confirmation dialog as I believe that it could case some issues with accidentally deleting backups	It’s very quick, backups are pretty much instantaneous and restores take no more than 30 seconds, along with a reboot	$2.00 seems a bit pricey for the application, but consider it a donation towards the AOKP team more than a simple application that you’re paying a few bucks for Just to reiterate, this will only work on devices that have AOKP Milestone 5 and greater, no other ROMs or versions.
Worth it?