Copying and remotely deploying a build across multiple devices

Question

If I do a factory reset and then setup a given android phone in a particular way (removing apps, adding apps, syncing to certain bluetooth devices, turning on/off various system notification settings, setting up a particular google account, etc), is there a way for me to "Save that configuration" and then remotely redeploy that build at will either on the same exact device or on a different device that shares the same model type (i.e. from one Samsungs Galaxy S5 to another...)

I suspect something like that may be possible using Google's Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), but that seems fairly complicated. Is there an easier way of accomplishing what I want or some other service provider that can do it?

Is this the right place for this question? Would the main SO site be better? Somewhere else? — Afflatus, May 11 '17 at 20:23
I've just added the multiple-devices tag to your question. You might wish to investigate answered questions using that tag. Also check their "Related" sections. I'm pretty sure a similar question has been asked before, I just cannot find it currently. Coming pretty close: Clone and distribute Android 4 device with preloaded applications — Izzy, May 14 '17 at 21:50
@Izzy Thanks for the suggestion. nandroid, as mentioned in the linked post, seems quite promising... I'll need to investigate. — Afflatus, May 14 '17 at 23:29
That was my thought as well – and should work on devices which are similiar (same brand, model and Android version). But it requires a custom ROM, as the stock ROM doesn't ship with backup/restore facilities (especially not with Nandroid). — Izzy, May 15 '17 at 06:19

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered May 11 '17 at 23:52

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Using root and tasker rules you could pull your settings.db from a central point of your choice, but that would erase any settings.

A more elegant way would be a tasker rule that sets all the settings in the database.

For Wi-Fi AP you would have to pull the wpa_supplicant file from somewhere using the same method or use Linux tools to alter the config file.

Other settings would require finding associated config file or database and use above methods.

answered May 11 '17 at 23:52

Zulgrib

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Are you suggesting there is no "all in one" solution? (I'm a complete beginner in this space..) – Afflatus May 12 '17 at 00:47
Unless you are deploying your own system on all theses devices, yes. – Zulgrib May 13 '17 at 09:58
I'm still confused -- How is one's "own system" defined? What's to keep one from just defining one's own system as 'existing system + a few changes' and just deploy that? – Afflatus May 14 '17 at 16:13
Your own system means your self compiled Linux kernel and associated software. You cannot deploy anything but apk archives by default, your settings are not apk. There is no "save that configuration" because what you call configuration is thousands files and databases owned by different UID that are unique to each devices, even of the same model. To do what you want you need to undo Android and use a more rawish Linux, hence your own system. – Zulgrib May 14 '17 at 21:47

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 08 '17 at 08:51

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On master device

Setup your device
Install TWRP custom recovery
Backup to SD

On new device

Insert SD
Install TWRP custom recovery
Recover from backup on SD

See if it works. I've never tried it as I only have 1 S5 device.

answered Jul 08 '17 at 08:51

Andy Anderson

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Accounts such as Google login likely won't work - I believe those are tied to unique device identifiers... – Andy Yan Jul 08 '17 at 09:16

Copying and remotely deploying a build across multiple devices

2 Answers2

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