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I have been using an Android app since 2014. Recently, I switched to a new device (OnePlus) and realized that the data backup was only till 2018. It was narrowed down to the data being stored in the old device's (Samsung) SD card. That is a challenge as the new device doesn't have an SD card slot. Now, I got a memory card reader, connected with my laptop, and transferred all the data but this.

New challenge:

  1. There is no ".pc" file (default extension for the backup file) in the SD card's folder. This folder is empty and I couldn't identify any hidden files - \Android\data\com.popularapp.appName.
  2. In .android_secure folder, we have this ".asec" file, which may or may not be useful.

Here are my questions:

  1. W.r.t. #1 above, am I missing something? Should I look for the backup/data somewhere else ?
  2. W.r.t. #2 above, since it is .asec file and the app needs .pc file for the backup (otherwise it throws error code 2116), is there a way to use this file to get the data for the missing time period ?

The app name is Period Tracker (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.popularapp.periodcalendar)

If this is not the correct platform to ask the question, please direct me to the right one. Any help would be appreciated. Let me know if further information is required. Thanks!

Namandeep_Kaur
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  • .pc file is not known android backup. asec containers are just apps, no backup – alecxs Jun 26 '20 at 22:18
  • How do you know that the backup has been written to the external sdcard? Unfortunately for historical reasons the internal section also have an directory called sdcard but that is located in device flash chip. – Robert Jun 26 '20 at 22:24
  • @alecxs, all the backup files for this app have an extension .pc. – Namandeep_Kaur Jun 26 '20 at 22:33
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    If the old device still works, and that app allows it, you could utilize adb backup and adb restore to transfer the app including its data. For use on-device, there's an app called Helium Backup using that mechanism, no root needed. Check our backup tag wiki for details. – Izzy Jun 26 '20 at 22:36
  • only .pc files i know are pkgconfig_files if you ask for a specific app you should edit your question – alecxs Jun 26 '20 at 22:36
  • @Robert, here is the scenario, let me know if you could tell me a way out - My old device's screen broke and I can't see anything. It switches on and off but I believe the USB debugging is not on so I can't access what's in there. At one point in time, the device was running out of the memory and I moved the app to the SD card. The bug and feedback team suggested that the backup could be in the SD card. – Namandeep_Kaur Jun 26 '20 at 22:37
  • @Izzy, does it require USB debugging to be on? I tried adb along with Vysor (I guess). That requires USB debugging to be on. Plus, I cannot see anything on the screen. Doesn't even unlock. – Namandeep_Kaur Jun 26 '20 at 22:40
  • there is no backup in asec container, its just the apk itself but not the app data https://android.stackexchange.com/q/221453 – alecxs Jun 26 '20 at 22:46
  • the files you are looking for are stored at folder PeriodCalendar/Backup on /sdcard – alecxs Jun 26 '20 at 22:52
  • @alecxs, is that in Internal storage? If yes, is there a way to access that ( considering I can't see anything on the screen) ? – Namandeep_Kaur Jun 26 '20 at 23:02
  • yes it is possible to flash modified system with adb enabled and init.d script which does copy RSA-key – alecxs Jun 27 '20 at 08:04
  • update your question with phone model number and android version, maybe i can tell you solution then – alecxs Jun 27 '20 at 08:06
  • @Namandeep_Kaur yes, it makes use of that. And you even need it once initially to activate the app if the device isn't rooted. – Izzy Jun 27 '20 at 19:02
  • @Izzy fully hands-off method exist for old samsung devices, i have done this on SM-T113 with broken display (see Place your adb keys, configure USB debugging) – alecxs Jun 28 '20 at 16:34
  • That looks interesting @alecxs – but sems no longer maintained (last release 2016, though last commit 2019). And not clear what devices are supported. But yes, if it works, no USB needed initially as the config can be flashed via recovery, if I understood correctly. – Izzy Jun 29 '20 at 07:38
  • @Izzy limited to devices supported by cf-auto-root – alecxs Jun 29 '20 at 08:20

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