Backup and Restore

[Dave J]

I am able to use the backup and restore on both of my XRS4500 boxes without any issues. However, I cannot backup one box and then use that backup to transfer the settings the other box!  Are these backups machine specific?

[nbs.]

Not 100% but should work

It can't hurt to try

[Dave J]

I've tried more than once. I'm backing up to microSD card on first box. When inserted the card into the other box it doesn't see any backup file. I formatted the card on a Windows 10 laptop. Do I need to format it on the box itself? 

[dishuser]

12 minutes ago, Dave J said:

I've tried more than once. I'm backing up to microSD card on first box. When inserted the card into the other box it doesn't see any backup file. I formatted the card on a Windows 10 laptop. Do I need to format it on the box itself? 

yes

[Dave J]

Thanks, I will give that a try.

[Dave J]

Unfortunately formatting the microSD card as external memory on the box itself didn't work. Unless I'm missing a step, it appears that the backup and restore is only good for an individual box. That won't be beneficial if you were to buy a new box and try to transfer your files and settings.

Edited July 1, 2022 by Dave J

[dishuser]

format as removable

[Dave J]

It is formatted as a removable drive, the box won't back up to internal. So far I have formatted on windows 10 (FAT 32), and on the box itself as removable storage. Backup file is readable on the box that created it, but not on the other. Tried both boxes, same result.

[sdeens]

I too have had trouble transferring my Favorites (live channels and VOD) from my older Vidstick VT-4100 to my new XRS4500.

My SDS micro card has been formatted as “removable drive” by both devices several times back and forth.

In all cases the “backup” image is not recognized by the other device;  thus no way to export your Favorites.

apparently favorites can only be exported to or from identical models.

is this correct?

is there a 3rd part utility app that we run on the devices to manually export/import favorites universally among all BuzzTV devices regardless of model?

 

 

 

[nbs.]

It's meant to restore to the unit you reset  ,not from buzz to another buzz

[Dave J]

allaboutbuzz mentioned a while back that the dev team was working on adding TWRP for backup. I'm not sure if that would resolve this problem; perhaps he might give us an update?

Edited January 30, 2023 by Dave J
Clarification

[Emporium]

It would probably be for the exact same thing.  It is meant as a backup/restore for the exact same box.  Would help in case you need to do a factory reset.

And not sure if it is for ALL boxes or just the new "5" series (X5, U5, E5, B5, etc..), since those have no backup at all if I recall..

Doing a backup/restore system between devices can become a source of headaches.  Backup would need to be tied to a specific server.  Then you'd need to decide hat to tie the backup to, channel number is not an option, since that can change.  Then you have various channel tags (similar to M3U file), but it can work, assuming servers don't cut corners and properly create those tags.  I have seen many that do cut&paste jobs for many channels and use same tag IDs which causes all sorts of issues even when sorting out EPGs.   Can it be done, sure.  And for 95% of the cases it could work.  But it will not be 100% idiot proof and you will get people complaining that service x backup they took last week, they can't restore properly this week, and it causes all sorts of issues (because there were channel changes, offsets, etc.. between those times).

Guess we'll see.

[sdeens]

We really need a utility to do VOD and VOD series Favorites backups, and Live channels too if practical.

If you have 500 movies in your VOD Favorites list,  it literally takes weeks to re do them and this creates a powerful incentive NOT to upgrade your device moving forward.

what’s the latest status please of getting Favorites export support?

 

 

[dishuser]

2 hours ago, sdeens said:

We really need a utility to do VOD and VOD series Favorites backups, and Live channels too if practical.

If you have 500 movies in your VOD Favorites list,  it literally takes weeks to re do them and this creates a powerful incentive NOT to upgrade your device moving forward.

what’s the latest status please of getting Favorites export support?

 

 

can you post a link where it was said that might be added in the future?

[Emporium]

allaboutbuzz mentioned a while back that they are working on implementing TWRP for backups on the newer devices.  But never got into details.  

But TWRP is not for selective app backups.  It typically a backups to ensure if something goes wrong (corruption or otherwise), you can restore your system to a known state.  It typically backs up system, data, and boot sections of a device.  To allow you to restore them on the "SAME" device.  Not to another device.

Would it be nice to be able to export favorites, sure... But is it a simple task, I can assure you not.  And even if you make it as such that it can only be used on same server setup and within a day max of exporting (to ensure not many changes on server side playlists), there will still be cases where it fails.  And you will have people complaining that they can't import a backup.

 

 

[dishuser]

that's for the 4900 and newer that can't do a backup/restore

no mention of exporting

[Dave J]

Thanks guys, guess we’ll wait and see. But since we’re back on the subject let me tell you what I’ve done to overcome a few hidden problems backing up.

First, anytime I do a factory reset I can’t add the MAC server(s) and re-connect to my paid service without having to contact my service provider(s) to re-set my mac address. I’ve tested this on 4 different providers and it’s always the same thing. If you back up with live server connections a restore will get you back online without any problems (or lost VOD’s, Favourites, etc.)

Next, I keep back ups of all my directories for games, save states, slide shows and other files on a USB drive, which I back up on a regular basis using copy and paste. I also keep my current APK’s, as often times new apps replace old ones, and are not always compatible with the OS. This makes restoring everything a breeze.

I have 2 -  XRS4500’s (one MAX) that have had 2 FW updates and 100’s of beta updates, not to mention numerous apps, emulators, photo slides, etc. When adding and deleting apps, some don’t clean up after themselves very well, so your left with a lot of zombie files. Eventually my back ups were getting larger in size although I was removing things. Eventually this corrupted my files, including my back ups. They would not restore saying they were corrupted, or the backup file I would create had 0 Bytes. I was finally forced to factory restore and start from scratch.

Since then, I’ve had no issues, and my back up files are 25% smaller than they were before with the same setup. You could skip the USB thing I do as the back up will cover all of that, but it allows me to have multiple back ups with different settings, or just roll back the box to an earlier setup rather than deleting apps. Forgot to mention that when I delete apps now I force stop it, delete data and cache, then delete the app.

Finally, if you run a back up, test it! Don’t wait until you need it and discover it doesn’t work!

Hope this is helpful to other members. In the mean time it’s 27C and sunny here in Playacar, compared to -12C and snow in Mississauga, so I’m off to the beach. Hope it’s better in March!

Regards, Dave J.

[nbs.]

I have never had an issue reconnecting after a reset 

This is the same on 4 services 

[Ryu]

same here reset two units last night and no issue connecting all. reason for reset was having connectivity issue in friends house and later found it was his wifi6 new router causing issue. replaced with old router and no issues.

[Dave J]

I guess some work, some don't. If I reset the box to factory, then go to server settings,  enter server name and portal and hit connect, it comes back with  incorrect user name or password.  I read other posters who have experienced the same problem and are advised to contact their service provider to reset the MAC address at their end. Why does it happen? I don't know, but I've tested it on two boxes, with four different providers, wired and wireless connections. Doesn't happen on free servers  I find on the internet.

However, a restoral bypasses the problem as the info was stored in the backup. If any one can offer a reason why this happens I'd be glad to know the cause. If it's server related though, it really doesn't matter since I have a backup.

[Ryu]

I guess it might be due to security reasons from your tv provider which I would say is good thing just incase someone try to login with your credentials without your permission. 

[Dave J]

The MAC services I'm using do not require a user name or password. I wonder if between the box and their server they capture something so that you can't connect with another box using a cloned MAC address? Just guessing here. 

[Ryu]

who knows what server collects from your device like device id, IP address...etc to keep you safe from cloning your Mac. but whatever is I personally think its good thing since its very easy to find your credentials lol 

[Dave J]

Can't disagree with you on that! Thanks for your help.

[Ryu]

no worries bud