I love a clean start. There’s nothing like the feel of a smartphone (or PC) after a factory reset.
I’m using my Nexus 5 for almost a year now. For a while, I’ve been wanting to do a factory reset and start clean. The upcoming Lollipop upgrade is exactly the push I needed to do it.
My game plan:
- Before upgrading:
- Perform general app cleanup, so I upgrade only with the apps I want.
- Document my settings and configuration (system and apps), so I can re-apply it if needed.
- Backup data.
- Upgrade.
- After upgrading:
- Restore apps, data, settings and configuration, as needed.
- Explore what new built-in features can replace 3rd party apps I’m using. I always prefer built-in over 3rd party.
In order to be able to restore all of my set up, layout, customization, etc., I want to document in detail my starting state. This documentation should include anything that I might need to re-apply after factory reset & upgrade. It’s OK to skip things that are restored automatically (cloud-based, etc.). If I’m not sure about something, better be safe than sorry…
The method: Go over everything, and write down and/or take screenshots of anything I want to document.
This process generated a lot of data. Some of it includes sensitive stuff that I don’t want to document publicly (like account names on various services). All of it is highly personalized, and is probably of little interest to most readers. So instead of writing a post with 425 screenshots (really!) (and pixelating out many of them), I decided to just keep a few highlights, and describe the method. Feel free to ask for more details if you’re interested in something specific.
Continue Reading…