[roseatkinson]

I've had my tablet (a TCL NxtPaper 14) a couple of months and my MS library is growing fast. I'm getting reminders to back it up and am thinking of getting a portable drive, like this one:  SSK 500GB portable exterenal SSD

How do others back up their MS libraries on Android devices?  I should add that cloud backup is unfortunately not an option for me. Our upload speed is 0.7mbps... and it drops even lower in wind, rain, and if squirrels decide to have a meal on the cable somewhere between us and the cabinet half a mile away...

[GraemeJ]

I imagine most users backup using Zubersoft's  Companion program on a PC.  That's the way I have always done it.

[roseatkinson]

I imagine most users backup using Zubersoft's  Companion program on a PC.  That's the way I have always done it.

Ah, ok thanks   Can I also download that backup onto SSD and then restore files from there if necessary? eg if I don't have my laptop with me...?

[Geoff Bacon]

Yes but I've never actually restored using just the tablet (I have restored using the companion).

I think the main thing is to get a backup on a different device (the desktop/laptop) so that if something happens to the tablet you haven't lost everything.
Whether you then copy the backup to a SSD is up to you.

You could just use MS to backup directly from the tablet to the SSD (but I find using the companion to do it very convenient). It also means that I don't have issues with both the original and backup being in the same location (e.g. if I lost my bag containing both the tablet and the SSD)

Geoff

[itsme]

Geoff's method is really easy with the advantage that the backup is stored on a different device. Another advantage is that the Companion even can run on a Linux device if that is relevant.

I do it differently. With little additional effort I get several big additional pros.

I make a backup on the tablet itself. Today I save it into a dedicated folder in the internal memory as my current tablet has enough space. 
A while ago, on the previous tablet I stored backups on an SD card in the tablet. I remember that I had to check if I was able to restore the backup and had to choose a certain location on the SD card because of weird Android access rights rules. And access rights to SD cards in Android tablets have been changed several times. I cannot reproduce that in the moment as I'm not at home and don't have access to a tablet where I can check that. If it is relevant I can look it up for you, but that will take some time.

Than I copy the backup from the tablet either to my laptop into a backup folder within the laptop's local GoogleDrive folder or into that backup folder in my GoogleDrive. To do that I use Total Commander for Android. It has great plugins for Windows shares (TotalCmd-LAN) and GoogleDrive (TotalCmd-Drive). Then the GoogleDrive sync program on the laptop synchronizes the backup folder on the laptop with the one in Google Drive.

So the only additional action is copying the backup manually once. The advantage is that I have three identical backups, one on the tablet, that I carry around, one on my laptop at home and the third one in GoogleDrive where I can access it wherever I have internet access. Might sound a bit complicated, but it always needs the same steps, so as soon as I had done it a few times it was pretty easy.

[Lester]

I backup straight from MobileSheets to my Dropbox account. A variation on the above variety of backup methods.

Apart from backing up onto the same device as you have MobileSheets, all will be a backup in the case of theft or damage. If you choose to backup onto the same device, make a copy to keep elsewhere.

[roseatkinson]

Thanks everyone for your helpful advice and insights

I backed up the library to my laptop yesterday using the Companion app. And I have an SSD arriving today so I'll put a copy on that too. I'll have a go at backing up to my GoogleDrive but as my library expands I am concerned that the file size may eventually outgrow my ability to upload it to the cloud without visiting the local community hub where I can access better wifi (with coffee and cake of course...)  

[Lester]

Nice one, Rose, as I don't get coffee nor cake when I do a backup.

One of the marvels of MobileSheets is that Mike has programmed multiple ways to do the same thing which means each one of us can find what works best for us in our situation.

[Oz Cello]

I backup to Google Drive using the sync feature. After the initial sync any further syncs only make changes to files that have changed on the app or are new so it's much quicker than a full backup and presumably uses a lot less data.
Guy

[hardy]

My backups are located on the inserted SD card.
I copy them to the NAS at home.
Old backups on SD get removed soon.
Versions on the NAS get removed less frequently, some important steps remain longer.

[dhhanackabrest]

We use google drive to store our backups (small brassband). For me Cloud is perfect to store backups, bcs its online so i can download backup  of any instrument to any device any time i want..  Internet connection is not an issue  since there is 5g almost everywhere in my country..