Stillgarth
Get Stillgarth

How do you restore your vault on a new phone?

Published By Stillgarth3 min read

To restore your vault on a new phone, install Stillgarth, tap Restore from a backup on the create-vault screen, choose the backup file (for example in your Google Drive), and type the vault password or recovery code the backup was made with. Stillgarth checks that every file opens before it moves anything in. Then you set up your PIN, fingerprint and backup again.

What do you need before you start?

  • The backup file, made with the encrypted backup and reachable from the new phone, for example in your Google Drive.
  • The secret the backup opens with. That’s your vault password (if you chose that route, it’s at least 12 characters) or the recovery code shown when you turned backup on: 25 letters and digits, like XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.
  • A phone with no vault on it. Restoring onto a phone that already has a vault is refused, so nothing gets overwritten by accident.

Without the password or the recovery code, nobody can open the backup, including us.

How does a restore work, step by step?

  1. Install Stillgarth on the new phone and open the vault from Home.
  2. On the create-vault screen, tap Restore from a backup.
  3. Tap Choose the backup file and pick it on Android’s file screen.
  4. Stillgarth reads and checks the file, then shows when the backup was made, how many files it holds and how big it is.
  5. Type the vault password the backup was made with, or the recovery code. With a recovery code, you also choose the password this vault will use from now on.
  6. Opening the backup takes a few seconds. Then Stillgarth checks every file and shows its progress (“Checking files: 12 of 40”).
  7. Only when everything checks out is the vault moved into place and opened.

Why does it ask “Restore anyway?”

Some phones give apps less memory than others. If the backup holds a file too big for this phone’s memory, Stillgarth can’t check that it opens. It tells you how many files that affects and asks Restore anyway?

Those files probably won’t open on this phone either. If you restore anyway, they stay in the vault, and in its next backup, for a phone with more memory. If you cancel, nothing is restored and the phone stays as it was.

What if the restore fails?

A failed restore leaves the phone exactly as it was and says what went wrong:

  • “That isn’t the password or code this backup was made with.” Check the recovery code you wrote down: it has 25 letters and digits.
  • “The backup file is incomplete (cut off).” Try again once it has finished downloading, or use an older copy. Google Drive keeps earlier versions of a file.
  • “This backup was made by a newer version.” Update Stillgarth first, then try again.
  • The file isn’t a backup, or it’s damaged. Pick the right file, or an earlier version of it.
  • “This phone already has a vault.” A backup can only be restored on a phone with no vault.

What do you set up again afterwards?

The restore brings back your files, folders, names and vault settings. These don’t travel in a backup, so set them again in Vault settings:

  • PIN and fingerprint unlock. They were tied to the old phone’s security chip.
  • Your duress code, if you used one.
  • The backup itself. Turn it on again so the new phone keeps a fresh copy.

Phone Guard is set up separately on each phone, because its permissions (camera, unlock detection, notifications) belong to that phone. See how Phone Guard catches a wrong unlock. Guard’s log from the old phone doesn’t come along, but any Guard photos that had already moved into the vault do, in the Guard photos folder.

Can you restore onto the phone you already use?

Only if it has no vault. The restore is refused on a phone that already has one, so a vault can’t be overwritten by mistake. Erasing the vault first (“Erase vault” in Vault settings) deletes every file in it on that phone, so only do that if you’re sure the backup is complete and you have its password or recovery code.

What if you’ve forgotten the password?

If the backup opens with a recovery code, the code is all you need, and you choose a new password during the restore. If it opens with your vault password, there’s no way around it. Read what happens if you forget your password for what you can still do.