---
title: "Back up before you switch"
slug: back-up-before-you-switch
summary: "Ten minutes now. Zero regrets later."
difficulty: easy
time_minutes: 10
android_min: 8
tested_on: []
categories: []
apps: []
requires: []
risk: "A backup that was never tested is not a backup. This guide asks you to copy photos and a list of apps. It does not claim a full device image."
published: 2026-10-17
updated: 2026-10-17
author: Unstock
featured: false
oneliner: "Ten minutes now. Zero regrets later."
steps: 5
---

Before you swap a launcher, a gallery or a keyboard, copy the things you would be sad to rebuild. Photos, a list of apps, maybe SMS. You are not imaging the phone.

## Before you start

- A computer, or a USB stick, or a cloud you already use. Not a new account for this.
- Ten minutes, plus copy time for photos.

## What can go wrong

The copy looks like it worked and the folder is empty. Open the destination and tap a photo before you continue.

:::step Copy DCIM and Pictures.
Plug into a computer, or use Files to copy DCIM and Pictures to a stick. TODO: USB folder names on Pixel 8 and Samsung S24 need a device check; do not assume they match.

:::step Screenshot your home screen.
One picture of the layout you have now. You will want it when the new launcher is blank.

:::step List the apps you actually use.
The app drawer, not the full Settings list. Ten names is enough. You are not cloning a store.

:::step Export SMS only if you have a method you already trust.
TODO: no SMS backup tool is verified in v1. Skipping this step is honest. Missing texts are rare when you only change the default SMS app, because the threads stay on the device.

:::step Confirm the copy.
Open one photo and one screenshot from the destination. Then start the other guide.

## Undo it

There is nothing to undo. You made a copy.

## Next guides

Set up a new launcher, or move your photos.