How to Back Up Angry Birds Progress on Android (Rooted and Non-Rooted)

This guide has been a very long time coming. While Rovio is working on a Cloud system, which should work between operating systems, a lot of users would still like to manually backup their data. While we have a full Angry Birds backup guide that covers all platforms, Android is challenging and warrants a guide of its own. This is mostly due to the large number of differences between devices, rooting versus non-rooted, and all that mumbo-jumbo that Android users know about.

This guide comes courtesy of @CmdrBond. Please join us in sending him a huge “Thanks” for this awesome tutorial. We have tweaked it slightly to fit ABN, and we apologize for the length of the guide, but it’s a necessary evil. We hope that it will help any and all Android users who wish to manually backup or transfer their progress.

Disclaimer: We cannot guarantee the methods described here will work for everyone, nor can we guarantee that they are 100% safe — though they certainly appear to be. That said, any user who acts upon these methods is proceeding at their own risk, and we take no responsibility for loss of scores or other data, bricked devices, voided warranties, etc. etc.

Table of Contents

Step 1: Disable Automatic Updates

The latest versions of Angry Birds require Android 2.2 (Froyo) or later. If you have scores on a pre-2.2 device that you wish to move over, now is the time to do so, whilst you still can.

You can either disable the update on each app individually or disable it for everything. These features are dependent on your version of the Play Store (or Android Market) and will be in different places.

Android Market

On older devices running the Android Marketplace, applications can only be controlled individually. To do this, open the Android Market app then go to: Menu > My Apps, select the desired App and uncheck the box next to “Allow automatic updating”.

Google Play Store

On devices running the Play Store, updates can be controlled individually or globally. Below I show 2 different versions of the Play Store.

Individual Settings
The individual settings on the older Play Store up are much the same as the Android Market settings. Open the Play Store app then go to: Menu > My Apps, select the desired App and uncheck the box next to “Allow automatic updating”.

The individual settings on the newer Play Store adds an extra step. Open the Play Store app then go to: Menu > My Apps, select the desired App, press Menu again and then uncheck the box next to “Allow automatic updating”.

Global Settings
The global settings are the same for both versions of the Play Store. Open the Play Store app then go to: Menu > Settings and uncheck the box next to “Auto-update apps”.

Step 1 1/2: Terminology

Just since the language can be confusing, we want to clear it up.

At time of writing, there are five games: Angry Birds (herein called AB:O), Seasons (AB:S), Rio (AB:R), Space (AB:Sp), and Star Wars (AB:SW).
Within each game, there may be different versions: Free (/F), Premium (/P), and High Definition (/HD).
Again, within each version, there may be different updates, which will be the language used to describe “version numbers”, usually listed as v1.x.x in the app’s description info.

Step 2: Preparing Your Device

Enable USB Debugging

To prepare your device to work with some of the steps below, you will need to enable USB debugging. The steps to achieve this differ depending on your version of Android.

v1.6-3.2 (Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread and Honeycomb): Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging

v4.0+ (Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean and beyond): Settings > Developer Options > USB Debugging. Note that you may need to activate the “Developer Options” by using the toggle at the top of the screen. Also note that for Android devices running the 4.2 & later, “Developer Options” is hidden by default. To make it visible go to Settings > About Device, then tap the build number 7 times. Press back to return to the previous screen and Developer Options should have appeared.

Helium (Formerly Carbon)

Note 1: Helium will only work on Android v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or later.
Note 2: If you wish to save your backups to anything other than your devices internal storage (e.g. Drop Box or Google Drive), you will need to purchase the Premium version. But there is nothing stopping you saving the file to your device then manually copying it elsewhere.
Note 3: Rooted devices do not need to be connected to a computer to enable backup and restore.

For those of you who wish to use Helium, you will first need to enable USB debugging as mentioned above. Then it is a simple case of downloading and installing the Helium app from the Play Store, and connecting your device to your PC – see “Preparing Your Computer” below.

Here are the links to the Helium App in the play store: Helium App Sync and Backup and Helium Premium.

Create a Savegame (restoration only)

Before doing any of the restore actions, you need to complete at least 1 level of each game first. I am not entirely sure of the reason for this — and some restoration methods may actually work without following this step, feel free to experiment. However, it is generally of no hardship to complete the 1st level of any of the games.

Step 3: Preparing Your Computer

These steps, with the exception of Helium, form the basis of the only universal method. It is however, a little involved and will require a little work.

Firstly you will need to download and install some software (if it is not already present on your machine). This software should work on all versions of Windows from XP onwards, but has only been tested by me on a Windows Vista machine.

Drivers (Needed for both Helium and the ADT)

If you are going to use Carbon/Helium or the ADT, you will need the drivers for your device, specifically the ADB driver. With some devices, these drivers will have automatically installed themselves when you connected the device to the PC via the USB cable. If they did not, you will receive an error message when trying to run the ADB commands described later in this article. If this is the case and you are having trouble locating the correct driver and Windows has not automatically detected it, try using this tool which I found over at XDA Developers

The ADB Driver Installer can be downloaded here. Should you need to use the ADB Driver, they have their own easy to follow instructions here. Should that not work, follow the steps laid out on the Helium website.

Important: Once you have installed the drivers for your device, you must restart your PC.

Helium (Formerly Carbon)

If you are using Helium, you can skip the rest of the “Preparing Your Computer” stages.

For Helium to work on non-rooted, you will need to install the Helium Desktop Application. The Helium Desktop App can be downloaded here. Once installed, run the app and connect your phone. If nothing happens, check that you have installed the drivers mentioned above.

Java (JDK)

Java Development Kit (JDK) 7 or greater is required by the Android Developer Tools and is also needed for the extraction process which will be mentioned later on. The JDK can be downloaded here.

Android Debug Bridge (Android Developer Tools)

The Android Debug Bridge (ADB), is part of the Android Developer Tools (ADT). In fairness you do not need the entire bundle — just 3 files from it (adb.exe, AdbWinApi.dll and AdbWinUsbApi.dll). For the purposes of this guide it will not matter if you have the entire bundle or just the SDK, so long as you know where it is on your machine. However, for the sake of simplicity, and ease of following the rest of this guide, I recommend you download the SDK. It comes as an executable, and it doesn’t matter whether you are running a 32-bit or 64-bit OS. (The Eclipse bundle comes as a zipped archive, and has a 32-bit or 64-bit version — so you need to make sure you download the correct one for your OS).

The ADT SDK and other files can be found here. Click the “Download For Other Platforms” link at the bottom of the page, then scroll down and click on the link for the installer.

Run the executable and follow the on screen instructions. It will check for Java, so make sure you have already installed that. Once you get to select the installation directory, change it to: C:\adt. You can change it to anything you want, however for simplicity and ease of following this guide, the above is the recommended directory.

For more information on the Android Debug Bridge itself, go here.

Android Backup Extractor

The Android Backup Extractor is a neat little Java application that does all the fancy stuff that allows us to do some of the more advance features, like transferring scores between versions (Free to Premium or HD). You can download the Zip archive from here. Once downloaded, extract the files to C:\adt\.

The last thing we need is a little script that will allow us to call this Java file from any location. Open Notepad and type the following:

#!/bin/bash
java -jar “C:\adt\abe\abe.jar” “$@”

Save this file as abe.sh in the C:\adt\sdk\platform-tools directory.

Cygwin (with Pax)

Cygwin is, I suppose, a Linux terminal emulator. The only reason why Cygwin is needed is because we need to use an archive utility that stores directories in the archive without a trailing slash. This might not sound all that important, but in the world of code and semantics a single character or space in the wrong place and strange things happen. There is only 1 such application available for Windows, and that is called Pax. Whilst there is a native version of Pax available for Windows through Gnuwin32, it is far easier to setup and use through Cygwyn. Couple to that the fact that with a simple line of code at setup, and we can do away with the Windows command prompt altogether and use Cygwin for everything (which also means we do not have to find any more utilities to help with decompressing the .tarballs (archives) that the ABE creates).

Cygwin can be downloaded from here and selecting the setup.exe links in the main body of text.

Once downloaded, run setup.exe and follow the on screen prompts. Choose whichever download sites you like, it does not matter. The most important part of this process is the Select Packages stage. When you reach this screen, type pax into the search box, then in the main window next to Archive click on Default to change it to Install.

Don’t worry if you skipped past this stage without realizing… Just re-run the setup.exe.

The last stage in configuring Cygwin is to set the path to the adb.exe. This is done by double clicking the Cygwin icon and entering the following command at the $ prompt.

echo ‘export PATH=$PATH:/cygdrive/c/adt/sdk/platform-tools’ >> ~/.bashrc

If you installed the Android Developer Tools to a different directory, you will need to change /c/adt to the path you used. This is why I suggested installing to C:\adt right at the beginning.

Backup Directories

Before you create your backups, you are going to want to know where you are storing them. It is possible to create some of the folders on the fly, however I think it is better to have the folders prepared before you start. This is especially important if you are dealing with multiple devices, so that you do not overwite the wrong files.

You can create the directories anywhere you like, but for ease of following this guide I recommend using the following structure:

In the C:\adt directory you created earlier, make a new folder called backups, then inside this create a folder for each device you own (I am using a Sony Xperia X8, a Samsung Nexus S and a Samsung Galaxy S3, hence my folders X8, Nexus and S3).

Important Note: The steps later on use an emulated version of Linux. For those of you unfamiliar with Linux, it’s file system is case-sensitive. This means that you must make sure that if you create a directory such as “Nexus”, you always refer to it as “Nexus” and not nexus or NEXUS, etc.

Backing Up & Restoring Android v1.6-3.2 or Rooted v4.0+
Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread & Honeycomb or Rooted v4.0+ (Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, …)

This is probably the easiest to do. There are many apps in the “Play Store” (Android Market on older phones) that claim to be able to back up and restore your save game files. However, the only one I have used successfully was “Angry Birds Back Up” by Sergio Patricio. This has since been removed from the Play Store. If you would like to try this app you will need to contact Sergio directly. The reason I still mention this app, even though it is generally unavailable is because it was the only all-in-one free app that supported all 5 incarnations of Angry Birds, allowed you to back up and restore from Drop Box or Device storage and could migrate the scores between versions (if you have multiple versions installed, it will only restore to the 1st one it finds in this order, IIRC, – HD then Premium and finally Free).

Whilst compiling this I guide I contacted Sergio myself in regard to publicly recommending his app. His response was positive, and explained that the app had been removed due to “Trademark Issues” on the name of the app. The only reason he did not re-upload it was due to the issues of non-rooted Jelly Bean devices. However he does still support the app, but will not re-upload it to the Play Store due to Rovio’s move towards Cloud storage.

The only way I publicly know to contact Sergio is via the XDA Developers forums. His user name there is sergiopat.

Using “Angry Birds Back Up” is self explanatory, just place a check mark next to the game you wish to backup / restore and hit the backup / restore buttons. To connect to your Dropbox account just hit “Connect with Dropbox”.

If you are using a rooted Jelly Bean device, you need to open the menu, select preferences and place a check mark next to “Request Root”.

Backing Up & Restoring Android v4.0+
Rooted or Non-Rooted Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, …

Having prepared your computer and your device as shown above, this is actually quite an easy process. If you have reset your device you might need to follow the instructions in “Preparing Your Device > Helium” again first.

Open Helium on your device. It may default to whatever action was last followed, so you may need to change tabs.

Backup

Select the Backup tab at the top of the screen, place a check mark next to the desired app (you can select more than one, and you can define groups, but for now we will stick with individual backups), then press the Backup button at the bottom of the screen.

Unless you have paid for the premium version of Helium, you can only back up your apps to the devices Internal Storage. Once backed up, if you wish to transfer between devices you can manually access these files through the use of a File Manager. There is also an option to sync Helium with other devices, but that will not be covered here.

The backups are stored in a folder named Carbon. (On the Samsung Galaxy S3 this is located at: My Files/storage/sdcard0/carbon.) Any Helium backups will appear in here as a folder with a name similar to com.rovio.angrybirds (depending on the version of the game that has been backed up).

With the back up started, you will briefly have the option to password protect you backup. You may ignore this and the backup will continue unhindered.

Restore

Restoration is practically the reverse of the back up process. Select the Restore tab at the top of the screen. Unless you have paid for the premium version of Helium, you can only restore your apps from the devices Internal Storage. Once selected, you will be presented with a list of previously saved backups.

Place a check mark next to the desired app (you can select more than one, and you can restore groups, but for now we will stick with individual restorations), then press the Restore button at the bottom of the screen.

Once the restoration has started, you will be given the option to enter a password, if you protected your backups. If no password was created, just wait a moment and the restoration will continue unhindered.

Backing Up, Migrating & Restoring Between All Android & Game Versions

So you don’t want to bother Sergio, or you are looking to migrate your scores from a device that doesn’t suport Helium to a non-rooted ICS/JB device, or you are wishing to transfer your scores from an Ad-Free to a Premium version on a non-rooted ICS/JB dvice? No problem. There is another way. This method should enable you to back up, migrate and restore any Android Device and Game Version. First you will need to “Prepare Your Computer” and “Prepare Your Device” if you have not already done so.

Paths and Files

The next thing you will need are the paths to the app data (and for pre- v4.0 devices, the file names) you want to back up. In the following steps, replace any instance of PATH with the path for the specific version as listed in the table below.

  • Angry Birds (Original): com.rovio.angrybirds
  • Angry Birds Seasons: com.rovio.angrybirdsseasons
  • Angry Birds Rio: com.rovio.angrybirdsrio
  • Angry Birds Space: com.rovio.angrybirdsspace.ads
  • Angry Birds Space Premium: com.rovio.angrybirdsspace.premium
  • Angry Birds Space HD: com.rovio.angrybirdsspaceHD
  • Angry Birds Star Wars: com.rovio.angrybirdsstarwars.ads.iap
  • Angry Birds Star Wars HD: com.rovio.angrybirdsstarwarshd.premium.iap

In all the guides I have read they always mention 2 files that need to be backed up: highsores.lua and settings.lua. My recommendation is to backup both files to be on the safe side.

Backup

To backup your scores, connect your device to your computer via USB, run Cygwin and enter the following commands, (depending on the Android version on your device)

v1.6-3.2 (Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingrbread and Honeycomb)

With Cygwin open, navigate to your desired backup directory. If you have followed my instructions above, enter the following commands exactly (replacing DEVICE with the folder name for your desired device and GAME with the folder name for the game/version you are backing up). Otherwise, navigate to where your folders are or where you want to save your backups to.

cd C:/adt/backups/DEVICE/GAME

For example, I used cd C:/adt/backups/X8/ABO.

Then run the backup command, replacing PATH with the path for the version required from the table above and replacing FILE with either highscores.lua or settings.lua.

adb pull /data/data/PATH/files/FILE

For example, I used adb pull /data/data/com.rovio.angrybirds/files/highscores.lua.

v4.0+ (Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean and beyond)

With Cygwin open, navigate to your desired backup directory. If you have followed my instructions above, enter the following command exactly (replacing DEVICE with the folder name for your desired device and GAME with the folder name for the game/version you are backing up). Otherwise, navigate to where your folders are or where you want to save your backups to.

cd C:/adt/backups/DEVICE/GAME

For example, I used cd C:/adt/backups/S3/ABO.

Then run the backup command, replacing PATH with the path for the version required from the table above and replacing FILENAME with the name you wish to call your backup file. I think the quotes around the filename are only required for filenames with spaces or similar characters in them, I have had success without using them, but I would recommend using them to prevent problems later on.

adb backup -noapk PATH -f “FILENAME.ab”

For example, I used adb backup -noapk com.rovio.angrybirdsversion -f backup.ab.

Unlock your device (if not already unlocked) and confirm the backup.

Migrate

This is the more complicated part of the tutorial, however if you are migrating scores between 2 pre- v4.0 devices you may skip straight to the restore section (don’t forget to change the path if you are migrating between game versions). The following steps refer to the backup files created with Android v4.0 devices or newer.

If you have not already done so, you must now create a backup of both devices. See above.

Unpack the Backup

With Cygwin open, navigate to your desired backup directory and run the abe.sh script we created earlier with the following arguments:

abe.sh unpack backup.ab backup.tar

Extract the Archive

In Cygwin, extract the newly created backup.tar with the following command:

tar -xvf backup.tar

Catalogue the Backup (Required Only on the Destination Device)

In Cygwin, catalog the newly created backup.tar with the following command:

tar -tf backup.tar > backup.list

Copy the Files

If you have followed my instructions above, replace device with the folder name for your desired device, game with the folder name for the game/version you are restoring and path with the correct path for your game version from the table above.

Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder where your highscores.lua and settings.lua files are located for your source device.

For devices running Android v3.2 and older, these will be in the backup directory you created:

C:/adt/backups/device/game

For example, I used C:/adt/backups/X8/ABO.

For devices running Android v4.0 or newer, these files are located deep within the extracted backup:

C:/adt/backups/device/game/apps/path/f

For example, I used C:/adt/backups/S3/ABO/apps/com.rovio.angrybirds/f.

Copy the 2 files, hiscores.lua and settings.lua and paste them into correct backup directory for the destination device, and select to overwrite any existing files.

Create Restoration Archive

In Cygwin, navigate to the directory for the destination device and create the restoration archive with the modified files using the following command:

cat backup.list | pax -wd > restore.tar

Repack the Restoration File

With Cygwin open, repack the newly created restore.tar into the Android Backup format with the following command:

abe.sh pack restore.tar restore.ab

Now all you have to do is restore your newly created restore.ab file to the destination device, see below.

Restore

Restoration of your files is as simple as reversing the backup process.

To restore your scores, connect your device to your computer via USB, run Cygwin and enter the following commands, (depending on the Android version on your device).

v1.6-3.2 (Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread and Honeycomb)

With Cygwin open, navigate to your desired restoration directory. If you have followed my instructions above, enter the following commands exactly (replacing DEVICE with the folder name for your desired device and GAME with the folder name for the game/version you are restoring). Otherwise, navigate to where your folders are or where you want to restore your backups from.

cd C:/adt/backups/DEVICE/GAME

For example, I used cd C:/adt/backups/X8/ABO.

Then run the restoration command, replacing FILE with either highscores.lua or settings.lua and replacing PATH with the path for the version required from the table above.

adb push FILE /data/data/PATH/files/

For example, I used adb push highscores.lua /data/data/com.rovio.angrybirds/files/.

v4.0+ (Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean and beyond)

With Cygwin open, navigate to your desired restoration directory. If you have followed my instructions above, enter the following command exactly (replacing DEVICE with the folder name for your desired device and GAME with the folder name for the game/version you are restoring). Otherwise, navigate to where your folders are or where you want to restore your backups from.

cd C:/adt/backups/DEVICE/GAME

For example, I used cd C:/adt/backups/S3/ABO.

Then run the restoration command, replacing FILENAME with the name of the file you are restoring your backup from. I think the quotes around the filename are only required for filenames with spaces or similar characters in them, I have had success without using them, but I would recommend using them to prevent problems later on.

adb restore “FILENAME.ab”

For example, I used adb restore backup.ab.

Unlock your device (if not already unlocked) and confirm the backup.

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Comments (203)

By JimM

Thank you CmdrBond. your knowledge of these things is invaluable. Got .’adb to work, got backups done on the new s3, stalled at the “abe.sh unpack backup.ab backup.tar” command. Then realised that the backslashes should be changed to forward slashes in the “abe.sh”. and I didn’t have the “abe.jar” in the c:/adt/abe directory. Run out of time tonight, back at it tomorrow.

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By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

No problem.

I am no expert in these matters and I am glad I could help.

Keep us posted on how you progress.

By JimM

YeeHa, all Done!!! all swapped from a galaxy s1 with gingerbread to a s3 with JB. girlfriend is rapt! Had it crash a few times and wouldn’t run . So I uninstalled everything and then re-installed. needed to reinstall cygwin to properly clear out bashrc. Its just frustrating when you get a syntax error and can’t work it out. I would recommend using the http://www.wizardgroup.net/abbu/ version of this , as easier to navigate.
Thanks again CmdrBond

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By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

Excellent news.

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By DanG82 (@dang82)

Thanks so much for providing this guide! As someone who is computer savvy but has no programming experience, I’m happy to say I was able to utilize your detailed instructions and some problem-solving logic to successfully restore Angry Birds data previously backed up from my HTC Evo 4G onto my Samsung Galaxy S III.

Here are a few issues I encountered that I thought might help improve your guide a bit or come in handy for others trying to follow it. (For reference’s sake, I am running Windows 7 64-bit.)

– The Android Develop Tools files you refer to as necessary were not included with the Android SDK Tools installer. After completing the install, I needed to run Android SDK Manager and install the “Android SDK Platform-tools” package (in the “Tools” category) in order to make those files appear.

– Upon extracting the Android Backup Extractor files to “C:\adt” as instructed, “abe.jar” appeared in “C:\adt”, not in “C:\adt\abe” (its referenced location in the “abe.sh” script created in the next step). I assume the intent was to create an “abe” folder within “C:\adt” and extract ABE to that folder, rather than directly to “C:\adt”?

– In order to get the list of mirror sites to appear when installing Cygwin, I needed to disable my firewall. From researching a solution, it became clear this is a common issue, so you may want to include that suggestion in your instructions.

– The location of “adb.exe” on my computer was “C:\adt\platform-tools”, not “C:\adt\sdk\platform-tools” as it is listed in the instructions. There was no “sdk” folder within the “adt” folder on my computer.

– When using Carbon to extract my Angry Birds data, I was unable to get past the “Extract the Archive” step. I could unpack the backup “.ab” file, which created a “.tar” file, but when I attempted to extract that “.tar” file, Cygwin returned an error referring to it as an invalid file. This same error occurred for all Angry Birds game versions. However, when using Cygwin to extract my Angry Birds data and following the same steps from there, I was able to successfully complete the process.

– For those using a 64-bit Windows operating system, keep in mind both the Java Development Kit and Cygwin are available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. It’s important to make sure you install either the 32-bit versions or the 64-bit versions of both programs.

Hope this helps. Thanks again!

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By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

Quick query – did you download the executable or the zip?

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

For the Android Backup Extractor, I downloaded the ZIP file to which you linked, as I did not see an executable file available. For all the other necessary programs, I downloaded executable files.

By avaquizzer

I have a problem installing Helium on my Motorola Droid 4 (it says in the Play Store that Motorola Devices are not supported. I tried downloading it from the links in the directions above, but the computer and phone refused to communicate). I’m trying to transfer data from one Droid 4 (which must be returned in 2 days) to another (because the old one has some serious power issues), and I’d like to be able to take my Angry Birds scores with me.

So….any suggestions….?

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By DanG82 (@dang82)

Helium didn’t work for me either… I could install it on my phone, but Cygwin wasn’t able to extract the backup files it created.

I was able to complete the process without using Helium by backing up and restoring through Cygwin.

Try following the steps CmdrBond posted in reply to Sheila here:
https://www.angrybirdsnest.com/how-to-back-up-angry-birds-progress-on-android-rooted-and-non-rooted/comment-page-1/#comment-637428

Granted I was transferring between different phones that you are, but that’s essentially what I ended up doing and it worked for me.

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By ejkula75 (@ejkula75)

posted a long winded comment in another thread only to find this one…sorry mods! Helium works great on galaxy note with android 4.1.2 NOT rooted and galaxy s4 active NOT rooted. Restored Rio, seasons, space and star wars. Only took a few minutes to set up and now it works flawlessly! Wish I would’ve paid closer attention and seen this page first…but the helium directions are basically what I did as well…no issues!

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By Gilthegta3 (@gil-cochavy)

@CmdrBond, I have a problem with Cygwin, it tells me that it does not know the adb command for some reason (even though I installed the driver ADT). What can be the reason?

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

Sorry for the late reply. It has been a while and I have forgotten a little.

If cygwin is saying it does not know the adb command, that means the path to the adb command is incorrect or non-existant.

Double check where your adb command is located and double check your path’s and the syntax you used.

If all else fails, I suggest you uninstall everything and start again.

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By Gilthegta3 (@gil-cochavy)

@cmdrbond, I mean that I tried to config the path of “adb.exe” file location with the command: “echo ‘export PATH=$PATH:/cygdrive/c/adt/sdk/platform-tools’ >> ~/.bashrc” before I start to use adb command (non close the window of Cygwin after the adb.exe path config), and nothing!

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By alfredhartojo (@alfredhartojo)

@CmdrBond or Anyone,I want to move my progress from Samsung Galaxy W (Gingerbread v 2.3.6) to my S3 (ICS v4.1),should I backup both platform’s progress… or how to do it?

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

You’ll want to follow CmdrBond’s instructions carefully. Once you have everything set up, you may find the condensed steps he posted in reply to Sheila helpful:
https://www.angrybirdsnest.com/how-to-back-up-angry-birds-progress-on-android-rooted-and-non-rooted/comment-page-1/#comment-637428

Essentially, you will be backing up the high scores and settings files from your old phone and the full data file from your new phone. Then you’ll unpack the full data file from your new phone, replace the high scores and settings files within it with those from your old phone, re-pack it, and restore it to your new phone.

Good luck!

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

Always best to back up both devices.

As to how, just follow the guide. But read it carefully, and read it thoroughly before you start.

By Matt

Hey, I have Helium and Android 4.0+ so I don’t know WHAT TO SKIP. You wrote “if you have Helium, skip the whole installing stuff” so do I have to install ADB driver installer? Where should I continue in the article? I HAVE NO IDEA. Thanks

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By sal9 (@sal9)

@cmdrbond might be able to help you.

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

If you are both backing up from and restoring to Android 4.0+ devices, you may be able to use Helium on both devices without needing to install anything else.

If that doesn’t work, or if your old device is not Android 4.0+, you’ll need to install the other items on CmdrBond’s list and use Cygwin to unpack and re-pack your backup and restore files.

Follow CmdrBond’s instructions carefully, and when in doubt, do not skip anything! If Helium doesn’t work for you, once you have everything set up, you may find these steps CmdrBond posted in reply to Sheila helpful:
https://www.angrybirdsnest.com/how-to-back-up-angry-birds-progress-on-android-rooted-and-non-rooted/comment-page-1/#comment-637428

That’s essentially the process I ended up following, and it worked!

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

This ^^^

If both devices support Helium, that is all you need – ignore everything else. If only one device supports Helium, follow the guide and ignore the Helium steps.

Rank: Flinger with 60 points
By Taffy2Shoes (@taffy2shoes)

CMDRBOND: I too am grateful that you took all that time to type out the instructions. Unfortunately, although thinking I was tech savvy, apparently I am not and got lost. I continue to get an error message on my new LG Venice (Jellybean) indicating that “Change file permission failed. Error running…..” blah blah blah. I am trying to transfer from a Motorola Atrix, and the AB backup worked fine on it. I cannot find the “menu” item you discussed in your instructions for rooting my phone (you said go into the “menu” and select root. What menu? Settings? I cannot find rooting or unrooting as an option or preference anywhere).

I cannot even play Angry Birds on my new phone ad free because I cannot transfer files that show I paid for programs and now they are not ad-free because I changed phones. I will be calling Amazon about that issue.

If anyone has any suggestions, I am open. I am going to call the GeekSquad because I have experienced other difficulties with the phone being unrooted. I paid for the help, might as well use it!

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

You will need to be a bit more specific about what you have done before I can try to help as I am not sure what you mean.

However, just so you know, it is possible to transfer premium scores back to add-supported scores.

My original instructions here maybe easier to follow – read them twice to work out which of the method is best suited to you and then follow carefully.

http://www.wizardgroup.net/abbu/

Please also note that I gave no instructions for routing your device. It is an option, but if not done right will render your device inoperable.

Rank: Flinger with 50 points
By stupidcobi (@stupidcobi)

@CmdrBond -Hi!When I excuted “cat backup.list | pax -wd > restore.tar”,it made a mistake,not found pax.I tried to reinstall cygwin,but found that pax was not in.My cygwin’s version is setup-x86_64.exe,and my windows version is win7 64bit.

How can I do now,please help me,thank u!

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

I ran into this same issue. The solution is to install the 32-bit version of Cygwin (and the 32-bit version of the Java Development Kit). The 64-bit version does not include pax.

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

I am not sure on that one.

Try following the Cygwin steps on my website, just in case you missed something.

http://www.wizardgroup.net/abbu/

Failing that you will need to speak to the guys over at the XDA forums as you are now beyond my knowledge.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2011811

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

See my comment… I originally had the same issue. The solution is to install the 32-bit versions of Cygwin and the JDK. For whatever reason, pax is not available for the 64-bit version of Cygwin.

By Adam

I used the echo ‘export PATH=$PATH:/cygdrive/c/adt/sdk/platform-tools’ >> ~/.bashrc at the Cygwin command prompt window.

After hitting enter, I get no response.

When I attempt to use the adb command, it still does not show up. Any ideas what I’m doing wrong?

I confirmed my ADB.exe file is located in the following directory: C:\adt\sdk\platform-tools

By Adam

Okay, I figured it out. I changed the .bashrc file and changed the command to:
export PATH=$PATH:/cygdrive/c/adt/sdk/platform-tools >> ~/.bashrc

I dropped the single quotation. After I did that, I was able to get the adb command to work.

Now I have a new problem, I’m trying to use:
$ abe.sh unpack backup.ab backup.tar

However, I get do not see any files created in the game folder. Here’s the message I’m seeing in Cygwin:

Strong AES encryption disabled

Exception in thread “main” java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.jarinjarloader.JarRsrcLoader.main(JarRsrcLoader.java:58)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.io.FileNotFoundException: backup.ab (The system cannot find the file specified)
at org.nick.abe.AndroidBackup.extractAsTar(AndroidBackup.java:320)
at org.nick.abe.Main.main(Main.java:58)
… 5 more
Caused by: java.io.FileNotFoundException: backup.ab (The system cannot find the file specified)
at java.io.FileInputStream.open(Native Method)
at java.io.FileInputStream.(Unknown Source)
at java.io.FileInputStream.(Unknown Source)
at org.nick.abe.AndroidBackup.extractAsTar(AndroidBackup.java:190)
… 6 more

Any ideas what I’m doing wrong?

By Konstantin

Wow. After nearly 5 hours of titanious efforts I manage to complete a migration from my HTC Desire with 2.2 to my LG Nexus 4 with 4.3. of ABO, ABSeasons, ABSpace and ABStarWars using the above instructions in Windows 7 64-bit (but not only :).

First of all I’d like to give huge regards and gratitude to CmdrBond for his instructions on his page (I think that without the screen shots I would have never manage to do it). But I also want to thank to Leslie who made some very important notes and clarifications.

I had plenty of troubles on the way, so for the sake of future users I would like to share my issues and how I manage to fix them.

DISCLAMER: I’m absolute amateur and the steps I have done might sound funny to some professionals or even might be wrong or harmful for my machine, but I was desperate and this is at the end what helped me migrate my saves.

1.The Cygwin 64-bit setup is missing some packages, unfortunately PAX is among them (when you are installing the program and reach the stage when you need to put pax in the search box nothing is found, but you will not realize this if you don’t compare your screen with the screen shot from CmdrBond and see that the “Archive” option is missing). For that purpose I had to use another Laptop with 32-bit windows, but I installed only the Cygwin and performed only the step for “Create Restoration Archive” on this machine (the command “tar -tf backup.tar > backup.list”) so I don’t have to do all the preparations again on the laptop.
2.When I installed the SDK Tools from the executable as recommended the “platform-tools” folder was not there initially and I had to install it using the SDK manager, but then the “platform-tools” folder ended up directly in the “adt” folder, instead in the c/adt/sdk/platform-tools as per the instruction. This caused plenty of issues later so I ended up downloading the respective ATB bundle in a zip file instead and this finally worked well (the “platform-tools” was in the right location as per instructions after unzipping – you just need to move everything to atb on C drive).
3.When you extract the Android Backup Extractor from the zip file they are extracted in a folder with the name of the zip, you need to take the files out of this folder and put them directly in the “atb” folder on C drive.
4.The “echo ‘export PATH=$PATH:/cygdrive/c/adt/sdk/platform-tools’ >> ~/.bashrc” command never worked for me. I tried the changes suggested by other users, but nothing was helping me get the necessary results so I finally ended skipping that step (probably this caused some of the other issues that I had later and that I fixed using some other tricks).
5.I didn’t get any “abe” folder in my “atb” folder, so my abe.jar file was directly located in the “atb” folder. For that reason as Leslie recommended I used the:
“java -jar c:/adt/abe.jar unpack backup.ab backup.tar” command instead of the “abe.sh unpack backup.ab backup.tar” command; and the “java -jar c:/adt/abe.jar pack restore.tar restore.ab” instead of the “abe.sh pack restore.tar restore.ab” command.
6.Upon executing the “adb backup -noapk PATH -f “FILENAME.ab” the terminal gave me error that the adb command is not found. Obviously some paths were missing in some registry file. I read a lot, tried many commands to put the correct path in place, but nothing helped for some reason. Finally I used the command “which atb” and the terminal displayed info for all the paths that the system is aware of and is trying to find the atb in them. Many of them were familiar to me, so I just chose the one that I told would be less harmful to temper with (in my case it was Acronis sub folder of “common files” folder in “Program Files”, but I guess it will work with any other folder that you recognize and can find on your own) and I copied all the content of the c/adt/sdk/platform-tools (where the atb program was located) in this folder and the system finally manage to find the atb program.
7.When you execute the final step “Restore” be careful not to use the command “adb restore backup.ab” that is in the instruction (because this is meant to restore the originally backed up files, but is wrong for migration of saves), but instead use the “adb restore restore.ab” comand.
8.When I tried to execute the “adb backup -noapk” for the Original Angry Birds I was getting the same error as Adam above, but I manage after that to migrate all my saves for all other 3 games. So I went back to revise what is going wrong with the ABO migration and figured that everything I’m doing is the same and the only different thing is the command/path that I copied from somewhere within the instruction, but I don’t remember from were. I guess there was something wrong whit the command I copied, because as soon as I took the command that I used for the AB Seasons and only deleted the seasons from the path it worked OK. So Adam just use this command line, it worked for me: adb backup -noapk com.rovio.angrybirds -f backup.ab

Good luck to everybody else who is going to try this road. It is very hard job, but it is worth it.

By Adam

I was finally able to figure everything out a couple of nights ago and managed to do my full backup of all of my Angry Birds games.

Here are what worked for me:
1) Rather than using the command:
echo ‘export PATH=$PATH:/cygdrive/c/adt/sdk/platform-tools’ >> ~/.bashrc

I used:
export PATH=$PATH:/cygdrive/c/adt/sdk/platform-tools >> ~/.bashrc

This got my ADB command to work.

2) In regards to my error above, I was either using the wrong extension when I tried the abe.sh unpack command, or I just need to restart the Cygwin client. One of those two worked for me (it was probably the former that was causing the issue).

3) When creating the abe.sh file, I noticed that my abe.jar file was also in the c:\adt\ folder, rather than c:\adt\abe\. So, I changed this script:
#!/bin/bash
java -jar “C:\adt\abe\abe.jar” “$@”

To:
#!/bin/bash
java -jar “C:/adt/abe.jar” “$@”

This got my abe.sh script working.

4) If you have downloaded Angry Birds: Star Wars from the Amazon app store, the file saves are located in the following location:
com.rovio.angrybirdsstarwars.ads.amz.iap

As far as I can tell, this is the only Angry Birds game that has this different folder structure. Most of my Angry Birds games are from the Amazon App Store, and AB:SW was the only one that was not in the locations that are listed in the guide.

By Rob

Thank you! This info was very applicable to my situation. Without it, I probably would have given up.

I’m now at the point where I’m ready to begin the migration step, but wanted to check on one thing. In particular, my backup file for each Angry Birds version is only about 1K in size. Does that sound right? I guess that since it just needs to keep track of points for a few dozen levels, it could be sufficient, but it still somehow seems so small.

Thanks again!

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

Mine range from 178K (Space) to 264K (original).

By Adam

I think I was getting 1KB files when I was not pulling the backup files correctly.

The .tar file was, I think, about 100+KB.

It may be your folder path in your command that may be causing it.

By Konstantin

Hey. Great to hear that you also manage to do it.

NB: One clarification – in p.1 of my post above I meant the command “cat backup.list | pax -wd > restore.tar” (and not the “tar -tf backup.tar > backup.list”).

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

Great info! One note: 64-bit versions of Windows will allow you to install 32-bit applications. So rather than switching to a computer that had a 32-bit version of Windows on it, you could just install the 32-bit version of Cygwin (and the 32-bit version of the Java Development Kit) onto your computer with the 64-bit version of Windows on it.

By GarethR

This looks great – but anyone know the location of the saves for Angry Birds Star Wars 2?

Rank: Sling God with 32120 points
By AMslimfordy (@amslimfordy)

Perhaps @CmdrBond can confirm, but it should be …angrybirdsstarwarsii.ads and .premium, following the theme set by Rovio and outlined above.

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

That’s correct, at least for the free version.

By GarethR

Thanks guys – I wrongly assumed it was “2” rather than “ii”…. Doh.

Rank: Master Slinger with 6495 points
By Annifrid (@annifrid)

@CmdrBond I need to back up SW and SW2 on a phone which runs Android 4.1, and then restore it later on the same device. So, do I understand it correctly that I don’t need to install anything but the ADB driver and Helium? I don’t wanna get into that Cygwin stuff unless I really, really need to.

Rank: Pig Leader with 10950 points
By nchiriano (@nchiriano)

Chirp! Here they’re saying “Angry Birds Backup is a noteworthy Tools android app that created by Sergio Patricio on Oct 26, 2013″… not yet but soon on G-Play?? Hope so… :-/

http://android.downloadatoz.com/apps/pt.samp.angryBirdsBackup,3228.html

By Rob

I’m about ready to give up, but hope somebody can recognize something helpful from the following. I get to the point where I enter:

adb backup -noapk com.rovio.angrybirdsrio -f “rio.ab”

Everything seems to proceed as expected, but I just get a tiny file (1 KB) instead of a full backup. It seems like I must be correctly specifying the RIO location, or that would produce an error message. Similarly, it must be finding adb, or I’d get an error message. Finally, it must be finding the backup location, or I wouldn’t see any file show up there.

Here is the contents of my abe.sh file:

#!/bin/bash
java -jar “C:\adt\abe.jar” “$@”

(As others have reported, the abe.jar file wound up in c:\adt\ instead of c:\adt\abe\. Not sure why, but that’s were it is.)

What could be causing this and what do I need to do?

Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated. I’m pretty lost at this point.

By Adam

You can create a 1KB file if the file you are trying to backup is not in the correct folder location or doesn’t exist on the destination folder. Since it can’t find the file, it creates something else instead.

Just to be clear, what version of OS is your Android device running?

By Rob

Android 4.1.2

It seems like the file must be in the correct location, or else Angry Birds Rio wouldn’t even be able to find my scores.

I’m not sure I understand what it would mean for the file to not exist on the destination folder, as isn’t the purpose of this operation to create a file that doesn’t already exist?

I apologize if I’m missing something. I know next to nothing about Java, Unix, etc. I’m just somebody who plays angry birds and would hate to lose all the accomplishments so far. The phone these games are on has been replaced by Verizon under warranty (the unlock button on the side is finicky and doesn’t always work), but the phone works otherwise. Now that I have the replacement phone, I only have a few more days to return the old one or else be charged for it.

By Rob

PS: I don’t know if this is a clue or just normal operation, but after typing the adb command, there is a pause of about 30 seconds or so. Then, I get the message

Now unlock your device and confirm the backup operation (as expected)
followed immediately by a command prompt.

It seems like it should wait until I’ve had a chance to unlock my device and agree to the backup before sending the command prompt to the screen, but maybe not….

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

Try taking the quotes out of the backup command. I’m not sure it matters, but it might, particularly since you’re using the curved quotes (“ ”) instead of the straight ones (“).

Also, what version of Angry Birds Rio do you have installed? If it’s the standard free version, that path looks correct.

The “Now unlock your device…” message is what you should see, but as you said, you shouldn’t get it until after allowing the backup on your phone. Try unlocking your phone and making sure the screen is on before entering the command in Cygwin… I’m wondering if maybe it’s just timing out and pulling an empty file because you’re not agreeing to the backup in time?

I was in your boat and got tripped up a few times, but once I got it figured out, it worked simply and flawlessly (and was quite satisfying to have solved it!). Don’t give up… It sounds like you’re very close! ;)

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

NM on the curved vs. straight quotes… I see it’s this website that’s turning the straight quotes into curved ones. I’d still try taking them out of the backup command though, only because the commands I used successfully didn’t include them.

By Rob

I thought maybe your idea about the backup not happening because of a time-out might be the trick, since it took so long for that screen to pop up on my phone. I rebooted my phone and now that screen pops up almost immediately, but unfortunately I’m still getting the same result – a 1K file.

Now I’m wondering if the command is even finding the Angry Birds file on my phone memory. As an experiment, I intentionally tried typing the command as:

adb backup -noapk com.rovio.angrybirdsrix -f rio08

I intentionally replaced “rio” with “rix” to see what error message I would get and discovered that I didn’t get any error message at all. In fact, everything proceeded as before, with a screen popping on my phone asking for permission for the back and I wound up with the same 1K file.

This makes me wonder: What might I have done wrong, perhaps in an earlier step, that would cause it to be looking perhaps in the wrong place for this file?

Or, if not that, what mistake in an earlier step would be causing this same behavior?

This may be my last attempt. If I don’t get this phone back to Verizon almost immediately, they’ll charge me for it.

Thanks again to all for your help.

By Rob

By the way, when I look at the 1K file (actually, it’s 41 bytes) in Notepad, I see the text below. Maybe this is a clue for somebody who knows about such things.

Text in the ab file created by my adb backup command:
ANDROID BACKUP
1
1
none
xÚc`£`ŒT

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

If you try following the instructions to use Helium to back up your data, what does it show as the location of your Angry Birds Rio files? After completing the operation, browse to the “carbon” folder it creates and check the folder title for your ABR backup. If it does indeed show as “com.rovio.angrybirdsrio”, that would mean you have the correct path.

All I can really suggest at that point is to go back through the steps to make sure you didn’t miss anything. I posted a few months ago with some issues I encountered that might be helpful:
https://www.angrybirdsnest.com/how-to-back-up-angry-birds-progress-on-android-rooted-and-non-rooted/comment-page-2/#comment-722835

Note you actually need the 32-bit versions of both Cygwin and the Java Development Kit, as the 64-bit version of Cygwin does not include “pax”.

By Rob

Unfortunately, I can’t run Helium, as many posted comments state it does not work on Motorola smart phones, and that’s what I have (Droid RAZR Maxx).

However, your comment may have provided the essential clue. I think I downloaded both the 64-bit versions of the JAVA tools and Cygwin, as I saw comments that said they either should both be 64-bit or both be 32-bit.

Your comment, however, is the first that says I need to use the 32-bit. That may be the issue here.

Thanks!!!

PS: Do I need to uninstall the 64-bit versions of these before installing the 32-bit versions? Or, can I leave the 64 bit versions in place and immediately proceed to download the 32-bit versions?

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

If you have the 64-bit version of Cygwin, that would mean you did not include “pax”, because it’s not available for that version. That may be your issue!

There’s really no reason you can’t have both versions, but if you won’t be using them, I’d recommend uninstalling the 64-bit ones first just to be sure you’re using the 32-bit ones when you run the programs.

When installing the 32-bit version of Cygwin, make sure to follow CmdrBond’s instructions carefully. The key is that you need to include “pax”, which is not part of the default install settings.

Good luck!

By Rob

As I think about this, I realize there is one more thing I better confirm. Specifically, when I saw the comment stating that I needed JAVA and Cygwin to both be either 32-bit or both be 64-bit, I tried to check that. It was easy to see that my JAVA was 64-bit, but I couldn’t see how to tell which version of Cygwin I have. I concluded it must be the 64-bit also, figuring that I would be getting some sort of error messages otherwise whenever I submit a command through Cygwin.

In retrospect, though, now I wonder if that is so. Maybe I wouldn’t see error messages, but things just wouldn’t work right. Do you know how I can tell whether my Cygwin is 64-bit, as I’ve already confirmed my JAVA is? Also, if these 2 aren’t matching in that way, could that be causing the 1K files? Or would it just be producing error messages instead?

Thanks again! I had almost given up on Angry Birds, but now I’m hopeful.

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

Run Cygwin, hit Ctrl+Alt+Del, select Start Task Manager, go to the Processes tab, and find mintty.exe in the list. If it has a “*32” after it, it’s 32-bit; if not, it’s 64-bit.

Also, did you follow CmdrBond’s setup instructions and make sure to include “pax” in your Cygwin installation setup? If you did so successfully, you must have installed the 32-bit version; pax is not available in the 64-bit version, which could possibly be the issue you’ve been having.

Ignore the comment about either the 32-bit versions or the 64-bit versions of both the JDK and Cygwin being fine — that was before discovering pax is only available in the 32-bit version of Cygwin. Because of this, you will need the 32-bit versions of both. If you have the 64-bit version of either the JDK or Cygwin installed, to ease matters, I’d recommend uninstalling it first and then installing the 32-bit version.

Good luck!

By Rob

Thank you everybody for your help, but it’s still now working. I did have the 64-bit versions originally, so must have not had pax.

So, tonight I uninstalled the Java 64 bit, but did not uninstall cygwin 64, as the uninstall steps for that are a project, in and of themselves. Nonetheless, I then downloaded and installed 32-bit versions of JAVA and Cygwin (making sure to include pax this time), and the presence of the 64-bit Cygwin on the same machine didn’t seem to hinder the 32-bit version. Please let me know if you think otherwise.

Anyway, I went through all the other steps and still am winding up with a tiny 41 byte file. Same thing happened for Rio and Seasons.

The phone I’m downloading these from no longer has a SIM card or an SD card, as those have been moved to the new phone, but I don’t think that should matter. (If need be, I can still download and upload to that phone over wifi.)

I’m not sure what else to try, but may give it another shot on a different PC. Maybe there’s something messed up on this one that is interfering.

Does anybody else have any ideas?

Thanks again to all.

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

No other ideas off the top of my head. It sounds like you’re close but just missing or misinterpreting a step somewhere along the way. It might not hurt to try it on another computer, just for the sake of being able to start from scratch and follow the whole process now that you’re much more familiar with it.

By Rob

So, I tried to go through the process on a different computer (this one runs Windows 7, the other runs Vista), to see if there was something about the first PC that was messing me up.

But, now I’m not even seeing the platform_tools folder being created under c:\adt\…

So I don’t have to restart everything all over again, does anybody know at which step the platform_tools folder usually gets created? Whatever step that is, I’d rather do back and fix whatever I made during that step, rather than restart the whole process yet again.

Thanks!

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

This tip from my original post should help:

– The Android Develop Tools files you refer to as necessary were not included with the Android SDK Tools installer. After completing the install, I needed to run Android SDK Manager and install the “Android SDK Platform-tools” package (in the “Tools” category) in order to make those files appear.

By Rob

(This is my 2nd attempt at this post. Please forgive me if a partial entry also shows up.)

I never could get this to work and the phone MUST be returned to Verizon tomorrow or they will charge me.

As a final attempt to get to the bottom of the problem, here is everything I can think of that MIGHT be a clue as to why things aren’t working for me (though, they may all be red herrings):

1. The device I’m trying to back up is no longer on network. The SIM and SD card have been moved to my new phone. Nontheless, it still works and all the Angry Birds versions work and all my completed levels are there. Also, if needed, I can load new apps on it via WIFI.
2. I could never get the following command to work (with or without the single quotes):

echo ‘export PATH=$PATH:/cygdrive/c/adt/sdk/platform-tools’ >> ~/.bashrc

Nonetheless, what did seem to work was to simply enter the following into a Cygwin command line while in the directory that was my intended backup location:

export PATH=$PATH:/cygdrive/c/adt/platform-tools

(The “sdk/” was intentionally omitted, as described below.)

After doing the above, I could invoke a command such as:

adb backup -noapk com.rovio.angrybirdsseasons -f seas01.ab

..and it would seem to work. A screen would open on my device, I would click on a button giving permission for the backup, and, in fact, the file would be created. Only problem was it was way too small.

3. As others have reported, I never saw subdirectories named SDK or ABE, but I changed any reference to them in any of the instruction to where the files were actually located. So, for instance, I entered:

export PATH=$PATH:/cygdrive/c/adt/platform-tools

instead of:

export PATH=$PATH:/cygdrive/c/adt/sdk/platform-tools

4. I noticed that in the command:

adb backup -noapk com.rovio.angrybirdsseasons -f seas01.ab

if I replaced the location with one that I made up, such as:

adb backup -noapk com.rovio.madeupname -f seas01.ab

it never gave an error message.

5. When I installed JAVA, besides installing the recommended files, etc. I also then clicked on others and installed them too, as I wasn’t sure if I had everything needed. Nonetheless, I wonder now if the extra stuff I clicked on might have somehow messed things up.

6. Some places in the instructions referred to backing up both the highscores.lua and the settings.lua files, but I never explicitly referred to them, as the 4.0 instructions never instructed to do so. My presumption was that i was getting them implicitly by referring to the folder they were in.

Anyway, thanks for all the help I got. If I do get this figured out and working, I’ll let you know.

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

Indeed, that backup command does result in a compressed file that contains all the backup data, including highscores.lua and settings.lua.

Sorry to hear you weren’t able to get it to work. :/

Rank: Flinger with 40 points
By AndyJackson (@andyjackson)

Hello,
Sorry, but I’m a complete amateur.
I managed to take a copy of the .lua files for angry birds from my HTC wildfire S running IceCream, this phone is now dead! How do I please get the .lua files onto my Samsung S3 mini? I have Cygwin on a PC, but get error messages on everything I try to do, but not sure if I’m doing the right steps? Please could you lay out the steps I should take, and I’ll go from there?
Thanks,
Andy.

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

Try following CmdrBond’s instructions very carefully. To see screenshots along with them, you may want to view them here:
http://www.wizardgroup.net/abbu/

Once you have everything set up correctly, you might find these simplified follow-up instructions he posted helpful:
https://www.angrybirdsnest.com/how-to-back-up-angry-birds-progress-on-android-rooted-and-non-rooted/comment-page-1/#comment-637428

Good luck!

Rank: Flinger with 40 points
By AndyJackson (@andyjackson)

Thanks very much for your reply.
In the end I found a much easier way.
1. I Installed Angry Birds Backup (Rice Labs) on my HTC Wildfire S, backed up the .lua files to the SD card. (This was were I was at when I posted)
2. I then installed Angry Birds, played it a bit, and then Angry Birds Backup (Rice Labs)on my Samsung S3 mini, I then backed Angry Birds, this created a folder on the phone, with the .lua files.
3. I replaced this with the .lua files from my SD card (the backup of my HTC)
4. I then restored Angry birds, and voila. my scores are back, without needing cygwyn, java or abd!

Maybe useful for others?

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

I’m wondering if your S III mini has a pre-Jelly Bean O/S installed on it? If not, I’m not sure how that would’ve worked.

Anyway, glad you were able to get everything restored!

Rank: Flinger with 40 points
By AndyJackson (@andyjackson)

Phone says its Android 4.1.2 – Kernel 3.0.31-1281031.
Phone set to USB debug and to allow unknown content.
Thanks, Andy.

Rank: Slinger with 1090 points
By DanG82 (@dang82)

Hmm… That is indeed Jelly Bean. Interesting!

Rank: Explosive with 2155 points
By DarkLizzard (@darklizzard)

First: Thank you very much for the good work.

Maybe good to know: To get the whole thing working I had to put the security level of Java to medium (in the Java Control Panel)

By PigSlayer

Looks like the adb backup/restore method can only access the game progress data of the first/primary Android user. It seems that the other Android users cannot enable the developer mode and thus their game progress cannot be grabbed from the device (non-rooted Nexus 7). AFAIK rooting the device would/will nuke all game progress data.

– Do my observations sound plausible?

– Are there any tips or tricks to still try before wiping several man weeks worth of game progress data?

By PigSlayer

Eerily silent. Am I the only one using multiple user profiles and playing Angry Birds games on Android?

Rank: Deputized with 160 points
By xanadu9ball (@xanadu9ball)

So I have spent the last few days trying to make valiant attempts to extract any of the files from my Motorola Droid Bionic, with no luck. Just like previous posts, I get a 1K file which means nothing.

I am going from the Bionic to an S4. I made all the appropriate setups (followed the entire script multiple times), including the install for the ADB drivers for my phone using the prescribed method. No such luck. I then tried using the Motorola Device Manager to install the drivers thru that method… No such luck.

Thinking my issue was how my setup was, I plugged in my S4 and was able to extract the files (adb backup command, for ABO 144K file).

So I’m guessing that it’s either the drivers, or the “adb backup” command is not finding the rovio files in the correct location?

I have not rooted the Bionic and am unwilling to root the S4. Any ideas on what will help resolve the extraction issue? Will a root of the Bionic make any difference at all?

By xanadu9ball

@CmdrBond, has there been any testing (specifically successful tests) with the Motorola Droid devices (Razr, Bionic, etc…). I still have my Bionic (running 4.1.2) and was hoping to transfer my files. Thank you in advance.

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

I am sorry that this is something I cannot help you with.

I cannot and do not take credit for the methods used here, I just compiled them in to 1 article.

I also do not have access to any Motorola devices.

Sorry.

By xanadu9ball

Response appreciated. I will just have to start over. However, I was able to follow all the instructions. I was able to extract the files on my new phone, just not the Motorola. Different source phone may have yeilded different results. Thanks again for the script, just wish the outcome for me was better.

Rank: Sling God with 24365 points
By justpast40 (@justpast40)

Help, I’m confused. I have a Motorola Razr Maxx with some issues & I think Verizon will say reformat. Am I understanding that nothing will work to backup & restore to Motorola phones? Before I spend a zillion hours trying : -(

@cmdrbond, @xanadu9ball

By xanadu9ball

My issue was trying to extract the files “from” the Droid Bionic. Unfortunately, Helium was not an option for my device (it says so when you try to download it from GooglePlay), so I tried the longer method.

I have had complete success in the setup of all the applications to make this work. However, everytime I tried to extract the file (using the option for device of non-rooted 4.0+) I would always receive a 1kb file.

As a test, I connected my new S4 and did the extract from there. I had a 144kb file. That’s how I know my application setup is correct.

The only link I have left as an issue is the USB drivers for the Bionic, it’s the only piece that makes sense. I Just have no other method of proving it. If anyone else happens to be successful, I hope they post about it. Good luck otherwise.

@justpast40, @CmdrBond

Rank: Sling God with 24365 points
By justpast40 (@justpast40)

I tried Helium & it looked like it would work, however in the end I received an Error message & the Caesbon folder is empty : -(

Rank: Sling God with 24365 points
By justpast40 (@justpast40)

*Carbon folder is empty

Rank: DaBomb with 365 points
By BirdLady (@birdlady)

How do I “join” this “group” so I can always refer back 2 it quickly?

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

At the top of the contents section, on the right hand side, is a button labeled “subscribe”.

Clock that, then you will get updates to the thread and it will be in your list of subscribed threads.

Rank: Flinger with 40 points
By Gooch4130 (@gooch4130)

Is there a reason we cannot simply install ‘Helium Premium’ on our old Android device, back up Angry Birds, install ‘Helium Premium’ on our new device and restore?

CC: @CmdrBond

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

It is a restriction with the asp, something to do with the changes between Android versions.

The only way Helium will work on your old device, is if your old device is Android v4.0 or later.

Helium (Formerly Carbon)

Note 1: Helium will only work on Android v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or later

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

Asp = App

By Suzanne

Helium is not compatible with adb backups. Formats are different.

Also Helium backups are corrupted sometimes. Just to mention.

CC @CmdrBond

By Michael

Could you specify what can (if anything) about kindle fire? I had all of your Angry Birds games (mostly paid versions & a couple free) on my original Kindle Fire. However, I received a Kindle Fire HDX for Christmas and downloaded the same apps from the cloud. And of course, none of my progress was transferred over despite my having a Rovio account (though it only allows you to sign in on the first Angry Birds game). It would be nice to at least have some way to unlock the levels so I don’t have to replay everything to get to a certain level. Of course, it would be better if all of my progress was saved.
Any suggestions?

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

@Michael, i fell your frustration but just punt out that AngryBirdsNest has nothing to do with Rovio – so they are not “our” games.

Unfortunately I have no idea on the fire as it is a stripped down version of android. If the above steps do not work then I can only suggest you head on over to xda developers and ask over there as they are much more knowledgeable than I.

Rank: Avian Overlord with 15205 points
By angry angel (@burn)

i am wondering if I take the SD card from my old phone and put it into my new phone if that would at least get me games over to my new phone where I could then get the latest updates…. I haven’t had any update since REDS MIGHT FEATHERS came out due to my phone not being all that great.

I realize this won’t be backing up my scores, but it seems like as long as the high scores and/or progress isn’t somewhere besides the SD card, that this would work?

Any comments/thoughts would be appreciated, thanks in advance

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

@”angry angel”.

I’m afraid I can’t help on this one, but would hazard a guess and say it won’t work as I don’t think the high Scots location changes when you move to SD.

Rank: Pig Leader with 10320 points
By leggy (@leggy)

@cmdrbond
I will soon be getting a secondary android ICS tablet for experimental purposes, basically, I do not want to run the risk of loosing everything on my usual tablet, and I would like to be able to transfer my progress to another (newer, possibly kit-kat) device when the time is right – practise makes perfect as they say!
Okay, so once I have my secondary ICS tablet, a friend is going to root it for me, and then I will be transferring some of my existing AB progress/scores from my initial tablet; I will be using a reliable AB backup/restore app to do this. Obviously the next step will be to transfer the .lua files from the rooted secondary tablet to my pc/laptop, by which time I should have a further device (probably an old JB tablet) to transfer these .lua file to.
My question however is this, and I’m sorry if this has already been stated either in the instruction or the comments, but with rather a lot of it/them to read, I thought it easier to ask…does the final device (JB tablet) need to be rooted in order to be able to transfer the .lua files to it please? My concern being that when I do eventually upgrade my tablet, I don’t really want to be rooting it if I can help it because doing so will inevitably void the manufacturer’s warranty; it won’t matter so much on the ‘practise’ devices as the warranty’s will have already expired.

Thanks in advance!

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

@leggy.

Little confused by all that, but the simple answer is that no device needs to be rooted.

You might find the instructions on my web page a little easier to follow.

http://www.wizardgroup.net/abbu/

Rank: Pig Leader with 10320 points
By leggy (@leggy)

@cmrbond
Thanks for speedy response. I’ve sent you a friend request as I’m confused now also, lol. ;)

Rank: Pig Leader with 10320 points
By leggy (@leggy)

Sorry, that should be @cmdrbond

Rank: Pig Leader with 10320 points
By leggy (@leggy)

@cmdrbond
I’ve read somewhere here on the nest that the coins/characters collected during play in absw2 do not backup/restore using the rovio in-app cloud system. So, my question to you please, do they transfer using the .lua file transfer method?
Additionally, no mention of whether the .lua file transfer method will work with kit-kat, is this something that you yourself could verify please?

Rank: Champion with 3640 points
By CmdrBond (@cmdrbond)

@leggy Unfortunately I have been away from the AB scene for a while. So I have no answer to either of those questions.

Rank: Pig Leader with 10320 points
By leggy (@leggy)

No problem @cmdrbond
An answer of any kind is better than no answer at all in my book. :-)

NOTE:
For anyone reading this and my previous thread: I have now successfully transferred all of my ab scores/coins/characters from 6 ab apps, as well as all of my progress in 7 other non-ab apps, from ics to kit-kat using cmdrbond’s guide.

So, all that’s left for me to say is this: thankyou thankyou thankyou @cmdrbond for taking the time to write your backup/restore guide, and a huge thanks also to @birdleader for publishing the guide here on the nest. You’ve both saved my sanity, as well as my time since I can noe pick up ‘all’ of my games from where I left them, no replays required. :-D

By Nutbar

Helium worked for me to transfer from my non-rooted galaxy s3 to my new non-rooted galaxy s5.

However, at first the Helium desktop program was not detecting either phone. I had to install Samsung Kies 3, after which it all started working.

Rank: Sling God with 33610 points
By sparty83 (@sparty83)

@cmdrbond
I have used this guide in the past to backup my AB scores using the Helium app. My problem now is that when I plug in my phone, my computer does not recognize it. (I have contacted my phone manufacturer with no luck). Do you know of any way to get my phone to be recognized?

Rank: Champion with 3455 points
By Sutekh137 (@sutekh137)

Hey all,

I am trying to do a somewhat…unconventional restore and am not having any luck.

My previous tablet (3 years old) died. I had full (rooted) backups via MyBackup Pro, and for the Angry Birds apps, I can see highscores.lua and settings.lua in the ZIP files MyBackupPro created. These were created from the Acer when it was running Android 4.2, a rooted CynagenMod build.

When the Acer died last Thursday I got an ASUS MeMO Pad 7 (ME176CX). This is running Android 4.4.2, and I didn’t realize at the time I got it that it is so new so as to not be rootable yet.

So, I tried this:

— Use ADB to backup Angry Birds Rio (after installing it and playing one level). This creates the .ab file.
— Use Android Backup Extractor (ABE) to convert the .ab file into a .tar file.
— Expand the .tar file.
— Find highscores.lua and settings.lua in the expanded “apps” folder that un-tarring creates, and replace those files with the ones from my previous backup.
— Use ABD to do a “restore” of the .ab file.

Everything works as outlined above without any errors. But when I start AB Rio the scores are not there. If I backup Rio again and view highscores.lua and settings.lua inside the backup, they are back to whatever they were before.

Is this just not possible, as in, Angry Birds knows to disregard when single files are changed in its data area? I can’t push individual files, of curse, because the ASUS tablet is not rooted. I get “Permission denied” if I try to use shell commands to view the “data” directory on the table, or if I try to use ADB “push”.

At this point I have given up and will just wait till I can get it rooted, and at that point will push the specific files (and hope that works). But dang, I really thought this would work. Any ideas why it doesn’t? Has anyone had luck restoring a backup from a different machine across different versions of Android?

Thanks,
sutekh137
— Tar the folder. Convert .tar back to .ab, again using ABE.

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