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Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus – How to Backup and Restore Data

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are two of Samsung’s most popular flagship smartphones. These devices pack impressive hardware specs and features into a beautiful curved glass and metal design. However, all that power would be useless without a way to save and restore your personal data in case anything goes wrong. Thankfully, Samsung provides multiple methods to backup and restore data on the Galaxy S8/S8+.

Ways to Backup Galaxy S8/S8 Plus

There are three main ways to backup your Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus:

  • Samsung Cloud – Samsung’s own cloud storage solution that comes pre-installed on Galaxy devices. It provides 15GB of free storage to automatically backup contacts, calendar, photos, etc.
  • Google Account – Linking a Google account allows Android devices like the S8 to automatically backup app data, contacts, messages and more to Google Drive.
  • Smart Switch – Samsung’s desktop app lets you backup entire device data to a computer via USB cable. Helpful for manual backups or when switching to a new phone.

Using Samsung Cloud

Samsung Cloud provides 15GB of free storage space to Galaxy users. Here are the steps to backup S8/S8+ data:

  1. Open Settings app
  2. Tap on Cloud and accounts > Samsung Cloud
  3. Tap on Backup settings > Back up data
  4. Choose data to backup like Contacts, Calendar, Gallery
  5. Tap Back up now

This will start backing up your chosen data to Samsung servers automatically. You can also enable auto-backup for daily or weekly backups.

Using Google Account

  1. Open Settings and go to Cloud and accounts > Accounts
  2. Tap on your Google account
  3. Enable backup for options like Contacts, Calendar, Photos
  4. Tap Sync now to manually start a backup to Google Drive

Enabling auto-sync will continuously backup new data added to your device.

Using Smart Switch on Computer

  1. Download and install Smart Switch on a Windows or Mac computer from Samsung’s website
  2. Connect your Galaxy S8/S8+ to the computer using a USB cable
  3. Open Smart Switch and click on Backup
  4. Select data types to backup like photos, messages, apps, etc.
  5. Click Backup to save a backup file of your device on the computer

Store this backup file as a failsafe to restore data if needed.

How to Restore Data on Galaxy S8/S8 Plus

If you lose your data or need to setup a new S8/S8+, restoring a previous backup can get your device working just like before quickly.

Using Samsung Cloud Backup

  1. Open Settings > Cloud and accounts > Samsung Cloud
  2. Tap on Restore data
  3. Choose backup data to download like Contacts, Calendar, Gallery, etc.
  4. Tap Restore to start downloading backup to your device

Using Google Account Backup

  1. Setup your Google account during S8/S8+ setup after a reset
  2. Accept restore/sync prompts for apps like Contacts, Calendar, Photos, etc.
  3. Open each app individually later to confirm restored data

Using Smart Switch Backup

  1. Install Smart Switch on a computer and connect your Galaxy S8/S8+
  2. Click on Restore > Select backup file to import
  3. Pick data types to restore
  4. Click Restore to load backup data to your device

This will rewrite existing data on your phone.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus support various backup and restore options to keep your data safe. Using Samsung Cloud, Google Drive or external storage with Smart Switch gives you multiple failsafe options. Be sure to periodically backup important data on your S8/S8 Plus to avoid losing your photos, contacts, messages and more due to accidental deletion, OS errors, device damage or loss.

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