Introduction
Restoring files on your Android device is an essential task to ensure data continuity and security. Whether you need to recover accidentally deleted files, restore data from a previous backup, or access important documents from another device, this guide will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the restoration process using the G Cloud mobile app on an Android device for any of the following categories:
How to Restore Photos
- Ensure that the G Cloud app on your target Android device is up to date. This guarantees that you have the latest features and improvements.
- Launch the G Cloud app on your device and wait for the “Syncing files with server…” process to complete.
- On the Home screen, tap the Images button. All your backed-up photos are displayed there. Browse through the collection to locate the photos you need to retrieve.
- To select the photos you wish to retrieve, long-press on each photo. This action will display a bar at the bottom of the screen with two retrieval options:
- Download: This option downloads the selected photos to the Download folder on your device. Note that the downloaded files will be optimized versions of the originals, so the quality may be slightly reduced.
- Restore: This option restores the selected photos to their original locations on your device, preserving their full quality.
- Give the G Cloud app the needed time to finish the restoration process. You can press the Home button, and G Cloud will resume restoring in the background.
If the requested data is not archived, it will start downloading instantly. Just give the G Cloud app all the needed time to finish its work. However, if the requested data (or some of it) is archived, you will notice the red cloud icon showing on your G Cloud app as below. Those archived files will need from 3 to 12 hours to be unarchived.
Once those files are unarchived, you will be notified in three ways:
- A pop-up notification from the G Cloud app will be sent to you to inform you that “Files ready to download”. Just repeat steps 1 to 5 above, and the files will start getting restored. This is the recommended way to do a mass restore.
- Emails from G Cloud <noreply@gcloudbackup.com> will reach you. You can check those emails and use the links within them to download selected files.
- The red cloud icon
under the G Cloud app will turn into a green one 
. You can also tap on it and start downloading selected files.
How to Restore Videos
- Ensure that the G Cloud app on your target Android device is up to date. This guarantees that you have the latest features and improvements.
- Launch the G Cloud app on your device and wait for the “Syncing files with server…” process to complete.
- On the Home screen, tap the Videos button. All your backed-up videos are displayed there. Browse through the collection to locate the videos you need to retrieve.
- To select the videos you wish to retrieve, long-press on each one. This action will display a bar at the bottom of the screen with two retrieval options:
- Download: This option downloads the selected videos to the Download folder on your device. Note that the downloaded files will be optimized versions of the originals, so the quality may be slightly reduced.
- Restore: This option restores the selected videos to their original locations on your device, preserving their full quality.
- Give the G Cloud app the needed time to finish the restoration process. You can press the Home button of your device, and G Cloud will resume restoring in the background.
If the requested data is not archived, it will start downloading instantly. Just give the G Cloud app all the needed time to finish its work. However, if the requested data (or some of it) is archived, you will notice the red cloud icon showing on your G Cloud app as below. Those archived files will need from 3 to 12 hours to be unarchived.
Once those files are unarchived, you will be notified in three ways:
- A pop-up notification from the G Cloud app will be sent to you to inform you that “Files ready to download”. Just repeat steps 1 to 5 above, and the files will start getting restored. This is the recommended way to do a mass restore.
- Emails from G Cloud <noreply@gcloudbackup.com> will reach you. You can check those emails and use the links within them to download selected files.
- The red cloud icon under the G Cloud app will turn into a green one . You can also tap on it and start downloading selected files.
How to Restore Music Files
- Ensure that the G Cloud app on your target Android device is up to date. This guarantees that you have the latest features and improvements.
- Launch the G Cloud app on your device and wait for the “Syncing files with server…” process to complete.
- Tap the menu icon ≡ at the upper-left corner of the G Cloud app and tap the Restore option.
- Tap the Music category. This will display all the music files backed up under your account.
- (Optional) To make it easier to find specific files, tap the Filter icon in the upper-right corner and filter the listed music files by device.
- Long-press on the music files you wish to retrieve to select them, then tap the → Proceed button.
- In the opened pop-up screen, three (3) options will be displayed:
- Restore All to Original Location: This option restores the selected music files to their original locations on your device.
- Downloads All to Downloads: This option downloads the selected music files to the Download folder on your device.
- Share All: This option allows you to share the selected music files to other platforms and applications.
- Give the G Cloud app the needed time to finish the restoration process. You can press the Home button of your device, and G Cloud will resume restoring in the background.
If the requested data is not archived, it will start downloading instantly. Just give the G Cloud app all the needed time to finish its work. However, if the requested data (or some of it) is archived, you will notice the red cloud icon showing on your G Cloud app as below. Those archived files will need from 3 to 12 hours to be unarchived.
Once those files are unarchived, you will be notified in three ways:
- A pop-up notification from the G Cloud app will be sent to you to inform you that “Files ready to download”. Just repeat steps 1 to 5 above, and the files will start getting restored. This is the recommended way to do a mass restore.
- Emails from G Cloud <noreply@gcloudbackup.com> will reach you. You can check those emails and use the links within them to download selected files.
- The red cloud icon under the G Cloud app will turn into a green one . You can also tap on it and start downloading selected files.
How to Restore Documents
- Ensure that the G Cloud app on your target Android device is up to date. This guarantees that you have the latest features and improvements.
- Launch the G Cloud app on your device and wait for the “Syncing files with server…” process to complete.
- Tap the menu icon ≡ at the upper-left corner of the G Cloud app and tap the Restore option.
- Tap the Documents category. This will display all the documents backed up under your account.
- (Optional) To make it easier to find specific files, tap the Filter icon in the upper-right corner and filter the listed documents by device.
- Long-press on the documents you wish to retrieve to select them, then tap the → Proceed button.
- In the opened pop-up screen, three (3) options will be displayed:
- Restore All to Original Location: This option restores the selected documents to their original locations on your device.
- Downloads All to Downloads: This option downloads the selected documents to the Download folder on your device.
- Share All: This option allows you to share the selected documents to other platforms and applications.
- Give the G Cloud app the needed time to finish the restoration process. You can press the Home button of your device and G Cloud will resume restoring in the background.
If the requested data is not archived, it will start downloading instantly. Just give the G Cloud app all the needed time to finish its work. However, if the requested data (or some of it) is archived, you will notice the red cloud icon showing on your G Cloud app as below. Those archived files will need from 3 to 12 hours to be unarchived.
Once those files are unarchived, you will be notified in three ways:
- A pop-up notification from the G Cloud app will be sent to you to inform you that “Files ready to download”. Just repeat steps 1 to 5 above, and the files will start getting restored. This is the recommended way to do a mass restore.
- Emails from G Cloud <noreply@gcloudbackup.com> will reach you. You can check those emails and use the links within them to download selected files.
- The red cloud icon under the G Cloud app will turn into a green one . You can also tap on it and start downloading selected files.
How to Restore Contacts
- Ensure that the G Cloud app on your target Android device is up to date. This guarantees that you have the latest features and improvements.
- Launch the G Cloud app on your device and wait for the “Syncing files with server…” process to complete.
- Tap the menu icon ≡ at the upper-left corner of the GCloud app and tap the Restore option.
- Tap the Contacts category. This will display a list of databases, each containing all the contacts on the device up to the specified date.
- (Optional) To simplify the process, tap the Filter icon in the upper-right corner and filter the contacts databases by device.
- Tap on the desired contacts database and confirm your choice by tapping the Restore Contacts option in the pop-up.
- Allow the G Cloud app sufficient time to import the contacts from the selected database back to your Contacts app. You can press the Home button of your device, and G Cloud will resume restoring in the background.
How to Restore Messages
- Ensure that the G Cloud app on your target Android device is up to date. This guarantees that you have the latest features and improvements.
- Launch the G Cloud app on your device and wait for the “Syncing files with server…” process to complete.
- Tap the menu icon ≡ at the upper-left corner of the G Cloud app and tap the Restore option.
- Tap the Messages category. This will display a list of databases, each containing all the messages on the device up to the specified date.
- (Optional) To simplify the process, tap the Filter icon in the upper-right corner and filter the message databases by device.
- Tap on the desired messages database and confirm your choice by tapping the Restore Messages option in the pop-up.
- The G Cloud app will ask you to set G Cloud as your default SMS App so it can proceed with restoring the messages. Make sure to do so.
- Allow the G Cloud app sufficient time to import the messages from the selected database back to your device. Once done, change back your default SMS app to the desired one.
How to Restore Call Log
- Ensure that the G Cloud app on your target Android device is up to date. This guarantees that you have the latest features and improvements.
- Launch the G Cloud app on your device and wait for the “Syncing files with server…” process to complete.
- Tap the menu icon ≡ at the upper-left corner of the G Cloud app and tap the Restore option.
- Tap the Call Log category. This will display a list of databases, each containing all the call logs on the device up to the specified date.
- (Optional) To simplify the process, tap the Filter icon in the upper-right corner and filter the call log databases by device.
- Tap on the desired call log database and confirm your choice by tapping the Restore Call Logs option in the pop-up.
- Allow the G Cloud app sufficient time to import the call logs from the selected database back to your device. You can press the Home button of your device, and G Cloud will resume restoring in the background.