Windows Apps Weekly for 26 April 2015 - contacts+message backup

One of the phrases I am very keen on, after learning my lesson the hard way, is that you don’t want to find out you need a backup when you actually need a backup.

That is why when this app came out this week I knew it would make a great candidate for my weekly app pick. I know it is not universal and not available on Windows 8.1 but there is not much need to backup SMS messages on a desktop system.

Now Windows Phone 8.1 has built in backup of SMS messages and they can be restored when a hard reset is performed on a device.

Windows Phone 8.1 text message backup settings

Where this app comes into play is that it has the capability to not only back up the SMS messages with their attachments but also your contacts.

On Windows Phone you have a couple of choices when it comes to where your contacts are stored.  One option is to store them in a connected account such as Office 365, Outlook.com or on your phones SIM card.

I opt to store all my contact info in my Hosted Exchange account so that info is available on any device I connect to that account on. Plus any changes/updates are immediately available on those other devices as well.

However, having an extra backup of your contact info is never a bad idea so this app can help you do that and store it on an SD card in your phone.  As of this writing the app does not support storage in any other location except the SD card but hopefully a future upgrade will include a cloud back up option to OneDrive as all Windows Phones do not have expandable storage.

No SD card detected in phone

One other key to realize with this app, it does not appear in your phones app directory. You will find it on your devices Settings page and it shows up at the very bottom of the list.

The contacts+message backup entry in Windows Phone 8.1 Settings System menu

A backup made with this app is stored on the SD card in a directory called backup+restore and will be in a VCF formatted file.

To download and see more about the app you can visit its listing at the Windows Phone app store.

But, wait...there's probably more so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Google+.