Nexus 5X: How to Create a Nandroid Backup

Having a full backup of your Nexus 5X is critical if you ever want to install any modifications so let me show you how to create a Nandroid backup.

There are all sorts of custom ROMs, tweaks and modifications that are and will become available for the Nexus 5X. Thanks to the devoted developer community, there’s almost always something new released every single day and that lets millions of people add more value and more features to their device. The thing is, sometimes these mods don’t quite work right or maybe we installed the wrong mod for the device we own. It happens to the best of us.

Thankfully, if you create a Nandroid backup before you do any of this then you can always restore from said backup if something doesn’t go the way you thought it would. Android 6.0 Marshmallow does introduce a new App Backup feature, but it’s only active on applications that choose to target the Marshmallow API. These app backups don’t backup everything to the exact state it was in though and this is where a Nandroid backup differs.

Think of it as a snapshot backup done on your computer. When you restore from this Nandroid backup, it will bring your device to the exact moment in which you created the backup.

This means that you can do almost any type of modification to your Nexus 5X, and as long as you restore from the backup you created beforehand, you can always return to that point in time without that mod installed. This is great for trying out a new custom kernel, a new custom ROM, a new Xposed Module or anything else you can think of.

Requirements

In order to create a Nandroid backup of your Nexus 5X, you’re going to have to have a few things done beforehand. You must have unlocked the bootloader of the Nexus 5X so that you can install a custom recovery on the Nexus 5X. This tutorial assumes you have done all of the steps in both of those guides and that you are able to access TWRP right now.

Warning:
As of right now, users will need to disable all security layers(PIN, password, fingerprint, etc) before creating a backup. If you fail to do this then your pin/password/fingerprint will not work after you restore from the backup.

Nexus 5X Create Nandroid Backup

  1. Boot the Nexus 5X into Fastboot Mode
  2. Then Boot the Nexus 5X into Recovery Mode
  3. At the TWRP Main Menu, Tap the ‘Backup’ Button
  4. Make Sure the Boot, System and Data Partitions Are Checked
  5. Tap the ‘(Auto Generate)’ Text in the Name Field
  6. Create a Custom Name for Your Nandroid Backup
  7. Then Press the Enter/Check Mark Key on the Keyboard to Accept this Name
  8. When Ready, Swipe the White Arrows at the Bottom All the Way to the Right
  9. Wait Until the Backup is Complete
  10. Then Press the Reboot System Button

Explanation

Once you have a custom recovery installed, you can then create your first Nandroid backup of your Nexus 5X. Nandroid backups can be made on most, if not all, custom recoveries that are available but this guide will walk you through getting it done TWRP. If you don’t know how to boot into the TWRP custom recovery, follow the two linked guides in the tutorial above to learn how.

Once you are in TWRP, go ahead and tap the ‘Backup’ button that you see on the left side of the screen. From here, you’ll see a list of partitions with check boxes to the left of them. To make a complete backup of the Nexus 5X, make sure that the Boot, System and Data partitions are checked. You may even need to scroll down the list to see them all. Next, I recommend creating a custom name for your Nandroid backup so tap on the text field for the name and then come up with a name that will help you recognize what this is. For example, my first Nandroid backup will be labeled ‘stock’ because I haven’t touched anything.

I also put a dash after the name and then tap on the ‘Append Date’ button so that it adds the complete date the backup was made. This way I know exactly what is in this backup and when it was created. Once the backup has been named, tap on the ‘enter’ button on the keyboard(which should be a check mark at the bottom right) and then you’ll be taken back to the screen we were just at with the list of partitions. Once everything is set up, swipe the white arrows at the bottom all the way to the right and wait for the backup to be completed.

Once the backup is done, you’ll see some text telling how long it took to complete and then you’ll see a couple of buttons appear at the bottom. Tap on the ‘Reboot System’ button and if you don’t have SuperSU installed, you’ll be asked if you want TWRP to install it for you. Like I said yesterday, SuperSU hasn’t been finalized yet so I recommend tapping the ‘Do Not Install’ button so that your Nexus 5X will reboot back into the regular Android OS.

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  1. How can you get this backup to your computer? I really don’t need a 3 gig file just sitting on my phone, especially since I only have 10 gigs free. Afterwards, how do you put it back on to your phone? Normal ADB or file transfer methods aren’t working for me

    1. The easiest way would be with a file explorer like Solid Explorer or Root Explorer. Launch it and there should be a ‘TWRP’ folder within the Internal Storage folder. Inside that folder is a folder called ‘Backups’, in there is a folder with what seems like a random series of numbers and letters.

      And in that folder you should see all of the backups you currently have. I would copy/move that folder with the random numbers and letters so you can keep the file structure intact.

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