Once you have TWRP installed, you can follow these steps below in order to create a complete Nandroid backup of the Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus.
Sadly, Android doesn’t have a very good way to completely back up all of the important data on your smartphone. A lot of things are stored in the cloud (like contacts for instance), and Google has a way for 3rd-party application developers to store some important app data for you. However, not all app developers have integrated this for one reason or another.
Thankfully though, we can create a complete backup via a custom recovery like TWRP.
So, before we can do a Nandroid backup from the TWRP custom recovery, you will need to install a custom recovery on the Moto G4 or Moto G4 Plus. Before you can do that though, you will have to unlock the bootloader of the Moto G4 or Moto G4 Plus. You should be aware that unlocking the bootloader will wipe the data off of your Moto G4 (as noted in the linked guide), and that it will also void the software warranty of your device.
Once you’re done with these two things though, you can then start following the guide detailed below.
Moto G4 Create Nandroid Backup
- Boot the Moto G4 into Fastboot Mode
- So you can then boot the Moto G4 into Recovery Mode
- Tap on the ‘Backup’ button at the TWRP main menu
- Choose a custom name for your backup and set your options (details in the explanation below)
- Be sure to select all 4 available partitions
- Wwipe the white arrows to the right to initiate the backup process
- Wait until the Nandroid backup has been completed
- Then tap the ‘Reboot System’ button at the bottom right to boot back into Android
Explanation
So, assuming you have gone through the prerequisites detailed above the guide, we can begin by going over the step by step instructions. You will need to boot the Moto G4 or Moto G4 Plus into Recovery Mode, which can be done by powering down the device and then booting up into Fastboot Mode. If you’re unsure with how this is done, go ahead and click on the links in step 1 and step 2 of the guide above.
Once you are at the TWRP main menu, you can then tap on the Backup button to begin the process. From here, I suggest that you choose a custom name that describes your current setup. I talk about this process in the embedded video in case you’d like to know what my process is like. You’ll then want to select your options like whether or not you want to compress the backup, if you want to store it on the microSD card or a thumb drive via an OTG cable, or if you want to encrypt the backup.
Lastly, you will want to make sure all 4 of the available partitions are selected as shown in the image above. If you have a modified or newer version of TWRP and you see more partitions here, you’re safe just selecting these 4 partitions for your basic Nandroid backup. When you are ready, go ahead and swipe the white arrows at the bottom of the screen to the right and it will begin the backup process.
The amount of time it takes to complete the Moto G4 Nandroid backup will depend entire on how much data you have stored on your device. If you keep a lot of music, videos or apps/games on your internal storage, then it can take 10-15 minutes to complete. For me, it took around 5 minutes since I don’t have much stored on the phone. Your mileage will vary here though so just be patient while the Nandroid back up is created.
Once it backup process is finished, you can either tap on the Home button in the navigation bar to go back to the TWRP main menu (in case you need to do anything else from within TWRP), or you can just tap on the Reboot System button at the bottom right to boot back into the Android OS.
