Nexus 6P: How to Restore a Nandroid Backup

If you ever run into a bootloop, or maybe you don’t like a modification that you installed, let me show you how to restore your Nexus 6P from a Nandroid backup.

I talk about a lot of various tweaks and modifications here for the Nexus 6P and while they might seem great at first, sometimes the results aren’t as good as one had hoped. For instance, you might like the idea of disabling the navigation bar and using Pie Controls at first, but then in practice it might not be so easy for you to get into the habit of using.

There are also times when a modification simply doesn’t play well with your other applications or settings and this can result in some nasty bugs.

This is why I try to get everyone into the habit of creating a Nandroid backup of their Nexus 6P. I like to do this about once a month(but once a week is probably better), and I also create a backup right before I install a modification like Xposed Framework, an Xposed Module, a custom kernel, etc. Yes, it does take a few minutes to create the backup but the amount of time you save by not having to revert back to stock because you ran into a bootloop is well worth the effort(at least in my opinion).

So let me show you the step by step process for how to restore a previously created Nandroid backup for the Nexus 6P.

Nexus 6P Restore Nandroid Backup

1. Boot the Nexus 6P into Fastboot Mode
2. Then Boot the Nexus 6P into Recovery Mode
3. When at the TWRP Main Menu, Tap on the ‘Wipe’ Button
4. Then Tap on the Advanced Wipe Button
5. Make Sure the Following Partitions Are Checked. . .
6. System, Data, Cache, Dalvik Cache
7. Just Make Sure the ‘Internal Storage’ Option is Not Checked
8. When Ready, Swipe the White Arrows at the Bottom to Initiate the Wipe
9. Wait for TWRP to Delete That Data
10. When Done, Press the Home Button at the Bottom
11. At the TWRP Main Menu Again, Tap on the ‘Restore’ Button
12. Then Tap on the Nandroid Backup That You Want to Restore
13. Make Sure All Available Partitions are Checked
14. Then Swipe the White Arrows at the Bottom to Start the Restore Process
15. Wait for the Data to be Restored
16. Then Tap on the ‘Wipe Cache’ Button
17. Lastly, Tap on the ‘Reboot’ Button to Restart the Nexus 6P

Explanation

Naturally, before you start this tutorial you will need to have a previous backup already created. If you don’t, then go and read through the how to create a Nandroid backup on the Nexus 6P guide that I wrote yesterday. I imagine that anyone reading this has already created a backup though and are just looking for information on how to restore that backup. So, in order to do that, you’ll need to boot the Nexus 6P into Fastboot Mode so that you can boot over into Recovery Mode. Once there, you should be greeted with the typical TWRP main menu.

This step probably isn’t needed, but it’s just something that I’ve been in the habit of doing in an attempt to have a restore that is as clean as possible. So instead of tapping directly into the Backup section, first I go into the Wipe section and then tap on the Advanced Wipe button. From here you’ll want to set the Dalvik Cache, System, Data, Cache partitions to be deleted. When those, and only those, partitions are checked, go ahead and swipe the white arrows that you see at the bottom and that will wipe all of the data from them. Once those partitions have been wiped, you can then tap on the Home button in the navigation bar and return to the TWRP main menu.

Then we can tap into the Backup section and choose the Nandroid backup that we have previously created and want to restore from. After tapping on a backup, you’ll then be asked which partitions you want to restore. If you followed my how to create a backup guide, then you can make sure all available partitions are selected(which should only be the Boot, System, Data partitions) and then swipe the white arrows to the right to begin the restore process. This part can take some time so just be patient while the Nexus 6P does its thing.

Once the backup has been restored on the Nexus 6P, you can tap on the Wipe Cache button that you see at the bottom. Again, this step most likely isn’t needed, it’s just something I’ve gotten into the habit of doing and it’s something that I continue to do. With that wiped, you can then tap on the Reboot button and that will reboot your Nexus 6P back into the regular Android OS and it will have all of the apps and data that was on your smartphone when you created that backup.