How to restore your Google Drive backup to any device of your choice

Introduction

We all have various data in our lives, such as photos, Gmail, and different files, but accidents can happen – like hardware or software failures, viruses, or malware attacks. That's why it's essential to back up and synchronize your files regularly.

Google Drive might be an excellent choice. A storage and synchronization service developed by Google, it allows users to store files in the cloud and synchronize and share them across different devices.

Storing your files and important data on Google Drive is a secure way to back them up and ensure that you don't lose anything. It's less susceptible to damage than an external hard drive. (Learn more about external hard drives here.)

How do I restore a backup from Google Drive to my Android device?

To restore a backup from Google Drive to your Android device, you'll need to:

1. Reset your Android device to its factory default settings.

< strong > 2. After the reset, you'll see the welcome screen; tap it, and on the next screen choose the option to “Copy your data.”

3. Select “Restore from iCloud backup.”

4. Log in with your Google account, and you'll see a list of things you can restore, like apps, call logs, and device settings. Since our phone is blank after the reset, select everything and hit “Restore,” then wait for it to finish.

The only things missing are photos and videos, which we'll also be able to manage later by signing in to your Google account.

After signing in to your account, tap on the “Photos” tab, select the photos and videos you want to restore, and then tap “Download” to restore your backed-up photos and videos.

How do I restore a backup from Google Drive to my Windows computer?

You can restore a backup directly from Google Drive to your Windows PC by following these steps:

1. Open a web browser on your Windows computer and log into your Google Drive account.

< strong > 2. Navigate to your Google Drive account, find the folders you need to restore, right-click on them, and select “Download.”

3. Google Drive will compress the selected folder into a ZIP file and complete the download. Once finished, you can extract the folders to access your data again.

How to restore backups from Google Drive to an iOS device?

While you can back up files from your iPhone or iPad to Google Drive and even share files, the encryption protocols of Google Drive don't allow for a direct restore of backups to iOS devices.

But there is a way out of this dilemma. To do this, we would need to use a third device, say, an Android phone; restore the backup from Google Drive to the Android; and then use Gmail to transfer the backup from the Android to the iPhone.

Conclusions

Safeguarding your data is crucial, and so is knowing how to restore backups. In this article, we explore three methods to recover backup files from Google Drive on different devices. These solutions are clear, straightforward, and effective – we hope they help answer your questions about this process.

Q&A: How to Restore a Backup from Google Drive

How do I access my backup data on Google Drive?

For your phone:

1. Open the Google Drive app on your phone.

2. Tap the menu and you should see an option for Backup.

3. Click Backup and manage files on Google Drive.

For your Windows computer:

1. Open a web browser and go to drive.google.com.

2. In the left navigation panel, choose Storage.

3. In the upper-right corner of the open page, click Backup.

4. Tap “Backup” to manage your documents.

How do I sync my Google backup?

For your phone:

1. Open the "Settings" app on your phone.

2. Tap About phone, then enter your Google account; tap Account sync.

3. Click “More,” then select “Sync Now.”

For your Windows PC:

1. Download and install the desktop version of Drive, then log in with your Google account.

Click “Settings,” then choose “Preferences.”

3. On the left sidebar, click on Google Drive and then select the Sync My Drive option.

4. Choose a category for your file, and it will automatically upload to Google Drive from your computer.

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Will files on Google Drive be stored permanently?

Actually, Google provides a two-year storage grace period. After your files have been in Google Drive for more than two years, Google will automatically delete them; of course, Google will notify users at least three months in advance before doing so.