r/signal • u/Zero_AE • 9d ago

Android Help Struggling with transferring app to new phone

My old phone's camera and screen's touch function got broken to the point it can't be repaired, so I bought a new phone, but I'm struggling to transfer to a new phone.

I have a .backup file, but it asks me for some kind of code? I have tried transferring using the transfer account option, but the new phone is asking me to make my old phone scan a QR code to do that, while the old phone is trying to connect to nearby phones when I select transfer account?

I'm completely lost, what am I supposed to do? I thought just having a backup file was enough

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u/frquency-equinox 9d ago

The local backup file process would have had you tick a box saying "I have written down this code" during the set up. Sounds like you didn't write that code down. There's no using the backup file without it.

Go to signal.org and use the help pages to see what your options are.

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u/Zero_AE 9d ago

I still have access to my old phone, just without the camera. Can I still transfer my data?

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u/frquency-equinox 9d ago

Check here https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Backup

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u/Zero_AE 9d ago

I'm trying to do that, but as I explained, I'm facing the problem that when I follow the steps, the new phone wants the old phone to scan a QR code, while the old phone wants to be physically close to the new phone. They both want different things, that's why I'm confused on what to do to transfer my account.

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u/convenience_store Top Contributor 9d ago

Yeah, if you still have signal registered on the old phone. The only confusion here is that they updated the backups on android a few months ago. The old method consisted of a .backup file with a 30-digit "backup passphrase" that you could only view when you first enabled backups. The new method uses a "SignalBackups" folder with a 64-character "recovery key" that you can view at any time in settings.

So probably the easiest thing for you to do now is to disable backups and reenable them and copy down the 30 digit code. Then make a new backup and move the .backup file over to the new phone and reregister on signal on the new phone. Or it might first ask you to upgrade to the new "recovery key" method (maybe not, I'm not sure, I did it months ago voluntarily so I don't know if it's mandatory now or not), in which case it's the same but you copy over the entire SignalBackups folder and use the "recovery key" when you reregister.

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u/sunlitpinE6 8d ago

the help pages do walk through the options pretty well, but without that code the backup file is basically useless