Flashing your Android device and more



There are many tools available for both devs and modders to help customize Google’s versatile Android operating system.

One such utility recently featured on the XDA forums is the Android AIO Flasher Tool which automates ADB and Fastboot flashing by offering users a GUI to make the process just a little bit easier.



Coded by fonehacker, the app has been significantly revamped since its initial release and now includes a plethora of additional features, including:



1. Complete fastboot flasher

2. ADB Flasher

3. Boot animation changer

4. Integrated ADB shell

5. Reboot menu

5. 1 remount system to r/w with a single click

6. APK installer

7. Universal Device Unrooter

8. Splash Screen Image Maker (Converter)

9. Build.prop editor

10. ROM Dump

11. Full Backup/Restore

12. Online NANDroid Backup

13. Screenshot capabilities 



While some of the features are still in testing, all are included in the latest builds. Interested? You can check out the utility here, which manages to perform Nandroid backups without rebooting the device.



In related news, the Ultimate Backup Tool coded by Gigadroid also made the recent rounds on XDA forums. This Windows-based utility allows you to backup your device – all without root access. 



“It’s worth mentioning that this is not like a nandroid backup which is effectively a snapshot of your current device set up, this backs up apps, app data and information stored on the internal/external SD card,” explained XDA’s ConanTroutman. 



“The way this works is because of the greater permissions given to ADB compared to apps run on the phone itself, which carries with it its own potential risks. In other words, once done backing up your data, you should consider turning USB debugging back off.”

And last, but certainly not least, XDA member Knight47 has written up a method of extracting FTF files (typically found on Sony Xperia devices)  and turning them into flashable zips.

Yes, this method does require a number of apps to properly implement, including FTF Extractor and 7zip. However, once everything is downloaded, the method is rather simple. Essentially, the user unpack the system files and repack them with the proper files to make everything flashable. 



You can read more about this method in the tutorial here.