Moving to a new phone

Badger stores everything locally on your device. There's no account and no automatic cloud sync, so moving to a new phone is a deliberate two-step process: export a backup on the old phone, import it on the new one.

What a backup contains

A .workout_backup file contains your full local database:

  • Every workout, set, warmup, comment, RPE, and RIR.
  • Your full exercise library, including custom exercises and categories.
  • All routines, days, and predefined sets.
  • Body measurements and body-weight history.
  • Gyms, machines, attachments, and their links to exercises.

App settings (accent color, weight unit, theme, notification preferences) are not yet included in backups - you'll re-enter those once on the new phone.

Step 1 - Back up on the old phone

  1. Open Badger.
  2. Go to You → Settings → Data.
  3. Tap Manual backup. The system share sheet opens.
  4. Save the .workout_backup file somewhere you'll be able to reach from the new phone - Google Drive, email-to-self, WhatsApp, a USB transfer, or your preferred cloud storage app.

Do this after your last workout on the old phone. Anything you log after taking the backup will not be carried over.

Step 2 - Install Badger on the new phone

  1. Install Badger from the Google Play Store.
  2. Go through the short onboarding (weight unit, import options). You can skip the in-app import step at the end - we'll restore instead.

Step 3 - Restore the backup

  1. Make sure the backup file from Step 1 is reachable on the new phone (saved in Files, Drive, or attached to an email you've opened).
  2. Open Badger → You → Settings → Data.
  3. Tap Restore from backup.
  4. Pick the .workout_backup file. Badger will confirm - tap Restore.
  5. The app replaces its current database with the one from the backup and restarts. When it comes back up, all of your history is there.
Restore replaces your local data. If you've already logged something on the new phone before restoring, that data will be lost. If you're uncertain, take a manual backup of the new-phone state first.

A note on cloud backup

Badger will add opt-in auto-backup to Google Drive in a future update. Until then, taking a manual backup after each workout (or at least weekly) is the safest way to protect against losing data if a phone is lost, stolen, or damaged. Manual backups go to the destination you pick - Badger itself never sends the file anywhere automatically.

Troubleshooting

  • The picker doesn't see my file. Move the backup into your phone's main Downloads or Documents folder, or open it directly from your cloud app's share sheet ("Open with Badger").
  • Restore fails with a format error. The file may have been truncated during transfer - re-export on the old phone and move it again via a different channel.
  • Old phone is dead, no backup. Unfortunately there's no way to recover the data in v1. Cloud auto-backup is the planned fix.