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) ride along in the backup too. Photos you added to machines or attachments are included only when Back up equipment photos is turned on - see Cloud backup.

Step 1 - Back up on the old phone

  1. Open Badger.
  2. Go to You → Settings → Your 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 → Your 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 can also back itself up automatically to your own Google Drive - opt-in, off by default, under Settings → Cloud backup. With it on, a recent backup is usually already waiting if a phone is lost, stolen, or damaged, and you can restore straight from the cloud backup screen on the new phone. The manual route above still works and is the most direct way to move between phones on your own terms; 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. If cloud backup was on, sign in with the same Google account on the new phone under Settings → Cloud backup and restore from there. If it was off and no manual backup file exists, the data cannot be recovered.