We’re here to help.
Most questions are answered below. Installing the phone app for the first time? Start with the phone setup guide. If your question isn’t covered, email us. Support goes straight to the people who build DroidVault.
Contact support
Email [email protected] with what you were doing and what happened. Include your Windows version and your phone model and Android version if you can. It speeds things up.
Common fixes, fastest first.
Android warns me when I install the phone app
That’s expected. The DroidVault phone app comes from droidvault.app, not Google Play, and Chrome and Android ask you to confirm before installing any app downloaded from a website. Google Play Protect may also warn that it hasn’t seen the app before; choose the option that installs it (setup step 5). The phone setup guide shows each message, what it means, and what to tap, and Why DroidVault isn’t on Google Play explains why the warnings appear and how to check the download yourself. On a Samsung phone, turn off Auto Blocker first: Settings › Security and privacy › Auto Blocker.
The phone app download never finishes
If the download stays at 100% and keeps saying “Downloading”, the setup page probably opened inside another app, such as the Google app, instead of Chrome. Open Chrome on your phone, go to droidvault.app/setup.html, and tap the download button again. See step 2 of the setup guide.
Texts or call log are denied, or say “Restricted setting”
On Android 15 and newer, and on some earlier phones, Android adds an extra step for apps installed from outside an app store that read texts or call history, and turns those permissions down on its own at first. Try allowing the permission in DroidVault once so Android turns it down, then open Settings › Apps › DroidVault, tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner, tap Allow restricted settings, and confirm with your fingerprint or PIN. Then, still on that screen, tap Permissions › SMS › Allow, and do the same for Call log. See step 6 of the setup guide.
Phone and PC can’t find each other
Both devices must be on the same Wi‑Fi network. That’s the number-one cause of connection trouble. Check that your phone isn’t on mobile data or a guest network, and that your PC isn’t on a different network than the phone. If your router offers a “guest” or “IoT” network, keep both devices off it, because guest networks often block devices from talking to each other.
Windows asks to allow DroidVault on your network
The first time you open DroidVault for Windows, Windows may ask whether to allow it through the Windows firewall. Choose Allow access (for private networks). This is normal: Windows is asking permission for your phone to reach the app over your local network. If you clicked Cancel by mistake, open Windows Security → Firewall & network protection → Allow an app through firewall, and enable DroidVault for private networks.
QR code won’t scan
Scan the QR code with your phone’s regular camera app, then try these in order: make sure the whole QR code is visible on your PC screen (not cut off or covered by another window), turn up your monitor brightness, hold the phone about 8–12 inches (20–30 cm) from the screen, and clean the camera lens. If your screen is very high resolution, making the DroidVault window larger can help the code render bigger. Still stuck? Skip scanning: type the pairing code shown in DroidVault for Windows into the DroidVault app on your phone, or restart both apps to get a fresh code.
Backup stops partway through
Keep the phone’s screen on and DroidVault open during a big first backup, because Android may pause apps in the background to save battery. Staying close to your Wi‑Fi router also helps: large photo and video libraries move a lot of data, and a weak signal slows or interrupts the transfer. If it stops, just start the backup again.
A scheduled backup didn’t run
Scheduled backups wait until your phone is on Wi‑Fi, not mobile data, and its battery isn’t low, so a backup may run later than the time you picked. Your PC also needs to be on, awake, on the same network, and running DroidVault for Windows.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to run DroidVault?
A Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC and an Android phone running Android 8.0 or newer. Texts, call log, contacts, and calendar back up on Android 8.0 and newer. Photo and video backup requires Android 13 or newer. Both devices need to be on the same Wi‑Fi network during a backup. The phone app has no separate charge; it works only with DroidVault for Windows.
Where do I get the phone app?
From droidvault.app, not Google Play. On your phone, open droidvault.app/setup.html in Chrome. DroidVault for Windows walks you through it, and the phone setup guide covers every step. Only install DroidVault from droidvault.app. If someone sends you a DroidVault file any other way, don’t install it.
Why does Android warn me about the app?
Chrome and Android ask you to confirm before installing any app downloaded from a website, not just DroidVault, and Google Play Protect can warn about any app it hasn’t seen before. We don’t offer the phone app on Google Play because Play only lets an app read text messages if it can also restore them or is the phone’s texting app, and DroidVault is a backup tool. The app is digitally signed by Gigadyne LLC, and we publish its fingerprints on the setup page so you can check your download. Read more about why, and what each warning means.
How do I update the phone app?
DroidVault checks droidvault.app for a newer version at most once a day, and you can tap Settings › Check for updates in the app at any time. When an update is ready, tap Update. The first time, Android asks you to let DroidVault install apps: turn on Allow from this source, then go back. Android then shows the update and you tap Update. Google Play Protect may show the same warning as when you first installed DroidVault; choose the option that installs (setup step 5). Your settings and pairing stay in place, and Android only accepts the update if it carries the same Gigadyne LLC signature. On a Samsung phone, turn Auto Blocker off briefly first.
You can also download the newest version from the phone setup guide and install it over your copy.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. Your phone connects directly to your PC over your local network, the connection is encrypted, and your backup is stored only on your PC. There is no cloud and no account, and Gigadyne never has access to your data. The phone app’s only other connection is a check for app updates on droidvault.app, at most once a day, which sends only the app’s version number. See the privacy policy for the full details.
Why aren’t my RCS chats in the backup?
Android does not make RCS chats accessible to third-party apps, so no backup app — DroidVault included — can read them. This is an industry-wide platform limitation. Standard SMS and MMS messages, including attachments, back up completely.
Why don’t my backed-up photos show where they were taken?
Android removes location tags from photos before it shares them with a backup app like DroidVault. Your photos are still copied at full resolution; they just won’t include the location where they were taken. The copies on your phone keep their location tags. Pictures in MMS messages are different: they are backed up as received, so one can still show a location if the sender’s photo carried it.
Where is my backup stored, and can I get it out?
Your backup is stored in a database on your PC. You can browse conversations, contacts, your call log, calendar, and media in DroidVault for Windows, and export any conversation to CSV, HTML, or TXT. For example, you can save a whole conversation as a readable HTML page, or as a CSV that opens in any spreadsheet.
The backup folder is usually C:\Users\<your name>\DroidVault. DroidVault for Windows shows its exact location under Settings › Backup folder, where Open in File Explorer opens it. The folder’s location can’t be changed yet, so large photo and video backups always go to that drive.
To delete every backup, choose Settings › Backup folder › Delete all backups on this PC; your phone will need to pair again afterward. Before you uninstall DroidVault for Windows, use that button if you want your backups gone, or copy the folder somewhere else or export what you want to keep: depending on how Windows installed the app, uninstalling it can delete the backup folder too.
Can I restore texts to a phone, or quiet spam texts?
Not yet. Restore and the Text Firewall are planned as free updates. Neither is available today.
Restore is meant to put your texts and call log back on a phone.
The Text Firewall is designed to let you set rules, for example “sender not in my Contacts and the message contains words I choose”, that silence the alert for matching texts and hold a copy in DroidVault’s Held inbox for you to review. It won’t delete texts from your messaging app or stop them from being delivered, because Android only lets your default texting app do that. It never touches one-time codes or emergency texts, and everything is decided on your phone.
When can I buy it?
DroidVault for Windows is on the Microsoft Store for $19.99, a one-time purchase with no subscription. The phone app downloads from droidvault.app at no separate charge and works only with DroidVault for Windows.
Before you email
A few quick checks solve most issues:
- Phone and PC on the same Wi‑Fi network
- DroidVault allowed through the Windows firewall
- Texts and call log allowed on the phone (see restricted settings)
- Both apps restarted for a fresh QR code
What to include
Help us help you faster:
- Your Windows version (10 or 11)
- Your phone model and Android version
- What you were doing when the problem happened
- The exact wording of any error message