[peterh337]

I realise one can use Nokia Suite to do this but will it copy over installed apps? I am just trying to create a spare phone. I did this with the Nokia E51 (using the PC Suite) and the apps did not get copied over. What is the easiest way to copy over the installed apps?

[aspergerguy]

@peterh337

Unfortunately Nokia has never seemed to grasp this simple concept for iPhone users replacing a device, plug in restore and good to go. If applications have been installed upon memory card and device also backed up to memory card which you then swap to other device, you probably stand best chance of these transferring smoothly across.

[peterh337]

Nearly all the apps I have installed, and every one bought from the Nokia shop, did not give any option where to install them...

I am a hardware/software developer and have noticed that simply file browsing the phone shows a lot of empty directories in the phone memory. Presumably the phone prevents the contents being seen?

I would have thought this is a popular requirement. There ought to be a solution of some kind.

Can apps be re-downloaded without buying them again? I don't know how the Nokia shop works in this case but assume that if my SIM card is placed in the second phone, they could be re-downloaded into that. Is that correct?

[sizzers]

Purchased apps can be re-downloaded up to 5 times and I BELIEVE that  this can now be to any phone. You will find all of your downloads under "My Stuff" when you log on to Nokia Store to re-download, and if you click on "Installation Preferences" you can direct which drive you would like them installed to if not to a a specific folder.

[petrib]

The problem with Symbian/S60 apps and backup/restore is that the Symbian operating system (OS) will not, by design, back up installed applications, but leaves the decision to the application developer.

The application developer can, if they so choose, decide to enable the OS to back up (and consequently to restore) the app fully, or partially.

Most application developers do not enable backups for their apps, because they're not even aware of this capability (or requirement/restriction, depending on how one looks at it), or they don't know how (Symbian/Nokia has not documented this very clearly, and the developers haven't found, read or understood the documentation they have had access to through the Nokia/Symbian developer tools and developer web site).

Nokia could, of course, if they wanted to, fix this (change the default behaviour of Symbian) easily, but they haven't done so.

Handling Java apps is a different story, but not any better (rather worse, actually).

End result for the users, unfortunately: Backup/restore doesn't usually back up or restore user-installed apps on Symbian based phones, even if PC Suite knows how to do it.

[4Cu2]

you are able to select the memory where the applications is installed from Nokia Store settings. If I remember correctly, it's under the account settings menu.

[peterh337]

I cannot find the default installation destination memory setting on my N700.

If it is in the store, then it will work only on apps downloaded from the store. However, I have just looked and cannot see any such option.

Some non-Nokia apps have offered the option of where to install.

Back to the original Q - is there no "file browser" which shows everything? Or is this an issue similar to jailbreaking the IOS devices?

[petrib]

Symbian v9 introduced a security model under the monicker "Platform Security".

As part of it are mechanism to hide/protect application's private folders from unprivileged applications.

The privileges (or in Symbian terms, capability) required for an application to read any file or folder is "AllFiles". And for an application also to write anywhere (any folder, any file, except the firmware), a capability called TCB (Trusted Computing Base) is required for the app.

AllFiles and TCB privileges is assigned to applications by Nokia only on special request, and file managers never get it. It may be given to, e.g., virus scanner products from developers that Nokia trusts.

So, file managers can only see files in unprotected folders on the phone, not hidden/private folders for apps or for the operating system.

[petrib]

Also, each application developer for Symbian can decide whether they allow the user to select where their app is installed (phone memory, secondary mass storage or memory card), or if the developer forces one or the other.

Usually, for apps in Nokia Store, Nokia requires that the app does not forcefully install to any particular location, but I imagine there are waivers for exceptions granted, if the developer argues it well enough.

There are also some things that always are installed in phone memory (e.g., the Qt bits that applications based on Qt requires).

[peterh338]

Thank you very much for the interesting replies.

I suppose that since Symbian is on its way out (app development virtually stopped c. 2009) the incentive for somebody do produce a "jailbreak" is now zero.

I did find something on the web describing the patching of some file though...

On IOS devices the incentive was (and is) huge because Apple tightened the product up so tightly, and sold so many.