Backup
Backs up the configuration of one or more devices. If multiple devices are selected, the application asks you to select a folder where to save all the files, which in this case take the default name (the host name).
Each backup file, with the sbk extension, is actually a set of zipped json text files; the backups of the devices supporting them also include any script.
Shelly Scanner also provides a way to perform a non-interactive backup (from the command line) using the -backup option followed by a path that identifies an existing directory.
See the specific manual paragraph for a full description of Shelly Scaner non-interactive usage.
Restore
Restores the configuration of the selected device. The restore can be performed on a device other than the one that generated the backup file as long as it is of the same model; in this case, confirmation will be requested.
Most parameters are restored but I cannot garantee for all of them; new ones are added with some Shelly Scanner new version. Reports on parameters not considered are welcome.
There are some important points to take into account:
- On the restore process the application asks, if relevant, for the passwords of: restricted login, wi-fi1, wi-fi2, mqtt server;
if the user don't give an asked password the related section will not be restored;
- The currently used connection is never altered (you would lose the connection during the restore);
- If the backup file refers to a different device (but same model) from the one on which the restore is performed and the source device has/had static IP,
connection parameters are not restored;
- If the device contains scripts that are not present in the backup file, they are not removed;
at the same time, if scripts with the same name exist, Shelly Scanner offers the possibility to rename the restored files;
be careful though, that the maximum limit of scripts that each device can contain may be exceeded;
- For some devices Shelly Scanner may require, with an explicit message, a manual operation before performing the restore;
this is for example the case of the Shelly plus 2PM that by switching from the "switch" profile to the "cover" profile performs an immediate reboot that would prevent subsequent restore process operations;
- Calibration data cannot be restored, therefore, after a factory reset or in the case of a new device, at the end of the restore it may be necessary to manually perform the calibration procedure
for devices that require it;
- In some cases Shelly Scanner will ask you to reboot
the device and start a new restore to complete the parameters recovery
(this may happen for example if an addOn is installed or virtual components are defined); this request, in some cases, can be repeated up to three times;
- If dynamic components (Bluetooth) are defined, Shelly Scanner will not be able to add them automatically because this operation requires manual intervention;
once the Bluetooth devices are manually added, all the restorable parameters will be recovered by the restore also for dynamic components;
- Shelly Scanner can't switch from Matter to Zigbee mode according to the backup file; this may cause an error message.
Restoring the remaining parameters will still succeed.
Note: scripts can also be restored individually (see the section dedicated to scripts).
Warning: it may happen that by updating the firmware of a device its old backup files become unusable.
Multiple Restore
If there are multiple devices selected, Shelly Scanner will ask for the path where the backup files are located (which must have the name automatically assigned by Shelly Scanner) and will try to restore each of them.
What is described in the previous paragraph applies with the differences that you find below.
In cases where the restore of a single device would ask for a password, nothing will be asked and that particular section (wi-fi 1 and 2, restricted login, MQTT, ...) will not be restored.
If there are scripts with overlapping names, the old scripts will be deleted whereas the restore of a single device offers to change the name instead.
You will be able to see the progress (name of the device being restored) in the status bar (bottom). At the end of the multiple restore process, an anomaly may be described in less details in the final summary than at the end of the restore of a single device.
Shelly Scanner also provides a way to perform a non-interactive multiple estore (from the command line) using the -restore option followed by a path that identifies a directory where the application should find the files for restore.
See the specific manual paragraph for a full description of Shelly Scaner non-interactive usage.