[Google Pixel 7 Pro] Schroeder09:
I got on here to ask this very thing. I'm coming from a p2xl. On Android 10. I never even did the big system update to a11 because the pain of re-asetting up the phone after a bit update where a wipe was done was SUCH a PITA. It took weeks until you found everything that had been done. Part of this may be my inexperience and inability to do a "backup." People on here say "just so a backup before you update."

What does that mean? What app or ADB process do you use and how do you restore the backup? I'd really like to know this because it's pivotal in my decision on if I will root or not. I'm 95% set on NOT rooting right now because I don't have time each month- especially ever 4-6 months when the monthly update is just different enough to screw stuff up, and I have to end up wiping everything and setting everything up.

Here's what I root for. Can anyone tell me the non-root alternatives because I've seen them named here, but I never wrote them down. I wish I would've done that.

1.) Substratum. I LOVE swift black. 5 years ago already there was a non-root version of this although I remember people saying it wasn't quite as good. Is there any theming non-root version of swift black? Does the stock pixel 7 pro aosp allow you to theme true black or is it Google's dumb grey that they call "dark" or "black"?

2.) AdAway. I've seen non-root paid app versions on here listed before. If I have to pay a 1x fee of $10 for 5+ yests (life of the phone) of no ads I'm doing that over rooting.

3.) YouTube revanced. There's a non-root version of this though. This seems pretty self-explanatory here that rooting isn't needed for this.

4.) Tasker- what "awesome" stuff are people using this for that can't be accomplished with the non-root capabilities of the app? A lot of the tasks I made are nice but aren't needed, and some are now possible with native aosp.

5.) Viper for Android. The louder volume this allows you to put from phone speakers and Bluetooth devices is almost needed. I love it. I saw a non-root version of this mentioned in another thread too though. What is it?

6.) Backup. Titanium backup is what I have today but have never utilized it and understood it. It's never made for easier, faster monthly updates where I can restore a backup and get the phone up and going in 30 minutes. Can someone explain what they use (swift?) and how the entire process works?

7.) Button mapper. I double click my volume down hard key to turn my flashlight on. Love this. This one will be hard to let go of. What's the non-root alternative today?

8.) Various AOSP mods. These are the real PITA and source of headache that I'm probably just going to let go of. These are the things that take weeks to fix as you stumble over them and remember you have to reinstste them after an update. I had modded nav bar icons, I used solid explorer to re-add the option to Google photos to only sync new photos to the cloud while on the charger, I have preferred wifi calling toggled on through some aosp mod, I have other stuff I wouldn't even remember until it disappears after an update!

Can anyone list what non-root alternative to each of these numbered items they're using today? Any explanation or link to a guide on the backup and restoration process via adb or any non-root (or root) app would SOOOO appreciated.