Umbrel for Android

Umbrel for Android is the official Umbrel app for Android. Its main job is backing up your phone's photos and videos to your Umbrel automatically, so they show up in the Photos app on your Umbrel. You can also use it to check on your Umbrel, see your apps and updates, and open your apps and files right inside the app.

Using an iPhone? See Umbrel for iPhone.

What you'll need

• An Android phone or tablet running Android 11 or later.
• An Umbrel running umbrelOS 2.0 or later. If your Umbrel is on an older version, the app will ask you to update umbrelOS first.
• Your Umbrel account name and password. Both owners and members can use the app.
• Tailscale, if you want to use the app away from home. You don't need it at home.

Download the app

Open link.umbrel.com/android-app on your phone. The link opens the app on Google Play, where you can install it.

Connect to your Umbrel

1. Open the app and tap Continue on the welcome screen.
2. The app searches for Umbrels on your network, so your phone needs to be on the same Wi-Fi network as your Umbrel. Choose yours and tap Connect.
3. If your Umbrel has more than one user, choose your name.
4. Enter your Umbrel password, and your 2FA code if you have two-factor authentication turned on.

To add another Umbrel later, go back to your list of Umbrels and tap +.

If the app can't find your Umbrel

Tap Can't find your Umbrel? Connect by address and enter one of these:

• Your Umbrel's local IP address, which you can find in Settings on your Umbrel next to Local IP
• Its local hostname, like umbrel.local. If you changed your hostname, use the new one.
• Its Tailscale IP address or MagicDNS name

Web addresses on the public internet and addresses with a port number aren't accepted.

If your Umbrel is brand new

If your Umbrel hasn't been set up yet, the app shows Set up your Umbrel. Tap Set Up to create your account. An Umbrel Home or a Raspberry Pi can be set up right in the app.

An Umbrel Pro, a PC with drives that umbrelOS could use for RAID, and restoring from a backup all need a web browser, ideally on a computer. The app shows you the address to go to. When you're done, come back to the app to sign in.

What the app does

The app has three tabs, plus your Profile:

• Home shows whether your Umbrel is online, with sections for your apps, files, photos, and storage.
• Apps lists your installed apps and available updates. Tapping an app opens it right inside the Umbrel app. You can also open the Umbrel App Store from here.
• Photos shows the photos and videos on your phone and your backup status. This is where you set up Photo Backup.
• Profile has your connection details and Photo Backup settings, including Back up photos, Back up videos, Folders, and Use mobile data. You can also sign out here.

To browse your files, tap View all in the Files section of Home. It opens the Files app of umbrelOS inside the Umbrel app.

Photo Backup

Photo Backup copies your phone's photos and videos to your Umbrel in the background, even when the app is closed. Your photos show up in the Photos app on your Umbrel as the original files.

At home, photos upload over your local network, so you don't need Tailscale. To keep backing up when you're away, set up Tailscale. If your phone can't reach your Umbrel, backup waits and carries on when it can.

Turn on Photo Backup

1. Open the Photos tab and tap Set up backup.
2. When asked, allow access to your photos and videos.
3. If you allowed access to all photos, choose which folders to back up, then tap Start Backup. Everything is on to start with. Skip any folders you don't want on your Umbrel, like screenshots or photos from messaging apps.

Backup starts with your newest photos and works back through your library. If you allowed notifications, you'll see a Backing up to Umbrel notification while it runs. Tap Pause on the notification to stop it for now.

On Android 14 and later, you can choose Select photos instead of allowing all photos. The app then backs up only the photos and videos you selected, so new ones aren't backed up until you add them. To change this, go to Profile, tap Photo Library Access under Permissions, and choose Select More Photos or Allow All Photos.

When photos back up

Android decides when uploads run. New photos and videos back up within a few minutes while your phone is charging or the app is open. Otherwise, they may wait several hours. You don't need to keep the app open, but background usage must be allowed for Umbrel in your phone's settings.

A large batch added after setup, like a folder you copied to your phone, finishes over time. It goes fastest overnight on the charger.

What gets backed up

• Every photo and video on your phone, including screenshots, downloads, and media from messaging apps, except the folders you skip.
• Photos and videos in their original format, with the location they were taken.
• Edited photos and videos. After you edit something, the version you see in your gallery is backed up again. Photo Backup keeps the latest version, not a full history of every edit.

Android motion photos show as regular photos on your Umbrel.

You can choose what gets backed up in Profile with the Back up photos and Back up videos switches, and Folders. New folders are backed up automatically. Skipping a folder later doesn't remove what's already on your Umbrel.

Mobile data

Uploads only happen over Wi-Fi by default. Phone hotspots and Wi-Fi networks marked as metered wait too. To back up over mobile data, turn on Use mobile data in Profile. Automatic backup doesn't use mobile data while you're roaming.

Where your photos are saved

Photos are saved in your Home folder under Photos, in a folder named after your phone. The name comes from your phone's device name in Android's settings, usually under About phone. If it can't be read, the folder is called Android phone. To see the name your phone uses, tap Learn more in the Photos tab.

Each person's backups go to their own Home folder. Other users on your Umbrel can't see them unless you share the folder.

Deleting photos

• Deleting a photo on your phone doesn't delete it from your Umbrel.
• Deleting a photo on your Umbrel doesn't delete it from your phone. Items you delete in Photos on your Umbrel go to the Trash in Files.

Backing up to a different Umbrel

A phone can back up to one Umbrel at a time. To switch, open the other Umbrel in the app and tap Back Up to This Umbrel. Photos already backed up to the first Umbrel stay there.

Stop backing up

• To pause, turn off Back up photos and Back up videos in Profile. Anything already backed up stays on your Umbrel.
• To stop a phone from backing up for good, open Photos on your Umbrel, right-click the phone under Sources, and choose Remove source. Choose Keep items to keep the backed up photos, or Remove items too to move them to the Trash. Originals on your phone are never deleted.

Using it away from home

Tailscale creates a private, encrypted connection between your phone and your Umbrel that works from anywhere. With it, you can use the app and keep backing up photos when you're away.

1. On your Umbrel, install Tailscale from the App Store, open it, and sign in. See Remote access for more detail. Only the owner can install apps, so members should ask the owner to do this.
2. On your phone, install the Tailscale app from Google Play and sign in with the same Tailscale account.
3. In the Umbrel app, go to Profile > Remote access. It checks the connection and shows when your phone can reach your Umbrel through Tailscale.

If you're a member on someone else's Umbrel, the owner needs to invite you to their Tailscale network. Accept the invitation, then connect Tailscale on your phone.

Security

When you first connect, the app saves your Umbrel's security certificate so it can verify it's talking to your Umbrel every time. Your password is never stored on your phone. Connections over your local network are encrypted with HTTPS, and connections through Tailscale are encrypted by Tailscale.

The app appears as Umbrel for Android in your Umbrel's active logins. You can log it out from there at any time.

Sign out or remove your Umbrel

In Profile, tap Sign out. Signing out pauses Photo Backup until you sign in again. Photos that were already backed up stay on your Umbrel.

To remove an Umbrel from the app completely, sign out, tap the Umbrel, and choose Remove from this phone. Your backups stay on your Umbrel, and you can add it again at any time.

Troubleshooting

• "Update to connect." Your Umbrel needs umbrelOS 2.0 or later. Update umbrelOS, then try again.
• "No device found." Make sure your phone and Umbrel are on the same Wi-Fi network, then tap Scan again, or connect by address.
• "Can't reach your Umbrel." Make sure your Umbrel is turned on, then connect your phone to the same network or turn on Tailscale.
• "Umbrel not recognized." This usually happens after your Umbrel or its certificate is reset. Tap Reconnect and sign in again. If Photo Backup was on, you'll need to turn it back on. Everything on your Umbrel stays as it is.
• "Waiting for Umbrel." Backup carries on when your phone is on the same network as your Umbrel. Set up Tailscale to back up from anywhere.
• "Waiting for Wi-Fi." Backup carries on when you're on Wi-Fi. To back up without it, turn on Use mobile data in Profile.
• "Background usage is restricted." Allow background usage for Umbrel in your phone's settings, so Android can back up in the background.
• "Full Photos access required." Allow access to all photos and videos in your phone's settings. Your existing backups stay on your Umbrel.
• "Allow access to photo locations." Tap Allow so your backups keep where each photo was taken. Backup pauses until you do.
• "Free up storage on your Umbrel, then try again." Your Umbrel is out of space. Free up some space, then tap Try Again in the app.
• "Reconnect photo backup." Tap Reconnect in the app. Your existing backups are safe.
• "Photos may be backed up twice." Your account already has photos from another phone. If this phone was restored from that one, backing up stores your photos again. Tap Review to back up anyway or turn off backup.
• Backup is slow or stops for a while. Android decides when background uploads run. Opening the app, charging, and staying on Wi-Fi usually helps.
• "Photo backup needs attention." Tap Try Again. If it keeps happening, contact us and we'll help you get it working.