Back up and transfer

Cinaura can create an encrypted backup of everything you’ve set up on one TV, so you can restore it on another. Handy when you upgrade your Android TV box, factory-reset your current one, or set up a second TV in another room.

Backup and restore happen inside the app, protected by a 6-word phrase you write down at export time. Cinaura’s servers never see that phrase, so no one but you can open the backup.

What’s in the backup

Included:

• All profiles (name, avatar, age limit, admin flag)
• Every profile’s preferences
• Library and playback settings
• Your sources, their folders, and sign-in details (tokens, API keys)

Not included (these rebuild automatically after import):

• Watch history, resume points, favourites
• Downloaded artwork and details

Note

Creating a backup happens from the admin-only Library panel, so you need to be signed in to an admin profile on the source device. Restoring on a fresh install works straight from the first-run screen (no profiles or admin needed yet); if you’re restoring into an already-set-up device, you’ll go through Settings, which is admin-gated the same way.

Export from the current device

1. On the source TV, open Cinaura → Settings → Library. Scroll to the Backup & transfer section.

2. Select Export to a new device. The explainer screen shows what’s included and what isn’t.

3. Select Create backup. Cinaura encrypts your data and uploads the ciphertext to the pairing bridge (cinaura.tv).

4. Write down the 6-word phrase in order. Cinaura shows it in a 3-column grid, numbered 1 to 6. Keep it somewhere safe (a note, a password manager, whatever works).

5. Tick I’ve written these words down somewhere safe, then select Done.

Caution

The backup is available for 24 hours. After that, the ciphertext is deleted from the pairing bridge and the phrase no longer opens anything. Restore on the new device within that window.

Caution

The 6-word phrase is the only way to open the backup. Nobody at Cinaura, no support ticket, and no recovery flow can help if it’s lost. Treat it like a password.

Import on the new device

1. On the destination TV, install Cinaura and open it. You don’t need to create a profile or connect a source first: the import will replace whatever is on the device.

2. Open the import flow. Two ways in, depending on where you are:

   • From the first-run screen (before you’ve connected any source): select Import backup in the bottom actions row.
   • From an already-set-up device: sign in to an admin profile, then open Settings → Library → Import from another device.

3. Enter the 6-word phrase with the on-screen letter picker. Pick letters until the word appears in the suggestions, then select it. Repeat until all 6 slots are filled.

4. Select Restore. Cinaura fetches the ciphertext and shows a summary: how many profiles and sources are in the backup, and when it was made.

5. Confirm with Erase and restore. This wipes the destination TV’s profiles, sources and settings, then restores everything from the backup.

6. When Cinaura says Backup restored, select Restart now. The library rebuilds automatically the first time you open each source.

Caution

The restore is destructive on the destination device: existing profiles, sources and settings are erased before the backup is written. This step can’t be undone. If you have anything worth keeping on the destination TV, export a backup from it first.

How the encryption works

• The 6-word phrase is put through PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 with 600,000 iterations to derive an AES-256 key. That’s slow enough on purpose to make offline brute-force attacks infeasible.
• The backup is encrypted with AES-256-GCM before it leaves the TV.
• The importing device identifies your backup from your typed phrase alone.

Troubleshooting

• “Couldn’t find backup” when entering the phrase: the backup has expired (24 hours since export) or one of the words is wrong. Retype carefully; the picker only shows valid words for each prefix, so a wrong word is usually a typo further back in the phrase.
• “Import failed” mid-restore: the destination device may have been partially wiped. Try the import again from the same phrase while it’s still within the 24-hour window; the export is idempotent and can be applied multiple times.
• Some profiles look empty after import: metadata, artwork, watch history and resume points aren’t part of the backup by design. Give the library a moment to re-sync from each source and it will rebuild.
• “Backup & transfer” section isn’t visible: you’re on a non-admin profile. Switch to the admin profile in Settings → Profiles and try again.