Backup stick

The backup stick makes a complete backup of your head unit and your T-Box onto a USB stick — before you try ADC or anything else. With that backup we can build a firmware stick for exactly your original version if something goes wrong later. That matters most if your head unit does not have firmware 0051: for 0051 there's already the stock firmware 0051, for every other version we have nothing yet.

Status: alpha. Version 0.15 (2 November 2026) is 0.14 with Connect app 1.9.41 (see “New in 0.15”); 0.15 has not run on any device yet, 0.14 has started in an alpha tester's car (AP version 104). Version 0.12 (9 October 2026) has run on our test head unit (firmware 0051), its predecessor 0.10 several times before, with and without the USB hub. Use at your own risk, see the disclaimer.

• It installs two small apps: the Connect app and ADC Backup. Nothing else in the system is changed — that's why it should run on every firmware version, not just 0051.
• It copies all 11 partitions of the head unit (boot, recovery, system, vendor, logo and so on, about 1.3 GB together) onto the stick, with checksums and a list of what's inside. The head unit is only read; the only thing written to is the stick. Which partitions those are is under Filesystem & partitions.
• Then the head unit restarts — the stick stays in — and ADC Backup also backs up the T-Box onto the stick by itself.
• New in 0.15: Connect app 1.9.41. If you install ADC through its window afterwards, the installation runs straight from the stick and the road map comes along — after 0.14 it did not that way (then install ADC with the factory reset, see ADC). The screen now also shows “ADC Backup-Stick 0.15”; 0.14 wrongly showed 0.13 there.
• New in 0.14: the Connect app stays on the head unit after the backup. On a car without ADC it now leaves Bluetooth, the hotspot and the original CarPlay alone and only looks after USB sticks. Before, it took them over — which stopped an external wireless CarPlay adapter from working. If an older backup stick switched the original CarPlay off, it switches it back on once.
• New in 0.13: whether your head unit's firmware comes along is now decided by two numbers: the AP version and the firmware number (operating system). If either is new to us, the stick packs the firmware — before, only the AP version counted.
• At the end ADC Backup writes a small report on the firmware versions of your head unit and T-Box onto the stick (ADC-1-REPORT_<VIN>.txt) and — only if we're still missing one of your versions — the firmware file (ADC-2-FIRMWARE_<VIN>.zip). How to send the two is below.

• An empty USB stick formatted FAT32, at least 8 GB. The head unit backup needs about 1.3 GB, the T-Box one with its drive recordings can reach 1.5 GB on a car that has driven a lot — 8 GB keeps you on the safe side. The head unit can't read exFAT sticks.
• On a car without ADC (Aiways Drivers Community firmware) this only works via a factory reset: paired phones, Wi-Fi networks and settings are deleted. The firmware itself — exactly what we need for your firmware stick — stays on the unit and ends up on the stick.

Unzip the download and copy the four files — update.zip, update_os.zip, ota_update.ini and OpenAiwaysConnect.apk — to the top level of the stick, not into a folder.

1. Switch the car on and plug the stick into the USB port in the centre console.
2. Open Settings › About › Factory Reset and confirm.
3. The head unit restarts a few times and then shows BACKING UP with a progress bar. The backup takes about 3 minutes.
4. Then you see BACKUP COMPLETE — Restarting, leave the stick in!!! The head unit restarts; the first start after the reset takes a bit longer than usual.
5. ADC Backup opens by itself and now backs up the T-Box. Wait for T-Box backup complete. Now you can pull the stick and, if you like to donate your firmware (without your private data). See below how and where.

Afterwards everything is on the stick in the folder PRIVATE_DO-NOT-UPLOAD: the backup of the head unit and the one of the T-Box, plus the T-Box's log files. At the top of the stick there's only the report and, if we need it, the firmware file. Keep the stick somewhere safe. We need the head unit backup to build you a firmware stick. The T-Box backup contains your car's data (e.g. the VIN) — better not hand that one on.

Good to know: the stick disarms itself on the way: the three start files move into the folder adc-parked, so the head unit doesn't back up again on the next start. For a second car, copy the three files from adc-parked back to the top level.

1. Open wiki.aiwaysdrivers.org/report and upload the report ADC-1-REPORT_<VIN>.txt from your stick. The page tells you straight away whether we already have your versions.
2. If we're missing one of them, the same page shows a second field right below it for the firmware file ADC-2-FIRMWARE_<VIN>.zip (up to about 450 MB, depending on the car). Upload it unchanged — don't unzip it, don't re-pack it.
3. Don't send the folder PRIVATE_DO-NOT-UPLOAD: it holds your car's data.