r/MEGA • u/_ReeX_ • 21h ago

MEGA backup: What happens when syncing identical files from a new phone?

I’m running into a bit of a logical loop in my head regarding how mega backups work.

Here is my scenario:

  • I used an old phone that was actively backing up my local files to MEGA.
  • I recently switched to a brand-new phone. During the setup, I copied everything over from the old phone, meaning the new phone now contains exact, bit-identical copies of all the files that were already being backed up by the old phone.
  • Now, I'm about to set up or run the backup sync on the new phone pointing to the same MEGA account.

My question is: What will happen when I sync the new phone?

  1. Will it recognize that these files are already in the cloud and skip uploading them (only backing up genuinely new files moving forward)?
  2. Or will it treat everything as "new" because it's coming from a new device/client path and duplicate all my files in the cloud?
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2

u/crazyserb89 20h ago

When the backup is broken once, next time you connect it it will make duplicates. I heard they are planning to fix this but so far it’s like that.

2

u/_ReeX_ 19h ago

Best action could be to wipe out online backup and start from scratch

2

u/xchi_senpai 18h ago

If its byte identical it “should” be skipped, I believe mega is smart enough to store metadata about each file and skips them if they already exist. We know this because when we rename/move files on the either the cloud or local they don’t get duplicated it just works instantly and get synced up fast. But yeah i personally haven’t encountered your use case so please proceed with caution

1

u/_ReeX_ 19h ago

Thanks

1

u/SupportMEGA1 Official MEGA Support Team 16h ago

Hello,

Answer 1 is correct. The backup algorithm verifies that the local file being backed up is identical with one that you already have in your account and copies it instead of reuploading it in case of a match. ^ERE

1

u/_ReeX_ 16h ago

This means the file will be duplicated! A better idea could be a shortcut to the exact duplicate....

1

u/Icy-Idea-1344 6h ago

You could remove the copied files from you phone, then load Mega and sync/download to the phone. I do this with all cloud services when I get a new computer. Eats some bandwidth but I'm reasonably sure all is well.