# Back up and restore your codes

> Export every code to one backup file, keep the file off your phone, and restore it on a new phone. What a restore adds and what it skips.

_Updated 2026-10-12 · Source: https://rematter.app/guides/backup-and-restore/_

ReMatter keeps your codes on your phone only. It has no account and no cloud copy. You can
lose or replace the phone. So export a backup file and save it somewhere else. Backup and
restore are free.

## Open Backup & Restore

Tap **Settings** (the gear at the top of the device list), then **Backup & Restore**.

_Image: The Settings screen, with Backup and Restore, ReMatter Pro and the legal pages_

Settings came in [version 1.0.36](/releases/1.0.36/).

## Export a backup file

Tap **Export backup file**. ReMatter makes one file with every device, group and merge, and
opens the share sheet. Save the file off the phone, for example to Google Drive or in an
email to yourself.

_Image: The Backup and Restore screen, with the Backup file last shared line and its two buttons_

The screen shows when you last shared a backup file, and how many codes you added or changed
since then. If that number is not zero, export a new file.

The file is named `rematter-backup-` and the date, for example
`rematter-backup-2026-10-12.json`. It holds your Matter passcodes and Z-Wave keys, so keep it
private.

Backup files came in [version 1.0.12](/releases/1.0.12/), as part of ReMatter Pro. Since [version 1.0.36](/releases/1.0.36/), backup is free, and the screen shows when you last shared a file.

## Restore on a new phone

1. Install ReMatter on the new phone.
2. Tap **Restore from a backup** on the empty list. Or open **Settings**, then **Backup &
   Restore**, and tap **Restore from file**.
3. Choose the backup file.

ReMatter adds the devices in the file and keeps the devices that are already on the phone.
If a device is in both places, the newer copy wins. At the end, ReMatter says how many
devices it restored and how many it skipped. It skips a device when the phone already has
the same or a newer copy, so a second restore of the same file skips everything. It also
skips a scanned code that another device on the phone already holds, and a part of the file
that it cannot read.

The free limit does not stop a restore. A file with more than 10 codes restores in full. See
[The free version and ReMatter Pro](/guides/free-version/).

## Older versions of the app

If a file uses a backup format that the app does not know yet, the app asks you to update it.

Some older versions read only part of a newer file:

- Before [version 1.0.23](/releases/1.0.23/), the app does not restore Z-Wave codes.
- Before [version 1.0.24](/releases/1.0.24/), the app does not restore HomeKit codes.
- Before [version 1.0.26](/releases/1.0.26/), merged devices come back as separate devices.

To get everything back, restore on the newest version of ReMatter.

## Android's own backup is off

Android can copy app data to Google Drive and to a new phone. ReMatter turns that off, because
the data holds your passcodes and keys. Use the backup file to move your codes. This came in
[version 1.0.24](/releases/1.0.24/).