Home > Consumer Reviews > ioSafe Solo 1.5 TB Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive with 1 Year Data Recovery Service SL1500GBUSB20 (Silver)

1 month after we purcased the Iosafe it paid for itself. We had a break-in at our office and all of our computers and server were solen. Fortunately I had the Iosafe at my home and I back-up our data through an internet connection. All of the data was restored from the Iosafe as soon as we had bought new equipment.
It does what they say it will do.

I've been very pleased with the iosafe. It hasn't been put to the test as far as natural disasters, but it arrived in a timely fashion and was easy to install/set-up (computer recognizes it, and does everything for you - just plug in to wall and computer). LOVE the peace of mind that my precious pictures and video can not be taken from me. Worth every penny.

Excellent product so far. Hopefully I will not need to test it's fireproof or waterproof features but like I said no problems so far.

Pros:
* Reasonably priced considering what you are getting (fireproof, waterproof, theft protection)
* Includes a way to bolt the drive down for theft protection
* Gives peace of mind - protecting my code (I'm a programmer) and other valuable data
* I emailed the company with a question about encryption and got a fast response that answered the question

Cons:
* Only USB 2.0 interface - could be faster with USB 3.0 or eSATA (future update?)

Other:
* Unit weighs about 15 pounds
* Requires external power supply
* Must register within 7 days with ioSafe
* My 2TB unit uses a Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 hard drive
* Can buy DRS (data recover service) extensions/upgrades to 5 years
* Check the videos (YouTube) on the Internet to see what this thing can take
* I use mine with my Windows Home Server and backup the shares and backups to it
* Encrypting data on the drive may make data recovery more difficult in case of disaster

I'm a bit leery about a product that I've owned for less than a week, as the external H.D.D. could crap-out on me tomorrow. However, when that happens, I'll be sure to add an additional review. However, I remain hopeful that this won't be the case for the next three years. I've owned a W.D. My Book, which I got three years of solid use from after it inexplicably began to die on me: the host of H.D.D. sounds that lead me to this discovery happened over a month ago.
I own a Power Mac G5 Quad, with a ton of data and programs that I really needed. The Power Mac G5 Quad began to die shortly after the W.D. external!: I had a number of dying H.D.D. drive related issues - the insidious screeches and other head issues relating to the drive. When I pulled the H.D.D., I was astonished to fine a 250G.B. maxtor installed!? You would think that such a high-end machine would have a better, H.D.D. installed.
Nevertheless, I was able to clone the dying internal H.D.D. to my iosafe with super-duper in a little more than 2 hours via its U.S.B. 2.0 port. I've also made it bootable, which will help migrating to another W.D. internal that I bought ~ 8-10 months ago. I'm surprised I was able accomplish this and not lose pertinent data and programs, as the machine is filled with advanced audio-editing programs, Sibelius, Finale, Logic, Pro-Tools and the full CS4 suite.
I'm currently setting up the machine to migrate the clone to the W.D. 1t.b. H.D.D.
Although I would have loved to see Firewire 800/400 ports, I was pleased with the speed of the clone vai U.S.B. 2. I'd like to see firewire integrated into the iosafe in the not so distant future.
However, being suspicious of Hardware that I just purchased, I'm leery about advocating its purchase. But it has saved me life for the meantime, as re-installing all of my software would take a good week on a new H.D.D. For those on the Mac Platform, the format to OS extended journaling may prove tricky at first. But you can find detailed instructions on the iosafe website, which I did and had little problems: I completed the format in about 5-7 minutes.
All in all, it seems like a good product; however, it is VERY heavy, which is the one draw-back if you're taking it to clients' homes to do backups, etc.
I'm going to take apart the W.D. Book and see if I can retrieve data via freezing the H.D.D. and slapping it into my system.
The warranty for this product is a good one: 1 year data loss retrieval, as well as a three year warranty on the H.D.D. itself.
I'll be certain to amend my review if I find something wrong with this hardware. However, for the meantime, it has worked like a charm.