Backblaze Now Refunds Mailed Restore Drives, If Returned

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Backblaze Storage PodWith the myriad of great backup services available these days, keeping your data safe is easier than ever. But restoring data can still be a pain, especially in the case of a broken or restored computer. You could be looking at hundreds of gigabytes or even terabytes of information to download. To make matters worse, most DSL and cable providers now place download caps or throttling gates on their users, and a single restore can break internet access for a whole month.

Enter Restore, Return, Refund

Backblaze, who offers an excellent $5/month unlimited backup service, is one of the few companies who offer a solution to this. For some time now, the company has offered the ability to request a copy of your backed up files on either a 128 GB USB flash drive or up to a 4 TB external hard drive. But it was never cheap. A USB Flash drive would run you $99, while an external hard drive would run $189. For a one-time restoration, that’s a huge barrier for entry.

This week, Backblaze took a break from dropping the cost of cloud infrastructure to announce its new Restore Return Refund program. Under this program, you can still receive a flash drive or a hard drive with your valuable data on it, but now if you return the drive within 30-days, Backblaze will fully refund the price you paid for the drive.

All you pay for is one-way shipping to return it.

How It Works

Restore

Simply order a restore drive using the standard process, pack it back in the inner box when finished, and include a slip of paper with your account e-mail address inside for identification.

Backblaze recommends opting to track the shipping in case it gets lost in the mail.

Once they receive the drive, they’ll securely erase the drive with a DoD 5220.22-M compliant USB hardware 3-pass eraser, and you’ll receive your refund.

This is a smart move for the backup company, especially as the world becomes increasingly dependent on bandwidth caps and mobile internet services. But it’s also a well-timed move as CrashPlan recently removed it’s similar “Restore to Door” service, and Carbonite only offers a courier service on their $150 / year Personal Prime service. IDrive offers a similar courier service, but charges $100 / restore after the first instance in a year. With Backblaze, you either pay one shipping charge, or if you want to keep the drive, don’t send it back.

Backblaze’s Restore Return Refund program is now available for current and future subscribers worldwide.

Mike Lohnash

Mike Lohnash

Mike has nurtured a passion for all things tech for over ten years as a hobbyist, retailer, tech supporter, and spreadsheet jockey. He’s been an optimistic evangelist for the power of the cloud since the days of server-aided file sharing. In his spare time he loves reading and writing about faraway lands, playing games within them, and has a slightly unhealthy obsession for Star Wars.

Mike Lohnash

@wondering_bard

Mike Lohnash

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