Scheduled backup worked for two days
The backup worked for two days. Then I got "Backup Failed" error. There is no error log, list of error codes, or any further information, or, if it is there somewhere in the app, it is very well-hidden. Online documentation and FAQ are extensive but vapid and no help. Customer support is minimal. The prominently featured "Chat" on their website is pre-sales only (=sales). Technical chat and phone hours are 12 hours reversed from North America, midnight to noon, so the only practical option is a slow email conversation over many days. When tech support did respond by email the next day, the message ignored my detailed explanation, including screen shots, and offered instead a “remote session” in which they would essentially take over my computer from China. I declined to do that. The problem was not resolved. Subsequent scheduled backups occurred without error for one week, then another unexplained failure occurred. Other shortcomings: File restore does work despite warnings that it wouldn't. The restore log listed five errors and failures, including “destination unknown” and “path to destination too long.” I do not know what these errors mean, but in any case, the restore to the designated directory was successful. After checking the restored file, I then deleted it, but when I went to empty the recycle bin, I was told I needed administrator privileges to do that. Fortunately, I have those, but I have never before been asked for special privileges to empty the trash, not even around the house. The software is intrusive and pops up advertising and promotions quite often. Turning off all notifications from the software interface and in windows does not stop it. I found a binary deep in the program files that I was able to rename, hopefully ending that obnoxious behavior. A thirty-day moneyback guarantee is featured on their website but there is no information on how that might be executed. When I contacted customer support, they declined the refund, saying that it was only possible after a "remote session," (they take over my computer) during their hours (late evening for me), to verify that their software had failed. Nowhere in the sales material does it say that the refund is contingent on software failure. It just says 30-day money-back guarantee. That is a false, or misleading claim. The application itself can only be launched by someone with system administrator privileges. That is fine for me but not for the rest of my family (I have three licenses). I have used Backblaze (the paid version) for years, and it does everything I need, quietly and invisibly, with single file-level restore. When I added new computers to my network, I decided to try Easeus because the license is cheaper, but, it turns out, it is much more difficult to live with. Backblaze has some bad reviews about data restoration after catastrophic failure, whereas Easeus has good reviews for that, especially if you purchase their add-on data restoration products (which I have not tried). It’s hard to know what to believe. When you do a google search on any question about Easeus, you get at least 25 articles provided by Easeus. There are few to no independent reviews of Easeus Todo on the web, leading me to suspect that the company has a massive marketing arm that has successfully swamped criticism. Paid reviewers are, of course, not without priorities. Easeus products are not sold by Amazon or Best Buy so customer evaluation is hard to come by. I am also looking at Aomei Backup, which has a perfectly competent free version and a very reasonably priced paid verision with more features. Conclusion: The Easeus backup and restore work, but I am less than enthusiastic, have canceled my subscription and am looking at alternatives.