IDrive at a Glance
Our Rating
4 / 5 stars
[xrr rating=4/5]
Price:
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Pros:
- Drag-and-drop file restore feature.
- Backup set search capability.
- Mapped drive support.
- Phone support for paid users.
- Ability to pause and then re-start the upload of files.
- Excellent iOS and Android apps that can backup mobile files.
- Customizable archive settings.
- Can install on multiple machines.
- Supports a private encryption key.
Cons:
- Backup space not unlimited. Overuse charged at $0.50 USD/GB/Month.
- Does not automatically select all users files.
- Need multiple desktop clients for backup, sync and local backup.
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Full IDrive Review
IDrive is owned by Pro Softnet and is headquartered in Los Angeles County. They were founded in 1995 and offer cloud backup, sync and a remote pc service. They are also the largest southern California cloud service.
IDrive – Now the Largest SoCal Cloud Service! online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-‚Ķ
— IDrive Online Backup (@IDrive_Online) May 3, 2013
There’s no more complete online cloud-based storage service than iDrive. Although it is not the cheapest one available, it is still affordable compared to others and comes with backup clients for nearly every PC and mobile device, including Windows Phone that is uncommon these days. The company also gives additional storage for syncing all your devices and PCs, allows sharing of files and folders with anyone, and has the storage space to back up to a local drive. See how well it matches to the competition in our big online backup collection throughout this iDrive review.
IDrive offers business plans that help businesses or small businesses and individuals to securely backup their significant information with military grade 256-bit AES encryption so that they do not lose their files and folders in case of a data disaster and the ultimate protection from hackers. Furthermore, you can select your own private encryption key, which is secured only to you and not saved anywhere on our servers, for utmost privacy.
What do you mean by online backup?
Online backup is a process of off-site storage in which files are regularly backed up to cloud storage on a remote server, typically hosted by a service provider. Service providers then require payments for handling storage space backup based on the capacity and file size.
Installation
Installation of IDrive is pretty straightforward once you download the desktop application. Simply open the installer and follow the wizard to install the software. In a few clicks, the software will be installed and you can start the backup process.
Backing Up
Previously IDrive had been criticized for being a little more complicated for people to use. Thankfully some of this has been removed in the newer versions of the software. In my test, it defaulted to backing up the user files of the account I was logged in as. Unfortunately, that was not where my test files were located, so I selected all of the user’s folders. Fior most people this might not cause a problem but for the occasional person, this could be an issue. The software does not automatically backup all files or look for files in a non-standard folder. Something to be aware of when you are setting up your backup.
Depending on the size of your backup it could take a while to transfer all of it to IDrive.
For large backups, you can use IDrive Rapid Serve and seed your backup. They ship you a hard drive that you send back. IDrive then moves the data over to their servers and returns the hard drive to you.

The iDrive local client is almost identical to iDrive’s online dashboard that you can change the settings, includes turning on and off CDP using either. iDrive easily creates a local backup using the similar data set that is backed up online in the cloud storage. It enables you to regularly have the Rule of Three feature: your original data, a copy, and another copy of the copy. It is also much quicker to restore from a hard drive than from any online backup service.
You can start a restore using the IDrive desktop client or for small restores of a few files you can access the IDrive web portal and access your files. For large restores, you can also use Rapid Serve and get a hard drive containing your data.
The desktop restore process is easy to do, simply click the Restore tab on the client, browse your backup folders and select what you want to restore and where to restore to and click Restore Now. Your files will then be downloaded from IDrive to your computer. In the test restore I did I had no problem restoring all of the photos. Comparing the restored folder and the original folder the only file that was not restored was a hidden desktop.ini file.
If you have the IDrive Android or iOS app also installed you can restore the backed up data from those devices on your desktop as well. This makes it easy to recover your data from your mobile devices if you lose them.

IDrive has a strong mobile app for both Android and iOS. Most cloud services allow you to access your files, some will back up your photos but IDrive will backup not just your photos and videos but also your contacts and calendar. Some of that information is already available to you in the cloud depending on what you use but it is always good to have an extra copy of that data just in case your cloud accounts are terminated for some reason.
The IDrive mobile apps are one of the best reasons to use IDrive. They make it easy to access your files, backup your mobile files and protect your other information.

IDrive has a nice web portal for accessing and sharing your files. It makes it easy to browse your files, share them with friends and family and even upload to your account. My only issue was not being able to select an entire folder to download. The web portal has been improved considerably and if you could download your files easier from the web it could be great.
Other Features
IDrive offers a number of services including backup, sync, and portable (rapid serve) but you need different software for each. This is not much different than other companies but for some reason, it feels more complicated with IDrive. I have not actually tried IDriveSync but it does offer 10GB of free space. If you are just looking to sync you might want to take a look at it as well.
Sharing has been integrated into many of the products. You can easily share from the mobile apps and the web portal. Makes it easy to share the latest photos and videos of the kids with friends and family.

IDrive is a strong cloud backup service that performs well and will help keep your data safe. The only big downside to using IDrive is the lack of an unlimited storage option. At one time they did offer an unlimited option just after Mozy stopped offering one, but the IDrive unlimited plan seems to have just disappeared with no trace. If you only need to backup some photos and your personal documents IDrive will work well. If you are a professional photographer, shoot HD video or have other large files the cost of IDrive could quickly get expensive.
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IDrive Screenshots
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More IDrive Reviews
CNET [xrr rating=4.5/5]
IDrive Online Backup is an easy-to-use program that allows users to back up the contents of their computers remotely. With a sleek interface and just enough features, this program is great for users of all levels.
CNET
Macworld
IDrive, the online backup service, is a true archival offering. That is, when you delete your files from your Mac, IDrive holds onto them–optionally, forever. Some of the company’s competitors only archive such files for a finite window, like 30 days, before removing them.
Macworld
Notebook Review
I especially like the archiving feature; those that work on files continuously know the value of having previous versions. Another feature I like is the online file browser; the ability to access your backed-up data from anywhere is convenient and useful.
Notebook Review
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