SugarSync Review

SugarSync at a Glance

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4 / 5 stars
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Pros:

  • Automatically updates chosen files on multiple computers and mobile devices.
  • Easy-to-use interface.
  • Supports Windows, Mac.
  • Apps for iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry, Symbian and WinMobile

Cons:

  • Storage packages a little more expensive than others.
  • Lacks private encryption keys.

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Full SugarSync Review

SugarSync version 2 was released on February 15, 2013 and since then I have been trying out the new version of the popular online storage and file synchronization service.

Installation
If you already have an account with SugarSync you can login and download the new version. If not you can create a new account on their website. They do offer a free trial and a free 5GB so you need to look where you are depending on what you are looking for. Once you do download the application for your desktop it is a simple process to install it and should be easy enough for most computer users.

I captured the following video of my installation on my Windows 8 test machine. I already had a free 5GB account so that is what I was using for this test. In just over 3 minutes I was able to have the application installed and walked through the SugarSync tour and added a folder to sync to the cloud.

Backup
Yes you can use SugarSync to backup your data, but it is more of an online storage and file synchronization service. By syncing your folders and files to SugarSync you do have a backup copy of them and you can restore them to your computer. It is not the same as other backup services though that scan your computer for your files and will back them up automatically. If you forget to add a folder and your hard drive dies you will be out of luck.

File Synchronization
SugarSync allows you to sync folders and files from any one of you machines or mobile devices to each other. This is where SugarSync shines, in my testing of the app I was abel to easily sync my music from my Android mobile to my Windows 8 test machine. Adding new music on the Windows 8 machine synced with my mobile device. Photos taken on my mobile were automatically copied to my desktop. You can also select what folders you want to sync to what device. With no limit on what folder you want to sync SugarSync makes it easy to move files between your devices no matter what device you are using.

Mobile Apps
The desktop SugarSync app and the mobile (well Android version at least) are so similar you almost think they are the same. SugarSync helps you to effortlessly sync data between your desktop and mobile devices. Not only will it sync your photos and video from your mobile to the cloud and your desktop, just select whatever folder you want and it will sync it as well. I was pretty impressed by SugarSync on my Android device and how well it synced not just the photos and it takes a lot to impress me.

sugarsync-android-13

Web Portal
The web portal works well and seems to be faster than it was in previous versions, although I did not spend much time using it previously. You can view all the files you have uploaded to SugarSync, upload new files to sync with your devices, even download and share files. All the standard things you would expect to be able to do in the web portal.

SugarSync Drive
This is a new feature to SugarSync and allows you to access all of your data under one place on your Windows or Mac computer. You can easily see what folders are synced to SugarSync and access the data. It can even be data that is stored on your other computers. I found I was reguarly using the SugarSync drive to see what folders were synced and available.

sugarsync-screen-04

Security
This is where SugarSync needs some work, while your data is transferred over SSL, is encrypted on the client before sending and stored on their servers encrypted they hold the encryption keys and can access your data. You can use TrueCrypt to encrypt your data before sending it to them but that will make your data harder to access on other machines, particularly if you want access on your mobile devices. If you are at all uncomfortable with the fact that they can see your data you will need to add your own encryption to your files or look at another service.

Overall
SugarSync has made some excellent progress in their service and they make it easy to sync files between all of your devices. If you want to easily sync files between work, your mobiles and home SugarSync is a great choice. They are still a little more expensive and offer less storage than some other service and that is definitely a drawback when there are other services that now offer unlimited storage and access. They also need to take a hard look at offering private encryption keys so you can secure your data. If you want convenience to sync your files easily SugarSync provides that and the ability to do that with your mobile and tablet devices makes SugarSync extremely useful.

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More SugarSync Reviews

CNET [xrr rating=4.5/5]

SugarSync works well with a user-friendly interface and setup process that rivals the best in its category.
SugarSync Review – CNET Download.com

PC Mag [xrr rating=4.5/5]

File synchronization service SugarSync is among the very best we’ve tested. It offers excellent cloud backup and syncing, and with a new desktop client, it’s more intuitive to use than ever.
PC Mag

Expert Reviews [xrr rating=5/5]

This is our favourite synchronisation service because of its great value pricing and outstanding web and local interfaces.
Expert Reviews

Macworld [xrr rating=3.5/5]

SugarSync’s desktop sync software needs a rethink, with too many separate pieces unaligned into a consistent interface. However, its ability to specify which folders on each computer will sync to other machines is quite useful. Its business services offer little advantage over individual accounts.
Macworld

Computerworld [xrr rating=4.5/5]

SugarSync is not as well known as Dropbox, but I think it has the potential to seriously challenge the incumbent in the cloud synchronisation space.
Computerworld

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Comments

13 responses to “SugarSync Review”

  1. sanspm Avatar
    sanspm

    Another vote against SugarSync. I was very happy with the paid service until I, like others, experienced mysterious file/folder deletions. After months of going through customer service and after being told multiple times that I must have deleted the files myself I have finally had enough. My account expires this month and I won’t renew. While customer service appeared to suggest that my problem was extremely unusual, it seems that more people are having the same problem as I am. STAY AWAY if you value keeping your files – the risk of loss is just too high!!

  2. Laurent Avatar
    Laurent

    I started using SugarSync one year ago and I still find it very useful.
    It saved me from some bad situations i got into with my hard disk.

  3. George Hart Avatar
    George Hart

    I have used SugarSync for a few months, but have just uninstalled it on all my computers and switched to Dropbox instead. I have 4 synced computers, and wanted to add a folder on 3 of them to the other. When I did that, SugarSync crashed on the 4th computer. I uninstalled it (running the Terminal program in the resource folder of the app), reinstalled the latest version, and found I could not open the icon on the menu bar. This had happened once before, and I had to reinstall. This time, after I reinstalled once more and told the app not to sync previously synced folders, it came up, but when I added the folders, it started downloading 80 copies of the same file — I have no idea why. So far, Dropbox, with symbolic links to the folders I was syncing, is working perfectly.

  4. lary Avatar
    lary

    I’ve been using SugarSync and sugarsync for about a year now and I’m really satisfied. Very little system load compared to other similar products I’ve tried and has never once crashed.

    Pros:
    Many features, very stable, easy on system resources

    Cons:
    Sometimes if you choose manually to move the files to all synchronizing computers (instead of just moving them to the shared folder of ONE computer and then letting SugarSync sync the others via the internet) Sugarsync creates duplicates even though we’re dealing with completely identical files (same checksums).

  5. Pegleggedous Avatar

    I have used Sugarsync for years and have had a love-hate relationship. For the most part I enjoy the convenience of Sugarsync and it’s abilities to sync any folder I want (unlike other competitors).

    Trouble is that now and then a folder, or series of folders, will just delete. No explaination or reasoning, just gone. I usually find all the files in the “Deleted” folder within the Sugarsync File Manager, and have to manually download all the files then sort them out to their respective original folders (they need a restore to original location option).

    Another annoyance is with my Android phone. It seems to want to re-sync all my music every night, despite how nothing has changed. It re-downloads ALL songs if I add or remove only one it seems. Not only that but the frequency or re-downloading seems to degrade the file integrity to the point where some of my “songs” are 0kb and do not play anymore. Also, it keeps asking me to backup my photos from my phone, despite me clicking “Never” about ninety times.

    For the record Sugarsync seems to exhibit far fewer problems with only one or two computers connected to the account. Once I add three or four and my phone all of the above starts happening.

  6. Ben Avatar
    Ben

    I personally have been using Sugarsync for a long time now and am more than happy. I cannot understand the above problems, but then again there will always be some problems with any service I guess. Not only are they cheaper than most of its competitors, they also offer by far the best product in the market today.

  7. Larry Vega Avatar
    Larry Vega

    I’ve been using SugarSync for about a year now and I’m really satisfied. Very little system load compared to other similar products I’ve tried and has never once crashed.

    Pros:
    Many features, very stable, easy on system resources

    Cons:
    Sometimes if you choose manually to move the files to all synchronizing computers (instead of just moving them to the shared folder of ONE computer and then letting SugarSync sync the others via the internet) Sugarsync creates duplicates even though we’re dealing with completely identical files (same checksums). Sugarsync renames the duplicates according to where they we’re found again so you’ll get to versions of the same file (but with different names) on your computers.
    Sometimes you can circumvent this by pressing CTRL-SHIFT-R thereby ordering SugarSync to do a clean restart. But how it really works I don’t know….

  8. Ash Avatar
    Ash

    Wow, I was just about to sign up for their 100GB service until I read these comments. I will stick with my 2 year old reliable iDrive cloud service that does not sync but provides true backup of whatever data I have thrown its way. I have exceeded 150Gb plan hence was looking at more cost effective options and perhaps sync to other computers.

    1. John Avatar

      Every service has some problems it seems. It is the most vocal people that tend to come and post comments about problems they have. For what it is worth the installs of SugarSync I have seen there have been little to no problems, but that is only a handful, so not a very large sample.

  9. jay Avatar
    jay

    WARNING DO NOT USE SUGARSYNC! SUGARSYNC lost all of my data and could not retrieve it from their own server. This company is a joke, they held my company hostage for 2 weeks trying to find my files that Sugarsync some how deleted from my desktop! Their horribly inept techs could not figure out where my data went so they just decided not to call me back. I finally got in touch with Debbie, Sr. Director, SugarSync Customer Care and she tried to make me feel stupid and that the whole thing was my fault. Sugarsync does not care about small businesses and their customer service is horrible.

    1. John Avatar

      Sorry to hear about your problems. Hope things get sorted out.

      This is a good reminder that as great as online backup is, there is still a need to have local backup.

  10. Bittersync Avatar

    SugarSync seems to be an innovative service, and because of my initial experience I purchased 60Gb year subscription. But 5 months after having everything backed up and syched with SS started to try to reupload most of my photo files.
    I’ve contacted SS support 3 months ago and they tell me the most crazy explanations to justify that they lost more than 2500 photos. I‚Äôve contacted Mr. Finley, Senior Director of Operations at Sharpcast Inc (the company that created SugarSync) and he responded ‚ÄúWere very sorry for the problems you‚Äôve experienced with the SugarSync service. We have identified the software issue that caused some of your files to be temporarily removed from our servers and then immediately re-uploaded. Additionally, we have worked with you to manually recover as much information as possible. However at this point; there is nothing more we can do.‚Äù
    So if the files were “Temporarily removed” why they can’t put them back on my account? The files are definitively missing, and SugarSync backup service is not reliable as they promote, that’s the true.

    Also if you check the terms of use page of SugarSync on section “13. Service Limitations” you can see that Sharpcast Inc not only doesn’t warrant their service availability also doesn’t commit to provide customer support!

    In short I don’t recommend SugarSync at all.

    If you wish to research more about SugarSync problems, please visit:
    getsatisfaction.com/sharpcast
    twitter.com/bittersync

    1. John Avatar

      Sorry to hear about your issues with SugarSync. It does show that as good as online backups are there is still a need for local backup.

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