Backblaze Computer Backup

For each external drive, verify direct connection and selection, the default 30-day reconnection guidance, and how the one-year history option changes disconnected-drive retention. Confirm what happens to data already removed before changing tiers.

Before relying on private-key protection, confirm how files are encrypted before upload, whether an optional private encryption key fits your recovery process, who will hold that key, and how a restore works when it is required.

For a business fleet, ask how groups, backup administration, restore access and Enterprise Control differ from a personal account. Map administrator roles and offboarding before selecting the management model.

Do not remove local files after an upload expecting Backblaze to retain them forever. Deleted data follows the selected Version History window, and disconnected external drives have their own retention behavior; maintain another copy of irreplaceable material.

Computer Backup excludes operating-system and application files, network-mounted drives and NAS. Linux and Windows Server are unsupported clients; Backblaze B2 is a separate product for some network-storage uses.

Large backup sets depend on available bandwidth and local resources, even though Backblaze advertises unlimited storage. Check upload completion and perform a restore of representative large files before concluding that the recovery time meets your needs.

Review the selected history tier before deleting a file or disconnecting a drive. Switching from 30 days to one year or Forever applies to data still retained at the time of the change, not to files the service already removed.

If moving an individual-account license to a new computer through Backblaze's remove-backup-and-reassign process, make sure desired files are local or otherwise accounted for before deleting the old backup. Backblaze says confirming Delete Backup irreversibly deletes that installation's backed-up data; its guide then directs you to Use License on the new trial installation. Deleting a backup alone does not immediately reduce the account's billing or license count. Verify the new computer's backup and license before considering the move complete.

For a large restore, Backblaze offers a Restore Return Refund program to Personal and Business Backup customers who do not need to keep the shipped USB drive. Its Help guide says an eligible return must be postmarked within 30 days of receipt, with at most five returned drives per account in 12 months. The customer pays return shipping, and Backblaze does not cover taxes, duties, customs or fees outside the US; it processes a refund after receiving the drive. Before choosing a shipped restore, check current eligibility, return costs, refund timing and the required erase-and-return steps.

Backblaze can put a backup in Safety Freeze when its local and server records disagree, preserving the existing backup state. Its self-healing component is designed to prevent freezes only on client version 8.5 or newer without an enabled personal encryption key; that is not a promise that every freeze resolves automatically. If a freeze occurs, compare the computer with View/Restore Files and prepare a restore for anything missing before following the vendor's reinstall and Inherit Backup State route. For a persistent freeze, its delete-and-reupload route permanently removes the old backup, so restore backup-only data first.

If you expect to reach backed-up files from a phone, Backblaze's iOS and Android app lets you access files previously backed up from a Mac or Windows computer; it does not back up the phone itself. For Computer Backup files, the app currently limits individual downloads to 5 GB and cannot request a restore, which requires a browser. Test access to a harmless file on the intended phone, and plan a separate phone-backup and large-file recovery route if those needs matter.

Before narrowing a backup with folder or file-type exclusions, check the effect on files already backed up. Backblaze documents a 30-day server-removal window for files added to the exclusion list. Its Windows guide says saved folder exclusions apply at the next backup and across drives, including folders with the same name elsewhere. Review those matches and keep any needed copy elsewhere before changing important data; confirm the interaction with your selected Version History if retention matters. Confirming Delete Backup immediately and permanently deletes the entire selected backup, so treat that as a separate decision.

Before planning a Backblaze restore, separate the life of a prepared restore from your selected Version History. Backblaze limits a Web ZIP restore to 500 GB and says the assembled restore-server copy can be deleted immediately or is automatically removed after seven days; that cleanup leaves the original encrypted backup in place. To keep selected restored files longer, Save Files to B2 can create a decrypted ZIP Snapshot in your private B2 account, with B2 enabled, a cost estimate and a 10 TB maximum. In an authorized pilot, restore harmless files, verify the downloaded copy and access to any B2 Snapshot, then check its deletion and ongoing storage costs before keeping sensitive content there.

Before moving a Backblaze Computer Backup license to a replacement computer, compare the two paths. Inherit Backup State continues the prior backup on a same-platform new installation, checks local files against server copies and avoids reuploading matches; it does not download backup-only files, and files absent from the new computer can be purged under Version History rules. Transfer License reuses the paid license for a fresh backup by deleting the old backup. Restore anything needed only from the old backup before either path, then verify selected drives and the new backup after setup.

For Backblaze Computer Backup's optional private encryption key or passphrase, arrange secure access for the people authorized to restore. Backblaze says it never stores the passphrase. Without it, Backblaze cannot decrypt the backup key or restore your data; if it is forgotten, Backblaze also cannot change or remove it. Decide how to recover the passphrase after a device loss and test a harmless restore while it is available.

After renaming or replacing an external drive used with Backblaze Computer Backup, inspect the drives selected in the client before relying on the next backup. Backblaze says it fingerprints queued files and, when a fingerprint matches a previously uploaded file, updates that file on its servers instead of retransmitting it; the guide says many, rather than all, queued files may deduplicate. For a fictional drive-change check, compare the selected-drive list and backup progress, then verify a harmless sample file appears in View/Restore Files. Confirm the new drive's actual coverage and the old drive's retention window under the chosen Version History before removing another copy.

Before decreasing Backblaze Computer Backup's Version History, identify any older file versions that still need to be recoverable. Backblaze says moving from Forever to one year or 30 days, or from one year to 30 days, immediately prevents recovery beyond the shorter window; a later increase cannot bring back versions already cleared. Map a fictional restore timeline and arrange an approved separate copy of needed older data before any setting change. This backup-retention window is separate from the lifetime of a prepared Web ZIP restore.