Seagate File Recovery is a data recovery software and service offered by Seagate Technology. It allows users to recover lost or deleted files from hard drives and external storage devices manufactured by Seagate. The software comes in different versions for Windows and Mac operating systems.
Seagate File Recovery provides both DIY and professional data recovery options. The DIY software can be downloaded and used by individuals to attempt recovering lost files on their own. For more complex cases that require advanced data recovery, users can utilize Seagate’s professional recovery services by shipping their device to a Seagate data recovery facility.
The software and services leverage proprietary data recovery algorithms developed by Seagate to retrieve data. They are designed specifically for recovering files from Seagate brand storage devices like external hard drives, USB drives, and SSDs.
Overall, Seagate File Recovery aims to provide users a way to rescue lost files and regain access to important data. Its self-service and professional tiers offer flexible options at different price points.https://www.seagate.com/legal/privacy/srs/
Pricing Plans
Seagate offers three pricing plans for its Rescue Data Recovery Services (https://www.seagate.com/products/rescue-data-recovery/):
Basic Plan
The Basic plan covers data recovery for a single storage device like a hard drive or SSD. It costs $59 for 2 years of coverage. With this plan, you can recover up to 1TB of data from a single storage device.
Premium Plan
The Premium plan provides coverage for up to 5 storage devices like hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, and memory cards. It costs $99 for 2 years. This plan allows you to recover up to 5TB total across all your devices.
Premium Plus
The Premium Plus plan is the most comprehensive option. It covers unlimited storage devices including hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, tablets, smartphones, and more. It costs $149 for 2 years. With Premium Plus, you can recover an unlimited amount of data across all your devices.
Basic Plan
The Basic plan from Seagate provides limited data recovery capabilities at a low cost. According to Seagate’s website, the Basic plan can recover data from a failed or damaged hard drive or SSD up to 1TB in capacity. The plan covers both logical failures (like accidental file deletion) and physical failures.
For logical failures, the Basic plan can recover data such as photos, videos, music, documents, and emails. However, more complex file types like databases may not be recoverable. For physical failures, it depends on the extent of the damage, but simpler mechanical issues can often be repaired to extract data.
The Basic plan is limited to only one use per subscription term. So if you use the recovery services, you’d have to purchase a new subscription for future data recovery needs. Also, the plan has a maximum coverage of $500 per use. So for larger lost datasets, you may exceed the limit.
The Seagate Basic data recovery plan costs only $10 for a 1-year subscription. Compared to premium plans or third-party data recovery services, this is an affordable way to get protection against data loss disasters on smaller drives. Just keep the 1TB and $500 limits in mind when choosing this basic level of coverage.
Premium Plan
The Premium plan from Seagate costs $79.99 for a one-year license and offers more advanced capabilities compared to the Basic plan. According to PCMag review, the Premium plan can be installed on one system and supports recovering lost or accidentally deleted files from hard drives, external drives, USB sticks, SD cards, and more. It also includes tools for securely wiping drives.
Whereas the Basic plan is limited to 2TB of data recovery, the Premium plan supports recovering up to 5TB of data. The Premium plan also includes additional features like disk cloning to make exact copies of drives, a bootable media creator for recovery from crashed systems, and support for recovering files lost due to virus attacks or ransomware encryption. Overall, the Premium plan offers more robust capabilities for advanced users or those with larger storage devices.
Premium Plus
The Premium Plus plan has additional capabilities compared to the Premium plan, according to https://www.seagate.com/products/rescue-data-recovery/. It includes everything in the Premium plan plus the ability to recover data from more complex failures like:
- Mechanical/electrical failures
- Accidental file deletion or formatting
- Corrupted partitions or operating system errors
- Virus/malware attacks
Premium Plus also includes expedited recovery services, with most recoveries completed in 5-10 business days compared to 10-15 business days for Premium. It provides priority access to Seagate’s most experienced engineers for the most complex recoveries.
In addition, Premium Plus offers unlimited recovery requests per year, whereas Premium is limited to 3 requests. It also has higher recovery limits of up to 8TB per drive compared to 3TB for Premium.
Data Recovery Limits
Seagate’s data recovery plans have limits on the maximum amount of data that can be recovered. According to Seagate’s terms and conditions https://www.seagate.com/files/www-content/product-content/sv35-fam/sv35.5/en-us/docs/seagate-surveillance-hdd-plus-rescue-terms-v0-4-8.pdf, the Basic plan has a maximum data recovery limit of 2TB per year. The Premium plan allows up to 5TB of data recovery per year. The Premium Plus plan has the highest limit at 10TB of data recovery per year.
If a customer reaches the maximum data recovery limit for their plan before the year is up, they will need to upgrade to a higher tier plan to receive further data recovery services. Alternatively, they can purchase add-on recovery services on a one-time basis. However, there are also limits on the amount of data that can be recovered with add-on services.
Add-on Services
Seagate offers a variety of optional add-on services in addition to their standard data recovery plans to give customers more choices and flexibility. Some key add-ons include:
Expedited Service: For an additional fee starting at $500, Seagate offers expedited turnaround times of 1 business day or 3 business days for data recovery service. This allows urgent cases to get data back more quickly.
Emergency Data Recovery: This premium service is for severe data loss cases that require immediate action. It provides 24/7 support with emergency pickup and the most highly trained data recovery engineers. Pricing starts at $1,500.
Recovery Media Return: Customers can pay $29 to have their original failed hard drive or storage media shipped back to them after data recovery service is completed.
Data Erase: A full overwrite data erase service is available for safe disposal of drives after recovery. This add-on starts at $99.
Refund Policy
According to Seagate’s Return Policy [1], the data recovery service is non-refundable under most circumstances. However, in certain situations a refund may be issued. Seagate will consider a refund if the recovery service is unsuccessful and no data is recovered after multiple attempts. The customer must provide proof and documentation that the service was unsuccessful. Per Seagate’s terms, “If SRS is unable to recover any files or data, SRS will refund any fees that Customer paid to SRS for the Recovery Effort for that particular Storage Device” [2]. Additionally, Seagate may issue a refund if they determine the service was purchased in error or should not have been sold based on the specifics of the data loss incident. In summary, refunds are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and issued at Seagate’s sole discretion when appropriate.
[1] https://www.seagate.com/support/warranty-and-replacements/return-policy/
[2] https://www.seagate.com/files/www-content/product-content/sv35-fam/sv35.5/en-us/docs/seagate-surveillance-hdd-plus-rescue-terms-v0-4-8.pdf
FAQ
Here are answers to some common pricing questions for Seagate File Recovery:
What is the cost for Seagate File Recovery Services? Seagate offers three pricing plans – Basic, Premium, and Premium Plus. The Basic plan starts at $99 for external drives and $299 for Business NAS systems. The Premium plan is $199 for external drives and $499 for Business NAS. The Premium Plus plan is $299 for external drives and $999 for Business NAS. Prices vary based on the type of device and service level. More details on pricing is available at https://www.seagate.com/products/rescue-data-recovery/.
Is there a limit on how much data I can recover? Yes, the Basic plan allows up to 1TB of data recovery, the Premium plan allows up to 2TB, and the Premium Plus plan allows up to 5TB. Additional capacity beyond these limits can be purchased as add-ons.
Do I have to pay if my data can’t be recovered? No, as per Seagate’s policy, “There is no recovery fee if your media’s data cannot be recovered; hence the costs involved in attempting the recovery are borne at our own risk.” This is noted in the Seagate Recovery Services FAQ.
Is there a money-back guarantee? Seagate offers a limited 30-day money back guarantee on File Recovery services if you are unsatisfied. Details on the refund policy are available on their website.
Conclusion
In summary, Seagate File Recovery offers three pricing plans – Basic, Premium, and Premium Plus – that provide increasing levels of file recovery capabilities. The Basic plan starts at $49.99 and can recover up to 2TB of data, while the Premium and Premium Plus plans offer unlimited data recovery for $99.99 and $299.99 respectively.
Key factors to consider are how much data you need to recover, what type of files they are, and whether you require add-on services like expedited recovery or external drive shipping. Carefully evaluate which tier is right for your needs. The higher-priced plans are recommended for business, enterprise, or high-value personal data recovery.
We recommend the Premium Plus plan for anyone needing to recover more than 2TB of data or critical files like photos, videos, or important documents. While it is the most expensive option, the unlimited data recovery and expert handling make it worthwhile for irreplaceable data. Alternatively, the Basic plan can meet the needs of more casual home users. Evaluate your specific situation and choose the best plan to recover your files safely and affordably.