ioSafe has been a leader in disaster proof technology since long. It stuck to its word and shelled out a hard drive that would defy all odds. ioSafe has produced nothing short of a wonder with its IoSafe Solo external hard drive. The demo that the company carried out had people frozen on the spot in awe. The ioSafe Solo has its hard drive beneath a hard armoured case which is near impenetrable. With the IoSafe solo, it became the first to market a disaster protected external hard drive. Read on to find out more.

Design:

Simple and Intutive:

The ioSafe Solo has its single hard drive encased in metal measuring (H x W x D) 11 x 7.1 x 5 inches.  Weighing at around fifteen pounds, it is not what you would exactly call portable. The design is pretty simple; two U shaped sheets of metal blend together and the fascia of the device has the manufacturer logo and ‘Solo’ written on it with blue LEDs that are in the form of a cone above and below the manufacturer’s name. The backside of the device has an extension with a punch hole that can be used to fasten it to a flat surface or secure with a cable preventing theft. The power switch, USB port, air opening for cooling, a DC power port and the serial number of the product are available on the rear. The IoSafe Solo comes with the company’s own patented technology, i.e. the Flosafe vent and Datacast technology along with the Hydrosafe barrier technology.

Interface:

The ioSafe Solo Desktop Hard Drive comes with a single interface, i.e. the USB 2.0 port located on the rear. The ‘2.0’ refers to the version of the USB interface. The USB is a plug and play interface meaning it can be plugged in without altering your operation. Once plugged in, it will simply display the files in the device plugged to the other end of the USB cable. The USB 2.0 is backwards compatible with the previous versions. It covers three speeds with 480 megabits per second being the standard USB 2.0 rate. Almost every peripheral comes equipped with the USB 2.0. The USB ranks last in speed when compared to eSATA and Firewire technology; but it is universal and will satisfy the consumer as it houses more than enough for most device types. Moreover, the purpose of the ioSafe Solo lies in protection, to which it does complete justice and so, this can be overlooked.

Capacities available:

The ioSafe Solo drive is available in capacities of 500GB, 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB. This is one of the rare few external hard drives offering capacities that extend up to 2TB.

Compatibility:

The IoSafe Solo external hard drive with its USB 2.0 interface is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Mac Operating system of 8.6 or greater. The drive is usable with a Mac after a reformat; it ships formatted in the NTFS file system.

Features:

The security feature that the IoSafe offers exclusively is its Disaster Protection Technology which includes a range of them. Let us get acquainted further with them.

Flosafe vent Technology:

The main concern of electronic devices is their cooling. Faster speeds and the increased spinning will lead to more heat generation which is unfavourable. Flosafe regulates airflow to prevent exposure to extreme heat. The vents stay open and allow airflow as long as the room temperature is below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Upon detection of harmful heat levels, the vents automatically close to protect the data from it. This requires no electricity and is triggered mechanically.

Datacast Technology:

This technology cleverly makes use of trapped water molecules to regulate temperatures within, maintaining them just above 200 degrees Fahrenheit, even as the temperature outside rises. IoSafe has explained in its site that Datacast is actually a gypsum based compound which reacts to temperatures above 160 degrees Fahrenheit by forming a chemical bond with the water molecules and releasing water vapour to limit internal temperature. The Datacast has several channels with plastic tubing which melt during a fire to block and prevent damage to data.

The Flosafe Vent technology and Datacast technology take care of making the device totally fireproof. Now, let us check out how it stays waterproof, which is done with the help of the Hydrosafe barrier technology.

Hydrosafe Barrier:

Hydrosafe Barrier promises protection from freshwater and saltwater damage even upon full immersion. This is pretty cool, as we all know that water is not exactly good for anything that is electronic. It also allows heat during normal operating to disperse. The hard drive is encased in waterproof metal apart from the gypsum.

So, you can rest assured that your data is in very reliable hands.

Performance:

Well, its performance would be based on how it keeps it promise of braving the worst of Mother Nature and man’s follies which lead to accidents like fires or floods. We will give you several examples on how fine it has managed to stick to its word. The various fire tests that the IoSafe has been put through include being barbecued, surviving a half hour of 1200 degrees Fahrenheit fire ,being left in a burning car for about 15 minutes and put in a propane fire pit which reached temperatures above 1500 degrees Fahrenheit . In all cases, the data remained intact.

What about its waterproof guarantee? The drive had been immersed fully up to about ten feet in water and kept there for three days. And as expected, after disassembling and opening up the waterproof protective cover, the data remained untouched.

Last but not the least, it is also shockproof and the drive mechanism continues to function even after being dropped from three to four feet. It boasts data protection after being dropped from a height of even fifteen feet or so.

If you are the ‘see it and then believe it’ type of person, go ahead and check out the company’s video of their demo and we assure you it will be very interesting.

Package Contents:

The ioSafe Solo package comes with the External Hard Drive itself, USB cable, power cable and instructions. And, the System requirements include Intel Pentium II 350 MHz compatible ,Mac G3 processor and greater, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, USB supporting system and USB 2.0 specifications to support USB speeds.

Warranty:

IoSafe is all about quality and care. Their dedication and honesty towards their products and customers can be vouched for. It has a unique policy and assured commitment towards customer satisfaction. For starters, all three capacities come with a three year warranty and one year data protection coverage. This can be extended up to five years with the expense of a few pounds.

Data Recovery Service:

The data recovery service offered for the Solo External Desktop hard drive by ioSafe is as follows,

  • The company will assist you in recovering data by yourself if you are up to it by providing help through email or over the phone.
  • The company will pay for the damaged product to be shipped back to their headquarters where they will undertake data recovery. If they are successful, the recovered data will be loaded into a replacement product and shipped back to the owner.
  • If their data recovery efforts are unfruitful, they will pay upto one thousand dollars for a third party of their choice to try and recover the data. The data recovered will be loaded onto a replacement product and shipped back to its owner.

Not many companies offer such free data recovery service after the occurrence of disasters.

Verdict:

The ioSafe Solo Fireproof/Waterproof hard drive is priced moderately and we would assure you that the ioSafe Solo is worth every penny. Many external hard drives are priced in the same range without offering the type of protection it does. The data recovery is really impressive. You can kick back and relax whenever you leave home knowing all your most important, personal and volume of information has been given the best possible protection. The few cons include the connectivity features that the hard drive lacks in but seeing as the USB is quite universal, it does not pose that big a problem and the typical USB speeds will suffice.

The other drawback is the fact that the ioSafe Solo accommodates a single drive without a second drive to back it up. This means that if your drive fails internally, then your data is lost. The chances of that happening too, remain slim though. Still, it would have been better and made the best in that case. However, the unrivalled disaster protection being offered proposes no debate whatsoever. The excellent warranty that comes with it adds to its pros. It is one of the most highly recommended back up external hard drives.

ioSafe Solo External Hard Drive - Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer ioSafe
Model Name ioSafe Solo External Hard Drive
Model Numbers 500GB: SL500GBUSB20
1TB: SL1000GBUSB20
1.5TB: SL1500GBUSB20
2TB: SL2000GBUSB20
Dimensions (H x W x D) 7.1 x 5 x 11 inches
Weight 15 pounds
Form factor 3.5″
Interface Hi Speed USB 2.0
Capacities available 500GB, 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB
Compatible OS Windows® XP, Windows Vista®,
Windows 7, Mac® OS® 8.6 or higher
Data transfer rate 480 Mb/s
Spindle speed 7200 rpm
Microsoft Certifications Compatible with Windows 7
Features Fire resistant , Water resistant , Security lock
slot (cable lock sold separately)
Compliant standards CE , UL , FCC , Plug and Play
Power Source USB bus
Voltage required AC 120/230 V
Package contents USB 2.0 portable hard drive, USB cable and Quick Install Guide
Warranty 3 years limited warranty
1 year data recovery service

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