BT Cloud Won't Start

[vuum]

Open question - If the desktop displays in "Recently Updated" my modified files as "Uploaded to Cloud" but in fact have not got copied to the web server after 3 days, will those files ever actually be detected to be uploaded at some future date? Do they get marked somewhere as already synced so will never get uploaded? Perhaps when the new version gets release it will have to re-sync all our files again to get things straight?

[gj1404]

Thanks very much @New_To_UK 

Interesting that you've seen the problem only occasionally. I've tried many times over the last 4 weeks and each link has disappeared. Maybe I'll just have to keep trying.

[Cicero]

The Ipad App still says its Synchronoss and I can find no mention that support has been withdrawn for their platform.

[rorysheridan]

Have other people had a call from a BT engineer regarding this issue? Just checking its 100% legit, as was sent . Not sure I raised an official supprt request.

[RKM]

jamieand angela wrote: Well last night I got a phone call from a BT representative who ...  fixed my Cloud issues for me

I also had a call yesterday and, while I thought I had the same result, it doesn't look like that today. You might want to check and see if you are now getting the same symptoms as I have.

BTCloud runs again on boot up and syncs all the files, uploading new files and versions to the cloud storage.  It then shuts down completely (or crashes, its impossible to tell).  So any new work generated during the day doesn't get sent to the BTCloud storage until the next time the PC boots up (or you restart BTCloud manually, which I have been doing today to test this problem).

Also, the latest BTCloud only maintains the last 4 versions of any files on the cloud storage, while previous versions kept infinite copies. I can confirm this using the cloud web site and comparing the number of versions of files that have been backed up with this new BTCloud app and those that were last updated before the recent problems.

A backup system should maintain previous copies for maximum recovery options, but a 4 copy limit seems a bit light.  Some hardware problems gradually corrupt data before they become obviously faulty, so you could easily end up with 4 corrupted versions of important files.  Worse still, whilst l don't think any malicious software does this yet, imagine a ransomware attack which, instead of encrypting your files just once, did so four times or every time your machine booted up, so that very soon all versions of your precious backups on BTCloud would all be encrypted too.  Without an unencrypted version of any of your files to restore you would be left to pay the ransom or lose the data forever.  Doesn't seem to be a robust solution to me.

[jamieandangela]

Bad news I am afraid, the fix I got from BT stopped working today after 15 minutes, back to my previous issues of the CPU going at full pelt and rendering the laptop incapable of doing anything, also the Broadband jammed up as well. Did an uninstall of the BT cloud and my laptop was back to normal.......I thought they had a fix but clearly not!!!

I have to repeat the Cloud Team at BT have yet again nit delivered what they said they would. A total joke sums it all up !!!!! A big black mark is hanging over BT.

A totally fed up and angry BT Customer.

Jamie🤨

[Cicero]

I think it is time that BT took stock of the situation and stopped using its technicians to solve a management problem. The current offering of BT Cloud since 2015 has done more damage to BT's reputation than any thing else I have seen. Its offering doesnt make any of the preferred lists of Cloud Backup software, free or charged.

The BT technicians have undoubtedly been given an almost impossible task in an equally ridiculous timeframe due to management inability to listen and read.

The thousands of posts on forums (fora ?) testify to the current and past failure.

In terms of security it uses a third party product so why not a Cloud service, there are plenty of well established providers, some here in the UK, so why not do a deal for BT customers. This would hopefully alleviate the farce of the last 5 years and the current situation and give reliability and stability.

I would gladly pay for a premier class Cloud service as part of my bill from BT providing it allows us to deselect the current BT Cloud as option and give me a reduction. I have this option to pay for BT Sport so why not BT Cloud.

[HaroldHastings]

As far as I know BTCloud is not a backup system, it's cloud storage with a bit of version control thrown in.

[RKM]

HaroldHastings wrote: As far as I know BTCloud is not a backup system, it's cloud storage with a bit of version control thrown in.

It is offered as a storage AND a cloud backup service:

1. Files copied to your BTCloud folder get copied and stored on the cloud.

2. Files and folders SELECTED FOR BACKUP are backed up on the cloud.  Every time a file in a backup location changes (when BTCloud was working properly) it is automatically backed up, and earlier versions already existing on the cloud are retained as well, just in case the change was unintentional.  So earlier versions can be restored in the event of file corruption, ransomware attack or other disaster.

I am not saying it is the slickest backup system, and no cloud backup system is ever going to be particularly slick even with a Gfast Internet connection, but it did work and it did get me out of a "fat finger error" on one occasion.

I use it as an independent backup system in addition to local backup on a stand alone hard drive.  Everything, including Windows applications and their configuration setup, gets backed up on the hard drive, but only data goes to the cloud backup, due to limited storage there.  The hard drive backup is much faster and is easier for recovery and restoration, but it is just as vulnerable in some ways as the original data.  If the house burned down and the PC was destroyed then the backup on the stand alone hard drive would probably be lost as well, but the BTcloud backup would survive.  It would take a bit of effort to restore from the cloud but, if nothing else locally survived, it would at least be possible.

So, at the moment, the loss of BTCloud is more of an increasing risk rather than an urgent calamity for me.  Whilst its loss is tolerable at present, the longer that the service is non-functional, the higher the risk gets.  A ticking time bomb, if you like, where you can't see the countdown timer.  However, for others that balance may be different, depending on their usage of the BTCloud service.

[RKM]

HaroldHastings wrote: As far as I know BTCloud is not a backup system, it's cloud storage with a bit of version control thrown in.