Kelly K.

The Windows 10 desktop app for managing your backups is super buggy. I can try to change my settings, click save, and it'll revert them right before my eyes. I can try to choose a time to schedule regular backups, and it might just reset to the default time of 12am. If I am able to successfully select and save a time, the backups still might not happen.

The app is also unclear about the status of your backups. It will say "Your files are safely backed up" and "128 files waiting to back up" at the same time. Which is it? Are my files backed up or not? There are little colored dots on the files to indicate what's backed up and what's pending, but they're not always accurate.

The most frustrating thing is the stranglehold it has on my files. "Back up continuously," the recommended setting, prevents you from actually working on your files. It identifies when a file has changed and tries to back it up immediately, even (especially) when YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF WORKING ON THAT FILE. "This file can't be saved because it's being used by another program" is an error message I get constantly. You cannot save your files while Carbonite is backing them up--which is continuously. So the "back up continuously" setting is absolutely unusable.

This even becomes a problem with scheduled backups. If I decide to pause the backup so I can actually use my computer, I still need to CTRL + ALT + DEL to end the Carbonite task AND restart my computer before it'll let me save/move/do anything with any files that are pending backup.

Garbage user experience. It's just so chaotic and does not inspire confidence that they're capable of keeping my files safe.