This is a review of iBeesoft Data Recovery, a data recovery tool for Mac and Windows.
I’m a tech guy who’s offered IT training and support over several decades, and written software reviews and how-tos for business users. I’ve taken an in-depth look at iBeesoft Data Recovery to let you know how likely it is to recover your lost data.
I found iBeesoft Data Recovery to be attractive and easy to use. Its scans are a little slow, and it’s achieved little traction in the marketplace. There is little consumer feedback on the web, and what’s there isn’t entirely positive.
In this iBeesoft Data Recovery review, I’ll explore the types of data the application can restore, how long this is likely to take, and weigh up your chance of success. I’ll also list other features that are offered and whether it’s suitable for beginners or advanced users.
Let’s get started.
Contents
iBeesoft Data Recovery Overview
iBeesoft Data Recovery recovers deleted or lost files easily and quickly. It’s attractive, easy to use, and available for Macs and PCs:
- Windows Data Recovery: $45.95 (normally $89.95)
- Mac Data Recovery: $55.95 (normally $89.95)
The prices above are for a personal license that can be used on a single computer. Family and company licenses are also available. A free trial will show you if your files can be recovered before you need to pay. In this review, we will cover the Mac version.
Recovery Features
How is data recovery possible? When a file is deleted, it is not removed from the directory or folder that lists your files, nor is its data removed from your drive. It is simply marked as being deleted.
But recovery is not guaranteed. In time, as you create new files, both the directory entry and data are likely to be overwritten.
Methods of data recovery offered:
Windows version:
- Recover deleted files, even once the recycle bin has been emptied
- Recover formatted drives and lost partitions
- Recover RAW data from damaged or corrupted drives
Mac version:
- Recover deleted files, even when the trash has been emptied
- Recover formatted drives
- Recover lost data on Mac drives including those formatted with Apple’s new APFS file system
Supported storage media:
- Mac and Windows internal hard drives
- External hard drives and SSDs
- Removable drives: USB drives, pen drives, Zip drives, and more
- Memory cards: SD, CF, XD, and more
- Digital devices: cameras, iPods, MP3 players, and more
Disclaimer: It is difficult to recover data from solid-state drives (SSDs). The TRIM technology that increases their efficiency also makes it impossible to recover your files once the trash has been emptied.
Supported file systems:
- Windows formats such as FAT, exFAT, NTFS, NTFS5
- Mac formats such as HFS+, APFS
- Linux formats such as ext2, ext3
Supported file types:
- Images: JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, and more
- Audio: AIF, M4A, MP3, WAV, and more
- Video: AVI, MOV, MP4, 3GP, and more
- Documents: DOC, XLS, PPT, PDF, and more
- Archives: ZIP, RAR, SIT, ARJ, and more
- Other: EXE, EML, DMG, PKG, and more
Additional Features
iBeesoft Data Recovery offers a number of additional features:
- Pause and resume
- Sorting and searching the files located to narrow down the results to a more manageable number
- Previewing located files
However, it lacks features offered by some other recovery applications:
- Saving scans for recovery at a later time
- Bootable recovery drive (CD, USB stick, external drive. Supplied or do you have to create? Separate purchase?)
- Recovery Vault to store deleted files for guaranteed recovery
- Imaging and cloning
- Duplicate file finder, but the company offers another app (as a separate purchase) that can do this
- File overwriting (secure delete)
- Defragmentation
- SMART monitoring for early warning of failing hard drives
- Mail-in recovery service
User Experience
Setup and installation are easy, and data recovery can be performed without technical knowledge. Scans are started with a few clicks of the mouse.
Performance
Scanning for lost files can be time-consuming. How fast is iBeesoft Data Recovery? A quick scan on a 4 GB flash drive took just a second or two. A deep scan that’s capable of locating more lost data took 10 or 15 minutes, which is on the slow side of the spectrum of other apps I tested.
This scan searched for all supported data types. By selecting only the types of files that you want to recover, the scan should be significantly faster.
Effectiveness
Data recovery can never be guaranteed. How successful is iBeesoft Data Recovery? To find out, I turned to the consumer ratings on a couple of sites.
MacUpdate awarded it 3.0 stars based on 9 reviews. Many of the users were successfully able to recover their data, but not all. In one case the software crashed the user’s computer once they paid for the full version. [1]
Trustpilot gave the app 3.5 stars. That’s based on just two reviews, one five-star and the other one. Unfortunately, that doesn’t tell us very much. [2]
These reviews give hope that iBeesoft Data Recovery is likely to help you get your lost data back. But the relatively low ratings and the low number of reviews indicate that you’re likely to find success with an alternative. I’ll recommend a few below.
Fortunately, you can test whether Beesoft and these alternatives can find your lost data before having to pay. If the first application you try can’t locate your files, move on to the next one.
Customer Support
The iBeesoft Support Page [3] offers links to contact support, their support policy, and their refund policy. You’ll also find user guides and tutorials for each product.
FAQS
Is iBeesoft Data Recovery safe?
Yes. Scanning for lost files will not overwrite your current data and a scan with Bitdefender Virus Scanner found no malware.
Is iBeesoft Data Recovery free?
No. The free trial will show you if your lost files can be located, but you need to pay for a license in order to actually recover them.
Alternatives
If iBeesoft Data Recovery isn’t right for you, here are some alternatives I recommend.
Stellar is an easy-to-use application with a wide variety of features. It is a reliable and effective application, but its scans can be time-consuming. It’s available on both Windows and Mac.
Data Recovery offers an easy-to-use wizard that will scan your drive quickly for lost files. It’s available for both Windows and Mac.
R-Studio is an advanced tool suitable for data recovery professionals. It’s available for both Windows and Mac.
Final Verdict
iBeesoft Data Recovery is attractive and easy to use, and may well successfully recover your lost data. But its low rating and low number of reviews mean that I can’t recommend it.
There are reputable alternatives that offer well-above-average recovery results in industry tests. Some are easy to use, like Stellar Data Recovery and EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. Others give fine-tuned control to data recovery experts, like R-Studio. No application can guarantee data recovery, but these offer your best chance.
References
Robert Weber
I should have read your review before I purchased the ibeesoft data recovery software. First, it really is not designed to work on large drives. You need a drive as large, in my case as the one you are trying to recover. In my case, it was a 12GB WD external hard drive that mysteriously lost all my backup files. So, I tried ibeesoft and had problems. I ordered a 14 Gb HD and ibeesoft came back with a message that the drive was not large enough to rcover files. They supposedly offer 2 hour email support. I sent them numerous emails and never heard from them. But the kicker was that the ibeesoft software basically killed my HD so my data is gone. ibeesoft came back with a bunch of unusable files. I had to dispute the charge as they did not provide any support at all and are not responding to emails. AVOID if you want to recover data.