There's good news and bad news.
I've had several questions regarding the new version of Macrium Reflect. Those who've purchased my course wonder if it still applies (it does), and others wonder about my other Reflect videos as well.
Perhaps the most controversial topic, however, is the change in the pricing model. It's a love/hate thing. I don't love it, but I can't say I hate it.
Let's dive deeper.
Macrium Reflect X
Macrium Reflect X introduces useful features like resumable backups, faster speeds, an open-source file format, and ARM support, but shifts to a subscription-only model that some dislike. The interface hasn't changed dramatically, so my existing courses and guides largely remain applicable. I continue to recommend it, even as a subscription product. Backups are that important.
The good news
The number one concern is whether the new version changes how you use the program. It does not. In fact, to all outward appearances, the user interface has changed very little. So there's nothing new to learn, and the vast majority of my videos and course lessons still apply.
Reflect X does add a few interesting features.
- Resumable Images and Write Failure Retry. Rather than starting over, Reflect can resume an interrupted backup even across a system reboot or other problems.
- Faster! Always welcome.
- Open source file format. To quote: "We've now opened up our .mrimgx & .mrbakx file format on GitHub, and provided the full source code for restoring all data." (Note that this applies to the new X file format.)
- File filter. You can filter out specific files and folders, including those whose names match wildcard patterns, from being included in an image backup.
- Windows Copilot+ ARM Support. Version X is ready for the new generation of Windows PCs.
So, overall, it's a decent upgrade with some nice, yet not compelling, additions to the product. If version 8 is working well for you, I see no reason to switch.
The bad news
Macrium Reflect is now sold on a subscription model. There is no longer a one-time licensing option.
The official reason is to continue to provide you with the latest and greatest product and support. While the justification is applied to their business product, it applies to the Home edition as well.
And that's worth noting: Macrium Reflect's priorities do indeed appear to be business and even enterprise-related. In my opinion, that makes their home product more likely to be reliable and fully featured. But it comes at a cost, and today's cost is the subscription plan.
There was an important question I needed answered before I wrote this article: what happens if your subscription expires? What if you don't renew? Will it keep working?
Yes and no.
The official response from their support channel:
Reflect will automatically fall back to restore-only mode, allowing users to access their data even after their subscription expires.
The subscription is required to continue backing up.
Do this
I've explicitly avoided pricing information because a) it'll likely vary depending on your location and b) eventually it'll change. That being said, I paid1 around $50 for an upgrade license for four machines for a year.
My opinion: totally worth it. Backups are important, and Reflect is a tool I trust.
But I also understand that not everyone can afford it, and not everyone is willing to sign up for yet another subscription. I get it, I do. Fortunately, there are alternative products you can use instead of Reflect.
Above all, back up. Use tools you trust, keep them up to date, and automate what you can, but back up.
Backing up is something I talk about a lot. Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week.
Full disclosure
The folks behind Macrium Reflect do not pay me for my recommendation. They have no affiliate program, and I get nothing if you purchase their product. As I lay out in my recommendation disclosure, I recommend it because I've used it, I continue to use it, and I find it a good product worth recommending.
They did recently reach out to me and offer a discount code for you: Ask-Leo-25p (case sensitive) will provide 25% off Macrium Reflect X home purchases until the end of 2024. Again, I get nothing from sharing that with you.
All that being said, they were nice enough to send me some swag earlier this year, including, among a few other things, Macrium-branded bandanas for the Corgis and a coffee cup for yours truly. While appreciated, of course, that's not what drives my recommendation. Making a good, useful product does that.
Podcast audio
Related Video
Footnotes & References
1: Out of my own pocket. As mentioned above, Reflect doesn't subsidize me for my recommendation.
I’ve been using these guys’ disk imaging product since 2005:
https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/
https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/image-for-windows/
The imaging program has different variants (Image For Windows (IFW), Image for DOS (IFD), Image For Linux (IFL)) which all come with your basic purchase/download.
They also make a boot manager with disk partitioning tool. You can buy the boot manager/partitioning tool and disk imaging programs separately, but you’re better off to buy them all as the discounted bundle (see their main web page) because the license for the boot manager gives you full access to some options in their OS Deployment Tool Suite (which comes with the disk imaging program), including disk format conversion capability (e.g. MBR to UEFI; UEFI to MBR).
You can try any of their products for free for 30 days before purchasing.
The disk imaging program has been updated regularly with updates for a given “a” version happening perhaps 2 to 6 times a year (e.g. “a.u”, “a.v”, “a.w”, “a.x”, etc.). These regular updates are free for the life of the version which has been about about every 5 to 7 years (need to create and sign into your account to access).
About every 5 to 7 years, they’ve released a major version change (“b”, “c”) update that you then have to re-purchase. I started with version 2.x in 2005, then upgraded to version 3. in about 2013/2014. They released version 4. earlier this year. The major version changes are significant enough (at least when they went from version 2 to version 3) that the new major version wasn’t backwards compatible with the previous major version.
If you buy only one of their tools, you can still get a bit of a discount if/when you go and buy the other tool, but you’re still better off to buy the entire bundle up front.
I’ve found using Image For Windows reliable (although I’ve never had to restore from a backup). About 4 years ago, I started having backups that were failing during after-backup verification process. I contacted Terrabyte Unlimited tech support (which has been very helpful and responsive to me since 2005) and they said the problem was likely my computer’s hardware. I ran memory tests on my computer’s memory and eventually (after not immediately finding any issues), found some memory was failing. I ended up replacing some memory and I haven’t had any IFW backup failures since.
Overall, I’ve been happy with Image For Windows and with the vendor’s tech support. They have a series of online help articles and FAQ’s that have helped me sort out some issues over the years.
UEFI is not a disk format. It’s modern BIOS. I suspect what you’re looking for is GPT to MBR and vice versa.
I’ve been using licensed versions of Macrium Reflect since Version 6. I was dismayed when Paramount announced that it was moving to a subscription plan, however I plan to keep Macrium Reflect and will pay the subscription fee. I have until March 2025 to do so.
I looked into alternatives to Macrium Reflect that were free to use and found them to be no match for Macrium Reflect. Easeus Todo Backup, Hasleo Backup Suite, and Seagate Toolkit (based on Acronis, I believe) all failed my expectations in regard to backing up and restoring images as they either didn’t support the backup schemes I use with Macrium or took much longer to perform a backup or restore. I used my C:\ drive, which has 388GB of data, with each. The alternatives took almost twice as long as Macrium to perform a full image backup.
A full image of all drives on one of my computers is 3.6TB.
I am still on free Macrium Reflect v7 which seems to work fine (I have not needed to test this in an emergency so far, knock on wood). I just want to backup my Win10 laptop. Do I need to upgrade? Thanks.
If it works for you there’s no requirement to upgrade.
Having used Macrium Reflect since v3 or v4, I can say that the product has never disappointed me. As a Macrium Reseller Partner, I recommend and support my clients using Macrium Reflect. I have wondered just how long it would be before Macrium moved to a subscription model. Well, in my Macrium Reflect X partner seminars in September, it was pretty clear the decision had been made, for better or worse. I agree with Leo; if you use Macrium Reflect v8 in your home or business, you can continue using Macrium Reflect v8, but there will be a limit on future updates, which might or might not affect your decision to stick with Macrium Reflect v8. As Leo pointed out, Macrium Reflect X has some nice features, and the interface is relatively unchanged. Macrium wants to hang on to as many customers as possible, but the emphasis going forward is business customers. Business customers will all likely move to the subscription model. Backup is serious, and you don’t want to be hanging on to the older version unless you have specific requirements that can only be met by doing that. Macrium is accommodating those customers. In the coming months, I’ll switch my office computer backup to the Macrium Reflect X version. Move with the times or get left behind. The choice is yours.
For full disclosure, I think we need a pictures of the corgis in their bandanas ;-)
My question is about keeping old versions, in my case V8. Your statement that only restores will work… Does this apply only to backups done to the cloud? I do my backups to a disk. Can I continue to use this scenario without buying X? If it works fine with my current setup and am happy with the speed of my backups (ie. don’t need new features) is there really a need to get X?
Reflect 8 will continue to work as it does now. Your scenario should keep on working.
I’ve been using Macrium Reflect since I subscribed to AskLeo! about 10 years ago. Much more comprehensive than my previous method (NAS pulling). I dropped images on SSDs when expanding capacity and was up and running with the same look and feel in no time (this, alone, was worth the price of admission). My machines are all on v.7 because v.8 doesn’t offer anything I need; sounds like v.X doesn’t either. That said, if and when I need to upgrade to Macrium’s paid subscription I’ll do it in a heartbeat regardless of cost; smooth transition and minimal learning curve -vs- something completely new and unknown. It works and I’ve never had an issue with it. My time is far more valuable than their product cost, and while I enjoy Tech Tinkering, I’d rather be fishing, hiking, making sawdust, and enjoying life … knowing Macrium Reflect is keeping my data safe.
And on a related note about the Security article … living in the Alaskan interior brings bears & wolves into the mix.
Leo:
Thanks for this information. In 2023, having read your reviews, I purchased a “Home 4Pack” of Macrium Reflect 8. It was my understanding that I had purchased 4 licences, in order to use the four codes to install on four devices. To date, I have only used one.
The email confirmed to me that I had “Home Perpetual License”. It listed the four licence numbers, along with a statement: “Home essentials support, expires 19 February 2024”.
I didn’t take this to be anything nefarious, just that I had support for a year. Am I correct, then, that my four licences belong to me and I can use them moving forward?
You should be able to use them.
I switched our 4 Windows 11 computers to Macrium 8 a year ago via the subscription (got a really good initial price) and am now on Macrium X. I had gotten so fed up with the glitches of Acronis True Image, that I tested a slew of backup and imaging programs before settling on Macrium. While Macrium’s interface is not the most intuitive (it was designed by and for geeks, I suspect), it has proven to be totally reliable. I particularly like that I’m able to schedule daily backups of our Thunderbird and Firefox profiles in addition to our weekly images of our “C” drives. Cloning our data drives has also been easy, reliable, and really fast. I only wish Macrium would introduce a more user friendly interface which would enable them to better penetrate the consumer market. Most computer users wouldn’t have a clue how to use Macrium 8 or X — I’ve built or brought back from the dead about 70+ computers on the side and I’ve seen how little most computer users know about their machines. It is a little scary.
This is just part of an overall shift to an annual subscription-based business model. “Lifetime” licenses are now as scarce as rocking horse manure and will soon become a thing of the past.
I have used the Windows 7 imaging program, since Windows 7, and it has saved me several times. All I need is imaging, which I do monthly, not all the backup stuff. I do routine backups of the Document folder and Pictures folder and do not need anything else. I have not updated to Windows 11 because my 13 year old Dell notebook is not compatible, next year I have to buy a new computer. Does Windows 11 still have the Windows 7 image program?
Windows 11 doesn’t include the Win 7 backup. It’s been replaced by the Windows Backup app which is a horrible mess that should be disabled.
Why Windows Backup Isn’t What You Think It Is.
It’s incomplete, confusing, and possibly misleading.
Backup and Restore (Windows 7) is still in Windows 11.
The review was honest and well written. Although I dislike subscriptions I will probably migrate to Reflect X
I purchased a subscription for the Macrium Reflect Home edition, and used it until the subscription ended last year. Then I went over what I need in a backup system, and found the Macrium Free version 8.0.6560 on the OlderGeeks website (https://oldergeeks.com/), which updated to version 8.0.7783 following installation. It does everything I need it to do, I use a weekly full system image (on Monday), and differential images every other day of the week (Tuesday through Sunday), keeping four image sets (four full system images, and 24 differential images). I have a registration code from before I purchased the subscription, and everything works as expected. I don’t use Macrium to store anything online, so I don’t see any need for updates. The only new feature I’d like would be the dark theme (which I miss from the home edition), but that’s not worth the subscription fee to me.
My only question would be, “Can I legally continue using the Home edition without renewing my subscription?” I don’t want to pirate any software, ever.
Ernie
This isn’t legal advice, but if it’s the free version, I can’t see that as piracy. Laws can be complicated. A lawyer can give you more reliable advice.
now tested version 8 vs “new” version X and absolutely no need to upgrade.. speed maybe little faster, features for me same, BUT image size of tested hdd with fresh windows 11 is: version 8 .mrimg: 16GB, version X .mrimgx: 32GB!!! same high compression settings.. double file size, no benefit at all.
For Fiona G.
Do you want photos before, during, or after the bank holdup?
Bandana placement geometry will be affected by your decision.