For all the computers and crashes I’ve been through, I’ve never lost anything I couldn’t bear to loose, but a few days after my MacBook’s hard drive failed, I decided I really wanted my lost photos from Colorado. A few days before, someone in my delicious network bookmarked a data recovery site, and it turned out he had already found the best deal.
So I opened a case with Aero Data Recovery and shipped them both the dead drive and a new external USB-powered drive for the recovered data. Traditionally, data recovery has cost thousands of dollars and only been affordable to businesses with very valuable data. Now companies seem to be filling their downtime with $279 flat-rate, free-estimate jobs for consumers willing to bite the bullet.
About a week after the drive arrived, I got an email that the it “exhibits symptoms of a severe head crash”. That was beyond their capabilities, but they recommended two other companies that could continue the investigation once the drive was direct shipped. The prognosis is still hopeful, though I have no idea what this next tier will cost after the free estimate - I shudder to think what it would cost to have somebody with an electron microscope transcribe the 1s and 0s that make up my photos of Rocky Mountain…
Continue to Data Recovery, Round 2
August 26th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
wow….. same problem - same situation…. read my review….
trying to post some BEWARE of AERO Reviews….
I am NOT a happy camper right now….
I sent them my drive to “recover”
they held it a week before they “looked” at it…..
Received an e-mail that my drive was a head-crash
and they couldn’t fix it…. but they could recommend another (more expensive) company to do the job. I requested my drive back.. and got 2 more e-mails suggesting that the recommended company was the BEST to do the job. I insisted that they send me th DRIVE back… and they sent it to the other company anyway… who after 1/2 day gave me an extremely high estimate to “easily” recover my data…. WHAT A BAIT & SWITCH ROUTINE….
They advertise a very low flat rate… which maybe only applies to easy software fixes… and then when they have your drive….
try to BANG-you for huge $$$. I still don’t have my drive back…. BUT STAY AWAY FROM AERO!!!
August 26th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Thanks for the heads up, Joel. ESS Data Recovery just received the drive, so I’m waiting for their initial report.
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I had the exact same experience as the two people above.
When they “recommended” the other two companies I immediately called one of them to ask if they paid Aero a referral fee for any clients Aero sent to them to which the woman I spoke with answered “yes”.
I was immediately incredibly frustrated because it became very obvious that they have no real intention to recover your data, but rather make their money a % of your bill to the company they refer you too. This is pure speculation, but I would bet that the majority of their income is based on referrals, not collect $270 from successfully recovered hard drives.
I asked the Aero support person if she would recommend a company without any financial ties to Aero so I could be assured that I was receiving a recommendation based on the quality of their work and I have not heard from her since.
I asked for my drive to be returned to out office one week ago and have still not received it. I have sent about 5 emails asking for an update on my case over that week and have been ignored. I called them just a moment ago to check on the status of my drive and it is still sitting at their office. I am growing very tired of this game and may have to bring legal action into play if I do not receive my drive promptly.
Please save yourself a headache and stay away from this company. There is a reason their price is too good to be true.
September 4th, 2008 at 9:32 am
finally got my drive back….
and sending it to another place in California….
Lowcostrecovery.com
small outfit… but let’s see what they can do for me….
no BS - but I had to beg them to work on my drive since ESS had
already opened it…..
MATT–
what’s the status of your drive?
September 30th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Travis & Joel: Would you kindly send me your last names so I can look up your info in our database? I would like to work out a resolution with you with regards to your cases. I could not find any cases that were not recoverable with either of your first names, which leads me to believe that you are really another data recovery company trying to slander our good name. If you really are an Aero client, I would be eager to review your case and discuss with both of you. Thank you.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
In response to BEN SMITH (I guess of Aero) ….
This is not slander…..
it was 100% how it happened….
right now my drive is still in California waiting for parts from a VERY
reasonable data recovery source…
granted they may not have the parts on the shelf (like the THOUSAND dollar ESS may have had…..)
but I have an OLD mac formatted drive that is not too common-
I had to beg this company to look at my drive since ESS had opened it WITHOUT my permission. I have e-mails from AERO telling me that they were sending me back my drive…. BUT NOoooo. they sent it right off to ESS in order to get their CUT of the THOUSAND DOLLAR (less 10%)
recovery option they offered me.
AERO SHOULD clearly say in their advertising that they offer SOFTWARE only recovery…. (MOST software only companies clearly say that is their price-plans) Too bad I found out way after I quickly sent my drive off to AERO to only get involved in a 3-week delay.
Ben - you want to look up my records… then post your e-mail so I can send my case # to you…
Too Bad Matt lost his pictures… but this way it’s a good excuse to go back and visit again! (probably cheaper than paying ESS $900!)
October 1st, 2008 at 11:25 am
Joel,
Our service is not software-only, but we do avoid drives with media damage so as not to make matters worse. Our engineers are experienced in the data recovery industry and have recovered hundreds of drives with physical problems. Its often true that you do get what you pay for, and without very expensive equipment, it can’t be done. I’m not sure why your drive did not go directly back to you -that is another problem and I’ll look into that when I get your case number.
Joel, we’re here to provide a valuable service to people like yourself who can’t afford or don’t want to pay the huge pricetag often associated with data recovery. Send me your ph number and we can discuss this further. My email address is ben.smith@ (I’ll leave off the domain) Thanks,
Ben
October 1st, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Travis and Joel - thanks for sharing your experiences. I hope you’re able to get your data back soon! If not, we’ll all have to take a vacation to Colorado, throw back a few beers, and shoot a few photos
Ben - thanks for weighing in with the other side of the story and clarifying a few things. It’s always refreshing when companies care enough to participate in the online discussion and reach out to their customers.
October 6th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Just to let you know, I had a Western Digital 500GB Mybook that made a ticking sound and would not show up. I sent a drive to Aero and it was recovered and in my hands in about a week. My only quarrel was the cost of shipping -$25! Other than that, they did an excellent job at a reasonable rate.
October 7th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Hi- Joel Again….
Little update on Aero….
Ben Smith (as listed above) contacted me with regard to my treatment from his company. He went out of his way to apologize for his OVER-Zealous
customer service reps who steered my drive to their “BIG Mechanical Failure/Problem” associates.
So my comments with regard to Aero, I guess are…
Software issues - I’m sure they can handle… but IF you know for certain
it’s 100% mechanical (head crash etc)
Contact them First with your exact situation… and make sure they are able to service your drive in house.
And if you do have problems with AERO…. find Ben… he seems to “Make sure things get taken care of”
ps– still looking for parts for my ancient IBM/Mac hard drive
December 31st, 2008 at 9:48 am
I sent Aero my daughters MAc book in October and jsut got it back last week from ESS!
Wish I found this site first- My daughters MAC hard drive crashed and I too sent my drive to aero for an estimate- I sent them the macbook as they never told me to take the hard drive out- They then, when they had the macbook ,charged m $200 to take out the 2 screws that hold the hard drive in place- I got this same Emailt hat the damage to the hard drive was avery hard crach and that they could not fix the problem but would sent his off to ESS as they are better equipped to handle this at a savings of 10%-
So $1200 later ESS does recover 80% of my daughters 8000 pictures and the rest of her hard drive-
This is in my opinion a true Bait and switch situation! no question about this- they snag you in for a $299 fee and then they get paid from the back end- I have since written back to aero about getting at least $100 back from them for the exhorbitant fee to open the MAc book as I was told by Aplle computer store- that there is no big deal to open up the back of the case and get the hard drive out- he indicated that they should have not charged me anything since they offered free estimate- that should be part of their service
Still waiting to hear back from aero-
SO BUYER BEWAR!
January 9th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Joel:
Did Robert/lowcostrecovery.com ever get your drive back to you?
I have a much newer Seagate I’m thinking of sending them and have not found any other comments online other than yours.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:20 am
no—
still don’t have my drive back….
it’s an old mac drive that they can’t find the parts (cheaply) for….
I haven’t paid them a penny though…..
thankfully - I’ve worked around not having that info so far….
we’ll see if they ever come up with the fix….
but there was no way I was willing to spend $1k for 3/4 of my date….
good - luck - give them a try… they seem honest!
January 29th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Joel - Just wondering what the status of your drive is at lowcostrecovery.com
I was about to send my drive to Aero but I’m quite positive that the failure on my drive is physical - infact, I had my IT guy confirm it! I did mention this to the rep at Aero but he still suggested that I send the drive in - I’m not sure if this was an oversight of intentional.
In any case, I’m on the lookout for a “legit” data recovery service that can be somewhat reasonable. I understand that physical recovery requires an expensive setup but you have to think that this is a common phenomenon and volume can offset cost!
If anyone else has used lowcostrecovery or any other service they can honestly recommend, I’d be interested to hear fronm you!
Thanks much!
February 10th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
What type of problem do you have with your hard drive Chris?
February 11th, 2009 at 10:13 am
still no drive back….
just had followed up with them (lowcostrecovery) and my drive is a 10 year old ibm - produced for apple and VERY rare - so they haven’t been able to find parts. I don’t know what method these $1,000 people use…. but I can’t afford that kind of $$$… I missed some of my data - but been mostly able to work around…. the longer it takes… the less I need it. Good Luck!
February 13th, 2009 at 3:10 am
Thanks to all who shared their experiences. I was going to try Aero, but have now reconsidered. Their page definitely suggests that they do more than software recovery, with talk of their “clean room” and all that. Most definitely a bait-and-switch. They over-charge for software recovery and get referral fees for physically damaged drives. Nice.
Without hearing any success stories, I’m a little reluctant to try lowcostrecovery, but at least they differentiate between physical and software recovery in their price list. My girlfriend has an iMac, so I’m sure the parts are easier to come by.
July 30th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Dittos. I had my daughter’s hard drive wrapped up and ready to be picked up to send to Aero (already had a case number assigned and everything). After reading this, I called my favorite IT guy (and friend) to get yet another opinion. My hard drive is definitely a physical damage thing. Tried several people with software recovery attempts. No go. Was good to see someone (I’m assuming) from Aero try to make some of this right, but not enough to reassure me, I’m afraid. Would be interested in follow up regarding lowcostrecovery for sure.
August 1st, 2009 at 12:03 am
July 31, 2009…
still don’t have my drive back….
the drive crashed about a year ago….
and it’s been at LowCost for 9+ months…
as explained above… the only way lowcost could recover my drive would
be with a matching donor drive… which they never found…
when I last asked… they said they were still looking….
but we’ll see if it EVER shows up…
…not even sure at this point if I’d pay even a few hundred dollars to get that data back….
Good Luck….
September 16th, 2009 at 1:49 am
That is exactly why you shouldn’t use Low Cost Data Recovery period. I sent my hard drive to Aero Data Recovery and they recovered all of my information in 6 days. I sent them my dead (clicking) hard drive and an external drive to put the info on and they were successful with the recovery. I would highly recommend Aero for anyone’s data recovery needs. They offer a $279 flat rate on any single hard drive.
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Sent my drive to Aero; they said they couldn’t recover the data, and suggested ESS. Really find it hard to believe they recover anybody’s data for $279. I asked them to send it back, which they did after a couple reminders. $50 worth of shipping and handling later, I wish I’d seen this website earlier.
January 13th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
I believe the answer is quite simple- Aero Data Recovery WAS CREATED BY ESS Data Recovery just for these stupid bait-n-switch tricks…