Backblaze uses SSDs…
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Will be curious how it works for you! I’m already happy with the switch and will be getting my wife’s computer up and running with it this weekend.
I like that I can use Arq for multiple types of backups but am happy with their premium storage for now!
This will fix my cloud backup issue. My TimeMachine and CCC clone on a separate drive are my solid on-site backups.
My thoughts (which are not necessarily the right thoughts, but you’re asking for an opinion 
) are along the lines of: Time Machine is a complex and opaque backup mechanism that, when it works, works brilliantly and can provide some ability to recover a file as it was at a point in time. Cloning is a dead simple, very transparent backup method that always gives you the most recent version of your system (or a given file).
I’ve never had a Time Machine backup fail when I needed it to recover, but I have had many instances of Time Machine telling me that my current backup is broken and needs to be restarted from scratch.
Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, so my preference would be to use them both. Your mileage may vary and your backup strategy seems sound to me too.
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This is the truth. TM is great when it works and a total PITA when it fails you. I also have regular TM backup failed need to start over messages.
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The first article is very interesting. Yes, backblaze uses SSD drives in very specific applications and also in specific hardware types.
One other issue with SSD drives is that when they fail they fail spectacularly, as in everything toast.At least that’s been my experience. So they are perfectly fine and then crash hard. Spinning drives usually give some warning, drive sectors with failures, odd noises etc just before they die. Which usually gives me enough time to replace them and move on.
One thing I find most interesting in that article is this quote “If you replace your computer every three years, as most users do, then you probably needn’t worry about whether your SSD will last as long as your computer.”
My current computer replacement schedule reflects my dislike of SSDs in general as primary or backup drives used frequently.
On the laptop side my first laptop was a Powerbook 180 I got sometime in 1993. The second was an iBook I got in November 1999. I ran with that machine as my only portable machine until I bought a MacAir in November 2019. My latest is my new MacBook Pro purchased on December 2025.
My first Mac was a 128 K one in 1984, Mac SE-30 in late 1989 or early 1990, A Performa that I didn’t keep good records on sometime in 1993, an 8500 December 1995, a 7100 September 1997, iMac G4 February 2003, Intel iMac December 2006, another iMac in 2013 and then my current machine an M2 Mac Mini I got in February 2023. Over time I am keeping machines longer and once I am done with them (at least as long as they were Intel based) when I replaced them they went on to a long life as my husband’s Linux machines.
I do have SSD drives. I use them as occasional backups, typically when I am traveling. I have one of my main mac and one of my travel laptop. They are made just before I leave, fully encrypted and carried in a separate piece of luggage. They are my OSB for when I travel and need to take a computer. I also use them as sneaker net devices to move large amounts of data from one computer system to another. Otherwise i avoid them.
Well, there’s certainly no harm in using Carbon Copy in addition to Arq, which is currently running its first backup, as well as the external SSDs. If that doesn’t protect me, I give up.
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What are the implications for Photos? That’s my main impetus for backup.
I’ve been backing up to SSDs for several years and have never had a failure. Maybe I’ve just been lucky, or maybe it is because of the way I use them.
I no longer have a lot of data to backup and most of it is static, so my local backups are slowly adding files to a drive. And I replace these drives every couple of years before they become filled. So far this method seems to be working. And if it fails I have backups with two cloud storage companies. One of which contains data back to 2021.
This would seem to indicate that people who do a lot of photo/video editing, etc. should avoid purchasing large internal drives and work almost exclusive using external storage? In any event, the idea of keeping many terabytes of data on a single non redundant internal drive would keep me awake at night.
I have lots of very dynamic data on my machines. Coding in 5 git repositories, terabytes worth of image files, multipe companies and web site backups etc. So yeah, I worry about depending on SSDs all the time.
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I think the key with SSD drives is that when they fail they fail catastrophically. I can see instances of where with good deep backups kept current at the level you would have severe pain if you had to recreate the data they can be a good choice even in high read/write scenarios. Especially if you want the speed and mechanical ruggedness they provide and are willing to do the work necessary to make sure you don’t lose critical data. Or rather can afford to loose X amount of data and recover it or redo the work on it. in the event of a failure.
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Sorry to add yet one more comment to this thread, of the kind that might be answerable if I just read carefully all the previous comments; but from what I can see of my own account, and checking this Backblaze article, if you have ‘Optimise Mac storage’ switched off then your iCloud drive files will be backed up to Backblaze…right? So, while annoying, this is only a problem for those who cannot keep a locally-downloaded copy of everything in their iCloud drive? I couldn’t even remember what state mine was in but was glad to find that I do keep everything downloaded on the machine I have Backblaze running on (MacBook Air), so in theory Backblaze can continue to work for me? BB’s lack of transparency, and their own confusing wording (‘download them to another local location where Backblaze can read them’) is certainly not desirable, but I at least hope that those who are in my situation don’t need to panic…yet?
The highlighted box at the top of that Backblaze article says that due to recent changes they cannot back up any of these iCloud files, even if downloaded locally.
As @mleibowitz noted, BackBlaze is not backing up your documents, even if Optimise Mac storage is turned off. I switched to Arq.
No, it’s a problem for anyone who uses iCloud or any other cloud service, even if you turn off “Optimize Mac Storage.” The locally downloaded files from your iCloud drive are stored in a special folder in your user Library ([your username]/Library/iCloud Drive), where they are managed by iCloud. Backblaze maintains that it cannot backup these files—even though they are stored on your hard drive—because they are managed by iCloud. If you want Backblaze to back up these files, you need to keep a second copy of them in another directory, either somewhere else on your hard drive or on an external drive.
The same is true for any files you may upload to Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. These files are stored in [your username]/Library/CloudStorage. (This is something mandated by Apple, not by your cloud storage provider.) If you want Backblaze to back up these files, you need to keep a second copy somewhere else.
Since I do 90% of my serious computer work at my desk, I primarily use cloud storage for files I need to share with others. Keeping a second copy in another directory is actually a must in my case. Note that “share with others” now can mean “share with my AI bots”: for obvious reasons, there’s definitely a second copy of anything I put on my Google Drive to share with Gemini or Claude stored someplace else.
Backblaze’s user guide on this is shamefully unclear and misleading.
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To add another voice to the answer, my understanding (and experience when checking the online storage) is that no, Backblaze does not back up your iCloud files, even if they are stored on your Mac locally. This was a surprise to me.
When reaching out to Backblaze, they confirmed this. They blame it on Apple changing their cloud storage technicalities (which might have some truth to it, I don’t know). But ultimately, they seem unable/unwilling to push a fix, whereas Arq can do this without any issue.
I’ve switched to Arq Premium and have verified my iCloud files are being backed up correctly (and have tested restore functionality, as well). If you don’t want to use Arq Premium (either their pricing or whatever bothers you), you can point Arq to whatever online data store you want.
It is still possible to mirror files on Google Drive to a folder on either your internal or external drive, using Google Drive for Desktop. The cache location must remain on the Mac’s internal drive, but the actual files can be mirrored to any regular folder.
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This is a timely thread as my BackBlaze subscription is about to renew for the year at $237.60 to back up my Mac and my husband’s Mac. I’m tempted to cancel now and switch to
Arq Premium. If I’m understanding the pricing correctly I can back up both Macs for $59.99 per year.
Have I got that correct?
That is how I read it, as well. Up to 5 computers and 1TB for $59.99 per year (USD).
I can see the TB being a problem for folks, but it should work for us. And even if I go over, their pricing is reasonable.
I’ve just worked out that we need collectively about 1.5TB but Arq would still be cheaper than renewing BackBlaze.
And don’t forget you could always price out something like Backblaze B2. I can’t remember if they charge for restoral like AWS, but if I recall B2 was $6/mo for 1TB. So you’d be looking at $9/mo for 1.5TB. Arq is $49.99 for the application (one time), then add in your B2. So you’d be looking at $167 for the first year, but since you bought the app (assuming it doesn’t break), your annual price drops to $108/yr.
Something to think about if that matters to you. I was pretty happy with Arq’s prices because I don’t want to bank on a “one time” fee for an application then realize in a few years I need to buy the new version.
I am not associated with any of these companies, btw…just had to deep dive all this when I realized Backblaze was failing me while I had no idea.
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