Seagate Personal Cloud Storage Review

Being a blogger and a keen traveller I have many photos and videos on my computer, camera and phone. They hold precious memories. Like my son's first photo, his first day at school, our holidays in Orlando, our trip to the Grand Canyon and our family Christmases.

 All these photos and videos take up space, and before you know it, your storage space on your computer and phone are full. This is where personal cloud storage becomes invaluable like the Seagate Personal Cloud.

 Seagate have sent me a 5 TB version to review. I don't want to weigh my readers down with technical jargon so I have simplified the set up process as much as I can.
The Basics

 With a Seagate Personal Cloud your movies, photos and files are available 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world. It is what is termed as a Network Attached Storage Device (N.A.S.), a central secure location where you can backup, access and store your files. All you need is an Internet connection and a smart phone, tablet or computer to access your data.

 The Science Bit

 The drive is stylish, black and discrete. To set it up, simply plug into your wireless router. Leave it for ten minutes while it automatically sets up and detects the files and until the light on the unit stops flashing. On the Mac the personal cloud then appears automatically in Finder in the shared section. On a Windows PC you should see it in File Explorer under Network Devices. Clicking on that opens up the files. To finish the set up process you click on the 'Personal Cloud url' and follow instructions.  
When it is set up, the first thing you do is create a user name. The user than gets a folder created for them. Only that user will see what is in that folder. However if you want to share something publicly that can be done with the Public folder. 

 To add a remote user type their email address into the Invite Users section and it will send an email out allowing that person to access the drive.

 The Benefits

Media stored can be viewed on a Smart TV

Storing your data on a personal cloud adds another layer of safety and security as a back up storage. You can access the drive anywhere in the world as long as you have the Internet and a device that allows you to access the Internet. This can be anything from a smartphone, tablet and computer to a Smart TV, media player or game system.

 I think this is incredibly useful as I am fearful of taking my Mac with all my media stored on there, on holiday with me. Thefts happen and things get damaged in transit, however being a self employed blogger I need access to my emails and files at all times.  Now I can leave my Mac at home as I can access those files with my phone or Ipad if need be.

 The storage space available is vast too. I am reviewing the 5 TB version but it also goes up to 8TB. That is much bigger than the storage space on my Mac. Whilst a free service like Dropbox only gives you a few GB's of space.

 I particularly like being able to view the photos and videos on a Smart TV. A lovely feature that makes it easy to share your memories with family and friends. 

The Limitations


 Transferring the media in the first place can take some time, that is one of the only limitations I have found, however after that instance there is a backup option which allows you to do this fairly quickly. For faster transfer of information it recommends using an Ethernet cable. 

 Other Features

 I would recommend backing up your media on a frequent basis as part of your routine. You can also back up to another storage device or another cloud system like Dropbox. 

The ability to sync to a folder is very convenient especially for important files that are updated regularly - useful too if you have a poor memory! This isn't done automatically however, you need to set it to sync at a certain time.

There is a also an app that allows you to access the files via a phone or tablet. This is great for you to be able to play a film, view all your photos, access your documents and listen to your music on the go. Don't forget you still need Internet access though.

You can buy the Seagate Personal Cloud in a range of sizes from John Lewis, Currys, PC World and many other stores. Priced at £199 the 5TB version isn't cheap but for the size it is worth it. This is a one off price, and in comparison for a similar size storage Dropbox starts at £11 a month, but you need to renew monthly to get the storage. I personally feel more secure knowing my data is on the N.A.S device and not stored in a 'virtual' world, with the security risks that can involve.


In conclusion, the Seagate Personal Cloud is an invaluable storage system for accessing and backing up your files whilst out and about, especially for those with lots of large files. If you would like to see an overview of the Seagate Personal Cloud check out the video above. Also watch out for a new competition going live this week on my blog where you can win a 5TB Seagate Personal Cloud!

Tell me, what do you think of the Seagate Personal Cloud storage?  Is it something you would consider buying? Do you have a lot of media you wish to backup?

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21 comments

  1. rhian westbury22 November 2015 at 14:18

    This is the kind go thing I need. I try to take my photos off my laptop to keep it fast and the photos safe but my external hard drive is sure to run out of space soon x

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    Replies
    1. Mellissa Williams23 November 2015 at 06:25

      I had the same problem as you Rhian. I had to delete files off my phone and Mac and this was very useful.

      Delete
  2. Beautykinguk22 November 2015 at 16:12

    You have made this sound really easy to use. Dropbox and iCloud baffle the life out me!

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    Replies
    1. Mellissa Williams23 November 2015 at 06:26

      Thank you! Technology can be baffling but I have tried to make this sound as simple as possible to set up and use.

      Delete
  3. Hannah Latoya Bond22 November 2015 at 17:05

    This looks like a good way to store all of your stuff, especially if you have a lot of pictures x

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    Replies
    1. Mellissa Williams23 November 2015 at 06:27

      My son in particular has a lot of video files and when he returns from uni, he will find this extremly useful!

      Delete
  4. Charli blogs22 November 2015 at 17:06

    I keep getting the message that my computer has no more memory!! Not good! I've always relied on things like dropbox

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    Replies
    1. Mellissa Williams23 November 2015 at 06:30

      I am worried about security with Dropbox to be honest.

      Delete
  5. Loraine22 November 2015 at 21:48

    This is amazing! I'm a photographer to so am always looking for storage devices! Great post xx

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    Replies
    1. Mellissa Williams23 November 2015 at 06:28

      Thank you Emilie. This would be perfect for you.

      Delete
  6. fashion-mommy23 November 2015 at 00:16

    This is such a good idea, I have a huge number of photographs on so many memory cards, it would be nice to keep them all in one place.

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  7. beautyqueenuk24 November 2015 at 09:12

    I can just about manage a shared drive and dropbox at work. This does sound like a great back up option x

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  8. En4tainment24 November 2015 at 09:22

    sounds and look great I think I may need with all the photo I take

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  9. Margaret24 November 2015 at 22:27

    Really want one of these for storage of all my photos

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  10. Anonymous25 November 2015 at 11:36

    we are lucky to have lots of storage but i would love to gift this to my dd for uni next year @msedollyp

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  11. Unknown27 November 2015 at 05:09

    This wud be an awesome device to own.

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  12. Unknown27 November 2015 at 05:09

    A great device to own.

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  13. AnnAR27 November 2015 at 17:05

    aha! Now that is very handy, thanks for the review, very helpful

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  14. TuesdayAt717 December 2015 at 15:39

    As a dj, I store a LOT of music that I need access to. I'd be terrified to lose it all and this would help.,

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  15. suej160117 December 2015 at 15:45

    This would be very handy.x

    ReplyDelete

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