ASUS WebStorage Overview
User Review
( votes)This review was last updated on April 11th, 2016.
ASUS is a huge name when it comes to performance personal computer hardware. From enthusiast to pro gamers, ASUS is an industry leader in motherboard, monitor, and GPU manufacturing, as well as a high performance collection of gaming laptops, including their world renowned ROG line. For a few years, Asus WebStorage has been offered as their own cloud solution and has changed quite a bit over the years. Unless you bought Asus hardware, you most likely never heard of their cloud storage, but many existing customers did turn to it, especially many years ago, when unlimited storage was offered at base prices. But, has Asus been able to deliver the same level of quality we are used to seeing with their hardware? Let’s find out.
Price Plans
Asus offers a free account with 5GB of data with limitations placed on features such as bandwidth and file size, there is also limitations placed on support. Their web storage plan offers 100GB and is billed yearly at $23 USD. Alternatively for $100 per year, you can upgrade to 500GB. The price is actually not terrible, but also on par with some competitors offering a similar basic cloud storage solution.
Features
Asus WebStorage offers the following features;
- Mobile and Desktop Device Sync
- Automatic Mobile Picure Backup
- Full Computer Backups
- Single Click Restoration
- File Sharing with Group Chats
- SuperNote Pro Handwriting App
- Integrates with other apps/Asus Services
- Keyword Search
The service essentially provides basic file backup and sharing services whilst coupling some other features that tie in with their apps or hardware. Very similar to Dropbox and other consumer grade cloud storage services as far as the interface goes, but nothing really advanced or unique about it other than being able to chat with users on shared files and folders, digital handwritten notes, and full Microsoft Office integration.
Security
Asus WebStorage guarantees secure server and transfers across their servers. However, they don’t dive into much detail behind any security features. There is no information on encryption levels, or server protection other than that they take high measures in order to keep all of your information private. They also promote better user account protection with 2-step login verification, real-time virus scanning, and saved detailed logs of every time a user signs into the account.
Speed
Though they do have a competent and useful web storage service, on the whole, I wasn’t too pleased with their transfer speeds. To test out their service, I tried uploading a 135MB video file, and it took about 35 minutes for the transfer to complete. Users should note that I am on a moderately slow Internet connection with only 5Mbps download bandwidth and 1Mbps upload. Still, even with my lackluster Internet connection, Asus Web Storage was slower than other providers who were able to upload the same file in as little as 17 minutes.
Data Backup Capabilities
The service allows for full computer backups, or select folders only. You can synchronize it to your mobile devices and have all your pictures automatically uploaded to the cloud as soon as they are taken. Additionally, Office documents can also be automatically backed up, with smart file version updates allowing you to recover an old version. Outlook attachments can also be added to the list. However, the service does not focus strongly on backup and does not offer any type of scheduling or advanced options beyond those offered. Many users have unfortunately reported ASUS WebStorage to be unreliable. Users have warned that the sync functions don’t do well with multiple devices and could happen to clear folders completely. Others claim restoring old files they had not accessed for years failed to work. Data loss is not what you want to hear from multiple users when it comes to your cloud storage provider.
Data Restore Capabilities
Restoration is made easy with a one click key access to restore all your files in the event your hardware fails. This makes it simple to get all your important data back in the event of an emergency, but with so many reported cases of problematic storage and bugs when using their cloud solution, the last thing you want to do is solely depend on the service as your main backup. Redundancy is key, and I’m not telling you not to use the service, especially if it works well for you, but having more than one cloud backup is always a great idea when applicable.
Support
The WebStorage support section has a highly detailed information base for users to browse. They also offer a ticket based system to reach them in the event your question is unanswered, they don’t offer any other means of contact such as phone or live chat. ASUS is a very large company that provides excellent computer hardware although to be honest their cloud storage services are not in the forefront of what they, nor sadly is the support service provided.
Conclusion
Overall, ASUS WebStorage has been around long enough to no longer be a new service, but it failed to make an impact. Most people don’t even know about the service even if they have purchased ASUS products in the past. The majority of the client base is initially attracted to the service after purchasing a laptop or hardware that came with a voucher for extra free storage. But, in the end, speed, bandwidth limits, and poor reviews as early as this year regarding data loss leads me to suggest to stay away. With so many other options out there, I am hard pressed not to suggest to look elsewhere. ASUS might one day bring us a very solid cloud backup and data storage service, and they are continually updating and improving the service. If you have had a good or bad experience with them, please leave us your comments below.
Pros:
- 5GB free cloud storage that can be expanded to 15GB through their referral program
- Native software for all the major mobile and desktop operating systems
- Password protection and expiration features for sharing and collaboration
Cons:
- Free version of their service limits daily file transfers to 500MB
- 500MB file limit for data transfers, meaning you can’t upload larger files
- The collaboration features are a little confusing
I used the free space that came with the computer and bought more on a one time special deal. It worked for awhile then failed to sync across any of my devices. Customer service sent a generic resolution that did not work. I sent them the requested information. They responded that the ticket had been closed and they hoped I liked their customer service. Further attempts to contact customer service over several months received no response.
I regret losing the money for extra storage, but I guess that it is the cost of another of life’s little lessons.
Absolute SCAM. Asuswebstorage is not worthy of the cloudstorage name. It is absolutely worthless considering the impossibility of uploading anything due to their ridiculous speeds.
They have a nice webpage which promises wonders, but delivers nothing.
Someone should propose a class action against those scammers.
Dang, just saw this two review and I just signed up for their 1TB cloud storage.
We’ll see how this goes..
Hi Ross – any update on how it is going? I am specially interested in the upload speed and limits of fize size and transfer per day.
And… how did it go? 🙂 I want to try it too!.
I have a 1TB cloud storage. I often can not download my files because the connection is interrupted. The download speed is often 1KB / s. I have internet speeds of 80 / 10Mb. I uploaded 230GB to their cloud when the connection was good. Now I can not download almost anything. I have to pay for another year in the hope of saving my data.
I agree with the majority on this one… The coupon that came with my Asus laptop attracted me to this service with a very low price tag, but the speed of file transfer, really dramatically slow, like old 14.4kbp modem slow, makes this absolutely worthless, even at the low price tag. Shame on Asus for pushing such a scam, it brings down the overall experience I have had with this otherwise high-end laptop.
I am never able to upload anything properly. If it is a heavy file, it always fails. Worst cloud storage service I have ever used.
I recently bought an Asus Zen drive and it came with a ‘Free Web Storage’ offer. So, my interest piqued, I created an account, and used the activation code – and was pleased to see that I’d received 1TB of “free” storage for one year. And that’s when the “fun” started!! The web storage consists of two components – a desktop app and a web storage page. So, I have downloaded the app and it appears to work OK. I’ve only put a few files into storage – and you’ll see why in a moment! The app allows me to login with the account details I provided when I signed up, and appears to synch the files sucessfully. However, one of the menu items on the app launches the web-storage website page, and on this is a login button so you can ‘see’ your syched files. Using the self-same details I have provided (and, remember, successfully logged in via the app with), I always get a message “The ASUS Cloud ID or password is not correct, please try again.” There’s also a ‘Forgot account name or password’ link here, too, and selecting that launches another page that says “Please enter your Email and we will send the link to change the password to your mailbox.” Well, I do – the same email I used to set-up the account with, and the same email that has successfully logged me in via the app – and I never, ever get an email. Not one. And, no – it’s not in ‘junk’. Of course, I’ve tried support and among other suggestions is one that I should ensure my account password only uses letters and figures. Hmm – glaring security breach or what? Oh, and apart from the fact that (you know what’s coming, don’t you?) I can’t login to my account to change anything……..!!! This is so Monty Pythonesque, it would be hilarious if it wasn’t pathetic! I have asked that they really confirm that the ‘forgotten account’ emails are really being sent (as I suspect they aren’t), and asked that they possibly delete my account and I’ll start again. All to no avail. Seriously, and Asus would expect me to trust – maybe – irreplaceable data with them? I suggest you steer away from this an at million miles per hour!!
Thanks for such a detailed account of your fun and games.
I just got an offer of £10 for 1TB for the year, which of course is very cheap. But I was wary and now, from your message, I can see the old adage that ‘You get what you pay for’ is as true as ever.
At least I haven’t wasted time on this, let alone perhaps lost data.
I backed my Asus computer on Mar. 27th 2019- on Mar 29th my ASUS crashed beyond hope. All my info is on that cloud and I cannot even find a phone number for ASUS to be able to call and get any support for this problem. I have tried the online chat- no one ever answers me., I have searched and searched for an ASUS support phone number and there is none. I am sick and disgusted that I trusted ASUS back up. There is apparently no support for this. Maybe its just a hoax, Please will someone respond- Kathy-
I’m sorry to hear that Kathy. But should you read the comment section in here I can only suggest you to deal with it. You fell for it and so did we. Even-though I never asked for it (though I should have), I was told there is no refund possible.
There is a mail you can contact though. I hope you’ll get a valuable answer.
contact@asuswebstorage.com
2020-11-07 – I bought ASUS webstorage $79.98 and once I tried to get into my drive, I saw all of the Chinese writing and realized it was not an American company. For security reasons, I want an American webstorage cloud. I have been unable to reach ASUS. I hope the contact info from ONJM will work. Thank you. (Just reading a few of the above reviews confirm my fears that there could be problems. I have had two ASUS laptops and made the assumption that their webstorage would be good. Augh. What a mess trying to get anyone to respond and help me cancel this order. Thank you.
Same for me i can not get in as name and password not recognised either I think it is bad because they have our passwords credit card details and now our data they do not need us anymore. Its time we got the Taiwanese government involved as they will not stand for any dodgy activity.
I’m glad I checked the reviews first. The poor English in the email offers was a big red flag. Surely a renowned company like ASUS wouldn’t have such shoddy communications. It’s like reading the instructions when buying a Chinese product. In this day and age I ain’t got about to upload my info to a Chinese cloud haha.
steer clear of asus webstorage
you think you will save money buying such a cheap cloud storage but the reality is you just lost that money getting a horrible service
for me it kept using bandwidth downloading local data that i wanted to upload
do yourself a favor and get google drive / one drive / etc anything respectful