BT have been criticised by a group of their broadband customers because of recent issues affecting the Digital Vault backup service. After a recent service upgrade the new system has exhibited a number of instabilities. The result has been limited or no access to the Digital Vault for paying customers. This has made backing up or restoring essential files impossible for many.
The problems began in August when BT undertook an upgrade of the Digital Vault service, specifically the Auto Backup Manager, which according to a spokesperson for BT was ‘complex’. The 2.8.2 version of the Auto Backup Manager was upgraded to 3.01, but this new platform was soon found to be unstable by many users. BT engineers then rolled back the upgrade to the allegedly stable 2.8.2 version. Instability and only partial usability were still being experienced by some, even after the roll back.
There were other issues caused by the unsuccessful upgrade. On top of being locked out of their stored data, customers were also given inaccurate information regarding the amount of storage space they had left. Version 2.8.2 is still undergoing testing though BT claim to have rectified many of the issues.
BT has in recent days continued to offer reassurances, apologies and explanations to furious customers who have been bombarding the telecom giant’s support resources with complaints. BT claims that the faults were not experienced by a wide group and that any issues with the Auto Backup Manager have been solved by recent development activity. BT also took time to assure customers that none of their personal data was ever at risk during the problem period.
Many commentators including PC Pro have noted the frustration of BT customers who have had to pay for a backup service which failed. BT’s Data Vault has been advertised as a fail safe which should always be accessible. Several customers who complained relied upon the data being backed up online and faced significant personal or business issues when they were unable to access it. Although BT has contacted several major publications to emphasise that the service has been fixed, these claims are refuted by customers still experiencing problems with the Data Vault.
