What is the best alternative to ios icloud back? reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One_Tap__ · 2023-11-03 00:31 Hi, I really need an alternative to icloud backup because I am really fed up of apple eco system, having to upgrade to the next plan now from £2.99 to £8.99. I know that many of you would probably now say that why stick with apple but it’s been years now, only problem is storage. Can someone please explain what my options are, I have done a bit of research and found back blaze and applications such as immich but I find it very confusing to create my own server? Not sure how immich works for instance. At this point what would you advise that I do? I mean I can get a nasty drive and back up to two different drives which is also slightly expensive, I really don’t know. I would appreciate your suggestions maybe a guide as well. It would be even better if I have options to seamlessly backup photos and videos in the background automatically just how icloud does. I’ve heard backblaze with photosync does exactly this but I want to be sure before paying for any service or equipments. Thank you for taking your time going through my post. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- applesoff · 2023-11-03 00:39 Your best bet for seamless backup with a self hosted solution is immich. Check out their website to find instructions. You may have to spend a few days researching things like docker to get it set up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2023-11-03 00:44 [deleted] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One_Tap__ · 2023-11-03 00:44 However, would I not be able to achieve the same thing with backblaze and photosync as it also seamlessly backups data in the background right except that I don’t have to create my own server, immich requires your own server? I have checked a few places immich seems confusing, I am not sure how I would set it up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- applesoff · 2023-11-03 00:50 I am not familiar with photosync. If you are interested in that route it may be better to look in their respective subreddits and websites. It sounds like there are associated costs as well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One_Tap__ · 2023-11-03 00:54 Are you able to briefly explain what hardware and software I would need for immich, I do have a laptop and that is about it? So I know what my options are before doing anything. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PaintDrinkingPete · 2023-11-03 00:55 > However, would I not be able to achieve the same thing with backblaze and photosync as it also seamlessly backups data in the background right except that I don’t have to create my own server, **immich requires your own server?** I have checked a few places immich seems confusing, I am not sure how I would set it up. Just to be clear, you’re asking this question in /r/selfhosted, which is exactly what this sub is all about. Yes, sure, there are other commercial options, but asking this question here is going to get you suggestions related to solutions that are run on servers you host. It’s not for everyone…there’s a reason why iCloud and other publicly hosted services make a ton of money. I’ve been using a self-hosted Nextcloud server for this purpose for years now, but have been meaning to look into adding Immich as it looks promising ---------------------------------------------------------------------- No_Dragonfruit_5882 · 2023-11-03 00:59 Google => Requirements for immich ==> Hardware​ RAM: At least 4GB, preferred 6GB. CPU: At least 2 cores, preferred 4 cores ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One_Tap__ · 2023-11-03 00:59 Yeah I understand, I don’t mind paying for a service if it is reasonable, for instance backblaze seems much more reasonable in terms of pricing then icloud. The reason why I made a thread here is becauseto enlighten my self as much as I can, maybe I do have a chance with self hosting but it seems a little difficult for me as I haven’t done it before but my next best option is probably back blaze… starting off here would be a good idea I thought because there are many knowledgeable people in this thread. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- applesoff · 2023-11-03 01:02 Laptop will probably work. The second link I posted has the requirements ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One_Tap__ · 2023-11-03 01:04 That means I need a vps / nas or an extra hard drive set up right, is that how it works? I mean you can use your current laptop drive but would that work or is that even sensible thing to do whilst my laptop runs on that drive? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PaintDrinkingPete · 2023-11-03 01:09 As far as the well known services go, backblaze storage is known to be one of the best deals in terms of cost. Even that solution is probably gonna require some added work on your end (it won’t be as integrated and user-friendly as using iCloud)… I’ve never used photosync though, so can’t speak to that specifically. At the very least, would help you get away from being stuck in the grasp of Apple’s ecosystem. And sorry, wasn’t trying to discourage you…just wanted to make that you realized the type of subreddit this was and what types of suggestions to expect. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- No_Dragonfruit_5882 · 2023-11-03 01:23 Yeah dont use your Stuff for two things. Either homeserver or Laptop. So yes => Vps/Nas/Minipc etc ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One_Tap__ · 2023-11-03 01:25 So even an additional standard hard drive / ssd connected to my laptop is enough to get immich running I am assuming for backing up data. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2023-11-03 05:30 [removed] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dibu28 · 2023-11-03 05:52 OneDrive ---------------------------------------------------------------------- iammilland · 2023-11-03 08:49 The background sync features in my tests does not work like icloud does, I have tried many times and I always end up with the app not syncing photos. but I found a solution that gives me what I want, I have the free tier in icloud and every night I have a script from GitHub that pulls everything out of I cloud and stores it on my own server that I can access through Jellyfin. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- deep_chungus · 2023-11-03 09:55 both apple and google make it hard on purpose, immich is a great replacement but requires you to run it (probably easiest in docker) on a computer to back up to. if you don't want to self host maybe one of these apps might be more what your looking for https://alternativeto.net/software/foldersync/?platform=iphone ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lolappapalol · 2023-11-03 12:23 Just make sure that you know what you're doing and backup all your photos correctly. Immich is a great tool, but at the end of the day it's your memories, so if you don't want to put in the work, and buy the hardware and then send it to an offsite host like backblaze... you're asking for you to lose memories. I personally would stick with iCloud if I were you if you're new to selfhosting until you're sure you won't lose everything with just your server breaking. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One_Tap__ · 2023-11-03 14:01 I think I will be sticking with a nas or backlaze with photosync one of the two makes the most sense. I can’t be spending £8.99 for 2tb Icloud storage when nas has way more benefits or backup services like backblaze whilst being cheaper. Better in the long run. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 100GHz · 2023-11-03 21:06 Truenas has apple SMB and timemachine: https://www.truenas.com/docs/scale/scaletutorials/shares/smb/setupbasi ctimemachinesmbshare/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lolappapalol · 2023-11-09 08:35 The point is that in the long term a NAS can be cheaper, but it's also not very safe for your photos unless you know what you're doing. Backup strategy is 3-2-1, 3 copies, 2 different medias, with 1 offsite. Also your backup isn't a backup unless you test restore your backups every once in a while. Also unless you go your own hardware and software, you have vendor lock-in. Synology or QNAP or pretty much any of the other brands have a vendor lock that means it's extremely hard to get your data off except by Linux experts because of the way they've designed their arrays. I'm not saying it isn't worth it, obviously the people in this subreddit including myself do it. But make no mistake, there is work to make sure your memories are safe. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pankajkumar199631 · 2023-11-22 12:07 Try IDrive once, https://www.idrive.com/