Click here to view the latest AOMEI OneKey Recovery website (2021)
In this AOMEI OneKey Recovery review, I’ll try using the software on my own Dell laptop (as with all software reviews I do), test how well it actually works and answer the main questions about it.
When might you need to use AOMEI OneKey Recovery?
Before I show how this software works, I want to emphasize that you may not need it at all. PC manufacturers often have their own backup and recovery tools (e.g. Lenovo OneKey Recovery, Dell Backup and Recovery and HP Recovery Manager), and you should try these first if they’re available for you. If these don’t work for you for some reason, or you’re on a laptop from a smaller manufacturer that doesn’t have these tools available, then you can take a look at AOMEI OneKey Recovery. The other scenario in which AOMEI OneKey Recovery may be able to help you is if your computer suddenly fails to boot before you’ve done any backup or used any backup tool before.
Installing AOMEI OneKey Recovery
AOMEI OneKey Recovery has a very simple and standard install process. As of the time of writing (using version 1.6.3), the downloadable .exe installer is just under 20 MB (available on this page of the AOMEI website). This took me about 1 minute to install:
Using AOMEI OneKey Recovery
AOMEI OneKey Recovery is very simple software, and using it is absolutely self-explanatory. When you open AOMEI OneKey Recovery, you’re presented with 2 very simple options — create a new backup, or restore one:
Then you have 2 options for where to store the resulting backup:
If you go for the first (recommended) option, it’ll save the backup on your computers hard drive. Otherwise, with the second option, you’ll have to choose an external device to save the backup on.
There is also the option for how you compress your backup, and whether you want to put a password on it:
Then you select the partition to backup to:
Then, the backup will be created (prepare for your computer to restart when this is done):
After a backup is complete, you can of course then restore it at any time from within AOMEI OneKey Recovery.
What does AOMEI OneKey Recovery cost?
A flat $29.95 for the Professional edition with lifetime upgrades, or $499 for the Technician edition and $999 for the “Customization” edition. If you’re a sole user buying it for yourself, you of course only need the Professional edition.
What are the alternatives to AOMEI OneKey Recovery?
Beyond the free backup and restore tools that many PC manufacturers offer (see above), the main backup and restore tools that compete with AOMEI OneKey Recovery are these:
- AOMEI Backupper (see my AOMEI Backupper review)
- Macrium Reflect
- Clonezilla
- Acronis True Image
If you’re wondering, the difference between AOMEI Backupper and AOMEI OneKey Recovery is that AOMEI OneKey Recovery can only do an entire system backup and is designed for full system recovery, while AOMEI Backupper can backup individual parts of your system and also has other features like syncing files.
I would consider Macrium Reflect to be the closest competitor to AOMEI OneKey Recover, which has the advantage of being better at backing up encrypted BitLocker drives (see here) and, having been around since 2006, has a proven reputation as a quality tool. However, it’s significantly more expensive at $69.95 for a single license.
Is AOMEI OneKey Recovery recommended?
Only if you don’t have access to free backup tools, or they don’t work for you for some reason. AOMEI OneKey Recovery should work just fine for you and AOMEI is a reputable company. But there’s no need to pay for it unless you’ve tried all the free tools available and they aren’t working for you for some reason.