ArmorLock Drive support ending? How to respond

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Level 1

42 points

ArmorLock Drive support ending? How to respond

A couple of days ago I found a message in my ArmorLock status window titled "ArmorLock App End of Support Notice," which says the app won't be supported or updated and that updating the App may keep the device working, although the message says there will be no further updates to the app and it may stop working at any time. I'm also seeing a "damaged pairing" as the status of my drive. I think the "damaged pairing" error message is related to the support notice, and from some preliminary research I think that many users of this product are similarly affected. If my device "may stop working at any time," it seems to make more sense to me to get a new drive ASAP, since the support cut-off is happening soon, whether it's ArmorLock or another product. I recently purchased a Lacie device and am using it for data storage but not for Time Machine backups, so I could switch the backups from ArmorLock, or replace the ArmorLock with a second device so that I can continue to use one for the backups and one for extra or emergency storage of documents. Is my understanding of the message concerning the app correct?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Dec 26, 2025 8:45 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 26, 2025 9:08 AM in response to NJM55

That ArmorLock drive appears to be a NVMe drive with added drive-maker's software.

Senior contributors here always recommend that you SKIP drive-maker's software and use Disk Utility to initialize a new drive. If you need encryption, use the encryption built into MacOS.

The reason for this recommendation is that drives with drive-maker's Drivers or drive-maker's encryption may only be available in fully up-and-running MacOS, with the drive-maker's add-ons loaded.

When you need it most, such as after a failure, you may not have a fully-operating MacOS with drive-maker's add-ons loaded to access the drive. (You might be limited to Recovery, which has no drive-maker's ad-ons.)

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Answer 2

Dec 26, 2025 9:06 AM in response to NJM55

to make progress, I recommend you remove the data from that drive and re-initialize with Disk Utility. Choosing encrypted at time of initialization incurs NO time penalty.

If this is Time Machine backup data, the advice is COMPLETELY different. Copying Time Machine backups is generally considered "too risky". You are likely to introduce errors in the copying that invalidate the entire backup set.

To avoid "working without a net", you should ADD an additional Time Machine drive, and start a new backup set on it.

When you have multiple Time Machine destinations, each Destination is a stand-alone backup set. Time machine will alternate: every-other backup goes to every-other drive. Any drive can be removed at any time in the future.

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Answer 3

NJM55 Author

Level 1

42 points

Dec 26, 2025 10:37 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

To address a portion of your response, I use the ArmorLock only for Time Machine backups. I assume there hasn't been a backup in several days since the message about the damaged pairing appeared. Information on the Sandisk site about the end of support says that the Armorlock can be used by enabling Always Unlocked and updating the app and firmware, although I believe the device is still subject to problems in the future due to Mac updates. However, I'm not sure I want to continue using it. As a short-term measure, I can switch settings on the Mac to make backups there instead of to the external drive. One of your messages suggested adding a second Time Machine drive. I haven't looked into how to do this yet, although a quick search turned up lots of sources of information I can investigate; briefly, do you mean two external drives? One internal/one external? Unrelated, but I need a secure backup since Apple Support techs have recommended doing a system wipe (this advice followed many support calls and lack of success with other options). This was suggested several months ago, but for various reasons, and some degree of conflicting information, I haven't followed through yet. If ArmorLock isn't working, I definitely need a new backup method for that process.

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Answer 4

Dec 26, 2025 12:52 PM in response to NJM55

<< I need a secure backup >>

I usually use the term Trusted Backup. In ordinary cases, encryption may not be needed. Encryption of your backup adds complexity that could make it ever-so-slightly less likely that your backup will be there when you need it.

Time Machine Backup Destinations include externally attached drives, network attached drives on a different Mac, network attached drives on a third-party Network-Attached Storage (NAS) device. they do NOT include ANY cloud backup schemes f=of any description. You can mix and match with impunity.

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Answer 5

MartinR

Level 7

24,258 points

Dec 26, 2025 4:10 PM in response to NJM55

NJM55 wrote:

I need a secure backup since Apple Support techs have recommended doing a system wipe

Secure backup, in that case, would be a reliable backup, not an encrypted backup.

I suggest getting a good quality external SSD or HDD, format it as APFS and copy your data to the external drive. Use the Finder or a backup application like CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to copy your files & folders. That way you will have copies of your actual files readily accessible and not be reliant on any vendor's proprietary application like ArmorLock.

Also, don't rely on a single backup. Best practice is to use the "3-2-1 method" ... 3 copies of your data stored on 2 different media with one copy kept offsite. (That is, your original data + 2 backup copies on different media.)

Although I understand there are people who want all their data to be encrypted, if you are a home user and not in a crime-prone area, there is no real need to encrypt your backup drives. It's just added complexity that could be a problem if/when you need it to recover your data.

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Answer 6

Dec 26, 2025 4:44 PM in response to NJM55

If you are using another direct-to-disk backup method that you prefer, and you currently have a recent disk-based backup, that is great. If not, you should consider using Built-in Time Machine among the potential solutions.

Take steps to acquire an external drive as soon as possible. If you buy one, a drive 2 to 3 times or larger than the amount of data to be backed up is preferable for long term trouble-free operation. Do not pay extra for a drive that is fast. (You can get by for a while with a "found" smaller drive if necessary, but it will eventually become annoying).

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