Help & Support
Everything you need to understand how restoreit works and resolve common issues.
System Requirements
What Is the Secure Relay?
The restoreit relay is a lightweight script that runs entirely in your computer's RAM. It never touches your disk with any writes — it only reads raw sector data and streams it over an encrypted connection to our Cloud restoration engine.
This design is intentional. Traditional restoration software requires installation, which writes files to the very disk you are trying to restore — permanently destroying the sectors holding your deleted data. The relay eliminates this risk completely.
Troubleshooting
Relay command not found
Ensure curl is installed. On macOS it ships by default. On Linux: sudo apt install curl. On Windows, use Git Bash or WSL.
Permission denied when running relay
You may need to grant Terminal full disk access. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access → enable Terminal.
Drive not appearing in the selector
Check that the drive is mounted. Open Disk Utility and verify the drive appears and is mounted. Reconnect USB drives before launching the relay.
Upload speed very slow
restoreit adapts to your bandwidth. A slow connection will simply increase scan time but will not fail the restoration. For fastest results use a wired Ethernet connection.
Scan disconnected mid-way
Re-run the same curl command. Scan state is checkpointed. The relay will resume from the last confirmed sector rather than restarting from zero.
Files show as corrupted
Partial corruption occurs when sectors have been partially overwritten since deletion. These files are marked with a restore integrity score. Fragmented files (50%+ integrity) can often still be opened.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the curl relay command actually do?
The curl command fetches a tiny relay script from our secure server and runs it directly in your computer's memory (RAM). It never saves anything to your disk. It reads your drive's raw sectors and sends them through an encrypted HTTPS connection to our Cloud engine for restoration. Nothing is written to the disk you are restoring from.
Why not just download restoration software?
Any file you download and install onto an affected disk can overwrite the exact sectors containing your deleted files. The memory-only relay approach is the only method that avoids destructive overwriting — which is why traditional restoration tools often fail.
What if the relay command times out?
The relay automatically reconnects if the connection is interrupted. If it times out completely, simply re-run the same curl command. Your scan progress is checkpointed in our Cloud — you will not start over from scratch.
What file systems are supported?
restoreit supports APFS and HFS+ (macOS), NTFS and exFAT (Windows), and ext4 (Linux). RAID configurations and standard encrypted volumes (FileVault, BitLocker) require the Pro tier with extended scanning protocols.
Can I scan a formatted drive?
Yes. Formatting a drive deletes the file table but usually does not zero out the data sectors. restoreit's Deep Scan reads every sector and detects files from raw binary patterns, independent of the file table. Results vary depending on the state of the drive.
What if no files are found?
You are not charged. Our pricing model gates payment behind file detection. If the scan returns zero files, the session closes at no cost.
How long does my data stay in the restoreit cloud?
Standard tier: your restored files must be downloaded immediately — no persistent cloud storage. Pro tier: your data is retained in encrypted RestoreIt Cloud for 7 days, after which it is automatically purged. Protection Plan subscribers receive extended 30-day retention.
Is my data private? Can restoreit see my files?
All data is encrypted in transit using TLS and encrypted at rest using AES-256. restoreit operates on a zero-access principle — our infrastructure processes raw binary streams. We do not index, catalog, or access the content of your files beyond what is necessary for restoration.
What are the system requirements?
macOS 12+ (Monterey or later), Windows 10+ (64-bit), or Ubuntu 20.04+. For large drives (2TB+) we recommend 8GB RAM minimum. ARM (Apple Silicon M1/M2/M3) and Intel x86_64 are both natively supported. Internet connection required.