Hardware return
Every storage contract ends eventually. Because your data sits on identifiable drives rather than in a shared platform, the exit is a physical act: renew, retrieve the hardware, or have it destroyed to certificate.
- Renew, retrieve or destroy
- Named drives
- Certificate of destruction
- No exit fees on your data
- Routes at the end of term: renew, retrieve, destroy
- 3Routes at the end of term: renew, retrieve, destroy
- Charged to get your own data out
- £0Charged to get your own data out
- Destruction evidenced in writing
- CertifiedDestruction evidenced in writing
- Month minimum commitment before term ends
- 36Month minimum commitment before term ends
Most platforms make leaving the expensive part
Cloud exits mean egress charges, re-downloads over a network and a promise that copies have been deleted. When your archive is physical, the exit can be witnessed rather than trusted.
Your data leaves as an object
Retrieval is drives handed over, not a bulk download metered by the terabyte.
Evidence, not assurances
Serial numbers make it possible to certify exactly which media was returned or destroyed.
No lock-in by inconvenience
A protection decision should never be hard to reverse. Knowing you can leave is part of trusting the arrangement.
What happens at the end of a term
The decision is yours, taken before the term ends, and recorded.
Renewal review
Ahead of the end of your commitment your account manager confirms whether you are renewing, changing capacity or closing the instance.
Choose your exit route
Renew on the same hardware, take physical retrieval of the drives, or instruct secure destruction of the media.
Retrieve your files first if you prefer
You can also copy everything out through File Manager during a normal session before the instance is closed.
Identity is verified again
Hardware is only released to the verified owner, an authorised signatory, or a nominated successor through Vault Buddy.
Handover or destruction, in writing
Drives are released against a signed record, or destroyed with a certificate issued. The instance is then decommissioned.
Three ways a contract can end
Whichever route you choose, the outcome is documented against the equipment that held your data.
Renew
Continue on the same allocated drives, or move to a larger capacity with a managed migration.
Retrieve the hardware
Take physical possession of the drives that hold your archive, released to a verified holder.
Secure destruction
Media is destroyed rather than wiped and resold, with a certificate issued for your records.
Documented either way
Decommissioning, handover and destruction are recorded, which matters for retention and audit obligations.
Succession-aware
If the owner has died or lost capacity, a nominated Vault Buddy can act within the evidence-led release process.
Nothing left running
Once closed, no route, no credential and no residual copy of your instance remains in service.
Related, but not the same thing
Hardware return is about the end of the relationship. These pages cover what is true while the contract is running.
Dedicated hardware
The single-tenant drives allocated to you, which is what makes a physical return possible.
Dedicated hardwarePhysical storage
That your files sit on real media in a known place throughout the term.
How storage worksPhysical security
The bunker holding the equipment while it is in service.
Inside the bunkersVault Buddy
The succession route if the verified owner cannot act when a term ends.
Vault BuddyQuestions
What does hardware return mean?
At the end of your contract you can renew, take physical possession of the drives holding your data, or instruct secure destruction of the media. Your archive is never stranded in a platform.
Are there charges for getting my data out?
There are no egress charges for retrieving your own data. Physical handling, transport or destruction is quoted at cost where it applies.
Can I simply download everything instead?
Yes. You can copy your files out through File Manager in a normal session before the instance is closed.
Who is the hardware released to?
Only the verified owner, an authorised signatory for a business instance, or a nominated successor through the Vault Buddy evidence-led process.
Is the media wiped or destroyed?
Where you request destruction, the media is destroyed rather than wiped and reused, and a certificate is issued.
What is the minimum commitment?
Vault and LUV run on a 36-month commitment. Storage and Enterprise terms are agreed as part of the design.
What happens if I move to a larger Vault?
Your data is migrated onto the new allocated drives, and the previous media is decommissioned under the same documented process.
Does this apply to Storage and Enterprise?
Yes, and at that scale hardware is often purchased in your own name from the outset, with return and disposal written into the programme.
Protection you can walk away from with your data in hand
Start with the capacity you need today. The exit route is agreed before you begin, not after.