PhotoStick Omni Reviews

PhotoStick Omni
( 51 reviews )

PhotoStick Omni Review: Worth the Price?

Reviewopedia staff  -  Updated:  July 20, 2023

 

The PhotoStick Omni is an update product from the makers of the original PhotoStick. 

The new version of this gadget makes it possible to use with personal computers, mobile devices, and tablets.

How Does It Work?

The idea behind this product is simple. 

The seller wanted to create an easy way for people to quickly get all their photos and videos off any device and onto safe storage.  

The seller, Prairie IT, claims that instead of having to spend hours sorting and uploading photos you just plug the PhotoStick in and hit GO.

While there are many backup hardware options available, not many are focused on creating offline backups specifically for photos.

This is where The PhotoStick Omni attempts to fill a gap in the marketplace, as some people are wary of using cloud based backups or intimidated by new technologies.

With the PhotoStick Omni, the company claims that all the tech hurdles are removed and you can have a safe backup without having to use any tools or create extra accounts.

The seller states that it works on all operating systems including Windows, Apple, Android, and Apple mobile devices.  The device specs state that specifically it can be used on:

  • Windows 7 SP1 and newer
  • OS 10.13 and newer
  • iOS and iPad OS is 13.0 and later
  • Android 6.0 and later

Further, their website states that the PhotoStick software can detect a wide variety of photo file types.

The website states that to use the PhotoStick Omni you plug it into your device and follow the prompts.  When using it with a phone you will have to download ThePhotoStick Mobile App.

Customer Reviews & Complaints

Unfortunately, the original PhotoStick has collected a large number of negative reviews from customers.  

Customer complaints range from units not working at all, working for the first few weeks then failing, or having difficulty discerning photos from junk files or erroneous data files and icons.

Other complaints mentioned that download time was excessive and reported the device crashing or not completing its tasks.  Further reviews mentioned that at times there would be many copies of the same photo downloaded.

Additionally, some users have expressed concerns about the durability and build quality of the device.

The PhotoStick Omni does not fare much better, receiving mixed to highly negative customer reviews online, inlcuding on Reviewopedia where it receives mostly 1/5 star reviews.

On Amazon, The PhotoStick Omni 64GB gets an average rating of 3.3/5 stars from over 80 customer ratings, while the The PhotoStick Omni 128GB gets an average rating of 3.6/5 stars from over 2600 customer ratings.

The company behind The PhotoStick, Prairie IT LLC, has a B rating from the BBB.  However, the company receives just a 1/5 star rating from 14 customer reviews there.

Additionally, Prairie IT LLC has closed 16 complaints closed in the last 12 months and 46 complaints closed in the last 3 years on the BBB website.

The company's other product, Xtra PC, also receives highly negative customer reviews on Reviewopedia.

The PhotoStick software also receives negative reviews from customers, with the companies apps for Android and Apple receiving just 1.7/5 stars and 1.9/5 stars, respectively.

 

The PhotoStick Omni App Reviews for Google Play

The PhotoStick Omni App for Android receives 1.7/5 stars from over 200 customer reviews

 

 

The PhotoStick Omni App Reviews for the App Store

The PhotoStick Omni App at the Apple Store receives just 1.9/5 stars from 92 customer reviews

Cost and Price Plans

The price of the Omni Stick depends on its storage capacity.  It comes in the following options:

  • The PhotoStick Omni 32GB - $59.99
  • The PhotoStick Omni 64GB - $79.99
  • The PhotoStick Omni 128GB  - $99.99
  • The PhotoStick Omni 256GB - $149.99


You can choose based on how many files you think you may have, the size of them, and if you have large video files as well.

Customer Support

If you have any issues and need to reach a representative you can do so via their support page at ThePhotoStick.com/pages/support.

The company only lists it contact information as:

Prairie IT LLC
Haxtun, CO 80731-2569
(970) 225-6623

Their website states that The PhotoStick Omni comes with a 60-Day Money Back Guarantee, and that if you’re not happy with your device, contact support to initiate a refund.  

You will have to send back your product at your own expense.

Competitors and Alternatives

There are many different ways to achieve what The PhotoStick attempts to accomplish.  

The easiest and most hands off method is to use the cloud based backup service such as Google Photos.

These programs continually run in the background or at scheduled intervals and can easily restore any deleted photos or even transfer files whenever you switch or upgrade devices.

Is The PhotoStick Omni Worth It?

Based on past reviews for the original product it’s hard to believe that much has changed in this newest version.

It seems that the potential for technical problems is even greater now that the device claims to work across a multitude of operating systems and devices.

When judged strictly as flash drive, The PhotoStick Omni is probably overpriced by about 3 to 4 times vs well-known brands of the same memory size.

For example, while the The PhotoStick Omni 128GB  sells for $99.99, you can easily find a well-reviewed 128GB flash drive on Amazon in the $30 range.

That means you're paying a premium price to get the PhotoStick software.

Unfortunately, the PhotoStick software gets very negative reviews from customers regarding it's usability, even though it's just a basic software that searches your device for files with extensions used for photos, presumably a very easy task.

For these reasons we'd recommend a different solution for storing your photos, preferably through a reputable hardware & software company with a proven track record.

If you have any experience with The PhotoStick Omni, please leave your reviews below.

PhotoStick Omni Customer Reviews

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They aren't going to sell you this--scam
February 20, 2024
I tried to buy one, they offer 2nd at discount. OK, I'll bite, then they offer a 3rd at half price. OK, one more time. Then I got an updated bill. Then it got cancelled, then I got an e-mail from someone in the company...I've gotten this before on other scams.

Don't Buy For Pixel phones
January 12, 2024
Despite being advertised as "working with most major phones" this product does not work with Google Pixels and the company denies selling through Amazon.ca (where I bought it) and neither Amazon nor the manufacturer supports refunds

Photostick Omni is far from intuitive to use.
December 10, 2023
I agree with all these one-star reviews, and only wish I'd seen them before I wasted my money on a 256 GB stick. Scam is too polite a word to describe this device.

cgrn December 28, 2023

Wish I’d read these reviews first. Doesn’t work with an iPhone 15. Wasted my money better get my refund or I’ll file with the BBB.

AnitaCatt January 09, 2024

Wish I'd read this review. Mine doesn't work at all.

Mesghali February 03, 2024

Mine does not work either - I bought two and just wanted to use the second new one and it does not work at all. A waste of money and time talking to their customer service.

Product failed within 8 mos. Lost everything.
October 18, 2023

In February 2023 I purchased the 256GB Omni Photo Stick. The first one did not work and after a lot of frustration trying to work with the company, the company sent me a second one.

I downloaded photos from a old computer, then my cell phone, then a new computer. I checked it all. I was happy with how it worked except that it was suppose to skip the duplicates. Later customer service told me the skip feature only works when used on a computer. I gave the old computer away.

In October 2023 I wanted to add newer photos from my phone to the photo stick. The Photo stick would not load any of the photos or movies that had been saved to it. After working back and forth with customer service I was told that the photostick drive is corrupted.

They suggested formatting the stick and reinstalling the program and starting all over again! Everything I had worked on for hours was lost. The product does not do what it say it will do. Why would I want to keep a product that does not work, and spend time to try and save my photos to a product that can't even last 8 months. I asked for a refund. They sent me a link to download the return paper work with a RA#.

I returned the photostick following their instructions. Ihad to go to the post office and pay to return it. I received no credit. When I inquired about i, t I received an email from Rhonda Menard that they received my return. They only offer a 30 day refund with no questions asked. They are unable to process a refund due to the delay in my return. Kind regards, Rhonda.

I can't get back photos that I have now lost from the old computer I had saved, because it does not exist. I am so upset that I spent that much money on this product and all the time, to have lost my photos. I kept the photostick in it's original case that it came in. I have no idea how it could have become corrupted.

You would think the company would stand behind their product, but I guess not. Let's you now what kind of a company they are. I gave this product one star only because it does not let me rate it as a 0 stars. Such wasted time, money and lost memories with this company and their product. why did they have me bother to return it???????????

DON'T BUY THEY ARE JUNK!
September 25, 2023

I was sent the 1st one and it had a bad drive per the tech I spoke to, they sent a second one. It also did not work and did not recognize my phone/computer or anything I tried. When I tried to get my money back I was told so sorry we only take returns for 30 days.

Very Dissatisfied with their product and customer service people. Do not order these they don't work!

KRG. 9/25/2023

Not as good as advertised
September 4, 2023
The stick will backup your pictures but I found it took hours to do this and I had 3000 pictures, so it takes a lot more than minutes to backup. The eliminating of duplicates works for a pc but I have found no file to do it with a tablet or phone. I feel that a regular usb stick can do the same at a lot less money, so my opinion is that it is overpriced for what it does

JimMay September 20, 2023

This product sucks as I bought two different versions and they do not work! I spent hours trying to download the omni software as when you plug it in nothing happens, and no software will download and open like they say it will.

Jim May

100% CRAP.
August 23, 2023

Ordered PhotoStick 128GB. Immediately followed instruction to just 'plug it in and click OK'. Nothing. Never showed up in Finder (Mac). Never activated or was able to be found in search - all it did was eat my $99 and Customer Service was no help at all, basically blamed User Error. I did some more homework online to try and troubleshoot, to no avail.

JudyLane January 19, 2024

Thank you for telling your tale.... you most likely saved me the same headaches that you have with this gadget. What a shame... it seemed like a good idea!

This is not the one. Do not buy.
May 25, 2023

Tried loading multiple times. hard to find on a windows 11 laptop in file explorer. Does not load or install correctly. Was able to run it 2 out of 50 times to get photos. it promptly crashed. It also tried to direct me to a website that was blacklisted as having malicious malware.

NOPE!
February 24, 2023
Absolute piece of garbage. Don't buy one of these. I have tried under multiple platforms and computers to get the software to respond to the stick. Complete waste of time and money. Customer Care is nothing to these people. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON PHOTO STICK.

Avoid this company
December 28, 2022

The features looked great so I ordered it. Downloaded the app as instructed and started reading how to use it. After reading the instructions I never took it out of its package. Instructions were confusing and more involved than believe is "ease of use". Trying to return it now but I'm not optimistic I'll ever see my money again. They make you send them an email to request instructions on how to return. No response yet. Other things I didn't like:

1. They ship DHL to a post office and then the post office delivers it to you. What companies still use DHL? Should have seen this red flag sooner.

2. It took over a week to finally get what I ordered.

3. Be prepared to have your e-mail flooded with spam. I have now unsubscribed from 22 different "companies" all of which originate from Thephotostick.

Don't buy.

Does not live up to the hype
December 27, 2022

This photostick requires that you download an app in order for it to work. The app is terrible. The photos on the photostick were all corrupted; nothing was transferred over. The return is even worse. They don’t reply to your email after multiple messages and concerns.

The only thing that was positive was it arrived in the mail box within 3 days. There are no phone number to contact for a refund. The one they have is a recording. It’s a great concept but fell short on the promises.

Do not buy this product for it will give you a headache to try to get your money back.

Disappointed,

Thuy Dong

Milton, DE

Don't Buy The Photostick Omni 256gb
December 4, 2022

Don't buy the photostick Omni, they do not work. I have been trying for 4 days to get them to work. With the special to buy 2, the money exchange to Canadian $,tax, duty at border, they cost me almost $500.00 AND NEITHER ONE WILL WORK ON MY 1 YEAR OLD ACER WITH WINDOWS 11, DON"T BUY!

Paulyn December 22, 2022

Just appalling that there are no 'real' phone or email numbers .

If anyone has a verifiable address, please share with me. I have lost a lot of money through this .

Simply put [it does not work] do not buy.
November 23, 2022

It does not work, returned for refund, hope that this works.

Photostick Customer Service is non-existent
November 15, 2022

Have tried 4 times to return a non-working Photostick Omni by sending an email to the address on their website. No response to date and so far technical support supplied by Photostick Omni has costed me $55 plus the cost of purchase.

Rogers Holt

Total scam!
October 20, 2022

Have the PhotoStick mobile. First one didn’t work at all. Was sent a replacement that did work but took hours to download. Now it crashes every time and downloads from the cloud instead of just the phone. Facebook should not allow them to sell on their site. Total piece of junk. The good reviews are fake. Had to give it one star or I couldn’t post but it deserves none.

Will not work on laptop that has S mode
September 20, 2022

I was very excited about this product until I received it and used it. I used it on a fully charged phone. It had drained my battery 3 times and had not finished downloading my pictures. It takes forever on a phone. It does not store the photos from the phone in folders. It just makes one big folder with the pictures in random order. Big mess.

My laptop is a windows 10 with S mode. It will not work on devices that run on Microsoft S mode. The only plus was it did work well on my PC that had windows 10. It was fairly fast and there is an option to keep the pictures in folders.

I think because I was only happy with the way it worked on one device it is way overpriced Would not buy again. There is a reason they don't have customer reviews on their website. LOL

DON'T BUY IT. Totally worthless. I returned it the next day.
September 17, 2022

This device is extremely slow. I had it plugged into my iPhone for 1 and 1/2 hours and it was only 16% downloaded and I only had 50GB of photos and videos on my phone. At this rate it would have taken approx. 10 hours to download my photos and videos. Total waste of time. I tried it on both my phone and my wife's phone. Same thing. I returned them the next day. Don't waste your time.

Paulyn December 22, 2022

You are lucky that you had a 'return' address. I ordered and paid for and months later it has not arrived. I have no way of contacting them for a return of my money.Sitting here at my desk in Dublin Ireland and realize I was the subject of a bogus sales campaign and misrepresentation - just awful.

Not able to contact company
January 12, 2022

ordered the photo stick, the type with type with two different ends, one for iPhone and one for computer. receive two orders with two sticks in each order of sticks for computer, did not receive one for iPhone. these were just in a package with no order number.

would like to return both orders for exchange for correct order of a photo stick the has an end for iPhone and computer on one stick.

can't talk directly with company ( no phone number)

Ruby November 08, 2022

They will not respond to my requests for return instructions!!!!

Photo Stick problems.
October 4, 2021
My first Photo Stick didn't work at all. I ordered the one I have now a couple of years later. This one worked fine the first time I used it, except it picked up ads and all. Well, I figured out how to fix that (I think). But I have more JPEG photos on my computer now and it wont down load them. I get a bunch of words and numbers but no photos.

Total Fraud
June 1, 2021
Total fraud. This company took advantage of my handicap to cheat me thoroughly. No stars--there should be a minus.

SharKay February 20, 2024

You got that right on a minus