Your Media Safe Isn’t Truly a Media Safe Unless It’s Class 125
Not all ‘media safes’ are truly safe for media. check for Class 125 certification. Never buy a class 350 safe sold as a Media safe , it just wont protect your data in fire.
You’ve invested time and money backing up your data to LTO tapes, hard drives, or other digital media but a backup is only as good as its physical protection. By using air-gapped media, you’ve already mitigated the biggest digital threat ; malware. But your backups still face physical risks like fire and water. That’s where a true media safe becomes essential. A Media safe that can protect your backup media from fires and floods.
But not every fireproof safe is designed for media. The real challenge is identifying a safe that truly protects data storage media. One key certification to look for is Class 125. Unless the safe is Class 125, it cannot truly protect your data. It might protect the physical media itself, but the data stored on that media won’t survive unless the safe meets Class 125 standards. Let’s explore why this certification makes all the difference.
Understanding Fireproof Safe Classes
Fireproof safes are categorized by the maximum internal temperature they maintain during a fire. Common classes include:
- Class 350: Keeps interior below 350°F (177°C). Designed to protect paper documents, since paper chars at around 400°F.
- Class 125: Keeps interior below 125°F (52°C) and humidity under 80%. Designed to protect magnetic media, such as LTO tapes, hard drives, CDs, DVDs, and optical disks.
TLDR; Class 125 keeps your media cool enough to prevent data loss, while a Class 350 safe allows temperatures high enough to warp, melt, or destroy data on tapes and disks.
Class 350 is good for paper, But your Data Needs Class 125
A Class 350 safe is excellent for protecting contracts, legal papers, and printed records. But for digital media, it simply doesn’t provide enough insulation. If a fire occurs, a Class 350 safe might keep papers intact, but inside, temperatures could exceed 150°F, destroying magnetic tape coatings, warping disks, and corrupting data.
In contrast, Class 125 safes ensure the internal temperature never exceeds 125°F, safeguarding even the most heat-sensitive storage media. They also maintain humidity levels below 80%, preventing moisture damage that could ruin magnetic tapes. Trusted brands like Turtle manufacture excellent Class 125 safes specifically designed for protecting backup media.
We’ve seen many vendors selling Class 350 fireproof safes labeled as ‘media safes’ but they’re not. That’s why you need to look beyond marketing labels and check the actual certifications
Dont risk your Data - use only Class 125
Whether you’re archiving data for compliance, disaster recovery, or long-term retention, your storage media represents irreplaceable assets.
Don’t risk it by storing tapes or drives in a safe meant for paper only
A Class 125 fireproof media safe is specifically engineered to protect your data from both heat and humidity during a fire , giving you confidence that your backups will survive even worst-case scenarios.