The main method was changed - manual creation of unencrypted backups from the Backups Settings UI is impossible now.
Indeed, it appears that I was misled by @petro 's post here:
Backups and restores were not changed. Just an automated gui was added, it happens to only allow encrypted backups.
I had to go back and test, and, indeed, manual backups are encrypted. So… yeah… we’re back to “make it optional, and give us an offline decryption tool” 
Now, probably due to a restart, the “Backup” entry in System points to the new 2025.1 backup page, and I can no longer easily access my old Samba backups (manually entering the “hassio/backups” URL does still work).
The Samba backups are still performed, it is just not so easy to see them.
AFAIK, you were not always advised to use this feature during onboarding.
I don’t know the technicals behind that, but it was often advised to finish onboarding, and then choose restore from backup.
just FYI.
It is documented here: Common tasks - installation independent - Home Assistant
as installation independent.
I have a linux enigma receiver, which I use as backup NAS, but I’doesn’t run 24/7. Is there a way to mount the nfs volume, do the backup and unmount the volume?
Hopefully it will be possible to set the time in the future.
Hi, and the google drive backup work ok ?
is the same ?
thanks
It’s working fine.
Would it be possible for users to manually schedule the time of day for automated backups?
In my case, I would like backups on my NAS; however, the device is turned off over night. So each automated backup fails at 04:45, because it cannot access the NAS share. Weirdly, I did not even get any error / warning about this - just checked my NAS right now and noticed the last backup is from January 8th, when I first set it up (during the day).
After that, no new backups have been saved to my NAS because it was offline at the scheduled time.
If this specific time is there for a reason (for example, because few people actively change their configuration at 04:45 in the morning), perhaps there could be an option to automatically sync the local backup to the NAS once the NAS filesystem has been (re-)mounted?
I use the new backup feature to create a backup every night with all checkboxes activated. But I also create a backup with an automation, it’s a supervisor full backup with compression enabled but without encryption.
I wonder, that the backup file size of the backup wich is created by the automation ist larger then the backup size of the new automatic backup. Why are differences between these two opportunities to create an backup?
Totally agree with you @bogd, we don’t all have a few lights controlled by HAss. I think as everyone has said, cloud/off-site backups mandatory encryption, local/NAS optional. Then everone “should” be happy 
I have to agree with @michaelwacey, the removal of this feature is IMHO a very bad thing for both new and seasoned users.
Creating a backup before performing an update (especially a core update) is the most critical time you need a backup (e.g. updating from 2024.12.5 to 2025.1.0 broke a few of my integrations, I rolled back, fixed them then updated again) .
This sometimes can take a few days if not longer and during that time the system maybe be in a partially unusable state.
Currently if no “auto-update-backup” is made and the user has forgotten to manually create a backup (new users may not be aware to do so), it can render the system partially unusable after an update with no easy way back to the previous version to fix it and introduces another manual step when updating, the whole idea of HAss is automation .
Most importantly for me, if restoring from the new automated encrypted backup system, can you restore just the core without effecting the recorder history from the sensors and other changes that may have been made since the last auto-backup so as not to lose the data and changes up to the point of the restore?
Well, why not just make an encryption enable/disable switch?
And everyone would have a choice as they want. And no one would have any questions left.