diff --git a/source/mongodump.txt b/source/mongodump.txt
index f0c146b..0ac2def 100644
--- a/source/mongodump.txt
+++ b/source/mongodump.txt
@@ -224,6 +224,18 @@ Syntax
    .. tab:: Connect to a Sharded Cluster
       :tabid: connect-to-a-sharded-cluster
 
+      .. note::
+
+         To avoid data inconsistencies, pause the following actions on your
+         sharded cluster when you run ``mongodump``:
+         
+         - Cross-shard transactions
+         - Data definition language operations (operations that create and modify
+           collections)
+         - Chunk balancing 
+
+         To stop the balancer, use the :method:`sh.stopBalancer()` method. 
+
       To connect to a sharded cluster to export its data, you can:
 
       - Specify the hostname of the ``mongos`` instance in the
diff --git a/source/mongoexport.txt b/source/mongoexport.txt
index 229902c..1f3465d 100644
--- a/source/mongoexport.txt
+++ b/source/mongoexport.txt
@@ -39,6 +39,9 @@ or CSV export of data stored in a MongoDB instance.
 Run ``mongoexport`` from the system command line, not the 
 :binary:`~bin.mongo` shell.
 
+``mongoexport`` is not a tool for backing up deployments. If you want to
+create a backup solution, see :ref:`manual-tutorial-backup-and-restore`. 
+
 .. seealso::
 
    :binary:`~bin.mongoimport` which provides the corresponding
@@ -171,6 +174,18 @@ For more information on the options available, see :ref:`mongoexport-options`.
 Connect to a Sharded Cluster
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
+.. note::
+
+   To avoid data inconsistencies, pause the following actions on your
+   sharded cluster when you run ``mongoexport``:
+   
+   - Cross-shard transactions
+   - Data definition language operations (operations that create and modify
+     collections)
+   - Chunk balancing 
+
+   To stop the balancer, use the :method:`sh.stopBalancer()` method. 
+
 To connect to a sharded cluster to export its data, you can either:
 
 - Specify the hostname of the :binary:`~bin.mongos` instance in the