I always choose Western Digital for my backups. My last portable HDD is still going strong after 8 years. But of course, you can never be too careful with your data, which is why I bought this product.WD has a built-in password protect so no one else can access your files. It's easy to install so you don't have to tinker with it for a long time. In addition to that, there's also a program to check your HDD's health. Overall, a nice software inclusion.Speed is serviceable. It's not the fastest considering it's not SSD but it gets the job done.Let's talk exterior. I'm quite surprised since my old HDD is bulkier that houses only 500GB of data. Granted, it's been a while since I bought a new WD HDD. So yeah, great advancement in the design department.Lastly, you can ... MoreI always choose Western Digital for my backups. My last portable HDD is still going strong after 8 years. But of course, you can never be too careful with your data, which is why I bought this product.WD has a built-in password protect so no one else can access your files. It's easy to install so you don't have to tinker with it for a long time. In addition to that, there's also a program to check your HDD's health. Overall, a nice software inclusion.Speed is serviceable. It's not the fastest considering it's not SSD but it gets the job done.Let's talk exterior. I'm quite surprised since my old HDD is bulkier that houses only 500GB of data. Granted, it's been a while since I bought a new WD HDD. So yeah, great advancement in the design department.Lastly, you can register the product on the official WD website. You know you're getting an original product. The seller is also giving a free pouch to house your HDD.Great price and an amazing product. An easy recommendation to give.

Decent for the price

Can't say how reliable it is since I just bought it a few days ago, but there haven't been any issues.Formatted capacity is reported as 3.63 TB under Windows, so don't expect to use a full 4 TB.The case seems designed more for a small size than impact resistance. If you plan on carrying it around with you, I'd buy an impact resistant case for it.Transfer speeds seem okay, though not real fast for a USB drive. I'd say the speed is good enough for the price.My one complaint is that the activity LED is on the end of the drive the USB cable attaches to. So if you want to see if it's doing anything, you have to aim the cable end towards you. It's understandable since the USB interface board is at that end, but if you are going to leave it attached all the time it's ... MoreCan't say how reliable it is since I just bought it a few days ago, but there haven't been any issues.Formatted capacity is reported as 3.63 TB under Windows, so don't expect to use a full 4 TB.The case seems designed more for a small size than impact resistance. If you plan on carrying it around with you, I'd buy an impact resistant case for it.Transfer speeds seem okay, though not real fast for a USB drive. I'd say the speed is good enough for the price.My one complaint is that the activity LED is on the end of the drive the USB cable attaches to. So if you want to see if it's doing anything, you have to aim the cable end towards you. It's understandable since the USB interface board is at that end, but if you are going to leave it attached all the time it's something to consider.

Simple, Reliable, Convenient, %26 Inexpensive

I bought the WD 4TB Passport as a replacement for my 1TB Passport, which has performed flawlessly and invisibly for years; I required more storage space, so I've moved the old 1TB Passport to a different PC, where I expect to get many more years of service from it. The 4TB (like the 1TB) is plug %26 play, and after giving it a few seconds for system recognition, you essentially have another hard drive. At $94.99 the 4TB Passport was over $20 cheaper through Walmart than most competitors' prices.Both of my Passports are USB Type-A devices, so that is the only speed to which I can speak. The 4TB model seem to be very responsive and fairly quick. Because my PC solid-state hard drive space is limited, I keep most of my music collection on the Passport. I make the ... MoreI bought the WD 4TB Passport as a replacement for my 1TB Passport, which has performed flawlessly and invisibly for years; I required more storage space, so I've moved the old 1TB Passport to a different PC, where I expect to get many more years of service from it. The 4TB (like the 1TB) is plug %26 play, and after giving it a few seconds for system recognition, you essentially have another hard drive. At $94.99 the 4TB Passport was over $20 cheaper through Walmart than most competitors' prices.Both of my Passports are USB Type-A devices, so that is the only speed to which I can speak. The 4TB model seem to be very responsive and fairly quick. Because my PC solid-state hard drive space is limited, I keep most of my music collection on the Passport. I make the libraries accessible to Windows Media Player, and when I click on a song selection, there is only the slightest hesitation before the music begins.Regarding PC backups with this Passport, the weak point for me is again the included WD Acronis True Image software (although this is easily remedied). As I recall, it backed up a copy of your chosen libraries to your Passport, and then overwrote that backup (with any changed files) on your next backup. Personally, I rarely realize I need to recover a file within the 24-hour period between scheduled backups - it's usually 2 or 3 days down the road when I realize my mistakes. Luckily there are many free alternative backup apps available for one to download (I chose P*r*gon Free, which allows one to create multiple generations of backups on the Passport). Knowing one have over 3 days' worth of backups lets one sleep a little better at night.After relying on the Passport brand for years, I really can't recommend them highly enough - and I haven't even begun to explore their potential, because mine stay attached to my computer. Their portability would allow one to transport massive amounts of data to work, school, parties, etc. As for myself, the 4TB Passport has given me a convenient daily disk drive and a reliable nightly file backup process, and Walmart gave me an unbeatable price. I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

This SHOULD BE ILLEGAL!!

If you do not understand technology the quote by the manufacture should be illegal"Up to 5,000Mb/s data transfer speeds move even large files in a flash, so you spend less time waiting"They are probably describing the transfer technology (usb) being used not the speed the drive inside the enclosure is capable of.First Mb/s should not be confused for MB/s.Mb/s is generally used for network speed measurementsMB/s is generally used for THIS PRODUCTS use case.The Harddrive inside this external drive is only capable of 888Mb/s888 Mb/s = 111 MB/s5000 Mb/s = 625MB/sThat is a x5.6 speed disparity in advertising.To imply to a customer in anyway their product can do this is borderline criminal.The price disparity between this WD drive and other technologies ... MoreIf you do not understand technology the quote by the manufacture should be illegal"Up to 5,000Mb/s data transfer speeds move even large files in a flash, so you spend less time waiting"They are probably describing the transfer technology (usb) being used not the speed the drive inside the enclosure is capable of.First Mb/s should not be confused for MB/s.Mb/s is generally used for network speed measurementsMB/s is generally used for THIS PRODUCTS use case.The Harddrive inside this external drive is only capable of 888Mb/s888 Mb/s = 111 MB/s5000 Mb/s = 625MB/sThat is a x5.6 speed disparity in advertising.To imply to a customer in anyway their product can do this is borderline criminal.The price disparity between this WD drive and other technologies (Sata SSD/m.2) which can come close to saturating the speeds WD advertises is more than x2 to x3 the price WD sells for (from non-reputable manufactures which is another can of worms to deal with). Let alone no single drive of that technology is 5TB in size.If you understand the TRUE technology behind the WD drive (as of the date this review went up) the pricing for it is perfectly fine and reasonable for what the technology can do.I am extremely tired of how far past the line of "questionable understanding" large tech manufactures have been pushing and getting away with over the last half decade.It is creating too much e-waste, distortion and negative understanding of value for casual tech user pushing increasingly absurd justifications for price manipulations for every increasing needs for profit.

Working Intermittently

Purchased this in March of 2023 as my backup for my originals photo and video files as well as my iMovie library. I have an Elements for work and 4 at home for my freelance work which perform flawlessly. However, this Passport has been nothing but issues for the last few months. It works intermittently at best and when plugging another drive or card into the hub (a HyperDrive USB-C for my Mac) the drive will not only disappear but it will eject the other drives and card plugged into the hub. I am blessed these cards and drives work after how many times they've been removed by this Passport.I ordered another Elements on Tuesday July 18th, 2023 and am currently transferring everything off the Passport onto the Elements. If I want the Passport to work I have to plug ... MorePurchased this in March of 2023 as my backup for my originals photo and video files as well as my iMovie library. I have an Elements for work and 4 at home for my freelance work which perform flawlessly. However, this Passport has been nothing but issues for the last few months. It works intermittently at best and when plugging another drive or card into the hub (a HyperDrive USB-C for my Mac) the drive will not only disappear but it will eject the other drives and card plugged into the hub. I am blessed these cards and drives work after how many times they've been removed by this Passport.I ordered another Elements on Tuesday July 18th, 2023 and am currently transferring everything off the Passport onto the Elements. If I want the Passport to work I have to plug it in and unplug it multiple times before it actually works or is seen my my MacBook Pro. The hub and ports on the computer are fine as I have two screens and the hub plugged in to two other external drives with no issues. I have tried three different cables with it and still it will only work when it wants to.Once all the data from the Passport is on the Elements I am going to try to re-format/restore it and see if that does anything. If not, off to WD it goes for warranty work. If you want to have a heart attack and think you lost 2TB of original images and your entire library of raw video files go ahead and buy this...me, I do not think I will buy another.

[Rewarded Review] Failed to import files from OneDrive

On first use the device stopped importing files from OneDrive before completion. Then messaged No USB. Impossible to start up where device left off, so import begins all over resulting in duplicate files. On next try device turned off and gave Java script problem message. WD Tech Support was no help. Agent did not know device could import from OneDrive. Kept asking what software I was using and did not realize software is on the device. Suggested solution was to manually copy files from OneDrive, paste to MyPassport, then delete duplicates. This would take significant time, and what’s the point of having the device if it can’t import and files have to be copied and pasted. Returned to BestBuy.

[Rewarded Review] Hard drive failed within month of purchase

I wish our experience with this product was as good as others. Unfortunately, it was not. We purchased two of these portable hard drives in late September. One of them was used for our children, to store videos and other files for them to use. However, one month into usage, before we got the change to fully back up the data, the portable hard drive ceased to work, only making a clicking sound when the drive was first plugged in. We contacted WD and they only said that they would replace the product. We would have to find a 3rd party to retrieve the data and pay for it out of pocket. We had a similar situation last year with another company and they had us ship them the failed hard drive and they retrieved the data, rebuilt the portable hard drive and gave us a 2nd ... MoreI wish our experience with this product was as good as others. Unfortunately, it was not. We purchased two of these portable hard drives in late September. One of them was used for our children, to store videos and other files for them to use. However, one month into usage, before we got the change to fully back up the data, the portable hard drive ceased to work, only making a clicking sound when the drive was first plugged in. We contacted WD and they only said that they would replace the product. We would have to find a 3rd party to retrieve the data and pay for it out of pocket. We had a similar situation last year with another company and they had us ship them the failed hard drive and they retrieved the data, rebuilt the portable hard drive and gave us a 2nd portable hard drive, all for free because the failure happened so quickly after purchase, and that portable hard drive was cheaper than this one.I am definitely NOT going to buy a WD product again.

[Rewarded Review] More Broken than a McDonald's Ice Cream Machine

I bought two of these drives within the last year or so, and one that was 10 months old just had sectors fail a few days ago (on a Friday for reference), and then another one that was about 14 months old had a catastrophic sector failure tonight (lowering hard drive health from 100% to 66.5%, measurements courtesy of DriveDx). I have already been in contact with WD Support about the first one, but they're about useless when it comes to helping customers, as they'd rather give you the choice to either cough up the hard disk space to back it up to a drive you own yourself, or pay them $25 to get a replacement drive while in possession of your original drive, all while paying shipping either way. Prior to this, I had a SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD fail on me, and they took ... MoreI bought two of these drives within the last year or so, and one that was 10 months old just had sectors fail a few days ago (on a Friday for reference), and then another one that was about 14 months old had a catastrophic sector failure tonight (lowering hard drive health from 100% to 66.5%, measurements courtesy of DriveDx). I have already been in contact with WD Support about the first one, but they're about useless when it comes to helping customers, as they'd rather give you the choice to either cough up the hard disk space to back it up to a drive you own yourself, or pay them $25 to get a replacement drive while in possession of your original drive, all while paying shipping either way. Prior to this, I had a SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD fail on me, and they took months to rectify that situation so it'll be interesting to see what WD Support does here. All i know is that it's no wonder why they had a class action lawsuit filed against them in August for their faulty products. It's sad because they used to be a good company and I've been using their drives for almost a decade now, I still have my first one and it's still in working order all these years later. So it is with that I say that it is unacceptable a drive of theirs can't even make it more than a year before dying, and that I could never recommend this product to a friend. Heck, I could never even recommend it to my worst enemy. My advice: save up your money and buy a LaCie or Samsung drive, they'll actually last and aren't much more than WD charges you for their terrible product.

[Rewarded Review] Not as good as I expected it to be

This drive worked perfectly at first, then began malfunctioning same day I got it. It works some days and other days my computer won't recognize the drive. I would format it but that would mean deleting some very important files. I got this so the photos for my photography class won't take up too much space on my laptop (plus I'm a graphic design major so space is already limited as is), but this drive is already malfunctioning. How am I supposed to have clear memory space when this drive can't be recognizable by my laptop?? I've tried everything, even bought new USBs to see if the USB that came with the drive was the problem but NOPE. From the looks of it, I doubt I can get some of the files I already have in the drive back and transferred into a different drive ... MoreThis drive worked perfectly at first, then began malfunctioning same day I got it. It works some days and other days my computer won't recognize the drive. I would format it but that would mean deleting some very important files. I got this so the photos for my photography class won't take up too much space on my laptop (plus I'm a graphic design major so space is already limited as is), but this drive is already malfunctioning. How am I supposed to have clear memory space when this drive can't be recognizable by my laptop?? I've tried everything, even bought new USBs to see if the USB that came with the drive was the problem but NOPE. From the looks of it, I doubt I can get some of the files I already have in the drive back and transferred into a different drive and I don't want to potentially spend so much money on getting these files back, college is already as expensive as it is. Very disappointed, will start looking into different brands of external hard drives.

[Rewarded Review] Perfect for backups!

The WD 4TB External Hard Drive proves to be a robust storage companion with its generous 4TB capacity and dependable performance. Whether you’re a creative professional, a gamer, or simply need extra storage space, this external hard drive offers a seamless experience.Pros:1. Vast Storage: With a capacious 4TB of storage, you’ll have ample space for your digital files, photos, videos, and more.2. Swift Data Transfer: The drive’s USB 3.0 interface ensures fast data transfer speeds, making it efficient to move large files or perform backups.3. Reliable Build: WD is renowned for its durable hardware, and this external hard drive is no exception. Its sturdy construction ensures data safety during transportation or everyday use.4. Plug-and-Play: Setting up the ... MoreThe WD 4TB External Hard Drive proves to be a robust storage companion with its generous 4TB capacity and dependable performance. Whether you’re a creative professional, a gamer, or simply need extra storage space, this external hard drive offers a seamless experience.Pros:1. Vast Storage: With a capacious 4TB of storage, you’ll have ample space for your digital files, photos, videos, and more.2. Swift Data Transfer: The drive’s USB 3.0 interface ensures fast data transfer speeds, making it efficient to move large files or perform backups.3. Reliable Build: WD is renowned for its durable hardware, and this external hard drive is no exception. Its sturdy construction ensures data safety during transportation or everyday use.4. Plug-and-Play: Setting up the drive is a breeze – simply plug it into your computer and start using it. No need for complicated installations.5. Compatibility: Whether you’re a Windows or macOS user, the drive is formatted for both systems, providing flexibility and easy cross-platform usage.Cons:1. Bulkier Size: Due to its higher storage capacity, the drive might be slightly bulkier than smaller capacity alternatives. However, the trade-off is well worth it if you require extensive storage space.Final Thoughts:The WD 4TB External Hard Drive is an excellent choice for individuals seeking a reliable and capacious storage solution. Its impressive capacity, fast data transfer speeds, and compatibility with various operating systems make it a valuable asset for storing and safeguarding your digital life. Whether you’re backing up important files or expanding your storage options, this WD external hard drive is a dependable companion.Note: Please consider your specific needs and preferences before making a purchase.