21.4.2018

This is a review of the "WDBFKT0040BGY-WESN" model of the "My Passport Ultra" 4 TB in the black/grey colour.I bought this portable HDD as it was on special offer (not from Amazon this time!) and I needed a second drive to use as an offsite backup and to keep data with me when working from home. On offer, it was cheaper than the non-Ultra version that I have bought and used previously. I couldn't find much difference in specs between the Ultra and standard versions, except the design of the case and apparently the Ultra comes with some sort of extra software plugin to download photos etc. direct from your social media accounts. I bought it only because it was cheaper than teh standard version at the time.Visual design:Firstly,to be clear, the case is "metallic" (i.e. a shiny gloss metallic painted finish) and NOT metal (it is plastic!). I think the WD website and description is a bit misleading there. The design itself you'll either love or hate, but the big problem with the metallic finish is that it picks up greasy finger prints really easily so is a pain to keep clean. I have the standard version too in the funky orange colour, and that has no problems with finger prints. So I would go for the standard version which comes in a choice of bright colours. I guess this does look a bit cooler / more stylish / ,more expensive / more professional though.In Use:Works great, pretty fast, no problems for me with connection. Comes with the various WD software and utilities saved on the drive itself, so easy to install and setup. For backup, I prefer to use "Allways Sync" as I trust it with making an exact copy of my data with fuss. I like the WD security software. Set as password to encrypt the drive and all its contents, so your data is safe if lost. The finder can still wipe the drive and use it, but they can't get to your data. Similarly, if you forget the password, then apparently not even WD can restore your data. You can set the drive to auto unlock on your main computers so just plug it in and go. On other computers, a drive icon appears when you plugin the drive for the first time. You click this to open a little app to enter the password, then the main drive appears in file manager. So the drive contents are completely hidden until the correct password is entered. Seems to work well for me.Summary:Great drive, works well, fast and straightforward to use. However, don't pay extra for the Ultra version (unless you really want the extra software included for downloading from social media) or you really like the design. Remember the case is "metallic" finished and NOT METAL. The standard version is usually cheaper, same spec's and performance, and the case stays clean. The finger print issue on the Ultra version makes it look very grubby very soon!Rating of four stars, one star deducted for higher price (than standard version) and grubby finger marks issue.Cases:If you buy the 4Tb version, note that it is much thicker then the smaller capacities and it is hard to find a protective case to fit. On Amazon, most cases that say they fit the WD Passport drives are only talking about the smaller size units, not the fat 4Tb one.

2.12.2018

I have an original 500GB PS4 which I was intending to upgrade to a PS4 pro until I heard rumours about a PS5 milling around. The last rumour I heard was it was a 2020 speculated release. With it being the latter half of 2018 at time of writing I didn't see the point in buying another PS4. It's a lot of money for an arguably short amount of time (potentially).I was however annoyed with having only 5 of the 20 odd games I bought on the HDD at any one time. It was frustrating if a friend wanted to play a game I didn't have on the console at the time. Plus in one of the Sony Sales I bought a couple of digital games. Though lazy I have found digital games so much more accessible as I just drop one for the other in seconds without moving (a 1st world entitlement issue for sure)So I decided that going forward I would buy Digital only games, they are more expensive new, but cheap in sales, so much easier to play with a 2 second attention span like mine.So with the setup story out of the way, I researched all around the place and found 4 reviews I trusted online of which they all advised NOT to get a solid state drive or SSD as they are more expensive for less space and the PS4 has an internal Bus speed limitation, which essentially leads to a fast drive being slowed to USB speeds any way. So of the large space HDD this was either in top place or second across the 4 reviews. Placing top 2 4 times seemed like a good sign.Bought it, plugged it in, formatted it to PS4 file system (must do this in order to use it as extended storage) and transferred all my games to the drive. It all worked out fine, the transfer was slow but when you are transferring 500GB and then installing another 1000GB from other games it will take a while.Had 0 issues so far, games load in good time, I don't have any issues in game with speeds, frame rates or anything. I wouldn't notice the difference between the external and the internal drive. The key thing is I have the space to have my entire collection of games on there, including all my PS+ free games, plus demos and such and I still have a tonne of room.If the PS5 (is any good) supports HDD expansion in the same way the PS4 does then I can either wipe all the PS4 games off (if they are not compatible with the PS5) or keep them and swap it between consoles (assuming they use the same file system) Either way I am sure my HDD will be useful for years to come either on my PS4 or any future console I purchase (as this will work with Microsoft's products) or if worse comes to worse I can re-format in a FAT file system and use it as storage for my computer files.I'm a fan of WD products and this drive is brilliant so far, it's doing the job I bought it for incredibly well and I am enjoying bouncing from game to game as I get bored of one, moving on to the other.

19.11.2018

I've owned many external hard drives over the years and have always gone for Western Digital branded drives both for internal and external use as I have never yet seen one fail. The My Passport 1TB drive is no exception and is as simple as they come. I don't use any of the included software or features, instead reformatting the drive usually to HFS+ (Mac OS Extended). Contrary to what the manufacturer would like you to believe there is no need to purchase the Mac specific drives, as the cheaper PC variants can be easily reformatted using disk utility and can then be used for time machine backup or simple plug and play storage.In use the drive is quiet, cool and fast. My only gripe,

16.12.2016

I'm very pleased with this hard drive.I've never had a Western Digital portable before; it compares very favourably with my Samsung M3 Portable which I've had for a year now and has rapidly been filling up, so having this WD available provides that extra flexibility and peace of mind knowing that I have everything important backed up on external drives should the worst happen.The WD comes with its own backup and security software, though it isn't necessary to install and use this – I haven't as I already have software in place for the job and it is working to my satisfaction. Although the box says a quick start leaflet is included,

21.10.2018

Years ago, I bought an Iomega StorCenter Home Media Server.Iomega was bought out by Lenovo whom only offered limited support for Iomega products. I updated it a few years ago and since its never been able to connect over the Wifi, only by ethernet cable.Then recently the Server started making hard drive failure sounds. It had all of my downloaded TV series and films on. So I decided it was time to update.Instead of opting for another media server, I went for a WD My Passport (Yellow) 4TB (photoed above and below). Here’s the My Passport features:* It’s Plug and Play, meaning that it doesn’t require its own power source but is instead powered through USB.* It’s portable.* It is made by Western Digital (WD)

18.8.2017

Portable hard drives are a very useful addition to a laptop and even more so for the ultra-compact portables that tend to have storage limited to 128 or 256 GB SSD. Fortunately, most have one or more USB 3.0 ports. Portable hard drives tend to have short cables - 30-45 cm is typical and a short extension cable (not included) may be useful in some situations.Whether used to store current downloads or as a temporary storage for media files to be watched, read or listened to on a journey or on holiday or for a presentation they are very useful. 4 TB is usefully large and allows considerable freedom as how their application. The enclosure feels as if it is all-plastic but is supposedly partly metal to aid cooling.

1.12.2016

Review of the WD 4TB My Passport (2016) model. The photographs show the previous generation (left most in all pictures) beside this new generation of drive (rightmost drive). I'm a long time user of WD passport external usb hard drives. This is the first 4TB I've bought, used for a backup of a NAS.Capacity + Speeds:This is a USB3 hard drive, giving very fast speeds. Attached are screenshots from a benchmark utility, showing 116MB/s read 107MB/s write. For comparison, the previous generation (2TB) got 112MB/s read and 100MB/s write, so a slight improvement.The formatted capacity is 3.63 TB.The enclosure/case:The case is solid. It is a bit more fancy than previous WD My Passports, and a little bigger.

6.12.2016

Western Digital is a hard drive manufacturer that I have put a lot of faith in for many years, whether it is for fixed drives in a PC or external drives. I have never had a WD drive fail on me - but that does not stop me wanting to keep backups just in case.I have several external USB drives, including an old WD Elements 1TB drive. Although this Passport drive has the same capacity as my Elements drive it is physically a lot smaller and a lot more portable because it is powered from the USB cable and therefore does not need a separate AC adaptor.The looks are OK but nothing to rave about, maybe it looks better in a different colour to black, but looks are bottom of the list of what I personally want from a hard drive.

20.9.2017

One of the things that we all run into from time to time is file transfers that are bigger than the tiny thumb drives. I was offered this by Amazon and my initial idea was to use it for larger file transfers that I need to make from time to time with video footage I record with my GH4. For this function it is fantastic! Fast enough to plug in, begin transfer and walk away. 4TB is plenty for what I need.Now some of the issues I have with this.First off I am not using this as a backup like time machine. I did not bother installing any of the software that came with it. Out of the box speeds are good (see the pics). I used USB 3 ports for all of my tests.

30.9.2017

Bought mine from another seller as unfortunately the Amazon delivery was taking too long and I got it a shade cheaper.Just a few early observations:- It's not the most portable drive you'll find on the market, one to put in a coat pocket, though to get 4TB on a portable drive is quite spectacular, can't really complain.- It's a quick drive, not consistent fast speeds compared to the Seagate equivalent, but you get in and around 85MBps - 110MBps transferring video files across, mine was jumping round 30MBps - 40MBps for image files, which brings me too...- Small file speeds... they are very good, something these types of external drives aren't particularly renown for. If I open a folder with images in,

22.3.2018

Bought this and split into 4 partitions, one for time machine (mas os sierra) to backup my macbook pro and the other partitions for other stuff. I generally do not recommend using a drive in this manner, by this i mean using it as a backup drive for important data and for other general stuff, however i do have another hard drive purely for backups. It looks good, feels good to hold although it's a fingerprint magnet and i find it quiet which is nice considering it's a mechanical hdd. I do not take mine out so cannot comment on how well it would withstand being knocked about in a back pack or something similar although one should buy a decent case if taking out anyway considering it will hold

29.8.2018

This is my forth portable HDD in the last few years. My first portable HDD was a 1TB seagate which is nice and compact and still works well, but it is just not spacious enough. Just over a year ago I bought another seagate with 2TB of space. Unfortunately that drive failed a few month later. This spring I bought 2 TB My Passport in plastic enclosure. It was not as fast as seagate (115mb/s vs 130 mb/s) but seamed to be more sturdy. I later decided to buy more spacious 4TB and gave 2TB drive to my sister. I like semi-metal design of the ultra model and I paid $10 more over plastic model merely because of the look. Both metal and plastic models catch fingerprints easily, especially if you use hand lotion.

28.3.2019

The price seems to have shot up at the time of me writing this review, but this was purchased at just over £37 when I got mine a few weeks ago, and for that price it's really fantastic value.It's very portable, and just a case of simply plugging it in and it's available for use with Windows 10 - no external power supply needed of course, so ideal for transporting around in my laptop bag.Of course as with any mechanical drive I would advise a little care, obviously more so that with a SSD drive - you don't want to be chucking it around whilst it's in use or your data won't be lasting too long. However I am not likely to see a SSD with this capacity anywhere near this price for some years,

6.10.2019

UPDATE: After a year's use, I've detected a noticeable lag in heavy games, to the point where I've had to transfer demanding games to the system storage to play them smoothly. I've used crystaldisk to check the hard drive health and says it remains in 'good' health. I'm not sure if this issue is universal or to do with this particular hard drive. In short, an external SSD would be a better option with a PS4.I've been a long-time user of Western Digital Hard Drive and I can safely say this has not let me down. After having bad experiences with Seagate drives, I've been using Western Digital Drives and, knock-on-wood, have had no issues with them since.

22.4.2019

Many don't know the WD brand name today but I do. WD is still one of the best manufacturers of Hard Disk Staorage. Before the rebranding, WD was known as "Western Digital" and sadly they weren't very good at other computer hardware and that is where they faced problems. However, when it came to Hard Disk Drives, Western Digital were one of the best known (and the most expensive). Due to WD not getting ahead in other areas and still being costly to buy, even during the last recession (credit crunch / economic crisis) they lost a lot of market share. They then rebranded and wisely reviewed their prices thus WD today are now competitively priced and still have the reputation of their reliability.

Western Digital My Passport 4TB - Reviews

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