16.9.2015

I have one of the previous generation of WD My Passport drives (and the generation before that) so can't help but compare and so far this new version is a worthy successor to its siblings. It’s the same overall size as its predecessors and so it still fits easily into a coat pocket. The build quality is good, although the little glossy panel on the plastic case shows scuffing quite easily, and the drive couldn't be simpler to use - just plug it in and it turns on, drawing all the power it needs from the USB connection. You get a short 40cm long USB-3 cable in the box which is fine for use with laptops or low-sitting all-in-ones like the iMac but for some loftier desktops you might need something longer.It's very slightly noisier than My Passports I've used before - to be fair it's still barely audible, but the others I own are virtually silent. However, it does take a little bit longer to mount than some others, this might be because of the onboard encryption option but it seems to be true even when that's not enabled. Data transfer speeds are still quite Ultra though, almost the same as the previous models and it zips along at around 105 MB/s over sustained periods, which is pretty snappy. Note I have the 1TB version and other sizes will probably have different speeds - surprisingly maybe the larger capacity drives are often slightly faster. There’s a single white LED which flashes as data is transferred and, slightly annoyingly, also starts slow-flashing again when the drive goes to sleep - surely it might make more sense for it to fade to half-bright instead of flashing so distractingly?The drive arrives formatted as an NTFS volume, so Windows users can use it straight away, but most Mac users will have to reformat the drive because OSX can read but not write-to NTFS volumes by default. There's a utility supplied on the disk itself (in both Mac and Windows versions) which can format it for you, including a ExFAT option for multi-OS use, or you can use the Disk Utility tool supplied with OSX (beware the El Capitan version of Disk Utility which is a buggy illogical crippled mess). The utility also handles firmware updates and lets you change a couple of basic settings for the drive - like setting the Sleep Timer.There's also an optional encryption option with this drive and the actual encryption is handled in the hardware so it should all happen in the background with no noticeable slowdown. Similar encryption options were available in previous models but they relied on utility app's running on your computer and it was quite clumsy. Previously the encryption app created a CD image on your system that you couldn't unmount even when the drive itself wasn't connected, which was a bit annoying. On this newer version there's still a mounted CD image which acts as a conduit for the encryption but now it's built into the drive and unmounts as the drive unmounts. This is still slightly clumsy-looking but it's a significant improvement on the previous method. You can enable and disable the encryption without losing the data already on the drive, but if you forget the password then you will lose access to your data permanently. The only option then is to enter an incorrect password 5 times after which the WD utility will offer you the chance to erase the drive (and all your data) and start again with an empty drive.This version isn't the fastest or the smallest My Passport drive I've tried but it's still a great little drive and performs well and remains very portable. I'm a bit dubious about the encryption option, I'm not sure how secure it might really be and it's still not that elegantly handled, but it would be helpful if you carry your drive around and it could get lost in transit. If you do need to carry one around WD make cases and new bumpers especially for it but I use an AmazonBasics Hard Carrying Case for My Passport and it's deep enough to hold two of these drives at the same time. Hopefully this version of the My Passport drive remains as reliable as previous generations - I've been using a (non-Ultra) My Passport drive as my main Time Machine backup drive every day for a couple of years now and have had no issues with it at all.

21.9.2016

This is my fourth WD Passport external drive in the last 10 years and they've all served me very well (3 are still working perfectly, 1 broke from user error I think).If you're looking for something simple and easy to use, this is a winner. You can use the bundled software if you want, but you dont have to. The WD Essentials etc software comes bunbled with the Passport series of drives, but not with the Elements (I believe, though i've never owned one), so that's the only difference as far as i know.The software includes Backup, Security and Drive Utilities programs. I dont use them, but the Security one seems the most useful - it provides a software/firmware level password protection function which means that the drive itself,when "locked" and plugged in, will not appear. Instead the WD Unlocker - which appears to the computer as a CD drive - allows you to type the password in to unlock the drive. Once unlocked, the "whole" drive appears as removable media ie: as normal. This wont stop someone from taking the physical platter out of the drive casing and putting it in another casing and plugging it in to their computer, but it's okay for basic pasword protection. The data itself is not encrypted and is still readable on the platter. Personally, i use bitlocker to physically encrypt the data itself as it is written onto the drive, so even if someone took the drive apart, it would still be secure. (If this is wrong, some one please correct me :P)The drive spins at 54,000 rpm, which is pretty average - you can expect max real-world read/write speeds of 120 MBps, but this can drop to 50MBps depending on which physical part of the drive you're writing to. (This drop happens with all spinning hard drives, but by increasing the spin speed, you can shift from 120-50, to eg: 180-90). Personally, i'm a bit of a speed freak, so i try and squeeze as much juice out of it as i can, but in real terms, it makes no difference and you wont even notice.Make sure you're using USB3.0 to get more than the 40MBps cap that USB2.0 has.Although, frankly, given the change from USB A-type connector (The rectangular shape that most people associate with USB) to USB C-type connector, and the advent of USB 3.1 and beyond, I might suggest waiting a few months/years until the new generation comes out. The world will be well rid of the stupid Micro-USB 3.0 that these external drives use (no, not the same one as your phone). It's hideous, trust me.Personally, i'm not a huge fan of the berry colour, but i had to differentiate it from my other WD drives at a glance. I also preferred the old design style, but oh well.Cons: Can't think of much, other than it "only" being 54,000 rpm. Though I stress that this is EASILY fast enough for most users.

23.8.2015

◄ ◄ ◄ EDIT : 11th September 2015 ► ► ►Initially acquired to back up and store, separately, my growing image collection, it is so handy to be able to pop this in a pocket, if required, to slip off to an exhibition.I have now used it to back up an aging laptop.Simple & efficient.ooOoo♦ WESTERN DIGITAL (WD)♦ MY PASSPORT ® Ultra (TM)♦ COLOUR : MATT BLACK♦ 1 TB (931 GB)'The drive that keeps your memories and files protected, private and synchronised.'My main purpose for this device is simply to use as an easy portable, secure storage drive for my rapidly expanding image collection, so I have not applied the pre-loaded backup software, at this stage.It is a neat little outfit,

16.6.2016

Bought this to replace my large 1TB AC power driven Maxtor external hard drive when I discovered it wasn't compatible with Windows 10. A blessing in disguise really because this is just SO much more portable and is backwards compatible too. I did reformat it (easily) to ex-Fat as soon as I got it so I use it with Mac as well as Windows PCs. And with it being USB 3.0, it's so much more noticeably faster than my old USB 2.0 one. I'll now have to transfer all my pre 2016 photos/docs/music from my old hard drive to my old Win7 laptop just so I can then move them all onto this new one so it's all in one place.

16.11.2016

SummaryWestern Digital are back at it again with their attempt at making a dependable external hard drive. At under £50, you are getting a lot for what you are paying for. Firstly, you get a compact, sleek and thin package. The Drive itself is USB 3.0 so you can get some nice transfer speeds, but nothing like a SSD or a built in 7200Rpm hard drive. My main purpose for this device is simply to use it as an easy portable, secure storage drive for my rapidly expanding image collection, so I have not applied the pre-loaded backup software, at this stage.SpeedsTo test this drive out, I transfered a 1GB file from my main drive into the Passport. I timed this and it was completed in 15.79 seconds.

11.10.2016

It was all really quick installing and I didn't have to do anything when connected to my iMac 10.7.5. It just did everything itself and they built their rapport so easily, swiftly! The size is compact so no waste of table-top space. The colour is as we see on the screen. I was using WD Passport for the past 5 years and it got full, so I went for the next one. 2TB is a lot of space, I would imagine. And now this Passport not just stores what I pass on to it, but deals a lot more with my computer and the data. It scans and backs up all data on the system. This feature is something I used to dream of in the past. Now it is a reality for me. I was a bit withdrawn when,

2.9.2015

External storage was always significantly slower than internal .. that is until USB 3 drives became available. WD have been on the forefront in offering affordable and reliable drives.The drive is very fast and build quality is great. The berry coloured one looks great too!Backup conscious users will be pleased to find WD Smartware Pro software which works a treat. It also offers 256-bit hardware encryption, which can be activated if necessary. This can be used to encrypt specific files or folders.One qualm I have is the shortish cable on offer, as I use this mainly on a desktop. But then again, if it were longer one could argue that it would not fit the protective cases available for these drives.

9.1.2017

First impression: since i'm waiting to buy a second disk, the same size and color, I can only tell that is pretty fast and reliable. It has the 4TB capacity with HFS+.It has a nice black glossy case, it's small and the cable is just the right size.It's fast, either NTFS and HFS+, doesn't overheat, and it's silence.Comes pre-formated in NTFS and brings inside all the apps needed for Windows and Mac, and manuals to.It can be formated with an app offered by WD that also diagnost the disk it self, using SMART.Second impression (RAID 1 - SoftRAID):Waiting for 2nd disk of the same size and color.EDIT 2: [19/01/2017]This is the second disk i bought, to use both in a RAID 1 with 4TB.I use a iMac,

1.11.2015

I have always used Western Digital hard drives since i had a bad experience with quite a few Seagate hard drives many years ago. What you definitely get with Western Digital hard drives is reliability. I can personally vouch for that because i have four WD green 2TB hard drives i have used heavily for over three years and they are working perfectly still to this day. I have a few external USB powered hard drives but i wanted a USB powered hard drive that was at least 3TB or more in storage size and after lots of research, i decided on the WD My Passport Ultra Premium 3TB hard drive because the reviews are very good and its WD. I have used this hard drive for over a month so far and it has been flawless.Positive points about the hard drive:1)

4.3.2016

This WD My Passport 1TB USB 3.0 Hard Drive is ultraportable and comes complete with a connection lead, WD software suite, a limited 3 year warranty and support details. The immediate impression is how compact/light this drive is and that it is well made. The formatted capacity of the drive is, in common with other drives, less than the headline 1TB at 931GB. From time to time this drive is sold with a free case - check to see if there's an offer on.I installed this drive under Windows 10 and it worked first time and a small white LED on the side confirms operation. Initially I was disappointed that the lead supplied was not a generic USB to Micro USB lead instead it has a double connection socket - however,

7.12.2015

Pros:- About 1cm deep and fits in the palm of your hand.- Runs quiet, you can hear it in a totally silent room but only then as a faint hum. Only very faintly vibrates (you can feel it spinning if you put your hand on it). Gets warm, not hot, under strain. I run games off it.- Plug and play, picked up straight away by all my systems, no need to install any drivers. Does not require a separate power supply.- Included disk utilities (security/encryption, monitoring software, auto sync/backup) are optional, you are not required to use them, they're there if you want them. No "install our mandatory 800MB driver pack and software suite" rubbish.- The security program is actually pretty good,

30.7.2016

I must correct my previous review which is below. I have changed my score from 2 stars to five. This drive will work on any computer irrespective of the operatiing system. The requirement for Vista upwards is for the backup software that comes with it. If you do not need this software as I do not, then this drive is fine.The reason I could not get it to work is because I plugged it inoto a USB hub which wasn't powerfull enough. When I plugged it directly into a USB port in my PC it worked fine. I have no complaints now and think it is an excellent device.This was my original review. Please ignore:.Be warned. This does not work on Windows XP.

24.9.2015

This is my second MY Passport portable hard drive. The other one I bought a couple of years ago and was physically a bit bigger, less storage and weighed more. I was delighted to be offered a new version to try out and it is very good.It weighs about 180g and is about 8/11/1.2cm. It has aTbyte of storage.I started by trying a full back up of my PC but that hasn't worked very well for me. I'm still struggling with the back up software and I'm not sure whether this is really what I need. I found it hard to get definition of what should be backed up - maybe you can't do this and it is slow and my laptop keeps shutting down.I have now copied my main photograph directory directly to disk,

30.5.2016

WD is a reliable brand have been using WD for many many years and these never let you down, this one is no different, I took one star away as in this D&A we are dealing with various platform and different operating systems so the drive does work with one OS only , I know the answer that is solid state drive but so stupidly expensive as a compromise this renmans the only viable option, so far going good using that on my mac and it does pose the problem as all the work computers are windows based so have to transfer the data onto a flash drive for the transfer, I hope there will some soft ware or windows and mac will agree to create a transfer able platform, who knows,

21.9.2015

I am not prone to writing reviews on items unless the product has proven to be very bad or in this case very good. I have now purchased 15 WD My Passport Drives ranging from 500Gb to 2Gb. My first comment of praise is that each of the 15 booted up without a problem and although not all of them get a lot of use (I store video and music on them) some of them are used at least 3 or 4 time a week with no problems. The size of each unit and the speed at which it performs is very satisfactory. Some of the units have been in service regularly for nearly two years so I feel confident on commenting favourably regarding reliability. In summary I am compelled to congratulate WD on producing a product that certainly ticks all the criteria that I look for.

Western Digital My Passport Ultra 2TB (WDBBKD0020) - Reviews

Info

Analysis

Detail