Our 4TB My Book worked well for quite awhile on our iMac desktop. Showed no signs or issues until we were no longer able to access the contents. Fortunately I do have most of the files backed up elsewhere, but would be real nice if this one was still accessible. That way I could be sure of having all of my files. Have replaced this drive with a hopefully higher quality professional model. Stinks that it was out of warranty. this was the first time we have had any problem with WD products.
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, December 14, 2022
Hello,
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with WD My Book Desktop Hard Drive and appreciate your time for providing the review.
We would like to directly work with you to gather more details about the issue so that we can provide appropriate resolution or we would request you to open a support ticket with brief query. Please refer to the link mentioned:https://support-en.wd.com/app/ask/session/
All our products must pass our stringent quality standards before leaving our factory to be free from defects in materials and craftsmanship. We stand behind our products throughout the device's factory warranty period. Please contact us via the phone to ensure an overall good experience with Western Digital. We'd be happy to help.
Need Help? Please see our "'Contact Us" page for information.
Written by a customer while visiting Western Digital
Bought two 12TB my books. Both very loud, makes clicking noises randomly and doesn’t mount easily. Unlike all other WD my books i’ve had in the past which worked great.
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS Team, July 21, 2021
Hi Rich,
We are sorry to hear that the WD My Book Desktop External Hard Drive is not working as expected and thank you for bringing this concern to our attention.
Please know that the external drive makes noise during normal drive operation. The type and volume of noise are dependent on whether the is drive performing a read/write operation or idle with the heads parked. The environment where the drive is functioning may also influence noise. It is important to recognize which noises indicate trouble or normal drive operation. If the drive is not getting an uninterrupted power supply from the computer then it could cause the drive to make noise. Please refer to the WD support page to know more.
"How To Tell If The Noise or Sound An Internal Drive Makes is Normal": Search for knowledge base article: 16309
"A Western Digital hard drive makes a repeated clicking noise every 5 seconds": Search for knowledge base article: 14842
The best practice is to run diagnostics with WD Drive Utilities when a drive does not perform as expected or is behaving abnormally. We recommend avoiding USB hubs for external hard drives and therefore connect the drive directly to a USB 3.0 port on the computer. Please refer to the WD support page to know more.
"Setting up and using WD Security and WD Drive Utilities": Search for knowledge base article:13880
We would like to follow up with you to help discover the root cause of your drive’s abnormal behavior. We suggest you contact our Support team by phone to ensure an overall good experience with Western Digital. We'd be happy to help.
Need Help? Please see our "'Contact Us" page for information
Written by a customer while visiting Western Digital
This is loud - not sure I can keep something so loud in my office
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, March 15, 2022
Hello,
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with the WD My Book Desktop Hard Drive and appreciate your time for providing this review.
Best practice is to run diagnostics with WD Drive Utilities when a drive does not perform as expected or is behaving abnormally. We recommend avoiding USB hubs for external hard drives and therefore connect the drive directly to a USB 3.0 port on the computer. We have placed a few helpful links below providing more information for your convenience.
"Setting up and using WD Security and WD Drive Utilities": https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13880
"Windows or macOS Cannot Find My Drive": https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/12455
"Why is my hard disk drive making noise" https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/16588/kw/noise
If the test is unfortunately inconclusive and you just purchased the drive then you should be able to return it to the place of purchase. However, if you are past their return policy, you can create an RMA through WD and replace the drive under warranty if necessary.
"How to get an RMA to replace a defective product, or obtain a power supply or USB cable for a WD product":https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10336
All our products must pass our stringent quality standards before leaving our factory to be free from defects in materials and craftsmanship. We stand behind our products throughout the device's factory warranty period. You can contact us directly via phone to address any questions or concerns to ensure a good overall user experience.
Need Help? Please see our "'Contact Us" page for information.
Written by a customer while visiting Western Digital
This is a great drive if you don't mind a lot of noise and vibration, or if you can keep it far away from your desk. It turned out to be unusable for me, it vibrated my whole desk all day and was quite noisy. I've been spoiled by a completely silent computer since Apple Silicon, I guess I can't use spinning drives any more.
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, March 14, 2022
Hello,
We're sorry to hear your user experience with the WD My Book Desktop Hard Drive and appreciate your time for providing this review.
Best practice is to run diagnostics with WD Drive Utilities when a drive does not perform as expected or is behaving abnormally. We recommend avoiding USB hubs for external hard drives and therefore connect the drive directly to a USB 3.0 port on the computer. We have placed a few helpful links below providing more information for your convenience.
"Setting up and using WD Security and WD Drive Utilities": https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13880
"Windows or macOS Cannot Find My Drive": https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/12455
"Why is my hard disk drive making noise" https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/16588/kw/noise
If the test is unfortunately inconclusive and you just purchased the drive then you should be able to return it to the place of purchase. However, if you are past their return policy, you can create an RMA through WD and replace the drive under warranty if necessary.
"How to get an RMA to replace a defective product, or obtain a power supply or USB cable for a WD product": https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10336
All our products must pass our stringent quality standards before leaving our factory to be free from defects in materials and craftsmanship. We stand behind our products throughout the device's factory warranty period. We would appreciate the opportunity to assist you further. You can contact us by phone below and provide your details.
Need Help? Please see our "'Contact Us" page for information.
Written by a customer while visiting Western Digital
Not a replacement for MyCloud device that’s not being updated for security. Bait and switch, I got the raw deal
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, April 21, 2022
Hello,
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with WD My Book Desktop and appreciate your time for providing the review.
We would like to directly work with you to gather more details about the issue so that we can provide appropriate resolution or we would request you to open a support ticket. Please refer to the link mentioned:https://support-en.wd.com/app/ask/session/
All our products must pass our stringent quality standards before leaving our factory to be free from defects in materials and craftsmanship. We stand behind our products throughout the device's factory warranty period. Please contact us via the phone to ensure an overall good experience with Western Digital. We'd be happy to help.
Need Help? Please see our "'Contact Us" page for information.
Written by a customer while visiting Western Digital
Customer Rating
1
Insanely faulty
on April 25, 2022
Posted by: Lenaria
Bought the unit, wouldn't even power up, returned it and the second unit I received was ALSO DOA, how is this even possible?
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, April 28, 2022
Hello,
We're sorry to hear about your experience with WD My Book External Hard Drive and appreciate your time for providing the review. There can a few causes due to which the drive has stopped working. Such causes include the faulty USB port of the drive or the computer, faulty USB cable of the drive or the drive itself may not be getting enough power to spin up and register on the computer to show up. Unsafe ejection of the drive during any read or write operation can also result in the corruption of the drive's partition.
Best practice is to run diagnostics with WD Drive Utilities when a drive does not perform as expected or is behaving abnormally. We recommend avoiding USB hubs for external hard drives and therefore connect the drive directly to a USB 3.0 port on the computer. We have placed a few helpful links below providing more information for your convenience.
"Setting up and using WD Security and WD Drive Utilities": https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13880
"Windows or macOS Cannot Find My Drive": https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/12455
If the test is unfortunately inconclusive and you just purchased the drive then you should be able to return it to the place of purchase. However, if you are past their return policy, you can create an RMA through WD and replace the drive under warranty if necessary.
"How to get an RMA to replace a defective product, or obtain a power supply or USB cable for a WD product": https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10336
We would like the chance to work with you directly to help address your concerns and help provide a good overall user experience. You can contact us by phone below and provide your details.
Need Help? Please see our "'Contact Us" page for information.
Written by a customer while visiting Western Digital
Slow... Less then 12T by 1fill terabyte. No light show you that it is on or off.
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, March 15, 2022
Hello,
We regret to learn that your WD My Book Desktop External Hard drive is not performing as expected. Slow performance can be caused due to several factors like computer configuration, multiple applications running on the computer while trying to access or backup the data, fragmented disk which may also result in slow computer disk read capability, the total amount of data on a disk and the relative size of each file, encrypted backup or scanning of each file by anti-virus installed in the computer or USB port of the computer with which the drive is connected etc.
Stopping applications and software that use CPU and memory, keeping all the files in a single directory instead spreading them in multiple directories, connecting the drive directly to the USB 3.0 port of the computer and avoiding the USB hub while using the drive, etc. are the recommended steps to enhance the performance of the drive.
As a troubleshooting step, please ensure that the Hard Drive is connected directly on the USB 3.0 port of the computer and the files which you are attempting to copy are not in use by any other program of the computer.
Furthermore, you can also refer to the link suggested below and check for the Theoretical USB Interface Speeds to find out the theoretical speed given by different USB port types.
"Theoretical USB Interface Speeds": https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5043
"Drive displays a smaller capacity than the indicated size on the drive label" https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/16656/kw/drive%20smaller%20capacity
All our products must pass our stringent quality standards before leaving our factory to be free from defects in materials and craftsmanship. We stand behind our products throughout the device's factory warranty period. Please contact us via the phone to ensure an overall good experience with Western Digital. We'd be happy to help.
Need Help? Please see our "'Contact Us" page for information.
Written by a customer while visiting Western Digital
Shipped quickly, arrived in perfect condition, boots right up, and was able to immediately set everything up. The software seems good for making backups although I don't really need it for my purposes, so haven't used it a lot. The device makes a significant whirring sound and vibrates when plugged in, but I don't leave it plugged in so it's not a bother to me.
Written by a customer while visiting Western Digital