Customer reviews from Western Digital
Western Digital - WD 1TB Elements Portable Storage USB 3.0 Model WDBUZG0010BBK-WESN - Black
Average customer rating
2.5
(58 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 58 reviews
5 Stars
17
4 Stars
1
3 Stars
4
2 Stars
6
1 Star
30
17%of customers recommend this product.
(
4 out of
23)
Customer Reviews for Western Digital - WD 1TB Elements Portable Storage USB 3.0 Model WDBUZG0010BBK-WESN - Black
Customer Rating
1
Never again
on March 29, 2025
Posted by: Vivian
How do you get rid of the driver on your Windows 11 system that has caused nothing but problems. The drive did not do a system image at all. Nothing but errors. Now can't turn on memory integrity due to this driver. I returned the WD Elements drive because I was fed up with it.
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS Team, August 12, 2025
Hi Vivian, We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to you that you returned the drive without giving us a chance to make it right for you. We ask that you please let us know about any issues you encounter with any of our products in the future so we can review that for you.
Written by a customer while visiting Western Digital
Customer Rating
2
Unreliable (5TB); 50% fail rate
on October 29, 2022
Posted by: AlexT
I bought four 5TB WD Elements drives in one year. One drive failed in three months. Another failed in less than a month. The pattern was identical. First, they overheat. Second, they start disconnecting and reconnecting after periods of intensive use (copying large files/many files). Third, the timespans between the disconnects get shorter and shorter. Then the drives fail altogether. The only reason I did not lose valuable data this summer was that everything was backed on at least two drives and the two drives that failed were not from the same pair. I never had this issue with 4TB and 3TB WD drives (and I own several of those). Therefore, I assume that it has something to do with design or a batch manufacturing flaw.
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, November 1, 2022
Hello,
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with WD Elements Portable 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
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with WD Elements Portable 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
Customer Rating
1
Hard drive failed after 2 years and 3 months
on May 21, 2023
Posted by: Jean12345
Extremely disappointed. I had an old WD element that is still working. I decided to buy a larger one, 5TB. As I used a 2010 Samsung laptop, I though its hard drive would be failing. I was wrong, the Samsung is still running while I cannot access WD element. /Too many bad sectors, though the disk was always treated carefully. I tried the Victoria software, it worked a full week on a modern laptop, processing only 1% of data. I am not sure how to recover all my photos and movies and I will have to go to a specialist, costing me much more the price of that garbage disk.
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, May 22, 2023
Hello,
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with the WD Elements Hard Drive and appreciate your time for providing this review.
Please be informed that Western Digital does not perform data recovery services. If data recovery is needed, please contact one of our Data Recovery Partners.
"Third Party Data Recovery Software Options for Windows and macOS"
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/18754/kw/data%20recovery
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.
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with the WD Elements Hard Drive and appreciate your time for providing this review.
Please be informed that Western Digital does not perform data recovery services. If data recovery is needed, please contact one of our Data Recovery Partners.
"Third Party Data Recovery Software Options for Windows and macOS"
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/18754/kw/data%20recovery
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
Customer Rating
1
What a surprise ... ? It broke down just 3 months
on May 18, 2025
Posted by: HBARDO
This is ridiculous. It broke down with no warning just 3 months after the 2-year warranty expired ... !!! There no stress whatsoever. I didn't move for the entire time, no duat, no high temperatures. No unplugging. Nothing !!!
I have other disks (Toshiba, Samsung & Seagate) that are 5+ years old and they work impeccanly under the same conditions.
This is completely unacceptable and I AM DEFINITELY ÐONE WITH BUYING ANY WD PRODUCTS.
By all means, take your time ... You have plenty of time to get your act together until you lose all your other customers and get labeled as the company producing the worst disks ever and robbing your customers of their money, data and time ...
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS Team, August 4, 2025
Hi, We are sorry to hear about your experience. This is not the service we want for our customers, this usually never happens. To assist you better, we kindly request you to open a support ticket at https://support-en.wd.com/app/askweb and provide more details about the issue with possible error screenshot, Our support team will reach out to you promptly.
Written by a customer while visiting Western Digital
Posted by: David1553
Verified Purchase:Yes
The unit is not operational on my Mac. I tried it on a PC also, with no success. The 2 icons appear as expected on the desktop, but, neither will accept files other requests. It is junk to me.
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, March 14, 2022
Hello,
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with the WD Elements Portable and appreciate your time for providing this review.
We were unable to locate you in our system with the information provided in the review. We want an opportunity to make this right and assist you directly to get your concern addressed by our next level of support.
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 with reference to the review to ensure an overall good experience with Western Digital.
Need Help? Please see our "'Contact Us" page for information.
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with the WD Elements Portable and appreciate your time for providing this review.
We were unable to locate you in our system with the information provided in the review. We want an opportunity to make this right and assist you directly to get your concern addressed by our next level of support.
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 with reference to the review to ensure an overall good experience with Western Digital.
Need Help? Please see our "'Contact Us" page for information.
Written by a customer while visiting Western Digital
Customer Rating
1
Product failed after little more than one year
on January 16, 2023
Posted by: MPHT
The HDD failed after a little more than one year. It stopped working and my Mac no longer recognise it. Replaced it with a Seagate Basic 1TB and no further issues.
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, January 18, 2023
Hello,
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with WD Elements Portable Drives 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.
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with WD Elements Portable Drives 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
Customer Rating
1
USB conector
on May 23, 2022
Posted by: Marek
Western Digital - You mean it seriously?
The USB connector scared me. The connector makes the impression that it is broken from production.
I have been using Western Digital since 1997 and I am horrified by the quality of this product.
For example: I can compare quality with 3TB "My Passport Ultra".
The USB connector scared me. The connector makes the impression that it is broken from production.
I have been using Western Digital since 1997 and I am horrified by the quality of this product.
For example: I can compare quality with 3TB "My Passport Ultra".
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, May 24, 2022
Hello,
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with WD Elements Portable 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.
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with WD Elements Portable 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
2
Unstable temperature on 5TB version
on January 28, 2023
Posted by: K. Hansen
4TB and 5TB had unstable temperature when copying many GB for a backup (for example a transfer that takes about 30 minutes). I pause the transfer in Windows 11 to cool down.
I added an entire roll of aluminum foil both on top and below the hard disk enclosures. The foil must be as flat as possible, or small pockets of air heat up too much. I have tested all this. Max temperature on 4TB version was about 39 degrees Celsius for a transfer of hundreds of GB, which is stable enough. But 5TB version still heats up too much internally to about 43 degrees Celsius max. This is a little too much heat for durability probably.
Temperature can be displayed by various free programs. I implore WD to spend a little more on internal heat sink. This is really poor design if the temperature causes malfunction.
Response from Western DigitalBy SM OLS, January 31, 2023
Hello,
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with WD Elements Portable Hard Drive and appreciate your time for providing the review.
Please be informed that in environments that are on the higher end of the tested temperature range, such as 25 º C - 45º C, it is normal for the temperature of the flash drive to increase. The exterior of the drive functions as a cooling surface that transfers heat from inside the drive to the cooler air outside.
Please refer to the mentioned link below about the USB Drive: Temperature During Use
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/46290/kw/temperature
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.
We're sorry to hear about your user experience with WD Elements Portable Hard Drive and appreciate your time for providing the review.
Please be informed that in environments that are on the higher end of the tested temperature range, such as 25 º C - 45º C, it is normal for the temperature of the flash drive to increase. The exterior of the drive functions as a cooling surface that transfers heat from inside the drive to the cooler air outside.
Please refer to the mentioned link below about the USB Drive: Temperature During Use
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/46290/kw/temperature
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