I purchased the 4TB version a few months ago from Woot. Mine looked brand new. There is a bit of configuring to get it setup right, but mine has been very reliable since doing that.
I also contacted Western Digital’s support which was responsive and helpful.
I would highly recommend this as a NAS device.
Same concern here. After having a laptop with a hard drive that took a dump losing all data how does one not constantly have that refurb idea in the back of your mind. I guess you can consider these “pre-disastered” and what are the odds of the hard drive crashing twice…right…right?..
I bought the 2TB model & found out they don’t work with AT&% U-verse. No refunds. No joy. Be careful!
This does not say it works with Windows 10. That seems like a problem going forward.
I asked this on the comments for the other offering (Black MyBook Duo), but wondering what the difference is between the two families of products.
I’m at work so I can’t research it. Any experts care to help?
Been running my 4tb drive as a media box for my Roku’s and Smart TV’s. Works fine. The MYCloud app for your phone works great too. Not sure why others are having a issue but for the non-network type geek, this is is pretty much plug and play. Install the mycloud software on your pc, set up your shares, send out your invites for mobile access and as the admin, start adding files. I keep mostly movies on mine. Got a kid in college that has a folder on it and she keeps files there all the time. Matter of fact, thinking of getting the 6tb drive because she’s eating up almost 1tb now for music and pictures. Not to mention I put her 100 Disney movies on there so she watches them all the time lol. I do have a Netgear NAS 104 box with 16tb of drives that is also my media server, backup server etc. But it’s not as easy to setup for remote access and it wasn’t purchased for that reason.
One, you pay for the pleasure of being about to switch out drives (the duo). The mycloud, is a sealed system with 1 drive and is pretty much Plug-n-Play for DLNA TV’s, Roku’s, etc. The Duo is more like a NAS box that gives you more options for upgrading and controlling. Nice thing about the duo, you can stick a couple of drives in it, fill it up or back up data to it, remove the drives and slip in two more. It can handle up to 2x 4tb drives. I would rather have one that can handle 2x 8tb drives down the road. Maybe firmware updates from WD will add this ability, someday…
Hello!! Can someone please explain the difference between having this vs. external hard drive? I’m new at this “cloud” thing & thought that external hard drive that I have hooked up to my computer works like that, I usually back up my photos & music to it!! Would this be better? Would I have to now back everything up on this too that I have on my external hard drive? Thanks in Advance for any input on this!!!
Nope, wont run plex or other apps. You need to move up the chain to QNAP or Synology.
“Cloud” is thrown around for effect, I’m pretty sure. This is a network-attached storage device and your external is attached to just one computer at a time. This is a very thin computer with a ton of storage. The fact that it has an operating system, though, means that it can be a file server, media server, etc. With some network configuration, you should be able to access all that storage at home while you are at work. Or on the bus. Or on vacation.
They position this as competing with actual cloud storage services, which put your files somewhere else, often replicated in several geographically separate regions. The advantage there is your house can flood (or whatever) and your data won’t be lost. With a NAS device, if something happens to it, your data is gone. The NAS will be faster (depends on your home network, of course) and has no monthly fee.
Using all three is not unreasonable, as they all serve different (if overlapping) purposes.
That’s assuming it was the drive that failed or had a problem. Lets not forget it’s surrounded in electronics that could have also had issues. Too bad one can’t run the SN on WD’s website and find out what the issue was. I’ve had HDD and mobo’s DOA out of the box. This would make a nice “backup” for those who already have one, if they are that skeptical about using referb’d devices as a primary source. JMO
Plex implies they support these:
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/163184/western-digital-nas-supported-models/
Is there something I’m missing. I can’t find those model numbers on the Woot page.
It looks like the Duo is an older device.
There are two major issues:
1: The Duo maxes at 4TB per drive. The MyCloud is available with 6TB. Whether that’s an issue for you depends on how you’re using it. This is available with up to 1x 6TB; the Duo can support 2x 4TB.
2: The Duo has USB 2.0 - for fastest access, you’ll want to use gigabit Ethernet. The MyCloud has USB 3.0; reviews say that you may not get the theoretical 5Gb out of it, but it’s faster than Ethernet - and significantly faster than USB 2.0.
You are trading USB speed for potential redundancy and maximum total capacity.
I’m considering homebrew redundancy - two devices in different locations connected by Gig-E, with software-based duplication between them. And the primary device connected by USB 3 for maximum access speed.
It works with Windows 10 - I’m running it now with Windows 10 - no worries.
would I be able to back up my iphone pictures wirelessly? or could I have to attached this to a computer?
Have had one of these since they came out a couple of years ago. They are crap and I have mine in the closet.
The first thing I found out is that it makes a ‘public’ directory that is WIDE open to everyone without any way to secure it. I was a video site’s mirror for who knows how long before I found out I had been ‘penetrated’…
Secondly, if you want to share files with someone not on the network, they must make a Cloud Account through WD…99.9% of people don’t want to. I thought it was just an external HDD when I got it. I can’t even sell this thing on Craigslist for more than $40. That’s the highest I’ve been offered for it. I wish there was a way to make it behave like a regular 'ol external HDD, but alas, there is not.
Do either of these units contain drives rated 24/7? There is a huge difference between sticking an Ethernet port on a $5 metal box Vs. actually having a 24/7 rated hard drive inside to make it truly be NAS.
I’m pretty sure these come with WD Red NAS drives, which are rated for 24x7 use.
Firstly, your claim that it makes a public directory with no way to secure it is blatantly false. Secondly, your admission that you thought it was just an external harddrive confirms that you simply don’t know what it is or how it works, so you blame the hardware for your own ignorance. You’re the kind of person that makes reviews of items meaningless.
Not sure what you mean by “won’t work with AT&T U-verse”. Do you mean a particular modem/router that you have on your U-verse system? A friend here in Atlanta has U-verse and is using a 6TB MyCloud on it without any problem. He uses his own router, however, as he didn’t like the router that comes with U-verse. He put the U-verse modem into bridge mode and connected his own router. The MyCloud then connects to one of the router ports.