Wd - My Cloud 4tb External Hard Drive (Nas) Review

Verdict

Pros

• Incredibly fast
• Simple setup
• Intuitive user interface
• Bargain pricing

Cons

• PC app lackluster
• No information back-up

Key Specifications

• Review Price: £129.99
• 2TB, 3TB or 4TB capacities
• USB 3.0
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Remote file access
• Fourth dimension Car compatible
• DLNA, iTunes Server support

What is the WD My Cloud?

In short, a clever hybrid device we didn't come across coming. The My Cloud range is a line of external 2TB, 3TB and 4TB hard drives adamant to choice a fight with both traditional NAS and Cloud storage services like Dropbox and Google Drive. They support traditional NAS features via a browser-based dashboard and DLNA support, while apps let you admission your bulldoze remotely via PCs, smartphones and tablets only like pop deject services.

This means you accept a much bigger storage allowance than standard Cloud services, your data isn't shared with another company and you only have to upload what you demand with no monthly subscriptions. WD also claims the My Cloud performs faster than most NAS drives for a fraction of the price. Is this a breakthrough product or too practiced to be true?

WD My Deject – Pattern

The roots of the My Deject come from WD'due south existing My Book range of backup difficult drives. This is no bad affair. Over the years WD has refined the My Volume design and it translates well to My Deject with subtle rounded corners and a clean, minimalist finish that suggests it could've come up off an Apple production line. The fact WD has released My Cloud in white is not an insignificant cistron.

For a multi-function device My Cloud is also very compact. At 170.vi ten 49 x 139.3mm and 960g information technology is less than half the size and weight of most NAS and no bigger than the My Volume while the well vented mock-metallic top and rear keep information technology absurd and quiet. If we do have an issue with the My Cloud design it is that its chassis isn't specially rigid, merely since this is a device unlikely to motion, allow lone be carried with you, it isn't a major issue.

WD My Cloud – Features

So WD has nailed the looks, but just how practiced of an external HDD/NAS/Deject storage wannabe is it?

Dealing with the first of these is adequately straightforward. With 2TB, 3TB and (soon) 4TB versions My Cloud is every bit capacious equally any unmarried bulldoze backup solution currently available. It supports automatic backups on Windows using its own 'SmartWare' software and TimeMachine for Macs. There is also a USB 3.0 port for connecting boosted storage or initiating direct downloads from cameras but, maybe surprisingly, this doesn't support printers or network connectivity. The latter is left to Gigabit Ethernet.

When it comes to its NAS aspirations the My Deject is besides relatively elementary. It ditches more than avant-garde features to concentrate on core functionality like support for DLNA and iTunes servers, UPnP, and FTP (though the latter is disabled by default) plus multi-user support to set folder access and permissions.

Meanwhile it gains its Cloud storage (and more avant-garde NAS) credentials thanks to remote file access via Android (above), iOS, PC and Mac apps. These back up file downloads, edits and media streaming. The restriction is the apps have no integrated media actor so playback is express to formats your device supports. This isn't a problem for Windows or Android, but is a significant drawback for iOS.

On the upside, the mobile apps bring support for Google Drive, Dropbox and SkyDrive letting users transfer and sync content between your 'personal Cloud' and any existing Cloud storage services you already use. This is specially useful for any essential content you might want access offline since all My Deject data is accessed on demand.

Returning to hardware, WD claims an unspecified 'dual core' processor provides it with the grunt to turn the tables on premium NAS. But, as with whatsoever multifunctional device, there are limitations. The most obvious is existence a single drive organisation means the My Cloud tin can dorsum up your data, but not itself. This lack of redundancy means extra expense for those with disquisitional data, but My Cloud does address this with an elegant 'Safepoints' system that can automatically back itself upwardly to USB or network storage equally required.

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Source: https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/wd-my-cloud

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