WD My Passport Wireless In Depth Review and Benchmarks - FTP, SSH, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
Вставка
- Опубліковано 18 вер 2024
- Buy it on Amazon - lon.tv/mlmob (affiliate link). This product has been replaced by a new version that you can find my review of here: lon.tv/evc6o
VIDEO INDEX:
00:14 - Hardware overview
02:38 - Web based control panel
06:25 - DLNA demonstration
07:10 - SD Card data transfer
08:17 - SSH demonstration
09:43 - Wireless benchmark
10:39 - USB 3.0 benchmark
11:23 - Mobile app demonstration
13:12 - Mac / Windows demonstration
13:25 - Conclusion and final thoughts
WD has another easy to use Network Attached Storage (NAS) device with the My Passport Wireless. This one is portable and has a battery that can power the device for several hours. Think of it as a mini-My Cloud.
The drive works with PCs, Macs, and Linux computers as well as mobile devices running Android and iOS. The WD My Cloud app is the same app that is used to connect to the device with those mobile devices. PC users will use their existing file system to connect.
It has a feature to transfer the contents to an SD card to the My Passport Wireless' hard drive. It can do this automatically or via a button push in the web based control panel. It will do a one-way sync so it won't copy over any files that have been previously written to the My Passport Wireless.
It also has a neat hotspot feature that can share a public wifi connection but still maintain privacy for the shared files. Users connect to the drive vs. the coffee shop wifi and the drive will then pass the Internet connection onto its connections. This locks out other patrons at a coffee shop from seeing files but does give those accessing the drive simultaneous access to the Internet.
Performance is decent for a wireless device. It was able to get about 60 megabits per second when directly connected via WiFi from my Macbook Air. The drive can also be directly connected via USB 3.0 to a compatible PC - but that connection will disable the wireless file sharing capabilities.
Like all NAS devices it's best to move large volumes of data through a wired connection - in this case USB 3. But overall this is a great device with very clever features that can very easily share files while on the go.
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DISCLOSURE - WD provided me with this product to review.
Thanks for the review... saw this one on the WD website a few days ago and was curious about it. Lon to the rescue, as per usual.
Looks pretty good. I like that it has an SD card slot.
Any chance of doing a comparison between the WD My Passport Wireless and the Seagate Wireless Plus? Both are very similar.
mcrazza the Seagate wireless is a waste.. I bought the goflex satellite when it released.. No ftp, the password complexity was limited, only upload file method wirelessly was via their lame Apache webserver without batch capability.. I cannot remember the rest.. I'm tech savvy and this was ineffective as well as primitive on their part.. There was no effort to start a trend nor to set a standard.. WD has exceeded my expectations.. I am amazed by the ftp support; it just makes my day easier.. The SD card was a bonus feature for me.. The features and capability alone is superb!! This is how you create a wireless hard dive.. I'd have to admit, it took me a bit to access the drive.. I didn't want to download the app.. I am weird about unnecessary permission requests.. But I downloaded the manual and found the actual gateway.. The domain name didn't work as illustrated in the little guide that came with it.. Now, I'm up and running.. I use Solid Explorer to ftp into my drive.. This is truely superb!! I just bought the 1TB to travel with me; I will buy another for my home just to have available to dumb files onto.. Excellent for my Nexus 9 since it didn't support external storage.. Or even those who have iPads with no way to increase internal storage and refuses to upload files to a cloud..
mcrazza I meant to state the wireless pro still doesn't support ftp.. It just has more storage space and a somewhat better battery.. I emailed Seagate numerous times suggesting some of the features presented by WD.. And they refused.. I emailed WD complaining about Seagate lame attempt to create a wireless hard drive as well..
*****
I own the Seagate Wireless Plus and I have no problems with it at all. I dumped my iTunes music library, movies and general files onto it at stream my content to my smartphone anytime, anywhere with no worries.
mcrazza maybe that's why.. I don't use iTunes.. I have android.. I wanted a wireless hard drive that could upload anything to with no hassle.. Seagate created a proprietary product which is ridiculous.. But I have the WD now.. I'm over it.. I still suggest the WD my passport wireless over the Seagate..
Thanks for the great review ,
Question: Does the WD Storage wireless work even when connected to Power ( Wall socket ). Will I still be able to stream movies and songs when connected to power ??
bro your hand gestures and voice sounds like Jobs. Great video!
Is it possible to edit videocontent directly in iMovie on ipad from the WD wifi my passport?
Hi, thanks for this review. I have a question (apologies if it's not the smatterst question). I'm going on vacation and take my action cam with me. Of course the memory card inside isn't big enough to store all video's. Is it possible to remove the microsd card from the action cam (which has wifi build in), put this microsd card inside this wireless drive and it copies the files without having a laptop available so I can later format the card inside the action cam to have all memory available again for shooting video's?
Thanks for your expert answer
it uses SSD right? how long it take a full battery charged with a video stream in wifi to a smarttv?
Hi Lon!
I live in Brazil and I just can't find it here. Not even on online stores!
I've been looking for a similar, but couldn't find it either...
Do you know any other model/brand of external HD where you can read/transfer directly form the SD Card?
My main use for this will be for photographing in the field.
Thanks! :)
Hi Lon
Do you perhaps know if you are able to use and edit video clips (MP4 or MOV) that are stored on the WD My Passport Wireless in iMovie while clips remain on drive and not locally stored on the device. I'm using an iPad. (Hope this makes sense)
If yes, would the drive need to be formatted in FAT or NTFS to be compatible with an ios device?
Look forward to hearing from you. Regards Jason
So I need a way to transfer my files from my SD card to an external Hard drive for a long trip that I don't want to bring a laptop on. This let's me do that right? Does anyone no any more recent alternatives that are newer and faster otherwise, that don't cost as much as a gnarbox?
I might have missed it, but can it be used as a regular NAS connected to the home network without any extra software installed on the computers?
Lon,
Did you say the speed of the downloads between the "My cloud" and the wireless passport are the same when connecting without USB cord?
Lon
Is there anyway to access photos on the wireless passport if it's not with or next to you?
nice review but what about the battery life tests and how many devices can spontaneously stream from the device
Thanks for your amazing review, do you know any other devices out there that offer the offload/autoimport feature, SD cards or even USB. thank you
Hi Mate, just wanted to ask can i SAVE data/photos/videos etc to the WD wireless HD from an iPad ,iPhone ,other tablets.
also i like the effort you have put into your reviews
Thanks mate for your quick reply
Hi Lon. Was wondering if you know if the Passport wireless can be used with 3rd party apps on the iPad. I'm using Filebrowser by Stratospherix and an app call File Explorer by Skyjos Inc,. Thanks.
Hey lon, can you please clarify if this device requires Internet to : I) play videos stored in the drive on an iphone.? 2) upload photos or small videos from iPhone to the drive .?
Hope you will respond. Thanks .!!
so just to be clear, doe this need internet connection? or can it be set up like a wireless local storage point, with the same authentications as a router ? i want to be able to carry around all my music and be able to access it on a device to device basis.
On Android devices it will ask which video player you want to use, so you can play any format you video player supports, not just the app.
How does this compare with the WD MYCloud drives? I had one and we never got it to connect to our home network. It seemed a little clumsy from a setup perspective.
Hi! Thanks for the review, Lon. I have a question for you, hope you understand my english.
I've recently bought a WD My Passport Wireless and now there's where I keep my whole music library (200GB). I want to move all my music to iTunes on my Mac Book so I can listen to music when my Mac is connected to My Passport wirelessly. After hours of "adding files" into iTunes a error occurred and only a few albums where successfully transferred. It seems like it started to move my music to the Macintosh Hardrive.
Do you know if its possible to keep music wirelessly connected between my WD Passport and iTunes on my computer...or I have to connect iTunes with my Passport through the wire so the Mac can recognize it as a hardrive?
Hope you understand it and thanks beforehand for your answer.
how to solve the problem if the Power and Battery Status LED and the WI-Fi LED will blink red alternating between one and the other.
Question. Please answer if you know the answer. I have this app called Filmic Pro. The app shoots videos, but my iPhone has limited storage space for when I capture videos. Would I be able to transfer the footage I just shot with my iPhone to the My Passport Wireless through wi-fi? Would all I need to do is make sure my iPhone and the Wireless Passport were on the same wi-fi? Can I also simply connect my phone to the wireless passport directly?
This is my next purchase.... I did a bonehead move and reformatted an sd card thinking i had already transfered everything. I ended up losing an important tutorial that i shot, but at least it was a project for me and not a paid one...
Does the SD card reader work well with a SD microSD converter? Ie. to transfer pictures/ video from a GoPro onto the drive?
Also how well does it provide playback of RAW files?
Thanks!
Hi. Great review. Is it possible to use a card reader to transfer files from an XQD or CF card to the Passport using the USB port? If so, how? Thanks.
Hi Lon,Looking for a fast and reliable way to do the following:Transfer both jpeg and AVCHD data from an SD card (class 10) to an external hard drive while out in the field (literally - the Serengeti). My plan would be to back up daily. But also use a different card each day so I don't want to dump and erase. I would also like to see my photos on my iPad. I have an airstash to look at photos so I could use that if I could find a way to copy data to an external drive. I am looking at the RavPower File Hub but it is only USB 3. I watched your video on the WD MyPassbook Wireless but really can't tell if internal copying would be faster. Can you offer advise. Thank you so much.
good question ..any answer here?
Hi! Great review ;) I have a question, mayby you could help me. I was wondering if it is possible to connect camera or card reader (I have 7D with CF, so SD reader unfortunately is not enough) directly to WD by USB and using android app on my tablet copy files to hard drive?
It would have been handy if you'd have shown how you got to the interface. I'm having trouble making it work and have been looking everywhere for how it's done. So frustrating...
Thanks Lon for the review. Planning to get the 2TB model. My questions are 1) Can we connect it to charge while using it? Like I'm the car or power Bank? 2) Can it play DRM files from itunes since I have a lot of videos and plan to steam it in my iPad mini for the kids on long trips.
Lon, im going on fishing trips to very remote area's. I dont bring a laptop because of space/weight issue's. Can this device copy any files (gopro / pictures) from the SD card onto its internal HDD and erase the contents on the SD card so you have a empthy card you can shoot full again with pics and movies, without ever needing a laptop or any other device?
Can I partition this drive? I would like to have drives show up on my mac and use one for time machine backups. Please advice.
so just to confirm I would be able to transfer pictures videos from my phone and my mac to this hard drive for extra space on my phone and mac?
How's the battery life? and more important how much time needed for full charging
Hi Lon. A fast question, I hope you can have an answer for me. I think I undertstood the various capabilities of the device. However, I want to be sure that I can easily copy whole folders actually in my android phone, into the WD Passport wireless. How can I do that? Do I need to open a file-explorer app, then select the folder inside the phone (example "documents" folder), then do a "send to">"WD cloud" operation?
Or do I have to enter in the WD cloud app, and there do I have the choice to copy/move folders from/to the device?
Thanks in advance, if you can clear my doubts.
Ok, thanks anyway, Lon.
Thanks for your great reviews
Can you help to clarify a few things:
1. Will it work with Surface Pro 3
I bought, connected, saw the video files (mp4, flv,...), but I COULD NOT PLAY THOSE FILE. They open, but just hanging there, or taking really long time to start playing...
2. Charging mode will disable the wireless function (so when charging, you cannot play files from this Passport Wireless)?
Thank you,
Hi Lon.
I watch the video and how much i understood when you connect drive with usb cable wifi disable it self. Is that right?
I ask because i wanted to connect this device to LG smart tv as movie library and then send movies from pc to this drive via wifi home connection, not to play them from pc but just to send them so they stay on drive. I need this so i don't have to disconnect drive from TV every time when i want to put movie on it. What do you think is that possible, or after i connect it to TV, WiFi will not be available?
Doesn't the Seagate Wireless Plus allow iOS users to put content on the driver from their iPad's unlike the WD? Also, with the Seagate Wireless Plus, you can still use the internet as well as the drive at the same time. Does WD do that?
one question... if i'm on a trip and I finish my memory space con the card I just put the card in and it wil back up everything every time I do this?
Can I leave my passport wireless at home and still access is files from miles away if it's connect to my home wifi network. And of so would it be stand alone or would I have to leave my computer on?
Hi sir! Can this hdd be opened on my mac book using the usb 3 wired or wirless and open it again using windows computer? Pls reply thnk u.
I like the router function, however for the bigger files I prefer swaps of SSD's w/ better data transfer speeds. Nice "to have" though... Nice review, complete and to the point!
Hey I wonder if I can replace the internal 2.5" HDD with a 2.5" SATA SSD? What are your thoughts ?
Hi Lon, thx for the helpful review! Although, I'm still not sure; can I use this drive wirelessly to stream videos using Plex Media center? Should I install Plex NAS app on it? Or can I just continue using my Macbook as the server and the WD drive connected wirelessly? Thanks in advance for your return! ;)
Thx! You just saved me 180 bucks! ;)
Lon. Set mine up, but I am not getting any information in the Capacity area. just a gray box. any ideas?
What is the speed of the drive 5400? 7200rpm ? Also is it a standard laptop drive and could it be possible to put an SSD into it (aftermarket) ? I'd like to connect this up to my iPhone wirelessly then usb out of my phone into my car head unit... Will the latency be bad with the wireless as I'm skipping songs ?
Can you sync to this device (WD My Passport) the same way you can with WD My Cloud?
Can i see the files & folders same like which appears in normal external hard dive & can i create / edit the files & folders directly from the drive, please help also i want to know about WD my cloud, can i directly create / edit the files from any where with the help of Internet
How long does it take to upload/download a 1GB file from iOS to the drive or drive to iOS When connected to the Drive's wifi. ?
Planning to buy this. This info would be helpful.
Thanks.
How am i supposed to upload from the drive to my cloud using my iphone, if the iphone is connected to the drive's wifi?
Not sure if he said this if he did I completely missed it. With the wireless hard drive are you able to upload to it from mobile? Like lets say you are out camping, no wifi, but your phone or ipod is full and you want to move it, are you able to move it to the drive?
***** Hmm, than I am tempted to buy one because storage has always been my problem.
So it does not charge via a USB port using a portable power supply?
Hi Lon, great video thanks! I would like to put dropbox on this and send camera uploads from my phone directly to it.. how is it done? by proxy or ftp and what settings should i use thru dropbox? Thanks!!
Could I add this as internal storage on an Nvidia SHIELD via USB and still access it from my Windows PC wirelessly? Or would I have to add the WD drive as external storage?
you'd probably wanna connect it to your home network and then on the nvidea shield mount the network drive as internal, and then you could still connect over the network from a pc, google is your frind matey, hope i helped !
Hey i need help i follow all instruction but it never open through wireless yes i can connect mypassport wifi but it never access i tried trough my cloud app and with my windows 10 the same plz help
Hi. can you tell how to connect it with the USB cable. I try on apple and on windows. They can't see it
Hey i have this,but i bought it secondhanded online
And i just notice there's no instruction to charge it
How to charge it?
Hey lon, love ur work n or reviews. Have bought products based on or reviews.
I remember u telling that u will b making a video based on gigabit Ethernet setting for NAS devices..........I wud really appreciate ur input on such a setting primarily for optimized data transfer speeds.
Keep doing wat u do........Thnx.
Thnx alot. keep doin wat u do!!
Hi,
I really enjoy your reviews and this one is especially interesting to me. I have one question though, does this interface with an Asus Chrome Box?
***** Thanks for your incredibly fast response, perhaps you would also do well training most of the High Tech Manufacturing Community the almost lost practice of customer service, Thanks Again
***** Keep up the Great Work, you are very much appreciated.
Quick question about video play back on an ios device. Can you play a video stored on the WD my passport wireless on an ios deivce and airplay it to an Apple tv?
*WD My Passport Wireless is running out of power by itself* even you don't use it for months. *Seagate Wireless Plus battery is not running out of power* even many months without using it.
I may buy this as well as My Cloud Mirror.
Just tell me how much does it weigh. WD's website doesn't show it.
On my cloud from iPad I am unable to turn on automatic download photos and videos
Seagate wireless plus OR WD My Passport Wireless for iOS devices?
is it better than seagate wireless plus...? Or other wireless portable hard drive.......?
Can we use this wireless hdd as time machine for Mac back up ?
Hey ***** great video! You helped in the past with my Panasonic W850 camcorder (it worked great, now I moved to a G7x for vlogging) with this WD my passport can I transfer from the sd to the hdd my videos and then download them (in full hd) on my iphone 6 plus through the wifi of the hdd? Thanks :P
+Lon Seidman Yep, it's Canon g7x. The only problem is that it doesn't transfer videos in full hd on my phone through The Canon app. This WD mypassport would fix my problem :)
do i have to have a home wifi to acces the hard drive or wifi is in built in the hard drive
hi i was wondering which wireless hard drive is the best for streaming music and tv shows with a playlist on the go?
Thank you
Hi Lon, great review.
I'd like to know whether I can use the MyPassport Wireless as a storage device for my sound files connected to my iPhone 5.
Does the iPhone read/play those files the same way as if they were stored in its integrated memory?
Thanks a lot.
+Lon Seidman
Thank you.
Does the WD app connect vie bluetooth to an audio device/player? I guess it doesn't.
What I'm actually looking for is a solution that is similar to an iPod with 1TB/2TB storage space.
Any recommendations?
Thanks.
+Lon Seidman
Nah, no Windows.
At home I have a similar solution set up that includes an iMac. The point is, I need a mobile solution since I spend hours and hours on the road due to my job.
+Lon Seidman
Will check that out. Thanks for your replies, Lon.
Yes uoy can, you need to have the right app from appstore
If I connect my PC vi the wifi, can I download the content that is on the drive?
Hey, good video about mpw . I've had this for two weeks now and when I first started it up , I was a little disappointed , poor speed of wifi , poor battery time and setup , but as with everything new must get to know it .
What I have found out is that if it can log on to their network, turn mpw and wait a bit and then log in directly to mpw and so through my cloud or 192.168.60.1 and then plug it up to my own network , I chose a fixed iP address of
Ip adresse 120.120.1.99 and
Netmask 255.255.255.0 and
Gate Way 120.120.1.1 and
DNS 1/2. 120.120.1
my DHCP network starting at 100 to 200
I can transfer 1GByte data in 7 minutes from my laptop
Hope you understand.
+jacobhn2 thanks for this. Having it setup your way, can the drive be access remotely away from home, like virtual PC, any third party app required? if so, can you recommend any?
You turn it on and log on to the wifi so you inside and watch movies or other.
You can log on mpw from Google Chrome or Safari browser , just type the IP address or mypassport.local then you are at it.
File explore, My cloud, Playerxtreme, VLC player or Infuse are good apps
Yes You can set it up to see it from the outside Internet. use ftp menu.
Thank you very much, I was looking for a review that really get a full feel for the product.
So now I have made up my mind to get one. Thanks
Let's see if I get this right. I can transfer all my files from my SD card directly without having to use a cell phone or internet? Because I have to use it while I'm travelling and don't have access to the internet or my laptop. Thank you.
Thank you for your quick reply. I was thinking about getting this hard-drive or maybe a 3-in-1 SD card reader and "WD My Passport Ultra 1TB" (way cheaper than the wireless one) so I can use it to transfer files through a tablet, as I won't have my laptop with me while I'm travelling. Which one would you recommend? Thank you again. :)
Love these reviews , Excellent sound and clear and precise
Does this work on Ubuntu Linux? I mean, is there a way to see it as a hard disk on ubuntu?
do you need internet connction to stream media to iphone/ipad?
how do I setup a WD account I purchased my WD my passport 2tb drive on amazon
How can i watch video,s from this drive wirles from this on my ipad pro
Thanks Lon. Your videos are always so helpful!
how to connect wd my passport wireless with kodi 17 via ftp or ssh?
Bought the device? Click on the power button and nothing happen it is working offline but, no luck with wifi so far
I could not finish a movie with my passport wireless! Bad battery life!!!...
Quick question. Have you tested transfers speed (import) between the SD card and the drive itself ? I'm going to film in the jungle with a 5D MkIII and I need a mobile solution to operate daily backups. Do you reckon it will reliable / fast enough to backup let says.. 10Gb a day? Also, if you connect the drive to a Mac via USB, does the Mac see the SD card as well? Thanks !
Claude general USB 2.0 transfer speeds max out at 25mb/sec. So in example you have a 64BG Sandisk SD Card. The time it would take IF the transfer was at max speed would be approx. 45 minutes. Expect a longer time I would assume.
I read a review and they did a quick test, transfered 2.36GB which took 6 minutes. Same amount of data took 30 seconds from passport to computer. So it's pretty slow. WD said the reason behind it is the transfer from SD to passport also verifies the data for integrity, etc. so the backup is perfect.
I think you should be alright Claude Sadik. I use a Nikon D800 with 64gb Sandisk Extreme SDXC UHS-1 cards (transfer speed rated at 45MB/s) and auto imports to this drive are about a gigabyte per minute. So a 10Gb import takes about 10 minutes, and about 20% of the battery life for the transfer.
Very good job on this video. Answered all of the questions I had concerning this device. This was better than going to the WD website.
I´ve a WD Mypassport Ultra USB 500GB HDD with USB3.0 connector. Can I connect it to MyPasspor Wireless to access files? Somebody knows?
So, can we use it in a place without wi-fi?
Does anyone know if you can use this as a normal wireless external hard drive
What does the downloads feature mean and make in the mobile version ?
You can select download a pic that is on the disk. You the see it is the part views/downloads. What is the use ?
thanks for reviewing the product! now i want one too
how to connect to wifi network using windows logon and password
Is it good to leave it plugged in (powered on) 24/7?
Thanks! I was worried about stressing the battery a bit and if it gets hot.
I formatted my WD Wireless and it does not show me the capacity anymore. My Phone cannot access files either!
Does anyone have a suggestion on what to do?
Also DONT FORMAT DRIVE WITHOUT COPYING FILES FIRST!!
Thanks in Advance!
also how do I setup a my cloud account
Hi how ru? Just wondering does this device read 64GB & 128GB SD Card please!?
Thanks a lot! J
Joe Wing A late answer, but for future reference, yes it does.
Oh Cool thanks I am waiting for it to drop in price but still around the same at the moment 😰
Can someone help me add this as on my time machine :( im no tech savvy. it keeps on asking for a password that i never set up
does this drive dlna support external subtitle ?
thank you
+ademdingin some app on iphone support it
you can acces the net anywhere?
ur a very good teacher & i enjoy ur presentations.
how to use ftp on my passport wireless?