WD My Cloud 4TB Personal Cloud NAS
$139.99
$219.99
36% off
Reference Price
Condition: Factory Reconditioned
Top positive review
1 people found this helpful
Great Solution for Time Machine Plus Basic File Storage and Remote Access
By KenPen on Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2016
I purchased this product to replace a dying Apple Time Capsule. I needed a Time Machine backup target for my business-critical MacBook Pro with which I travel. I also wanted some NAS-like features for general file archive/storage beyond backups. So far, I am very happy with this drive. Here's what I like: 1. You can set a size limit for the Time Machine share. This is critical because Apple's blessing/curse "it just works" will keep as much back data as a drive allows. Setting the share size is somewhat buried in the web interface and not really documented well. At first, I thought I'd have 4TB of backup overkill. After I was able to set the share to max out at 1.5TB, leaving 2.5 TB (nominal) for file storage, Time Machine reported a 1.5TB target drive. 2. Setup was smooth, even though it took some time to initialize everything. The web-based management interface is pretty good and gives some good information. You don't need to be too tech-saavy to get this up and running, but power users will appreciate some of its advanced features. 3. Plug a second USB drive into this drive and the NAS serves those files as well. Plug in multiple USB drives via a powered USB hub and you've got access to lots of storage. 4. Without much configuration, the drive is available across the internet. The iOS app gives me access to files (even the attached USB drives) wherever I have internet access. The web app lets me pull files remotely to my MacBook Pro. What didn't I like? 1. The WD Quick View extension for Mac lost connection with the drive occasionally. I was still able to mount the drive over my network, but couldn't tell it to shut down. 2. So I just unplugged it to move it from its "setup" location to a more persistent location. That was a BAD idea. It spent the next few hours in an integrity check and a "bad" SMART Status indicator that had me VERY anxious. I had moved a bunch of files to the drive. In the end everything was fine, but for a few hours I was on edge. 3. It would be nice to have a more dropbox-like experience or some direct remote file access from my Mac. But, I understand why this is not practical. I have had some issues with WD external drives failing. Not sure if it was the drive itself or the interface chip. I would like to replace this with a two replaceable drive RAID array, like a Synology, at some point. I would not recommend this drive for serving media files or for mission-critical performance. It's not meant to be enterprise grade. Overall I would recommend this product for anyone who needs mid-level backup and file storage capabilities with occasional remote access at a reasonable price.
Top critical review
2 people found this helpful
I'm satisfied with the results No longer. Read edit.
By MattMan on Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2016
I'm satisfied with the results. I wasn't expecting much as performance with its specs. An 800MHz processor and 256 Mb RAM. A NAS while on a budget ain't easy. It's a little on the slow side with its processor and memory. You give up on raid with one disc but, for the price it's hard for anybody like me to pass on. Biggest tip I can give you is the one previous reviewers have. Go "static" with your IP (assuming you haven't). Google "static ip" and if you google "WD MY Cloud NAS static IP" (something like that) you will find instructions how to setup a static IP address specific to the WD My Cloud. DHCP = Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. DHCP will automatically setup an IP for you each time you turn on your computer. Static IP means you set up an address to your NAS and it goes there every time. Once I had a better understanding of what I would be doing, I did it. It's difference was huge. Under a DHCP connection I would lose a connection all the time and opening anything that had to do with the NAS would crawl. Usually I would get "page can't be found" when clicking the WD dashboards shortcut or the WD logo would not show up under "This/My PC". For the lack of a better word. DHCP sucks on this NAS. I used to reboot the WD or my router to get it to connect. Gather your info first. Some of the info you'll need is the IP address to your DNS servers. This is usually found in your router. If you don't have access to your router try calling you internet provider. The rest of your info comes from running "ip config" in the command (CMD) window.(You can copy and paste in the CMD window, Windows 10) Setup a static IP. You won't be sorry. Once this was done there was a night and day difference with this NAS. I am always connected to my NAS, The dashboard comes up pretty fast and performs a whole lot better. For example, the icons in the NAS for each file/folder comes up much quicker. I'll assume there are less of the NAS's resources taken up by not relying on DHCP. EDIT: A return request has been started. Now 1/15/2016. Really disappointed with it's performance. I expected low performance with this NAS at the price I paid but, I was not expecting it to decrease the performance of my PC. Opening related pages like "This PC" will happen very slowly. I didn't like that but, the WD, MY Cloud NAS must be the problem so I lived with it. When it affected web surfing I decided it must be sent back.(disconnected it and problems go away) I also had problems keeping it connected to my network. Assigning it a static IP fixed that problem. Obviously DHCP is not working well in the WD, My Cloud. The part that is not listed on the website is it's specs. a single core 800Mhz processor with 256MB's of ram. That's the lowest I have seen on your site. If I had that information before the purchase I may have spent more money and bought something else. I thought this was something I'd keep (before the web problem). I no longer have it's box or packaging. Let me know if this is a deal breaker when making a return. I would like to buy a different NAS and this is not possible without an acceptance of my return.
Sort by:
Filter by:
Sorry, no reviews match your current selections.
Try clearing or changing some filters.Show all reviews
Show more reviews
