VerdictAI
#4 in Best External Hard Drives (HDD)

WD 2TB My Passport, Portable External Hard Drive, Black, backup software with defense against ransomware, and password…

Brand: Western Digital

Best for

Best budget

Amazon rating

★★★★★4.6(30,949)

Amazon aggregate, one input among many in the Verdict Score

Verdict scoreGreat
80/ 100

Current price

$114.99

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Updated May 18, 2026 · 1 min read

WD 2TB My Passport, Portable External Hard Drive, Black, backup software with defense against ransomware, and password…

Sources behind this verdict

11 reviewers weighted by source trust

Methodology →

The consensus

What reviewers found

Synthesized across the trust-weighted source mix below.

Across the reviewers we read, the 2TB WD My Passport is the entry point into the credible-brand portable-HDD tier, and Tom's Hardware's coverage in our signal set frames it as "priced competitively" with "pretty good value" for buyers who want a lot of portable storage without paying SSD prices. PCMag's coverage corroborates on the security feature set, calling out the bundled Acronis True Image software and 256-bit AES hardware encryption as the gold-standard combo at this price. Best Buy verified-purchase reviewers add the practical notes on automatic-backup setup.

What reviewers liked

  • Tom's Hardware called out competitive pricing and value
  • 256-bit AES hardware encryption and bundled backup software, per PCMag and Best Buy product pages
  • 30,000+ Amazon reviews at 4.6 average, with positive Best Buy verified-purchase sentiment
  • Cheapest credible-brand entry point in the category

Where it falls short

  • 2TB is tight for users with serious photo/video libraries
  • r/DataHoarder includes reports of failures and one account of write-cap issues
  • Encryption complicates recovery if the controller board fails, per specialist-community threads
  • Older Micro-B USB connector rather than USB-C

Across the reviews

Synthesis · not our verdict

Across the reviewers we read, the 2TB WD My Passport is the entry point into the credible-brand portable-HDD tier, and Tom's Hardware's coverage in our signal set frames it as "priced competitively" with "pretty good value" for buyers who want a lot of portable storage without paying SSD prices. PCMag's coverage corroborates on the security feature set, calling out the bundled Acronis True Image software and 256-bit AES hardware encryption as the gold-standard combo at this price. Best Buy verified-purchase reviewers add the practical notes on automatic-backup setup.

The specialist-community signal is mixed in the expected ways. r/buildapcsales includes users reporting 10-plus years of trouble-free use on older My Passports, while r/DataHoarder threads include the same reliability complaints that follow every consumer external HDD. One r/DataHoarder thread describes a 2TB unit that refused to write past about 250GB, which is a useful reminder to format and verify any new drive before trusting it with sole-copy data.

For sub-$120 backup duty on a single laptop, the trust-weighted consensus lands on this drive as the safe budget pick.

Key specs

Source: Amazon listing
Slim durable design to help take your important files with you
Vast capacities up to 6TB[1] to store your photos, videos, music, important documents and more
Back up smarter with included device management software[2] with defense against ransomware
Help secure your important files with password protection and hardware encryption
3-year limited warranty

What customers say

3 verified voices
The name may be quirky, but the WD My Passport, Works with USB-C is a capacity champ among portable external hard drives, available in versions up to 6TB.
Supporting!via PCMag
The drive is 2TB and it will not let me transfer over more than 250 gigabytes which is around 1/4 or .25 TB. I highly recommend that you do not ...
Supportingvia r/DataHoarder
I've had my WD 2TB passport since 2012 and it's still running great. Do note that I take good care of it (no moving it while in use nor any ...
Supportingvia r/buildapcsales

Trust tier reflects our editorial assessment of the source, not the individual quote. Hover for the rationale. See how we tier sources →

Video review

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WD 2TB My Passport For Mac External Hard Drive Review” · YouTube

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