WD 4TB My Passport, Portable External Hard Drive, Black, backup software with defense against ransomware, and password…
Brand: Western Digital
Best for
Best overall
Amazon rating
Amazon aggregate, one input among many in the Verdict Score
Current price
$172.98
Updated May 18, 2026 · 1 min read
Sources behind this verdict
10 reviewers weighted by source trust
The consensus
What reviewers found
Synthesized across the trust-weighted source mix below.
Across the reviewers we read, the WD My Passport 4TB is the default recommendation in the portable-HDD category, and the signals back that up: Best Buy verified-purchase reviewers consistently praise the bundled backup software and password protection, and the drive carries an Amazon rating of 4.6 across more than 11,000 reviews, a volume that is hard to fake even accounting for retailer-review gaming. Mainstream reviewer coverage frames it as a competitively priced, well-rounded portable with 256-bit AES hardware encryption and WD's Acronis-based backup utility. The pushback is concentrated in specialist communities.
What reviewers liked
- Massive verified-purchase footprint (4.6/5 across 11,000+ Amazon reviews) corroborated by positive Best Buy customer reviews
- Bundled backup software with ransomware defense and 256-bit AES hardware encryption noted across mainstream reviewer coverage
- Slim, bus-powered 2.5-inch form factor that works across Windows, Mac (after reformat), and current consoles
- 4TB capacity hits the price-per-terabyte sweet spot for portable HDDs
Where it falls short
- r/DataHoarder threads include repeated reports of failures within roughly two years of purchase
- Hardware encryption can complicate data recovery if the controller board fails, per specialist-community discussion
- Mac users have to reformat before use, which trips up first-time buyers in retailer reviews
- HDD speeds are far slower than portable SSDs, which matters if you intend to edit video off the drive
Across the reviewers we read, the WD My Passport 4TB is the default recommendation in the portable-HDD category, and the signals back that up: Best Buy verified-purchase reviewers consistently praise the bundled backup software and password protection, and the drive carries an Amazon rating of 4.6 across more than 11,000 reviews, a volume that is hard to fake even accounting for retailer-review gaming. Mainstream reviewer coverage frames it as a competitively priced, well-rounded portable with 256-bit AES hardware encryption and WD's Acronis-based backup utility.
The pushback is concentrated in specialist communities. Multiple r/DataHoarder threads include users reporting failures within a 24-month window and recommending readers cycle to a different brand for redundancy. The same threads note, fairly, that this is true of every consumer external HDD and that enclosure failure, not platter failure, is the most common death mode. WD's encryption is also a double-edged sword in those threads: useful if you need it, but it complicates recovery if the bridge board dies.
For most buyers wanting a single, portable, password-protectable backup drive in the 4TB sweet spot, the consensus across mainstream reviewers and verified-purchase customers lands on this drive. Just don't treat any single external HDD as your only copy.
- 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
Both failed roughly within a 24 month period. My best advice would be to AVOID AVOID AVOID WD external hard drives. I now have a Seagate ...
I prefer WD over Seagate and Toshiba is straight trash. What usually fails in external drives is the enclosure not the drive itself. Buy a $15 ...
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“WD My Passport 4 TB Portable Hard Drive Hands on Review and Test” · YouTube
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