Customer Ratings & Reviews

These are great starter drives for a NAS setup. I have 18 of the 8TB drives in a TrueNAS Scale system and have been running them for years. Have only had 1 drive actually fail in 6 years. If you wait for Black Friday sales the 8TB drives go for $129 which is a steal. This year I am hoping to see the 18TB drives go for $199 again so I can replace all of my drives. The only caveat is you need to disable the 3.5v orange wire on the power connectors (or use adapters that don't jump this) as it keeps these drives from spinning up.

I found this hard drive at the best price when I purchased it for $143, and now it is listed much higher, so it was a great deal. It has been working great so far with fast transfer speeds and plenty of storage space. Setup was quick and easy, and it has been reliable for backups and everyday use. Excellent performance and value for the price

So here's the deal. You've probably been told that these drives contain the infamous WD Reds. You heard right. I love 'em! I fan-cool mine though and use them in a docking station. Lately, WD has been slapping white-label stickers on these things. However, on the white labels, it still is the 256mb cache and the specs seem to be the same. Different label, same Red Drive. Some people have said these are retail-Reds vs non-retail-Reds. My personal observation: there is a 42.8% chance of getting the familiar Red drive. The red-Reds I've gotten were dated early 2017. The white label-Reds I got were dated Sep & Aug 2017. There's no way to tell on the box without opening. So like I said, it's a guessing game. But since they're all Reds....its a moot point, right? Now, onto the internals. I opened it up (it was laying flat on the table, like a book). I was disappointed to see the drives of all the WDs I purchased were sloping/sagging. The side of the drive that runs along the ac and usb 3.0 ports were fine (flat, flushed). But across the other side, (where the WD symbol/light on the case is), you could see it sloping downward - sagging from the weight of the drive. Sure there are rubber spacers to help keep it centered, but they aren't very effective. Now if you flipped the external hdd over onto the other side, it wouldn't sag because there are these half-circle slots that kept the drive in place. So one side is safe to lay the drive down on, but laying on the other side will cause the internal drive to sag and probably isn't too good for the connectors and circuit board inside. While this shouldn't make a big deal because the drive is supposed to operate vertically, how about when you are putting it in a desk drawer or storing in a safe? If you lay it flat like a book, you could be unknowingly damaging the connector (the part that connects the internal drive to the USB 3.0 and ac power card). That's just not cool in my mind. So IF you have to lay your drive FLAT, this is the safest position to do so; lay it on its side so that the USB 3.0 port is *farthest away* (higher) from the table/surface. It will remain perfectly flat. Aside from that minor annoying design, I'd recommend this either as a shucking project or as a fantastic $/GB price option.

This is a cost efficient, easy install massive storage device for desktop activities, and great usable for NAS purposes as there is a WD red drive inside. Just hook it on your desktop/laptop/server on a USB3 port and you are good to go. Works Fine with windows 10 storage spaces. Can run a little hot only when full formatting as this can take several hours. Perfect for media streaming to other devices like PLEX and KODI.

I purchased the 8TB hard drive, and I couldn't be happier with my choice. This spacious storage solution has proven to be a game-changer for my digital life. Here's what I love about it: Ample Storage Space: With a whopping 8TB of storage, I can now store all my important files, documents, photos, and videos in one place. It's a relief to have so much space, and it makes organizing my digital life a breeze. Fast Data Transfer Speeds: This hard drive offers impressive data transfer speeds, ensuring that I can quickly back up or access my files without any noticeable lag. It's great for both personal and professional use. Reliable Performance: Over the time I've had it, I've never experienced any issues with data loss or drive failures. It's been consistently reliable, which is essential for my peace of mind. Sleek Design: The hard drive has a sleek and modern design that fits well on my desk. It's compact and portable, making it easy to carry around when needed. Compatibility: It's compatible with a wide range of devices, including PCs, Macs, and gaming consoles. This versatility has been a huge plus for me. Quiet Operation: It runs quietly, which is important to me as I often work in a quiet environment. I appreciate not being distracted by loud fan noise. Easy Setup: Setting up the hard drive was a breeze. It's plug-and-play, so I was up and running within minutes. The 8TB hard drive has become an indispensable part of my digital life, providing both the storage space and speed I need. Whether you're a professional looking for ample storage for work files or a multimedia enthusiast wanting to keep your media collection in one place, I highly recommend this hard drive for its capacity and performance. It's an excellent investment in your data storage needs.

This product is great for anyone that needs to clear space off their main storage devices or make backups of info. This device also works well as a storage option for people with an Xbox or PlayStation, as a way to store extra games. Also, it's good for business settings as a way store extra files or reports. The performance to price ratio is quite good for this product. With 8TBs of storage for $ 140, the price per gigabyte is very low (~2 cents per gigabyte). Also, the build quality seems good and had no physical defects/marks. I have been using the hard drive frequently over the past month and have had no issues with overheating or data transfer issues. The read and write speeds on the hard drive are decent (for an HDD) at around 150-170 Mb/s. However, the disk does run at 5400 rpm as opposed to 7200 RPM making the product slower than other drives. But the slower RPM does mean that the disk will run cooler and in turn prolong the life of the hard drive (in theory). Another positive is the plug and play aspect of it, allowing for easy setup if you are using windows. Unfortunately, if you are on Mac OS you will have to reformat the drive before use. When running the noise of the product is noticeable but not too loud usually just the typical “whirring” noise hard drives make and the occasional data clicks. If stored in a closed area the noise isn’t that bad. It matches that of your typical computer fan. Another nice feature about this external hard drive is that it will go into sleep mode if the hard drive is not actively being used. This helps by conserving energy use and should help in prolonging the life of the hard drive. But it should be noted that it takes around 20 seconds for the drive to “wake up” after being in sleep mode so if you need to frequently be accessing flies in the drive this should be taken into consideration. As a quick summary, I would rate performance a 3.5/5, price 5/5, build quality 4/5 and reliability 4/5. Overall, I would say this is a good product if you are looking for cheap data storage, while still having the reliability that is commonly seen in Western Digital drives.

WD hard drives have consistently been excellent products for me for years. I have one in my PS5, my laptop, and this makes my second external drive after purchasing a 4tb model in 2020. Five years later that one is still going strong, have never had issues with it crashing or losing my data - but it never hurts to have a back up. This unit is quiet too, and has yet to become noticeably warm in its running.

Great storage capacity, space saving profile, nice backup speed.

I bought this prior to the Chia SSD/HDD explosion in May 2021. It's super simple to use, and provides sufficient space. It took me a little while to get use to the mechanical sounds of the hard drive again as I've been SSD exclusive for the past few years, but it's not annoying, just present. It's too early to tell whether this drive will survive for five years, but here's to hoping! If you need extra space this may be a viable option for you. The prices are getting crazy now (I purchased this for $138 back in April 2021). If you need space I would honestly hold off until the demand/supply stabilizes. Hopefully this doesn't turn into another GPU crisis.

These drives are exactly what I want - just the basics, a good quality reliable drive. Because they tend to run hot in the plastic case they come in, I remove the drive and put them into a dual drive enclosure with a fan to cool them down. Makes for less power adapter and cabling mess in my workspace. If WD would make one of these with a fan inside the enclosure for cooling, they’d be even better. This is my 3rd 8TB one of these... a previous 4TB from 3-4 years ago contained anWD Blue drive which has been a disappointment with its constant head parking which has exceeded the recommended range. The 8TB have been much much better.

I had two externals die within a week of each other and scrambling to get a large format external to create backups of those. It's no the fastest external I have had, but the price was right for a quick off the shelf purchase to start the recovery process. Compatible with my WD NAS, I can plug this to give added storage capacity.

Easy to use with gaming system. This give user lots of extra storage space for games loaded. It is small but has 8TB storage and it connects by USB. Great extra hard drive.

I run a media production company and have always used these 8TB's for archiving projects. Never had issues with them and have flown with one out of state in my checked bag. I've also had to pull up a project and edited from it with no issues. Until I buy a NAS system, these will be my go to.

The WD Easystore 8TB External USB 3.0 Hard Drive is a substantial storage solution offering a massive 8TB of space in a sleek, compact black casing. It's efficiently handles large files and applications. Western Digital delivers a durable and dependable drive, with the Easystore working seamlessly on both Windows and Mac.

I've had this 8TB Easystore External drive for over 2 yrs. I've used it daily & it's been extremely reliable so I'm getting another one just like it because I'm it's nearly full. Great Product!!!

The unit works at intended. Provides ample storage.

Works great, gives my son enough space for his gaming computer. Easy to install

Very easy to use, just plug it into an available 3.0 USB port, plug the power adaptor into the wall, and windows automatically detects the device. Couldn't be simpler. Very happy with this product. Ths is NOT a lightning fast drive, and I don't recommend it for video editing, but it's very effective as far as external storage and backup. It's also very reasonably priced considering how much drive space it gives you. The customer service at the Salt Lake City Central Point Best Buy was PATHETIC, I'm sorry to say. It was very difficult for me to find the item, and I walked all over the store for quite some time before I finally found a sales associate who would help me. Seems they've done some rearranging and remodeling at this location, and NOT for the better. Very difficult to find anything anymore. While this is the location closest to me, it's not my favorite.

Excellent external drive. Came with all the items. Easy to setup and start using. Just plug in the cable and power supply then you're good to go. Formatted in NTFS so if you're using Windows and Linux, this I great. If you're using Mac, the format is read-only. You need to reformat it to an Apple-supported system or download some software to access it. The one thing I didn't like is the temperature on the hard drive. If you're using it for an extended period, it's best to add some sort of cooling to it. Otherwise, the drive will go very hot, which isn't good for its life.

Works well on various electronics. Ample storage space