Hi, Im new to these forums and no very little about computers, so please go easy…
Basically I am looking for an external hard drive (wireless) that works with both Macs and Windows and is simple and easy to use. I also want to be able to store data remoteley so I can access it from anywhere as well as having the security of it being on a physical external hard drive.
The WD 1TB My Passport Wireless USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive seems to be the best option for me as it says that it also comes with My Cloud software.
AmI right in thinking that this product does what I need?
Sorry if this is too obvious - as I say, I’m not a compluter person at all!
Tony is partially correct; because it does not have a WD app that enables this, but it CAN be done under certain conditions, I have done it numerous times, and the conditions are that the MPW needs to be connected to the home network (WD explains how to do this) and one’s router and a specialized app for the router (my Asus RT-N66U router and its AiCloud app) allows one to connect to the home network, and in so doing one can also access the MPW from afar via the internet (or locally).
That said, this is not for the novice to set up and do, and is why the MPW is mostly used as a portable wireless drive, and this is all you likely need. The WD My Cloud app is WD’s way of accessing the MPW from your mobile devices so you can play music, videos and see photos. The MPW works with both PCs and Macs (because it is formatted exFAT – a drive condition that makes this possible.).
I’d like to know why you asked this, for example, do you have lots of media files you want to access this way? If so, you may want to look into the Pogoplug device (which I also have) that connects to the home network and allows me to attach standard hard drives to it which I have filled with music and video files, and I can access them locally and remotely and play on my various mobile devices. It specifically is designed for this task.
You may also want to use a cloud service for accessing files remotely. There are lots of them to choose from. Even Pogoplug has this service as well as their separate device.
Lastly, WD has a series of hard drives called My Cloud, that connect (like Pogoplug drives can do) and is accessable locally or remotely. This might serve your needs better. You need to know exactly what you want to do and select the appropriate device(s) to do it.
One thing unique and positive about a wireless drive like MPW, is that you can always have your data and media with you and available, because if is wireless, does not require it to have internet, and you can use it to watch movies on your phone or tablet wherever you are – like on an airplane!
The software pre-dates the MPW, and is the generic one for WD devices such as the MyCloud drive series. Presumably it just came from there, and they’re being efficient/lazy and reusing it by making the MPW compatible with it.
And I guess arguably it is cloud storage, but local cloud within your own network but not physically plugged in and connected to it (hence also wifi is cloud, but that’s probably taking it too far ). WD’s definition of “cloud” seems to be anything that’s not physically plugged into the USB/firewire port of the machine you’re working on.
Thanks for your replies - I have bought a wireless passport and I have set it up successfully.
However, I cannot access the photos:
I have followed the steps as per the manual::
From a mobile device with WD My Cloud
Go to Settings on your mobile device and make sure your mobile device is connected to
your My Passport Wireless drive.
Tap the My Cloud icon on your device.
T ap the Public folder.
In the top right corner of the Public pane, tap the omni menu icon (three horizontal dots)
and then tap Add Photo.
Tap Camera Roll.
Select your items.
In the bottom right corner of the dialog, tap the upload icon.
The files have been uploaded to the My Passport Wireless drive. Now you can delete
them from your mobile device if you are trying to save space, or leave them on the
mobile device for backup.
I have connected it and can accee the app no problem. However, I dont have a ‘public folder’ - just videos, music, photos, other. All I am trying to do is transfer photos from my iphone to the passport wirelessly! Any help appreciated!
The Public folder is there when you click the “All” button to the bottom left.
Go there and it say Public at the top. From there press the 3 dots, then choose to creat a New Folder, Select (one or more files/folders on the MPW or Add Photo to choose images from you camera roll or whatever on your device used, and to transfer them to the MPW (make sure you are in the folder you want them before pressing Add Photo and downloading to the MPW.
). WD’s definition of “cloud” seems to be anything that’s not physically plugged into the USB/firewire port of the machine you’re working on.