WD Smartware does not recognise Passport external drive

WD External and Portable SSD External SSD for macOS
1

I made 3 attempts to get some support from WD. No response at all. My warranty has suddenly been changed from ‘in warranty’ to ‘out of region’. The toll-free number for Australia is invalid. I’m hoping someone can help. I’ve owned this device for 3 frustrating days now.

The WD Smartware does not recognise the WD Passport external drive. The ‘backup’ and ‘retrieve’ tabs still do not work (despite the literature saying they will work once the first back up has taken place). The help box states these tabs only appear only if you install the complete WD SmartWare application - what is the COMPLETE application if not what i have just installed? Software update effort states I have the current version. 1.3.4.1

When plugging in the device, there was no on-screen installation guide. So I have muddled along from hours of reading forums and on-line manuals, none of which have got the Passport device showing up on the software.

Can anyone help? Can’t believe something this simple could be so hard to install. Thanks for reading.

2

Make sure the drive you are using has been formatted to work on the computer you are using.

This could happen when the drive comes formatted for Windows and you use it with a Mac.

Edit:

By Looking at your other post I see that the drive has been formatted.

Try uninstalling the software and downloading the one that came with the drive.

The software was erased when you formatted the unit.

You can restore the software from the link bellow:

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5419