The description on the RED NAS drives here say to check with the vendor to see if their current stock has NASware 2.0 or 3.0. I just called newegg, and the person did not have clue.
Told me to check with WD !!!
Looks like newegg does not even know what they have in stock. Now, as a Western Digital customer, how am I supposed to deal with this? If I take the plunge with them, how do I know, upon arrival if got a 3.0 or a 2.0 ?
On a side note, if I do get a 2.0, is there a firmware update I can do to bring it up to 3.0?
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I don’t mean to hijack the thread here, but I feel it’s pertitent to the discussion. I just purchased 8 of the WD10JFCX (2.5" 1TB) from Amazon, and received a mix bag of NASWare 2.0 and 3.0 drives, so I too am wondering if there is a way to update the firmware on the 2.0 drives to 3.0, so that I can put them all into production with the newer firmware version.
I have submitted a case to support to see if they can answer, but figured I’d post here too since it seems relevent to the conversation.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to upgrade NASware on a WD Red drive. In our testing we did not find any issues mixing both NASware 2.0 and 3.0 in the same environment. However, you may want to verify with your enclosure/controller manufacturer to verify compatibility with their hardware.
We are no longer producing NASware 2.0 drives, so there shouldn’t be a lot left on the market. In addition, all 5TB and 6TB drives have only been manufactured with NASware 3.0.
Well, LB_WD, I banked and hoped on what you said being correct. Unfortunatelly it was not.
I just ordered a Red 4TB from newegg on Cyber Monday. It arrived today. Guess what. It has NASware 2.0 !!!
SO WARNING: Newegg stil has and old batch!!! DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!
The compatiblity with NASes do not worry me. What worries me is if one of my RAID1 with 3.0 fails. Am I guarrantied that the rebuild with a 2.0 is going to go well?
Its better to have a nasware 2.0 drive that works for many years just fine instead of having a nasware 3.0 drive that breaks on the first month… just an example…
You shouldnt worry about it realy
if its possible great have the new firmware… if not no big deal
Where do you see the “NASWare” version of a drive? I also just received a WD40EFRX 4TB Red with old firmware (80.00A80) from Newegg. The notion that there are few of these left in the pipeline is a load of BS if one of the largest suppliers in the country is still shipping them.
The version is right on the label. I know I will not go to any vendor anymore for my drives. I’ll be going straight to WD to purchase. I’m done with all of them.
Can the firmware on the Reds be updated to the latest? From other threads in this forum I see that new firmware updates are available for other drives.
It’s more of a per user/case basis than recommended. Some software may list a drive with a high load/unload as a potential SMART failure, even though the drive is perfectly fine and the load/unload is just a counter and not an indication of drive failure. All new production drives should have this new update applied, so anything produced in 2014 should already be updated.
It actually wont help to try and buy nasware 3.0 drives from the WD store; I have been told at least 5 times now, that they do not sell nasware 3.0 at the store, but I could get 2.0.
Seems like a disgusting scam to me. I have been loyal to WD for years, championing their use at work too. I am seriously tempted to switch manufacturers now.
Tell your marketing/branding team to stop scamming us by using the same model number for completely different drives.
Completely untrue statement. I have purchased SEVERAL 3.0 at the WD Store. Only problem is they are ussually out on back order, so I have to wait. So, who ever told you that is lying to your face!
I used to be able to see the 3.5’’ drives on the WD store, but never the 2.5’'. What was the process you followed? Did the nasware 3.0 have to be advertised? Was it by phone?
I was told this twice on email, and at least three times by phone.