Concerned about WDDA "Warnings" on WD NAS drives after 3 years! (+location of manufactering)

WD Internal Drives Internal Drives
1

I have been hearing more & more about this issue, where WDDA will flag WD NAS drives with “WARNING” (PERMANENTLY!) when they have only been power on for 3 years (just after the warranty expiration).

I would appreciate an official response from WD on the following issues:

Stop Buying WD NAS Drives. - YouTube

WD Red NAS Warning Issue - WHAT IS GOING ON WITH WDDA??? - YouTube

WD Red NAS WDDA Warnings and QNAP NAS - SHOULD YOU BE WORRIED? - YouTube

Additionally, I have seen conflicting data on where the WD RED NAS drives are manufactured - are they manufactured in China?

Thank you for addressing these serious issues.

3

Hi @DeathStalker
Have you opened a Support Case? If not opened, for more information, please contact the WD Technical Support team for the best assistance and troubleshooting:

4

After three years of continuously being powered on, the power-on hours SMART counter will reach 0 and trigger a SMART alert - this is apparently intended and might serve as a “reminder” to buy new drives…
This does seem to be a “specialty” of WD NAS drives - I haven’t heard of other drive models throwing alerts this early in their life just based on power-on hours.

You’ll not get an official answer from WD on this forum - other than posts requesting you to open a support case… The days where real, technically savvy employees have replied here seem to be gone.

I’ve seen many WD drives, but never ever one made in China. It’s either Thailand or Malaysia.