First some background, to explain how I ended up in this situation so as to give better context for my questions.
For a while now I’ve been hosting my media server on my laptop, specifically Plex, however the 2TB USB drive I have plugged in is starting to get full. So I looked around online for some different options and ran across a support article on the Plex website that talked about a WD My Cloud being an option because you could install the Plex server itself on the MyCloud, not just store the files. Even better! With my limited budget I decided to hit up eBay. All I really paid attention to was the storage size, and when I found an open box 5TB unit for just over $100 I thought I’d found a great find. The seller had a good rating, so I bought it.
When I got it things seemed to be fine, but I soon found out how wrong I was. I’ve since found out that this is an “OS 3” device, with no ability to be upgraded to “OS 5” because it’s a v04 firmware that hasn’t had an update since 2015. I feel like I have inadvertently been screwed over by myself because I didn’t do enough research. So here are my questions.
How do I access any version of a file manager? I can find no way to transfer files to the MyCloud, let alone how to access those files once they are on the MyCloud. I’m on Windows 11 if that matters, and when I click on the drive from the Network in File Manager on my computer it just opens the dashboard which doesn’t help me at all.
Is there no way to add Plex or any other media server to the MyCloud? All the posts I can find online talk about going to some “Apps” menu and installing it from there, but my dashboard does not have an “Apps” section. Is this just the way it is for these OS 3 drives, or am I doing something wrong?
I apologize if these are stupid questions, I’m just really hoping I didn’t just buy a $100 paper weight.
What specific My Cloud model do you have? A single bay/single drive My Cloud or a multi bay My Cloud?
What specific firmware is the My Cloud running (see the My Cloud Dashboard)?
If Windows 11 is not properly seeing a network My Cloud in Windows File Explorer, one may have to check to ensure the Windows 11 Network Profile Type is set to Private and not Public. One may also have to enable SMB1.0 as well because Microsoft disables that setting for security reasons. And check that any third party security software isn’t blocking local network access.
Whether you can add Plex or not depends on the specific My Cloud model you have. The single bay/single drive My Cloud does not support installing the Plex Media Server app to the unit.
For a single bay/single drive My Cloud one can run the Plex Media Server on another device (like a Raspberry Pi or similar SoC device, or on a Windows/Mac/Linux PC or similar) and point a Plex Library to the My Cloud. Or one may want to consider investing in a newer/better NAS, one capable of running the Plex Media Server. The WD My Cloud product line appears to be on its way out at WD.
I have Windows 11 Pro 23H2 and have a first generation WDMYCLOUD and use it on my home network. See image below. My device has the last update that was available.
My device is connected to my router and remote access is turned off. Media is controlled and played by using twonky. See image below. Click on, tap, or activate images to enlarge them.
