Issues with the wireless pro drive at flight levels (18k+)

I am a private pilot and hoped to use the drive in an unpressurized aircraft for my passenger’s entertainment. All was fine until climbing through 18,000, at which point the drive failed to operate. It remained that way until we descended back down below 11,000, at which point it was operational again.

Is there something that can be done to remedy this, otherwise the drive is worthless for its intended purpose, for me.

David

A very unique issue! I’d say the MPW’s spinning disk does not work in a low pressure environment. It seems to work well in a pressurize commercial aircraft for me…

So, get a wireless drive that is not affected by air pressure. Sandisk (a WD company) makes the Connect Wireless Stick (a flash drive) for mobile devices.that run iOS or Android OS. I use mine with Apple phone and Pad. Check them out at Amazon. They come in various storage capacities. Get the one large enough for your data and budget. I have both a 64 GB and 200 GB size with lots of media files on them. Very handy and fits in my pocket!

Thanks. I already have a small travel router/battery pack that takes SD cards (HooToo Wireless Travel Router), but got the passport pro exclusively for the plex support. I was thinking of voiding the warranty and replacing the spinning drive with a ssd, hoping the plex software is firmware based and not on the drive. Alternatively, relegating this drive to the dustbin of close-but-no-cigar hardware we all have, and finding another way of streaming plex.

Any other solutions would be helpful. I’d like to hear something from WD directly, but their actual customer service email support appears to be down.

Dave

The other major drawback with this drive is that I have to downcovert my HD movies to essentially phone quality to even have the plex server work. The combination of these issues makes this essentially a dud for me.
Dave

If you are lucky enough to hear from WD in this USER forum (not a WD Support forum) they will most likely tell it was designed to work on planet Earth and not 18K feet above it!

Be realistic. You are trying to use the MPWP in an unusual condition, so what could you expect – that WD encase the drive in a pressurized capsule? It’s not that it is unfit for its purpose, but it sure is unfit for an unintended purpose. If you were a scuba diver it would be unfit to also use underwater!

I have Plex on my WD NAS. I don;t like or use it. I find it a poor substitute for other and better ways of enjoying my media files – like using an app on mobile device to play from my NAS or MPW.

anyway good luck, I have done all I can to help you by suggesting the Wireless flash drive.

Commercial aircraft are pressurized to a “equivalent” of 6,000-8,000 ft (Long haul run lower, about 6,000; Short haul run 8000).

In general, most aircraft without pressurization are limited to 12,500 ft altitude.

This is a limitation on the pilots, not necessarily the equipment. (Higher altitude → lower air pressure → Less O2 in the bloodstream → Pilots don’t think so good).

I have used a few media streaming device on commercial aircraft. The MPWP was by far the bulkiest (and therefore least used) of the bunch. These days; between larger microsd cards and better aircraft inflight entertainment; I have not felt the need for personal streaming on aircraft.