Leave MyPassport Wireless always plugged in or not

My Cloud OS 3 Personal & Network Attached Storage My Cloud Pro Series
1

Can I leave My Passport Wireless always plugged in or should I let it drain before recharging it? As I’m not always at home but other members of the family are also using it, it’s easier to leave it always plugged in, but would this damage the battery as for laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc… I do not want my kids to touch my stuff at home to recharge.

For the time being, I switch it off, charge it, then re-switch it on, but it’s inconvenient, especially when I’m traveling for a few days or weeks and wonder whether I could just leave it plugged in all the time without damaging the battery life.

Thanks

2

same question asked here <— click

3

Thanks, Joey for posting this old thread I was involved in. Since I wrote those comments a few years ago, things have changed a bit. I will write about it in a moment, but first I want to alert the OP to the banner notice at the top page of this forum about the MPW battery. Since quite a few batteries eventually were getting damaged by over charging, including reduced capacity over time. In a few cases the battery even bloated up so much it popped open the case, WD has made changes to their advice and even how the battery charges So heed the warning in that banner and read the article it links to. Here is an excerpt from the article:

“Do not leave the battery in charging mode for extended periods. The battery capacity may temporarily be reduced to protect its long-term reliability.”

So, I do not leave mine charging all the time anymore. I also do not use it often as a mini NAS as I said I was doing before. I decided to just get a WD My Cloud NAS that is designed to be plugged in 24/7 The MPW is really designed as a portable device, and on occasion it can be connected and used as a NAS.

I currently use my MPW strictly for use away from home anymore, and when not in use at home, I keep it in a drawer and check the battery monthly or so, and turn it on for a while and charge it up if need be.

I believe if actually using it for an extended time for a movie or two, having it plugged into the charger is OK, but remove it from charger when done using it and when fully charged.

You do not need to let it run down completely, either. Just recharge it if you have used for a while and battery LED is not green anymore is a good rule of thumb.

Read the Knowledge base articles and be sure to download the complete user manual here:
http://support.wdc.com/product.aspx?ID=227&lang=en

4

Thank you everybody for the replies. I’m sorry I wasn’t specific enough in my initial post, but I’m aware of the older thread and of the problems subsequently reported by some users who have left it permanently plugged in, so I though I should ask for more recent input.

I must admit I haven’t noticed the alert in the banner notice but , again, I wasn’t specific enough as my question relates to the new My Passport Wireless Pro, second generation, model WDBSMT0030BBK-NESN, which is available only a couple of weeks ago. I was wondering if the battery issue has been solved in that one and that I can leave it on now.

By the way, this drive seems to have been removed from the WD Western Digital website today (thought I was still seeing it a couple of days ago) and first reviews report stability problems. On Amazon, WD asked customer if he can recontact them to explore what’s going on and to possibly get the unit back in for testing. As far as I am concerned, I also receive from time to time error messages like “shutdown bad request (400167)” and freeze. To shut it down, as it doesn’t work from my computer, I must hold the button for 10-15 seconds, not 2-3 (I was worrying a malfunction too, so I wouldn’t be able to shut it down at all!). The LED blink at start-up but don’t stay on (don’t know if this is like it should be). Would appreciate your input if there is some recall. Sorry to hijack this thread for this, but don’t feel it’s necessary to open a new one for a potentially negative issue.

Thanks

5

The Pro model is too new for much info to be available for it in operation, and I suggest you contact WD support after the July 4th holiday to get some assistance.

6

it’s “Out of Stock” as far as i can see…

http://store.wdc.com/store/wdus/en_US/DisplayAccesoryProductDetailsPage/ThemeID.40718400/productID.4352312800/My_Passport_Wireless_Pro_2TB

7

I think in this case “out of stock” may mean they are not shipping anymore until they figure out a problem with the unit that is creating bad reviews. Tony mentions bad Amazon reviews in another thread.

8

wish i could have beta tested it :frowning:

9

You are not alone in this thought!

10

Unintentional beta tester here. I’ve spent an unreasonable amount of time trying to get this darned thing to work…

I hope it gets sorted out soon, because I’d really like to use this box for its intended purpose! Right now, it’s really nothing more than a 3TB external drive.

11

I saw, and replied to, your other post on this. I did not say this there, but I have the original 2TB MPW and it works fine. No issues for me or many others. So unless you are a serious photographer or a PLEX fan who needs decoding on the fly, you might consider getting a refund (while you have time) and just buy the regular 2TB MPW. Mine is strictly used for portable media playback. I sure do not need PLEX to do it with music mp3 and mp4 files for music and video. No transcoding on iPad or other gadgets is necessary. But, if you really want or need the new features of the Pro series over the original MPW, than get WD to make yours working right.

12

Yep, unintentional beta tester too… I also have difficulty making mine to work, but don’t rush to conclusion and haven’t posted any feedback yet as, more often than not, it’s because I don’t read the user manual, just hooking it on (often in the wrong way) and expecting it to work.

The only thing I can say right now is that printed instructions included in the box is really minimal, to say the least. Just a small card with the code number (not even saying what the code is for) and a few diagrams for mobile users. Nothing on how to connect it to a laptop.

People probably need to go to the WD website, look for the user manual and read it (which I haven’t done). I’ll do it next weekend before contacting support. I own a ton of WD drives before and am extremely happy with them, so I hope they will sort out these teething issues.

13

I would never buy and turn on a device like this if I did not have the complete user manual in hand. In fact, I don’t even have one of these apparently troublesome gadgets, but I DO have a copy of the user guide just to learn how it works. Maybe you need to take the time to get a copy instead of using the hit or miss method of discovery and especially stop wasting people’s time trying to help you when you even haven’t done your basic homework yet.

14

There’s a copy of the manual already on the drive, along with a driver that you can install if the PC doesn’t find it automatically.

There’s not really much that the manual includes that you can’t pick up from the dashboard, the only thing that I had a bit of trouble finding on my own was where you set your shares on or off after you’ve set up your wireless settings.

15

Oohhh, I’m awefully sorry for that and hereby humbly present my deepest and most sincere apologies to the highly venered and most respected Sir mike27oct.

In my total ignorance, I however honestly don’t see where I have wasted your time. In my limited and very basic English, this is what I wrote and meant:

“don’t rush to conclusion and haven’t posted any feedback yet as, more often than not, it’s because I don’t read the user manual”. That means for other users: " Guys, don’t jump on your guns and post bad reviews, have do done your homework?"

“I’ll do it next weekend before contacting support”: That means: “Guys, please do your homework before wasting time of support”. Maybe it’s a little subtle for some but I just wanted to say it in a civilized and courteous way.

This being said, the instructions shipped with the drive are really minimal. At least, a link to the user manual should have been provided. There is only a link to support, and I’m so afraid of wasting their time that I didn’t even dared to click on it.

It’s quite funny that it looks like it’s other disappointed users which try to be helpful (thanks tanbam), while those who don’t even have the drive in their hands put the blame on the user.

That some users don’t read to user manual is a matter of fact (especially if they already have used tons of WD drives before) and WD have to live with it. If they put the blame on the user for not reading a manual they do not provide clearly, the customer will just shop elsewhere.

This being said, I have now read the manual and have done exactly what I’m supposed to do. Installation said “successful” and still it doesn’t work. Manual mentions that the power button must be held for 2-3 sec to shut down, and it still take 15 sec. Manual mentions that the LED will stay on, and they do not. And I can go on and on.

Last, but not least, the issue of leave the drive plugged in or not (which is the purpose of this thread I may say) is not mentioned anywhere in the user manual. Support will probably say I need to wear some glasses and they will surely be right.

But I have wasted enough of your time and, again, deeply apologize for that. More important, I have wasted enough of my time and will just return the drive. Let’s wait and see if they will also blame me for not reading the manual and have some fun.

And for sure, I will think twice before buying a WD drive again, if this reflects the attitude of support.

16

Just to point out … this is a “User Forum” and not a “WD Support Forum”

If you contact WD Support, they will be more than happy to try to assist you.

17

There is no excuse for not having a copy of the manual; it might even be on the drive, I believe. I never said read it completely, but I do expect a new user to have referred to it and be familiar with the user manual before they attempt to set up a wireless drive.be it this new one or the earlier one. More issues with these wireless drives than others, it is not a “plain vanilla” drive. And, if you have complaints about the skimpy enclosed start up guide, (which ALL manufacturers seem to provide today), then lodge you complaint to WD. As Joey stated, this is a user forum, not a WD official support forum with WD people all involved other than as a few moderators.

Anyway, I gave you some advice – refer to the user manual, and you took it – finally. Good for you, and sorry your new drive is a problem.