I understand that you can link to My Passport Wireless Pro device through the internet by simply typing http://mypassport or http://192.168.60.1. However, I have not been able to do so. Is there any explanation why this might be the case? I am running my Wireless Pro in my office where there are the usual firewall restrictions. I believe that it shouldn’t make any difference. Can anyone help?
No you CANNOT access the MPW via the internet at all.
In order to connect using the URLs described, you must be connected via WiFi to the MPW-provided “hotspot.”
All described in the manual.
Ah. Sorry, but I found the manual rather confusing. There are also a number of programs for Windows in the MPW harddrive. Should I install them? What do they do? I can’t seem to find them in the manual. It’s really difficult to search for stuff in the manual. The instructions seem to be rather similar and it is easy to miss a step or misunderstand the steps. Thank you very much for this quick and helpful response.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to have an app like they have for an iPad that we can download and install which will take us through the steps? I was able to use the iPad app.
You need a NAS to do what you want to do. A NAS is plugged into power, unlike a battery powered device like you have’ The MPW should NOT be continuously plugged in to protect its battery,
The above posters are correct.
The wireless passport is not a NAS. The software is similar to the mycloud products, but not the same.
You don’t want to run these devices 24/7/265. In addition to the battery issue, I do not believe the hard drives in these units are the NAS 24/7/365 “red” drives used in the other MyCloud devices.
The idea of these devices is to “bring it with you”; not “access remotely”, which explains some of the design decisions.
Note: you can access the by logging onto the devices own wireless network. If “file sharing” is enabled you can also access it from the wifi network the drive is connected to by using the address assigned to the drive by the router. You cannot, however, access the drive from the WAN side of the router.
Thank you, everyone, for your clarifications. To some extent, I’m not planning to use it as my cloud server. I know that’s another story. My cons against that are costs, bulk, and I gather it needs to be attached to my home server, or something like that.
I am looking for a mobile solution and the ability to access the MPW via it’s own WiFi connection is exactly what I need. I appreciate that I shouldn’t keep it charging all the time. That was something I didn’t realise before.
I think it’ll be good to have an app for the desktop that does the same thing as the mobile app. Now that I know how to connect via my iPad, I’m actually quite happy with it. I’d like to do the same via my desktop/laptop (i.e. Windows OS).
BTW, what’s the diff between a red drive and a normal drive?
A Red drive is what WD puts in their NAS clouds, They can hold up to heavy usage if need be.
Ahh. Thank you for that. I won’t be putting my MPW on heavy use. More occasional, when I don’t have access to my home PC. What colour is the MPW drive? Not that it matters much. I assume it’s up to the task of normal use.
J have no idea, but it is a smaller 2.5" drive, not a desktop size one.
No worries. I’ll keep a backup just in case, :). Thanks, mike.
Back to the original question;
There used to be a desktop file app to access the drives. That software has been obsoleted, and I believe will not work with recent firmware for the drives. (this issue applies to all WD mycloud products, including the upscale NAS drives) I have my opinions on the “why”; which are off topic for this thread. There may be an app for the new MyCloudHome products… . . but that software has notable limitations, and I don’t see anyone who has used the older MyCloud products recommend the new Home line.
However, I don’t see a NEED for more software: I get along more than fine just using windows files explorer. If the drive is on the same network as the PC, and file sharing to the network is enabled on the MPW drive - - - -then you can;
- Map the drive to drive letter in file explorer (I don’t recommend this due to ransomware concerns)
- access the drive by typing the IP address or drive name in the menu bar (“i.e. \drivename”).(I used a static IP address for the drive. . .easier to remember the address if it doesn’t change)
- the drive should show up as a “computer” in the network section of the file explorer navigation pane. Honestly. . I have mixed success in the drive showing up unless I have already accessed it via IP address.
