MyCloud PR2100 Link Speed

[WittyBoy]

I am posting today to share some wisdom about the WD MyCloud PR2100 Network “Link Speed” setting, which I have found very poorly documented. For a long time, I have been experiencing network speed issues with my WD MyCloud PR2100. My Link Speed was set to “Auto” which I assumed would automatically adjust to my CAT5e cables attached directly to my home internet router. However, on checking “attached devices” on my Internet Router (Virgin Media), I noticed that the link speed of the PR2100 was set to 100 (Mbps) and not the 1000 (Mbps) I was expecting. Using the PR2100 “Network Settings”, I changed the setting from “Auto” to “1000” and clicked the “Apply” button. The PR2100 immediately went offline from the network with a red light displaying on the front of the unit indicating some sort of problem. I pressed the power button to carry out a reboot and when the unit turned on again, a blue light was displayed (indicating everything was OK), the network traffic lights were flashing on the back of the unit, and the Link speed in the user interface and on my hub had changed from 100 (Mbps) to 1000 (Mbps) - 10 times the speed! The take-away from this is to not assume that with the Network “Link Speed” set to “auto”, the PR2100 will automatically set the fastest network speed available; it may be necessary to manually change this. N.B. one thing I have not tried is if the network hardware does not support 1000 (Mbps), is it possible to reset this setting using a soft reboot? Experiment with caution!